44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 27, 2023 10:00AM
- Apr/27/23 7:54:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is always an honour to rise on behalf of the people of Barrie—Innisfil, in this case, to speak about the budget. It is not lost on me that game five of the Leafs is on tonight. I understand that the score is 1-1 at the first intermission. I am pretty certain that my mom and everybody in this place are the only ones hearing me speak tonight, because many are watching the game.
With respect to the budget implementation act, it is not going to be a surprise to the other side, and certainly not a surprise to many of the constituents who voted for me, that I will not be supporting the budget. There are many reasons not to, and I am going to highlight just a few tonight, along with how the budget would directly impact the businesses and residents of Barrie—Innisfil.
The sheer magnitude of the numbers speaks volumes about a government whose spending is completely out of control. As a result of the spending, the billions of dollars of deficits and the trillions of dollars of debt being created, future generations are going to be impacted by the decisions that are made today, for many generations to come, including my children. Quite frankly, I am very concerned about their future. I am concerned about the future of many young people in my riding of Barrie—Innisfil, many of whom are becoming despondent. They are angry that they have been lied to and let down by the Prime Minister, who, in 2015, made all these promises, particularly to the younger generation. They are not now finding themselves angry or upset, but despondent, because many of them are not going to be able to afford the types of things that even their parents and grandparents have been able to enjoy. Worse yet, the burden of debt and deficit is something that this generation and future generations will pay for for a long time.
The magnitude of the numbers is just staggering. The numbers are staggering with respect to what this budget sets out, not just as current expenditures but also future expenditures. Cumulative spending for the next five years is at a record $3.1 trillion. If these numbers are to be believed, remembering that in the fall the Liberals promised a balanced budget, and if they do not add in any more spending for the rest of the term, they would add $130 billion to the debt with these projected deficits. The national debt would rise to a record $1.3 trillion, with a debt ceiling, in the Financial Administration Act, that is set at $1.8 trillion. We are rapidly approaching that debt ceiling. I know many members have spoken about this, but the Prime Minister has actually doubled the debt, more than all previous prime ministers combined, as a result of the spending. That is a scary proposition.
We often talk about the interest on the national debt because it has an impact on services that government provides. It is about $44 billion today and will rise to $50 billion in five years if the government's interest rate calculations are correct. This is a government that has not been very good at predicting interest rates. There is the famous video of when the Prime Minister was asked by Glen McGregor of CTV about the potential for rising interest rates. He had almost a stunned look on his face and suggested that interest rates are low and are going to remain low.
We have seen, I believe, eight interest rate increases over the last year, which are having a dramatic effect on affordability for people, whether it is variable-rate loans or mortgages, or mortgages coming up for renewal. We are into a three-year cycle of mortgage renewals and people are going to be awfully shocked when they renew and see how much more those mortgage interest rates are going to cost. In fact, many people are now paying more in interest and not even paying down the principal as a result of renewing, adding to the existing affordability crisis. The projection numbers in this budget are staggering.
I was supposed to make this speech on Monday, but because of some procedural things, here we are on Thursday night. The other day, in preparation for tonight, I had an opportunity to speak with my staff. As members of Parliament, as everyone knows, we are on the ground. We talk to our constituents at events we attend and we see what is happening, but when I am in Ottawa, it is really my constituency people who are receiving the phone calls and getting the emails from seniors and average, middle-class families in Barrie—Innisfil who are concerned.
I asked them what some of the messages were that people were telling them on the phone. They were very similar to what I hear when I am out in public, which is that paycheques are thinner, that people are not making as much as they once were. A lot of that has to do with increased taxation, but it also has to do with payroll tax increases, increases in the CPP and EI for example, which eat it away.
Grocery prices have doubled. Gas bills have tripled, in large part because of the carbon tax. I am going to speak about that in a second. The other thing they said is that hydro rates have gone up. All of that is adding to the affordability crisis for people in Barrie—Innisfil, not just individuals, families and households, but also businesses. We get phone calls from businesses talking about these increased costs, particularly in the agriculture sector, which forms a large part of my constituency in Innisfil. I have talked to producers and wholesalers, who are telling me about the cost of the carbon tax on their gas bills and how it is increasing their production costs. Of course, those costs are going to be passed on, through the wholesalers and producers, to the end consumers, which means that we are going to continue to see increases in grocery prices down the line.
