SoVote

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

Apr/27/23 8:51:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have questions about Canada's grocery oligopoly. I do. However, the government has racked up so much debt. That money has caused an inflationary crisis, including food increases. With regard to energy, of course we need to address climate change. While we do that, why are we lining the pockets of autocratic countries? Why are we not investing in our own energy security? It is just that mindset that deflects away from the decisions that those parties have made in a supply and confidence agreement and how that affects real Canadians. It is just pinning it on striking labour workers, somebody's vaccination status, what their gender is, or corporate or whatever. The buck stops with them. They are in a coalition agreement, and they have a plan that spends more and gets less. It has got to stop.

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Mr. Charlie Angus (Timmins—James Bay, NDP)

Apr/27/23 8:52:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I certainly enjoyed the member's technique of punching her fist in her palm to keep time with her frustration. I often do that with the sound of my head banging on my desk as I listen to conspiracies, slogans and MPs who get up to read something for the first time because one of their staffers wrote it and they do not get the words right. I congratulate the member for being able to speak on her feet and think independently at times, although I do not always agree with her. I would like to go to her question about the Treasury Board president. There is the Nick Cave song that starts: Where is Mona?She's long gone The Treasury Board president said she released a public letter. That is not how one negotiates a financial agreement. She seems to think that this public letter would work. We have to get people back to work. These are workers who are getting hammered by inflation. I would like to ask my hon. colleague what she thinks we need to do to get the Treasury Board president to do her job.

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Hon. Michelle Rempel Garner

Apr/27/23 8:53:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, oh, boy, I agree. They have got to get back to the table. The government also has to stop trying to trial balloon things, saying that this strike is the union's fault, because what that does, and what it is trying to do, is pit public sector workers against private sector workers and against everyone. We have to unite as a country. There are a lot of people who do not want us to be united, and the government cannot be doing that. Yes, it has to fix this mess that it created. It has got to have a little more compassion. To my colleague, and I know that he and I have had long chats before, but I would just ask him this: Why is he propping up this government? It is not the jam of the NDP. It is not the jam of the NDP 20 years ago—

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The Deputy Speaker

Apr/27/23 8:54:55 p.m.
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I need to remind members who are on Zoom to keep their mikes off when it is not their turn to speak. As much as we want to have—

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Hon. Michelle Rempel Garner

Apr/27/23 8:54:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that was a bit of a hot mike for my colleague. We have got to be compassionate for Canadians and feel what they feel. We have got to stop spending more and giving them less.

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Mr. Charlie Angus

Apr/27/23 8:54:55 p.m.
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Give us somebody besides Pierre.

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Mr. Charlie Angus

Apr/27/23 8:55:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I certainly would never unmute myself deliberately to intervene in someone else's statement, but I was so excited to be part of that conversation that I did not notice I had pressed the unmute button, so I just want everyone to know that I did not do that deliberately. However, if I were to do it deliberately, I would let you know that I did it deliberately and take responsibility for it, so I want to take responsibility for not taking responsibility.

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The Deputy Speaker

Apr/27/23 8:55:32 p.m.
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I appreciate the clarification from the hon. member for Timmins—James Bay. It always makes it exciting on these long evenings. Continuing debate, the hon. member for Essex.

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Mr. Chris Lewis (Essex, CPC)

Apr/27/23 8:55:41 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-47 Bill C-241

