44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 25, 2023 10:00AM
Madam Speaker, it is always a privilege to rise in the House on behalf of the residents of Brantford—Brant. The budget released by the current out-of-touch government, blindly supported by the NDP, fails to support the number one issue to my constituents and to many Canadians, which is the cost of living crisis. The costly coalition is solely responsible for the financial uncertainties Canadian families have been facing for the last eight years. Conservatives and Canadians have been calling out the Prime Minister's inflationary taxes and spending as they continue to hurt the hard-working people of this country the most.
With the support of the entire Conservative caucus, our leader demanded that this budget work for the people who work for this country. We had three clear demands, which were as follows: ending the inflationary deficits and spending; lowering taxes, including scrapping the carbon tax; and removing government gatekeepers to free up land and speed up building permits, so that people can afford housing in this country once again. Unsurprisingly, this budget fails to fulfill any of these demands. Instead, it would bring an extra $43 billion of new inflation, debt and taxes. This is what the Prime Minister delivers year after year: debt, inflation and more costs on the backs of hard-working Canadians.
Last year, the Deputy Prime Minister pledged that the debt-to-GDP ratio would decline and that deficits would be reduced. She said, “This is our fiscal anchor. This is a line we will not cross. It will ensure that our finances remain sustainable.” A year later, her boss and the entire Liberal team definitely crossed that line numerous times.
I will specifically discuss how this budget fails to address the cost of living crisis that is hurting Canadian families, how the coalition focuses on flushing out the pockets of taxpayers and punishing workers and what the next Conservative government would do differently.
On April 1, the Liberal carbon tax increased to 14¢ per litre, making it more expensive for Canadians to heat their homes and get to work. Despite the Liberals claiming for years that 80% of households that were paying the carbon tax would end up with more money in their pockets, the PBO confirmed what we Conservatives have been saying all along: The carbon tax will actually put Canadians in a worse financial position. As outlined by the PBO, the carbon tax will cost the average family between $400 and $847 in 2023, even after the rebates.
The carbon tax is not now and has never been an environmental plan. It is a costly tax plan that is damaging to families, especially those on a fixed income and those who live in rural areas. In fact, the current government has failed to hit any of its emissions targets.
Statistics Canada recently reported that grocery prices are rising at the fastest rate in 40 years. Almost a quarter of Canadians have had to cut back on the food they buy to keep up with rising grocery prices; to cope with food costs, 20% of families are skipping meals. As the current government knows, last summer was the worst for Canadian food banks in 40 years. They recorded 1.5 million visits in just one month, which is a 55% increase over 2019. The number of visits is projected to be greater this year. Working Canadians need and deserve concrete and fiscally responsible changes. The all-talk, no-action approach taken by the Prime Minister is failing Canadians.
Canadians are the ones paying for the government's agenda. What is the government offering in return through this budget? It is offering a grocery rebate; in reality, this is nothing more than an enhanced GST credit of anywhere from $200 to $500. Shockingly, this will not be made available until July of this year. This works out to approximately $3.85 to $9.61 a week. The government is making a mockery of the cost of living crisis by suggesting that this credit would make a tangible difference in the lives of Canadians. This is not even enough to cover the cost of milk and cereal for children in a given week.
In addition, “Canada's Food Price Report 2023” predicts that a family of four will spend over $1,000 more on food this year. This is almost $600 more than the $467 rebate that such a family would receive. This so-called rebate would not even come close to covering the rising cost of food that the Liberal deficits and tax hikes have caused. It would permit the rising cost of living, however, as the price of food is expected to increase by an additional 5% to 7% by the end of the year.
The budget contains no new policies to increase the supply of Canadian housing, even as record-high immigration places unprecedented stresses on home and rental prices. The reality is that home prices have doubled since the tax-and-spend Prime Minister took office in 2015.
There are 35-year-olds who have no choice but to live in their parents' basements; they are unable to buy a home and start a family. According to Bloomberg, Canada has the second most inflated housing bubble in the world. Monthly payments on mortgages are rising even as house prices are dropping.
