44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 29, 2024 11:00AM
- Apr/29/24 12:51:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I have mentioned, in the budget speech, the Minister of Finance talked about the interest level around the world of Canada being a place to have direct foreign investment. In fact, on a per capita basis, last year we were number one in the G7 and number three in the world as a country to come to with direct foreign investments.
To what degree does the member think the trade agreements that Canada has signed over the years have had a positive impact on countries or investors around the world looking to Canada as a safe place to invest? She might also want to factor in the Ukraine trade agreement, in particular.
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- Apr/29/24 1:06:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, spending on machinery and equipment by businesses in Canada, and on research, development and innovation, has been falling as a share of GDP in Canada for many decades, in fact dating back to the large corporate tax cuts that Paul Martin introduced at the turn of the century. To compare us to the United States, in 2014, investment support per worker in the U.S. was $20,700, and it was $14,400 in Canada. In 2023, the U.S. spending per worker rose to $27,800, and it is only $14,500 in this country. It has gone up $100 in about 10 years.
I am wondering whether my hon. colleague would agree with me and the NDP that we need to find ways to have the business sector in this country invest more in machinery and equipment and in technology and innovation, and whether he has any ideas to share with the House as to how we could do that to better support workers and, by doing so, improve Canada's economy.
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- Apr/29/24 2:51:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government has shown great success in attracting historic investment in our auto industry. Can the minister highlight the recent investment from Honda and what it means for building our EV supply chain and growing Canadian jobs?
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- Apr/29/24 2:51:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his leadership. That was a good question.
Last week we witnessed a $15.7-billion investment by Honda. This is the largest investment in Honda's history. It is the largest investment in our auto sector, and it is one of the largest investments by a private company in this country. This is great news for our workers across the nation. This is great news for our auto sector. This is great news for Canada. Let us celebrate as Canada becomes a hub for green manufacturing in the 21st century.
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- Apr/29/24 2:55:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. I have a great deal of respect for him.
I am sure he noticed that the Minister of Finance's recent budget focuses on intergenerational equity. This budget gives every generation a chance by investing in the priorities of Quebeckers. It focuses on housing and the cost of living, but also on growth.
I am sure my colleagues from Quebec saw our announcement last week regarding a record investment from IBM in Bromont. This will help Quebec and Canada become a leader in the semiconductors sector.
A confident nation is a nation that invests. That is exactly what we are doing.
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- Apr/29/24 3:01:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, instead of spreading disinformation, the member should be standing with all Canadians in this House and making sure that we maximize jobs for Canadians. That is exactly what we are doing.
The investment that he is talking about is going to create more than 2,500 direct jobs at this plant. It is going to be one of the largest battery assembly plants in North America. We should all be proud that Canada now ranks first in the world for the battery ecosystem we have built, and this is according to Bloomberg.
We are going to keep investing in Canadians. We are going to keep investing in jobs. We are going to keep investing in the auto industry.
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- Apr/29/24 4:13:10 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, there were a lot of questions there.
When we look at trade agreements, the government just lost a trade agreement with the U.K. It could not get it signed. The EU agreement was signed because of the work done by the previous, Conservative government, which got that rolling. When we talk about foreign direct investment, of course there are records when the government has spent $50 billion of its own money to create subsidies for those companies to come in. However, when we look at growth rates for the OECD, Canada is dead last; right now, its economy is performing with five times less growth compared with the U.S. economy. That growth is buoyed by public spending, which is five times any other spending by the private sector.
Government spending is driving inflation and high interest rates, but more, the higher cost of living. It is hurting Canadians, and we need to change that.
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- Apr/29/24 4:46:48 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have to say that I am actually very happy that we are starting the first step with a meaningful investment. We have to do more, and we should continue to do more. However, this is a game-changer for community members in Ottawa—Vanier. It needs to pass, and then we could continue to build on this first step.
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