Mr. Speaker, as always, it is an honour to stand in this place to represent the great folks of Essex. We are here this evening to speak to Bill C-47, the budget implementation act. We have heard a lot of discussion, and I have been listening keenly to both sides of the aisle, as to what truly is the direction for Canada and the path forward to sustainability and success. While I was drafting out my talking points today, I got thinking about local examples. The first one I am going to start with is a young woman from Essex County who goes to school at St. Clair College. She has a part-time job and lives at home with her parents. She drives back and forth about 30 minutes to school. Her part-time job is at a veterinary clinic, and she wants to be a veterinarian. Her parents have paid into RESPs along the way. I found out this morning from this young lady that she has to pay $942 this year in income tax. She makes under $15,000 in her part-time job to pay for some of her schooling. I guess the question is this: How is that even possible in Canada? We talk about affordable housing. We continue to talk about making things easier for Canadian families. How can a young woman who is 20 years old, who goes to school full time and has a part-time job, have to pay $942 in taxes and be expected to save any money at all for a home going forward? Saturday morning I had breakfast with the mayor of Kingsville in a local greasy spoon that serves one of the greatest breakfasts in Essex County. We met the owners of the restaurant. The amazing woman told me that they have lost about 85% of their senior customers because they can no longer afford to eat out. Then she went on to cry as she told me that she was in a local Zehrs, which is a grocery store, and ran into a senior who was trying to figure out what she was going to eat that night because she was looking at Kraft Dinner. Then we look at this budget, and we are supposed to celebrate a $234 one-time payment per person. Last night I went to the local grocery store here in Ottawa and bought half a bag of groceries for $36, that was just for myself, so this one-time payment might be great for one month, yet the government wants to celebrate it. I want to speak about the 2023 federal budget submission of the Windsor-Essex Chamber of Commerce. I will go through it quickly. The first point it makes is with respect to the employment insurance rate freeze. It stated: the bill for these emergency programs is being unfairly placed on businesses. Businesses have for years been concerned with the fact that employers pay an additional 40% on-top of matching the employee contributions. The $0.05 increase per $100 of earned income means that employers are paying even more. The additional $0.05 increase to take effect in 2024 and 2025 means that employers are going to be bearing the burden over years for programs not beneficiary to them. It speaks about the capital cost allowance for vehicles, stating: The current amount of $30,000 is well short of the current average vehicle price in Canada, which is approximately $54,000 for a new vehicle and $36,000 for a used vehicle. This low limit prevents businesses from properly being able to account for the depreciation of the asset, which is the primary goal of the CCA. They talk about allowing international students to participate in the Canada summer jobs program. In my riding of Essex, we got about $720,000 less this year for the Canada summer jobs program. There are a lot of folks have benefited from that program who are not too sure if they are going to be able to keep their doors open, such as those at the Kiwanis camp down in my area. They talk about the delay of the CEBA loan repayment over one year. They talk about bringing in a new workforce and increasing the pace of immigration, which is something that Conservatives have been calling for and talking about for a very long time. There are the non-Canadian housing purchasing ban, immigration with accreditation and covering transition costs. We hear an awful lot about housing in this House, ironically. For that young woman I was talking about, or perhaps a young man who is working full-time who cannot find a home, and if he can find a home, he cannot afford it, the government loves to pound the drum that it is doing so much for housing. The problem is that the government cannot even plant a tree, so maybe the problem is the lumber to not build the homes. Nine in 10 young people do not believe they will be able to afford a home, and that is unacceptable. When I ran for this place in 2019, I said that I would do my darndest to ensure that I leave the world a better place than I found it. I am the eternal optimist, and today I stand here to say that I am a bit of a pessimist. Because of the failures of the government, it is certainly not in a better place in 2023 than it was in 2019. With respect to skilled labour, the government has been, again, pounding the drum. With respect to the Volkswagen plant, it is fantastic. In housing, this is excellent and, quite frankly, a great investment. It is wonderful, as are the five and a half billion-dollar battery plant in Windsor and the Gordie Howe International Bridge. However, there is something really interesting about this when we talk about all these investments. By the way, regarding the Volkswagen plant, they talk about 3,000 workers. The truth of the matter is, that it is probably closer to 1,000, but in the event that it is 3,000, that would be great. Here is what is really ironic. Where are the skilled trades people going to come from? If the government truly cared about skilled trades, why did it not take my private member's bill, Bill C-241, and put it into this budget? It would have been done overnight, and then we would have people who are mobilized across Canada. I want to talk really quickly about the doctor in Michigan. Dr. Amster lives in Michigan, and he has 1,200 patients at his family practice in Amherstburg, which is in my riding. His current C10 work permit expired on March 28, and nobody will give him a renewed work permit. Tomorrow morning, I am very excited to host grade 11 and grade 12 students of Cardinal Carter, where I went to high school. What do I tell them? How do I explain to them that what we are doing here is fighting for their future when the budget, quite frankly, falls so short for them?

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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)

Apr/27/23 9:05:30 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-46

Mr. Speaker, as members likely will detect, there are a number of flaws in the member's comments. The one that comes to mind is that he started off by talking about the grocery rebate, and he is being critical because it is not giving enough. The Conservative Party supported the passage of Bill C-46. Bill C-46 ensures, through legislation, that we will be able to give that grocery rebate. To the very best of my knowledge, not one Conservative MP came to the government saying that we should be increasing the rebate amount. The Conservatives had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, to have their support for the rebate. In fact, one of the reasons that particular clause is in the budget debate is that we did not know we could even get the Conservatives to agree. We are grateful for that. If the member believes it is not enough, why did not one Conservative MP came over to make the suggestion to increase the grocery rebate?

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Mr. Chris Lewis

Apr/27/23 9:06:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will answer a question with a question: Is that question good enough for the senior standing in a Zehrs grocery store crying because she cannot figure out what healthy food she can eat? If the member thinks that a one-time payment of $284 is sustainable, then that is pretty darn disgusting. Our seniors deserve more than this.