We have an amount of available land that is second in the world, yet Vancouver and Toronto are the world's third and 10th most overpriced housing markets. To put that into perspective, renters in Toronto can now expect to pay over $2,300 per month for a one-bedroom apartment. The government housing benefit, involving a one-time payment of $500, was nothing more than a small bandage on a serious crisis.
To give this point greater emphasis, The Canadian Press reported today that only 44% of those who would have likely been eligible for the one-time top-up to the housing benefit actually received it, and just over one-half have received the Canadian dental benefit. That is unbelievable and inexcusable incompetence.
The expenses of the government are driving up the cost of living. In the Prime Minister’s legacy, he will stand as the one who has doubled Canada’s deficit, adding more debt than all Canadian prime ministers combined.
Inflation is at a 40-year high. Canadian homeowners experienced eight consecutive interest rate hikes, at the fastest rate in decades. If families bought a modest home with an affordable mortgage five years ago, and it is now up for renewal, they will pay $7,000 more a year.
The former chief economic analyst of Statistics Canada says that, by failing to control spending, the government’s budget is working against the Bank of Canada’s policy to reduce inflation. The Prime Minister believed that the budget would balance itself, claimed he was not interested in monetary policy and took on debt so people would not have to. He is now advising, with a serious face, that Canadians should be fine with using their credit cards to pay for tuition and home renovations.
CTV News reported that more and more Canadians are resorting to debt to pay bills amid high inflation. This is not to mention that the average increase in debt payment because of higher interest rates is another $2,000. Despite the Liberal political narrative, it has been revealed that 40% of all new spending measures had nothing to do with COVID. That is an astonishing $205 billion.
Despite this abysmal track record, it is important for Canadians to know that not all hope is lost. A Conservative government would turn the financial situation in this country around. To be specific, a Conservative government would create more cash flow by creating more of what cash buys. We would produce more food, gas and other resources here in Canada.
We would remove government gatekeepers by building more homes and making Canada the place where one can get a building permit most quickly in the world. We would make energy more affordable. The next Conservative government would repeal anti-energy laws and get Canadian energy out into the world market.
We would cut corporate welfare and scrap the carbon tax, while simultaneously tackling climate change by making alternative energy cheaper instead of making everything else more expensive. We would reform the tax-and-benefit system, making sure that Canadians are rewarded for their work, and putting those hard-earned dollars from picking up an extra shift into their pockets, not the government's pocket.
We would be a government that restores hope. We would rekindle the belief that people’s paycheques and savings can buy them a decent life. We would make fiscally responsible decisions to create an affordable life for Canadians. We would restore Canada’s promise in a country where everyone has the ability to achieve their goals, regardless of who they are.
I will continue to stand for the interests of my constituents and fight for all working Canadians. I will not be supporting this inflationary budget bill.
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Madam Speaker, I listened keenly to the member's speech. At the end, he said that he will always stand for the interests of his constituents. I wonder if that means their financial interests.
I know that, like Milton, Brantford—Brant is a family community. The member actively talked down the importance of immigration as a direct contributor to our economy. He talked about building permits, as if the federal government had anything to do with building permits in his community. He also ignored the fact that 32,000 households in his riding are likely to benefit directly from the grocery rebate in this budget.
Demographically, his riding is a lot like mine, so I also know that over 1,200 kids in Brantford—Brant have accessed dental care because of our health care investments. At the same time, our child care agreements are saving a lot of money for families in his riding. It is not the best it has ever been, as he claims we say. Times are tough, but we have solutions. The members on the other side have only slogans and absolutely no solutions for Canadians.
What does he have?
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Madam Speaker, we, as Conservatives, have so much more to offer Canadians than this particular member and that entire Liberal government. They are failing Canadians. They continue to fail Canadians with their failed policies.
Mr. Adam van Koeverden: Name one measure.
Mr. Larry Brock: One measure? I will give you measures—
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- Apr/25/23 5:14:57 p.m.
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I want to remind members that they are not to be asking questions when they have already asked a question, and when I have not asked if there are questions and comments.
I would ask the hon. member for Brantford—Brant to not engage in any other conversations going on or questions being asked.
The hon. member for Brantford—Brant has the floor.
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Madam Speaker, perhaps my friend failed to listen attentively to the last part of my speech, where I identified six key measures the next Conservative government would take to address the affordability issue.
