House of Commons Hansard #353 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was balanced.

Topics

Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

3:25 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

Is that agreed?

Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

3:25 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

French-language Services in OntarioRequest for Emergency DebateRoutine Proceedings

3:25 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

I have received a request for an emergency debate from the hon. member for Drummond.

French-language Services in OntarioRequest for Emergency DebateRoutine Proceedings

3:25 p.m.

NDP

François Choquette NDP Drummond, QC

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to request an emergency debate. During question period, the hon. member for Timmins—James Bay and I asked the government what it plans to do about the horrible situation currently going on in Ontario, which is a direct attack on language rights across Canada. Our Canadian identity is at the heart of this issue. One of the pillars of our identity is having two official languages. That is what brings us together across the country. It is what unites us. It is what makes us who we are.

Last Thursday, a draconian cut was made to the Office of the French Language Services Commissioner, an institution that has been around for 30 years. It was going to celebrate its 30th anniversary next year. The French Language Services Commissioner is the watchdog for French-language services for all of Ontario. This is extremely important.

What is more, the plan to build Ontario's first francophone university in Toronto has been cancelled, after more than a decade of work and investment. The board was already named, and the programs were being developed. It was all coming together. The university was set to open in 2020.

What is the federal government's role? Why do we need to have an emergency debate this evening? The reason is simple. The Prime Minister's role in the House and for the country is to defend official language communities across Canada.

This is extremely important because we are talking about the Canadian Constitution, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and federal responsibilities. Section 16(1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms states, and I quote:

English and French are the official languages of Canada and have equality of status and equal rights and privileges as to their use in all institutions of the Parliament and government of Canada.

A little later on, section 16(3) reads, and I quote:

Nothing in this Charter limits the authority of Parliament or a legislature to advance the equality of status or use of English and French.

The entire responsibility for defending official language communities basically rests on the shoulders of our Prime Minister and the current government. That is why this is so important.

There is also the Official Languages Act, which applies to all Canadians across the country. It will soon be the 50th anniversary of the Official Languages Act, which is so important that it has quasi-constitutional status. That is why I am requesting an emergency debate, so that the current government can tell us what it is going to do to stand up for official language communities and francophones across the country and how it is also going to ensure that anglophones in Quebec can continue to thrive.

Mr. Speaker, that is why I am asking you to consider this request for an emergency debate.

Speaker's RulingRequest for Emergency DebateRoutine Proceedings

3:30 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

I thank the hon. member for his remarks. Unfortunately, I cannot find that this request meets the Standing Orders' stringent requirements.

The House resumed consideration of the motion.

Opposition Motion—FinanceBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

3:30 p.m.

Liberal

Francesco Sorbara Liberal Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON

Mr. Speaker, it appears that the hon. member for Carleton is as excited as we are to read the fall economic statement. He will get the chance to do so, just as all Canadians will, on November 21.

As the member knows very well, the fall economic statement is under wraps until then, which begs the question as to why we are here today talking about something that we are not allowed to talk about. However, I welcome all opportunities to remind the House, the residents of Vaughan—Woodbridge and all Canadians of the work we are doing, because we are very proud of it. We are building a stronger Canada and a better Canada. That means communities across this great country are benefiting from our government's fiscal plan. Our fiscal plan is sustainable, as it meets our fiscal anchors and continues to reduce the federal debt-to-GDP ratio.

Nevertheless, the gloom-and-doom rhetoric of balancing budgets was the cornerstone of the former government, which tried to convince Canadians that austerity measures were the only way to economic growth. It simply is not so, and frankly, that plan and that rhetoric failed Canadians.

In fact, the work our government is doing is attracting praise from around the world. An Ipsos MORI poll of 18,000 residents from 25 countries released in July of last year found that Canada has the most positive influence globally. The IMF has hailed Canada as an economic model for the world, with IMF's managing director, Christine Lagarde, saying that the world needs more Canada. This year, an A.T. Kearney study came out saying that Canada was the second most attractive place to invest in this beautiful world we live in. That is because a strong economy is about people and inclusive growth, where economic growth and prosperity is shared by all people, and in our country by all Canadians.

From the beginning, this government has put people at the heart of its plan for economic growth. In fact, this week, while many of us were out in our constituencies, I had the chance to sit down with the CEO of leading auto parts company Martinrea. It is the third largest auto parts company in Canada and employs 511 folks at a wonderful facility in my riding. The CEO commented about how great our economic plan was working. He gave us praise on the recent end to negotiations on the new USMCA. Those are the types of conversations we have with folks and business leaders across this country regarding where our economy is going and how we are growing the economy, how we are strengthening the middle class and how we are ensuring that all Canadians have the skills to succeed.

We arrived committed to helping Canadians who work hard to reap the benefits of a strong, fast-growing economy, and that is exactly what we did.

That is why the government's first action was to ask Canadians who are part of the top 1% to pay a little bit more in order to reduce the tax burden on the middle class.

Thanks to this tax cut for the middle class, more than nine million Canadians can save more, make investments or buy what they need.

