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Mr. Rhéal Fortin (Rivière-du-Nord, BQ)

Mar/31/22 5:06:13 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to see that my colleague and the entire Conservative Party care about Canada's economic balance. I believe that we can find solutions, but if we were to stop spending and invest in oil, we would be digging ourselves an even deeper hole. Does my colleague agree that we must first help the least fortunate, those who are most in need and who have been most affected by the pandemic? I am talking about seniors and low-income families who need social housing. There is a housing shortage. It never ends. It is getting worse and worse every week. Should we not do more to help these people? If we want to permanently fix this problem, we need to decrease our dependence on oil and petroleum and develop new green energies, such as wind and solar energy. Does my colleague agree that we need a permanent, stable and sustainable recovery?

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Mr. Randy Hoback

Mar/31/22 5:07:21 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank the member for a great question, and I agree with him 100%. Coming out of a crisis, we need that physical capacity to take the decisions we have to make. We had that fiscal capacity because we balanced our budgets in 1993, 1994 and 1995 and we maintained budgets, so that in 2008 when the great recession hit Stephen Harper had a buffer zone so he could spend money, keep the economy going and then balance the budget again in 2015. The current government needs a plan to balance its budget now so that, if we need to help people out as they come out of the crisis, we can help them. If we want to get to a green environment I am saying let us move there if that is where the world is going to go, but let us not take and throw away all the benefits we have right now that could pay for that changeover. Why not embrace them, take the royalties from oil and critical minerals, and use them to plan accordingly and build up our green energy infrastructure? I find it interesting that we would subsidize a car but not tell people how they are going to plug it in. We do not tell them where they are going to have to plug it in. We do not tell them that if they have a condo built in the 1970s there is no power grid that they can plug in to. Those are the things we need to solve and we need the resources—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Mar/31/22 5:08:26 p.m.
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We have time for one last question. The hon. member for Courtenay—Alberni.

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Mr. Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni, NDP)

Mar/31/22 5:08:31 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the first line of the Conservative motion today cites, “excessive government spending has increased the deficit, the national debt, and fuelled inflation to its highest level in 31 years,” but does not mention that corporate tax cuts have gone from 28% to 15%. It is like the Conservatives have become the no-revenue party. The big banks, big oil and grocery stores have had record profits that have paid out record dividends. How is that playing out for everyday Canadians? We are seeing cuts in services. We have seen an absence of the national housing strategy. Over 25 years there were cuts to Veterans Affairs and cuts to services for Canadians. The corporate welfare is out of control and I think this motion fails to address that. Does my colleague agree that those big corporations that have profited throughout the pandemic should pay their fair share so that they are not leaving the burden and shouldering of all tax debt on everyday Canadians?

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Mr. Randy Hoback

Mar/31/22 5:09:35 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have a few points. First of all, I do not believe in picking winners and losers, so as far as the corporations getting subsidized by the federal government goes, we should be getting out of that. I agree with him on that. As for their paying dividends, that is a good thing. Their making profit, that is a good thing. To have a low tax rate so they are located here, that is a good thing. I will say that the NDP joined this coalition, like lots of provincial NDP parties when they form government, but they now have to show responsibility. What they say and what they do means something because they are now a part of government. When they are in opposition—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Mar/31/22 5:10:06 p.m.
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Resuming debate, the hon. member for Souris—Moose Mountain.

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Mr. Robert Kitchen (Souris—Moose Mountain, CPC)