To address the member for Milton specifically on that issue, we will start, number one, by scrapping the carbon tax. How is that for an answer?
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Mr. Speaker, there is something quite interesting in Bill C-47 that has passed under the radar because it is hidden in a pile of measures. In division 31 of the bill, which is in part 4 and on page 325, the government introduces a measure that has absolutely nothing to do with the budget. It is asking us to recognize Charles the Third as King of Canada through an amendment to the Royal Style and Titles Act. It is not clear what that has to do with anything.
Furthermore, currently, any time a government makes an order in council appointment, as is the case here, that individual may be called before a parliamentary committee to verify their qualifications. My question for my colleague is this. Does he think that Charles the Third, by the Grace of God King of Canada and His other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth, should be called before a committee to verify his qualifications?
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Mr. Speaker, I am not sure if there was a distinct question there but, I make no apologies for the beliefs and values I bring to the House. I swore an allegiance to Her Majesty at the time. Although I did not have to formally swear an allegiance to His Majesty, I stand fully in support of the monarchy and always will.
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Mr. Speaker, I listen intently every time Conservatives stand to speak in the House because I am listening to hear if we are finally going to hear something about the climate crisis and protecting our environment, but yet again, we are not hearing anything about that.
We do, however, hear about carbon capture. That is the push they would like to see, despite the International Panel on Climate Change making it clear that this method of reducing greenhouse gas emissions is unproven, risky and one of the most expensive options.
When will the member and the Conservatives finally acknowledge that we are in a climate crisis and start pushing the government for real solutions for future generations?
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Mr. Speaker, we will continue to push the government for solutions on many issues, including the environment. We have never shied away from that.
I would encourage the member from the NDP to stand by her values and her principles the next time she is blindly supporting the government on these issues.
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Mr. Speaker, this is a question that probably deserves more time than we have, but we are talking about inflation, and a lot of what we are experiencing right now is not typical inflation. It is not a wage-price spiral. It is from events that are making things cost more, such as the impact of Putin's attack on Ukraine and the impact of climate events, which make various foodstuffs cost more.
I wonder if the hon. member has some thoughts on that, about how he distinguishes between inflationary trends the Bank of Canada can affect, for example, and things costing more. How do we alleviate those costs for Canadians?
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her thoughtful introspection on this particularly important issue.
The thrust of my speech was very obvious. It is the failed fiscal policies of this government that have created the financial crisis, the affordability crisis that we find ourselves in.
I am not diminishing world events. I think it has taken root around the world and it has impacted Canada to a certain degree, but as many economists have argued, as many former random Liberals have argued, it is the failed Liberal policies that have contributed to the crisis we are facing.
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Mr. Speaker, as the member for Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, I am pleased to rise to speak to Bill C-47, budget implementation act, 2023, No. 1.
I want to start, first, by explaining that Canada has probably been the most successful country coming out of COVID in the last two years. In the last year, we have seen the best and strongest economic growth in the G7, which is quite impressive.
Canadians had created 1.2 million jobs prior to the pandemic. Now we have recaptured that 1.2 million, and Canadians have created another 830,000 jobs. That is over two million jobs in the last five years. I would say that is very impressive.
Yes, we are facing inflation, which is a challenge the world is facing, but in the last month inflation has come down from 8% to 4.2%. The banks and economists are saying we are going to be down to about 3% by September. That is quite impressive as well.
We know there are challenges. We know the banks raised the interest rate, which is putting more pressure on individuals and Canadians, yet the unemployment rate is at a record low, which is extremely important.
What we have seen as well with unemployment is the fact that we brought forward the learning and child care program. We have seen a lot more women joining the workforce, which has shown us at a record high of 85.7% of women between 25 and 55 years of age participating in the workforce.
This budget targets inflation relief, strengthening public health care and dental care, the clean economy, and of course, maintaining our lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7.
The grocery rebate is directly helping 11 million Canadians. It is extremely important. A family of four is receiving about $467. Single Canadians are receiving about $234, and seniors are receiving $225. That is for low-income Canadians who are receiving the GST, of course.
For students, we are increasing the student grant by 40% and raising the interest-free Canada student loan limit so we can be of help on that end as well.
