SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 186 - Apr/27/23

Apr/27/23 4:45:37 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I appreciated working with the member when we were on the immigration committee together. This collaboration is something I would personally support. I cannot speak for the Liberal government or any other level of government, but I certainly believe that when we come together and collaborate, especially across party lines, we see real results. We have seen collaboration across party lines at the provincial level. All premiers of multiple different parties signed a letter demanding bail reform, which is a consequence and part of the problem the member outlined. This problem is that there are repeat violent offenders who are wreaking havoc on our communities and taking advantage of vulnerable people, particularly those addicted to drugs, thereby putting them at risk or even hurting them. I think that there is a lot that the member and I would work well together on, and collaboration is certainly a female strength. I would love to see something like that happen given all the lives that we have lost, particularly young lives in the last number of years, to the drug addiction issue.

182 words

Ms. Ruby Sahota (Brampton North, Lib.)

Apr/27/23 4:46:31 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I listened attentively to the member's speech. There are many things in this budget that are very good for Canadians. I wanted to ask about her opinion on the dental plan, which is now free for children under 12. By the end of this year, we will be expanding it to those with disabilities, seniors and those under 18. What does the member think about providing this plan for Canadians?

73 words

Ms. Raquel Dancho

Apr/27/23 4:47:05 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, when looking at the budget, I think we all need to be concerned about children and what the future will be for them. On the dental plan, I believe in provincial jurisdiction. Dental is a health care issue. I believe that we need to allow provinces to lead the way on health care issues. I feel that the Liberal government has really waded into provincial jurisdiction way too many times and way too much. I appreciate the member's question. When we are talking about children, I know that she heard when I mentioned there were multiple deaths by stabbing, notably from those repeat violent offenders I mentioned and talked about at length. Those were children who were murdered. What is her government doing about that in terms of protecting those children and ensuring their future? It is not doing a lot.

144 words

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Apr/27/23 4:47:46 p.m.
Watch

Order. It is my duty pursuant to Standing Order 38 to inform the House that the questions to be raised tonight at the time of adjournment are as follows: the hon. member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, Government Services and Procurement; the hon. member for Port Moody—Coquitlam, Health; the hon. member for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, Carbon Pricing.

63 words

Ms. Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, NDP)