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Mr. Daniel Blaikie (Elmwood—Transcona, NDP)

Apr/27/23 9:07:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I was just reflecting on some of the comments that the member for Essex made about the importance of a skilled workforce, and I could not help but recall that when I worked for the Manitoba government, Manitoba had the provincial nominee program, which was a very successful program and worked very well to attract skilled workers to Manitoba. At the time I was there, that program was on track to start bringing in over 10,000 skilled immigrants every year to the province of Manitoba, but the Harper government put an arbitrary cap of 5,000 on those who could come under that program. It was puzzling at the time. I wonder if the member has a sense of the deficit of skilled workers in Manitoba today because of the decision of that government then.

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Mr. Chris Lewis

Apr/27/23 9:08:04 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-241

Mr. Speaker, it has honestly been really good to work with the New Democratic Party on trades. Of course, NDP members did support Bill C-241, so they understand it, unlike all but one member of the Liberal Party. I have been across Canada, from the east coast to the west coast and everywhere in between, and do I ever know that there is a major deficit of labour. I do not think that there is any one of the 338 members in the House who would disagree with me on that front. However, it is really unfortunate that when we have major hangups in the immigration system, all these skilled trades that are coming through are being backlogged, put into a file and not being dealt with to support our industries and businesses. It goes back to the government. My question for the member would be this: If it is that detrimental, and if NDP members have all the answers, why do they continue to prop up the Liberals?

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Mr. Philip Lawrence (Northumberland—Peterborough South, CPC)

Apr/27/23 9:09:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I listened to the member's speech, and it was great. Also, I must say that his mother is a very good cook, so a shout-out to Helen out there. We have the GST rebate, which the Liberals call, in a gimmicky way, the “grocery rebate”, but is not the real solution to making life more affordable getting control of this government's out-of-control spending, because the more this government spends, the more life gets unaffordable for Canadians?

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Mr. Chris Lewis

Apr/27/23 9:09:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague, and I am sure mom is watching tonight. She makes excellent chocolate chip cookies. This is all about, and can only be about, a vision for the future. Everything we do today in the House has to ensure that life is more affordable and that spending is reined in. However, that same spending that we are doing is enabling and allowing our young men and women in the workforce to go forward to start their own lives.

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Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP)

Apr/27/23 9:10:21 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-47 Bill C-241

Mr. Speaker, I think that Bill C-241 would have fit very neatly in Bill C-47, the budget implementation act. There are many sections in the over 429 pages of Bill C-47, but there is one that goes directly to the issue that the hon. member has put forward in his private member's bill, which is a tax discount on tradespeople's tools. I wonder if the member saw that section and if he sees it as encouragement that perhaps the Senate, like the House, will pass Bill C-241.

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Mr. Chris Lewis

Apr/27/23 9:10:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, yes, I certainly have seen it, and I am very much aware of the $5,000 tool tax credit. It is a great start, but it does not go far enough.

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The Deputy Speaker

Apr/27/23 9:11:15 p.m.
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Before we move on, I just want to remind members that when they are banging on their desk it does transmit into the microphone, and those who are doing the interpretation have a hard time with that sometimes. Continuing debate, the hon. member for Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan.

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Mr. Fraser Tolmie (Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan, CPC)

