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Decentralized Democracy

Member of Parliament

Hon. Judy A. Sgro

  • Member of Parliament
  • Liberal
  • Humber River—Black Creek
  • Ontario
  • Voting Attendance: 65%
  • Expenses Last Quarter: $134,163.57

  • Government Page
Context: House Hansard - 257 - Nov/28/23
Hon. Judy A. Sgro (Humber River—Black Creek, Lib.)
  • Nov/28/23 4:24:43 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to stand today for a few minutes and speak about this bill that is here as an opposition day motion. I found the conversation actually quite comical as I was observing it. I will be sharing my time with the member for Lac-Saint-Louis. Rather than indulge the Conservative partisan attacks on the pollution price, let us talk about what matters most to all Canadians. That is our economic plan that will support the middle class and build more homes faster, which the minister introduced last week and that really tackles so many issues when we talk about affordability and what matters to Canadians right now. It is putting bread on the table and having a roof over people's heads. Those are things that our government has, since 2015, worked on extensively. I am very proud of what has been done to ensure that there is bread on the table for thousands of people. Without some of the programs we introduced, that would be a seriously problem for them today. As everyone saw last week, our government continues to deliver an economic plan that supports a strong middle class. It is something we have been working on since 2015, to enforce that, so the middle class has access to good jobs and good housing. We are building more homes faster; taking concrete action to help stabilize prices, which is critically important; making life more affordable; and protecting Canadians with mortgages, which is something that many are very worried about. Canadians did not expect the interest rate to go up to what it is today. I reflect back on the first house we bought. The interest rate was 6% and I remember thinking how bad that was. It was not much longer after that it ended up at 19%. We are very wary of what mortgage rates are and the impacts they have on Canadians. The minister has introduced a plan to work with the banks to help Canadians and protect them from that. Simply put, we are taking action on the priorities that matter most to Canadians today, and we are doing so in a way that is fiscally responsible. Our government's economic plan is very responsible and I am very proud of what is in it. In the face of global inflation, our government has reduced the deficit faster than any other country in the G7. In fact, Canada maintains both the lowest deficit and net debt-to-GDP ratios in the G7. If someone were to listen to question period, they would think that doom and gloom was everywhere, that the world was caving in and that nothing was moving forward. Canada is in a very good fiscal position because of some of the investments we have made. With inflation down from 8.1% last year to 3.1% last month, we are taking care not to feed inflation by carefully targeting new investments toward the priorities of Canadians today, and toward the future growth that makes our finances sustainable. This includes, through new reductions in government spending as part of last week's fall economic statement, building on the $15 billion in public service spending reductions that we announced in the spring. It was not only about how we were helping people in a monetary way, whether it was building homes or making other changes, but it was the spending reduction of $15 billion, which was significant. Clearly, the opposition rarely mentions that $15 billion. We were able to do that at the same time as focusing on the stuff that matters the most, which is increasing the number of homes that will get built. We are ensuring that Canada's finances remain sustainable because that is how we will be able to continue investing in Canadians. Not only is our economic plan fiscally responsible, but it is clearly working. Canada's unemployment rate for the last 21 months has been lower than at any time between 2006 to 2015. Over a million more Canadians are employed today compared to before the pandemic. Wages have outpaced inflation for the past nine months. Private sector economists now expect Canada to avoid the recession that so many had predicted. The International Monetary Fund projects Canada to see the strongest economic growth in the G7 next year. That is a very important statement and is very much contrary to much of what we hear from the opposition, which never wants to say anything good, only finding ways to say something that would bring the country down, making people worried and concerned about the future. According to the OECD, in the first half of this year, Canada received the third-most foreign direct investment of any country in the world and the highest per capita in the G7, again. Now, I know that perhaps that sounds overly positive. We know that for many Canadians, this remains a challenging time. We need to assure Canadians that their government is making the right investments and that Canada is the envy of many parts of the world. Higher housing costs and still-elevated consumer prices are putting pressure on families every single month. To combat inflation around the world, the world's central banks have implemented the steepest series of interest rate increases in decades. These interest rate increases have led to a slowing of the Canadian economy and, frankly, the slowing of the global economy. It is not just about Canada. Canada does not live in isolation. We are part of the global economy. That is why having an economic plan that is fiscally responsible is so very important. By continuing our commitment to responsible fiscal management, we are able to continue helping Canadians navigate these economic headwinds. Our government's support for the middle class did not begin in response to the pandemic and Canada's quick recovery from the COVID recession. Since 2015, as I mentioned earlier, we have been investing in Canadians, ranging from the Canada child benefit, which my riding has benefited from by at least $14 million, to enhanced benefits and pensions for seniors, to stronger public health care and a Canada-wide system of affordable early learning and child care. The issue of early learning child care is that it clearly allows many of the women in our country who were not able to go to work to have affordable child care and be able to move on with their own careers, which just makes Canada stronger. These foundational investments have supported Canadians' incomes and higher numbers of Canadians participating in the labour force, including a record number of working-age women. Historic investments in infrastructure and Canada's growing clean economy will have both short- and long-term economic benefits, helping to create good careers and vibrant communities, and grow our economy for decades to come. I have met many women, especially when campaigning, out knocking on doors. I talked to many women about how they wanted, so much, to be able to go to work and to have a career. However, having their children was a holdback, and now having affordable child care really opened the door for them, whether it is on a part-time or full-time basis. It allowed them to start pursuing a career. Not only does a strong federal balance sheet allow our government to make the necessary investments to strengthen our social safety net and improve Canadians' quality of life, but it also gives the government the ability to respond to future challenges. This was not an accident. This was part of a bigger plan from 2015. Since emerging from the pandemic, the government has maintained a commitment to its fiscal anchor, reducing federal debt as a share of the economy over the medium term. This metric is key not only for fiscal sustainability, but also to preserve Canada's AAA credit rating that helps maintain investors' confidence and keeps Canada's borrowing costs as low as possible. Our economic plan, outlined in the recent fall economic statement, delivers on our fiscal anchor, enabling Canada's federal debt-to-GDP ratio to decline from 2024-25 onwards.
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