SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 305 - Apr/30/24

Apr/30/24 3:37:03 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I regret that my earpiece was not working for the first part of the member's question, but I think I got the gist of it. I do think that the government has the best of intentions with this budget to help Canadians now that they need help the most. Our young Canadians are in a place where past generations have not been at the age they currently are. We obviously need to step it up and help Canadians, and meet them where they are in order to give them the supports they need to live the lives they deserve to live.

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Mrs. Julie Vignola (Beauport—Limoilou, BQ)

Apr/30/24 3:37:39 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I wish I had had a chance to comment on the life of generation X, a generation so overlooked that it was named after an unknown value in algebra. That said, I will instead talk about the budget, which is a blatant example of interference and disrespect for the supreme law of the land, that is, the Canadian Constitution. The Constitution is the contract that binds the federal government to the other levels of government in Canada, namely Quebec and the Canadian provinces. When does the government intend to respect its own Constitution?

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Ms. Emmanuella Lambropoulos

Apr/30/24 3:38:25 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I think Canadians need help right now. I think all provinces, territories and the Government of Canada should work together to provide that much-needed help to Canadians. It would be really great to have all the provinces co-operate so that we can give this help to the people who need it most.

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Territories

Ms. Bonita Zarrillo (Port Moody—Coquitlam, NDP)

Apr/30/24 3:38:53 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, tomorrow is the beginning of MS Awareness Month. Yesterday, I met some advocates for MS. One of the advocates has MS. She told me that her sister also had MS. The two of them have MS, but only one of them qualifies for the disability tax credit. One lives in a rural part of Canada and the other lives in an urban area. The sister who lives in the urban area got the credit while the rural sister did not. There are many inequities in the health care system and we know that the Canada disability benefit, hidden behind the disability tax credit, is inaccessible as well as being inequitable. I wonder if the member could commit that the government will remove this inaccessible and inequitable barrier in the Canada disability benefit.

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Ms. Emmanuella Lambropoulos

Apr/30/24 3:39:49 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank the member for raising this concern. I was not aware of her friend's situation. Of course, I cannot commit to anything on behalf of the government, but I can commit to working with the member to bring this to the attention of the government so that something can be done about it.

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Mr. Mike Morrice (Kitchener Centre, GP)

Apr/30/24 3:40:13 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, non-profits in my community were looking at this budget in the hope that there might be more money available to build social housing, non-market housing, after all the talk of what would be in the budget. However, what we find is the rapid housing initiative, funded at a meagre amount of less than $250 million a year for the next five years across the whole country, and that is meant to be spread out. Could the member speak to whether she is concerned about the lack of funding in this budget despite all of the rhetoric about housing? There is a lack of dollars in the budget for non-profits to build the non-market affordable dignified housing that we need across the country.

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Ms. Emmanuella Lambropoulos

Apr/30/24 3:40:57 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, there are obviously many measures that the government has put in place to help build as many homes as possible for Canadians. I would be happy to work with the member to at least bring these issues to the attention of the government.

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Homes
Build

Mrs. Tracy Gray (Kelowna—Lake Country, CPC)

