44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 13, 2024 10:00AM
- Jun/13/24 3:00:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, over six million Canadians do not have access to a family doctor. According to the Commonwealth Fund, after nine years of the Liberal-NDP government, the number of Canadians without access to a regular care provider has doubled. What is the government's solution to the doctor shortage? It is to tax them out of the country. The health-care-killing tax on health care providers will force them to practise elsewhere, making the doctor shortage crisis even worse. How is that fair?
How many communities will go without doctors because doctors are leaving Canada due to the Prime Minister's new tax?
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- Jun/13/24 3:01:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is interesting that the only time the Conservatives have asked in the House about health care or a shortage of doctors is when there has been a proposal to create a more fair tax system that asked the 0.13% of people to pay a bit more. Suddenly now, the Conservatives are interested in health care.
What is not going to help? Conservative cuts will not help. The $200 billion that Liberals have invested, with 26 health agreements, in every province and every territory, is making sure we see progress every day in our health system, from dental care to pharmacare and primary care.
What is going to stop that dead in its tracks are the cuts the Conservatives want to bring. Liberals are here to make sure they do not get to do it.
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- Jun/13/24 3:02:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are scrambling, and their facts do not add up. Kneecapping our health care providers to pay for the government's credit card bill is bad fiscal policy and it is bad health care policy. The key to a sound, robust health care system is preventative medicine, ensuring that Canadians get timely access to the health care they need. This not only saves lives but also saves government money. Increasing the tax burden on doctors who carry out this work will only force doctors out of the country.
When will the pompous Prime Minister finally listen to the thousands of people on wait-lists?
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- Jun/13/24 3:02:40 p.m.
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The hon. member is a well-respected member of the House. I am just going to ask her very quickly to withdraw that one word, because it does refer to an individual member.
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- Jun/13/24 3:02:57 p.m.
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I will withdraw it, Mr. Speaker.
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- Jun/13/24 3:03:01 p.m.
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I thank the hon. member for doing so.
The hon. Minister of Health.
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- Jun/13/24 3:03:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when someone is out of arguments, they turn to insults. We are asking the 0.13% of people to pay a bit more so that we can have fairness and equity in our tax system, making sure a nurse does not pay a higher marginal rate of tax than a millionaire, which is fundamentally unfair.
Do members know what will kneecap our health care system? There have been 200,000 seniors in just six weeks who have accessed dental care, and the Conservatives want to take that away. Pharmacare is making sure that diabetes patients get the medicine they need; the Conservatives want to cut that. That will kneecap our health care system. We will not allow that to happen.
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- Jun/13/24 3:03:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that the Minister of Health does not realize that after nine years, there is a major, historic crisis caused by the lack of family doctors in Canada.
Increasing the capital gains tax will have an impact on the economy and the quality of life of Canadians. In the midst of this challenging economic chaos they have created, the Liberals decide to tax capital gains even more. Supposedly, they want to make the rich pay. This is a tax cover-up and it will have a major impact. As a result of the exodus, the list of Canadians without a doctor will grow, not shrink. In Quebec, there are already 2.3 million people without a family doctor.
What does the Minister of Health say in response—
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- Jun/13/24 3:04:28 p.m.
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The hon. Minister of Health.
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- Jun/13/24 3:04:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I can say clearly that, in a fairer and more equitable system, a nurse does not pay a higher rate of tax than someone with millions of dollars. It just makes sense.
It is absolutely undeniable that our health care system is threatened by fewer investments, which are essential to improving the quality of health care. We are absolutely going to protect our health care system. That is our goal.
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- Jun/13/24 3:05:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after a decade of chronic underfunding by the Conservatives, our government has made historic investments in housing and infrastructure for communities from coast to coast to coast.
Earlier this week, our government concluded a $2.8-billion agreement with Quebec that will help the municipalities revitalize critical infrastructure and support housing projects through the Canada community-building fund.
Can the minister explain how this funding will help communities in Quebec to build more housing more quickly?