Furthermore, to help parents raise their children, the government introduced the Canada child benefit, a more generous non-taxable benefit targeted at the families who need it the most.

Thanks to the Canada child benefit, nine out of 10 families receive more money than under the previous system.

The system the Conservatives had in place was not fair and sent cheques to millionaires instead of helping the families who really needed it most.

This benefit lifted hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty. Thanks to the tax reduction and to measures such as the Canada child benefit, a typical family of four from the middle class now has about $2,000 more each year to raise their children, save for the future and contribute to economic growth, which benefits everyone. This money is changing the lives of these families by helping them, for example, provide healthy food to their children and buy them new winter boots.

Moreover, last year, at about the same time, the government introduced measures to help low-income workers, which led to the Canada workers benefit being introduced in budget 2018. This is a new and improved version, more generous and more accessible, of the working income tax benefit.

Starting in January 2019, the CWB will put more money in the pockets of low-income workers. It will also encourage more people to find jobs and keep them, while providing real assistance to more than 2 million Canadians who are working hard to join the middle class.

We are also taking important steps to help seniors. Retirement is meant to be the reward for a life of hard work, but for many Canadian seniors, especially women, it simply means financial hardship. We think this is unacceptable, which is why we are improving the guaranteed income supplement for low-income seniors, providing financial security and peace of mind for the most vulnerable seniors.

We also improved the Canada pension plan, or CPP, a historic measure if ever there was one. The improvements to the CPP, which will be phased in as of January 2019, will give Canadians more money in retirement, allowing them to worry less about their savings and spend more time with their families.

Because our government is working with the provinces and territories to improve the Canada pension plan and because we restored the old age security program eligibility to 65 years instead of 67, more Canadians will have better conditions in retirement and will be able to live these years in dignity.

Thanks to the 300,000 or so infrastructure projects approved since 2016, we are also building strong, resilient communities. Most of those infrastructure projects are already under way, creating more good, well-paid jobs for the middle class.

In addition, thanks to many of these economically beneficial measures, consumer confidence is virtually at an all-time high. With more money in their pockets, Canadian consumers have every reason to feel more confident about their financial situation. That is true for Canadians and for the businesses they run. Canadian companies' after-tax profits have almost doubled since 2015, which means that businesses and the Canadians running them have more resources available to invest and stimulate economic growth.

We recognize that small businesses are key drivers of the economy. Some 60% of all private sector jobs are in small businesses. That is why we lowered taxes for small businesses last year. Our government lowered the small business tax rate to 10% in January, and we will lower it again to 9% in January 2019. The combined federal, provincial and territorial average tax rate on small businesses will be 12.2%, by far the lowest rate in the G7.

The results of these measures speak for themselves. The Canadian economy is obviously strong and growing. In 2017, with a growth rate of 3%, Canada had the strongest economic growth in the G7, and we are on track to continue to have the highest growth rate this year and next.

On top of that, there are more good, well-paying jobs for Canadians. Over the past three years, Canadians have created over half a million full-time jobs, resulting in the lowest unemployment rate in the past 40 years. Canadians' salaries have increased. For the average worker in Canada, salaries have been rising faster than inflation. If current trends continue, 2018 could see the highest wage increases in nearly a decade.

Consumer confidence is high, and corporate profits are on the rise, which is paving the way for other investments that could lead to further job creation and more rewarding, well-paying jobs for Canadians.

We know that we cannot take Canada's economic strength for granted. This past year was a challenging one, especially with regard to the recent tax changes in the United States and concerns about what ongoing global trade disputes might mean for Canadian businesses.

As we all know, our government has worked hard with our global partners. We finalized the CETA agreement, which is working extremely well for Canada and for Europe. We have finalized and ratified the CPTPP, which will come into force at the end of the year. It is another thing that will benefit many Canadian businesses and enterprises, including farmers, from coast to coast to coast.

Unlike some folks, we actually came to a good agreement with the United States on a new, revised free trade agreement between us, the United States, and Mexico. The new USMCA will provide certainty to businesses across this country. As I sat down with the president and CEO of Martinrea, Rob Wildeboer, this week, in my riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge, his comments only reaffirmed that our actions are the right actions for the right agreement when it comes to the USMCA.

I also sat down with Unico, one of the largest agrifood processors in this country. Again, the feedback I received from its owners and management was that our government's economic path is the right one. It was great to hear that these businesses will continue to invest here in Canada and in my riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge.

Last summer the government heard from a number of business owners and business leaders that there was a strong interest in making investments, the kind that can position businesses for long-term growth and that can create good, well-paying jobs for Canadian workers.

We heard from many businesses that expressed relief when we announced our new trade deal with the United States and Mexico, because securing that deal really does help when it comes to being able to confidently invest for the future. We have removed uncertainty, and we know that for businesses, removing uncertainty is key to their success.

There is nothing new about Canada-U.S. co-operation. We have a longstanding and fruitful relationship that is the envy of the world. The links between our peoples, governments and economies have produced positive results for both countries for more than 150 years. We know that by working together and ensuring that all regions are truly open for business we can continue to get real results for people in the coming years. The agreement we recently reached with the United States and Mexico reaffirms the importance of our trade relationship with our North American neighbours.