Apr/30/24 3:41:20 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-234

Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Huron—Bruce. Just before I begin debate, I would like to wish a happy graduation to my niece. She has worked hard and deserves all life has to offer, and Auntie Tracy is proud of her. I rise today on behalf of the residents of Kelowna—Lake Country to speak to the 2024 budget, one of the most consequential pieces of legislation the House of Commons debates every year. This is now the ninth year the NDP-Liberal government has chosen to run deficits in its budget. I was in my community all last week meeting with businesses and not-for-profit organizations and attending all kinds of events. I had days with back-to-back meetings with people who reached out. Not one person said they were happy with the Liberals' budget. One resident said the budget is like throwing spaghetti at a wall. Another said her family has lived in the Okanagan for generations and now the whole extended family is considering leaving Canada as no one can get ahead. Another person explained how moderately successful people who have worked hard and followed all the rules are being crushed by the government. A small business owner said, “So much for building up my small business to fund my retirement.” For nine years, the Liberal government, propped up by the NDP, chose together to double the size of the federal debt, which is on track to lead to a generational debt crisis for the children of today and tomorrow. Together, those parties chose to support expensive, third-party consultants, at the same time as seeing a decline in accountability in federal department services, with many departments not meeting their own minimum service standards. They chose together to increase taxes, including the carbon tax, excise tax and payroll tax. What are the results of the Liberals being propped up by the NDP? It is a cost of living crisis that is destroying the spending power of working-class families and causing a record number of Canadians to have to go to the food bank. People are losing hope. After nine years of the Prime Minister, it now takes the same amount of time to save for a down payment on the average home that it used to take to pay it off. People have a lower quality of life than previous generations. People have more mental health and addiction issues than at any time in the past. I was hopeful that the Liberal ministers, in their ninth year of government, might listen to Canadians. Conservatives were clear about what we wanted in this budget in order to support it. We wanted the government to axe the tax on farmers and food by immediately passing Bill C-234 in its original form, which would give farmers in my community and across the country much-needed tax relief. We wanted the Liberals to build homes, not bureaucracy, by requiring cities to permit 15% more homebuilding each year as a condition for receiving federal infrastructure funding. We wanted the government to cap its wasteful spending with a dollar-for-dollar rule to bring down interest rates and inflation, which presently impacts Canadians in many ways, including mortgage renewals. Just like a family managing its household budget, Ottawa should always look to find a dollar in savings before looking for a dollar in new spending. Sadly, the NDP-Liberal government did not meet any of these common-sense requests. The finance minister has again chosen the same inflationary deficits that have pushed Canadians into a cost of living crisis. In listening to the Minister of Finance present her budget, I was particularly struck by one line. In her budget speech, the Minister of Finance discussed the importance of not passing on ballooning debt to our children. That is exactly what the budget does. That is what the NDP-Liberal government has been doing for nine years; just look at the numbers. Budget 2024 forecasts that the federal debt will rise to $1.2 trillion this year and the interest Canadians will pay in servicing that debt will increase to $54 billion this fiscal year. That is more than the government intends to spend on provincial health care transfers. The budget also shows that the government raised $51 billion in revenue from GST last year. That means that every cent of GST that every Canadian, business or not-for-profit organization may pay on the products and services they buy will not go toward a single government service program. It does not matter if someone buys a key chain or a car. If they pay the government GST, it will not be used to pay for roads, health care or armed forces. Instead, that amount will be used solely to pay the interest on the government's credit card. Canada is not paying down its debt. Canada is paying the interest on our debt, while the debt still grows. That means these payments will only increase by a projected $54 billion again next year, $57 billion the year after, $60 billion after that and $64 billion after that. From now until the end of this decade, taxpayers will provide the government with $289 billion, which would not be used to pay for any public services Canadians depend on. As the shadow minister for persons with disabilities, I have been greatly concerned with the government's string of broken promises regarding the Canada disability benefit, which all parties in the House supported. The Liberal Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities will not even acknowledge that persons with disabilities are in a cost of living crisis. I asked her three times yesterday at the human resources committee, and the most she would say is that it has been “a challenging time”. We heard testimony during the Canada disability benefit legislation at the human resources committee that persons with disabilities were considering medical assistance in dying because they could not afford to live. The Liberal government's pushing off implementation until late into 2025, with a peek into the limited regulations and amounts that might be, saw widespread backlash from my local residents and from national groups representing persons with disabilities. Many persons with disabilities are already among the hardest hit by the cost of living crisis, but apparently the minister does not agree. Five years of Liberal minister photo ops and announcements on this benefit have produced another broken promise. Ironically, the NDP-Liberal government's 2024 budget title is “Fairness for Every Generation.” Skyrocketing federal debt will consume more of our tax dollars, while potentially threatening future social, environmental or security initiatives. This is not worth the cost to any generation, and it certainly is not fair to young adults and kids who will bear the brunt of paying the debt down. This unwavering commitment to higher debt and deficits has characterized the Liberal government's last nine years. We have seen a doubling of rent, mortgage payments and down payments. There are reports of people not meeting the mortgage stress test and having to sell their homes to rent, only to find rent to be more expensive than their mortgage payment. It is a real concern that there is a big wave of both residential and commercial renewals coming this summer. Insolvencies are already increasing. This budget projects unemployment to rise to 6.5% this year. Despite the employment minister telling us, at the human resources committee in December, that he had a plan to address it. We have not seen that plan. All these issues are not coincidences. They are the consequences of hundreds of billions of dollars in federal deficits driving up costs. David Dodge, the former Liberal-appointed governor of the Bank of Canada, said that this budget is the worst he has seen since 1982. The previous finance minister, Bill Morneau, has also criticized it. The Bank of Canada and former Liberal finance minister, John Manley, both confirmed that the federal Liberal government's deficit spending was pressing on the inflationary gas pedal, forcing the Bank of Canada to balloon interest rates. Liberal ministers have been travelling the country to create photo ops for their new spending. However, new spending outlined in budget 2024 would not meaningfully impact consumer costs if inflation is not brought under control, therefore, lowering interest rates. The government, at the same time, continues to increase taxes. Rising food and gas prices are predicted to rise through 2024. I have no confidence in the government. My Conservative colleagues and I will vote against the Liberal government's ninth deficit-and-debt budget.

