44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 24, 2023 11:00AM
- Apr/24/23 2:38:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are two-faced.
They say they care about Canadians but they voted against the Canada child benefit. They voted against the Canada workers benefit. They voted against the dental care programs. They voted against the housing programs.
I want to reassure my colleagues by stating that this is the best tax season we have had since 2015, because 95% of Canadians are submitting their tax returns electronically and there are no delays in payments.
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- Apr/24/23 2:45:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I know the Conservatives have a short memory, but the public service was increased by 50% because we were delivering the Canadian emergency response benefit to eight and a half million Canadians. It is a fact that, at the greatest health and economic challenge of our time, this government was there for Canadians.
My big concern is not only that the Conservatives have forgotten this but also that they would not do the same thing to help Canadians in their time of need.
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- Apr/24/23 3:05:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians pay the highest cellphone rates in the world. In fact, Rogers customers pay the highest cellphone rates in Canada. The minister has stated that the Rogers-Shaw deal will alleviate those prices, but instead, in typical Liberal fashion, we are seeing it is only benefiting Liberal friends and donors while Canadians pay.
Days after the announcement of the Rogers-Shaw merger, the former industry minister, who had been responsible for reducing cellphone bills by 25%, was appointed to Rogers' board of directors.
Why is it that Liberal friends and insiders always benefit while Canadians have to pay?
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Madam Speaker, the hon. member for North Island—Powell River raises the very important issue of dignity and I wholeheartedly agree with much of what she said. Seniors do deserve a dignified retirement after a lifetime of hard work. They deserve to live knowing that they have the means to pay for their housing, food and medications, to name a few. With food costs and rental costs soaring, it is hard for people to put their financial cares aside.
This is the reason why our government increased the old age security pension by 10% for seniors over the age of 75. As seniors age, they tend to have lower income and are often facing higher health-related expenses because of the onset of illness or disability. Now, thanks to the increase to the OAS, we are strengthening the financial security of 3.3 million Canadian seniors.
Because higher prices on essential goods are causing undue stress, we passed Bill C-46, the one-time grocery rebate, which will deliver targeted inflation relief for 11 million Canadians who need it the most, providing eligible seniors with an extra $234, on average.
Our new dental benefit, as the member mentioned, will help seniors get the dental care they need. That is why, in budget 2023, we proposed to provide $13 billion over five years and $4.4 billion ongoing to help nine million Canadians, including seniors, receive the dental care they need.
These new measures build on the supports that our government has already provided to seniors in the form of program changes, tax breaks and top-ups. Since 2015, we have made significant progress for seniors. To begin, we increased the GIS for nearly a million low-income single seniors. We then restored the age of eligibility from 67 to 65 for GIS and OAS pensions, which the Conservatives had planned to increase this year, if they were still in power.
We enhanced the Canada pension plan, and we reduced income taxes through increases to the basic personal amount. Finally, budget 2022 committed a top-up of $500 to the Canada housing benefit to help low-income renters, including seniors, with the cost of renting, and a one-time doubling of the GST credit for six months.
We are committed to making life more affordable for Canadians, and our government has the record to prove it.
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Madam Speaker, the parliamentary secretary correctly pointed out that the disability community will be involved in the design of the disability benefit because they called for it. Throughout the process of Bill C-22, they made clear the importance of that, so I brought forward an amendment that would require the government to meaningfully engage the disability community in the regulation.
What remains true today is that if the government really was serious, it would not wait for this whole process of regulations and everything else. Just like child care the government would have started by funding it and then moving forward with the rest. Why not do the same here?
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