- Member of Parliament
- Member of Parliament
- Conservative
- Kelowna—Lake Country
- British Columbia
- Voting Attendance: 68%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $131,412.70
- Government Page
- May/30/24 12:55:45 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, that was a great intervention from my colleague. I have a quick question.
One of the numbers that she brought up was how much the average family would save by having the carbon tax, excise tax and GST rebate over the summer. We also know that there are reports that the average family will be spending $700 more on food this year, so the costs just keep going up.
How big a difference would the tax holiday make to families?
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- May/10/24 11:32:13 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, after nine years of the NDP-Liberal government, deficit spending caused skyrocketing inflation, which caused higher interest rates, which are causing higher mortgage payments. The Bank of Canada confirmed that the Prime Minister's wasteful spending is keeping interest rates higher for longer. Now the Bank of Canada is warning, when compared with origination, that the median mortgage payment will rise more than 20% in 2025 and 30% in 2026. Families cannot afford this.
Will the government stop its deficit spending so families can keep their homes?
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- 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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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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- Apr/15/24 3:03:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, through eight years of NDP-Liberal deficit spending, the Liberals caused the higher interest rates, which are causing people's mortgages to go up. Families are slashing their budgets just to be able to afford their mortgages in order to hang on to their homes.
This year, Canada will spend $54 billion servicing Liberal debt. This is more money than the government sends to the provinces for health care. A dollar-for-dollar rule would fix the budget and bring down interest rates. The NDP-Liberal Prime Minister is just not worth the cost.
Will the Prime Minister reverse eight years of deficit spending and implement a dollar-for-dollar rule?
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- Dec/11/23 2:12:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, families in my community of Kelowna—Lake Country are looking forward to Christmas, but they are increasingly concerned about the cost of Christmas dinner.
The NDP-Liberal government's high tax, inflationary deficit-spending agenda has caused food prices to skyrocket. Food bank usage in Canada is higher than ever before. A food bank in my community has seen Christmas hamper sign-ups increase by 32% over last year, and they are expecting a 100% additional increase in demand over the next few months. Food banks themselves have been hit with higher prices on the food they purchase. Canada's Food Price Report 2024 predicts that the average family will spend $700 more on food in 2024. The Prime Minister is just not worth the cost.
After eight years, his carbon tax, as it flows through the entire food supply chain, has proven to directly make food more expensive. Will the Prime Minister finally cancel his carbon tax so Canadians can have a meal to share with their families this Christmas?
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- Dec/4/23 2:54:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, inflation is caused by the Prime Minister's deficit spending. The Bank of Montreal's chief economist explained that inflation is the new villain, fuelling the fires of Canada's housing hell. Rents have skyrocketed 8.2% year over year, the fastest pace since 1983. Rents are up and mortgages are up. Inflation is up and interest rates are up. The Prime Minister is just not worth the cost.
After eight years, when will the NDP-Liberal government stop its deficit spending so people can keep a roof over their head?
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Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner.
It is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the constituents in my riding of Kelowna—Lake Country.
We are debating Bill C-56. The NDP-Liberal government continually fails to address the real issues that it has caused for all Canadians. It says the bill will somehow bring down the cost of living and grocery prices.
People in my community are struggling to pay their bills and put food on the table. Food bank usage is the highest it has ever been, with over 30% more clients year over year. This is consistent across the country and also in my community. People with disabilities and seniors on fixed incomes are hit particularly hard.
Instead of cutting the carbon tax and government spending, which is driving up inflation, the Liberal-NDP government believes that implementing Bill C-56 would somehow solve the inflated cost of living and grocery price issue.
There is a lack of competition in Canada's grocery industry, an industry held mostly by Loblaws, Sobeys and Metro, and this is a problem the bill would not solve. We have already seen the Prime Minister and the government fail at keeping their promises, like having cheaper groceries before Thanksgiving. That date has long come and gone.
Canadians are faced with higher costs than many other developed countries due to a lack of competition, whether in industries like grocery, airline, banking or telecommunications. High taxes, bureaucracy and red tape make Canada unproductive and uncompetitive. The Liberals added a second carbon fee, basically a second carbon tax. Saying the legislation takes some kind of stand against grocery stores is nothing short of performative with a nice title.
