44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 15, 2023 11:00AM
- May/15/23 2:35:09 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I am really looking forward to appearing before the finance committee, as scheduled, tomorrow. Of course, it will require the Conservatives to end their frankly childish temper tantrum to give me the chance to appear, but I do really look forward to it, and the reason I look—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
56 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/15/23 2:35:39 p.m.
- Watch
I am going to wait for silence on all sides. While someone is answering, I would ask everyone not to shout them down. That is almost like bullying in a schoolyard.
The hon. Deputy Prime Minister.
36 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/15/23 2:36:07 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, one might say that shouting down a woman speaking in the House is a childish temper tantrum. One might say that, but I do look forward to appearing before the committee tomorrow as I have always been scheduled to do.
42 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/15/23 2:36:26 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are grateful that the finance minister has finally returned to Canada. She said, “inflation and higher interest rates are really challenging for a lot of people. This means that...one of my principal responsibilities...is not to pour fuel on the flames of inflation. So fiscal responsibility is really important.” Those were the words of the finance minister just nine weeks ago. She cannot bring herself to answer basic questions about why the budget is the exact opposite. She has gone into hiding, trying to distance herself from her own government.
Canadians want to know if she is going to answer the question. If not, will she get out of the way so that Conservatives can just take over?
124 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/15/23 2:37:03 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, our government is not going to let Conservatives get away with ridiculous and transparent efforts to mislead Canadians. The fact is that the presence of Canadian ministers, and this week the presence of our Prime Minister, at a G7 meeting, is doing our job for Canadians, and Canadians know it.
When it comes to the budget, do colleagues know whom I trust to rate our fiscal responsibility? The rating agencies and S&P reaffirmed our AAA rating.
80 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/15/23 2:37:45 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I will welcome the finance minister back to Canada again, but here are the actual facts. Every Canadian family will now pay $4,200 more per household for her spending spree. Housing prices have doubled. Food bank use is at record highs. Canada accumulated debt faster than almost every other advanced country, but our economy underperformed compared to nearly all its counterparts, and we have the lowest projected GDP-per-capita growth of any advanced economy for the next 30 years.
Why does she continue to spread this falsehood? We cannot spend our way to prosperity, so will she keep running away from questions or will she just get out of the way?
115 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/15/23 2:38:30 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, we can tell, when the personal attacks are increasing, that it is proportional to the lack of ideas that actually help Canadians.
When we look at housing supply, we are the party that has enabled more Canadians to access affordable housing, as well as to access the dream of Canadian home ownership through the first-time homebuyer tax-free savings account, a 1% tax on vacant, non-Canadian, non-residential real estate. We are also building more housing supply through the housing accelerator fund.
Throughout all these measures, they vote against them and then come here and pretend that they care.
103 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/15/23 2:39:12 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, Canadians want to know one thing. When will this government really understand the problems that directly affect them every day?
When she was in Japan, Washington or elsewhere in the world, did the Minister of Finance think about the 1.5 million Canadians who are using food banks? Did she think about the fact that one in five families have to trim their budgets to put food on the table? We are talking about basic necessities. Did she think about the people who have been paying twice as much in rent or on their mortgage payments over the past eight years under this government? That is the daily reality for Canadians.
When will the government finally get in touch with Canadians' reality?
125 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/15/23 2:39:50 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, once again, I have a question for the Conservatives.
Are they considering an isolationist policy for Canada? Are they proposing that Canada not attend G7 meetings? With regard to Washington, are the Conservatives proposing that we not attend meetings at the White House? Is that the Conservatives' policy?
On this side of the House, we understand that Canada exists in an interconnected global economy and we must—
70 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/15/23 2:40:29 p.m.
- Watch
The hon. member for Louis-Saint-Laurent.
7 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/15/23 2:40:32 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, perhaps the Minister of Finance has a short memory.
Just a few short months ago, in November, she was very proud to table the economic update and said that she could see the light at the end of the tunnel and would have a target for balancing the budget. That was in November.
