SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 264

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 7, 2023 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 264 - Dec/7/23
Mr. Stephen Ellis (Cumberland—Colchester, CPC)
  • Dec/7/23 12:19:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Saskatoon—University. It is very simple. We want to cancel the carbon tax for farmers, first nations and families. We know that mortgages and rent have doubled and that it is basically impossible to buy food for a family. Unfortunately, a new report indicates that groceries will cost an extra $700 per family next year. I want this NDP-Liberal government to be honest with Canadians. The carbon tax is raising the cost of living. When the carbon tax drives up costs for farmers and truckers, the cost of living increases for all Canadians. I like bologna, but I do not like it when the Liberals feed Canadians baloney. Sadly, after eight years, we know that Canadians are experiencing the greatest financial difficulty since perhaps the Great Depression. As the leader of His Majesty's loyal opposition has taken to saying many times, if pictures of the lines outside a food bank were in black and white, everybody would believe that we were back in the so-called dirty thirties. The NDP-Liberal government has shattered the dreams of many Canadians. It was interesting to hear the response from my hon. colleague when I asked a question just a minute ago with respect to the emails, phone calls and visits that every member of this House receives in their office every day. I cannot understand why they choose to ignore the folks who put them there. We know very clearly, because everybody wants to look at a poll now and then, that it is at their own peril. I suggest that Canadians, as I said in French, are not foolish. They recognize very clearly the peril that their financial situation is in. We know that many Canadians are $200 away from being broke at the end of the month. That is a situation nobody wants to be in. Many Canadians are way beyond that. There are two million Canadians visiting food banks. That is 5% of the population. I had the opportunity to visit the food bank in my hometown of Truro, Nova Scotia. Sadly, we know its client roster has ballooned to 1,800 folks. In a small town of around 12,000 people, there are 1,800 clients. We know from an incredible study done from my alma mater at Dalhousie University that groceries will cost a family of four an extra $700 next year. This is an incredibly sad state of affairs. In that report, there was an interesting quote that talks about food bank use. It says, “This is the highest level of food bank use in Canada on record,” and, “In 2024, it is probable that Canadians will continue to experience the strain of food inflation, compounded by increasing costs of housing, energy, and various other expenditures.” As I said in French, we all know that when we tax the farmer who grows the food and we tax the truck driver who ships the food, then ultimately the person at the end of the line paying for the food is going to have to pay more. We know that when we tax businesses more, they pass that cost onto consumers. That is a simple fact of business; it is not one that we like. I do wish to highlight a couple of interesting stories, which are incredibly heart-wrenching, from my own riding. In the recent past, I had an opportunity to speak to a couple who would have been very close to retirement. They have been married in the 25-year range and told me, and this is hard to believe, that sadly they had to sell their house. They were very close to paying off their house and could not pay the mortgage. I am the parent of three kids and two grandkids. A parent would not want to do this, but they took the money they gained as a profit from selling their house, as meagre as it was, and are going to pay it to their daughter because they are going to live in her basement. It is absolutely mind-blowing. These are stories that, in generations, have not been heard. It is incredibly gut-wrenchingly sad to hear a story like that. I heard another from an older lady who lives on her own. She made up a new term. I was going to say this in French but I did not know how to say it, and this is really not a word in English, but she called it “ungrocery”. She would do her grocery shopping and go around with her cart, as we all do, putting things in that she would like to have. Then at the end of her tour around the grocery store, she would add up the cost of those items. She knew she could not afford it all, so she would go back around the grocery store taking things out of her cart, doing the math in her head and then realizing what a meagre amount of groceries she was actually able to afford. That is what “ungrocery” is. It would be exceedingly sad, of course, if that made it into common language in Canada. We also know this carbon tax needs to be removed not just from families but from farmers and first nations. First nations have filed a judicial review over the federal carbon tax, noting very clearly that the climate cannot be healed at the expense of communities. We know very clearly the burden that is being placed on the backs of Canadians every single day. The debt the NDP-Liberal government has inflated over its eight years of ridiculousness has debt service charges now that would be equal to the Canada health transfer. It is incredible the burden of payments that will be required by generations to come. The great thing is that Canadians are paying attention. They are understanding this message. The know the fiscal irresponsibility of the NDP-Liberal coalition is something that has to change. We know the hundreds of emails we are receiving every day are a reflection of the sad reality and the fiscally irresponsible position the NDP-Liberal government has put Canada in. Its members can go on and talk about their machinations with debt-to-GDP ratio and those kinds of things, but what Canadians know is they cannot afford to heat their homes and to put food on their tables every single day, if they are fortunate enough to have a place to live. That is what we know and the message is resonating with Canadians that the NDP-Liberal government has to go. Right now, its members could easily vote for the opposition motion today to axe the carbon tax to make life more affordable for everyday Canadians who call our offices and who will gladly put the NDP-Liberal coalition out of business.
