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Dec/6/21 7:13:07 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, spending $1.4 million on a study is important of course, but we are talking about $1 billion. If the minister did not bring the chequebook today, will it be in the budget? It is absolutely essential. It is existential to the Fraser Valley. The minister did not make any reference to negotiating a treaty with the United States regarding the Nooksack River and the Columbia River, through the International Joint Commission. This is very important. We cannot do this alone. We need our American allies with us on this. I would like his comments on that.

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Hon. Bill Blair

Dec/6/21 7:13:40 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have a point of clarification, as perhaps I did not make myself clear in my articulation. What we put in budget 2021 was $1.4 billion for the disaster mitigation and adaptation fund. This is not for a study, but to begin to do some of the important work. I will also tell the member that in Lower Mainland B.C. and Abbotsford, as well as in many places right across the country, we know that work needs to be done. Let me also acknowledge that parts of the United States, which in many ways has been ahead of us on this, have invested in creating a more resilient infrastructure to deal with the potential of disasters in its communities. However, this work is ongoing, with collaboration between our two countries. We recognize that water does not respect international boundaries. It does not flow north to south; it flows downhill. When the Nooksack River overflows its banks, the water tends to head right up the Sumas Prairie. It was not solely responsible for the flooding that took place but was a part of it. We will work with the Government of the United States, Washington state, the B.C. government and the communities impacted to make a difference.

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Mrs. Laila Goodridge (Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, CPC)

Dec/6/21 7:14:54 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am very happy to rise today as I do not feel I received a satisfactory answer from the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development when I asked my question originally. Not only does a child care deal not kick in for about five years, according to the government's own plans, it is completely separate from the issue of inflation. Yes, child care costs are high, but it is not why the cost of gas, home heating, groceries, diapers and pretty much everything else is going up faster than it probably should be. In fact, I would expect that the rising prices across the entire economy will probably get worse as government spending continues to increase. Quite frankly, child care providers will have additional costs put on them if inflation continues to increase. They have to buy groceries for the children. They have to heat their facilities. There are many additional expenditures that will go onto those child care providers, and I am very curious how they will make ends meet. Lowering child care costs is incredibly important for families that have children in need of care, but let us face some very important facts that this is a very small percentage of the population. It will not help people who have no children or families that have older children. It will not help seniors. It will not help the family with the stay-at-home mom or stay-at-home dad. It will not help a family that works shift work whose children need overnight care. So many families are being left behind by those answers, and I really do want to hear what the government is doing with the very real issue that is inflation. Families are coming to me and sharing their concerns about making ends meet this month. While it is wonderful to hear that some plans are in place to help some families, this does not help the senior down the street who is really struggling with the fact that groceries have gone up in price exponentially in the last little while. It does not help the families that are struggling today. Therefore, I really want to hear an answer from the government on how it plans to address this very real concern around inflation.

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Hon. Karina Gould (Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Lib.)

Dec/6/21 7:17:50 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we recognize that inflation is certainly a challenge that families, indeed all Canadians and almost everyone around the world is grappling with right now. It is important to understand the basic premise around inflation. It is not that this is a uniquely Canadian issue. It is happening right around the world. It is caused by challenges with regard to the supply chain, by rising demand, by the fact that we are hopefully coming out of, although continue to be in, one of the worst global health crises that we have ever seen. There are a lot of reasons we are in this challenging situation, but it is abundantly clear that this government has been there for Canadians both before the pandemic and during the pandemic, and we will be there after the pandemic. One of the very first things that we did when we came into office was bring forward the Canada child benefit, which meant we were not sending cheques to millionaires, like the previous Conservative government, but to families who needed them most. Before the 2019 election, we indexed the Canada child benefit to inflation because we knew how important it was for families to make ends meet. I have heard from countless constituents and families across the country about the difference that the Canada child benefit has made for their families, whether it meant they were buying groceries or able to afford diapers in a world that they were not able to before. When it comes to seniors, it is one of the reasons we lowered the age of eligibility for old age security from 67 to 65. Let us not forget that the previous Conservative government would have put millions of Canadian seniors into poverty with that policy change. That was one of the very first things that we did when we were elected in 2015. In the pandemic, we also issued a one-time payment for all OAS recipients to help them with the additional costs they had, and another payment for families that received the Canada child benefit, understanding that costs were going up. This government has been there for Canadians of all ages, all backgrounds, all persuasions and all families, no matter how old their children are and we will continue to do that. Let me talk a bit about child care. Child care is good for kids and it is good for families. Having affordable day care is going to help families deal with the rising costs of everything else around them, but it is also going to help the economy writ large. Let me provide one statistic: 240,000. That is the number of women who will likely enter the workforce because we are making child care more affordable. That means that we are going to be helping address some of the labour shortages, but it also means that families are going to be able to have both parents or a single parent working and hopefully earning a better income. These are good things for kids, for families and for the economy writ large. Finally, let me talk about the supports that we provided through the pandemic. My hon. colleague and members of the Conservative Party continue to talk about money into the economy as if it were a bad thing. At the height of the pandemic, nine million Canadians were on the Canada emergency response benefit. Let us just imagine if we had not done that. What would poverty in this country look like? This was very important. We were there for Canadians and we will continue to be there.

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Mrs. Laila Goodridge

Dec/6/21 7:21:56 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, at the beginning of the minister's speech, she talked about the fact that inflation is a worldwide problem. Yes, it is a worldwide problem. However, it is worse in Canada than almost any country around the world. That is really important to know because, quite frankly, we need to make sure that what we are doing is actually taking care of all Canadians. The concern that I brought up around inflation is a real concern that is facing many families. When I shared the clip on my social media, seniors reached out to me and sent me personal messages. They are very concerned that the question was important, was dismissed by the minister and that the real concerns about inflation and the cost of groceries going up were not being addressed. I live in northern Canada. I live in northern Alberta and groceries are more expensive—

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Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Dec/6/21 7:22:59 p.m.
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The hon. minister.

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Hon. Karina Gould

Dec/6/21 7:23:02 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, one thing I will not do and one thing our government will not do is pit different age groups of Canadians against each other. This is exactly why we know that supporting young families through affordable child care is not just good for young families, it is good for the entire economy. It is why we know that increasing old age security and the guaranteed income supplement, again, is not just good for seniors, it is good for the entire economy. When it comes to lifting Canadians out of poverty, we will be here for them no matter what their age, no matter what their background, because it is good for all of us.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Dec/6/21 7:23:41 p.m.
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The motion to adjourn the House is now deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1). (The House adjourned at 7:23 p.m.)

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