The policies of the NDP-Liberal coalition, with its inflationary deficit spending and high-tax agenda, has caused our inflation rate to be as high as it has been, and continues to be, which has caused the highest interest rates in a generation. The legislation is trying to deal with problems created by the government without addressing any of the causes. It is as if we are walking along and someone trips us and while we are lying on the ground looking up, that individual puts his or her hand out and asks to help us up. Meanwhile we would be thinking that if that person had not tripped us in the first place we would not be on the ground.
The NDP-Liberal coalition thinks that taxing farmers who grow our food, taxing transport trucks that move our food and then taxing grocery stores that sell our food has nothing to do with inflation. We have to remember that it was the Liberal finance minister who had declared victory on inflation only to see it go higher.
We also have to remember that inflation is compounding. Most people are familiar with compounding interest on their investments. However, this is the harmful kind of compounding, because it means things cost more.
For a 3% inflation, for example, that is 3% on top of last year, where during the same month it could have been 8%, as we were seeing in 2022. Therefore, the inflation rate this year is 3% plus 8%, which is 11%, but is even more because it is compounded compared to two years ago.
The Governor of the Bank of Canada said that inflation was homegrown and that it was costing the average Canadian $3,500 a year. That is not per family; it is per person. No wonder people are having trouble heating their homes. They were last winter and we are seeing them have a tough time again this year.
I send multiple surveys each year to every home in my community of Kelowna—Lake Country, and it is amazing the huge amount of people who respond to them. A recent one was this past summer. Here are the results: 70% say they are buying fewer groceries; 81% say they are taking fewer trips; 78% say they are donating less to charity; and 89% say they are putting less into savings. Many people also put detailed notes, sharing their ideas, solutions and heartbreaking stories with me.
The John Howard Society of Okanagan and Kootenay has stated that it is now having clients come to its organization saying that they have just lost their homes and do not know what to do. Now the organization does not know how to support these people because it was not built for the capacity it is now seeing.
It is no surprise that people cannot afford a home when the price of homes and rent in Canada has doubled over the last eight years of the NDP-Liberal government. It used to take 25 years to pay off a mortgage. Now it takes 25 years to save for a mortgage.
Saving for the average mortgage for the average home used to take five and a half years before the Liberal government. A recent C.D. Howe Institute study determined that in Vancouver, nearly $1.3 million of the cost of an average home is government gatekeepers adding unnecessary red tape. That means that over 60% of the price of a home in Vancouver is due to delays, fees, regulations, taxes and high-priced consultants.
The NDP-Liberal government has poured billions of dollars into housing programs and there is little to show for it. Removing the GST from home construction was proposed in a private member's bill by the leader of the official opposition. The difference between what he was proposing and what this bill would do is that this bill would help, but it is not focused on affordability like the official opposition member's bill is.
When I am home in my community at many different activities and events, a top issue many people bring to me is the increasing cost of their mortgage payments and how it is affecting their families and families they know. I was talking to a dad who said his mortgage just increased by over $1,000 a month. Another person, who has three kids, reached out. He is the sole income-earner for the family as his wife stays home to look after the kids. He was looking for any tax credits for kids' fitness and other activities, something I had to tell him the Liberals cancelled.
The latest MNP consumer debt index shows 51% of Canadians are $200 or less away from not being able to complete their financial obligations. It said, “Facing a combination of rising debt carrying costs, living expenses and concern over the potential for continued interest rate and price hikes, many Canadians are stretched uncomfortably close to broke. There is no mystery as to what is causing Canadians’ bleak debt outlook: it’s getting increasingly difficult to make ends meet.”
A recent survey released by financial firm Edward Jones Canada said, “Canadians are stuck in a chaotic whirlwind of personal financial stress,” and, “The poll clearly shows that Canadians are so preoccupied with just getting through the day, that the idea of paying debt feels like a distant dream.” It also found that 88% of Canadians say their personal financial situation is impacting their well-being.
In addition, 65% of Canadians now say they are concerned about saving for retirement, and 63% are concerned about how to prepare for an unexpected financial event. There are less savings, more concern and more risk. Forced sales events are up 10%, with mortgage defaults climbing, as just reported by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board. It is not just me talking about the financial situation in my riding of Kelowna—Lake Country. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada said that Canadians are now facing the biggest financial challenges of their lives.
