Bill C-4

Making Life More Affordable for Canadians Act

An Act respecting certain affordability measures for Canadians and another measure

Part 1 amends the Income Tax Act to reduce the marginal personal income tax rate on the lowest tax bracket to 14.5% for the 2025 taxation year and to 14% for the 2026 and subsequent taxation years.
Part 2 amends the Excise Tax Act and other related Regulations to implement a temporary GST new housing rebate for first-time home buyers.
Part 3 repeals Part 1 of the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act and the Fuel Charge Regulations .
Part 4 amends the Canada Elections Act to make changes to the requirements relating to political parties’ policies for the protection of personal information.

Making Life More Affordable for Canadians Act

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I gather from his speech that my colleague from Mirabel believes it is important to be there for the people who need it the most.

Budget 2025 includes several measures such as automatic benefits to ensure that everyone who really needs federal benefits receives them. We made the national school food program and a tax credit for personal support workers permanent. However, when it came time to vote on this budget, our colleague voted against it. It is a bit like spending years calling for funding to extend the runway at the Magdalen Islands airport and then voting against that funding when it is granted.

My question for my colleague is as follows. Will he commit to voting for Bill C-4 this time? It includes a tax cut for the middle class and a GST rebate for first-time homebuyers, so it will truly help Canadians.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in my region, the now Liberal riding of Thérèse-De Blainville has lost 300 jobs at Paccar. What was the Liberal member's response? On October 23, at 7:36 a.m., on Mario Dumont's show, she suggested that these workers call community organizations and food banks, that they come up with a plan A, B or C, that they not take it personally, that they find another job, that they go back to school and that they go work somewhere else.

The government members rise, but they do not understand that, as members of the opposition, we cannot find fault with all 500 pages of a budget. That is why we set priorities and why we are consistent and transparent. That is why we submitted our priorities in advance. Rather than acknowledging that, they lecture us, even though they were the ones who said no to Quebec and turned their backs on our people. They go through their little shopping list, while one of their own tells people to go back to school even though the government has abandoned them.

I invite my colleague to take a good look at his party and acknowledge that it does not defend the interests of Quebeckers.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it was an impressive speech by my hon. colleague.

The budget will mean a $78-billion deficit. This money is going to be borrowed against future generations, to be paid by Canadians for the longest time we can ever imagine.

What does the member think of the deficit? Should we go into a $78-billion deficit with a budget?

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I think the federal government is borrowing money at Quebeckers' expense. If we look at the public debt of the average Quebecker, we see that the average Quebecker owes nearly twice as much in federal debt as in Quebec debt. That is Canada's legacy to Quebeckers.

Now, will it be $78 billion or $79 billion? I think it could be more, because the government told us that it would find a way to cut spending by $50 billion. It has identified $10 billion in cuts, and maybe only half of that will be feasible. We saw in the budget lock-up that public servants do not even know what the government's plans are. They should have already found $800 million to cut a month ago.

What worries me is the lack of transparency and planning and the fact that no one knows where we are going to be in three months' time with this government.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, Bloc members focus a lot of attention on the health care issue. During the nineties, there was a great debate inside the Manitoba legislature. What was raised, if not in the chamber, outside the chamber, was a tax-point shift that was agreed to with the provinces where cash was being replaced with tax points. That is one of the reasons the percentage is not as high as members opposite would maybe have liked to see. It was Jean Chrétien who established a guarantee in cash.

I am wondering if the member would not agree that having Canada contribute the cash, with record amounts of it today, is a positive thing for all of us.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Winnipeg North does not know what he is talking about. He is talking about the transfer levels, while we are taking about the discrepancy in the transfers. We are not talking about the level once tax points are taken into account; we are talking about the discrepancy. What we want the government to understand is that, if system costs increase by 6% but transfers only increase by 5%, the government is disengaging because of that discrepancy, regardless of the tax points or the level.

Maybe the Liberals should get their wages frozen for seven or eight years so they can understand what it feels like when the amount of money somebody receives does not grow at the same rate as the cost of living or the cost of providing services. We are not talking about the level of transfers, but the rate at which they increase. Starting with this year's amount, including tax points, if system costs increase by 6% and transfers increase by 5%, there will be a 1% difference that will build up over time, and that is very serious, whether my colleague is right or wrong about transfer levels and tax points.

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Québec Centre.

Our new government was elected in the spring with a mandate to build a stronger, more resilient economy. We got straight to work from day one. I am thinking of all the investments we have made in housing and infrastructure that are going to stimulate the economy, the creation of the Major Projects Office or even the removal of interprovincial trade barriers. I am thinking of our buy Canadian policy, which will put the federal government's purchasing power to work for our businesses to once again stimulate our economy. I am thinking of all the agreements we are currently negotiating or have already signed with various countries around the world.