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- Jun/13/24 3:05:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Vaudreuil—Soulanges, who understands how critical it is to invest in our community infrastructure and in housing for Quebeckers and Canadians across the country.
The recent agreement with Quebec will guarantee $2.8 billion over the next five years, including $535 million this year to help build housing and to build it more quickly.
While the opposition leader spends his time finding excuses for opposing tax fairness, we will continue to focus on delivering help so that all Canadians and their families can get ahead.
We have a plan to help build housing in Quebec. The Conservatives have a plan to insult local leaders, create conflicts and not build any housing.
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- Jun/13/24 3:06:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, last week we learned that Canadian rents are at an all-time high, averaging $2,200 a month, and it is only going to get worse. The Canadian Federation of Apartment Associations says the new Liberal capital gains tax will discourage construction of new rental homes. The NDP-Liberal government is crushing the prospect of bringing new rental units into our communities. What part of that says “generational fairness”?
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- Jun/13/24 3:07:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we say that the Conservatives do not care, and here is proof. The tax change would allow for more revenue to be directed to child care, pharmacare, dental care and measures to address the housing crisis. In fact, I direct the new member, and he is a new member, to look at the Conservatives' housing plan, which actually would tax home builders.
Therefore, today, when the member raises concerns about home building and taxation, it is the Conservatives' plan that is the problem. We have a plan. We are going to put in place that plan. We are going to solve the housing crisis.
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- Jun/13/24 3:07:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the president of the real estate company RE/MAX agrees that the Liberals' spin on their new tax hikes is bogus. I would like to quote him, if I might. He said, “The federal government has been vocal about this...only targeting the wealthiest of the wealthy...it's just not true.” He went on, “I think that it's going to penalize more average Canadians than were intended.”
My question is very simple. When will the government take the housing crisis seriously and stop letting down an entire generation of Canadians?
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- Jun/13/24 3:08:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government has put in place a policy to lift GST off the construction of purpose-built rentals. The Conservatives want to maintain GST on the construction of purpose-built rentals; they will not get more apartments built that way, which is something that was verified at the House of Commons committee responsible for housing just a few days ago when the Conservatives raised this point.
Furthermore, if the member wants to talk about quotes, he can go back to the proceedings of the federal finance committee meeting a few months ago, when the Conservatives' housing plan was studied by the Department of Finance, showing that the Conservatives' plan would lead to fewer homes being built.
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- Jun/13/24 3:09:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the housing crisis, which is very much caused by Liberal incompetence, is wreaking havoc across the country, and the Liberal-Bloc coalition believes that taxing honest home builders will fix the situation. However, the simple fact is that taxing builders means fewer new homes and higher housing prices. It is unfair and counterproductive.
How does it make sense to increase taxes on housing if we want to build more houses?
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- Jun/13/24 3:09:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am going to teach the member a little lesson, since he has likely not read the Conservative Party's rental housing plan. His party's proposal, believe it or not, is to maintain the GST on rental housing construction projects. That is unbelievable.
When I talk to people in my community and those who build housing, they tell me this is what makes the difference between a profitable project and an unprofitable one. The Conservatives want to bring the GST back for rental housing.
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- Jun/13/24 3:10:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, while the Conservative leader attacks B.C. mayors, we are working with them to build more housing faster. The housing accelerator fund is investing in the most ambitious places, to solve the housing crisis and deliver fairness for every generation. This includes in my community, where we are investing over $25 million to help the City of Coquitlam fast-track thousands of new homes, including purpose-built rentals. Can the Minister of Energy update us on these investments to get more homes built in his community and mine?
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- Jun/13/24 3:11:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I certainly want to thank the member for Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam for his advocacy and focus on getting more homes built faster. The housing accelerator fund is indeed unlocking ambitious action on solving the housing crisis, including in my riding of North Vancouver, where a recent $18-million investment will spur the construction of thousands of homes, very much including renters. Across Canada and B.C., hundreds of thousands of new homes are being fast-tracked thanks to investments like these. While the Conservative leader is vowing to rip up these vital agreements, we are working on building homes for the middle class.
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