The Prime Minister and the NDP-Liberal coalition have really lost touch with Canadians. This bill would assist with one small sliver of an issue with building homes, but it is not a housing affordability bill. As we see now with the fall economic statement and the Liberals being supported by its partner, the NDP, this spending will continue on a path of deficits and keeping inflation and interest rates high. This bill would not address the causes of high food costs, inflation or high interest rates. The Prime Minister is just not worth the cost.
We can send this bill to committee to be studied, and hopefully, some amendments can be made at committee and brought back to the House.
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- Oct/20/23 11:39:07 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, speaking about misinformation, that response has nothing to do with what is actually happening in people's lives.
The latest MNP consumer debt index shows that 51% of Canadians are $200 or less away from not being able to complete their financial obligations. “Facing a combination of rising debt carrying costs, living expenses and concern over the potential for continued interest rate and price hikes, many [Canadians] are stretched uncomfortably close to broke.”
This is Canada after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government. When will the Prime Minister stop his inflationary spending so Canadians can afford to live again?
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- Oct/20/23 11:37:54 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Bloomberg just reported on a recent survey that shows how much Canadians are struggling after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government's inflationary spending. Sixty-five per cent of Canadians now say they are concerned about saving for retirement, and 63% are concerned about how to prepare for an unexpected financial event. It means less savings, more concern, more risk. The Prime Minister is just not worth the cost.
When will the Prime Minister end his inflationary spending so Canadians can plan for their future again?
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- Oct/19/23 2:35:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it has been eight years. What the Liberal member opposite is saying does not match the facts. The Liberal deficit spending has increased inflation, which has increased interest rates.
A resident from my community said that food prices had risen so quickly that she had been left to pray that her garden would be enough to supplement her household of four teenagers.
I used to hear from residents saying that they were hoping they could save for a home one day. Now I am hearing from residents saying that they are praying for a bountiful harvest to feed their family.
The Prime Minister is just not worth the cost. When will the NDP-Liberal government end its inflationary spending so people can feed their families?
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- Oct/19/23 2:34:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, a survey released this morning by the financial firm Edward Jones Canada states that Canadians are stuck in a “chaotic whirlwind of personal finance stress”. It also states, “The poll clearly shows that Canadians are so preoccupied with just getting through the day, that the idea of paying debt feels like a distant dream.” It found that 88% of Canadians are saying that their personal financial situation is affecting their well-being.
The Prime Minister is just not worth the cost. When will he stop his inflationary spending so people can take back control of their lives?
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- Oct/16/23 2:48:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years, the NDP-Liberal government's wasteful inflationary spending is keeping inflation high and causing interest rates to be the highest in a generation.
Canadians are facing tough choices, including whether they have no option other than to sell the family home. A Credit Canada representative told Bloomberg, “selling the house might end up being the only option for some homeowners.” Last week, I heard of a nurse living in her car in the Okanagan.
The Prime Minister is just not worth the cost. When will the Prime Minister finally stop his inflationary spending so Canadians can keep a roof over their head?
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- Sep/29/23 11:39:53 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the OECD says that, in the G7, Canada has the biggest gap between housing prices and wages.
The finance minister said that her plan to bring down inflation is working, yet it has soared to 4%. Mortgage interest costs have also soared now to 31%. It is no wonder Mortgage Professionals Canada's recent survey showed that 48% of young people say they have given up on ever owning a home. The NDP-Liberal government's spending is driving up inflation, which is driving up interest rates, which is driving up mortgage interest costs.
Will the Prime Minister finally stop his inflationary spending so Canadians can keep a roof over their head?
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- Sep/29/23 11:38:32 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, 97% is the percentage of shared income a household would need in order to cover home ownership costs now in Vancouver. This is from a new RBC report, which says that housing affordability in most major Canadian cities is near all-time worst levels.
The Prime Minister also holds the all-time record for incurring more debt during his eight years than all other prime ministers combined. Housing is less affordable than ever. The Prime Minister is just not worth the cost.
Will the Prime Minister finally stop his inflationary spending so Canadians can keep a roof over their head?
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- Sep/21/23 2:43:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, a couple from Langley, British Columbia, who were interviewed said their mortgage payments went up $2,700 a month to $6,300 a month. Now the Liberal finance minister is trying to convince Canadians that her plan to bring down inflation is working. It is not. It just went up again.
