44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 18, 2024 10:00AM
- Jun/18/24 3:09:53 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, after nine years, this Prime Minister is not worth the cost. Shaughn, a 20-year veteran planning to retire next year, is gutted that he will have to put that off, given the Liberal government's punitive policy on capital gains. It was not enough for the Prime Minister to leave veterans high and dry because they were asking for more than he could give. Now, despite Shaughn's decades of service and prudent planning for his retirement, the Prime Minister wants to take even more, so my question is this: How is that fair?
97 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jun/18/24 7:27:04 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to rise today and speak to the budget implementation act, even though we are in the eleventh hour of this session. I am looking forward to the House rising at the end of this week for the summer recess.
It has been nine years of the costly Prime Minister, and each successive budget creates a bleaker outlook for Canadians' futures. The guise of fiscal restraint has been cast away, and the Prime Minister and his finance minister have put the pedal to the metal. They have decided to spend Canadians' money at an alarming rate, with no plan to balance the budget, to pay off the debt or to even rein in deficits to a modest level. They are literally going for broke. They believe they can tax their way out of the problems that their out-of-control spending has created. While inflation has reached record levels, the government continues to pour fuel on the inflationary fire with tens of billions of dollars in new spending.
I will be splitting my time with my colleague, the member for Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola.
In fact, Tiff Macklem, the Governor of the Bank of Canada, stated that the Prime Minister's $61 billion in new spending was “not helpful” in bringing down inflation. It costs the average Canadian family an extra $3,867, but the Prime Minister refuses to learn from his mistakes and continues to double down on his failed policies, which means more inflationary deficits driving up inflation and interest rates, doubling our national debt and, thus, endangering our social programs and jobs across the country.
More to the point, doubling the national debt means that the federal government will now be spending more on interest on its debt than it will send to the provinces for health care. There will be $54.1 billion spent on servicing our national debt, half of which the Prime Minister is responsible for. The high-spending addiction of the government has endangered Canadians' livelihoods. It has led to a record high of two million visits to food banks in a single month, and now we have a report from Food Banks Canada that one in four Canadians is living in poverty.
After nine years of the Prime Minister's disastrous policies, 25% of Canadians are living in poverty. Every party in the House had the chance to vote on giving Canadians a break and to help them keep more of their money in their pockets when Conservatives proposed giving Canadians a break from the carbon tax for the summer. Instead of giving Canadians the relief they are looking for from the oppressive Liberal carbon tax regime just for the summer, Liberals have doubled down and have introduced a new capital gains tax increase.
Despite Canadians struggling paycheque to paycheque, the Liberals have decided to endanger their retirements, which have taken decades of prudent planning, saving and investing to build. According to the government, it is unfair for a plumber to sell their business they built over decades to fund their retirement. It is unfair for an electrician to sell the company they built to fund their retirement. It is unfair for a doctor to sell their shares in their practice to fund their retirement. It is unfair for the Liberals to take more of Canadians' hard-earned, self-made retirement funds so that they can continue to indulge in spending billions of dollars on their failed policies, yet the Prime Minister continues to squeeze Canadians for every last dollar with tax increases, while showing no signs of fiscal restraint.
If the Prime Minister is worried about the richest in Canada, he should look in the mirror. While life has gotten worse for Canadians, the Prime Minister and his friends have never had it so good, with tens of billions of dollars going out the door each year to his high-priced consultants. Hundreds of millions of dollars in favourable contracts went to his friends at McKinsey, which was led by the Prime Minister's close friend, Dominic Barton. There was $222 million given to Rio Tinto just months after Dominic Barton became the chairman. The billion-dollar green slush fund funnels hundreds of millions of dollars to Liberal insiders with no oversight. Canadians suffer and Liberal insiders prosper.
After nine years of the Prime Minister, Canada is on track for its worst decline in living standards in 40 years, with more than nine in 10 middle-class families paying more in income taxes. Struggling families cannot afford the Prime Minister's higher taxes and out-of-control spending, which is driving up the cost of everything. The Liberal government has doubled rent, mortgage payments and down payments, and the number of tent cities is growing across this country. It is no wonder that Canadians are fed up with the NDP-Liberal coalition.
The Prime Minister is trying to trick Canadians into believing that he will fix what he broke by doubling down on his failed policies, issues that were created by nine years of methodically disastrous policies and that have made life more expensive for Canadians. They are policies that have stolen the dream of home ownership from young Canadians, policies that have forced Canadians to live paycheque to paycheque and policies that have endangered Canadians through a steep increase in violent crime.