Mar/31/22 5:10:20 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Prince Albert for his fantastic and riveting speech, which not only brought us back in history but also focused on Canada and not what the rest of the world is doing. Today’s debate is an extremely important one, not just because of the upcoming federal budget but due to the fact that this issue has been a major concern for my constituents for a number of years now. I would like to thank my Conservative colleagues for their tireless advocacy on behalf of the Canadians who are being negatively impacted by the government’s financial mismanagement, both now and in future generations. The government continues to fail to recognize that it has doubled the national debt from $612 billion in 2015 to over $1.2 trillion today, and who knows what that magic number might be, if announced at all, next Thursday. It seems that we, on this side of the House, are the only ones who truly understand the long-term impacts of a federal government that racks up debt and deficit without a second thought. On top of that, inflation, which we know is at 5.7%, is the highest it has been in 31 years, so it is impossible to stay silent, especially knowing that next week’s budget will likely contain even more reckless government spending that will only push our country further into debt. The last two years have been extremely difficult for Canadians across the country, with many still trying to get back to some sense of normalcy. With that said, the government continues to forget that any money produced comes from the people of this great country. It comes from the taxpayer. It comes from them now and it will always come from them. We need to respect that. Small businesses were hit particularly hard, especially those in the service industry. Some who did not have the luxury of working from home had to be laid off or lost their jobs completely. The last thing they need to be concerned about right now is a government that will impose even more taxes on them than they are already pay, which is the equivalent to kicking them when they are down. Canadians deserve, and quite frankly, need, a break from the skyrocketing cost of living that we have been experiencing lately. In my riding, one of the biggest and most pressing issues is the carbon tax. As members know, the carbon tax will increase from $40 per tonne to $50 per tonne on April 1, which happens to be tomorrow. I wish I could say this is a poor attempt at an April Fool’s joke, but it is unfortunately a reality we must face. Life has already been made significantly more expensive because of the carbon tax, and instead of helping Canadians who need it, the Liberals are only making things worse. While I do not expect the Prime Minister to know everything about my riding, my constituents and I would certainly hope that he knows what rural means. In rural Canada, we do not have access to public transportation through things like bus systems or light-rail transit. If we cannot reach a place by foot, by bicycle or horse, taking a car is the only option. The increased carbon tax, increased food costs and escalator taxes, combined with the astronomical gas prices, have put a heavy additional burden on Canadians who have already struggled through the pandemic. Small businesses will continue to suffer under these increases, especially those who work in transportation. One small trucking company in my riding is now paying tens of thousands of dollars more to fuel its fleet of vehicles than it was paying before the carbon tax came into effect. This is not including the increase happening tomorrow or the increase in gas prices due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Furthermore, this business employs a number of people in the community it is based in, and if it has to shut its doors because it can no longer afford fuel, jobs will be lost and the trickle-down effect will certainly have negative ramifications for the community as a whole. If we add inflation into this equation, the outcome is even worse. How are small business owners supposed to stay afloat when they are constantly being taxed left, right and centre? These inflationary prices are throughout the economy. In fact, I just read today that Dollarama, which sells its stock for one dollar a piece, will be increasing up to five dollars for the sale of its wares. That is a huge inflationary increase. I received a letter in February 2022 from a constituent who owns a small Home Hardware business with his wife. He states, “I have an item in my store that in July last year sold for $52.99. That same valve this week now retails for $144.99. It is nearly three times that retail in six months. This is by no means the only item. We have been advised that over 7,500 items are facing this increase in just the next couple of months.” Those figures are absolutely outrageous. To think that any small business could weather a financial storm of that magnitude is unconscionable. The government needs to find some way to provide relief for Canadians when it comes to inflation and taxes or local economies will suffer: not just the businesses, but consumers as well. He goes on to say, “The concern is that I am a fairly new corporation: under six years old. I live paycheque to paycheque as it is. I cannot and do not have the funds to invest more money into the business to even maintain the inventory level I have now. I have just over $1 million in inventory. I am now looking at needing $3 million in inventory just to stay where I was. I just can’t do it. We don’t have any more money to give. Our mortgages are maxed. So in addition to mass shortages and massive delays in getting inventory, I am having to greatly reduce my inventory quantities just to stay in budget. This cannot continue, or I will be out of stock and business in months, possibly before summer.” The closure of a business is a scary thing. He continues, “The current policies and mandates are destroying the businesses of our country. I am unsure as to how much longer any of us with moderate to high debt loads can continue. I have spoken to many business owners, and even those that are 30-, 40-, and 50-year-old businesses are considering selling off and closing their doors forever. I have been in this business for almost 34 years and absolutely love it, but I can’t afford to stay in business like this.” This is a real tragedy. These businesses have been institutions in their local communities, some for generations, and the government’s inability to take control of inflation, on top of its incessant and relentless taxation, will be the death knell for these businesses. Canadians want to see real, practical solutions and a meaningful plan from the government, but instead they are being left behind. They are scared of a new hidden or escalating tax to further eat away at them from a government that does not understand how to work a business. Canadians have had enough of this parasitic approach of the Liberal government that puts up a front while eating away at them internally. I think the ending of the letter will resonate with many small business owners, not just in southeast Saskatchewan but all across the country. He says, “More and more mom-and-pop shops have started working six days a week up from five, just to try and make enough to make ends meet. I am looking at downsizing staff and closing Sundays as it isn’t feasible and I have to cut costs somewhere. We have already gone from 25 staff a year ago to 18, and may have to go to 14 or even 12 to maybe survive. I don’t even know if I could make the current business work with 12 to 14 staff. I would have a lot of land not making any money to help pay bills. I would have also about $400,000 dollars of equipment to try and sell in a downhill market. I would have a loss here as well. I am unsure how to get this across to the Liberals and their buddies, but it is getting real ugly, real fast financially, for most of us.” Unfortunately, whether it be from a lack of understanding or a lack of care, this issue is clearly not getting across to the Liberals. Canadians want to see a plan for growth, with targeted investments in the places that need them the most. We need a concrete plan to fight these inflationary pressures. Taxing Canadians even more is not the solution. We all know most seniors also live on a fixed income and many have no additional source of revenue outside of their CPP and OAS. I regularly receive correspondence in my office from seniors who express just how tight their budgets are, as well as their concerns about future government decisions that will negatively impact them going forward. One constituent of mine who is now retired stated, “I’d like to bring to the attention of our Prime Minister and the governing members of our country what it is like to live in rural Canada. We are so tired of hearing how easy it should be to use public transportation and not rely on natural gas. All these things are available to large city dwellers, but not in my community.” This senior also brought up the fact that he has no choice but to travel long distances to attend medical appointments. These have a huge impact on his family. My constituents have completely lost faith in the government’s ability to fiscally manage our country. Excessive government spending, increased taxes and record high levels of inflation are symptoms of poor fiscal management and a lack of responsibility. As I see my time is quickly ending, I call upon the government to ensure that next week’s budget contains no new taxes and outlines a much-needed plan to balance the budget. Canadians need, and certainly deserve, a break.

