44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 8, 2022 10:00AM
- Apr/8/22 11:23:59 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have to commend the Minister of Finance for her sense of humour, for being able to say the following yesterday with a straight face: “Canada has a proud tradition of fiscal responsibility. It is my duty to maintain it and I will”.
Does the Minister of Finance realize that her government has done absolutely nothing in the past seven years to control spending? Spending has doubled since this government came to power, and Canada's debt has doubled along with it, currently sitting at $1.2 trillion.
That is the reality. Our debt is costing us $145 million a day, and after four years with this government, it will have cost us $43 billion a year. Why does the government refuse to do what any responsible government should do and control its spending?
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- Apr/8/22 11:24:47 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am happy to speak to our fiscal record.
Before the pandemic, Canada had the best fiscal record in the G7. Now, even after spending to support Canadians throughout the pandemic, we still have the best fiscal record in the G7. We are there for Canadians and we are also fiscally responsible. This budget proves it.
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- Apr/8/22 11:25:26 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we all remember that shortly before the election, this government infamously invented the concept of two categories of seniors: those 75 and older, and everyone else.
At least there is nothing like that in this budget. That said, there is nothing in it for seniors. I am not the one saying that; it is coming from Gisèle Tassé-Goodman, the president of the FADOQ network in Quebec, who said: “This is a very bad day for low-income seniors who thought this budget would help them cope with the rising cost of living. The government has let them down.”
What does the government have to say to seniors, as a government that has done nothing to help them deal with inflation?
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- Apr/8/22 11:26:11 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, budget 2022 has provided great news and will make a real difference in the lives of seniors. Our government has announced the creation of the dental care for seniors program. Starting in 2023, seniors aged 65 and up with a family income of less than $90,000 will be able to access dental care. We also announced an additional $20 million for the New Horizons for Seniors program to continue supporting senior-serving organizations and up to $3,000 through the home accessibility tax credit for renovations and expenses to make aging at home more accessible.
The member and his party have a chance to show, finally, that they support seniors in Canada.
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- Apr/8/22 11:26:52 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday's budget is out in left field. It offers no solutions to the major crises we are facing, like health care.
For starters, there are no increases to transfers, a decision that is completely out of touch after everything we saw during the pandemic. Even worse, the government is poking the bear by writing in black and white that it is not even willing to discuss it.
After everything we have seen in our overflowing hospitals and our overwhelmed long-term care homes, how could the government table a budget that will not allow for even one more nurse to be hired?
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- Apr/8/22 11:27:24 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, two weeks ago, we announced $2 billion in health care funding for the provinces and territories, with half a billion earmarked for Quebec alone. The budget my colleague is talking about provides for $43 billion in health transfers. Our government is there to protect Canadians' health, and we are proud of that.
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- Apr/8/22 11:27:53 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the health care funding set out in the budget does not even cover inflation and is a slap in the face to Quebec, the provinces and especially health care workers. Health care professionals all called for an increase in transfers. Doctors, nurses, psychologists, physiotherapists, support staff and others all called for an increase. These people are the ones who are working on the ground, caring for people around the clock. Not only does the budget not include one penny to help them, but the government is also saying that it will not even discuss the situation.
Why not show these people at least a modicum of respect by holding a public summit?
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- Apr/8/22 11:28:28 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our Minister of Health, the member for Québec, would be delighted to sit down with provincial and territorial representatives to come to an agreement regarding health transfers.
However, I would like to remind my colleague and the House that the federal government covered 80% of the pandemic-related costs. We did not hear a peep from the Bloc Québécois about areas of jurisdiction when we covered the costs related to the pandemic.
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- Apr/8/22 11:29:05 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on the climate crisis, the Liberals still do not get it. In the same week that the IPCC released a report saying that we need to do a complete 180 in the next three years, the Liberals announced an additional $2.6 billion in subsidies to oil companies and approved Bay du Nord, a new fossil fuel project. That is the problem with the Liberals. They think they can solve the climate crisis by giving more money to oil and gas companies. It makes no sense whatsoever.
Why do the Liberals refuse to listen to science and invest in new green jobs?
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- Apr/8/22 11:29:40 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague from Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie for his question.