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Context: House Hansard - 264 - Dec/7/23
Mr. Francesco Sorbara
  • Dec/7/23 12:52:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I sat and chatted with the member for Saskatoon—University for a good chunk of time last night during our session at the natural resources committee. I would like to remind my hon. colleagues that, since 2015, our government has spared no effort to make life more affordable for Canadians from coast to coast to coast. We have lifted hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty and, thanks to the guaranteed income supplement and the enhanced Canada pension plan, we are offering unprecedented support to our seniors. Indeed, 2.3 million fewer Canadians are living in poverty than before 2015. Whether we are talking about $10-a-day child care or the new Canada dental care plan, our government has made historic improvements to the country's social safety net. The reality is that our economic plan is fiscally responsible and it is delivering results for Canadians. We have strengthened Canada's social safety net while ensuring that the country maintains the lowest deficit- and debt-to-GDP ratios in the G7. I must say that our government has implemented several measures in the past year to support Canadians. For example, last summer, roughly 11 million low-income people and families received the grocery rebate. We are helping Canadians from coast to coast to coast deal with global inflation. We have their backs, and will continue to have their backs, as we go forward and as the economy turns and inflation continues to decline. That was a one-time payment that helped them deal with the rising cost of living and put food on the table. I am splitting my time, Mr. Speaker, with my friend and colleague, the parliamentary secretary from the wonderful riding of St. Catharines. What we are talking about here is up to $467 more for eligible couples with two children, and up to $234 more for singles with no children, including single seniors. I have talked about the measure with constituents in my riding, and I can confirm that it has been very popular. To help Canadians with the cost of living, the government also issues Canada workers benefit payments automatically now. This is the Canada workers benefit, which is transformational. This benefit has already helped lift thousands of Canadians out of poverty. We believe that these improvements will give low-income workers timely access to the funds they need to support themselves and their families. Since last July, eligible single workers have received up to $714, and families have received up to $1,231, spread over three advance payments. These are three payments during the year and then people files their taxes. The Canada workers benefit is a great way to lift low-income workers, hard-working Canadians, out of poverty and give them extra money during the year and at the end of the year to pay for necessities. As we also announced in the 2023 fall economic statement, we are going to amend the Competition Act to further modernize merger reviews, including by empowering the Competition Bureau to better detect and address “killer acquisitions” and other anti-competitive mergers. Our government is well aware of the fact that better competition means lower prices, more choices and more innovative products and services for Canadians. Our goal is very clear. We want to make groceries more affordable for Canadians. However, our government understands that many Canadians are still struggling to pay their bills right now and are under considerable financial strain. Obviously, it is important for us to help them. That is why we decided to temporarily pause the fuel charge on home heating oil for three years. This temporary pause will enable households that heat their homes with oil to save an average of $250 a year at the current rate. Meanwhile, the federal government is working with the provinces to incentivize the switch to heat pumps and gradually eliminate oil heating in the longer term. To support Canadians in rural areas, we are going to double the rural top-up for pollution pricing rebates from 10% to 20% of the baseline amount starting in April 2024. Our government is well aware that people who live in rural communities face unique realities, and this measure will help put even more money back in the pockets of families dealing with higher energy costs because they live outside a large city. However, as I said moments ago, we want to do even more to fight climate change by helping Canadians install more energy-efficient heating systems. An up‐front $250 payment will be available to low- and median-income households that heat their homes with oil and sign up for a federal-provincial program to install a heat pump. We are also working with the provinces and territories to strengthen the oil to heat pump affordability program. The amount of federal funding that eligible homeowners can receive for installing a heat pump will increase from $10,000 to $15,000, adding up to an additional $5,000 in grant funding to match provincial and territorial contributions via co-delivery arrangements. As a result, the cost of an average heat pump and its installation would be covered for low- and median-income households as we continue to minimize upfront costs and make federal programs even easier to access for all households. Obviously, this is a very important measure to help households in the long term. Homeowners who switch from oil to cold-climate heat pumps to heat and cool their homes save an average of up to $2,500 a year on their energy bills. These are substantial savings for Canadian families. In conclusion, since 2015, we have done a great deal to support Canadians in need. Whether it is dealing with global inflation or COVID, our government has always had the backs of Canadians. We will continue to do so, while remaining prudent in how we manage the public purse. That is always done in a fiscally responsible fashion. We are maintaining our AAA credit rating and the lowest deficit and net debt-to-GDP ratio. We are bringing that down and continuing to lower it so it is alway below 1%. The grocery rebate, the advance payment of the Canada workers benefit and our support for the purchase and installation of heat pumps are excellent examples of measures taken over the past year to help Canadians.
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