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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 201

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 29, 2023 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 201 - May/29/23
Hon. Randy Boissonnault
  • May/29/23 8:22:24 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, the answer is manifold. We understand that Canadians are struggling, and that is why we are providing the grocery rebate. It is going to help 11 million Canadians. Let me give some numbers. The average family will receive $467, while single Canadians will receive $264. Seniors can expect to receive, on average, $225. This is in addition to supports that we put in the window: our previous doubling of the GST tax credit; our increase to the Canada workers benefit, which lowers the tax burden on working Canadians; the creation of and increases to the Canada child benefit; the indexing of the Canada child benefit, old age security and the guaranteed income supplement to inflation; a $500 payment to seniors over 75 and an increase in the OAS for that group; and the dental benefit, which is going to help millions of Canadians. Quite frankly, as the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance said, we are a compassionate country; nobody should be worried about the quality of their smile. That is why this important investment makes sense for Canadians. There are also our critical investments in early childhood learning, with $10,000 per year per child in my home province alone.
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Hon. Gudie Hutchings (Minister of Rural Economic Development, Lib.)
  • May/29/23 8:23:43 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I am always excited to hear my hon. colleague speak, and I would like to ask him about the visitor economy. How important is this sector to every riding in every part of our country from coast to coast to coast? I know our government has been there. Could my colleague touch on the investments that we have made to support this incredible tourism industry and the visitor economy?
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Hon. Randy Boissonnault
  • May/29/23 8:24:07 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, whether it is Gros Morne National Park, Banff National Park or Jasper, the fact is that budget 2023 includes $158 million for the visitor economy, $50 million for Destination Canada, $108 million for regional development agencies and $1.8 billion for the transportation sector. This is not only to modernize what we have in terms of our frequent visitor program but also to make sure that we get people to and through our airports faster. That is what it is going to take to get even more people coming to Canada and enjoying all that we have to offer.
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Mr. Terry Sheehan (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Labour, Lib.)
  • May/29/23 8:24:45 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, when I was on city council, Sault Ste. Marie declared itself the North American alternative energy capital. We have now started talking about green and clean, but the federal government has made investments in solar and wind; in fact, it made one of the largest investments into a private company called Algoma Steel, with $420 million to get it from a coal-based process to an electric arc process. That is generational in funding. It is like taking a million cars off the road. I am particularly interested in this budget. The minister talked about the tax credits for businesses, but could he expand on the benefits for workers, in particular, prevailing wages for workers who are working in the clean, green economy?
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Hon. Randy Boissonnault
  • May/29/23 8:25:50 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, just on the tax credits for clean electricity alone, businesses would get the maximum credit allowed by making sure that they have union workers on the job site and that they are paying prevailing wages. This was work done by the Alberta Federation of Labour and other building trades across the country. This is in the budget, and it makes good sense, because we know that good union jobs are good middle-class jobs. They contribute to the community, and they help grow Canada.
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Mr. Gary Anandasangaree (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Lib.)
  • May/29/23 8:26:28 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, in this budget, there are some investments in legal aid. Could the minister talk about how important it is to have a legal system that is accessible and our role in supporting a legal system through additional funding to the legal aid program?
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Hon. Randy Boissonnault
  • May/29/23 8:26:55 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, everybody deserves to be represented and to be treated fairly in our legal system. The fact that our government is making investments in legal aid demonstrates that we believe in that principle and that we are here to work with individuals who need that help when they are facing legal proceedings.
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Mr. Jasraj Singh Hallan (Calgary Forest Lawn, CPC)
  • May/29/23 8:27:23 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I will split my time three ways. The finance minister said that, by exercising fiscal restraint, she would not pour fuel on the fire of inflation. She did a massive flip-flop from November and added an extra $60 billion of spending in her failed budget. Can she tell Canadian families how much that is going to cost each and every household in Canada?
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Hon. Chrystia Freeland (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Lib.)
  • May/29/23 8:27:44 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, the finance critic is an Alberta MP, so I want to ask him something very serious. There is an election going on in Alberta today, and in the campaign, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress asked about pro-Russia, pro-Putin positions taken by some UCP candidates. I would like to know what the Conservative Party thinks, and I will tell members my connection to my appearance tonight at the—
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The Chair
  • May/29/23 8:28:07 p.m.
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The hon. member.
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Mr. Jasraj Singh Hallan
  • May/29/23 8:28:10 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, can the minister please tell every Canadian household how much her extra $60 billion of spending is going to cost?
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Hon. Chrystia Freeland
  • May/29/23 8:28:21 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, it is a really important point because, as I was walking up here, I was shouted at, which was nothing unusual. It was some Trumpian language, saying that the PM and I should go to jail. However, one of the things that was shouted at me was “You're spending my money”—
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The Chair
  • May/29/23 8:28:31 p.m.
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The hon. member.
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Mr. Jasraj Singh Hallan
  • May/29/23 8:28:33 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, since the minister flip-flopped on that, she also flip-flopped when the Liberals said, in 2015, they would run modest, short-term deficits of less than $10 billion in each of the next two years and return to balance in 2019. What happened?
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Hon. Chrystia Freeland
  • May/29/23 8:28:47 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, it is a really important point. I was shouted at, and this person said, “You are spending my money on Ukraine.” Is it the position of the Conservative Party of Canada that our spending on Ukraine is wrong?
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Mr. Jasraj Singh Hallan
  • May/29/23 8:29:03 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, the minister does not admit her own words, and she will not recognize that she broke her own promises to Canadians when she poured fuel on the inflationary fire. The minister loves to quote the Governor of the Bank of Canada, so will she agree with him that inflation in Canada increasingly reflects what is happening in Canada?
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Hon. Chrystia Freeland
  • May/29/23 8:29:21 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I note that the Alberta MP and finance critic has refused to answer my question about Ukraine. This is an important point. When it comes to fiscal responsibility, our AAA rating was reaffirmed by S&P after the budget was tabled.
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Mr. Jasraj Singh Hallan
  • May/29/23 8:29:39 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, the minister is here to answer questions of Canadians. Does she agree with Tiff Macklem that the inflation in Canada increasingly reflects what is happening in Canada?
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Hon. Chrystia Freeland
  • May/29/23 8:29:49 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, it is very important for all Canadians to know whether Trumpian positions on Ukraine and Russia are infiltrating the Conservative movement more broadly in Canada.
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Mr. Jasraj Singh Hallan
  • May/29/23 8:30:03 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, if the minister does not agree with the current governor, maybe she will listen to the former governor, and maybe her future boss or maybe her future seatmate, when they are on this side of the House. When he said, “Really, inflation is principally a domestic story”, did she believe him?
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