We welcome this new modernized trade agreement, because we know it will help support good, well-paying middle-class jobs across this country. We know, as we have heard repeatedly in this House, and as I hear from Canadians and residents in my riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge, that people are working in this country. People are working, and they are working hard. The jobs are there.

The CFIB and others have estimated that there are over 500,000 job vacancies in this country. It goes to show that our government's record on the economy is a good record. It is a record we can be proud of. It is a record that will continue to ensure, very simply, that all Canadians understand that they have a government that is on their side and that they have a future that they and their families can be proud of and confident in.

We welcome this new, modernized trade agreement, because we know it will help support good, well-paying middle-class jobs right across this country. I wanted to say that again to reaffirm our commitment to good middle-class jobs across this country.

At the same time, we know that we need to do more to protect and maintain Canada's competitive advantage. One area where this has been made clear is in relation to gender equality. Canadian women are among the most educated in the world, yet they are less likely to participate in the labour market and are more likely to work part time.

This under-representation continues in positions of leadership, and businesses in Canada are overwhelmingly owned by men. It reflects a number of factors, including the fact that Canadian women often have greater demands in unpaid work, preventing them from pursuing opportunities to reach their full potential.

Our economy is not working to capacity when women who wish to participate cannot do so. I will say that the labour force participation rate for women in Canada is now at its highest level, and it has been climbing incrementally under our government. In successive actions we have undertaken, we have seen a real boost and real encouragement for women to enter the labour force. Frankly, we can be proud of that. We know that Canada does not succeed until all Canadians succeed, and that includes on the basis of gender equality.

I am proud to say that I have two daughters at home, two precocious young girls. I know that the things we are doing today will benefit them in the years to come. Frankly, I am proud to be part of a government that is putting gender equality at the forefront.

The evidence is clear. RBC Economics estimates that adding more women to the workforce could boost Canada's GDP by as much as 4%. Our economy is strengthened when women and girls have opportunities to contribute to and benefit equally from economic growth. The time is now to ensure that all Canadians, in particular women, are provided with an opportunity to succeed and lead. That is why our latest budget legislation is taking several actions to move Canada toward gender equity. This legislation provides help for new parents to care for their children during those critical early months through the new employment insurance parental sharing benefit, which provides an extra five weeks of benefits to encourage more equal sharing of child care responsibilities within the home and to allow more flexibility, especially for mothers, to go back to work earlier, if that is their choice, feeling reassured that their family has the support it needs.

We are also taking steps to address the gender gap in federally regulated workplaces by requiring equal pay for work of equal value. This is just common sense. It is very simple. People should be paid equal pay for equal work, if that is the term we wish to use, and we are on the right trajectory. We know that currently, women earn about 88.5 cents for every dollar a man earns, when we are looking at jobs that encompass the same duties. We need to close that gap, and we will through the legislation that is contained in the BIA that we on the finance committee are presently looking at. About 1.2 million employed Canadians will fall under the scope of this legislation.

My riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge is a very entrepreneurial riding. People are very successful. I know the issue that is important to them is the economy. In my humble opinion, as someone who worked in global financial services for 20 years, our government is doing the right things with respect to the economy. We are investing in Canadians. We are investing in Canada. We are making sure that Canadians have the skills they need to succeed in today's world and tomorrow's world. We are ensuring that our kids take advantage of STEM and have the literacy skills and the financial literacy skills to succeed.

We maintain that a strong economy is a result of a strong middle class, and our politics and results reflect that. Over the past three years, the government has invested in Canadians and the things that matter most to Canadians. These investments reflect a choice to reject the austerity policies of the past and to instead invest wisely in the middle class, growing the economy and, yes, helping those who wish to join the middle class. That is what we have done.

The investments our government is making are balanced by sound fiscal management. If we look at the fiscal reference tables and the OECD reports, Canada's fiscal position is in the top tier and will continue to improve, anchored by a commitment to a low and consistently declining net debt-to-GDP ratio that is the lowest in the G7.

Some of the measures we have introduced since coming to office have been nothing less than life-changing for hundreds of thousands of Canadian families. We will have more to come in the fall economic update on Wednesday.

I will say this. I chatted with a number of business leaders in my riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge last week, including those who oversee $4-billion or $5-billion companies, and we are on the right path. Our government has taken a number of actions to help grow the economy, but more so, we are allowing businesses to invest with confidence in the economy today and for the future. We are lowering the small business tax rate. We are doing a number of things to support businesses in my riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge and across this beautiful country. Our trade deals are strengthening the middle class, creating good jobs, and improving our relations with our European, North American and Asian trading partners.

Opposition Motion—FinanceBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

3:50 p.m.

Conservative

Alupa Clarke Conservative Beauport—Limoilou, QC

Mr. Speaker, I must be mistaken, or maybe I went outside to the lobby, but I must have missed the part of the hon. member's speech when he was talking about when the government will balance the budget. I have never seen a budget speech that did not include a date, or anything like a date, confirming when the budget would be balanced. Therefore, I would like the member to rectify the situation. I must have been somewhere else or not listening. I am very sorry. When will the government balance the budget?