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Ms. Julie Dabrusin (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Lib.)

Mar/31/22 5:20:27 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I really appreciate hearing comments about what is happening in the member's local community. One of the things I have been struck by is that we talk about concerns about the price of food, for example, and things like that, yet we are seeing right now, with floods, wildfires and increasing droughts because of climate change, that it is only going to get worse, based on the IPCC reports and what we see. Will that not impact these businesses that need to order food to sell to people, and impact his constituents who want to have affordable food? All of those pieces are together. Are they not feeling the costs of climate change, and do they not want to see us take action to make sure they are more climate resilient and also to stop, where we can, right now, further degradation of our climate?

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Mr. Robert Kitchen

Mar/31/22 5:21:27 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the parliamentary secretary's question points me to what the biggest problem in this country is. It is the fact that Canadians do not understand what rural Canada is. Rural Canada is the breadbasket of our food. Our farmers out west and throughout the industry have been sequestering carbon for years, and they get no credit for the fact that they sequester that carbon. They sequester it with every crop that they grow. They do tremendous things with land resources and what they grow. That is not to mention that the unfortunate part of this present government is that it has not invested in things that would invest in such things as carbon capture and storage, for which we have the only working plant in my riding. It is there, yet the government continually scares away investment. It is leaving: It is going to the States and other parts of the world instead of investing here, where we can do these environmental things that will improve and assist this great country.

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Mr. Sébastien Lemire (Abitibi—Témiscamingue, BQ)

Mar/31/22 5:22:29 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is a real pleasure to hear about rural life in the House and, more importantly, to hear about it in a good way. I agree that talking about rural life can be awkward at times. There is a sense that Canada is built around the needs of Toronto and its suburbs, which is very frustrating. For example, back home, the Témiscamingue RCM has had to stand up to Canada Post because Fabre and some other municipalities are no longer able to receive services. It is absurd. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers has an interesting solution. It has suggested electrifying Canada Post's transportation fleet, which would make it perhaps one of the largest commercial fleets in Canada. Charging stations could be installed in each of Canada Post's centres, especially in rural areas. This would be a real tool for economic development for the regions of Quebec and would help us to achieve a real energy transition. The energy transition in Quebec's regions could serve as an interesting budgetary proposal to get our finances back on track. I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on that.

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Mr. Robert Kitchen

Mar/31/22 5:23:31 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I believe the member is from Abitibi—Témiscamingue, and I appreciate his comments about rural Canada, because it is very important. It is nice to see that people recognize that aspect of things. His comment is very pointed, in the sense that I get the fact it is nice to see these electrical vehicles and these transit lines happening, but as I have said to many in my constituency, we are not going to see a transit line or an electric vehicle that is going from Maryfield, Saskatchewan to Regina. I have many constituents who need to get to their doctors, and those doctors, who are cancer doctors, diabetes specialists, etc., are not available. They have to go from Maryfield, for example, to either Winnipeg, Manitoba or Regina, and that range is not there. It is not going to happen. As much as we may want it to happen, when we have 100 people in that area, they are not going to do it. Yes, it is beneficial, but where are those systems, and who is going to pay for them?

