44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 15, 2022 10:00AM
- Feb/15/22 2:53:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are stressed. Paycheques do not buy what they used to. In fact, the costs of everything, including gasoline, groceries and housing, are at all-time highs. Families are getting left behind. Last April, I wrote to the minister to warn her of exactly that. I highlighted the dangers of uncontrolled borrowing and how excessive stimulus spending would stoke inflationary pressures. She either does not care or did not read my letter.
To the minister, what specifically is she doing to get inflation under control?
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- Feb/15/22 2:54:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives continue, in all aspects of Canadian life, to put forward a false narrative, and the latest false narrative we have been hearing today is about the economy.
The reality is that the Canadian economy is recovering strongly from the COVID recession. In the third quarter, our GDP grew by 5.4%. That is higher than the U.S., Japan, the U.K. and Australia. When it comes to our debt-to-GDP ratio, our AAA credit rating was reaffirmed in the fall by S&P and Moody's.
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- Feb/15/22 2:54:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we will never get inflation under control as long as the minister keeps borrowing and spending like there is no tomorrow. Not only did the minister ignore our concerns, but she also ignored the warnings of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, who questioned the wisdom of her stimulus spending, pumping more money into the economy when the cost of living is skyrocketing.
The minister is making the crisis worse. The problem is not transitory. Month by month, the inflation numbers are going up. When will the minister finally do something to protect Canadians against the skyrocketing cost of living?
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- Feb/15/22 2:55:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the real question is, when will the Conservatives stick with a policy or stick with a leader?
I was on the campaign trail in the summer, and so were the members opposite. They actually campaigned on proposed government spending that was higher than our own proposal. We proposed a deficit for 2021-22 of $156.9 billion; the Conservatives campaigned on a proposed deficit of $168 billion. I wonder if the party of flip-flops can tell Canadians where they stand today?
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- Feb/15/22 2:56:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the excise escalator tax increase will crush the bottom line of wineries, breweries, cideries and distilleries. The excise escalator tax is automatic, and here is the kicker: It is based on the CPI index, meaning that because inflation is so high, the tax will be even higher than ever before, starting April 1.
This tax is based on inflation. It is taxing inflation, which will make inflation go up even more on these important value-added agricultural products. Will the Liberals commit to cancelling this inflationary excise tax increase?
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- Feb/15/22 2:56:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is a bit rich for the Conservatives to be talking about supporting small businesses of any kind in this country. After all, before Christmas, when we proposed absolutely essential support for small businesses to help them get through omicron, what did the Conservatives do at that crucial moment? They voted against our measures. We will take no lessons about supporting business from them.
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- Feb/15/22 2:57:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that was not an answer to my question at all.
When Canadian winery, brewery, cidery and distillery workers and owners wake up on April 1, they will be hit with this automatic tax increase on excise, thanks to the Liberals. Of these producers, 95% are small businesses that have already been hit with payroll tax increases, labour shortages, increases in debt and slower sales due to perpetual lockdowns. Now is not the time to be increasing any taxes on small businesses, so will the Liberals cancel this bad April Fool's Day tax increase?
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- Feb/15/22 2:57:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let me tell members what hurts Canadian small businesses. What hurts Canadian small businesses is when, solely for the sake of partisan posturing, people who were elected to this House to support the small businesses in their communities oppose the small business support that small businesses themselves are calling for.
Do members know what else has hurt Canadian businesses, whether small or large? It is the blockade of the Ambassador Bridge. Members on that side of the House were giving supper and encouragement to those causing the blockade. That is unacceptable.
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- Feb/15/22 2:58:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today, February 15, is the day Canada celebrates its maple leaf flag.
What a way to celebrate. The flag is flying everywhere, more flags than ever before, in the streets of downtown Ottawa. It is being flown in demonstrations in the United States, in France, in New Zealand. The Canadian flag has literally become an international symbol of movements so unhinged as to seek the overthrow of democratically elected governments.