After eight years, the NDP-Liberal government's spending has driven up inflation, which has driven up mortgage interest costs by 31%. The Prime Minister is just not worth the cost.
When will the Prime Minister stop his inflationary deficit spending so Canadians can keep a roof over their heads?
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- Jun/8/23 2:53:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal member just does not get it. The government refuses to take any responsibility for what it has done to affect the cost of living of Canadians.
For example, a local food bank in my community told me that they registered 294 new households in March alone, with the fastest-growing demographic needing help being two-parent, working households. Inflationary deficits are crushing families' finances.
When will the Prime Minister give people hope and end the inflationary deficit spending so that Canadians can afford to stay in their homes?
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- Jun/8/23 2:52:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Liberal deficits and spending have caused inflation to reach a 40-year high, which caused interest rates to reach a 22-year high. These rates will cause mortgage defaults.
We have made-in-Canada inflation, and people cannot afford the government. We need to stop fuelling the inflationary fire, stop interest rates from going up and stop people from losing their homes.
When will the Prime Minister stop his inflationary deficit spending?
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- Jun/7/23 2:18:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, 46% of Canadians say they are in worse shape financially than they were last June, according to a new Angus Reid poll, and three in 10 people are struggling to get by. Meanwhile, 54% of renters and 45% of mortgage holders say they are finding their monthly payments for housing either tough or very difficult to manage.
This morning, the Bank of Canada raised interest rates again in an attempt to slow Liberal made-in-Canada inflation, yet the Liberal budget will continue to cause high inflation, keeping interest rates high and squeezing families with several tax increases. It has no plan to balance in the years to come and adds more than $60 billion in new spending, which will cost $4,200 per family.
Canadians cannot afford the Liberals' inflationary deficits; food, housing and personal debt have all hit record highs. The Prime Minister must give Canadians a plan to end inflationary deficits to bring down inflation and interest rates. However, if he will not, a Conservative government will.
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- Apr/27/23 5:02:23 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is always a privilege to rise on behalf of the residents of Kelowna—Lake Country.
Budget 2023 is titled, on the cover, “A Made-in-Canada Plan”. There is no doubt that this is a Liberal made-in-Canada plan. It features made-in-Canada tax hikes, made-in-Canada inflation, made-in-Canada debt and made-in-Canada deficits.
Budget 2023 would do nothing to make essential government services work as Canadians deserve them to, nor to make ministers and department heads accountable. The Liberal-NDP plan would continue to devalue the paycheques of hard-working people, continue to inflate the costs of gas, groceries and home heating, and continue to cut into the earnings of young families and the savings of seniors through higher taxes and high interest rates.
According to a forecast prepared by the Parliamentary Budget Officer ahead of the budget, the cost of servicing our federal debt was already on course to jump from $24.5 billion to $46 billion by 2028. This is money that would no longer be available to invest in areas Canadians want to see investments in, such as health care, national security and public safety.
A Nanos poll showed 71% of Canadians are concerned with the government's deficits, but the Liberals obviously are not listening to Canadians. It is a budget that devalues the hard work that residents in my community and all Canadians do every day and deflates what our seniors have saved for, while burdening future generations by paying more to service the federal debt instead of paying into the government services and programs that Canadians deserve from their tax dollars.
The Conservatives were clear in what we wanted to see from this budget. First was lower taxes so that workers can bring home powerful paycheques. I am hearing from many of my residents that they are having their work punished through higher taxes, reducing the value of the take-home pay they earn. Second was to bring home lower prices by ending the inflationary debt and deficits that drive inflation and interest rates. The Prime Minister has doubled the national debt, incurring more debt than all past prime ministers combined, with only a portion of that being attributed to COVID programs. Last, we called on the government to tackle the gatekeepers who lock up land, slow down permits and block the next generation from the dream of owning their own homes. Nine in 10 Canadians who do not own a home today say they do not believe they will ever be able to afford one.
These were common-sense measures that a majority of Canadians support. Sadly, the Liberals chose not to proceed with any of them. Budget 2023 will leave Canadians overtaxed, with billions more in debt and at the mercy of continuing inflation.
Leading up to the budget release, the Liberals were talking about fiscal restraint, but it is not just dictionary definitions they are ignoring; the Liberals have broken the promises they made in 2022. The budget abandons the path for balance the finance minister projected just six months ago. It seems like every time the Liberals table a fiscal update or budget, they reference that they will go into deficit in the short term, but they tell us not to worry and to be happy, as everything will be all right. However, here we are eight years later hearing the same tune.
