- Member of Parliament
- Member of Parliament
- Conservative
- Saskatoon—Grasswood
- Saskatchewan
- Voting Attendance: 67%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $133,761.32
- Government Page
- Nov/24/23 11:35:20 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight long years of the Liberal government, Canadians by the millions are depending today on food banks. However, on Tuesday, the NDP-Liberal government released its mini-budget, adding another $20 billion in inflationary spending.
The Prime Minister is not worth the cost. When will the government cut the line of credit so that Canadians can afford to heat, eat and keep a roof over their heads?
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Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure and honour to rise in this place, even when it is time to speak on yet another poorly prepared Liberal budget, as I am here to do tonight.
Budget day used to be the most exciting day of the year in the House of Commons, but it fell flat. It was ridiculous. The finance minister stood up, green dress, saying everything is fine in Canada. Well, this just in: It is not fine in Canada. To the contrary, this country is in massive trouble and a difficult economic position. Canadian families are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet, and businesses are struggling every day just to keep their doors open because of the carbon tax, which is one of the reasons I am hearing in my province of Saskatchewan.
I will agree that 2022 was a year of high inflation, massive deficits, a rising cost of living and tax hikes, and 2023 looks like it will be much of the same. I remember that not a long time ago, the finance minister said we would have deficit inflation. The member for Carleton, in the House, for over two years, signalled there was going to be massive inflation. The member for Carleton was right. When we continue to spend and spend, as this government has done, we are going to get inflation trouble, and that is what happened in 2022.
We are in an economic crisis that has impacted Canadians across regions and all age groups. As we have mentioned in the House a lot, one in five Canadians is skipping meals. The average rent in this country has nearly doubled in the last eight years. The down payment needed to buy a house has now doubled, and inflation continues to drive grocery prices higher and higher. For young Canadians, the dream of starting a family or even owning their own house is getting further and further out of reach.
For many families, there is a growing reliance on food banks, and I see it in my city of Saskatoon. More and more families each month, unfortunately, arrive at the food bank looking for food to tide them over for a paycheque or at the end of the month. We have never seen the numbers so high in my city. Saskatchewan is the economic engine right now of this country, yet we have many families visiting the food bank in my city. It is really tough right now to put gas in vehicles or even sign kids up for sports. Many seniors living on fixed incomes are having to choose between filling the fridge and paying the rent.
We had a constituency week two weeks ago. I have the largest number of seniors facilities in Saskatchewan. That is right: Saskatoon—Grasswood is number one in Saskatchewan for seniors facilities. I spent a lot of time visiting them over the two-week period, and everything is going up: food, rent and heat. In fact, at one facility, which I will not name, during the round table, seniors told me that rent was going up $15 a month. Last year, that facility did not raise the price of rent, but it had to raise it this year, in 2023, by $15. For many, that is a drive-through trip at Tim Hortons. However, these seniors were stressed out over the $15 extra they are going to be paying next month on their rent. That speaks volumes about what has happened in this country.
We emerged from a financial crisis in 2007-08 with a stronger economy than any other country in the G7. Our economy was growing steadily because it was competitive. We were aggressively exploring international trade. We had a government focused on fiscal restraint. However, we have lost that. We have lost our competitiveness.
Just today, a story in a newspaper in Saskatchewan said that Vital Metals has halted construction of rare earths at the University of Saskatchewan. That is the same facility where, about six weeks ago, the Prime Minister was gladly sharing photos. He was there at Vital Metals. Well, now it is shut down. This is the sort of economy we are losing not only in Saskatoon and Saskatchewan, but certainly across the country.
What happened? What changed between 2015 and now that has led to the massive economic problems we see? Well, I think we can all point to 2015, when the Liberals came to power in October. Do we remember the early promise that they would just have small deficits that would be gone within three years? What has that turned out to be? It is massive deficits blown right out of the water.
We are eight years into the Liberal government's reign, and it has added more debt to the books than any other prime minister in the history of this country for over 150-plus years. It has blown that out in eight short years. Fiscal restraint, as members know, has been thrown right out the window, has led to record levels of inflation and has certainly driven up interest rates.
It was interesting listening to the finance minister as she was preparing for the budget, because a month before she made the announcement that everything would be fine and the Liberals would haul in their spending and control it, she was talking to the banks in the country. They all said she needed to reel in spending, so we were prepared for that. Wow, did Canadians get a surprise when she announced the budget that day in this House.
What does the finance minister propose to do to fix the problems her government has created? Unfortunately, it is more of the same, as we found out the day the budget came out.
This year, the minister proposed to tack on another $43 billion to the debt, with no path at all to balance the budget. When the Liberals came to Parliament as government in 2015, they said that after three years they would balance everything. However, eight years in and they have not even come close to balancing the budget.