Apr/27/23 9:11:33 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-234

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to stand in this House representing the great hard-working people of Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan. As parliamentarians, we sometimes have to deal with unpleasant situations, like today, when unfortunately I have to critique the Liberal government's latest inflationary budget. Let me state the dismal facts that confront Canadians. This budget is set to increase the national debt to a record of $1.3 trillion. The interest payments alone on this debt will reach $50 billion, which is $10 billion more than Canada spends on national defence. The government's revenue, or taxes on Canadians, has nearly doubled since the Liberals took office eight years ago. In other words, the finance minister has managed to create a budget with both record revenue and record deficits. This record spending will only throw gasoline on the inflationary fire that Canadians are already struggling with. It will not help people who are struggling to get by. Our party had three demands of this budget, none of which have been met. First, we wanted to help Canadians bring home better paycheques with lower taxes and for the government to scrap the carbon tax. Instead, the Liberals tripled down on higher taxes by tripling their carbon tax earlier this month. As the PBO reported, this tax will cost the average family far more than what they get back in rebates. Here is the simple equation. In Saskatchewan, the average household will spend an additional $410 this year beyond the $1,781 they get back. Let me say that again. In order to get $1,781 in rebates, they will need to spend $2,191. I have to ask if this is the new math kids are doing in school, because it does not work. Let me state the facts. The government is putting a price on people with this carbon tax. Liberal inflationary spending has also caused the price of food and groceries to skyrocket. One in five Canadians is skipping meals. People are going to food banks who have never gone before. We are blessed to live in a country with an abundance of natural resources and agricultural goods, and this should never happen. “Canada's Food Price Report 2023” predicts that a family of four will spend over $1,000 more on food this year. That is nearly $600 more than the grocery rebate announced in this budget. Here is the equation: spend $1,000 and get $400 back. It is bad math. Let me be clear. Not everyone qualifies for this rebate; most do not. Add to the equation I just shared that a large majority of Canadians will continue to struggle with the cost of food, along with the ever-rising carbon tax, with no help from the government. This compounds the cost of living crisis all Canadians are facing. This is after yet another hike in payroll taxes. Overall, the average Canadian will see another $305 deducted from their pay. They take home less and pay more. Canadians are slowly getting their pockets picked by the Liberal government. The government's grocery rebate is simply giving money back to Canadians that has already been clawed away from them with tax hikes. It will not solve the cost of living crisis. The government is forcing Canadians to be dependant on it. It taxes them and gives them rebates when it sees fit, instead of trusting Canadians with their own hard-earned money. Conservatives demanded that the government end inflationary debt and deficits that drive up inflation and interest rates. Obviously, this condition was not met, and I would have been absolutely stunned if it had been. After all, the Prime Minister has added more debt than all other prime ministers combined and has no plan to balance the budget and control his inflationary deficits. Our national debt this year is projected to reach $1.2 trillion. To put that in perspective, that is nearly $81,000 of debt per household. The fall economic statement tabled just a few months ago projected a $4.5-billion surplus in 2027-28. Now that is all gone, with more massive deficits years into the future. In last year's budget, the finance minister said that Canada's debt-to-GDP ratio was her fiscal anchor and that this number must decline for Canada's finances to be sustainable. She said: ...let me be very clear: We are absolutely determined that our debt-to-GDP ratio must continue to decline. Our deficits must continue to be reduced. The pandemic debt we incurred to keep Canadians safe and solvent must—and will—be paid down. This is our fiscal anchor. This is a line we shall not cross. It will ensure that our finances remain sustainable. According to this budget, our debt-to-GDP ratio is set to increase from 42.4% to 43.4% this year. The finance minister herself knows that her inflationary debt and deficits are unsustainable. Let us relate this to a household budget in which someone is putting tens of thousands of dollars each year on their credit cards while only paying the minimum amount. We all know this is unsustainable, and this is happening year after year. We cannot borrow our way out of debt. We cannot spend our way out of debt. Conservatives' third demand was to remove government gatekeepers to free up land and speed up building permits to help build homes people can afford. The dream of home ownership for young and new Canadians under the government has died. Nine in 10 people who do not own a home say they never will. Over the past eight years, the down payment needed to buy a home has doubled. The average monthly mortgage and rent payments have nearly doubled in the same time. What used to cost $1,400 eight years ago is now over $3,000. When the government took office, someone needed just 39% of their average paycheque to make monthly payments on the average house. Today, that has risen to 62%. We should remember that on top of that 62%, we are still facing the cost of living crisis, with the cost of groceries skyrocketing and the carbon tax increasing the cost of everything. Things are more expensive and Canadians are taking home less. Let us talk about what this budget has, or rather does not have, for Saskatchewan. If we look through the document, Saskatchewan is mentioned only five times, and where it is mentioned is in paragraphs bragging about announcements made as far back as the summer of 2022 and some with little or no involvement of the federal government at all. Our agriculture industry is barely mentioned as well, although this is hardly surprising with our current minister's abysmal track record in supporting our agriculture producers. What our agriculture sector needs most is relief from the punitive carbon tax. If the government was not so focused on trying to impress its European friends, it would know that our farmers are already tremendous stewards of the environment. Forcing them to pay obscene amounts in carbon tax means that they are less able to spend on needed new equipment that would lower their carbon footprint. Thankfully, my friend from Huron—Bruce is working to fix that. His bill, Bill C-234, has passed the House, despite opposition from the government and the agriculture minister, and it is now making its way through the Senate. I pray that common sense will prevail and our farmers will see tax relief soon. This budget has failed to do anything to help Canadians. It has failed those who are struggling with higher taxes and inflation. It has failed those who want to some day buy a home. It has failed our agriculture sector. It has failed Saskatchewan, and it has failed Canada. The cost of living crisis is real and it is hurting Canadians. The price of gas in Moose Jaw has risen over $1.60 after the government tripled its inflationary tax. This is not an environmental plan; it is a tax plan. The Prime Minister has said that he has put a price on pollution, but the fact is that he has put a price on people. This is a bad budget, and I will not be supporting it.

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

Apr/27/23 9:21:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as to this theme of gatekeepers holding up housing, we know that the housing supply is controlled by municipalities and provinces. What the member and other members who have talked in the House this evening and other days as we have debated the budget have neglected to talk about is affordable housing. I know that our government, as I outlined earlier tonight, has a number of programs that have helped not just housing issues and homelessness but providing affordable housing in municipalities across Canada. Can I ask the member why consistently Conservatives get up and talk about housing and housing supply but neglect to talk about affordable housing investments and why they are so averse to supporting any program that has to support housing providers who are assisting with social housing units?

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