Does the Prime Minister realize that his reaction to the occupation of—
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- Feb/15/22 2:59:23 p.m.
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- Feb/15/22 2:59:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for commenting on the anniversary of the maple leaf, the flag that unites every one of us, especially the proud government members from Quebec, who are also proud Canadians, but also the proud Canadians across the way. It think it is important to take this time.
I really want to express my deep gratitude to my colleague for bringing this to our attention so we can all celebrate the anniversary of the maple leaf together.
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- Feb/15/22 3:00:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government's lacklustre response so far has made it not only an international laughingstock, but also a global incitement to disorder.
When questioned yesterday about how the crisis is affecting Canada's international reputation, the Prime Minister said he thought the turning point was the blockade at the Ambassador Bridge. The actual turning point, however, was when occupiers besieged his country's capital city, eliciting no response whatsoever from him.
After 19 days of inaction, he announced plans to deploy the statutory equivalent of a nuclear weapon: the Emergencies Act.
How can he possibly be that—
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- Feb/15/22 3:00:41 p.m.
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- Feb/15/22 3:00:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, since we are still talking about the maple leaf, I think it is important to emphasize what it represents and symbolizes around the world.
It symbolizes pride, not only in being Canadian, but also in the role that Canada has played throughout history in conflict resolution and official development assistance. It represents the helping hand that all Canadians, including Quebeckers, are known for.
I thank my hon. colleague once again for reminding us that it is important to highlight and celebrate the maple leaf.
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- Feb/15/22 3:01:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for weeks, Canadians looking for hope have been looking for the Prime Minister to listen to their concerns and listen to their needs as the rest of the world opens up. Instead, they heard from a Prime Minister with an escalating tone that left them feeling traumatized, stigmatized and divided. Even today he is calling out and blaming other parties, which have been listening and showing real leadership instead of pitting Canadian versus Canadian.
Why do Canadians have to pay with their freedoms to cover up for the government's failed leadership?
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- Feb/15/22 3:01:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think we have different definitions of “division”. To me, when critical infrastructure is being blocked, when illegal protesters are outside and when we see swastikas and Confederate flags, going out and taking photographs and giving coffee is not healthy for the country.
Instead, what would be healthy is to say to those who would seek to divide us and those who would seek to exploit our differences that those kinds of radical views do not have a place in this country. It is time to go home, it is time to end this illegal activity and it is time to come together as a country.
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- Feb/15/22 3:02:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I sent out a survey last month asking my constituents what their biggest concerns were. The cost of living was the number one issue. Rick, one of my constituents, wrote to me and stated, “food prices are out of my pay range”. Inflation is at record highs due to the Liberal government’s spending.
What does the Prime Minister have to say to Rick, who cannot afford to put food on his table?
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- Feb/15/22 3:03:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government absolutely understands that affordability matters for Canadian families, and that is why we are there for them. We lowered taxes for the middle class and raised them on the wealthiest 1%. We created the Canada child benefit, which is indexed to inflation, and now a single mother with two children can receive up to $13,600 from the CCB. The climate action incentive gives the average family in Alberta $981 and in Saskatchewan $961.
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- Feb/15/22 3:03:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, at the beginning of COVID, all the parties came together to support relief programs for Canadians and businesses. Now the economy is opening up, but the government's money printing press is still humming. Experts are now warning the government what members of this side of the House have been warning for some time: that the government’s future spending plans will lead to more inflation.
Let us give the minister one last chance. When will the government rein in its out-of-control spending?
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- Feb/15/22 3:04:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I pointed out a moment ago, it is actually the members opposite, the members of the party of flip-flops, who campaigned on a platform that proposed higher spending in this fiscal year than we proposed. Let us remind Canadians of that. In fact, when it comes to supporting small business, it was his party, contrary to what the member just asserted, that opposed the essential supports small businesses needed that we proposed before Christmas.
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