The finance minister also proposed to continue to raise taxes, including the carbon tax. By 2030, which is seven years away, the government's two carbon taxes could add 50¢ per litre to the price of gas. Diesel in this country is roughly about $1.80 and is going to be over two dollars again this summer. Then we will all sit here and bark about why food prices have gone up. Well, it is because of the transportation costs the government is imposing with its carbon tax. As we have seen from coast to coast, the carbon tax is adding to everyday expenses.
What should we do? Well, any plan should focus on three pillars. On this side of the House, for the last eight years, we have talked about lowering taxes, tackling high inflation and removing the government gatekeepers that make it more difficult to get business done here in Canada. We have seen that. I just mentioned that Vital Metals is closing today in Saskatoon.
We need to lower taxes. At a time when so many Canadians are already struggling to make ends meet, the obvious first step is to make sure they have more money in their pockets. Then they can pay down their debt and maybe enjoy a vacation, something the Prime Minister casually goes on every two or three months. Normal Canadians are cutting back on vacations. In a recent survey, we heard that six in 10 will not be taking a vacation this summer as it is simply too expensive.
This year, a family of four is going to spend over $1,000 more on food. A family will also pay between $402 and $847 because of the carbon tax, even after the rebate. The government says that it will all be revenue-neutral, but the Parliamentary Budget Officer knows too well that in my home province of Saskatchewan it is not revenue-neutral.
We are concerned in this country. We are concerned because of the out-of-control spending and the growing deficit we are seeing in this country of $1.22 trillion. I cannot add that up fast enough for every household. The average Canadian household share is now $81,000. How are we going to get this down? I think that is the biggest area of concern for the next Conservative government, because Canadians want to get the debt down and are looking forward to a new Conservative government to show them the way.
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Madam Speaker, it is an honour to speak to the fall economic statement this afternoon.
I have to say that I am, along with many Canadians, deeply disappointed in the fall economic statement because it was an opportunity to provide real leadership to Canadians, give relief to small businesses in this country and take action to address the rising costs we are seeing coast to coast to coast.
It seems that the Deputy Prime Minister has forgotten that we are in the worst cost of living crisis we have seen in a generation. Inflation, as we have talked about for months in the House, is at a 40-year high. Gas prices are still at record levels, especially diesel. Housing is more expensive than it has ever been.
Where did this crisis start? This time, the Liberals cannot blame the person by the name of Stephen Harper. They have had seven years to correct this. They want to blame global economic conditions, and sure, maybe that has a bit to do with it. However, what is the real root of the inflationary crisis we find ourselves in today? What has made everything worse in this country? The Liberals know, but they do not want to say. They know that the crisis has been caused by years of massive out-of-control Liberal deficit spending.
I was here in 2015 when the Liberals came into power, and Conservatives left them with a balanced budget and a very good economic forecast. That was left to them by a responsible Conservative government. They, in seven years, squandered it. I get it. The Prime Minister could not help himself. His agenda was failing, so he needed to try and buy votes every way he could think of.
However, the chickens have now come home to roost. The price of chicken, by the way, has doubled since the Liberals took office in 2015. All that spending they have done in the last seven years has driven inflation to a 40-year high. Canadians coast to coast to coast are struggling mightily.
Canadians are having to choose between filling their cars with gas, putting food on the table and heating their homes. A paycheque today does not go as far as it used to. Liberal inflation, combined with Liberal tax hikes, means that Canadians need to do more with less.
What does the government propose? It proposes to make everything worse in this country. This economic statement introduces another $20 billion of inflationary spending to drive inflation up even further. It also includes hikes to EI premiums next month and to CPP contributions, taking more money off of everybody's paycheque.
Instead of stopping their tax hikes, the Liberals are pushing forward with their plan to triple the carbon tax in 2023. That is right. In the dead of winter, the Liberals will be raising the cost of fuel, home heating and groceries.
Food bank usage, as we all know, is already at an all-time high in this country, with a 35% increase in the last year. In my city of Saskatoon alone, with a population of about 250,000, about 20,000 people a month visit the food bank. The city of Saskatoon used to be the economic engine of Canada.
Executive director, Laurie O'Connor, admits the numbers she sees coming through her door every day are very concerning. The donations of food and purchasing power have significantly decreased because food is so expensive. It is going to only get worse.
Members may recall that the 13th edition of Canada’s Food Price Report came out yesterday. It says a family of four will see their food bill go up by over $1,000, reaching about $16,000 a year. According to Stuart Smyth from the University of Saskatchewan, who helped in the report that was released yesterday, a family of six will pay over $21,000 in 2023 for food.
The problem is right in front of the Liberals' faces, and they have simply ignored it.