There have been various programs for seniors. I just mentioned the grocery rebate for those with low incomes. We also increased the OAS and GIS, which will grow by 30% by 2027-28. That is about $20 billion a year in increases, so that is direct support for seniors to ensure they are able to enjoy their retirement.
In the riding of Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, there have also been investments, like in the Beaverbank Kinsac Lions Club, which received $25,000 for upgrades. Also, the Sackville Seniors Advisory Council received $25,000 for programming. Those are direct investments into the riding of Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook.
On the housing front, which is extremely important, for first-time homebuyers, young people, there is a new tax-free savings account, which will allow them to save $40,000 tax-free over, I believe, about seven years. This is tax-free going in and tax-free coming out for first-time homebuyers, which will be a very good investment and definitely a major help to young people.
It is also creating more flexibility around existing mortgages by extending amortization payments, adjusting the payment schedule or even authorizing lump sum payments. In the riding of Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, there have been some successful housing projects in the Chezzetcook area, the Lake Echo area and the Preston area.
Under the economy, industry and competitiveness for the green economy, which is a focus of our government, there are tax credits that will entice, invite, encourage and build on green electricity. We will see a 15% tax rebate on clean electricity. We will also see up to 30% in tax credits for machinery or equipment used for manufacturing or processing clean technology. The cleanest, hydrogen, will get up to a 40% rebate, which is encouraging. We know that Canadians will move forward on those major initiatives.
Through the Canada Infrastructure Bank, we have invested up to $20 billion for major projects in electricity and clean growth, and for those in Ontario, we have seen a major project, which is a game-changer, in the Volkswagen battery manufacturing, which will be an asset for the workers and people in Ontario.
I will quote the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters: “CME welcomes #Budget2023 and the initial steps it takes to respond to the US Inflation Reduction Act...drive net zero transitions, improve labour shortages, and alleviate and supply chain disruptions.” That will also be an asset.
There are also industry-targeted investments we have for our space industry, our forestry industry and our tourism industry. We know our tourism industry took a major hit during COVID. We need to support our communities, so they can have more ways of attracting more tourists to their communities and also invest in bringing more international investment in conventions and events in our regions.
With that, of course, I cannot go without mentioning the investment in Michelin, the tire plant in Nova Scotia. It has three plants, of course, and the Bridgewater one is where they are going to modernize and also create innovative technology for tires to be more efficient, including the electric vehicle tires. Of course, they will cut on emissions, which will mean more jobs and a reduction to the environmental footprint of our economy.
We have also seen some reductions and savings, of up to $15 billion over five years, by reducing spending on consulting firms. There will be a 3% reduction for each department right across the government and $6 billion in savings over six years through the realignment of former announcements.
I do need to touch on a couple of key things. Health care is extremely important in Nova Scotia. We had been receiving $3.5 billion over 10 years. Now, we will be receiving $5 billion, which is $1.5 million, or a third, more. That would be very helpfully invested in home care, long-term care, dental care, oral health care, major doctors and nurses, and also in promoting initiatives to bring them to rural and remote communities.
Our workers are very important, and one of the things I want to talk about is the doubling of the tradespeople tool deduction from $500 to $1,000. I have heard many tradespeople tell me that was something they wanted. Also, I think a very important initiative is the employer ownership trusts, which mean there would be tax changes to allow private owners to sell to their employees the shares in the business, which would make them directly engaged in the challenges, but also the profits as well.
Our student work placement program is creating quality work-integrated learning opportunities. I will share with members that there is an announcement we had in Nova Scotia not so long ago of the Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency's START program, which sees many students who are learning on the ground as well as in their institutions.
There are many other investments, of course. The one I want to talk about is the investment in veterans to reduce backlogs once again. We already reduced the backlogs by 70%. We want to bring that down to 0. Also, we will continue to support our veterans through various services. There are some investments in my riding, of course. The Royal Canadian Legion branch in Waverley would receive $159,000 for a roof replacement, and the one in Eastern Passage would receive over $21,000 for renovations as well.
There is lots of investment, of course, in Atlantic Canada, in the Coast Guard, the ferry services, protecting our fresh waters and the Atlantic loop, which would help Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and others.