Apr/27/23 4:48:10 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I am delighted to rise and enter into debate about budget 2023. There are many issues I want to touch on with the budget, but first and foremost, I must speak about the situation with the housing crisis that Canadians are facing from coast to coast to coast. It does not matter if one is in a large or a small community; there is a housing crisis all across the country. There are encampments in communities big and small, and unhoused people are in fact dying on the streets, unable to access safe, secure and affordable housing. Long-term renters are getting pushed out of their apartments just so that corporate landlords can turn a bigger profit. Tenants cannot find an affordable home, and prospective homeowners are priced right out of the market. Housing costs went up 77% under the Harper government and by another $300,000 under the Liberals. Therefore, successive Conservative and Liberal federal governments have abandoned their responsibility to invest in social and co-op housing. They are letting housing profiteering go unchecked right under their noses. Real estate investment trusts enjoy preferential tax treatment, and the seven largest real estate investment trusts alone have saved a combined $1.5 billion through federal tax loopholes. The Parliamentary Budget Officer just released a report estimating that the federal government will lose another $300 million in taxes over the next four years. Yes, the Liberals are letting corporate landlords profit off Canada's urgent housing crisis by purchasing affordable housing stock and renovicting long-term tenants to jack up rents. This is what the financialization of housing means, and it has to stop. Housing is a basic human right and not a commodity. Budget 2023 was an opportunity for the Liberal government to tackle the housing crisis and stop wealthy corporate landlords from treating housing like a stock market. Sadly, it fails to take the necessary action to ensure that Canadians' basic right to housing is met. The Federal Housing Advocate calls the budget a “sorry disappointment.” Previously, the Auditor General issued a damning report stating that the government will not reach its own targets to reduce chronic homelessness. The 25 largest financialized landlords held more than 330,000 units last year, which is nearly 20% of the country's private purpose-built stock of rental apartments. It is time to put people before profits, and the NDP has real solutions to address housing profiteering. I am calling on the Liberals to take a human rights-based approach to housing, as enshrined in the national housing strategy. The federal government must stop rewarding real estate investment trusts for pushing out long-term tenants and jacking up housing prices. We must end special tax treatment and make them pay their fair share. It is time for a moratorium on the acquisition of affordable homes by real estate investment trusts and other corporate landlords, which are making big profits while driving up the cost of housing, as well as renovicting and demovicting Canadians. It is time to put housing back into the hands of the people. The federal government needs to use the taxes from real estate investment trusts and create a non-profit acquisition fund to allow not-for-profits, co-ops and land trust organizations to purchase at-risk rental buildings when they come on the market. There should be no more profiteering, no more renovictions and no more special tax treatment for corporate landlords. Aside from addressing the issue of the financialization of housing, or profiteering, we need to take other actions as well. The coinvestment fund is a program within the national housing strategy. In the budget, this fund is almost depleted. I had been looking for the government to actually make new investments into the coinvestment fund to support non-profits in the development of social and co-op housing. However, that did not happen. What the government did was rob Peter to pay Paul; it took repair dollars within that fund to put into the construction arm of the fund. Robbing Peter to pay Paul is actually not going to get projects done. If the government does not replenish the coinvestment fund, we are not going to see those projects become viable; thus, we will not see the much-needed housing develop in the community. Strangely, the Minister of Housing, with the ministry, decided to put a cap of $25,000 per unit on the dollars that non-profits can access out of the coinvestment fund. In the face of the rising cost of housing, inflationary costs and so on, that cap will only kill projects. It will just mean that the projects cannot be developed. That makes no sense whatsoever. The federal government needs to lift the cap on this requirement. The NDP also wanted the government to invest in the rapid housing initiative. This is one program that is working relatively well, but we need to make sure that the community knows there is sustainable funding in that stream. Therefore, the NDP called for the government to invest $1.5 billion annually into the rapid housing initiative. Sadly, we did not see that investment either. One investment in housing that we did see, which the NDP fought tooth and nail for, was this: the “for indigenous, by indigenous” urban, rural and northern housing strategy. For too long, indigenous, Métis and Inuit peoples who have lived away from their home communities have not gotten the housing supports they need. Somehow, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is not recognized when they are away from their home community. This is wrong. Therefore, we have been pushing the government and demanding that action be taken. I am glad to see that, in this budget, there is an investment of $4 billion over seven years to be made in a for indigenous, by indigenous urban, rural and northern housing strategy. That is a start, I will say, and more needs to be done. This amount of money may sound like a lot, but it is still absolutely deficient when it comes to addressing the housing crisis for urban, rural and northern indigenous, Métis and Inuit peoples in our communities. We also need to make sure that the government rolls these dollars out quickly. It should not slow-walk or back-end load the program, as it has done with other programs in the national housing strategy. I would also say that it has to be true that the programs are delivered as a for indigenous, by indigenous housing strategy. The government has to hold true on this. We need sustainable funding for this into the long term. I would also say that, in the budget, I was glad to see what the NDP had pushed for and forced the government to take action on, which is the dental program. I cannot tell members how much seniors in my riding need this program. I have met seniors who have lost their teeth and are unable to afford to get dental services, where they are blending up their food to drink it in order to get the sustenance that they need to stay alive. This is just wrong. Our seniors are desperate for this program, and I am so glad to see that the NDP prioritized this and demanded that the government put forward this dental program. Therefore, at the end of this year, seniors, people with disabilities and people aged 19 and under would be able to access this program, and it is high time that we actually look at health care from head to toe and ensure that people's oral health is taken care of. I have much more to say about this budget. There are some good parts, and there are some parts that are missing. No matter what, the NDP will continue to use our power to force the government to take action. I will continue to speak up on the things where the government fell short and to fight for the community so that every member has access to fair and equal treatment and can live with dignity in our communities from coast to coast to coast.

1377 words

Mr. Chad Collins (Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, Lib.)