What is behind all this? In our desire to strengthen the Canadian economy, there is one principle that is very important to us: to ensure that the economy works for everyone. By making our economy stronger, we can fund measures that are important for making life more affordable for Canadians. Early in our mandate, we introduced Bill C-4 in the House, which includes three key measures that will have a real impact on people's lives.

First, we are proposing a tax cut for the middle class. The lowest tax bracket will have its tax rate reduced from 15% to 14%. This measure will benefit more than 22 million Canadians and will save each family up to $840. That means more money in people's pockets that they can use for the things that matter to them.

The second important item in Bill C-4 is the GST rebate on new homes valued at $1 million or less. We want to help Canadians become homeowners, whether they are young people, young families or long-time renters who want to get into the housing market and become homeowners. We want to help Canadians achieve this dream, and we want it to be affordable. That is why we are eliminating the GST on the purchase of a first home, on top of all the other housing measures we are putting in place. In budget 2025, we are investing over $13 billion through Build Canada Homes to stimulate housing construction across the country, including affordable housing. In addition to everything we are doing through Build Canada Homes, we hope that removing the GST on the purchase of a first home will provide a financial incentive to buy a home and encourage property developers to increase the stock of available homes nationwide.

Finally, in Bill C‑4, the government also announces that it is eliminating carbon pricing for consumers. When that was done on April 1, people very quickly saw prices drop at the pump, including in Madawaska—Restigouche, New Brunswick. It also had a tangible impact on heating costs in the Atlantic provinces, because many people there still use gas to heat their homes in the winter. I want to be clear: This in no way undermines our commitment to fighting climate change. Carbon pricing had unfortunately become a divisive and controversial policy. The fight against climate change is so important that we cannot afford to maintain a policy that overshadows all of our other climate efforts. One example I am thinking of is our climate competitiveness strategy, which was announced in the 2025 budget, as well as all the other measures we are putting in place.

What does this mean? It means that Bill C-4 is part of a series of measures that our government is implementing to help people cope with the rising cost of living. Budget 2025 includes several tangible measures. I am thinking of the fact that we have made Canada's national school food program permanent. This program ensures that children start their day with a full stomach. Children want to have a productive day at school and want to learn, but they cannot do it an empty stomach. We understand this, and we are here for children across the country. An agreement has been signed with the Province of New Brunswick to expand the school food program to many schools, including some in my riding. I am thinking in particular of the Marie-Gaétane school in Kedgwick, which I graduated from several years ago. It benefits from this program, and so do several other schools in my riding. This is an essential program that is having a tangible impact on our children's lives. In budget 2025, we are making it permanent. We have also announced the introduction of automatic federal benefits.

We saw that there was a problem. Many people need and are entitled to federal benefits like the Canada child benefit, the Canada disability benefit and GST rebates. However, some of these people were not accessing the benefits to which they were entitled because they did not file their tax returns. A new measure will be implemented for automatic tax filing for people with low incomes and simple tax situations. This is a concrete measure to ensure that the system guarantees that the people who need federal benefits the most can access them.

We also announced a tax credit for personal support workers worth up to 5% of their earnings or $1,100 per year. This is a concrete measure to help our personal support workers, who do essential work. These are the people who take care of our seniors. These are the people we call upon to take care of our parents and grandparents. They do essential work for Canadians, and we recognize that work. That is why, in budget 2025, we are proposing a tax credit to help them.

The Canada summer jobs program is another example. This program gives young people access to a job that could potentially help them pay for their education. The Canada summer jobs program often provides young people with their first work experience. In budget 2025, not only did we maintain funding for this program, we increased it. Last summer, I visited over 200 workplaces in my riding of Madawaska—Restigouche. I can attest to this program's importance to the young people in my riding. We are also proposing plenty of other measures to help young people get jobs. For example, through budget 2025, we are going to invest $300 million in the youth employment and skills strategy over the next two years.

It is very important to know that we made sure that budget 2025 would protect all the essential social programs that are helping Canadians cope with the cost of living. These include the Canada child benefit, which is received by more than six million parents across the country. This program transfers over $40 million to my constituents to meet their children's needs.

We recently learned that more than five million Canadians are now enrolled in the Canadian dental care plan. This plan is having a real impact. I remember someone in my riding who told me she had dental issues. She simply could not afford to go to the dentist, and this situation had been going on for years. Because eligibility was expanded to all age groups in May, this person was able to access much-needed affordable dental care this summer. This is yet another example of a concrete measure that is improving people's lives.

We have also maintained our national affordable child care program, which benefits more than 900,000 children. On this side of the House, we understand that a strong Canada requires strong families. We have also maintained the Canada disability benefit, which helps more than 465,000 people across the country. We are also continuing with the Canada workers benefit, which benefits more than three million people.

