44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 6, 2022 10:00AM
- Dec/6/22 2:32:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if the Liberals' goals were to lack transparency, lack accountability and lack control, the Auditor General confirmed that in her report today. The Liberals' legacy of mismanagement has made life more unaffordable, sending more Canadians to food banks than ever before. Record high food, rent and mortgage costs are being driven up by the Liberals' inflation. The more the Liberals fail, the more Canadians have to pay.
How many more Liberal failures are Canadians on the hook for?
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- Dec/6/22 2:33:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we took important action when we understood that the high cost of living was having an impact on Canadians. In fact, yesterday the Financial Post noted that our child care policy has been a success. It said, “government policy has played a role in getting women back in the workforce...especially when it comes to child care.... Women feel more confident going back into the workforce because they won’t be spending their whole paycheque on child care.”
We are there for Canadians and we are delivering.
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- Dec/6/22 2:33:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government will blame everyone else for its inflationary spending, but when the Auditor General confirms that a minimum of $32 billion in COVID overpayments and suspicious payments need more investigation, there is little argument that this mess added to inflation. The Auditor General has sounded the alarm bells on the lack of control on COVID spending. There are lots of checks and no balances, and the government is continuing the same approach with current legislation and current programming.
How can Canadians trust the government?
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- Dec/6/22 2:34:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will get to the hon. member's question in a moment.
I want to add my voice to that of the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and others in the House today on this 33rd anniversary of École Polytechnique. I was a 19-year-old student at the U of A when word got to us that 14 women were gunned down at École Polytechnique. It became worse when we realized it was motivated by hate and misogyny. We must do everything in the House to protect women and end violence against women.
On the substantive question the hon. colleague asked, millions of mothers who received CERB benefits did not cause inflation, and neither did the businesses that took supports so they could keep their doors open.
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- Dec/6/22 2:35:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are not talking about those cases. Canadians deserve transparency about the $32 billion the Auditor General says is just the tip of the iceberg of people who got money, and it needs to be investigated. Canadians deserve to know that there was no control when the money was going out, and now they have learned there is no control or accountability for taxpayers to get that money back.
As food bank use is at its highest rate and one in five Canadians is skipping meals, I will ask this again: How can Canadians trust the government?
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- Dec/6/22 2:35:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the CRA does not agree with the Auditor General's calculations concerning recipients who were not eligible for the wage subsidy. The CRA's actual audits indicate that compliance with the subsidies was high and that the Auditor General's figure is exaggerated. This is not the Auditor General's fault. We all know that she was pressured by the opposition to produce this report. Political games notwithstanding, let us not forget that the wage subsidy saved the economy.
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- Dec/6/22 2:36:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, according to a new report released yesterday, the cost of groceries is going to keep going up in 2023. The grocery bill for an average family will climb to $16,300 next year. That is a big hit to the family budget. Parents are already stretched thin and are unable to feed their family. Now they are being told it is only going to get worse. All these increases are unaffordable for Canadians. I never would have thought that people in Canada would not be able to eat or stay warm.
Will the Liberals promise not to increase taxes so that Canadians can eat?
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- Dec/6/22 2:37:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the difference between us and the Conservatives is that on this side of the House, we have confidence in Canadians. We understand that less fortunate Canadians need this help. We will provide them with help for dental care, housing, and early childhood and child care services.
We have confidence in Canadians, and we will be there to support them today and in the future.
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- Dec/6/22 2:37:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I cannot believe that the member opposite gave us that answer when the government has completely lost control of public spending. The Auditor General confirmed that the government is trying to track down $32 billion in benefits that were paid to ineligible recipients. What are the consequences of that?
Nationwide, Canadians' debt is increasing. People do not have enough money, so they are charging their groceries to their credit cards. The Liberals have allowed themselves to lose billions of dollars.
Once again, will the Liberals show compassion and not increase taxes?
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- Dec/6/22 2:38:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our approach is based on compassion, responsibility and fiscal prudence.
