44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 8, 2022 10:00AM
- Dec/8/22 1:04:15 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, first of all, I am not going to blame the recipients of CERB payments as the reason for inflation. Families found it very difficult. We are talking about millions of families, nine million families, virtually, who needed to have CERB for a wide variety of reasons.
The Conservative Party might want to try to blame those families, but from the government's perspective we needed to be there to support Canadians going through the pandemic. Had the Conservatives been in power, it is obvious that they might not have done that.
As the result of a Liberal government doing it, as a result of a Prime Minister who understood the importance of having Canadians' backs, we were in a better position to be able to get out of the pandemic in the fashion in which we have. I will compare our record to any G8 country that is there today. We have done exceptionally well. There is always room for improvement, and at the end of the day I look forward to continuing the dialogue on that particular issue.
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- Dec/8/22 1:53:01 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Davenport, because she just admitted at the end of her speech that the more the government spends, the higher inflation goes. She just said it. She said that we cannot spend as much as at the height of the pandemic because it makes inflation go up.
I will get to my question for her, now that she was honest about that.
In listening to her speech, Canadians would think they have never had it so good, yet 1.5 million Canadians use the food bank every month. Does the member think this is a statistic that shows her government is doing well, yes or no?
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- Dec/8/22 2:25:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is unbelievable to see the Conservatives once again attacking the assistance we are providing to citizens, such as CERB. The member just ridiculed CERB. The reality is that, during the pandemic, the direct assistance we provided to Canadians and small businesses, to Quebeckers and Canadians all across our country, was essential not just to get through the pandemic, but to ensure that our economy bounces back as quickly as possible.
We were there despite the Conservatives' opposition, and we will continue to be there to support Canadians.
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- Dec/8/22 2:32:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have created and are creating a Canada where Canadians are there for each other and where the government is there for them in their times of need.
At the height of the pandemic, nine million Canadians accessed CERB. We will not apologize for being there for Canadians when they needed us. We start from a place of compassion and from a place of trust. That does not mean there are not controls in place, but unlike the Conservatives, we trust Canadians and we are going to be there for them when they need it.
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- Dec/8/22 2:33:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, how ironic is it that the Conservative Party of Canada's strategy to combat an affordability crisis is to do less for Canadians in their time of need? It comes as no surprise to me because at the beginning of the pandemic, their leader started with a press conference where he said these “big, fat government programs” would not receive the support of the Conservative Party.
Those programs kept food on the table for my neighbours and a roof over the heads of their children. Those programs kept open the doors of small businesses in my community, and the owners were able to keep the lights on. Those programs kept workers on payroll, which allowed them to afford the cost of living and, at the same time, maintain the benefits that their employer provided for them.
I regret none of these programs. We would do it again because it was the right thing to do then and it is the right thing to do now.
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- Dec/8/22 2:34:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, whether the Conservatives like it or not, the Auditor General really did say in her report that the programs we put in place helped save lives and jobs.
We demonstrated courage. We looked after our economy. I have met many people in the community who have told me that they are glad the Liberals were in power during the pandemic. It would have been disastrous for them had the Conservatives been in power.
We will continue to look after Canadians.
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- Dec/8/22 3:04:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what the parliamentary secretary is not telling us is that 40% of all that new spending had nothing to do with the pandemic. The Auditor General has now told us that over $30 billion was wasted. That is what is causing inflation.
The government's answer is to pour more inflationary gasoline on the raging fire. It is already taking a big bite out of Canadian households. As interest rates rise to fight inflation, Canadians have to pay more in interest payments to the banks, but so too does the Bank of Canada. The Bank of Canada has one shareholder, the Minister of Finance.
How much money will taxpayers be on the hook for to pay off the Bank of Canada's losses?
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- Dec/8/22 3:05:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if the Conservatives bothered to look at the facts, they would see that we have the lowest deficit and the lowest debt among G7 countries. They would also see that the international community and investors have extraordinary confidence in the Canadian economy. Thanks to the decisions that our government has made, we still have a AAA credit rating.
I would also note that were it not for the important supports we put in place during the pandemic, our economy would not have rebounded as quickly and as strongly as it did. It is among the strongest in the world.
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