Social agencies are struggling as well. In Innisfil, we had a tremendous, compassionate individual whose name was Troy Scott. Unfortunately, he passed away as a result of COVID. He was the local Foodland owner. After his passing, the Town of Innisfil decided it was going to honour his memory by having Troy Scott community fridges placed strategically around different areas in the municipality. This is how bad the food insecurity crisis is: As soon as those fridges are filled, they are emptied. There are people coming on a daily basis who, because of the food crisis and the fact they cannot afford to buy food, are seeking food from these fridges because it is free. We have a very benevolent community filling up those fridges, but they are being emptied just as quickly. Other social agencies are struggling. There is something structurally wrong in this country right now, a G7 country, when Canadians are feeling an affordability and inflation crunch like never before, particularly as it relates to food insecurity and housing affordability and attainability. It is a big problem that needs to be fixed.
One of the main reasons why I cannot support this is the continuation of the carbon tax that the budget implementation act calls for. We asked the government to deal with this from an affordability crisis perspective and to axe the carbon tax because of the impact it is having on Canadian families, businesses, wholesalers and producers. In 2019, the government ran on a promise of $50 a tonne. A year later, it announced that the carbon tax was going to go up to $170 a tonne by 2030. That is going to increase prices beyond what people can afford in a community like Barrie—Innisfil, with a lack of significant mass transit and connectivity from community to community. We have the GO train, which gets people to Toronto, but most people drive to work. They either drive to work within the GTA or they drive to Barrie. It is costing them money every time they fill up their car or turn on the furnace or the air conditioning in their home. That is adding to the cost of life. Groceries are being impacted by it as well. The government has said it is adding money to the pockets of people, but the PBO has countered that.
The other thing concerns Lake Simcoe. It is mentioned in this budget, but is part of a broader lakes program. We have asked for specific funding. The government, in 2019, stood at the end of Bayfield Street and promised $40 million for the Lake Simcoe fund. It has not sent a dime yet, which is another broken promise. I am not certain that Lake Simcoe is going to be a priority. I hope it is.
This budget adds a lot more pain than gain to Canadian families, particularly those I represent in Barrie—Innisfil. That is just part of the reason why I cannot support the budget.
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- Apr/27/23 8:04:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Volkswagen and the federal government, working with the province of Ontario, made this major announcement that will have such a positive, profound impact on a number of different industries in Ontario, but also beyond Ontario.
However, we have the leader of the Conservative Party, who is challenged in coming up with ideas that will make a difference and get Canadians ahead, who has come out and said that this is a bad deal. The member is from Ontario. I think he is somewhat familiar with the automobile industry and the importance of thinking forward in terms of where the future is going to be.
Does the member agree with his leader in saying that this is a bad deal for the community of St. Thomas and for Canadians, and that the federal government should not have been getting Volkswagen to agree to come to Canada?
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- Apr/27/23 8:05:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am not sure that anybody on this side is saying that it is a bad deal. We want to know what the deal is. The government has invested $13 billion into Volkswagen, a foreign-owned company. We do not know the details of the arrangements that were made. If we are going to spend $13 billion of Canadian taxpayer money, at a minimum, we should know what that deal entails and what we are getting as a result of it.
Members will have to excuse me for being a little cynical because the government made multi-million dollar investments in a vaccine factory that is now gone. There was a very public announcement made.
We have to see the details to determine whether it is the right deal for Canadians. More importantly, they have to be open and transparent about it, which they are anything but on this deal.
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- Apr/27/23 8:06:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. We have been serving together on the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics for some time now, and I tend to really value his judgment.
I would like to ask him the following question. In his opinion, with all the experience he has, is this a good budget or a bad budget?
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- Apr/27/23 8:07:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his question.
I tried to lay out, as best I could, the reasons I cannot support the budget. There are many of them, not the least of which is the carbon tax and the disproportionate effect it has on the people and the businesses I represent in Barrie—Innisfil.
