44th Parl. 1st Sess.
January 31, 2022 11:00AM
- Jan/31/22 2:59:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. This is my first time rising in the House, and I appreciate the opportunity to greet my constituents in Brome—Missisquoi.
The Canadian Olympic Committee and the Canadian Paralympic Committee are responsible for deciding whether we will participate in the Olympic Games. Our athletes, the two committees and other countries decided to send athletes to the Olympics in China.
Our government has been clear and consistent. We have always maintained that we support democracy and human rights. That is why, in co-operation with our allies, we will not be sending an official delegation—
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- Jan/31/22 3:00:28 p.m.
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Order. The hon. member for Lac-Saint-Jean.
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- Jan/31/22 3:00:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is strange that Canada is participating in a diplomatic boycott of the Olympics, yet this government is unable to tell us why. It does not have the courage to tell us that it is because China is committing genocide against the Uighur people. It does not want any investigations into it. It did not want the games to be delayed or moved. It has agreed to a diplomatic boycott, but it refuses to tell us why.
Is this Canada's diplomatic role?
Is this what the Prime Minister had in mind when he told the world that “Canada is back”?
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- Jan/31/22 3:01:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we take the allegations of genocide against the Uighur people in China very seriously. That is why we have always expressed these concerns, that is why we are not sending political representatives to the Beijing Olympics, which begin on Friday, and that is also why we have asked the UN human rights committee to investigate the matter.
I would therefore like to correct my colleague, who says that we are not showing leadership and are not investigating the issue. On the contrary, we want to get to the bottom of this extremely concerning issue.
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- Jan/31/22 3:01:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, last month the Associate Minister of Finance said, when it came to payroll tax hikes, that businesses “can afford this”.
How completely out of touch is this comment with small businesses? Considering the government went ahead with these tax hikes despite 30-year, record-high inflation rates, we have to assume the government believes that businesses can afford these as well.
Could the minister tell us how historically high inflation rates have to be before the government stops increasing taxes on small businesses?
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- Jan/31/22 3:02:24 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-2
Mr. Speaker, when it comes to supporting small businesses, it is a bit rich of the Conservatives to presume to offer our government any advice at all. After all, before Christmas, when the omicron wave was rising, it was the Conservatives who opposed Bill C-2, a bill that included a lockdown insurance policy for small businesses and Canadians.
The Conservatives voted against it. Thank goodness they failed. Otherwise, our small businesses would have no support today.
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- Jan/31/22 3:03:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, record inflation, coupled with the government's brutal GIS clawback, has financially crippled many of Canada's hard-working seniors, forced to spend their golden years in the labour market just to make ends meet.
Our vulnerable seniors need to know that Ottawa is listening. That is why the Conservative opposition called on the government to reverse the CPP tax hike.
When will the government stand up, rise up, lean in to Canada's hard-working seniors and help them meet their basic—
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- Jan/31/22 3:03:48 p.m.
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- Jan/31/22 3:03:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, seniors have worked all their lives, and they deserve to feel safe and financially secure later in their life.
That is why the government is delivering on its promise to increase the OAS by 10% for those 75 and older, strengthening the support for all Canadians later in life. Since 2015, we have restored the age of eligibility for OAS to 65. We have increased the GIS for single seniors and strengthened the CPP. During the pandemic we provided direct and immediate support for seniors. As always, we will be there for them.
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- Jan/31/22 3:04:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with inflation reaching a 30-year high, the government continues to hurt Canadians with its poor economic policies.
Nearly 60% of people are finding it difficult to feed their families. If that is not bad enough, the government raised its CPP tax on Canadians, an extra $700 coming out of families' paycheques. This may mean nothing to this Prime Minister, but it matters to everybody else.
When will the government reverse its CPP tax and stop penalizing hard-working families?
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- Jan/31/22 3:05:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives continue to irresponsibly perpetuate a false economic narrative and talk down the Canadian economy. The reality is that Canada is resilient and our economy is robustly recovering from the COVID recession. In Q3 our GDP grew by 5.4%. That was beating the U.S., Japan, the U.K. and Australia. We have recovered 108% of jobs lost to the pandemic, compared to just 84% in the U.S., and we had in November a trade surplus at a 13-year high.
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- Jan/31/22 3:05:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in December, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change announced a consultation process on our new climate commitments. The minister also confirmed that he would table Canada's 2030 emissions reduction plan by the end of March 2022.
Can the minister tell the House how our government will build a strong foundation for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050?
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- Jan/31/22 3:06:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate my colleague from Kings—Hants on his continuing efforts to speak French in the House.
I would like to remind him that over the past few years, our government has implemented more than 100 measures and invested $100 billion in the fight against climate change.
As he mentioned, I will be tabling a plan in the House that will include many new commitments in the fight against climate change, including a net-zero emitting electricity grid by 2035, a zero-emissions act also by 2035, and a cap on greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and gas sector.
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- Jan/31/22 3:06:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, many in Canada's labour force are senior citizens struggling to get by. Many seniors are forced to work beyond the retirement age through no fault of their own. The CPP tax hike has added insult to injury to our seniors who have worked hard their whole lives. The out-of-control inflation has many working seniors feeling like retirement is a dream they will never have the ability to experience.
When will the government reverse the CPP hikes for our seniors?
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- Jan/31/22 3:07:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, since 2015 our government has been strengthening retirement support for seniors today and for future retirees. We have built a strong social net and pension system that all Canadians can be proud of. We have enhanced the CPP and the OAS and raised GIS for single seniors. That has helped 900,000 low-income single seniors. We are helping by investing in services, such as $70 million for the New Horizons for Seniors program and billions for home care.
We are going to make sure that seniors, now and into the future, have all the supports they need.
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- Jan/31/22 3:08:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, CMHC is a federal agency funded by the housing minister using taxpayer dollars. Recently, CMHC funded a study that determined the best course of action was to tax Canadian homeowners more. Why should Canadians be concerned about this? It is because the government continues to float the idea of adding more taxes on Canadian homeowners. On this side of the House, we are 100% against this tax.
Why does the minister continue to support the idea of adding more taxes on Canadian homeowners?
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- Jan/31/22 3:08:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this gives me another opportunity to once again state categorically that our government is not considering charging capital gains or surtaxes on primary residences. We have said this time and time again in the House of Commons and in the public sphere. While the party opposite continues to engage in misinformation, we are busy being focused on the work of ensuring that each and every Canadian has a safe and affordable place to call home.
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- Jan/31/22 3:09:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we want our businesses to believe in the future of our country. We want entrepreneurs to invest and keep running their businesses.
Programs were created to help them during the crisis, but some entrepreneurs do not have access to that financial assistance because they started their businesses in 2020. They are part of the economic recovery, but there is no help for them.
What will the Minister of Finance do to support entrepreneurs and save their businesses?
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- Jan/31/22 3:10:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I must once again point out that the Conservative Party has been very hypocritical about Canada's small and medium-sized businesses.
Before Christmas, as the omicron wave was ramping up, our government implemented measures to help and support small and medium-sized businesses should new lockdowns become necessary. The Conservatives were against that.
I am very pleased to be able to tell small and medium-sized businesses that our government succeeded. We supported them despite—
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- Jan/31/22 3:10:42 p.m.
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Order. The member for Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle.
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