44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 21, 2023 10:00AM
- Nov/21/23 2:34:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, last year, the finance minister promised to balance the budget in her false hopes update. She then did a massive flip-flop and promised to balance the budget in the year never. The Prime Minister did a massive flip-flop recently too, on his carbon tax scam, when he gave a temporary carve-out for Canadians in Atlantic Canada, where his poll numbers were tanking. That is 3% of Canadians.
After eight years, the Liberal-NDP government is not worth the cost and still plans on quadrupling it. Why not pause quadrupling the carbon tax in today's failing economic update and call a carbon tax election so that Canadians can decide?
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- Nov/21/23 2:35:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague often neglects to mention a whole range of important facts. The price on pollution is an important component of a broad approach to fighting climate change. It is done in a manner that addresses affordability concerns. Eight out of 10 Canadian families get more money back than they pay.
With respect to home heating oil, it is a specific case. We are focused on ensuring that we do it in a manner that will help us drive the fight against climate change while ensuring affordability for Canadians. It is a responsible and thoughtful approach to public policy, something we never hear from the Conservatives.
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- Nov/21/23 2:36:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canada's best climate change plan is going to be a change in government under the common-sense Conservative leader as prime minister.
Two million Canadians are going to a food bank in a single month. One in five is skipping meals. Food inflation is out of control. Failed woke policies like the carbon tax are driving up the cost of gas, groceries and home heating. While the NDP-Liberals continue to miss every single climate change target they set for themselves, Canadians get less in these phony rebates, and they still plan on quadrupling it.
Why not put a pause on quadrupling the carbon tax and go to an election so Canadians can decide on the carbon tax themselves?
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- Nov/21/23 2:36:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on this side, and for Canadians across this country but particularly in Ontario, when we hear the words “common sense” and “Conservatives”, we get the shivers. We remember the time when they cut services to education, when they cut services to health care and when they cut important services for water that led to deaths in Walkerton. When we hear “common-sense Conservatives”, we know that means cuts for Canadians and harms to Canadians, and nothing good comes of it.
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- Nov/21/23 2:37:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, grocery and home heating bills continue to rise, as do rent and mortgage payments. Scotiabank has said that inflationary government deficits are to blame. If our deficit-maker-in-chief was to show fiscal responsibility, it would drop interest rates by 2% and save the average family $700 a month off their mortgage.
Does the Prime Minister understand his deficits are making it difficult for people to afford basic necessities like food and housing, or does he think all Canadians are auditioning for Les Mis?
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- Nov/21/23 2:38:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the member opposite and inform the House that this morning Statistics Canada indicated that inflation has dropped yet again in this country. It is now at 3.1%. Canada continues to have the lowest deficit among all G7 countries.
With respect to the report my hon. colleague cites, the report indicates that it is provincial spending, not federal, and COVID supports that have resulted in the statistics he is citing. The facts are important.
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- Nov/21/23 2:38:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if we all quiet down, we can already hear the fiscal engines in the background starting to rev up, as the only solution for inflationary spending for the Prime Minister is more inflationary spending.
The Conservative leader has challenged the Prime Minister to stop his carbon tax hikes, reduce his deficits and build homes, not bureaucracy. Will the government address these issues in the mini-budget today, or will it reject this common-sense plan and show that the only thing not subject to rising inflation in Canada is the competence of the NDP-Liberal government?
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- Nov/21/23 2:39:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister stated just a few moments ago, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance will be tabling the fall economic statement at 4 p.m. in this House. All members, including the member opposite, will have a chance to look at all the numbers, and we will have a chance in this House to debate the economic plan our government has put forward.
I would remind the member opposite, as he talks of deficits, that Canada continues to have the lowest deficit among all G7 countries. We will continue to be fiscally responsible.
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- Nov/21/23 2:40:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of Liberal inflationary spending, the Prime Minister is not worth what inflation is costing Quebeckers. In October, Quebec's inflation rate of 4.2% was the worst in Canada yet again.
According to Scotiabank's calculations, government overspending has added two percentage points to interest rates in Canada, raising monthly mortgage payments by $700.
In today's mini-budget, will the Liberal Prime Minister announce a plan and a deadline for balancing the budget to bring interest rates down so Canadians and Quebeckers can keep their homes?
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- Nov/21/23 2:40:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, the fall economic statement will be tabled at 4 p.m., not long from now. My hon. colleague will have a chance to look at the numbers then.
Right now, however, I can confirm that Canada will continue to have the lowest deficit in the G7.