One of the things that is extremely concerning for me, which was not really in the budget, related to the Canada summer jobs program. We saw that cut by a third this year, yet we see contracts, to companies like McKinsey and others, to the tune of $21 billion in total contracts. Why are we taking away from the future and work experience that young people are getting to apply down the line, yet outsourcing and putting a priority on government contracts for friends and connected insiders of the Liberal Party?
I am really disappointed in the Canada summer jobs program and the cut in funding. I know many of those people who would benefit, particular the kids, are really disappointed.
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- Apr/27/23 8:08:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. member and I agree that the current government bears a lot of responsibility for the state of the current housing market, which is the worst that it has ever been. I think we differ in some of the ways in which we say the government is responsible for that.
I hear the Conservative leader talk a lot about how government spending is responsible for inflation in the housing market. As New Democrats, we look at housing and we see the role of massive private investment, corporate landlords that are gobbling up buildings with affordable units, superficially renovating them and jacking up the rent. We see real estate investment trusts doing the same. We see a lot of investor activity that is actually driving up prices in the real estate market. I do not see how government spending is playing a role. We know that, in fact, the government is not building enough non-market housing options, and we need to build more in order to address supply.
Can we hear the Conservatives talk about private investment activity in the housing market, the role it is playing and the things the government can do to curtail that as a way of actually getting out of the housing crisis, or are they going to continue to talk about government spending as if that is what is driving the housing crisis when it is not?
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- Apr/27/23 8:09:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think the challenge in the question is we hear a lot of announcements about spending, but see very little in the way of actual builds. I have got a great example of that and it deals with the rapid housing initiative.
The member for Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte and I sent a letter to the housing minister. There was a rapid housing initiative, a critical project in Barrie, that was supported by Redwood Park Communities, the City of Barrie, Barrie Police Service and the County of Simcoe, about renovating the Travelodge hotel and making it into affordable housing units.
We supported this initiative. We did not even hear back from the Minister of Housing. I think the County of Simcoe heard back to say the application was being rejected. I do not know what the basis was, but that is an example of great announcements, but very bad and poor delivery.
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- Apr/27/23 8:10:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to join the debate tonight on the budget implementation act, BIA, as we always do around this time of year.
First of all, let me simply say that budget 2023 is one that delivers for the country and for communities. We cannot talk about the BIA without talking about the budget.
I will spend time tonight talking about climate change and how the government is responding to that threat. Rick Smith, the president of the Canadian Climate Institute, a respected organization on the environmental side, that is known across the country, said that this “is the most consequential budget in recent history for accelerating clean growth in Canada”. I could fill this speech with the responses of stakeholders right across the country but that really, I think, puts into sharp focus what the budget helps to advance. Certainly the BIA takes that vision and puts it into place in a number of different ways on the climate change side, as it must.
It must because it is the central challenge of our time. We have just overcome the pandemic. We have not overcome it entirely, of course, but what we lived through was the challenge of the moment. The challenge of our time still remains climate change. It is a moral issue, it is a security issue and it is also an economic issue. In my time tonight, I want to focus on the economic aspect and relate it back to the region that I am from, southwestern Ontario and specifically the city of London.
The budget, I think, stands out for a few different reasons. First of all, for me at least, it really stands out because it actually invites the private sector in as a partner, rather than keeping them out as some, maybe on the left, if I can just be general about it, have pushed for, not thinking that there is a role for the private sector. There is in fact a role for the private sector. We have to encourage that. We can encourage it through various policy mechanisms like the government has done in this budget.
There is a 30% refundable tax credit, for example, that really is historic in this country. It does prompt an agenda that leads to industrialization on the green side. I do not think it is out of place now in democracies, including our own, to talk about a green industrial revolution that is taking shape in front of us. Things like this refundable tax credit that I just mentioned do help in that regard. It can be applied toward investing in new machinery that will be used in the manufacture of clean tech, that will also be used to process and recycle critical minerals. How blessed we are to be a power. I do not think it is out of place to use that word. We are a power when it comes to the issue and the question of critical minerals; lithium, cobalt, manganese, nickel and graphite. All of these are found in abundance in Canada.