Promises from the Minister of Finance last year to pay off pandemic debt and lower our debt-to-GDP ratio have also been abandoned. Our debt-to-GDP ratio is up. Government spending is now $120 billion higher than prepandemic spending. Budget 2023 promises to find billions in savings in government operations, yet budget 2022's strategic policy review, aimed at finding $9 billion in savings, has already been cancelled. There is no reason to believe the Liberals on this. Just like people's paycheques are evaporating, trust in the government is also evaporating.
Members can just look at the numbers. The consumer debt index shows that British Columbians are the most likely to be on the brink of financial difficulty. The eight consecutive hikes in interest rates to manage Liberal made-in-Canada inflation have left 61% of British Columbians saying they will be in real financial trouble if interest rates go up any higher.
Many people are already saying they are pulling money from their savings just to survive. Polling from Nanos shows 40% of Canadians believe the new federal budget would do a “poor” or “very poor” job of addressing their concerns.
However, I do not need polls to tell me what I hear from residents in my community daily regarding the cost of living. A family in my community put out a public call for empty bottles or cans so they could collect from neighbours because they needed financial help to take their dog to the vet. A local senior recently told me she would like to live alone but has to live with three other people just to get by.
The carbon tax is now 14¢ per litre on Canadians' gas and heating bills. The fiction long peddled by the government of carbon tax rebates covering the cost for families was finally exposed by the Parliamentary Budget Officer. His report showed that the carbon tax will cost the average family between $402 and $847 in 2023 after receiving rebates. Even the Greenpeace activist environment minister agrees that we will be further behind, yet he chooses to hike his carbon tax anyway while missing every GHG emissions target.
Local wineries, breweries, cideries and distilleries in the Okanagan and across Canada are still having their bottom lines eaten away by the excise tax increase of 2%. I met with a local craft distiller in my community who said this will represent a $60,000 hit to his bottom line. That is $60,000 in one year. The government's doubling down on increases in carbon taxes, payroll taxes and excise tax increases leaves families and small businesses poorer.
The Liberals' made-in-Canada inflation continues to take a human toll, as one in five Canadians is skipping meals and food banks are barely keeping up with rising demand. I recently visited the Lake Country Food Bank, where Joy, the executive director, told me that usage is up 36%.
Canadian grocery bills are expected to increase. Canada's 2023 food price report predicts that a family of four will spend up to $1,065 more on food this year. Also, the Liberal made-in-Canada interest rate increases will add $300, $400, $500, $600, $700 or more to mortgage payments per month. Rents will continue to increase as interest rates get passed on to renters.
Anyone receiving some type of government rebate, which means giving people back the tax they pay after it churns through the federal bureaucracy, will see it evaporate. We need a budget that actually helps reduce inflation.
I will also mention, as a shadow minister with employment in her portfolio, that I am disappointed the government is not fulfilling its commitment to reforming EI, as in the minister's mandate letter. This is leading to uncertainty for workers and businesses.
Canada’s housing crisis continues to be of great concern to residents of mine, but the government's new tax-free first home savings account, a new TFSA, is completely useless if one does not have any money to put in it. It is so out of touch.
A recent Angus Reid poll showed that fully one in three Canadians is either in “bad” or ”terrible” shape financially, and 35% are deferring or not making contributions to an RRSP or a TFSA, an increase of 13% since September. However, creating a new TFSA is apparently the bold and innovative idea the Liberals have for addressing the housing crisis.
Since the current federal government took office, the average down payment needed to buy the average house has doubled. The average mortgage payment has doubled. The average cost of rent has doubled. It is no wonder that in a recent Ipsos poll, more than 60% of Canadians who presently do not own a home have given up on ever owning one. Even for those who do, maintaining ownership has become more difficult, with the Bank of Canada holding interest rates and not ruling out more increases. Also, CMHC, in January 2023 data, showed new housing builds at the lowest level since 2020, and Canada now has the lowest number of housing units per 1,000 residents of any G7 country.
This is Canada. This is not the country I grew up in, which had endless opportunities. There was hope. As leaders, we need to give hope and show results, and this budget does neither.
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