44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 28, 2023 10:00AM
Mr. Speaker, it is always great to rise in this most honourable House. I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Steveston—Richmond East. It is great to see everyone this afternoon. I hope that all my colleagues and their families are doing well on this Tuesday.
I am pleased to take part in today's debate. Rather than indulge in Conservative partisan attacks on the pollution price, let us talk about what matters most to Canadians: making life more affordable and ensuring that Canadian families have good jobs and good futures for themselves and their children. That has been the focus of our government since day one and we will continue to be on that tangent.
As Canadians continue to feel the effects of global inflation, our government understands that it remains difficult for too many families to make ends meet.
We are seeing very strong indications that global inflation is rolling over. We have seen that in Europe where inflation is at 1.8% or so. We have seen that in the United States where some indicators have it down below 3%. We have seen rent inflation in the United States actually roll over to the downside. We have seen that in recent indicators in Canada. I strongly believe, as an economist and someone who worked on Bay Street and Wall Street for many years, although I grew up in small-town Canada, we will see that in the months ahead in Canada. When we look at the price of containers or look at leading indicators of the TRI index and so forth, inflation is rolling over to the downside. That is the way our economy is going. It will be a benefit to all Canadians.
Since 2015, our government has taken many actions to make life more affordable for Canadians who need it most, but we understand that some Canadians still need more support.
That is why, last week, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance introduced new measures to support Canadians in the 2023 fall economic statement.
Of course, we are undertaking this while continuing to deliver the government's economic plan, and while also making important progress on the government's existing commitments that are helping to make life more affordable across the country.
It is clear that our measures are having a very real impact on Canadians' budgets.
I would like to give a few concrete examples.
A family with two children in British Columbia, with an income of $88,000 in 2023, could benefit from about $17,700 as a result of reduced child care costs, the Canada child benefit, the Canada dental benefit and tax relief from the increased basic personal amount, which we raised to $15,000 in 2023-24. That will provide Canadians $6 billion of tax relief from coast to coast to coast. This is money in the pockets of Canadians.
For my family, my little daughter is at day care. The families that use that day care in the province of Ontario have saved 50%, which literally means up to $8,000 in after-tax dollars, while before-tax dollars it is over $10,000. Going into 2024, they are going to see a further reduction in their day care costs, which means real savings for families across Canada. That, again, will make life more affordable for all Canadians.
In Nova Scotia, low-income students could receive more than $5,800 in additional support in 2023, thanks to increased Canada student grants and interest-free Canada student loans, the grocery rebate and pollution price rebates, known as the climate action incentive payments.
If students have a disability or dependants, they could receive an additional $12,800 in specialized student grants, plus an extra $640 per dependant and up to $20,000 toward devices that support their learning. After graduating, all their federal student loans will remain interest free. Again, student loans to youth or older folks going to school are interest free, with full repayment assistance available until their income surpasses $40,000 per year.
A 78-year-old senior in Quebec with a maximum GIS entitlement could receive more than $2,000 in additional support in 2023. That is $2,000 in seniors' pockets thanks to the grocery rebate, the GIS top-up increase for single seniors, and the 10% old age security increase for people 75 and up.
However, we know that more needs to be done to support Canadians, especially through these times when global inflation has had an impact on all economies throughout the world. That is why our government has taken further action in the 2023 fall economic statement to support the middle class and build more homes faster.
To help Canadians with mortgages, our government is moving forward with the new Canadian mortgage charter, which details the relief Canadians can expect from their banks if they are in financial difficulty.
We also understand that when it comes to housing, there is an important issue on the supply side. There is simply not enough homes for Canadians. We have known this for years. We know that we need to increase the supply of homes. We have no choice; we need to do it. There are many reasons for this. We are attracting newcomers from all over the world, whether it is in the global high-tech stream, family reunification, express entry or firms putting forward LMIAs.
We are a magnet for talent from all over the world wanting to come to live, work and invest in Canada, which is a foreign concept for the official opposition. Foreign companies wishing to invest in Canada is a great thing. We need to champion it. Literally millions of Canadians work for foreign companies that have invested in Canada, and I cannot believe the official opposition does not like that.
We also understand that when it comes to housing, we need more supply. That is why we are accelerating our work to build more homes faster. Indeed, the Deputy Prime Minister announced last week in the 2023 fall economic statement that we would introduce billions of dollars in new financing to build more homes faster.
To make housing in this country more affordable, we will put forward measures to crack down on short-term rentals. We really want homes to be used for Canadians to live in. We will also take steps to increase the number of construction workers from coast to coast to coast.