Opposition Motion—FinanceBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

3:50 p.m.

Liberal

Francesco Sorbara Liberal Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON

Mr. Speaker, over the weekend, I was looking at the fiscal reference tables produced by the Department of Finance, and I also read over the OECD reports looking at Canada's fiscal position versus those of our peers. I will say that thanks to sound fiscal management a few years ago under the Martin-Chrétien government, we reduced our deficits, brought in surpluses and reduced taxes. Now we are making up for the last 10 years under the Conservative government. It left us a huge infrastructure deficit in Canada and a huge skills deficit in Canada.

We are making the right investments today for my kids, for Canadians, and it is producing results. Job growth is very strong. The unemployment rate is at a 40-year low, and business taxes are coming down. There was a tax cut for nine million Canadians and an increase in the guaranteed income supplement for two million Canadian seniors. We are doing the right things to grow our economy today and for tomorrow. At the same time, we have a AAA credit rating, and our debt-to-GDP ratio continues to decline. That is the right path for our economy and for Canadians.

Opposition Motion—FinanceBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

3:50 p.m.

NDP

Randall Garrison NDP Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, BC

Mr. Speaker, I always enjoy these debates where the Liberals and Conservatives take a lot of time to attack each other's fiscal performance and argue about who has done the worst job.

However, if members asked constituents in my riding about deficits, here is what they would say. They are still looking for affordable housing, and both of these parties ran deficits, and there is no affordable housing available in my riding. They are looking for child care, and both of these parties ran deficits, and there is no affordable child care available in my riding. When we look at veterans, there are veterans in my riding still waiting for the benefits they earned, but neither of these parties delivered those benefits, yet they both ran deficits.

In my mind, there are a lot of things we can do before we run deficits. Sometimes we might have to. We can make corporations pay their fair share of taxes. We can close down the tax loopholes.

My question to the member, who never really talked about what the Liberals are actually spending money on, is about big items. Why would the government run a huge deficit by buying a $5-billion leaky pipeline, and why did it contribute $35 billion to an infrastructure bank that in its first year made just one loan?

Opposition Motion—FinanceBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

3:55 p.m.

Liberal

Francesco Sorbara Liberal Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON

Mr. Speaker, first, our government supports Alberta's energy workers and energy workers across Canada. We will do what we need to do to strengthen that industry. We have a very large discount on our resources currently in Canada, and we need to reduce that discount. We need to make sure that we are getting the full price for our oil. Frankly, I support Canada's energy workers. These are good middle-class jobs and good union folks, and we will make sure that we stand with them every day.

In terms of what our government is investing in, I would be happy to send a number of pages to the hon. member. On a national housing strategy, there is $40 billion over 10 years, which is an unprecedented investment in housing. We have reached an affordable child care agreement with each of the provinces. We have done a lot to help Canadians and to invest in their future. It shows in Canadians' confidence and it shows in business confidence.

Opposition Motion—FinanceBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

3:55 p.m.

Steven MacKinnon Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility, Lib.

Mr. Speaker, I very much enjoyed my hon. colleague's speech. I note that he is one of the few people in this chamber with actual experience in finance. Therefore, I would ask him to go way back and reflect on the initial decisions of the previous government and the surplus it inherited. I am talking about pre-recession. What is the track record of the previous government in terms of deficit performance, when it inherited a surplus?

Opposition Motion—FinanceBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

3:55 p.m.

Liberal

Francesco Sorbara Liberal Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON

Mr. Speaker, the previous government, frankly, refused to admit that there was an actual global financial recession going on and had to run very quickly to undertake a number of measures to combat it.

As I said, the Conservatives inherited a surplus from a Liberal government, which is not surprising. We are good stewards of Canada's fiscal situation, and we will continue to be. However, they squandered that. The Conservatives did not prepare right, and they did not make the right investments in infrastructure, in skills training and in the things that matter most to the residents of my riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge. They did not make those investments.

The Conservatives left us a very large deficit, an infrastructure deficit and a deficit in terms of investing in Canadians and their future. We are having to make up for that. We are making tough choices, the right choices, to maintain a strong fiscal position and to reduce our debt-to-GDP ratio. We are making the investments in Canada and in Canadians that they deserve and that will prepare us for the future.

Opposition Motion—FinanceBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

3:55 p.m.

Conservative

Colin Carrie Conservative Oshawa, ON

Mr. Speaker, again, what we are debating in the House is this issue that the House call on the government to tell Canadians in what year the budget will be balanced, and to do so in this week's fall economic statement. It is not really a difficult question, but it seems every Liberal here is avoiding answering the question.

I was really disappointed today with the Minister of Finance, who basically was the guy who promised that they would balance it in 2019. Now, if it is such a bad idea, like the Liberals are saying now, why did they promise it to Canadians? We have an issue with our competitiveness. Business is looking for the government to do something and signal that it will get back to a balanced budget. Again my question to my colleague is, what year will the budget balance itself?