In Saskatchewan, the temperature today hit between -30°C and -40°C, and it is early December. People of my province are trying to figure out what temperature they can afford to set their thermostat to. If we think about it, in the last week in Saskatchewan, it was -30°C to -40°C already, and we are not even at January temperatures.
I want to know what the Prime Minister would say to the families who are already struggling to put food on the table when they see the last few dollars they have being used up when they move the thermostat up. The Prime Minister and the Liberal government has failed those families. They have failed retirees and the people living with disabilities who are on a fixed income.
What should the government be doing today?
First, without question, it should cancel all planned tax hikes and stop any government-mandated increases to the cost of living, with no hikes at all to payroll taxes and no tripling of the carbon tax. Canadians simply cannot afford any more of this Liberal tax increase.
Second, it needs to stop creating new inflationary spending. We know that government spending is only going to make inflation worse. If a minister wants to spend more money, he or she should have to find the equivalent savings in their budgets. Even the Deputy Prime Minister mentioned that a bit in the fall economic report. However, while she did mention it, the Liberals gave the CBC an additional $42 million over two years. Why? It is because the CBC had a tough time during the pandemic.
This is the type of spending that has got to stop in this country. The CBC, the public broadcaster, already gets between $1.2 billion and $1.5 billion, but they will then be given an additional $42 million over two years. Plus, we found out today that it is going to be at the trough when Bill C-18 gets cleared through the House. The public broadcaster will be one of the biggest beneficiaries from Google and Facebook when that bill passes through the House.
When the Prime Minister was first elected he promised that deficits, as we all recall, were not going to exceed $10 billion and that he would balance the budget by 2019. We all know that was a farce.
The pandemic is not the only thing to blame here. Forty per cent of the government's new spending measures had nothing to do with the last two years of COVID. Since coming to power, the Prime Minister has introduced $205 billion in new inflationary spending, which had nothing to do with COVID, and I just mentioned the public broadcaster.
The cost of the interest payments on the federal government's debt has doubled. The payments are nearly as high as the cost of the health transfers to the provinces. Imagine what could be done today if that money were directed elsewhere.
Instead, due to this Liberal mismanagement, we have interest rates that are increasing faster than they have in decades. In fact, we expect another 50 basis points tomorrow by the federal Bank of Canada. Mortgage payments, as we all know, are going sky high. Therefore, anyone who bought a house a few years ago and has to renew their mortgage could pay up to $7,000 more a year. Many Canadians cannot afford that. Some, unfortunately, are losing their homes.
While the Liberals are focused on making the problem worse, Conservatives are going to propose some solutions for Canadians. Instead of printing more money, a Conservative government would create more of what money buys. We will get more homes built and make Canada the quickest place in the world to get a building permit. Young Canadians who have never been able to afford a home and start a family under the Liberals will find a more competitive and more affordable market under our Conservative government.
A Conservative government will make energy more affordable. We will repeal the anti-energy laws and axe the carbon tax. We will not punish Canadians for heating their homes or simply driving their kids to activities, if they can even afford those activities in 2023.
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- Dec/1/22 3:04:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are struggling to make ends meet. The one-time handouts by the Liberal government are not a solution to financial insecurity. The government continues to give its friends lucrative contracts, raising the price on groceries, gas and heating just to subsidize its reckless spending. Canadians are rightly concerned about their financial future.
Will the government finally listen to Canadians and stop its inflationary spending?
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- Oct/17/22 2:11:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, inflation is at a 40-year high. Thanks to the Liberal government's plan, the cost of food, the cost of transportation and home heating is skyrocketing. Now we have learned that home heating prices will go 50% to 100% more this winter.
In my city of Saskatoon, we have seen a dramatic increase in the use of food banks, from 13,000 a month to over 20,000 people a month. Seniors in my constituency are already grappling with day-to-day expenses. The Liberal plan to triple the carbon tax in the new year will only make it more difficult for families and seniors to keep up with the cost of living.
Our new Conservative leader will put people first, will protect their paycheques, their savings, their homes and their country. We will continue to fight this dismal Liberal carbon tax.
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- Mar/30/22 2:04:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the lineups have already started. Canadians will fill up their gas tanks today and tomorrow in advance of the latest price surge. which will take Canadian gas prices to an all-time high. The increase of the federal carbon tax of $50 per tonne will kick in April 1.
Along with the price of gas, the price of everyday essentials will also be going up. Inflation has already surged to 5.7%, the highest in decades, and it is climbing. The majority of Canadians already say they are struggling just to keep up, and it is no wonder. Let us look at food prices. They are up 5.7%. Meat alone is up 10.1%. Bread is up 7.5%. Fresh fruit is up 8.2%.
After Friday, Canadians will be paying even more. When will the NDP-Liberal government realize it is hurting all Canadians?
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