A friend of mine put it well the other day. He said that Canada has been blessed with natural resources: under the earth we have wonderful resources and above the earth, in terms of human potential and human talent; we ought to bring the two together. I think this budget allows for that.
This is another crucial point: Accessing the credit will require companies to pay their workers a strong wage. I think that is absolutely vital if we are going to, as a government and as a country, put measures on the table that incent companies to get involved. It is quite lucrative, a 30% refundable tax credit. Then there is an onus on them to do right by their workers, at least in terms of ensuring good wages and good working conditions. This is, as the Minister of Labour himself put it, a worker's budget in many different ways, but this proves the point as well.
In southwestern Ontario, the region I am proudly from, policies like this can help to add to the green transformation that is already taking shape. I point to the community of Ingersoll, just down the road from London, and CAMI, and the incredible work that is happening there to ensure electric vehicle production and delivery vehicles in particular that are being manufactured with the help of this government. It is employing people. It is adding to the economy and, as I say, it is something that speaks to the green transition that is taking shape in the region.
Battery production in Windsor is a project that will unfold between LG Energy Solution and Stellantis. I want to commend my colleague, the MP for Windsor—Tecumseh, for all the work he did to help secure that investment. It was a number of months ago now, but it is still fresh in the minds of those in Windsor who saw an auto sector not collapse but certainly take an enormous hit and have devastating effects on the community of Windsor and the surrounding area. Something like this injects hope again.
Of course we have the example that was announced last week. It was spoken about at length in this House, with merit. It is what happened in St. Thomas with the investment from Volkswagen. That is truly historic for the region certainly and for the country.
Before talking about its significance, I want to thank those at the federal level and the provincial level for making this happen. We need to do all we can to keep up with what the Biden administration is doing, and the Inflation Reduction Act makes it absolutely necessary for governments to show an interest by putting money on the table to get companies to locate to their area and provide jobs through production.
I give thanks to the Prime Minister; the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry; Premier Ford; Minister McNaughton, the minister of labour at the provincial level; Minister Fedeli, the minister responsible for economic development in Ontario; my colleague, the member of provincial parliament, Rob Flack; and the member of Parliament for Elgin—Middlesex—London, who did a great deal to advance this on behalf of her community. I thank Mayor Joe Preston and St. Thomas City Council as well.
St. Thomas is just down the road from London and will certainly benefit. There are 3,000 direct jobs to be created when the plant opens in just a few years and up to 30,000 indirect jobs. Think of the construction possibilities there in a plant that will occupy a space the size of close to 400 football fields. Over a 30-year period, it is expected $200 billion in overall economic impact will be seen.
This is crucial, and I will end on this point. In the 2000s, the London region and the wider southwestern Ontario region was devastated by plant closures. Ford in Talbotville, which is near Thomas; Electro-Motive Diesel in London; McCormick-Beta Brands, which produced candy; Kellogg's; Heinz in Leamington; Smucker in Dunnville and Dutton; and Lance Canada, which produced cookies in Cambridge, all closed.
It was devastating. Thousands of jobs were lost. Families were not only impacted in so many situations, they were absolutely devastated. Social consequences including a rise in mental health challenges and addiction challenges followed. I cannot say enough about how harmful that was, but now we have hope, an opportunity to turn a corner, and we are doing exactly that.
I am thankful for the opportunity to articulate the interests of my community tonight and the surrounding region. I look forward to questions on what I think is a great BIA and a great announcement in St. Thomas.
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- Apr/27/23 8:18:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is always good when a member of Parliament talks about his riding on the national level and provides concrete examples. On the other hand, we need to recognize this budget that the member will support has no plan to get back to a balanced budget. We need to remember in 2015 this party was elected saying that there would be three small deficits, a $10-billion maximum and then a zero deficit in 2019. This promise was put aside; it was put in the garbage.
Is the member concerned about the fact that we have deficits and debts that one day we will need to pay back? When does he think the government will pay it back? We are living beyond the budget that we have now.