Opposition Motion—FinanceBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

3:55 p.m.

Liberal

Francesco Sorbara Liberal Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON

Mr. Speaker, stay tuned for Wednesday, November 21, for the fall economic statement. Our government's fiscal position, and the importance of having a strong fiscal position, cannot be re-emphasized. A declining debt-to-GDP ratio, which we have emphasized, is something we need to look at, as well as balance that with key investments in our economy and in certain sectors. We have the supercluster program that we have announced. Again, we have rave reviews for businesses.

On the U.S. tax legislation that passed earlier, remember, it is running a trillion-dollar deficit. Now, I am not sure if the Conservatives want to start running those types of deficits, but we surely do not. We need to be prudent, we need to be measured and we need to undertake measures that address any sort of competitiveness issues. However, the fact remains Canadian businesses are confident and are investing. They are doing it in my riding and all ridings across this country. That is why they have created over 500,000 or 600,000 full-time jobs over the last three years. The results speak for themselves, but we will have to wait for Wednesday for specific measures in the fall economic update.

Opposition Motion—FinanceBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4 p.m.

NDP

Pierre Nantel NDP Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Vaughan—Woodbridge for his speech. He mentioned having children.

I wonder how we can really have such a debate where, once again, the parties blame one another for accumulating the most debt. I was chuckling and wondering who was telling the truth, the Liberals or the Conservatives? However, that is not really the issue. The real issue, as the Conservatives have so clearly articulated, is when we will return to a balanced budget.

I would like to know how my colleague can justify his point of view to his constituents and to his child. They asked you a simple question, so why are you not answering? It is so simple.

I have never heard an informed response on managing public finances or international borrowing rates that justifies the fact that the Liberals cannot give us a specific date. We are not even given an articulate reply.

Would you mind telling me what you would say to a constituent who asks you how many millions of dollars a week you spend to say nothing?

Opposition Motion—FinanceBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

I would remind the member that he must direct his question through the Chair.

The member for Vaughan—Woodbridge.

Opposition Motion—FinanceBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4 p.m.

Liberal

Francesco Sorbara Liberal Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON

Mr. Speaker, frankly, looking at the future of my kids, my two daughters who are at home right now, their future looks great. It looks great not only because of our government's action, but because they are blessed to live in this country called Canada. We will find out measures in the fall economic update on Wednesday. I encourage the member to stay tuned. I encourage him to be here, take notes and be attentive to the great things happening in this country. As a government, we are listening, and we will always continue to listen to businesses and consumers. At the end of the day, we will always maintain that certainty for businesses and consumers and the confidence to invest in and grow our economy and create those middle-class jobs Canadians want to look forward to in their futures.

Opposition Motion—FinanceBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4 p.m.

Conservative

Alupa Clarke Conservative Beauport—Limoilou, QC

Mr. Speaker, as usual, I am very pleased to rise today.

Without further delay, I would like to inform the House that I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Barrie—Innisfil.

As always, I extend my warmest greetings to the many people in Beauport—Limoilou who are watching us today.

Today's debate is very interesting. An opposition motion was moved in the House by the Conservative Party, of which I am of course a member. It reads as follows, and I quote:

That the House call on the government to tell Canadians in what year the budget will be balanced, and to do so in this week’s Fall Economic Statement.

Canadians may be wondering what is happening and how it is possible that we still do not know when the government will balance the budget. That has always been a basic concept for me, even before I got into politics.

It seems to me that any reasonable, responsible government, whether it be Liberal or Conservative—and I was going to add NDP, but that has not happened yet at the federal level—with nothing to hide should indicate in its policy statement, budget, and everyday political messaging a date on which it will balance the budget, or at least a concrete timeframe for doing so.

There are two rather surprising things about the Liberals' refusal to give us a timeframe for returning to a balanced budget. There are two historic elements with regard to the practice that they are currently using.

As the hon. member for Louis-Saint-Laurent keeps saying, we have never seen a government run a deficit outside wartime or outside an economic crisis.

According to Keynesian economics, it is normal to run deficits. Keynes made some mistakes in several of his analyses, but there is one analysis he did that several governments have been adhering to for 60 years now. According to his analysis, when an international economic crisis is having an impact on every industrialized country in the world, it is not a bad idea for the government to invest heavily in its community, in its largest industries, in every industrial region of the country, to ensure that jobs are maintained and that there is some economic vitality despite the crisis.

For example, we Conservatives ran a few deficits in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 because the country was going through the worst economic crisis ever, the greatest recession since the 1930s.

Our reaction was responsible. Why? First, because there was a major global recession. Second, because even though we were a Conservative government, we embraced Keynesianism because we felt it made good economic sense. Through our strategic reinvestment plan, we managed to maintain 200,000 jobs. Not only did we maintain jobs across Canada, but we also repaired infrastructure, bridges and overpasses.

Two years ago, when I was a member of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, I read a report that noted this was the first time an economic recovery and stimulus plan had been implemented so quickly. In three or four years, we invested $80 billion in infrastructure to help Canada weather some rough economic times.

