44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 30, 2024 10:00AM
- Apr/30/24 1:58:35 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I think I have about a minute or so before question period begins. I would like to say first that I will be sharing my time with the member from Saint-Laurent.
Before I get into my budget remarks, which I will save for after question period, I wish to acknowledge someone in the Italian Canadian community, who unfortunately passed away a few weeks ago. Corrado Paina, from the Italian Chamber of Commerce of Ontario, was someone our community held dear to our hearts. He did so much for our community. He was a friend, a mentor and someone I very much enjoyed spending a lot of time with. Corrado Paina was one of a kind. We went to his celebration of life on Friday morning, and several hundred people were there from our community to celebrate a remarkable person who gave back so much to our community.
In 2017, Corrado Paina helped to organize a trip for Italian Canadian businesses to Italy, which I was a part of when the Prime Minister went to Italy for the G7. Much more than that, he was somebody I would stroll with along College Street in downtown Toronto, and we would talk about politics, economics and philosophy. For the last nine years, he always provided a word of advice and always was a great friend. He is missed by myself and by many others.
[Member spoke in Italian]
[English]
I know that Corrado Paina is looking down on many of us, telling us to continue the good work for our community and for all Canadians.
I look forward to resuming the budget debate after question period.
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- Apr/30/24 3:09:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is always an honour and a privilege to rise in this House. I would usually call it the most honourable House, but after today's events, I am not exactly sure.
When we speak about budget 2024 and what is involved in budget 2024, it continues to build a strong economy, an inclusive economy.
One of the sectors that I would like to touch upon is here in Ontario specifically, the auto sector. It is a sector that I covered in the private sector for 15 years before coming into public service.
What we announced last week and what we did in collaboration with Honda is a game-changer for the auto sector here in Canada. It is a game-changer for Honda. It is Honda's largest-ever investment in North America, $15 billion to build an electric vehicle assembly plant, a stand-alone manufacturing plant, a cathode active material and precursor-processing plant, a separator plant and a new assembly plant operation, which in 2028 is projected to build over 240,000 electric vehicles per year.
That is a strong vote of confidence in the Canadian economy. That is a strong vote of confidence in Canadian workers. It is the right thing to do to build a competitive economy and an economy that works for all Canadians.
It did not just happen by chance. It happened because our government was laser-focused on attracting business investments here in Canada. With regard to the auto sector, almost $46 billion has been attracted across Canada, not just in the province of Ontario and British Columbia, or in the province of Quebec. The spillover in the whole EV supply chain is across Canada. Again, it is our government being laser-focused in budget 2024. An electric vehicles supply chain credit was introduced, 10% on EV assets, battery and cathode active materials.
This follows Volkswagen's $7-billion investment in St. Thomas, Northvolt's $7-billion investment in Quebec, the $5-billion investment by Stellantis and LG Energy Solutions in the beautiful city of Windsor, Ford's $1.8-billion commitment to repurpose its facility, and the list goes on. The Canadian automotive sector builds 1.5 million vehicles per year. It supports 550,000 direct and indirect jobs here in this country and contributes about $18 billion. Canada is home to Stellantis, Ford, General Motors, Toyota and Honda. We have been able to secure a commitment from Honda for generations now, and for generations to come, with over 4,000 jobs, over 1,000 new full-time jobs, and we can multiply that by five to seven, in terms of the multiplier, for literally decades, plus all the construction jobs that will come.
I will now turn to something that is near and dear to my heart. I read the IMF projections for economies around the world. The “Fiscal Monitor” came out. The world economic outlook came out. For 2025, Canada is forecast to lead economic growth in the G7 at almost 2.5%, something that we should be very proud of. We are leading the pack because we are making strategic investments in Canada. We are making strategic investments in Canadians. A confident country invests in its citizens. A confident country will always do so. That is what we will continue to do.
With regard to matters that I hear quite a bit about, I would like to reference a Financial Times article that came out about a week ago, entitled “US deficit poses ‘significant risks’ to global economy, warns IMF”. One looks at Canada's fiscal framework, its fiscal management and our AAA credit rating from all the credit rating agencies: Moody's, S&P, Morningstar DBRS.
I can hear some chirping from the other side. I understand that when it comes to being polite and when it comes to decorum, sometimes people need to take further lessons. It is unfortunate that they need to.