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- Apr/27/23 8:19:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have a great deal of respect for my colleague. However, we disagree on this issue.
Canada's fiscal situation is a very important reality for the House and for our country.
Canada right now, if we look at the G7 countries, has the lowest deficits, has the lowest debt, if we use the debt-to-GDP ratio as the key metric, which we should. The IMF is clear on that, that this is the key metric to look at.
I would look back to previous Conservative governments which, far from balancing budgets, have only run up deficits and added to the debt.
It has been a fiscally responsible approach and we will continue with this. We have a very proud record to look at.
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- Apr/27/23 8:21:00 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, I would like to ask the hon. member, in the budget implementation act, what he has seen that invests in indigenous peoples.
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- Apr/27/23 8:21:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have not had a very good chance to get to know the hon. member, but I know that she is held in very high regard by members throughout every party in the House. I have only heard good things about the committee work that she has contributed. I have to say that every question she has put forward, including this one, have been ones that are thoughtful.
If one looks at the overall budget and looks at the BIA as well, they will see a government that continues the effort to advance the reconciliation agenda. We do so by looking at the partnership that exists between the federal government and indigenous communities, who are leading the way in so many different ways.
In fact, one of the reasons that Volkswagen, I think, ended up making the decision to invest, as they did in St. Thomas, is the approach that the overall country and certainly this government have taken to reconciliation, one that puts partnership front and centre.
Other democracies certainly had the ability to attract the investment, but might not be doing what Canada is doing on the reconciliation side. That is something that bears emphasis. There is so much in this budget that pushes the reconciliation agenda further and we need to continue with that.
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- Apr/27/23 8:22:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am happy that my hon. colleague raised the green investor revolution. I think those were the words he used.
The example he provided was the investment that was recently made into the Volkswagen plant and what will happen in St. Thomas, which is very similar to the investments our government has made in Hamilton as it relates to ArcelorMittal Dofasco and the $400-million investment we have made to get them off coal and begin their process of making green steel.
I know what that means to my community in terms of employment, tax assessment, all of the spin-offs that come with it, and, of course, there is the environmental benefit.
I am wondering if he could comment on the same in terms of what that investment in St. Thomas means for his community.
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- Apr/27/23 8:23:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question from someone who understands his community very well. He served as a city councillor and knows what it means when an investment comes to a community and the spinoff effects that it can have. He mentioned the Dofasco case.
I expect nothing but good things to come from this investment for local businesses in London that already have relied on automotive, as we see transitions from the current situation in terms of the combustion engine toward electric vehicles. Certainly, there will be new businesses that sprout up and existing ones that are able to tap in and be part of that supply chain, not to mention, of course, the workers, who will be able to work at Volkswagen. So many and London will benefit directly.
I am so excited for what is ahead.
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Mr. Speaker, before budget 2023 was presented, our Conservative leader made three demands of it: one, that it end the war on work and lower taxes for workers; two, that it end inflationary deficits that are driving up the cost of goods; and three, that it remove gatekeepers to increase the building of homes in Canada. Sadly, none of these three Conservative demands were met, and for that reason I will not be supporting Bill C-47, the budget implementation act, 2023.
Simply put, all the budget will do is drive up the cost of the goods and interest and taxes paid by the fine residents in my riding, in the communities of Fort Erie, Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake. Canadians are struggling because of this incompetent Liberal government, which has become addicted to overspending.
Here are just a few quick statistics that will surprise those Canadians watching. Those who are watching should please make sure they are seated. I am not making this up.
After eight years, this Liberal Prime Minister has added more debt than all other prime ministers combined. Yes, that is since Confederation in 1867. Canada's federal debt for the 2023-24 fiscal year is projected to reach $1.22 trillion. If that is not jaw dropping, get this: That federal Liberal debt counts for nearly $81,000 per household in Canada. Budget 2023 simply provides no path to balancing Canada's budget projections.