Apr/27/23 4:57:53 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, first and foremost, I want to thank the member for her support of the budget and for her advocacy on the housing file. As the member knows, we are going to start the financialization of housing study soon at HUMA. I know the member for Port Moody—Coquitlam, who is the author of that motion, is here tonight. I look forward to that. I just want to ask a question about social housing and the importance of investing in that. The member mentioned the rapid housing initiative. We have now had three rounds of rapid housing funds that have benefited my municipality, in particular, in my riding, and I know Vancouver has been a leader on the modular-build front. I am anxious to see further investments in that area. Could the member talk about and highlight the benefits of rapid housing and the modular builds that we have seen across the country?

156 words

Ms. Jenny Kwan

Apr/27/23 4:58:43 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, it is important for the federal government to show leadership with a national affordable housing initiative. To that end, we need to cut the red tape. The member knows very well that the federal government's CMHC is not ensuring that programs are delivered. As it is said, projects go to CMHC to die, and that is not good enough. We have to cut the red tape. Investment needs to be commensurate with the needs in our communities. The federal Liberal government cancelled the national affordable housing program in 1993. As a result of that, we lost more than half a million units of social housing and co-op housing that would otherwise have been built. We need to at least make up for that and then some as part of the solution to addressing the housing crisis.

140 words

Mrs. Tracy Gray (Kelowna—Lake Country, CPC)

Apr/27/23 4:59:39 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, in her speech, the member talked quite a bit about housing. Both of us are from British Columbia, where there is some of the highest housing costs in the country. At committee, when the housing minister was there, a Conservative asked him if he considers our housing situation in Canada a crisis. He would not acknowledge that we have a housing crisis in Canada. I am wondering if the member can comment on that and what her thoughts are on the fact that the housing minister does not consider that we have a housing crisis in Canada.

99 words

Ms. Jenny Kwan

Apr/27/23 5:00:18 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, there is no question that we have a housing crisis in Canada from coast to coast to coast. It does not matter if it is a small community or a large community, there is a housing crisis. Both the Liberals and the Conservatives have failed to tackle the issues sufficiently. The reality is that corporate landlords are making a killing. Real estate investment trusts are not paying their fair share of taxes. Why did the Conservatives allow this to happen? Why are the Liberals continuing to allow this to happen? That is why the NDP is saying no more free rides. Real estate investment trusts need to pay their fair share. If that had happened, we would have close to $2 billion that could be invested back into housing to support people in the community.

137 words

Ms. Bonita Zarrillo (Port Moody—Coquitlam, NDP)

Apr/27/23 5:01:08 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I thank the member so much for her advocacy and work on housing. It is because of the member that we are trying to save so much social housing in the community, but it is still very much at risk. I wonder if the member could share with the government how much of our affordable housing is really at risk and what the impacts will be if we lose more of it.

74 words

Ms. Jenny Kwan

Apr/27/23 5:01:31 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I thank the member for her excellent work in advocating for the community, not just on housing but also on disability issues. I will say this, just so that everybody understands. For every one unit of social housing or co-op housing built by the government, 15 units are lost. That is a significant number. We can never build enough to make up for that loss. That is why we have to stop corporate landlords from taking the affordable housing stock. That is why we have to support non-profits in holding that stock in perpetuity for the community. If we do not do that, housing prices will continue to rise and more and more people will die because they are unhoused and unable to access safe, secure, affordable housing.

132 words

Mrs. Tracy Gray (Kelowna—Lake Country, CPC)