The first surprise from the Liberals was that they ran up massive deficits of $20 billion this year, $20 billion last year, and $30 billion in 2015-16, even though there is no major crisis or war going on.

There is a second surprising thing. Let us go back to the time when lords were waging wars against the king of England, which is in the 13th century. In 1215, the Magna Carta resulted from several confrontations between the lords, the capitalist bourgeoisie and the aristocracy, all pleading for their interests with the king. The idea was to create an assembly where they could present their admonitions and complaints to the king and could limit the outrageous sums the king wanted to spend on the holy crusades. That is when our parliamentary system was born.

When I was first elected to the House of Commons, I learned Parliament's primary function. My university professors knew I liked philosophy, but they said I would soon come to realize that, in the House of Commons, discussions are about money, the economy, the country's economic situation and public finances. I learned that, in the House of Commons, debates are almost entirely about public finances.

That is as it should be, since the philosophical and political foundations of the British parliamentary system are accountability and the principle of responsible government allowing citizens to know what their money is used for. In those days, it was the capitalist bourgeoisie who wanted to know, whereas nowadays all citizens expect it. Nevertheless, the process and the principle remain the same. We want to know what happens with our money. Why are there deficits, if any, and most importantly when is the government going to balance the budget? Deficits involve our money, and it is commendable and reasonable to know when the budget will be balanced.

My colleague from Longueuil—Saint-Hubert was just saying how absurd this is. What would a government MP do if an ordinary Canadian asked him to simply tell him when his party would balance the budget? For three years, members of Parliament have not really been allowed to answer such a question, yet it is quite a normal question. They have to come up with foolish answers, think about something else or say that everything is fine because they have been cutting taxes, when in fact each citizen in Beauport—Limoilou pays $800 more every year in income tax.

That amounts to almost $2,000 per family, not to mention the tax credits they axed, the oil that is not being shipped out of the country, all the cuts in exports to the U.S., all the U.S. investment in Canada that has been lost while Canadian investment in the U.S. has increased, not to mention the fact that household debt is at an all-time high. The OECD remarked on this recently. In short, I could go on for a long time without even talking about the USMCA.

Nonetheless, there are some surprising things. What is incredible, and I repeat this every time I give a speech about Canada's economy, is that, in 2015, the Liberals were smart enough and had enough honour to explain why they were running a deficit even though we were not at war or in an economic crisis. At the time, the member for Papineau, under a gigantic crane in Toronto—I remember watching on television from my campaign office in Beauport—Limoilou and that it was partly cloudy and it rained a little—announced to Canadians that the Liberals would run a deficit of $10 billion in the first two years and then a deficit of $6 billion in the third year. He promised a deficit. Everyone was surprised that he was promising a deficit. It was a first.

He added that the Liberals would run a deficit in order to invest in infrastructure, which, he said, had been abandoned, and to invest more in infrastructure in general across the country. At least he was consistent in his comments once he was elected. He announced that they were creating a historic infrastructure plan—everything is always historic with them—worth $187 billion, which is not bad either. That was a continuation of what we had done. We had invested $80 billion over the course of the six previous years. It is only natural to continue to invest in infrastructure in Canada. Some even claim that Canada exists thanks to the railroad. Infrastructure has always been foundational here in Canada.

However, the Parliamentary Budget Officer—which, I repeat every time, as we must not forget, is an institution created by Mr. Harper, a great democrat who wanted there to be an independent body in Parliament to constantly hold the government to account—informed us in a report that, of the $187 billion invested in infrastructure, only $9 billion has actually been spent over the past three years. If I am not mistaken, $9 billion divided by three is $3 billion. The Liberals have invested $3 billion a year in infrastructure, and yet, they ran a $30-billion deficit in the first year.

Let us not forget that the $10-billion deficit was supposed to be for infrastructure. However, in their first year in office, the Liberals ran a $30-billion deficit and only $3 billion of that went to infrastructure. The second year, they ran a $20-billion deficit with only $3 billion for infrastructure, and they did the same again this year. Obviously, we have never seen a government put so much energy into spending so much money in such a reckless and dishonourable way while achieving so little for the economic well-being of the country and Canadians at home.

In closing, setting a deadline for paying off debt is something that Canadian families do at home all the time, for example when paying off their mortgages or their car loans. When people borrow money for a car, the dealer does not just say, “Have a good day, sir. See you around.” He tells them that they need to take out a bank loan and that they have four years to pay it back. There is a deadline for all sorts of things like that.

When will a balanced budget be achieved?

Opposition Motion—FinanceBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:10 p.m.

Liberal

Darrell Samson Liberal Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. He was kind of all over the place, and even though I always appreciate the historical information he shares with us, today he was back in the 13th century, and I was trying to understand the connection to the budget.

I would like my colleague to explain something to me. The Conservative Party does not seem to understand the difference between spending and investing. There is a huge difference.

My colleague said that investments are only made in times of crisis or war. If Canadian businesses followed that rule, they would all go bankrupt. They do not invest because of a crisis. They invest because they have a vision; they have plans. They invest to create conditions conducive to generating more revenue.