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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)

Apr/30/24 3:51:14 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, earlier today we witnessed a very embarrassing question period. The Conservative Party literally walked out. The Conservatives are very sensitive on the issue of Diagonal, a very far-right group, extreme right. There are all sorts of concerns in regard to it. The leader of the Conservative Party refuses to disassociate himself from that organization. This is the same far extreme right that talks about cuts and is very anti-government. I am wondering if the member across the way would like to put some distance between her and that association of the leader of the Conservative Party.

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Diagonal

Mr. Garnett Genuis

Apr/30/24 3:52:07 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I would be loath to claim that the member was intentionally misleading the House. However, in the interest of informing him, I wonder if I could seek the unanimous consent of the House to table a statement made by the Leader of the Opposition, specifically, in extremely strong terms, denouncing the very organization that the member mentioned. Do I have unanimous consent to table that statement?

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Apr/30/24 3:52:31 p.m.
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All those opposed to the hon. member's moving the motion will please say nay. Some hon. members: Nay.

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Nay
Opposed

Mr. Kevin Lamoureux

Apr/30/24 3:52:47 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, on the same point of order, I would ask for unanimous consent to table an editorial, in which the leader of the Conservative Party is advised that he should “steer clear of far-right extremists”. It says, “[The leader of the Conservative Party] did tell the group of protesters to 'keep—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Apr/30/24 3:53:04 p.m.
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We are not going to start a debate on the issue. It has absolutely nothing to do with the affairs of government.

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Mr. Taylor Bachrach

Apr/30/24 3:53:26 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, also on the same point of order, because we are talking about clarity, I believe the parliamentary secretary referred to an incorrect name for the organization in question. He called it “Diagonal”. Just so that we are all on the side of the angles, I want to make sure—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Apr/30/24 3:53:41 p.m.
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We are not going to start that debate. It has nothing to do with the business of government. The hon. member for Kelowna—Lake Country.

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Mrs. Tracy Gray

Apr/30/24 3:53:49 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, thank you for clarifying that we are here to talk about the business of government and budget 2024. It has been such a balm of the government. It has had photo ops all across the country, but it has been an absolute failure. The government thought that rolling out the budget in advance, piece by piece, would have a huge uptake in the love of the budget, and that is absolutely not what has happened. We are debating the budget here today. I spoke quite a bit about all of the issues that have been created by deficit spending, and it is not working. Nine years of deficit spending is not working, and it is crushing Canadians' bank accounts.

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Mr. Mario Beaulieu (La Pointe-de-l'Île, BQ)

Apr/30/24 3:54:38 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, in this budget, we see a lot of interference in the jurisdictions of Quebec and the provinces. Take, for example, pharmacare and dental insurance. Quebec already has such programs, but the government refuses to provide the right to compensation. What does my colleague think about that?

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Mrs. Tracy Gray

Apr/30/24 3:55:00 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, what is really interesting is that the Liberal government seems to feel that, if it takes something over, it will be more cost-effective and more efficient, there will be less red tape and it will run better. In fact, it is the exact opposite. We have seen that with everything it touches, whether it is internal services or the programs it creates. I really do not have confidence at all in the government taking on programs. We see, even within government departments, how they are not even meeting their own service standards internally. A lot of the programs they have taken on have not worked and have failed in many ways. Whatever Liberals touch they seem to break.

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Mr. Mike Morrice (Kitchener Centre, GP)

Apr/30/24 3:55:51 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the member for Kelowna—Lake Country made some really important remarks to the minister at the human resources committee yesterday, pointing out the extent to which folks with disabilities are living in legislated poverty. I appreciate that she made those comments. If there is a Conservative government one day in the future and the Canada disability benefit was in place at a level that would lift folks with disabilities out of poverty, in that situation, is that a benefit that would remain in place over time?

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Mrs. Tracy Gray

Apr/30/24 3:56:24 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-22

Madam Speaker, the hon. member was at committee yesterday and asked some really good questions of the government and asked for documents. I look forward to those documents coming to the committee. Conservatives on this side supported the disability benefit from the very beginning. We did not do anything to withhold the legislation. In fact, we did as much as we could to expedite it when it was debated at committee. It was Bill C-22 and we supported it right from the very beginning.

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