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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 114

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 20, 2022 10:00AM
  • Oct/20/22 2:34:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government increased the debt by over $100 billion before COVID and then increased the debt another $500 billion during COVID, half of which it did not even spend on pandemic measures. Now we are supposed to believe the government has a new-found religion called fiscal restraint. If the government has not shown Canadians any fiscal responsibility in seven years, why should we trust it now?
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  • Oct/20/22 2:35:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if the government wants to run on its record, it is going to have to own up to its spending having helped drive inflation to 40-year highs. Canadians are having a hard time putting food on the table. Even the Bank of Canada says that inflation is a homegrown problem. The Liberals promise to keep spending increases to 2% a year. Has the Deputy Prime Minister told the rest of cabinet about this new fiscal plan?
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  • Oct/20/22 2:36:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased that the Conservative member is so interested in the correspondence between the finance minister and her colleagues. There is no question that our plan is based on fiscal responsibility. We delivered a budget that has been recognized by all the experts as fiscally responsible and we are seeing the results. Our inflation rate is much lower than that of our partners around the world. We will continue to make sure we spend responsibly.
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  • Oct/20/22 2:37:33 p.m.
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Yes, Mr. Speaker, let us talk about fiscal responsibility. The Prime Minister said in his inaugural speech that interest rates would remain low for decades to come. I remember that the Liberals promised to run small deficits because we had the means and said interest rates were going to remain low and that it was no big deal to continue to rack up debt. The Liberals added $100 billion to the debt even before COVID-19. That is the reality. Today, they are asking Canadians to take them at their word when they say that they are going to manage inflation and lead them out of this crisis. No, Canadians no longer trust them. The Liberals are not capable of managing the crisis. When will you abandon your plan to hurt Canadians by raising taxes yet again?
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  • Oct/20/22 8:47:40 p.m.
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Madam Chair, it is really heartening to be here in the House tonight and to hear all of us agreeing on the desperate need for having more done in this field, but it often comes down to spending. I often hear from the members opposite the need for fiscal restraint, the need for us not to spend as much, that our spending is causing inflation and that the things this government is doing to help all Canadians and to try to help people with these issues are problematic. I am wondering how the member opposite reconciles that with the calls now, considering we have already given $5 billion in bilateral agreements for mental health since this government was formed in 2015.
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  • Oct/20/22 8:48:36 p.m.
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Madam Chair, what we do on this side of the House is make sure money is spent well. We know where money should go. When we have an app that should have cost less than $250,000 and it cost $54 million and the government does not even know where it is, that is what we are talking about when we talk about fiscal constraint. There is so much wasted money, and money is a sliver of the piece of the pie. One needs political will, a strategy and a plan. It is absolutely insulting for the member to say that when there is so much wasteful spending. That is not what we are talking about. There is a promised budget of $4.5 billion from the Liberal government and we have not seen it.
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