44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 21, 2023 10:00AM
- Mar/21/23 2:51:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member will know, the inflation rate today for February was posted at 5.2%. That is still too high, and we are going to continue to support Canadians who need the support when they need it most. In our country, tax fairness is a fundamental principle of taxation. That is why we insisted that insurance companies and banks pay more with the Canada recovery dividend, 1.5% more, on income over $1 billion.
We will continue to watch very closely what the grocery companies are doing, and we will continue to be there fighting on the side of Canadians.
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- Mar/21/23 2:51:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the IPCC just gave another dire warning: If we do not act now, the devastating consequences of the climate crisis will only get worse. President Biden just announced a budget that eliminates billions of dollars in U.S. fossil fuel subsidies and invests that money in the low-carbon economy. This is what leadership looks like. Other countries are stepping up to the plate, but the Liberals want to keep giving billions to rich oil and gas CEOs.
Will the Liberals stop dragging Canada backwards and finally end fossil fuel subsidies?
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- Mar/21/23 2:52:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after a decade of complete inaction by the opposition when it was in government, we are showing that leadership. The IPCC is right: Climate change is real. Climate change is urgent, and we are taking action. That is why we need to continue doing what we are doing. We put a price on carbon pollution. We have an emissions reduction plan that speaks to how we are going to reduce emissions across all sectors of our economy. We have committed to ending all fossil fuel subsidies for unabated fossil fuels.
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- Mar/21/23 2:53:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it has now been over a year since Russia began its devastating further full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It is important to remember that this invasion is a threat not just to Ukraine's security but also to Canada's national security, to NATO and to countries around the world.
Despite Putin’s war crimes and unrelenting aggression, today Ukraine stands strong. In my view, Canada's military aid, including our training of the Ukrainian armed forces, has played an essential role in Ukraine's progress on the ground.
Could the Minister of National Defence share with Canadians the impact she believes that Canada’s training has had on the ground, on the battlefield in Ukraine?
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- Mar/21/23 2:53:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, since 2015, the Canadian Armed Forces have trained over 35,000 members of the Ukrainian armed forces. We are training Ukrainians in England. We are training Ukrainian engineers in Poland, and we are training them on the use of the Leopard 2A4 battle tank.
As President von der Leyen said, the Canadian Armed Forces have been instrumental in terms of the resilience being shown on the battlefield in Ukraine. We stand with Ukraine as it fights for its democracy, sovereignty and stability.
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- Mar/21/23 2:54:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight long years under this tax and spend Liberal Prime Minister, many Canadians are sinking into debt. They cannot afford food, heat or shelter.
On April 1 of this year, the Liberals are determined to make life even more difficult for struggling Canadians by increasing the carbon tax. It is more money out of their pockets. Canadians are spent.
When will the government cancel this cruel and callous carbon tax?
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- Mar/21/23 2:54:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I have said a number of times in the House, affordability is extremely important to every member in every party here. We have taken significant steps, including doubling of the GST tax credit, enhancement of the workers benefit, investments in energy efficiency and a number of other things to address affordability issues.
Eight out of 10 Canadian families will get more money back than they pay with respect to the price on pollution. It is, in effect, an affordability measure in itself. Canadians not only expect their politicians to be smart and thoughtful and to address affordability issues but also to believe in and address climate change.
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- Mar/21/23 2:55:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that empty answer is not giving any reassurances to struggling Canadians like John and Judy in my riding. They are just one senior couple among many who built this country. How does the government repay them? It has increased the tax on their already ludicrously high heating bill by nearly 20%.
The Prime Minister needs to stand up today and justify this unnecessary and completely avoidable tax hike to John, Judy and the countless other Canadians suffering under this carbon tax.
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- Mar/21/23 2:56:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with all due respect to my colleague, we will not take any lessons from the party opposite. Its plan for seniors was to raise the age of retirement to 67. The first thing we did was to restore that back to 65. Unlike the party opposite, we have been investing in seniors by increasing their old age security and guaranteed income supplement. These are all measures the party opposed.
We have had the backs of seniors before, and we are going to continue to make sure we support seniors.
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- Mar/21/23 2:56:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years under the Prime Minister, Canadians have never been more indebted. Wasteful government spending has driven up the costs of heating, housing and food. We know that Canadians can no longer feed themselves because food banks are overwhelmed.
