Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time today with the member for Edmonton West.
I am very pleased to take part in today's debate on this bill, which affects all Canadians, including the people of my riding, University—Rosedale, in downtown Toronto, where the issue of affordability is of great concern to us.
Like all members of the House, I spent my summer listening to my constituents. At the doorsteps, on the streets, and at festivals and fairs, I heard two things. First, Canadians understand very well that we are in an economic situation that is not entirely in our control. They know full well that the rapidly changing global landscape around us is creating uncertainty for our businesses, our workers and Canadian families, and that these are factors beyond our control. However, they also understand that there are factors we can control, and they expect our government to do everything in its power where it can.
In this situation, our government is focusing on what it can control. That is why we are focusing on building a stronger economy over the medium term while reducing costs and increasing our support measures for the public during this very difficult period. More specifically, our government is well aware of the pressures associated with rising gas prices. Across the country, we have recently seen gas prices skyrocket, and this is causing financial hardship for many Canadians, including those in my riding.
As this House knows well, in order to help Canadians and businesses manage these pressures, our government introduced a temporary suspension of the federal fuel excise tax on gasoline, diesel and aviation fuels. We will all recall that the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance and National Revenue initially announced this important measure this spring. We suspended the full amount of tax with an initial sunset date of September 7 of this year, but our approach to this excise tax has always been flexible. Over the course of the summer, it became increasingly apparent that gas prices would remain volatile due to ongoing geopolitical pressures and supply chain disruptions, so we have acted accordingly.
Earlier this month, the government further extended the temporary suspension until January 31, 2027, with a 50% reduction in the regular excise tax from February 1 through March 31, 2027, which of course is what brings us to today's debate. Much as the initial suspension provided real, tangible and immediate relief to Canadians at the pump, that measure was part of a broader suite of measures to address rising everyday costs for Canadians and businesses in the transport, food, agriculture, housing, construction and delivery sectors. There is a reason this measure has support across the political spectrum. It is precisely because we all know that in the current climate, we must do all we responsibly can to reduce operating costs across the economy and reduce pressures on the food, agriculture, housing, construction and delivery sectors in particular.
When I think about the people in my riding who need this measure the most, I think about two groups in particular. The first are the individuals who work in the care economy in downtown Toronto, in hospitals, home care and long-term care homes, often commuting long distances to get to their jobs in the downtown core or traversing the city multiple times a day to serve different clients, clients who are our family members, to give them a shower, to bring them food and to attend to their health needs. For those people, a small break at the pump is significant in their weekly budgets, and we owe it to them to do what we can. The second group are the small businesses in my riding that fear seeing the cost of their inputs rise as the price of transporting them increases. Small and medium businesses, major targets of the current round of unjustified and illegal tariffs, need this protection in order to be able to plan and invest in their own success.
This relief is as important to the people of University—Rosedale as it is for everyone across the country, but we all know that alone it is not enough. That is why it is just one of several measures that we have put forth and have been debating actively in this House as part of our vibrant democracy. We put these measures forth to alleviate the pressure from the high cost of fuels on Canadian household budgets.
For far too many people in Canada, groceries and essentials have been too expensive for too long. We all know that the pandemic caused a global spike in inflation, which drove up the cost of groceries and essentials for all of us. Food prices have risen faster than overall inflation, because of shocks to global supply chains due to tariffs, weather events related to climate change and, of course, geopolitical disruptions.
To support those most affected by rising food prices, in January 2026, our government announced the new Canada groceries and essentials benefit to help more than 12 million Canadians afford the essentials they need.
Together, those measures will enable a family of four to get nearly $2,000 this year and around $1,400 per year for the next four years.
Our government is also delivering significant reforms to our tax system and other areas of public policy during this affordability crisis. In my riding, where the dream of home ownership in the core of Canada's largest city has been a dream for too many for too long, the movement we have made on housing has been very significant. Our government has eliminated the GST for first-time homebuyers on new homes up to $1 million and reduced the GST for first-time homebuyers on new homes between $1 million and $1.5 million. It is these kinds of actions that bring home ownership back into the realm of possibility for so many young people who live in my riding.
We have also made the national school food program permanent, providing school meals for up to 400,000 children each year and saving participating families up to $800 on groceries annually, which is significant for a lot of people.
We have also introduced automatic federal benefits starting with the 2026 tax year. I would like to spend just a moment to say a bit about why this step is so important to me personally.
During my 20 years as a practising family physician, I regularly saw patients who I knew should be accessing income supports of various kinds but were not accessing them. Application processes for federal and provincial programs are complex. At times, we know they can feel invasive and even humiliating. At other times, they are just simply confusing. For some people, the requirement to file taxes on a very low income does not make it to the top of the priority list. Those patients are now my constituents, and our commitment to automatic tax filing is a major improvement for them.
The Canada Revenue Agency will be able to help eligible Canadians who do not file their taxes by preparing and filing a return on their behalf. Before this happens, of course, they will have the opportunity to review the information and make necessary changes, but this means that people who may not have the time, resources or ability to navigate the tax system on their own will have another way to access the supports that are available to them and for which they are eligible, supports they deserve. Automatic filing and benefits will ensure that up to 5.5 million low-income Canadians automatically receive the benefits they qualify for.
This builds on other efforts to make it easier for Canadians to receive the benefits for which they are eligible. I am so proud to be part of a government that is beginning to break down those barriers.
Our plan is moving Canada's economy from reliance to resilience. Some of the biggest long-term payoffs of the transformation that we are undertaking will take time to be felt.
To ensure that Canadians have the support they need right now, the Government of Canada is acting quickly with measures that will serve as a springboard to the future.
To support Canadians through this global energy market disruption, we are delivering timely, meaningful and tangible relief for Canadians. It is my pleasure to support this bill.