Just one month ago, she tabled her budget, and there was nothing. There was nothing about balancing the budget. Even worse, two weeks ago her party gave her a slap in the face. Her party wants nothing to do with balancing the budget.
The Minister of Finance, who was so proud in November to say that we were headed towards balancing the budget—
119 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/15/23 2:41:14 p.m.
- Watch
The hon. Deputy Prime Minister.
5 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/15/23 2:41:21 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, there is a big difference between our government and the Conservatives. The difference is this. Yes, we are proud of Canada and we are proud of Canada's economy. On the fiscal front, I want to point out that S&P reaffirmed Canada's AAA credit rating after we tabled our budget.
I believe that Canadians are intelligent enough to believe S&P rather than the Conservatives' anti-Canadian rhetoric.
74 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/15/23 2:42:09 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Foreign Affairs has accused the Bloc Québécois of scaring people when it comes to the Century Initiative.
It is this government, not the Bloc Québécois, that is scaring people. The government is calculating its immigration thresholds without taking into account the capacity of Quebec and the provinces to receive immigrants and provide them with housing, health care, child care, the school system and French language learning. Unilaterally increasing thresholds puts too much pressure on the provinces.
Will the government recognize that a target of 500,000 newcomers per year is too high?
105 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/15/23 2:42:44 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, if the Bloc Québécois wants to know how to protect Quebec's demographic weight, I urge its members to read the Canada-Quebec accord, which has been working for three decades. If they want to know what our plan is to reverse the decline of French, I urge them to read the new action plan for official languages. If they want to know what our plan is to support francophone communities across Canada, they need to read the press release on how we reached the 4.4% target for francophone immigration.
Anyone can look it up on Google.
104 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/15/23 2:43:25 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleague to come up with a new version. Immigration is a kind of wealth, not only economic, but human as well. It helps us redefine who we are and learn new ways to live side by side. It opens our minds to new ideas and new perspectives. However, immigration depends on integration to succeed.
With its target of 500,000 immigrants by 2025, the federal government is overshooting even the mark set by the Century Initiative. At this rate, it will reach 100‑million population target sooner than 2100. Quebec will not be able to maintain its political weight or to integrate this many newcomers into French society.
Will the minister consider lowering his immigration targets?
123 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/15/23 2:44:07 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois must think the government has some kind of crystal ball.
Our immigration plans are based on the next three years, not the next 75 years.
The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship has been very clear. His decision is based on what he believes to be the best immigration policy for Canada, based on the needs and capacity of Quebec and Canada.
We will always be there to welcome immigrants.
79 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/15/23 2:44:46 p.m.
- Watch
That may be, Mr. Speaker, but we need to do it properly. When it comes to immigration, the Liberals cloak themselves in virtue and lofty sentiments. They talk about a host society, about welcoming millions of newcomers, but the immigrants who are here are often forgotten and suffer intolerable delays.
La Presse reported that a request for documents that should take 20 days took a year. La Presse also shared the story of a father who cannot travel to his sick son's bedside because he does not have a refugee travel document. It is tragic.
Instead of dramatically increasing thresholds, what is the minister going to do to shorten the inhumane processing times in his own department?
119 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/15/23 2:45:25 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to answer that question. I want to be very clear. We have made significant progress in reducing backlogs and improving services for our clients. Let us look at the numbers. We have reduced the backlog by over half a million. We finalized 5.2 million applications last year, twice as many as in 2021.
We set the bar very high when it comes to providing quality services in Canada.
76 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/15/23 2:46:02 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, a year ago, the finance minister said that she had a red line. She said, “our debt-to-GDP ratio must continue to decline...pandemic debt must be paid down.... This is a line we will not cross.” What happened to that red line? The government has increased the debt by $4,200 for each Canadian family. Our debt-to-GDP ratio will increase this year, and deficits now extend as far as the eye can see.
Does the finance minister regret making this cast-in-stone, stone-cold promise to Canadians?
96 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