Apr/27/23 5:02:23 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, it is always a privilege to rise on behalf of the residents of Kelowna—Lake Country. Budget 2023 is titled, on the cover, “A Made-in-Canada Plan”. There is no doubt that this is a Liberal made-in-Canada plan. It features made-in-Canada tax hikes, made-in-Canada inflation, made-in-Canada debt and made-in-Canada deficits. Budget 2023 would do nothing to make essential government services work as Canadians deserve them to, nor to make ministers and department heads accountable. The Liberal-NDP plan would continue to devalue the paycheques of hard-working people, continue to inflate the costs of gas, groceries and home heating, and continue to cut into the earnings of young families and the savings of seniors through higher taxes and high interest rates. According to a forecast prepared by the Parliamentary Budget Officer ahead of the budget, the cost of servicing our federal debt was already on course to jump from $24.5 billion to $46 billion by 2028. This is money that would no longer be available to invest in areas Canadians want to see investments in, such as health care, national security and public safety. A Nanos poll showed 71% of Canadians are concerned with the government's deficits, but the Liberals obviously are not listening to Canadians. It is a budget that devalues the hard work that residents in my community and all Canadians do every day and deflates what our seniors have saved for, while burdening future generations by paying more to service the federal debt instead of paying into the government services and programs that Canadians deserve from their tax dollars. The Conservatives were clear in what we wanted to see from this budget. First was lower taxes so that workers can bring home powerful paycheques. I am hearing from many of my residents that they are having their work punished through higher taxes, reducing the value of the take-home pay they earn. Second was to bring home lower prices by ending the inflationary debt and deficits that drive inflation and interest rates. The Prime Minister has doubled the national debt, incurring more debt than all past prime ministers combined, with only a portion of that being attributed to COVID programs. Last, we called on the government to tackle the gatekeepers who lock up land, slow down permits and block the next generation from the dream of owning their own homes. Nine in 10 Canadians who do not own a home today say they do not believe they will ever be able to afford one. These were common-sense measures that a majority of Canadians support. Sadly, the Liberals chose not to proceed with any of them. Budget 2023 will leave Canadians overtaxed, with billions more in debt and at the mercy of continuing inflation. Leading up to the budget release, the Liberals were talking about fiscal restraint, but it is not just dictionary definitions they are ignoring; the Liberals have broken the promises they made in 2022. The budget abandons the path for balance the finance minister projected just six months ago. It seems like every time the Liberals table a fiscal update or budget, they reference that they will go into deficit in the short term, but they tell us not to worry and to be happy, as everything will be all right. However, here we are eight years later hearing the same tune. Promises from the Minister of Finance last year to pay off pandemic debt and lower our debt-to-GDP ratio have also been abandoned. Our debt-to-GDP ratio is up. Government spending is now $120 billion higher than prepandemic spending. Budget 2023 promises to find billions in savings in government operations, yet budget 2022's strategic policy review, aimed at finding $9 billion in savings, has already been cancelled. There is no reason to believe the Liberals on this. Just like people's paycheques are evaporating, trust in the government is also evaporating. Members can just look at the numbers. The consumer debt index shows that British Columbians are the most likely to be on the brink of financial difficulty. The eight consecutive hikes in interest rates to manage Liberal made-in-Canada inflation have left 61% of British Columbians saying they will be in real financial trouble if interest rates go up any higher. Many people are already saying they are pulling money from their savings just to survive. Polling from Nanos shows 40% of Canadians believe the new federal budget would do a “poor” or “very poor” job of addressing their concerns. However, I do not need polls to tell me what I hear from residents in my community daily regarding the cost of living. A family in my community put out a public call for empty bottles or cans so they could collect from neighbours because they needed financial help to take their dog to the vet. A local senior recently told me she would like to live alone but has to live with three other people just to get by. The carbon tax is now 14¢ per litre on Canadians' gas and heating bills. The fiction long peddled by the government of carbon tax rebates covering the cost for families was finally exposed by the Parliamentary Budget Officer. His report showed that the carbon tax will cost the average family between $402 and $847 in 2023 after receiving rebates. Even the Greenpeace activist environment minister agrees that we will be further behind, yet he chooses to hike his carbon tax anyway while missing every GHG emissions target. Local wineries, breweries, cideries and distilleries in the Okanagan and across Canada are still having their bottom lines eaten away by the excise tax increase of 2%. I met with a local craft distiller in my community who said this will represent a $60,000 hit to his bottom line. That is $60,000 in one year. The government's doubling down on increases in carbon taxes, payroll taxes and excise tax increases leaves families and small businesses poorer. The Liberals' made-in-Canada inflation continues to take a human toll, as one in five Canadians is skipping meals and food banks are barely keeping up with rising demand. I recently visited the Lake Country Food Bank, where Joy, the executive director, told me that usage is up 36%. Canadian grocery bills are expected to increase. Canada's 2023 food price report predicts that a family of four will spend up to $1,065 more on food this year. Also, the Liberal made-in-Canada interest rate increases will add $300, $400, $500, $600, $700 or more to mortgage payments per month. Rents will continue to increase as interest rates get passed on to renters. Anyone receiving some type of government rebate, which means giving people back the tax they pay after it churns through the federal bureaucracy, will see it evaporate. We need a budget that actually helps reduce inflation. I will also mention, as a shadow minister with employment in her portfolio, that I am disappointed the government is not fulfilling its commitment to reforming EI, as in the minister's mandate letter. This is leading to uncertainty for workers and businesses. Canada’s housing crisis continues to be of great concern to residents of mine, but the government's new tax-free first home savings account, a new TFSA, is completely useless if one does not have any money to put in it. It is so out of touch. A recent Angus Reid poll showed that fully one in three Canadians is either in “bad” or ”terrible” shape financially, and 35% are deferring or not making contributions to an RRSP or a TFSA, an increase of 13% since September. However, creating a new TFSA is apparently the bold and innovative idea the Liberals have for addressing the housing crisis. Since the current federal government took office, the average down payment needed to buy the average house has doubled. The average mortgage payment has doubled. The average cost of rent has doubled. It is no wonder that in a recent Ipsos poll, more than 60% of Canadians who presently do not own a home have given up on ever owning one. Even for those who do, maintaining ownership has become more difficult, with the Bank of Canada holding interest rates and not ruling out more increases. Also, CMHC, in January 2023 data, showed new housing builds at the lowest level since 2020, and Canada now has the lowest number of housing units per 1,000 residents of any G7 country. This is Canada. This is not the country I grew up in, which had endless opportunities. There was hope. As leaders, we need to give hope and show results, and this budget does neither.