I would like to remind him that in its report this week, the IPCC refers to carbon capture and storage as a key technology for achieving our net-zero target by 2050. That is exactly what we are doing in Canada. Our latest budget encourages the development of this technology and all technologies that will help us reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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- Apr/8/22 11:30:10 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we will never achieve the government's net-zero plan if we leave Albertan workers behind. Yesterday's budget was an opportunity to invest in Alberta workers, to help them transition to a new economy. Instead, the government continued the approach of giving billions to wealthy companies with no strings attached.
Albertans cannot wait any more. Where is the funding for a clean jobs training centre, and when is the just transition legislation coming?
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- Apr/8/22 11:30:45 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there was significant funding in the budget to work with Alberta, Saskatchewan and other provinces to diversify their economies. There was $4 billion for critical minerals. There was funding for CCUS, which is relevant to the whole conversation about hydrogen. In the previous budget, there was $1.5 billion for clean fuels, which is for biofuels and hydrogen.
We are going to be working actively with the Province of Alberta and with industry to ensure that we are moving forward in a manner that will create a clean economy, a prosperous economy and one that will support workers and communities to make this transition.
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- Apr/8/22 11:31:25 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, like everything in this spend-DP-Liberal budget, what they announce is not what we get. Instead of a real ban on foreign ownership and housing like the Conservatives proposed, their so-called ban on foreign buyers is anything but that. Under this policy, a foreign national can still purchase a home. If they separate from their spouse, they can buy another home. If their child turns 18 and wants to buy the house across the street, they still can. This does nothing to help put first-time homebuyers first.
Why is the so-called ban so full of holes that it is like Swiss cheese?
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- Apr/8/22 11:32:05 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, affordable housing is not just good social policy; it is a powerful economic policy as well. Our government will increase housing supply by doubling residential construction across Canada over the next 10 years. We will ensure that homes are treated as a place for families to live instead of as an investment vehicle. We will build new pathways for first-time homebuyers. In Canada, everyone deserves a place to call home, and budget 2022 is going to help make that a reality.
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- Apr/8/22 11:32:31 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, another spend-DP-Liberal housing policy that is not as advertised is the first-time homebuyer savings account. So many millennials cannot go to the bank of mom and dad and instead have to scrimp and save every penny, and they do not qualify today for a mortgage because of the Liberal stress test.
If those who are fortunate enough to have saved today cannot get into a home, how in the world will it be any different for those millennials who will scrimp and save over the next five years in their shiny savings account when the stress test bounces them as well?
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- Apr/8/22 11:33:07 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canada has the strongest labour market recovery in the G7, having recouped 115% of the jobs lost during the pandemic. This includes 73,000 jobs in March, which has pushed Canada's unemployment rate to 5.3%. That is the lowest unemployment rate that Canada has seen in more than 50 years. Budget 2022 builds on this success by unwinding Canada's pandemic deficits and continuing to reduce our debt-to-GDP ratio, while working to fight climate change and, yes, investing in housing affordability.
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- Apr/8/22 11:33:39 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government asked young people to lock down for two years and they complied. Their reward is a housing market that they cannot buy into and being saddled with a ton of debt to keep them down. Debt is keeping housing unaffordable and the government keeps spending.
Why are millennials being shut out of the housing market for the Prime Minister's vanity projects?
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- Apr/8/22 11:34:08 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question.
As we all know, property ownership is now out of reach for Canadians across the country, and that is unacceptable.
That is why budget 2022 contains concrete measures, including a $200‑million investment to develop rent-to-own projects, the creation of a tax-free first home savings account that would give first-time homebuyers the ability to save $40,000, and a two-year ban on foreign investors acquiring property.
That is federal leadership. I hope the opposition will vote in favour of these measures this time.
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- Apr/8/22 11:34:44 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Carol, a senior in my riding, shared with me her concern that seniors and those with disabilities are at the bottom of the NDP-Liberals' priorities. Seniors and those with disabilities are suffering very real stress trying to afford to live while everything in their lives becomes more expensive. They have already slashed their budgets to account for inflation and they cannot tighten their belts any further.
I care about Carol. Why do the NDP-Liberals not?
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- Apr/8/22 11:35:16 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, budget 2022 contains concrete measures.
We will invest $10 billion over the coming years to increase the housing supply and ensure that everybody, including seniors, has a place to live.
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