44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 29, 2023 11:00AM
- May/29/23 3:08:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, $300,000: that is how much the Liberal government has gifted to charities identified as hosting Beijing's illegal police stations in Canada. The government famously disqualified faith-based charities from the same student summer jobs funding for not agreeing to Liberal ideology.
Apparently, though, charities identified as hosting Beijing's illegal police stations do qualify as matching the Liberals' values attestation.
Why is the government funding Beijing's illegal police stations instead of shutting them down?
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- May/29/23 7:49:48 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, indeed, just over $25 billion in additional funding was put into EI during the crisis. That was a small portion of the $250 billion to $300 billion that the Government of Canada spent to help Canadians and Quebeckers during the pandemic.
For the other programs, unlike EI, Quebeckers and Canadians have decided to stand in solidarity and band together to cover all of these pandemic-related expenses through the government's consolidated fund. In this case, the government is going to take another $25 billion out of the pockets of businesses and unemployed workers over the next seven years.
Does the government not think that it should show solidarity and treat this spending as pandemic spending instead of dipping into people's pockets for the next seven years?
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- 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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- 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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- May/29/23 9:18:29 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, we believe that these improvements will help low-income workers get timely access to the money they need to meet their needs and those of their families. As of June 2023, single workers will receive up to $714 and families will receive up to $1,231 in three advance payments.
The Canada workers benefit is something that is lifting millions of hard-working Canadians out of poverty, making that difference at the end of every month and the end of every year. These advance payments are just another way of ensuring that Canadians receive the help they need at the most opportune time.
To make life more affordable, our government is moving forward with increasing certain RESP withdrawal limits from $5,000 to $8,000 for full-time students and from $2,500 to $4,000 for part-time students. This measure, combined with the improvements announced in budget 2023 with respect to financial aid for students, will help students cover the cost of their education and pursue their dreams.
We will crack down on predatory lenders that take advantage of some of the most vulnerable people in our communities, including low-income Canadians, newcomers and seniors. These lenders often offer very high-interest loans and we believe it is important to act to protect the most vulnerable Canadians. That is why we are changing the Criminal Code to lower the criminal interest rate of 47% APR, or annual percentage rate, to 35% APR, which would match the ceiling in Quebec. We are also launching consultations to determine whether the criminal interest rate should be further lowered to better protect Canadians.
As people know, our government has stepped up since 2015 whenever Canadians needed our support. Here are a few more examples.
We support approximately 3.5 million families each year through the Canada child benefit. This year, families will receive up to nearly $7,000 per child under the age of six, and up to $5,903 per child aged six to 17.
We increased old age security by 10% for people over the age of 75 starting in July 2022, which represents more than $800 in additional assistance for fully retired seniors.
We have reduced fees for regulated child care by an average of 50%, so that regulated child care will cost an average of only $10 per day by 2026.
I know the price of day care for my family has gone down by approximately 52.7%. I think that is more of an exact number. That is what I was told by the day care. More importantly, the parents who go to my child's day care, which has been in existence for over 30 years, have told me stories about how important this measure is and how much money, after-tax dollars, that families are saving, not only in my riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge but also across this beautiful and blessed country.
We will look back 10 to 20 years, generations from now, and for sure in three to five years, and see that this has been a transformational measure for Canadian families and our economy. We will applaud everyone, all the provinces and the leadership of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance for generations to come. I am very proud of the government that got this done.
We have also strengthened the Canada pension plan. Of course, our government will continue to help those who really need it, while continuing to manage public funds responsibly. Yes, the pandemic has had a significant impact on our wallets with inflation, but it has also reminded us all just how important our health is and how important our health care system is. The pandemic has severely stressed our health care systems and exacerbated the shortage of workers and lack of access to primary care.
We believe Canadians deserve better. That is why, earlier this year, the Prime Minister announced that the federal government will increase health funding to the provinces and territories. We are moving forward with federal funding.
This is $190.6 billion over 10 years to the provinces for health care, including $42.6 billion in new dollars to ensure that our health care system is there for today and for tomorrow.
With that, I will end my speech. I look forward to asking the Deputy Prime Minister a few questions.
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- May/29/23 10:01:22 p.m.
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Madam Chair, yes, our price on pollution is foundational. We then have our system of tax credits and our system of concessional finance through the Canada growth fund. On top of that, for specific projects, we have funding through SIF and the Department of Natural Resources.
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