The deficit for 2022-23 is up to $43 billion. That is only $6 billion less than what we will spend on health care this fiscal year. Even the government's own projections have changed since last November. In her fall economic statement, the Minister of Finance projected a $4.5-billion surplus for 2027-28, yet here we are six months later and this surplus has been completely erased. In its place, budget 2023 now projects a $14-billion deficit in 2027-28, with interest payments on our national debt reaching $50 billion.
These depressing figures make it hard to be hopeful for future generations of Canadians. They also highlight the degree of fiscal mismanagement by this Liberal Prime Minister and his government. For millions of Canadians, it is even more challenging to live through.
Many residents and families in my communities, especially seniors and new Canadians, are struggling mightily with the high cost of inflation on their shelter and groceries, and even higher federal taxes are being implemented. In fact, “Canada's Food Price Report 2023” predicts that a family of four will spend up to $1,065 more on food this year, which is $598 more than the $467 from the so-called grocery rebate they will receive. Members should not be fooled by the Liberal spin. This overhyped rebate is not actually a relief measure at all. It simply gives money back to Canadians that this government already clawed from them through its big tax hikes. This rebate will do nothing to solve the cost of living crisis.
On top of that, the Parliamentary Budget Officer has recently shown that the carbon tax will cost the average family between $402 and $847 in 2023, even after the rebates. Further, it is only going to get worse in the near future. By 2030, carbon taxes could add 50¢ per litre to the price of gasoline.
In addition to these fiscal troubles, I am also concerned about what is missing in budget 2023.
There is zero mention of the critically important wine sector support program. This program was designed by Wine Growers Canada and adopted by Agriculture Canada as a trade legal program to protect Canadian wineries from having to pay the expensive excise tax. This program expired last summer, and Canadian wineries, including those in the Niagara region and in my communities of Niagara-on-the-Lake and Niagara Falls, badly need this program, or they risk potential job losses and closures.
In last year's budget, the government showed that it would be receiving $390 million by now taxing our wine sector. Where are those funds going? Our grape growers and wineries deserve answers from the government which created this mess through its introduction of the escalator clause on alcohol in 2017. Do not even get me going on the negative impact the escalator clause is causing to our sector.
However, this Liberal sleight of hand does not just apply to Canadian grapes and wine. It also touches upon the 2,800 tourism-related businesses and the 40,000 workers in the tourism sector in Niagara. In 2019, Niagara welcomed more than 13 million visitors and generated $2.4 billion in receipts as Canada's top leisure tourism destination.
As many members of this place will know, this week is National Tourism Week and the theme is “Canada: Powered by Tourism”. If members were to examine this budget and the government's commitment to tourism, they would be hard pressed to see its recognition for a sector that at one time reached $105 billion nationwide and was responsible for one in every 11 jobs created in Canada.
Throughout National Tourism Week, I have been meeting with many tourism stakeholders and receiving their feedback and reaction to budget 2023. In short, the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada is disappointed in the 2023 budget and the empty promises, the lack of funding and the money it has cost to build the federal growth strategy. In fact, it has told me its members are still waiting for the millions of dollars in funding that was promised to them and identified by the government in last year's budget.
I have also met with representatives of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, who expressed their concerns that despite improvements over the last 12 months, tourism businesses continue to struggle financially and are carrying significant debt loads. There is also an increasing sense of impatience and concern from the industry by the lack of commitment from the government to provide a firm timeline to introduce the highly anticipated, long-awaited and overdue federal tourism growth strategy.
I also want to note two concerns that I have flagged after reading budget 2023.
My first concern is on the commitment of spending $50 million on Destination Canada over three years, starting in 2023-24, and yet there is no detail on how these funds are to be allocated. If members were to look at the government estimates, they would see the Liberals have committed $111 million to Destination Canada this fiscal year. Are any of the $50 million pledged by the government included in that budget? If so, it is a bit disappointing, considering that $156 million was spent last year to attract major international conventions, conferences and events to Canada.
As well, what of the $108 million committed to the regional development agencies over three years starting in 2023-24 to support communities, small businesses and non-profit organizations in developing local tourism projects and events? Again the Liberals' sleight of hand is at work here. When we look at the line items provided in the budget for the three years, we see that the government only shows a total of $93 million being allocated. Where is the remaining $15 million? Is this money not being spent from last year's budget from the regional relief fund, or are some of those funds dedicated to indigenous tourism from last year now actually going to be counted for this year?