That is exactly what our government is doing. We are investing in several different ways. The unemployment rate has dropped from 7.1% to 5.7%, and 700,000 jobs have been created. We also reduced corporate taxes. We have created the right conditions for generating revenue and reducing deficits. These are investments, not deficits.

Opposition Motion—FinanceBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:15 p.m.

Conservative

Alupa Clarke Conservative Beauport—Limoilou, QC

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member completely misconstrued what I said. I was not talking about investments. These are deficits.

SMEs at the heart of job creation in my riding, Beauport—Limoilou, do not borrow money to invest in their projects, they use their profits for that. It is important to reinvest budgetary surpluses. In 2015, we left $3 billion to the Liberals when they came to power and they spent it all in just a few months.

If investment is truly what the government is after, then why did the Liberals say that they would run a $10-billion infrastructure deficit? Why are the deficits not being used to invest in infrastructure, as the Liberals claimed they wanted to do in 2015? It is because the Liberals' deficits are not being used to improve infrastructure or Canadians' lives. They are being used to please the lobby groups that have always supported the Liberals.

Opposition Motion—FinanceBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:15 p.m.

NDP

Pierre Nantel NDP Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague. I think that the debate is enriched when members make historic references in their speeches. He is always saying hello to his constituents, which I find very amusing, but he is right. I also want to say hello to the people of Longueuil—Saint-Hubert. We are here in Parliament to represent them, to debate and to talk about various topics, and people can watch us on TV. I thank my colleague for making meaningful speeches and reminding us why we are here and why we have these conversations.

Sure, I understand when my Liberal colleague says that these deficits are being used to make investments. I agree, but an investment involves a loan, a payment and a term.

Does my Conservative colleague think that if we were two or three years out from an election, instead of one year out, the Liberals would be more forthcoming about the date? Is it not precisely because an election is coming up that the Liberals are willing to say just about anything in order to make Canadians more cynical?

The Liberals carry a heavy burden because they created very high expectations. There have been many disappointments, and they cannot even tell us when the budget will be balanced.

Does my colleague think that, if we were not one year out from the election, the government would be more transparent about when it expects to return to a balanced budget?

Opposition Motion—FinanceBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:15 p.m.

Conservative

Alupa Clarke Conservative Beauport—Limoilou, QC

Mr. Speaker, I wish I could say the government could be more transparent, but that would surprise me. There is a lot of back and forth between the Liberals and the Office of the Ethics Commissioner. Transparency is not this government's strong suit.

My colleague talked about investments, but why is the army underfunded? According to another recently released report, the Canadian Forces had a $2-billion shortfall last year alone.

Also, why is the government not doing anything to reduce delays associated with the national shipbuilding strategy? The price tag for the 15 Iroquois-class frigates that are scheduled to be built in Halifax has gone up from $30 billion to $60 billion.

When will the Liberals give us the date the budget will be balanced? That is a simple question, and it boils down to being accountable to Parliament.

Opposition Motion—FinanceBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:15 p.m.

Conservative

John Brassard Conservative Barrie—Innisfil, ON

Mr. Speaker, never has a government spent so much to achieve so little.

It is unfortunate that I rise today to speak to the recklessness of the Liberal government, the spending, the wasting and the deceit. We are looking to end that today.

Canadians have been waiting for the government to tell us when it will balance the budget. I will echo what my colleagues said in saying that in 42 days, if the Liberals are telling the truth, or were to tell the truth, we will be in a balanced budget in this country.

Canada's Conservatives have been asking very clearly when the budget will be balanced. We have asked that question not just today, but over 400 times throughout the course of successive committees throughout the House of Commons and during question period.

It is not the most difficult question in the world. It is a simple one. For the sake of Canadians, for the sake of seniors, for the sake of young people in this country, when exactly will the budget be balanced? The government for some reason seems to feel that answering these types of questions is like climbing Mount Everest.

We have heard from Finance Canada that it could take up to 2045 to see the budget balanced again and that the debt servicing cost will be $40 billion by 2023. Think about that: $40 billion just in debt servicing costs alone. Who makes that money? Bondholders, debt holders, those people with money who lend money to the government make that money.

This is the scariest aspect of not answering this question: my 14-year-old son will be 40 years old by the time the budget is balanced according to Finance Canada. Imagine the burden that will be placed on him and every other single young person in this country. Twenty-five years of deficits will be on him, his family and his grandchildren. How difficult will that make it for him to buy a family home, to buy a new car, to save for retirement or even put a few dollars away for his child's education? It is alarming.

All we want to know is whether Finance Canada is wrong. Will the budget be balanced by 2045?

I would like to think that the Liberals will stand up and do the right thing and balance the budget but it is hard when the finance minister cannot even say the words "balanced budget". Is it because he does not want to be backed into a corner? Are those words not in his talking points? Or is it because he is riddled with guilt over what he and his government are doing to this country and to my children and tomorrow's Canadians? I would be willing to say that it is very likely all of the above.