When we look at overall government fiscal balances, the net lending/borrowing for Canada is -1.1% of GDP; the United States, -7.1%; the U.K., -3.7%; Italy, -3.2%; Germany, -1.3%. Canada's fiscal framework is the strongest in the G7. It is the strongest in the G20. There is a reason why we have AAA rating. There is a reason why, when we look at our fiscal framework in this country, we have a solid, strong, robust balance sheet.
Those are the facts. Members on the other side can quibble as much as they want. They may not like science, and they may not like data. They may not like looking at the financial numbers, but I do. We will continue to do so. It is very important.
There is another item that I would like to raise, something that may surprise some folks on the other side and may surprise some folks on my side. I am actually very happy that the Trans Mountain pipeline is now in operation. The twinning of those two pipelines is going to boost economic growth here in Canada: this year, by about 0.5%. For a $3-trillion economy, 0.5% is actually quite important. The economic benefits of that pipeline are going to outweigh significantly the cost of building that pipeline and the debt that is carried on it currently, absolutely. It is going to lower the spread between WTI and WCS in terms of the price differential. For the time being and for many years to come, the oil that is sent from Alberta through the province of British Columbia is going to receive a higher price. Some estimates show a $9 benefit. We will earn billions of dollars in tax revenue to support hard-working Canadians across this country.
We made that investment, and I am very proud of that investment. It replaces almost 1,500 railcars that were carrying crude oil. It provides lower-cost access to markets abroad, and it raises producer prices here. It is something we need to be proud of. Again, it lowers the differential in the price we were getting for our product, so that now we are earning more on that front. Just in the second quarter of this year, the Bank of Canada estimates that it is going to boost economic growth by 0.25%. It is going to provide over $70 billion in revenues for the entities involved and tens of billions of dollars in tax revenues to pay for the services that we need.
Trevor Tombe, one of the economists I talk with quite a bit these days, put out an excellent piece today on why it is so important that we have an additional outlet for Canada's resources. As we decarbonize our economy, we need to do it in such a manner that the transition ensures good future for Canadians. The funds received will allow us to reinvest in our economy to green it and to make sure our electrical grid is fully decarbonized by 2035.
Finally, on the housing front, we are going to build in the years to come and we are building currently. Housing is very important for the residents of the 905 region, where I live. We see the activity at the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre. We see the activity across our region in terms of the housing builders getting to work. To the wonderful construction workers who are trained at the LiUNA 183 training centre or the Carpenters' Regional Council and the local 27 training centre, I visit with them and I want to give them a big shout-out because they are doing the heavy lifting to build our communities and the infrastructure in our communities.
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- Apr/30/24 3:21:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I do count the hon. member as a friend and colleague, and I always enjoy chatting with him.
I will say that the IMF statistics are there, and the member can look at gross governmental debt and the net debt bases. The standards are developed by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. They are commonly accepted standards. They are principles.
Canada's fiscal situation is measured by the rating agencies. I worked for a rating agency for a number of years before I went into the bond side of the business. I understand it quite well. Our AAA credit rating, which has been there since finance minister Martin's years, is there for a reason. We have a solid balance sheet, which is something we should all be proud of and something that I know Canadians hold near and dear to their hearts.
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- Apr/30/24 3:23:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, to my colleague and friend from my old hometown of Prince Rupert in Skeena—Bulkley Valley, I will be very personal on this front. We have a little nephew, Ethan, who has a rare genetic condition. Probably one out of five or six individuals in Canada has this condition. I know full well the amount of expenses that my brother and sister-in-law incur for their son. It is not just in the thousands of dollars; it is literally, in the last couple of years, in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. I know what they face, so I do appreciate the sentiment coming from my colleague.
I will say that the Canada disability benefit does move the needle, and we will continue to work, also in conjunction with the disability tax credit, which is in place ensuring that disabled Canadians have the support they need to live a dignified life and to lead a life where they can fulfill their capacity in terms of what God has given them.
I want to give a shout-out, a prayer and a big hug to my little nephew.
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- Apr/30/24 3:25:31 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we all believe in achieving net zero by 2050. We all believe in decarbonizing the economy. At the same time, we must also understand there will be a need for natural resources of oil and natural gas, whether it is in situ for oil and conventional natural gas or whether it is western Canadian—
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