44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 17, 2024 02:00PM
- Apr/17/24 2:18:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday’s budget just offered more of the same after nine years of the NDP-Liberal government. It was the worst news possible for Canadians struggling to buy food, heat their homes and save for a down payment. The Prime Minister just will not listen to Canadians. He will not stop adding to his inflationary deficits that balloon interest rates. He will not stop putting social programs and jobs at risk. The $54 billion to be spent on debt interest surpasses federal health care spending, and he will not axe the carbon tax on farmers and food.
The budget is about to make life a whole lot worse for Canadians, and their message to the Prime Minister is clear: Just stop. Stop the out-of-control spending, deficits, inflation and tax hikes that are forcing struggling people over the edge. The budget, the government and the Prime Minister are not worth the cost to any generation.
It is time for common-sense Conservatives to clean up the mess and to govern with common sense for Canadians.
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- Apr/17/24 2:25:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, who is paying for this $50-billion orgy of new inflationary spending?
We know who will not pay. It will not be those with trust funds that protect their money, like the Prime Minister, nor the billionaires who invite him to their private islands. They will hide their money.
Who is going to pay? It will be the same people, as always. The ones who will pay are the ones who are losing their home because of rising interest rates, who are paying too many taxes, who cannot feed their own children.
Why are you paying for him?
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- Apr/17/24 2:27:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, who pays? Who pays for this latest $50-billion orgy of spending by the costly Prime Minister?
We know who will not pay. It will not be those with trust funds that protect their millions of inheritance, like the Prime Minister, nor the billionaires who invite him to their private Caribbean islands. They will hide their money.
Who will pay? The ones who will pay will be the welder or the waitress who cannot pay their mortgage because he has inflated the mortgage rates. One will pay because he carbon taxed one's food, and now one cannot feed one's kids. Why should one pay for him?
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- Apr/17/24 2:31:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, he is the ultrawealthy. He hid his family fortune in a tax-sheltered trust fund so that he would not have to pay the same taxes as everyone else. He vacations with the ultrawealthy on their private islands in tax-preferred locations where they can hide their money and avoid paying their fair share here in Canada.
Now, he is paying off the ultrawealthy by spending $54 billion on debt interest, more than on health care.
Why give more money to the ultrawealthy bankers and bondholders instead of the nurses and doctors?
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- Apr/17/24 2:47:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with his budget, the Prime Minister is recognizing that the issues that are really important to Canadians fall under the jurisdiction of Quebec and the provinces.
Therefore, he is shamelessly using the fiscal imbalance, thanks to which he has a lot more money than he should, while Quebec and the provinces have less.
Does he recognize that, to implement his budget at the expense of Quebec's jurisdictions, he is grossly abusing the spending power instituted by former Prime Minister Trudeau?
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- Apr/17/24 3:09:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we propose less for bankers and bondholders, and more for doctors and nurses. This year, for the first time in over a generation, the federal government will spend more on interest for the national debt than we do on health care.
After the Prime Minister doubled the size of the debt and grew health spending slower than the previous Conservative government, why is it that he wants to give 54 billion hard-earned Canadian tax dollars to wealthy bankers and bondholders, and not doctors and nurses?
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- Apr/17/24 7:31:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his brilliant advocacy and for his question on behalf of persons with disabilities. The member knows, as does everyone in this place, that protecting and helping the most vulnerable in our society is a fundamental Canadian principle, and it is a fundamental principle of our government.
When it comes to people with disabilities, we have invested more money in the last eight years than ever before. I take the point: Is it enough? Absolutely not. Do we need to do more? Absolutely we do, but we have made progress. In comparison, the previous Conservative government promised and failed to deliver a national disability act. Our Liberal government made the Accessible Canada Act a reality, but there is still a lot more to do. That said, we are moving as quickly as possible on the Canada disability benefit.
Of course, we understand that the disability community is anxious to see extra dollars in their bank accounts, but we must get it right to make the delivery of the benefit as smooth, as targeted and as effective as possible. Budget 2024 proposes funding of $6.1 billion over six years, beginning in this fiscal year, 2024-25, and $1.4 billion per year ongoing, for the first-ever federal Canada disability benefit. This represents an important next step in the journey for this.
I cannot talk about the journey of the Canada disability benefit without talking about the years of relentless advocacy from the community. I want to thank all of those who have been relentless in their advocacy as they championed the needs and priorities of persons with disabilities. I encourage them to continue to engage with our government as we move forward in the next chapter.
The lived experiences of persons with disabilities has been a key part of the consultation process. In the true spirit of “nothing without us”, we engaged with persons with disabilities, stakeholders and all Canadians on key issues. In the coming months, once we have published the draft regulations in part I of the Canada Gazette, Canadians will again be invited to provide feedback. As the hon. member knows, the act requires that regulations be in place by June 2025, with money flowing into bank accounts by July 2025. Let me assure all members in the House and all Canadians that we are on track to meet this timeline.
This is the first federal government step-up in support of persons with disabilities by creating a new and specific benefit just for them. The budget 2024 announcement unlocks the ability to proceed with the extensive and intense behind-the-scenes work needed to deliver the CDB. We need the time not just to be focused on the developing regulations, but to build the internal infrastructure and support systems necessary to deliver the program and to allow the provinces and territories to adjust their policies to ensure that there are no unintended clawbacks.
This is a crucial time as we carefully balance the need to strengthen our social security net while making sure government spending is able to help with the everyday costs of living. We are committed to creating a better, fairer country for generations to come, but, as I said, there is more work to do. It is the next stop in the journey of building a barrier-free Canada.
I thank the member for Kitchener Centre for his ongoing excellent advocacy on this.
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