We also see billions of Canadians' hard-earned tax dollars being given overseas. A November 8 article in The Globe and Mail said that “aid money [in Afghanistan] has gone to build medical clinics without electricity or water, schools without children and buildings that literally melted away in the rain. Also, corrupt local officials who were in charge of paying workers with some of the funds created what the audits called 'ghost workers,' civilian bureaucrats, police and soldiers who did not exist, then kept or diverted money recorded as being paid to them." Where is the accountability in that? That is hard-earned taxpayer dollars.

Another example of our money setting sail overseas is the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. By bringing Canada into the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Liberals plan to send hundreds of millions of Canadian taxpayers' dollars to foreign billionaires with no control over how that money will be spent or whether Canadian companies will benefit at all.

When will the budget be balanced?

When the previous Conservative government could not ensure that this money would be spent in the right way, or that the bank would follow environmental, social and human rights standards, we joined the U.S. and Japan and said no. The previous government was not willing to gamble the hard-earned money of Canadians in Asia in this way. Maybe the Prime Minister should take Kenny Rogers' advice and that is to know when to hold them and know when to fold them in this case.

We can also look at the proposed Canada infrastructure bank. Who pays when a project goes south? It is not going to be the investors who are taking the risk. Hard-working Canadians are going to act as a backstop to anything that may go south.

I have received many letters from businesses around my riding of Barrie-lnnisfil and one thing was clear: small businesses in my riding are feeling taken by the Liberal government. The government sees small business simply as a tax grab to pay for three years of out-of-control spending.

The government has spoken about all of the programs that it has instituted, structural deficit programs. Over the course of the last week, when I was back in my riding, I spoke to seniors, families and students who are feeling none of the positive impacts that the government says those structurally deficit programs are supposed to do.

These businesses have been hit. Many businesses have been hit and will be hit with the Liberal job-killing carbon tax, increased CPP and EI premiums, increased personal income tax rates for entrepreneurs, and changes to the small business tax rate that will disqualify thousands of local businesses.

Can the House see what I am getting at? For three years, the government has squandered, entered into bad deals and just plain messed up managing Canadians' money. It has failed at every aspect of that. Now, the Liberals have to go after entrepreneurs to make up the lost fiscal ground. How shameful is that?

Most of my hon. colleagues would agree that as parliamentarians, we must be honest. We must be accountable with Canadian taxpayers. With all that the government has done wrong and all of the cover-ups, it should at least do one thing right, not tell us where, what, why or how, we will worry about that later, but when.

When will the budget be balanced? I am sure that the hon. Minister of Finance will be more than happy to answer this question, so that we get off his back about it and he can get back to the work of balancing the budget in just 42 days. I take us back to that time that the Prime Minister, again, during the last campaign, said that the budget would be balanced by 2019.

Now we are hearing that it will not happen until 2045. Why? When will the budget be balanced?

As I stand here today, and I urge all members on all sides to stand with us and the almost 37 million Canadians and demand that the government say when it plans to balance the budget. As many of my hon. colleagues have said, only so much can be charged on a credit card before the limit is hit and it has to be paid back. Let us not hit that limit. Let us stop here, before our grandchildren are hit with the interest and over-limit fees.

For those of us who have lived in Ontario, we have seen the impact and the effect of structural deficits over the course of the last 15 years of the Wynne-McGuinty government. In fact, the third-highest department, if it was to be measured as a department, would be the amount of debt that Ontario residents have to pay in order to serve the debt, the largest sub-sovereign national indebted nation in the world.

Today's debt and deficits equal tomorrow's tax increases or service cuts. We cannot do that to our children. Yes, we can make investments, but those investments have to be measured and they have to be calculated against at the cost to our children and to future generations. That is why, today, we are spending the day asking a simple question, a question that has been asked hundreds of times. When will the budget be balanced?

As we head into Wednesday's economic statement, I do not think it is unfair of Canadians, through their parliamentarians, to be asking the government to ask the finance minister that very simple question. As I will remind everyone, when the Prime Minister campaigned in 2015, he campaigned on small deficits, he admitted that, and he also said that we would return to a balanced budget in 2019.

We are asking the government to tell Canadians, to be honest with them, to be forthright with them. We are asking the finance minister and the Prime Minister: when will the budget be balanced? It is a simple question that we expect an answer to.

Opposition Motion—FinanceBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:25 p.m.

Liberal

Mark Gerretsen Liberal Kingston and the Islands, ON

Mr. Speaker, the member for Barrie—Innisfil wants to talk about facts. Let us talk about facts.

The fact is that over the last 150 years, the Conservative Party has been governing Canada for 38% of the time, yet it has racked up 73% of the budget. This is a fact. It has nothing to do with circumstances, as Conservatives would like us to believe, but everything to do with Conservative Party policy.

Talking about the last 19 budgets that the Conservative Party introduced, 16 of them were deficits, and the three remaining ones where Conservatives actually ran a surplus, two of them came right after Martin left them with a $13-billion surplus, and the other one came in 2015. We have already talked at length about what they had to do in order to get that, just three years ago.

Based on the facts that I have put before the member right now, and the fact that the Conservative Party has absolutely no credibility in balancing budgets, where do the Conservative Party and this member get off trying to lecture this side of the House on balancing budgets?