In closing, very importantly, I want to thank the Minister of Finance and the Prime Minister. I also want to thank all Canadians who contributed to the success of this budget, because it is a budget for Canada.
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moved that Bill C-323, An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act (mental health services), be read the second time and referred to a committee.
He said: Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to be here this evening to introduce this bill, which would exempt psychotherapy and mental health counselling services from the goods and services tax. There is a mental health crisis in Canada. Unfortunately, these problems affect 33% of Canadians, from the youngest to the oldest. This is serious. It is a very serious problem.
This evening I rise to address an extremely troubling issue for Canadians, which is mental health. It is very difficult to capture exactly what we are talking about when we speak of mental health. I will talk a bit about it, as we go forward, in multiple areas, using my experience as a physician over the last 30 years, and about what it means to me and those folks whom I have had the opportunity to treat with respect to their mental health.
Before I start that, though, I want to read a letter I received today:
Good morning Dr. Ellis,
We met in April last year...and had a memorable discussion about the impact of the tax on psychotherapy and counselling therapy services on your constituents. I am now a full-time clinician working with children and youth, and our conversation especially touched on the main barriers to mental health care for these vulnerable young people in Canada.... I have followed this issue closely. I appreciate that you called [the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association] to speak before HESA, and your commitment to rectifying this issue through your Bill C-323.
As you likely know, our parliamentary petition e-4126 [has] been rejected by the Government due to semantics over the different regulatory titles of our profession in the various regulated provinces. Unfortunately, I now need to increase my fees in order to account for this unfair tax. I am deeply concerned about the financial strain it will have on my clients, and clients of all clinicians across Canada and in your constituency. Inflation has significantly increased the cost of psychotherapy and counselling therapy services.
It causes me considerable discomfort to have to read that here and underscore the importance of the need to change the unfair Excise Tax Act. We know that many therapists who help to look after the mental health of Canadians do not charge tax on their services. For instance, psychologists, psychiatrists and family doctors do not have to charge HST on their services.
The difficulty here is access. We all know that when someone is referred for treatment for mental health issues in Canada, it takes an inordinate amount of time to access those services. That is one of the things I have learned, having been a family doctor. Actually, I graduated from medical school 30 years ago this year, which is shocking since I was 12 when I graduated. Doogie Howser was my name. I am just joking; this is a serious subject.
That being said, I think it is important to say that, as clinicians, one thing we understand is that when someone comes into our office and has finally made the decision and realized that they are suffering with a mental health problem, they want treatment and they want it now. The sad state of affairs that exists in Canada is that we are not able to provide that. Of course, delays may easily mean someone does not get the treatment they need, only to then slip further into the issues they have. That presents a significant difficulty.
We know there is a significant range of mental health issues we can see from a clinician's perspective. Whether it is an issue with a young person whose relationship is breaking up, more severe depressive type symptoms or generalized anxiety disorder, there is a whole host of issues, all the way to schizophrenia and depression in later years in seniors. All of those things form the basis of what we understand as mental health.
There have been considerable efforts made around the world, and in Canada in particular, to look at mental health issues and make it more acceptable to speak out loud about mental health so that people know speaking about it is what will allow them to seek out the help and services they need. However, those services may not be available. It would be an absolute shame if someone has made that decision and then is unable to receive the services they need.
Mental health, of course, affects our physical health. Often, as a family physician, I would spend a lot of time in the office trying to understand exactly what was wrong with someone. A common presentation, like maybe insomnia, a lack of ability to sleep or feeling tired all the time, requires a significant amount of workup to ensure there is no physical health problem.
Oftentimes, I would go down that road of understanding and try to convince somebody that their problem lies with an illness such as depression. Once they are convinced of that, which is not always the case, then of course the treatment regime is what follows. It could be medications, but counselling is an essential part of treatment to help people begin to undo some of the negative thought processes they have and help them with a more resilient type of thinking for the future.
We know that those two things go hand in hand. They are essential. Again, there is a multitude of ways to receive that type of treatment, but we know that psychotherapy and mental health counselling can be a significant part of it.
With the letter I read, we know very clearly that there is a significant financial burden on folks who are working in this industry and how difficult it is for people who are coming forward. Oftentimes, psychotherapy services and mental health counselling services, for those fortunate enough to have a health care plan, have a limit within a plan. Often there is no coverage, of course, for those not fortunate enough to have a health care plan.