1484 words

Mr. Dan Albas (Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, CPC)

Apr/27/23 5:12:18 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I agree with the member on most points. I do not think people will be surprised by that. She talked about the government's recently announced, or reannounced, homebuyer savings plan. She raises a good point: Many people do not have $8,000 in their back pocket to set aside into a new account. The government has taken over a year. This was promised in the last budget, and here we are in 2023 and it was available April 1. My information shows that National Bank is the only bank across Canada that has access to it. Does she believe this is just more marketing from the Liberals and something that really will not help the next generation of homebuyers?

122 words

Mrs. Tracy Gray

Apr/27/23 5:13:11 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, this is another example of an announcement, a reannouncement and a rollout that takes forever, which is then fraught with bureaucracy or is not applicable to a lot of people. I have memories from during the pandemic when some of the programs people could apply for could only be accessed through the major banks. If people dealt with a credit union, they were not allowed to apply, and a lot of people deal with credit unions across the country. This is another example of the government not thinking its programs through. They will not work for most people.

100 words

Mr. Gabriel Ste-Marie (Joliette, BQ)

Apr/27/23 5:13:56 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-47

Madam Speaker, regional flights are very expensive and with the increase in the cost of fuel, ticket prices have continued to increase over the past few years. Instead of proposing measures to make regional flights more affordable, Bill C‑47 is making them more expensive with a significant increase in the air travellers security tax for both international and regional flights. Prices will therefore increase. What does my hon. colleague think about that? Would it not make sense to at least exempt regional flights from the tax increase?

89 words

Mrs. Tracy Gray

Apr/27/23 5:14:36 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, the whole air transport system is a colossal mess, and when we look at what has happened, we see it is because of the government. We have seen lineups at airports beyond compare. We have seen that people are unable to get their passports, and the minister responsible for passports is now saying that people should not even bother applying. Everything the government touches is a mess and is broken. When it takes anything on, it has shown it really cannot govern and cannot operate. Anything it touches, it seems to break.

94 words

Mr. Alistair MacGregor (Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, NDP)

Apr/27/23 5:15:28 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, yes, certain federal services are going to be disrupted. That is the nature of a strike as workers fight for better wages. I have a question for my Conservative colleague because we have not yet heard from them on this. As they like to stand with workers, would they stand with these workers, who are some of the lowest-paid civil servants we have, as they fight for wages that keep pace with inflation?

76 words

Mrs. Tracy Gray

Apr/27/23 5:15:57 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, a lot of what I was talking about earlier had to do with services over the last several years, where we saw an immigration backlog of over a million people, veterans waiting four years for disability insurance, and of course the whole passport fiasco. All of that has existed over the last so many years, and this is at a time when the government has increased the bureaucracy, doubled the cost of the bureaucracy, and spent billions of dollars on consultants, yet we have fewer services.