Now that these policies have caused crises in housing, immigration, crime, inflation and other areas, the government feigns interest in fairness. It is not fair to Canadians to jeopardize their retirements with a punitive capital gains tax increase. It is not fair to double housing prices and rent. It is not fair to drive up inflation, drastically increasing the prices of everyday necessities, including basic food items. It is not fair to push 25% of Canadians into poverty and to force millions to visit food banks in a single month. The government does not care about fairness. It cares about spending as many taxpayer dollars as it can in its short-time left in government and setting the Liberal government members and their insider friends up for comfortable retirements.
In conclusion, it will come as no surprise that I cannot support this budget implementation act. It is more of the same failed policies from the NDP-Liberal coalition, which refuses to acknowledge its failures. If any member in this place truly believes in fairness, they cannot vote in favour of this bill. No member can look around Canada today, after nine years of the NDP-Liberal coalition, and truly believe that the government has served Canadians well.
It borders on the absurd that Liberal members can stand in this place, claim that this budget, which is more of the same policies that got us into this current mess, will somehow now get us out of it. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Unfortunately, Canadians are the ones paying the price for this madness. I will repeat what I said when speaking to the budget. Canadians are losing hope. They are hanging on by a thread, and this bill will be the scissors that severs it.
This bill should not be passed. Canadians are depending on all opposition members to stop the government's harmful policies and its out-of-control spending, and vote non-confidence.
1241 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jun/18/24 7:37:17 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, I appreciate the question because, at the end of the day, Conservatives have a simple plan, and I know that the member could probably repeat it verbatim: We will axe the tax. We will build the homes. We will fix the budget and stop the crime.
The government has a housing accelerator fund that is not building houses. It has a school lunch program that is not serving lunches. It has a national dental program with a handful of dentists who have signed up. We are going to cut the waste and mismanagement of the government, and we are going to restore common sense for Canadians.
108 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jun/18/24 7:39:23 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, one thing Canadians can count on is that Conservatives are the party of common sense. We are consistent in our approach when it comes to reducing taxes. We are consistent when it comes to making life more prosperous for Canadians. We are consistent when it comes to how we vote in this place, which is something that member should actually talk to her leadership about.
67 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jun/18/24 7:40:55 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, the member is right. We do serve on the government operations and estimates committee together, and one thing we have been dealing with is the absolute out-of-control spending of the current Liberal government when it comes to outside consultants, and when it comes to lining the pockets of Liberal insiders and their friends.
What I would put back to the member is this question: When is he finally going to start standing up for Canadians and be an opposition member who is looking out for their interests?
91 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jun/18/24 8:42:34 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, the Liberal government refuses to acknowledge that Canadians pay more into the carbon tax than they get back. However, over a year ago, the Parliamentary Budget Officer published his report, which showed that, taking into account the full economic impact of the government's carbon tax regime, most Canadians were worse off.
On top of this, the government has a secret report, which shows that the carbon tax regime also has a costly impact on our GDP, lowering future GDP growth by tens of billions of dollars. After it was revealed at committee that the Liberals had put a gag order on the Parliamentary Budget Officer in a desperate attempt to protect their false narrative and prop up their failed carbon tax, Conservatives put the pressure on, and the report was made public.
What is even worse is that they have hidden this number for years. Let us stop to think about that. The Liberal government has been hiding the fact that the carbon tax will cost Canadians $30 billion by 2030. This works out to $1,824 per family in extra annual costs. Despite both of these reports showing that Canadians are worse off with the carbon tax, the Liberals are doubling down, to the detriment of Canadians and our economy.
Their claims are false. Canadians are not better off paying a carbon tax. The carbon tax has proved to be ineffective in reducing Canada's carbon emissions to targeted levels. The government has missed every target it has set. In fact, the environment commissioner has reported that the government will miss its targets for 2030. However, even if we reduced our emissions to zero, the natural disasters would not suddenly cease to happen.
We are not in a bubble protected by the government's carbon tax. In fact, the effects attributed to climate change would even continue to happen if Canada reduced its emissions to zero. Despite all these factors, the government continues to push its disastrous carbon tax, making Canadians poorer and tanking our future economic prospects.
Can the government explain why it refuses to accept the fact that its carbon tax has done nothing but cause misery for Canadians?
365 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jun/18/24 8:49:10 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, the Liberal government has lost itself in its own ideological mess of narratives. Its insistence on misleading Canadians, despite their own lived experience dealing with the carbon tax, reminds me of a famous quote: “The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”
Canadians are not buying what the government is selling. After nine years of the Prime Minister, life has never been so expensive. His inflationary taxes have driven up the cost of everything. Mortgages have doubled. Rent has doubled. Food prices are up, forcing families to pay $700 more for groceries this year, while millions of Canadians are lined up outside food banks.
Canadians are tired of the government and its broken promises and failed policies. They are ready for change and a government that will actually take action for Canadians.
When will the government call a carbon tax election and allow Canadians to decide whether or not they want to axe the tax?
171 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