We will continue to be fiscally responsible.
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- Nov/21/23 2:41:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today's figures showed us that rents have increased by more than 9% in Quebec in the past year.
This morning, the Journal de Montréal reported that a homeless 30-year-old Sherbrooke man is getting ready to spend his first winter on the street.
After eight years of Liberal inflationary spending, we fail to understand why the Bloc Québécois would want two more years of the same, plus a drastic increase in the carbon tax. The Bloc Québécois clearly only cares about the balance of power, not a balanced budget.
Did the Prime Minister persuade the Bloc Québécois to let him keep recklessly spending billions of dollars, or will he finally listen to Conservative common sense and balance the budget?
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- Nov/21/23 2:41:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives tell us that they are worried about people and about Canadians, but they could not care less about what is happening. They could not care less about torrential rainfall, floods, forest fires or what is going on. They want us to back away from investing in climate change. They want to take us backwards, step by step, with cuts.
We will not let that happen. We will not go back to the Stone Age.
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- Nov/21/23 2:42:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what Radio-Canada has uncovered is very serious. Mexican drug cartels are engaging in human trafficking at Canadian borders. The federal government cannot allow criminal organizations to exploit migrants.
That is not all. The RCMP confirmed that the crossings the cartels are using for human trafficking are the same ones they use for weapons and narcotics trafficking. Needless to say, the federal government cannot allow Mexican cartels to set up shop at our borders.
When will the government take back control of Canada's borders?
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- Nov/21/23 2:43:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I completely agree with my colleague. We will never allow cartels to take control of our borders. However, the member must be careful not to exaggerate when asking questions.
Our government is very concerned about what Radio-Canada has found. That is exactly why we are working more with our law enforcement agencies, the Canada Border Services Agency and, most importantly, our American partners to combat what my colleague was talking about. I have full confidence in the work of the RCMP and border services.
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- Nov/21/23 2:43:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my question was not exaggerated, but the government's complacency sure is.
Cartels will not stop at committing crimes at the border. They are directly involved in crime in Quebec. Radio-Canada revealed that South Americans who entered our territory with fake Mexican passports organized a burglary ring in Quebec. According to the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal, they come to the country for the sole purpose of stealing from people. The Montreal police even called Quebec an easy target because of the porous border.
I have one simple question. What will the federal government do to regain control over the borders?
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- Nov/21/23 2:44:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are going to keep fighting organized crime in a number of ways. We have invested more—$400 million more—to give our law enforcement agencies, the Canada Border Services Agency and the RCMP the tools they need to work with their partners in Quebec and the United States to fight organized crime coming into the country.
My colleague is well aware that I have discussed this with Minister Bonnardel. We will be taking further action with Quebec and our U.S. partners because we take this threat very seriously.
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- Nov/21/23 2:45:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the federal government cannot allow cartels to exploit migrants. It cannot let them spread misinformation on social media in order to take thousands of dollars from these less fortunate people. It cannot let them put these people at risk of imprisonment in Canada and the United States.
As we speak, there are vulnerable people making their way to Canada based on lies, people who are being robbed and arrested.
When will the government put an end to this exploitation?
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- Nov/21/23 2:45:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we fully share our colleague's concerns about the exploitation of these individuals.
The Prime Minister raised the issue of irregular migration with the President of Mexico. My colleague, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, is also in discussion with her counterparts in the United States and Mexico. I myself have had this discussion with the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, precisely to ensure that all possible measures are in place to prevent exactly what my colleague just mentioned.
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- Nov/21/23 2:46:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised to make housing more affordable for Canadians, but we know that was not totally true. After eight years of the Liberal government, rent has doubled, housing prices have skyrocketed, doubling as well, and mortgage payments have gone through the roof. In fact, today, Scotiabank confirmed that mortgage rates have increased by 2% just due to the government's overspending.
With no other factors considered, just the government's overspending, mortgage rates have gone up by 2%, which means, on average, $700 a month extra on a family's mortgage. When will the government do the responsible thing and rein in its spending so that Canadians can afford to put a roof over their heads?
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- Nov/21/23 2:47:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in order to address the national housing crisis, we are making the investments necessary to get Canada building again. I have good news for my colleague: It is working. When we look at the Statistics Canada report from yesterday, we see significant increases in the investments in residential construction. In fact, the heading of the section from the report is “Strong gains in residential investment”, indicating a nearly 8% increase just this past month.
We have a plan to continue to cut costs for home builders and to make the investments necessary to get the homes built that the economy and families that live in them need.
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