44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 29, 2023 11:00AM
- May/29/23 7:37:43 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I would like to thank the Minister of Finance for her budget and also for her hard work.
I want to talk about an announcement that was made today by the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations with respect to the National Family and Survivors Circle, which was given almost $97 million for support for survivors of trauma, stemming from the MMIWG report.
Can the minister tell us how important this is in terms of healing, as well as our path toward reconciliation?
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- May/29/23 7:38:22 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I would like to thank my colleague from Scarborough—Rouge Park for his hard work. He and I have spoken many times about the work he does on reconciliation. One of the things he has talked to me about, which I have found very moving, is that in his riding, which is a very diverse riding with many new Canadians, he has found when talking to his constituents that reconciliation is incredibly important to them. They see reconciliation as a fundamental part of their responsibilities and their duties as proud, new Canadians.
I know that my colleague understands that very well. Our government understands that very well. We still have a lot of work to do as we walk the path of reconciliation. We need to keep investing in it every single year.
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- May/29/23 7:39:27 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, can the minister provide her thoughts regarding how important it was for Canada to work with Volkswagen?
We were able to land something that is going to make such a profound, positive impact, not only for the community of St. Thomas, but for all of Canada, as a direct result of the government taking the initiative and securing such a wonderful plant going forward.
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- May/29/23 7:39:55 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, our government understands that there is a window of opportunity right now to be the country where the clean economy of the 21st century is built. That window is open today, but it will not be open forever. That is why, in our budget, we announced really significant investments in the clean economy. Our total clean economy investment is about $120 billion.
As I said earlier, TD Economics now ranks Canada head to head with the U.S. as the world's most attractive clean economy investment destination. That is really important today and it is really important for tomorrow.
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- May/29/23 7:40:42 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, can the minister talk about some of the things we are doing to mitigate the climate crisis we have? We are seeing fires and hurricanes. We are seeing, all across Canada, the impact of climate change.
Can the minister talk about what our government is doing to address that?
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- May/29/23 7:41:01 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, it is really appropriate for us to have a question from one of our Nova Scotia MPs about that issue, because wildfires are now burning there. They were burning in the home province of my colleague, the Associate Minister of Finance. This is more proof that we do need to act on climate, and we are.
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- May/29/23 7:41:25 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, this is the first government budget that we could describe as a postpandemic budget. Obviously no one here in Parliament is to blame for the virus. However, the programs that might have helped us to get through the pandemic at the time are the responsibility of this Parliament. We need to learn important lessons and make corrections. We also need to prepare for the next crisis that could arise.
The government boasts about having signed agreements with the provinces on health. These agreements were imposed. Out of the demands that were made by the provinces and Quebec, only $1 out of $6 was granted. Before the Liberals came along, the transfers covered 24% of provincial health costs. Now they cover just 22%. With these new agreements, which are not real agreements, we are back to 24%. They are perpetuating the chronic underfunding of health.
Does the minister recognize that the federal government's chronic underfunding has left us short on hospital beds and that the measures to counter the pandemic, which hurt our economy, had to be excessively extended?
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- May/29/23 7:42:38 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I agree that health care is a priority for Quebeckers and for all Canadians. That is why we made a historic investment of almost $200 billion for health care in the budget. That is really a lot of money. However, we know that it was the right thing to do because for Quebec and for all the provinces, health care is essential. That is why we made this investment.
We also made huge investments during the pandemic. We supported the provinces and territories, including Quebec, obviously. Nine out of 10 dollars spent during the pandemic were spent by the federal government. It was the right thing to do, but the result today is that some provinces, including Quebec, are in a position—
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- May/29/23 7:43:53 p.m.
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The hon. member for Mirabel.
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- May/29/23 7:43:56 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, the minister confirmed that she supports the ongoing underfunding and that she also borrowed on behalf of the provinces. This is not a gift from the federal government. The money that the federal government sent during the pandemic was borrowed money.
Now there is no money for health care, but there is money for a dental plan. This is being done with the help of the federal spending power, which is the instrument of the fiscal imbalance.
The federal government is going to expand this program. The Government of Quebec and the Quebec National Assembly are unanimously calling for Quebec to be given the right to opt out with full financial compensation.
Will the Liberal government give Quebec the right to opt out with full financial compensation?
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- May/29/23 7:44:32 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, we came up with a good solution with Quebec regarding day care and our national system. We understood that Quebec's approach was different and we came up with a good solution.
I am absolutely sure that my colleague, the Minister of Health, will also find a good solution for Quebec regarding dental care. We understand that the situation in Quebec is different.
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- May/29/23 7:45:07 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I like clear answers.
Do the minister and her government plan to offer the Government of Quebec the right to opt out with full compensation? Yes or no?
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- May/29/23 7:45:19 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, relations between the federal government and the provinces are complex. Health care and dental care are complex. I will clearly repeat that we are sure that we can find—
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- May/29/23 7:45:38 p.m.
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The hon. member for Mirabel.
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- May/29/23 7:45:39 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I notice that the longer the answers are, the more they seem like a “no” in disguise.
We know that during the pandemic, health care was underfunded, that there was a shortage of hospital beds that led to people being turned away, and that the pandemic measures needed to be extended.
If, during the pandemic, we had had a dental plan like the one the minister is planning, how many more hospital beds would Quebec have had as a result of that dental plan?
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- May/29/23 7:46:07 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, the pandemic was truly a crisis for the entire country. That being said, I think that we as Canadians and Quebeckers can be proud, in general, of our national response. If we compare Canada to the United States—
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- May/29/23 7:46:39 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, during the pandemic, we saw significant gaps in the social safety net, especially Canada's social safety net, which led to the use of a set of temporary measures. Naturally, all parties quickly agreed to them. One temporary measure after another was implemented. Ultimately, these measures were poorly targeted and very costly.
Although it does not want to do so for China, does the government plan to launch a public inquiry into the reasons for these gaps in our social safety net so that, in the event of another crisis, we need not reintroduce the temporary measures one by one, since we know how costly they will be for taxpayers and future generations?
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- May/29/23 7:47:22 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I do not agree with my Bloc colleague. I believe that, faced with a historic global crisis, Canada demonstrated tremendous social solidarity. Let us compare Canada and the United States. If Canada had had the same mortality rate as the United States, 70,000 more Canadians would have died. That is a big difference.
No, our response was not perfect, but our results were good, not just compared with the United States, but with all G7 countries except Japan.
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- May/29/23 7:48:12 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, there is the EI spring gap for temporary workers. There is the problem of inadequate coverage through the EI system. There is the actuarial financing of the EI fund, which is poorly suited to economic cycles and major disasters like the one we just went through. We have been calling for EI reform for years. Since 2015, the Liberals have been promising EI reform, but we have seen nothing of the sort.
Most recently, we were promised EI reform by August 2023, which is right around the corner. There was absolutely nothing in the budget. The actuarial calculation shows that an extra $25 billion will be taken from the pockets of unemployed workers between now and 2030.
Is the minister committed to keeping her government's promise to reform EI, or to at least announce a reform, by August 2023?
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- May/29/23 7:48:57 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I want to remind the House, but especially my Bloc colleague, that during the pandemic, the government put an additional $27 billion into the EI system to offset all the expenses the system had to incur. The federal government supported our EI system.
I can also say that what Canadians want is a strong economy and jobs. That is the most important thing. Our government and our country are in a really good position today when it comes to—
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