In fact, in a recent visit to a community food bank in my riding, I was shocked to see people lined up out the door to get food. On April 1, it is going to get worse because the completely tone-deaf Liberal government is going to increase the carbon tax.
When will the Prime Minister finally get out of the way so that we can fix what he broke?
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- Mar/21/23 2:57:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, first of all, it is Canadians who decide who is in government and not Conservative members of Parliament. However, let us be clear that 2.7 million fewer Canadians are in poverty today than when the Conservatives were in government.
When it comes to supporting Canadians, we have been there, whether it is supporting children with the Canada child benefit, supporting seniors with the guaranteed income supplement, increasing the GIS or old age security for those over 75 or the Canada workers benefit. In fact, when it comes to supporting food banks, our government has been there. We are there through the community support services recovery fund. We are going to be there for Canadians, and we are going to be there for the organizations—
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- Mar/21/23 2:58:01 p.m.
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The hon. member for Northumberland—Peterborough South.
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- Mar/21/23 2:58:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would sincerely invite this member to come down to the Food Share Food Bank in Cobourg, meet with these individuals and tell them that life has never been so good because that is just not true.
The truth of the matter is the Liberal government is as incompetent at fighting the affordability crisis as it is at climate change. It fails to meet every target. It continues to make life more and more expensive for Canadians.
When will the Prime Minister finally get out of the way so that we can fix what they broke?
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- Mar/21/23 2:58:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if the Conservatives are as worried as we are about how Canadians are doing, then they should explain why, every time we want to help Canadians who need it most, they vote against the measures that could truly help them.
For example, when we offered a $500 top-up to Canadians who are struggling to pay rent, the Conservatives voted against it; when we permanently got rid of federal interest on student loans, the Conservatives voted against it.
They should explain why they refuse to help Canadians during these difficult times.
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- Mar/21/23 2:59:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the ink on the health transfers agreement is not even dry and the federal government is already making cuts.
It has announced $82 million in cuts to health care funding, and half of those cuts will be made in Quebec. Ottawa is taking $41 million out of our health care system. The minister must know that all our health centres are in crisis. At this time, the ER in Lachine has been partly closed since February. In the Outaouais, the ER occupancy rate is at 200%.
How can anyone be so heartless as to make cuts to emergency rooms at this time?
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- Mar/21/23 2:59:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am certain that my colleague, like all members of the House, agree that in Canada we receive health care based on need and not on our ability to pay. The Canada Health Act is clear. In Canada, what gives us access to health care is our health card, not the privilege of being able to pay for health care or the inability to pay for it.
That is why we will continue to ensure that all Canadians can have access to free quality health care.
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- Mar/21/23 3:00:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what the federal government is doing is completely unacceptable. Quebec has not yet received one cent from the forced agreement on health transfers. On top of having to wait for the money to be budgeted in Ottawa, we now know the minister is already making cuts.
Not only is he barely meeting one-sixth of Quebec's emergency room needs, but, before the money is even paid out, he is taking $41 million away from us.
Is there anyone left on the other side of the House who is smart enough to understand that now is not the time to make cuts to health care?
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- Mar/21/23 3:01:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to inform my colleague that the Government of Quebec, Mr. Dubé and I are working together to ensure that, in Quebec as elsewhere in the country, access to essential diagnostics remains free.
There is an opportunity for the Quebec government to correct the situation and recover the money that has been cut, as is currently the case in British Columbia. We will work collaboratively to ensure that Government of Canada funding is used to guarantee that medically necessary care, including diagnostics, can be accessed free of charge in Quebec as well as across the country.
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- Mar/21/23 3:01:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government's April 1 planned tax hike on alcohol is no joke for Canadian craft brewers.
This buzzkilling tax would mean fewer jobs, fewer paycheques and higher beer prices for Canadians, who already pay some of the highest beer prices in the whole world. We can talk about hosing Canadians.
Will the government help our buds make more suds and freeze the April 1 escalator tax on alcohol, or will it continue its brew-ha-ha on job-killing, inflation-inducing tax hikes on Canadian craft brewers and consumers?
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- Mar/21/23 3:02:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, puns notwithstanding, we understand, and I understand as Minister of Tourism, the importance that the beer, wine and spirits industry brings to our communities, our microbreweries and our very ridings.
However, let us be serious about serious matters. This escalator has been in place for a long time. It is about tax fairness. What we are actually talking about is less than 1¢ per can of beer. That is what the federal amount is. Let us have the Conservatives talk about serious matters, and we will respond in a serious manner.
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