If we look at the facts, millions of mothers who received CERB did not create inflation, and neither did the thousands of businesses that took wage subsidies.
If the Conservatives truly, from the bottom of their hearts, want to help Canadians get through these difficult times, they can do the right thing and vote for Bill C‑32, which will benefit Canadians.
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- Dec/6/22 2:38:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Quebec's finance minister will table his economic update on Thursday. He will have to make do with what he has because the Liberal government is still stubbornly saying no despite Quebec and the provinces calling for higher health transfers for years.
ERs are in crisis. There are not enough workers. Even pediatric units, which care for our children, are paying the price, yet Ottawa continues to say no. Why?
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- Dec/6/22 2:39:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question.
Our health care system is facing major challenges, and we must work together to improve health care for Canadians. We are disappointed in the outcome of the meeting and in the provincial and territorial premiers' statement.
Nevertheless, our government remains ready to work with the provinces and territories and to continue discussing priorities.
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- Dec/6/22 2:40:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government does not want to increase health transfers. It wants standards. What standards?
What makes Ottawa think it can tell Quebec and the provinces how to do their job? Consider what Ottawa did with Phoenix, Roxham Road, the passport crisis, the old age pension delays, and the delays with EI and the immigration department, which is where applications go to die.
How dare the government play backseat driver and tell Quebec and the provinces how to do their job?
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- Dec/6/22 2:40:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, as my hon. colleague is well aware, to say that we are not prepared to increase health transfers is not true. We have been very clear. We will work with the provinces to increase federal transfers to the provinces, which are responsible for managing their health care systems. We recognize that.
We are simply asking to have a transparent discussion with the provinces to ensure that, together, we get results for patients and families in Quebec and Canada.
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- Dec/6/22 2:41:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that “transparent discussion” is code for standards. We will say it again. What the health system needs is not standards; it needs Ottawa to contribute its share.
Quite frankly, no one believes that there are no standards in the Quebec health care system. The federal government's pretentious and dismissive attitude toward the provinces, saying that it will show them how to do things, is no longer acceptable to anyone. What the health care system needs from Ottawa is money, not condescension.
When will the government increase health transfers?
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- Dec/6/22 2:42:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question, but what he says is not true.
Our government has a long history of working with the provinces and territories, not only to provide funding, but also to ensure a national vision for health care and systems that meet the needs of Canadians. We will increase Canada health transfers by 10% in March 2023. An additional 5% increase was announced a few months ago.
We will continue to work with the provinces and territories to improve health care in Canada.
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- Dec/6/22 2:42:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in 2021 the government procured a system to track vaccines. This system, VaccineConnect, is set to cost Canadians over $59 million.
The government then decided to delay the development of key capabilities, forcing employees to use spreadsheets instead. This led to significant waste of vaccines and taxpayers' dollars, including confusion on expiration dates.
Why did the government delay key developments on its own project, wasting vaccines and taxpayers' money?
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- Dec/6/22 2:43:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canada's COVID-19 procurement strategy was undertaken at a time of considerable uncertainty, with a goal of protecting the health and safety of Canadians. That is what we did.
While Canada's overall COVID-19 immunization strategy has been a success, with modelling suggesting that public health measures without vaccination could have seen over 16.5 million cases and nearly 500,000 deaths, improvements can and will be made to ensure continued success and future preparedness.
However, there was no waste. That is a false claim. To suggest we did not act expediently is outside the—
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- Dec/6/22 2:43:52 p.m.
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The hon. member for Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek.
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- Dec/6/22 2:43:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, perhaps that member would like to have a conversation with the Auditor General.
In her report this morning, she made it clear the government is on track for almost $2 billion in wasted vaccines by the end of this year, over 15 million doses wasted so far, with the potential of the majority of another 55 million doses set to expire in 26 days. The government took vaccines meant for underdeveloped countries, the only G7 country to do so, while wasting billions in expired vaccines.
When will the government stop its wasteful spending of taxpayers' dollars?
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