That means, specifically for these two types of services, that people are paying GST or HST on top of a significant amount, perhaps $150, $175, $200 or $250 an hour, to receive those types of services. Of course, as we all know by doing simple math, that can add up fairly quickly, which becomes a disincentive. If we do the math quickly, we can understand that if we remove this tax from these services, almost every eighth visit will be free for a person. To me, that is a significant issue.
Another thing I want to mention is the breadth of Canadians who are affected by mental health issues. I had the opportunity to speak to some international medical graduates this past week in the Toronto area who were in this country from two years to 28 years. Unfortunately, as we know, with the systems that exist, all 15 folks I had the opportunity to speak with were unable to gain licensure here in Canada as physicians. They worked as lab techs, security guards and physician assistants, and some of them had moved on. One guy rose through the ranks to be vice-president of a company. They were all very well-educated and hard-working folks.
The other part of this is that sadly, Canada, in the international medical community, has become known as the graveyard for doctors. That is the term they use. When they come here, they get in an interminable cycle that does not allow them to practise. Why am I talking about this? It is not because we have this great program called the blue seal program, which would eliminate these problems. It is because of the heart-wrenching stories I heard from these international medical graduates, who were very well trained in their own country.
One of the telling stories I heard was of a gentleman who said his children knew that he was a physician, but when he went to work, they asked why he was dressing up in a security guard uniform. When we hear that, we can understand the heart-wrenching nature of the amount of effort that all of these folks put into their work, into their profession, which they are unable to practise here. I could tell that the tears were very close to the surface and ready to flow.
That is an important story because we know, as I said at the beginning, that mental health can affect people of younger ages all the way to the end of life. We know that is a significant issue. We also know that there are other significant groups, such as racialized minorities, immigrants and people who identify as part of the LGBTQ community, that suffer with more mental illness than other portions of the population. We need to understand that mental illness affects everybody across every spectrum of the population in Canada. It is a very important thing we need to underscore.
We also need to understand that the health care system is failing us. We know that in Canada, some services in mental health care are paid for, such as in my province of Nova Scotia, but we also know that for expenses in health care, Canada is ranked first among 30 OECD countries in percentage of health care spending as part of the economy. We know that we are severely lacking in doctors per 1,000 people, in specialist wait times and in access to resources. For this reason, we know that when the government has the opportunity to make changes on some very specific things, that could perhaps cross party lines if there is something we can significantly do about it.
It behooves us to look at a few things regarding the way the pandemic has impacted the mental health of Canadians.
We certainly know that youth have been significantly affected, more so than other segments of the population. Since COVID-19, fewer Canadians report having excellent or very good mental health. It was 68% in 2019 and it was down to 55% in July 2020. Prior to COVID, youth aged 15 to 24 were the least likely to report excellent or very good mental health, a sad state in and of itself, but they reported the greatest decline, a 20 percentage point reduction, from 60% pre-COVID to, sadly, 40% in July 2020. Inexplicably, it appears that seniors age 65 and older have not experienced declines in mental health since the pandemic began. As I mentioned previously, women continue to report lower levels of mental health compared with men, from 52% to 58%.
Another very important thing to note is that there are groups in Canada doing very good work. I will give a shout-out to my daughter, Allison Fitzgerald, who was on TV this morning talking about Kids Help Phone, which has done excellent work. It has some shocking numbers, though, when we think about it. Since the pandemic began, it has had 14 million interactions with youth in Canada. We know that is a significant issue that continues to come forward.
The Canadian Paediatric Society put out policy briefs with respect to child and youth mental health, recognizing the significant issues associated with it. It said, “Accessible, evidence-based treatments can help mitigate long-term disabilities and support academic and occupational success.” It also said, which we again need to underscore, “Those under the age of 25 have been uniquely impacted by the pandemic.” They have had stress, anxiety, disrupted access to learning and identity-affirming activities, and reduced academic and economic opportunities.