I have been talking about housing measures, but cost of living challenges also include basic needs, such as groceries. Obviously, we see that as a major problem, so we are putting forward concrete measures to tackle it.
For example, we are going to amend the Competition Act and the Competition Tribunal Act to ensure Canadians have more choice, through competition, in where they take their business. The Competition Tribunal is something I hold dearly. We need to modernize it, and we are. We have done this with Bill C-34 and with other bills, as well as measures in Bill C-56. We need to move forward on that.
Capitalism is a wonderful thing, but capitalism only exists when there are rules and regulation and competition is encouraged, which fosters innovation, choice and lower prices. The more competition we have, the better our economy functions and better jobs happen. I am a big believer in new processes and new industries being created, and that is what is happening in Canada, whether it is in artificial intelligence, fintech or the many sectors across our beautiful country.
Together with Bill C-56, we will strengthen the tools and powers available to the Competition Bureau to enable it to crack down on abuses of dominance by bigger companies, including those intended to keep out competition, such as predatory pricing. Companies should pay for predatory pricing.
We will further modernize merger reviews, including by empowering the Competition Bureau to better detect and address killer acquisitions and other anti-competitive mergers. This is very important. Canadians deserve better, always—
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- Nov/28/23 2:21:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I know that, since last week, more and more Canadians are having a hard time believing what the opposition leader says. Let me set the record straight. Canada has the lowest deficit in the G7 and the best debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7. Inflation continues to drop, while we maintain the services that Canadians depend on. The Conservative leader would cut child care, dental care for seniors and pensions for seniors.
We know that in order to invest in the future of the country and to be there for Canadians, we need to invest responsibly, and we are continuing to do that.
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- Nov/28/23 3:09:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government continues to support Canadians during this ongoing period of inflation, where some prices remain too high.
Yesterday, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change talked about some new measures that are set out in the fall economic statement that will help more Canadians put a roof over their heads, while helping them reduce their home energy costs.
Can the minister tell the House about these important measures?
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- Nov/28/23 4:50:59 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the Bank of Canada has said that the price on carbon is not contributing in any significant way to food inflation. Now, I do not know, maybe the hon. member does not accept studies and analyses by the Bank of Canada as legitimate academic studies. I know his leader does not think much of the Bank of Canada and puts the blame of everything on the shoulders of the Bank of Canada.
There is a price on carbon. It is being added to the cost of things. The point is that it is not responsible for the biggest chunk of the rise in food prices.
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- Nov/28/23 6:29:22 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to rise and address a very important issue facing people in northwestern Ontario and right across the country, and that is, of course, the cost of living and how that couples in with the carbon tax that this NDP-Liberal government is planning to quadruple.
We know that inflation continues to rise as a result of inflationary spending from this NDP-Liberal government. It has made the cost of many things, especially many essential things like gas, groceries and home heating, rise to the point where Canadian households are in crisis. However, the higher taxes being brought forward by this government are making the situation even worse. People across the north are wondering how they are going to be able to afford to put food on their table. We have seen record numbers of people visiting food banks right across the country. People in northern Ontario are wondering how they are going to be able to afford to heat their home.
Now, the government has put out a carve-out for some Canadians in certain regions of the country based on how they voted, but those in northern Ontario are continuing to have to pay a lot more for home heating. As winter is approaching and temperatures are getting cooler, many people are worried about what they are going to do in terms of paying for their home heating.
To make matters worse, the GST is slapped on top of all of it. It is adding to these costs even more. It is a tax on a tax. We see that at the gas pumps when people go to fill up. In northern Ontario, of course, we must travel great distances to get to medical appointments and for essential shopping trips. It really is not an option. People need to pay for gas and need to be paying the higher carbon tax as a result of this government's plans.
The government has made life more unaffordable for us in northern Ontario, and to make matters worse, its carbon tax plan has not done the job to protect the environment. Canada now ranks 58th out of 63 countries and “remains among the very low performers” on the climate change performance index. We continue to miss target after target. We have missed virtually every target, I believe, outside of the pandemic, which completely shut down our economy. The only way that this NDP-Liberal government was able to successfully meet a climate target was to shut down the entire economy during the pandemic. We have also seen recent reports from the environment commissioner that have shown that Canada will once again miss its targets this year and that we are not on track to meet our 2030 emissions targets.
The government is making life more unaffordable and driving up the cost of living to the point where people and families are in crisis, and we are not seeing any of the benefits that the government purports should be coming as a result of this carbon tax scheme. It is simply all economic pain with no environmental gain, and Canadians want to know when this government will finally scrap its failed carbon tax.
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