It is not good enough for the Minister of Tourism to tell the people of Canada's travel and tourism industry that they should simply be happy they were included in this year's budget. The bar needs to be set higher, especially when it comes to discussing an industry that was disadvantaged for nearly three years by the COVID-19 pandemic and the federal restrictions such as ArriveCAN that were implemented.
After eight years of this Liberal Prime Minister, the future of Canada's travel and tourism industry is at risk because of higher costs and taxes imposed by this reckless and expensive Liberal government. It is for those reasons and more that I will be voting against this legislation.
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- Apr/27/23 8:33:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I was very impressed with the recent announcement that we made for funding for the Great Lakes action plan. It was $420 million to assist with cleaning up the Great Lakes. As a member whose riding borders the shoreline of Lake Ontario, I know how important that investment is in terms of cleaning the environment and cleaning the lakes. That is in large part due to my friend and colleague from Niagara Centre who worked very hard over many years to make that investment happen.
I certainly took into consideration some of the constructive criticism the member provided as it relates to the budget, but can I ask his opinion in terms of what would be considered a historic announcement? He is from the vicinity there, the region of Niagara. I know his constituents enjoy Lake Ontario and probably some of the other Great Lakes. What are his thoughts on that investment? Could he support something like that?
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- Apr/27/23 8:34:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my hon. colleague's questions about the work that the colleague from Niagara Centre has been doing. However, the member for Niagara Centre has been working on that for eight years. Only now, and after pressure from the United States that it was going to stop funding certain aspects of that money that is included in that $420 million, has this government finally realized it needed to act. In fact, the government and its bureaucrats are still fighting with regard to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission in effectively transferring it over from the Department of Fisheries to the Department of Global Affairs. Why is it taking two years for that to happen? That needs to be rectified, and rectified now.
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- Apr/27/23 8:35:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals believe the budget will balance itself, and the Conservatives believe they can pump out so much oil into the atmosphere that the climate will balance itself.
I want to ask my hon. colleague about the huge subsidies going into the TMX pipeline.
Joe Biden has said that within nine years, 67% of all vehicles in the United States will be electric. That is going to have a huge impact on creating stranded assets. TMX costs over $30 billion right now, but here is the kicker: In order to be viable, the money gets paid back in toll charges for each barrel of oil shipped, and the Liberals have limited the cost to any oil company to 22% of the cost. That means for every barrel of oil shipped, 78% of the cost will be subsidized by the Canadian taxpayer.
Given the massive profits big oil is making, why are Canadians being told they will pay 78% of every barrel of raw bitumen shipped through that pipeline?
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- Apr/27/23 8:36:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague mentioned U.S. President Biden. The largest thing the government had to respond to was the Inflation Reduction Act tabled in the United States. We are talking $390 billion over 10 years.
Let me note some of the comments we received when I was at the international trade committee on what it takes to respond to that. Catherine Cobden, the president and CEO of the Canadian Steel Producers Association, and Meg Gingrich, with the United Steelworkers union, said the IRA was a game-changer. In fact, it provided a double advantage to those in the United States because it did not have a carbon tax attached to it that companies in Canada now have to pay. The actions the government has taken are still insufficient because those industries still have to pay that tax. In fact, Meg Gingrich, with the United Steelworkers union, was advocating that the carbon tax not be increased.
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- Apr/27/23 8:37:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is wonderful to see a member of Parliament who knows his riding well and who makes everything about his riding, which is really about wine and tourism.
From what I can see, he is right. The carbon tax raises the cost for people to drive to Niagara and visit the wineries. In this particular BIA, the government is raising the cost of security at airports, so the average airport ticket will be higher. There is a lack of investment because the government is pulling out from the wine sector, and there is the extra excise tax. If there is no more investment in wineries, there is less tourism and fewer places for people to go.
Can the member bring this home and talk about exactly why this particular budget fails on so many of those fronts?
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