- Member of Parliament
- Minister of Small Business
- Liberal
- Mississauga—Streetsville
- Ontario
- Voting Attendance: 67%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $101,328.92
- Government Page
- Oct/24/23 2:49:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, speaking of entrepreneurs, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for joining me in attending events for programs our government has funded, which Conservative colleagues have voted against. He was able to see the real, live, tangible examples of success stories.
Our government believes in empowering young entrepreneurs and has committed nearly $60 million to future entrepreneurs who provide loans, mentorship and education to Canadian entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 39.
Now that my hon. colleague has witnessed the benefits of our investments, perhaps he and the Conservatives can stop voting against support for young entrepreneurs, which will take Canada backward.
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- Oct/23/23 2:26:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as a former small business owner myself, I know that small businesses are the backbone of these communities. As a small business owner, I am glad the Conservatives are not in charge. Small businesses would not be saving $1 billion in credit card transaction fees. Women entrepreneurs would not have $7 billion of investment through our women entrepreneurship strategy, nor the $10-a-day child care that has put more women into the work force.
The Conservatives have been voting against these efforts to support small businesses, including women entrepreneurs. They are not worth the risk.
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- Sep/29/22 4:03:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there is so much we can do, like advocating here in the House. As I said in my speech, I just want all of us to come together. Let us move forward so that we can get Bill C-22 passed.
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- Sep/29/22 4:02:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, CPP and EI contributions are for working Canadians, to assist them with their retirement. We will create a safety net for Canadians through this to support them in case their lose their jobs.
Unlike the Conservatives, our government has a plan that will save the planet, create growth and make life more affordable.
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- Sep/29/22 4:00:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to clarify that we are leading the world on the price of pollution and we do care about seniors. The money that I am talking about would put more money into the pockets of all Canadians, including seniors. The fact remains that these new taxes the Conservative motion alludes to simply do not exist.
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- Sep/29/22 3:59:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to clarify that we are helping families weather inflationary impacts by putting more money back into their pockets this year, including our government's plan to put a price on pollution, which is designed so that the majority of households receive more in climate action payments and help multiple Canadians across the country. For example, the payments will be $745 in Ontario, $830 in Manitoba, $1,100 in Saskatchewan and $1,080 in Alberta. This is real money that will go into the pockets of Canadians and support them further.
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- Sep/29/22 3:54:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Châteauguay—Lacolle.
Today's motion deals with affordability, so I see this as an opportunity to discuss poverty. Recently in the House, we debated Bill C-22. The intent of that bill is to lift Canadians out of poverty and to help make things affordable for persons with disabilities. Allow me to explain why Bill C-22 must continue forward. I am disappointed that the Conservatives stopped a unanimous consent motion to move Bill C-22 to committee yesterday. It is my sincere hope that they will explain their reasoning to Canadians.
In the past, the disability community has often been left out or even forgotten. Since forming government in 2015, we have worked tirelessly to include the disability community in policy-making from the start. We are bold in taking action to ensure that no one is left behind, so that everyone feels like a fully participating member of society. Despite all the efforts and achievements of the past few years, the pandemic has taught us some really hard lessons, one of them being that we need to do more to make life affordable for working-age persons with disabilities. Bill C-22 would help address these issues. It aims to create the Canada disability benefit, which would add to the financial assistance already available from provinces and territories.
Guillaume Parent is the president and founder of the wealth management firm Finandicap, which specializes in financial services for persons with disabilities. Originally founded in Quebec City, Finandicap now operates across Canada.
In an interview with the CBC, Mr. Parent said that people are suffering a lot, especially because of the rising cost of living. His clients often face extra costs for adaptive housing, public transit and personal support workers. As a person living with cerebral palsy himself, this is his lived reality. All of the expenses he lists make life less affordable and push the poverty line higher for persons with disabilities. In Quebec, disability benefits are indexed to inflation and, in Mr. Parent's view, the problem is that these increases take effect long after prices have already gone up. Mr. Parent adds that governments need to recognize and adapt to this reality. This is what we are trying to achieve through Bill C-22.
In my riding of Mississauga—Streetsville, Luso Canadian Charitable Society is an incredible organization that helps Canadians with disabilities and provides critical services to many members of our local community. Luso provides a safe, supportive and caring environment for individuals and supports families living with physical or developmental disabilities. A month ago, I had the amazing opportunity to celebrate one of Luso's members, Paul, who turned 60, which is an incredible milestone to achieve. I was happy to celebrate his birthday with him.
We recognize that we have a responsibility to do more for Canadians. Working-age persons with disabilities need our help. Bill C-22 would supplement, not replace, other government programs. If Bill C-22 moves forward, then the Canada disability benefit would be introduced. The Canada disability benefit would make life more affordable for hundreds of thousands of persons with disabilities by lifting them out of poverty.
We are working hard to give all Canadians a little breathing room. In fact, we recently announced that we will be putting in place additional measures to make life more affordable for Canadians who need them most. Those measures would do things like double the GST credit for six months and provide a one-time top-up to the Canada housing benefit to deliver $500 to 1.8 million Canadian renters who are struggling with the cost of housing.
The bottom line is that we are doing the work to help make life more affordable for Canadians across the country, and that includes hundreds of thousands of persons with disabilities. In the spirit of affordability and in the spirit of lifting Canadians out of poverty, Bill C-22 must continue to move forward. Working-age Canadians with disabilities depend on it.
For my Conservative colleagues, it is time to get back to work so that we can pass a bill like Bill C-22 to help those who need it most.
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- Sep/29/22 11:45:22 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, our government is working to put money back in the pockets of Canadians, as the member mentioned, by doubling the GST tax credit. Our government has supported businesses and Canadians through the pandemic and has helped Canadian families with affordable child care.
Does my colleague believe that this motion demonstrates a concrete plan to make life more affordable for Canadians?
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