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Mr. Brian Masse (Windsor West, NDP)

Mar/31/22 5:24:38 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, my colleague mentioned Dollarama. I will ask him a question with regard to the pandemic and the costs that some companies are now passing on. Dollarama made over $600 million in profits during the pandemic this past year, and it is increasing its shareholders' return by 10%, so if someone is not a shareholder of Dollarama, they are going to go there soon and have higher costs. There will be higher prices at a time when Dollarama has record profits and is giving record dividends to the shareholders, who I can guarantee most likely are not shopping at Dollarama.

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Mr. Robert Kitchen

Mar/31/22 5:25:16 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to hear that the member possibly does shop at Dollarama, because of the great things it does and the great work it provides. That is providing work for people to actually do a job, and it is great to hear that he continually wants to support businesses—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Mar/31/22 5:25:34 p.m.
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We have to resume debate. The hon. member for Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup.

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Mr. Bernard Généreux (Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, CPC)

Mar/31/22 5:25:51 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am very happy to have five minutes to talk about a very important issue: this government's approach to spending. It is 2022, but we need to look back in time a little. Back in 2015, the sunny ways era, this government made a campaign promise to run three small $10‑billion deficits and said that the budget would then balance itself. Surprise, surprise, in 2019, the deficit was over $80 billion. History has made it very clear that budgets do not balance themselves. Quite the contrary. That has been this Liberal government's track record ever since. With the arrival of COVID‑19, it has added over $600 billion to our existing debt. Our debt now represents approximately 47% of our gross domestic product, our GDP. When the Liberal government took office back in the 1980s, it was about 25% or 28%. This is an extremely important matter. The budget will be tabled next week, on April 7. By the way, that is a Thursday. The following day, April 8, is a Friday and the last sitting day before members are away for two weeks. I remember the years when the Liberals accused the Conservative government of disrespecting the House of Commons. Today, I believe it is the Liberals who are disrespecting this chamber with their decision to present a budget before a Friday, on the eve of a break that we will spend in our ridings. Of course, I am going to come back to the GDP. We have a debt-to-GDP ratio of 47%, and I am wondering how much more the Liberals will add to the deficit in the coming years. The two words “balanced budget” are not part of the Liberals' vocabulary. That is absolutely unconscionable and unacceptable. In a country such as ours, a balanced budget is extremely important. I used to be the mayor of La Pocatière, and in Quebec, we were required by law to balance our budget. I do not see why this could not apply to a federal government that should be mindful of its spending. The problem with this government is that it spends money hand over fist, without considering the medium-term effects and especially not the long-term effects. Interest rates are going to increase, and in fact, it has already started. The Bank of Canada predicts that interest rates will increase to at least 1.5%, maybe 2%, within a year. We can imagine what impact that will have on Canadian households that have gone into debt because of the cost of living and because inflation is at 5.7%, nearly three times the Bank of Canada target of 2%. House prices keep going up and have doubled in the span of 10 years in Canada. For last year alone, that represents 30%. Let us not forget the price of gas. When I bought my car in 2009, it cost me $32 to fill up the tank. Last week, a full tank cost me $120, a fourfold increase in the span of 11 years. All these things end up having an adverse effect on people's quality of life, especially for the most vulnerable, whose expenses far outweigh their income. I will stop there because I could go on for hours. I often have people in my riding call our offices to tell us about the trouble they are in because of this government.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Mar/31/22 5:30:08 p.m.
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It being 5:30 p.m., it is my duty to interrupt the proceedings and put forthwith every question necessary to dispose of the business of supply. The question is on the motion. If a member of a recognized party present in the House wishes to request a recorded division or that the motion be adopted on division, I would invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair.

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Mr. Arnold Viersen

Mar/31/22 5:31:09 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I request a recorded division.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Mar/31/22 5:31:13 p.m.
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Pursuant to order made on Thursday, November 25, 2021, the recorded division stands deferred until Monday, April 4, 2022, at the expiry of the time provided for Oral Questions.

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Mr. Mark Gerretsen

Mar/31/22 5:31:31 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, on a point of order, I believe if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent to see the clock at 5:45 p.m. so we can start Private Members' Business.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Mar/31/22 5:31:40 p.m.
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Does the hon. member have unanimous consent to see the clock as 5:45 p.m.? Some hon. members: Agreed. The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes): It being 5:45 p.m., the House will now proceed to the consideration of Private Members' Business as listed on today's Order Paper.

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