88 words

Mrs. Shannon Stubbs (Lakeland, CPC)

Apr/27/23 5:16:43 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, for eight years, Conservatives warned that the cost of this NDP-Liberal government would fuel inflation, hike interest rates and drive up the cost of living for all Canadians. The Liberals are spending more than ever before, while everyday Canadians are struggling more than ever before. That is the consequence of the costly coalition’s agenda to tax and spend recklessly. Budget 2023’s $70 billion in new spending will have to be covered by $4,300 from every Canadian family in the taxes they pay. Since 2019 alone, the Liberals have increased spending by $120 billion, and most of it was not related to COVID. The Liberal deficit is now over $40 billion a year, and the debt will hit $1.3 trillion in only five years from now. This Prime Minister has added more debt than every other prime minister before combined. His own finance minister confirms that debt interest has increased 80% in the last three years. That is $43.9 billion a year, or 10% of all government spending. These are shocking numbers that are hard to conceive of. In reality, they mean that, if a Canadian paid taxes this year, they paid $1,400 dollars just to service the Liberals’ debt, not even to pay it down. So much for the Prime Minister’s 2015 promise of three years of $10-billion annual deficits. What the Liberals have done is exactly what Conservatives warned about. This budget will up the debt, up how much Canadians pay for it and up the cost of everything in daily life. This is all while Liberals drive away private sector investment, businesses and jobs in key sectors, such as natural resources, which make outsized investments and pay outsized taxes compared to all other sectors for the public services and programs that Canadians' value. Liberal meddling makes life more expensive for people in Lakeland and across Canada. The January 2023 Liberal tax hikes already cost Canadians over $300 more this year, when half of Canadians are already $200 away from bankruptcy. The Liberal carbon tax will cost Canadians in Lakeland nearly $3,000 dollars a year only seven years from now, and it will immediately take another $700, which they do not have, from them this year alone. While the Liberals may claim otherwise, the independent PBO is clear that their carbon tax increases the cost of literally everything, which is why Canadians pay more than they will ever get back from these Liberals. Across all provinces where the Liberals have imposed their carbon tax, four in five Canadians will pay more than they get back, which is the truth, while nearly half of Canadians are forced to borrow for basics and have no emergency savings. More than ever before, 1.5 million Canadians have to go to food banks to make ends meet, and 69% of seniors have to work longer than planned now because NDP-Liberal spending-driven inflation has killed the purchasing power of their retirement savings. What is the Liberals’ response? It is to increase taxes and increase spending to wipe out any savings Canadians have been able to keep, and then have the gall to ask struggling Canadians to be grateful when the few who meet complicated criteria get a one-off cheque for a couple hundred dollars in the mail, which does not come close to covering the costs most Canadians face because of these Liberals. They are so out of touch, and Canadians are out of money. The truth is that lower taxes and attractive business conditions always result in more revenue for governments. The Liberals do this backwards. Under the former Conservative government, foreign investment averaged $55.6 billion annually in Canada while major projects flourished. Under these Liberals, there has been a big drop to $39 billion a year. There are big problems with the Liberals’ plans for natural resources in budget 2023. The Liberals should not aim to match the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act’s $394 billion in subsidies, which is more than Canada’s total annual revenue. The Liberals did try, with billions in badly targeted subsidies, but the tax credit incentives will not actually incentivize and expand energy transformation in Canada as well as they could, and I will explain why. The U.S. IRA has technology-neutral production tax credits for low-emissions electricity or parts manufacturing, which means established and multipronged, profitable energy companies can keep investing in these technologies. However, in Canada, the Liberals cut out every oil and gas company from eligibility for the clean technology investment tax credit, the very companies who currently fund 75% of Canadian clean tech investment in this country overall. The Liberals' tax credit encourages them to put those investments in the U.S. and other countries, where it would be welcomed and rewarded. Meanwhile, labour conditions on the Liberals’ tax credits, which will infringe on negotiated agreements, are likely to harm exclusive solar and wind companies’ ability to access the credits since their workers are often unskilled labourers and the companies just cannot meet the Liberals' targets. The Liberals obviously make bad investments with tax dollars, with a third of the budget, $35 billion, now being sent to the Canada growth fund. Canadians probably remember the very expensive $35-billion Canada