All the other investments we are making in infrastructure can also have spin-offs that will help make the cost of living more affordable. I would like to give a concrete example of an announcement that was recently made in my riding regarding public transit. Last week, I had the opportunity to announce, on behalf of the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, an investment of more than $700,000 to expand public transit service in various communities in my riding of Madawaska—Restigouche. This will give people in Vallée‑des‑Rivières, Grand Falls, Saint‑Quentin, and Kedgwick access to flexible, affordable, high-quality public transit that is truly tailored to the needs of rural communities.

This is in addition to initial federal funding that made it possible to launch this service in the Edmundston region, in Madawaska. A person from Saint‑Quentin will be able to travel to Edmundston for only $5. This means seniors who do not have transportation will be able to visit their families or get to their medical appointments. Workers will be able to commute between their homes and their workplaces. Post-secondary students will be able to travel to the Edmundston campus of the Université de Moncton. This measure, this investment, will have a meaningful impact on the lives of families in Madawaska—Restigouche, as well as seniors, vulnerable individuals, and workers.

On this side of the House, when we talk about measures to help people cope with the cost of living, we follow up with concrete action. I look forward to voting in favour of Bill C-4 so it can pass and become law.

[Carol Anstey, Conservative, Long Range Mountains, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I particularly listened when the member across the way talked about the carbon tax and all the conversation we heard about it prior to the election about how the carbon tax did not drive up the cost for Canadians and that, in fact, more money was going into their pockets.

I am curious if now the member is talking about how removing the carbon tax is driving the cost down, which we know is not really the case. Does he not now believe in the previous argument, or does he now agree the carbon tax did indeed drive up the cost of everything?

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out to my colleague that the fight against climate change is both a moral and economic imperative. It is important to have a variety of measures in place to reduce our carbon footprint.

As for consumer carbon pricing, it is important to note that there was a rebate system. Yes, people paid a little more at the pump, but there was a rebate. As I mentioned in my speech, this policy had become controversial. It no longer had widespread support.

The fight against climate change is so important. We need to build a greater consensus among Canadians to really ensure that we implement ambitious climate measures that are tailored to the challenges of the day.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague's comments, including his remark about the GST break on new homes. In my riding, however, the problem is that people are unable to save up enough money to buy a new home. Rents are rising and house prices keep going up, making the situation all the more difficult.

I would like to hear what my colleague has to say about our proposals for people who have not saved up a down payment yet. We have two proposals and both are simple. The first is to allow parents to use their RRSPs to help their children put together a down payment. The second is to offer interest-free government loans to help young people and new homebuyers with their down payment.

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the housing crisis is real. There is a shortage of housing across the country, including in my riding of Madawaska—Restigouche. When faced with a situation of this magnitude, the government must take action. Through the Build Canada Homes program, we will invest more than $13 billion to stimulate housing construction across the country. Evidently, significantly increasing the number of available homes could put downward pressure on prices. It is a matter of supply and demand.

Funds will also be set aside for affordable housing through Build Canada Homes. Thanks to federal funding, we have already seen a lot of construction of this type of housing in my riding, in cities such as Edmundston and Campbellton. I have no doubt that with the investments we are making with Build Canada Homes, we will see more and more construction projects across the country, including in my riding.

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec Centre, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I was very impressed to hear my esteemed colleague from Madawaska—Restigouche say that last summer, he visited 200 places where people had found jobs through the Canada summer jobs program. I wish him good luck and lots of fun next summer, because the program is increasing the number of funded positions from 70,000 to 100,000.

What does he think about the impact this program is having on young people and community organizations in his riding?

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the Canada summer jobs program is essential for our young people and for our small businesses and community organizations. Last summer, I visited day cares, summer camps, museums and festivals. I met people in public works and people who performed a variety of tasks. Without this program, their employers simply might not have been able to afford to hire them for the summer.

This provides our small businesses and community organizations with the tools they need and gives them access to a workforce during the summer. It also gives young people in our regions the opportunity to gain relevant work experience. Many of the young people I spoke with were gaining work experience for the first time. For others, it was experience related to their field of study. This program has a major impact.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I listened to my Liberal colleague across the way. The student jobs with the Canada summer jobs program are interesting. However, when the government cuts 40,000 positions from the public service, even through attrition and voluntary departures, that means 40,000 fewer positions for young people who want to enter the labour market and have good union jobs as well.

What does he think of that?

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the various items will be carefully considered. We are definitely facing challenges right now. We had to invest in infrastructure, housing and all sorts of things.

We have allowed ourselves some flexibility. We are going to spend less so that we can invest more. We are going to invest over $300 million in the new youth employment strategy.