In conclusion, what can we do to help support all Canadians? We can modify the Excise Tax Act and eliminate the taxes on psychotherapy services and mental health counsellors. Even though we may say this is not a huge issue, we have an opportunity to do something. The government needs to look at opportunities so we can stop talking, make a difference and do something to help the health of Canadians.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech and for introducing Bill C-323.
The basic objective of the bill is to expand access to mental health services, and we agree with that. However, given that the majority of provinces do not yet have a definition for psychotherapy and mental health counselling services, how can we ensure that the bill will be applied in the same way in every province?
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- Apr/25/23 5:46:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think that it is important to find a way to address the problem. We can find proper titles for professions such as psychotherapist and mental health counsellor. I think that it is possible, then, to group together all professions offering the same services even if they have different names.
I think that this is a way to find the process that will be best for all Canadians.
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- Apr/25/23 5:47:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, can my colleague tell us whether each province has its own criteria for officially recognizing the profession of psychotherapy? Are the criteria consistent? I would like him to tell me more about this subject.
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- Apr/25/23 5:47:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think I have used up all my French today, and I apologize to my colleagues. It is hard to speak and think at the same time in a different language, so maybe I used it all up.
As I said previously, there are some different definitions, but if we look at this as a broad definition in a different basket to be able to say that these are the types of services that are provided by these individuals, then I think we have a pathway forward to begin to say that we need to provide help for these services. The other way to look at it is from the opposite point of view. The mental health counselling services that are required to charge GST or HST are the folks we want to be exempted from this.
I do not think the nomenclature needs to allow us to not be able to move forward and cause us to have paralysis on this. We need to move forward for the betterment of all Canadians.
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- Apr/25/23 5:48:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, first, I want to thank my colleague for Cumberland—Colchester, because he did draw pretty high in the order of precedence to move forward with a bill that is going to remove barriers for people to get access to mental health care and psychotherapy, which is very important. My colleague from London—Fanshawe had a bill that was very similar, as he is well aware.
We believe, as New Democrats, that there should not be tax on health care, and I think most of us agree. We need to do better to make sure there is access. Does my colleague agree that we need to go much further, that there needs to be true parity between physical and mental health in our country, that it should be universal and everybody should have access?
We know this will increase access, but many are still going to have to pay out of pocket in a two-tiered mental health care system, and they cannot afford it. Does my colleague agree that we need to create a pathway to get to a truly universal mental health care system in this country?
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- Apr/25/23 5:49:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, one of the things we often find here in the chamber and in the federal government, or at least I have found since I have been here in the last 18 to 20 months, is that sometimes we try to swing for a home run, but we strike out. I think this is something we can start with and actually make a difference in the lives of many Canadians in an area of health care that we know is in significant crisis. If we start saying, “Hey, we're going to do this, or let's add that, or something else,” then we are not actually going to accomplish anything, which is my fear in saying, “Yes, we should aspire to greatness.”
Of course, everyone in their own life should aspire to greatness, but I think we should aspire to things that we can actually do so that we can make a difference in the lives of Canadians, and then we are moving things forward here. Again, when the Conservatives have the ability to form government, we will attempt to do great things, hopefully with the support of all of our colleagues, and then we can see Canada move forward as a greater country.
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be able to take part in today's debate on Bill C‑323, an act to amend the Excise Tax Act with regard to mental health services.
I want to thank the member for Cumberland—Colchester for bringing forward this important subject. The MP for London—Fanshawe also introduced a bill on this subject.
The bill would exempt psychotherapy and mental health counselling services from the goods and services tax and the harmonized sales tax.
I would begin by pointing out that our government has been taking meaningful action to support mental health care services for Canadians since 2015.
These investments include $5 billion over 10 years to provinces and territories starting in 2017 to improve and increase the availability of mental health and addiction services.
The toxic drug and overdose crisis claims the lives of 20 Canadians a day, on average. Many of them are homeless and have mental health problems. That has a major impact on our communities, our health care systems and our social services.
To address this crisis and save lives, we have invested more than $800 million since 2017. We have restored harm reduction as an essential pillar of our strategy and work to support a compassionate and evidence-based response to the overdose crisis and the stigma associated with it.
Since 2020, we have also invested over $270 million in the Wellness Together Canada portal, which gives Canadians free tools and support for their health and well-being.