Infrastructure Bank, which has not actually built a single thing after eight years. It is so bad that Parliament’s transport committee even says it should be abolished. Now the Liberals are putting billions into the Canada growth fund, run by the board which, as alleged by Hong Kong Watch late last year, invested Canadians’ pension funds in companies helping the Communist Party’s Uyghur labour camps. Liberals pick a couple of winners and make lots of losers when they put Canadian tax dollars into big government slush funds, where they seem to disappear and do not actually benefit Canadians. Conservatives have a better idea. It is to cut taxes and scrap the anti-energy, anti-private sector agenda that drives money and businesses away, so Canada can be a world leader in energy and environment technology development and exports without a single taxpayer dime, instead of pumping billions into broken programs and ineffective, poorly targeted tax incentives. Under Conservatives, the private sector built three pipelines and reversed a fourth for western oil to feed eastern Canadian refineries, as well as attracted proposals for export pipelines in both directions. In contrast, after eight years, the Liberals have killed five pipelines that would have increased Canadian export capacity, and then they even bought TMX because they refused to give the legal and political certainty for the proponent to get it built after approval. In the least surprising, and most brutal, news ever, its cost has ballooned over 350%, from $6.8 billion in the private sector to $30.9 billion today. It should have been in service four years ago, and it is not even built. The whole NDP-Liberal agenda is designed to hinder Canadian oil and gas, the leading export and private sector investor in the economy, but they are just fine with oil imported from the U.S. and from regimes with lower environmental and human rights standards, while landlocking Canadian resources and innovation, and gatekeeping our ability to help lower emissions globally. Instead of attracting foreign investment to Canada, Liberals choose to pay tens of billions of tax dollars to major foreign companies just to get them to do business here. Canada used to have competitive advantages to attract investment, but instead, in a recent announcement, the Liberals are paying $4.3 million tax dollars per job to get a company to expand. That is because they have added layers of new red tape and taxes that drive away the private sector investment and tax revenue that comes from these projects, while they made government less efficient. Maybe the worst part is that their anti-energy policies do not even do what they claim. Their record on emissions reduction is that, after eight years, every year emissions have increased, except for one year, which was 2020, when governments locked Canadians down. They also promised to plant two billion trees, but the Auditor General says they will not even get 4% of that done by the 2030 deadline. They cannot even claim to know their policies work because the Auditor General also said, “Environment and Climate Change Canada did not measure or report on the contributions of each selected greenhouse gas regulation”, but the Liberals are doubling down with their fuel regulations, a second carbon tax that will cost Canadians another $1,300 dollars more a year and a 13¢-a-litre increase to gas. Their own research shows it would “increase energy prices” and “disproportionately affect lower- and middle-income households”, as we have always warned. The Liberals plan more mandates, more standards and more regulations to come, which will hike costs for everyday Canadians and businesses. On top of imposing these extra costs, which producers in competing countries do not face, their permitting system for natural resource development is broken. Canada is second last in OECD countries and 64th in the world for building permits. The Liberals are talking a big game about critical minerals around the world, but it takes 30 years, and they have made no changes. They talk about sending out LNG, but they have allowed 18 proposals under their watch to be abandoned, and they leave Canada behind. It is a travesty. Conservatives would cut taxes, cut red tape, reward people who are hard working and unleash Canadian private sector investment and innovation to help lower global emissions and get our economy back on track while protecting taxpayers.

1642 words

Mr. Mark Gerretsen (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Senate), Lib.)

Apr/27/23 5:26:41 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, the member brought up the carbon tax on a number of occasions. I will say one thing, which is that we are consistent on this side. We ran on it in 2015. We implemented it. We continue to stand by it because we know and believe that it has been widely recognized throughout the world as a solution to combatting the emissions out there. However, we cannot say the same thing about Conservatives, because they seem to flip-flop back and forth as to how they feel about a price on pollution. Can the member comment on what it was like in 2021 when she was going around knocking on doors and selling people on the price on pollution, which her leader, the member for Durham, was advocating at the time? Perhaps she did not agree with it, but can she tell us—

146 words