Starting in 2021, we began delivering $100 million over three years to support projects for innovative mental health interventions for populations disproportionately impacted by COVID, including health care workers, frontline workers, youth, seniors, persons with disabilities, indigenous people and racialized communities.
Since last year, we have begun investing $1.5 billion over six years to support trauma-informed, culturally appropriate, indigenous-led services to improve mental wellness, including over $825 million through budget 2021 and budget 2022 to support distinctions-based mental health and wellness strategies with first nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples.
Building on these historic investments, budget 2023 proposes significant new funding to build upon and complement the substantial existing investments for mental health and substance use supports for Canadians.
On February 7, we announced an investment of nearly $200 billion over 10 years to improve health care services for Canadians, including mental health care services. This commitment includes billions of dollars in additional federal funding transferred to the provinces and territories to improve health and mental health care over the coming years through a combination of an increase in the Canada health transfer and an additional $25 billion over 10 years to support bilateral agreements with the provinces and territories.
The new FPT bilateral agreements include an integrated inclusive approach to mental health in family health services, the health workforce, as well as data and digital tools. These investments will support the health and mental health needs of Canadians and will require provinces and territories to produce detailed action plans.
This approach is the most effective way to integrate mental health and substance use services into the health care system, including primary care, and to ensure transparency and accountability on the part of the provinces and territories as to how this funding is spent and where it is spent.
In addition, budget 2023 proposes to provide a total of $359.2 million over five years starting in 2023-24 to support a renewed Canadian drugs and substances strategy.
Budget 2023 also proposes providing $158.4 million over three years, starting in 2023‑24, to support the implementation and operation of the new national suicide prevention line, 988.
We have partnered with CAMH to oversee the implementation of this new crisis line and we are working closely with our U.S. counterparts to learn from their four-year implementation process for the similar service they launched last year.
We know that the fundamental principle of Bill C‑323 is to make mental health services more accessible and that is a principle we support.
However, our government also appreciates that tax changes, like those proposed in Bill C-323, should ideally be undertaken through the budget process, extensive debate and in discussion with provinces and territories. This enables us to fully consider trade-offs, balance priorities, close potential loopholes and undertake new fiscal commitments only to the extent that they are fair and affordable.
In short, this approach ensures consistency with the tax framework and the uniformity of the entire tax system. Making a tax exemption through the ad hoc passage of a private member's bill such as Bill C-323 has the potential to undermine this process.
Viewed through this lens, this bill raises a number of issues.
Because health care is essentially a provincial responsibility, the federal government uses provincial funding and regulatory practices as criteria to determine which services should be considered basic health care services for taxation purposes.
In this regard, if a service is covered by the health care plan of two or more provinces, it may be considered basic health care and exempted from the GST/HST in all provinces. Likewise, if a profession is regulated as a health care profession by at least five provinces, the services of that profession may be exempted from the GST/HST in all provinces.
However, psychotherapy and mental health counselling are not currently covered by the public health system in any province and are not regulated in at least five provinces.
This means that exempting the GST/HST on psychotherapy and mental health counselling services as proposed by Bill C-323 could undermine the long-standing criteria established for determining the GST/HST status of health care services.
Consequently, this could make it more difficult to make objective decisions about any possible future efforts to exempt other services.
While psychotherapy and mental health counselling services do not currently meet any of the long-standing criteria that were established to determine which health care services supplied by health care practitioners should be exempt, psychotherapy services provided by a psychologist or other regulated health professional such as a physician, nurse or social worker do meet the criteria and are already exempt if the services are within the scope of practice of their profession.
We look forward to exploring these issues through the legislative process. In particular, whether the bill would apply in the same way in each province is an important issue to be explored through debate. This is a basic question of fairness for Canadians.
We look forward to exploring these issues through the legislative process and, in particular, whether the bill would apply in the same way in each province. That is an important issue that should be discussed in this debate.
Canadians deserve to have access to the mental health services they need.
Canadians deserve to have access to the mental health services they need. That is why our government is committed to ensuring that mental health care is treated as an equal and integral part of Canada's universal health care system.
While we do support removing barriers to Canadians' access to mental health support, it is my hope that the considerations that I noted earlier will be addressed through parliamentary debate and review.
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