House of Commons Hansard #354 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was c-75.

Topics

FinanceOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

The hon. member for Richmond—Arthabaska.

FinanceOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

Conservative

Alain Rayes Conservative Richmond—Arthabaska, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister gives us the same old story day after day, yet the deficit is over $80 billion and there is still one year to go. For those watching at home, $80 billion would buy 470 arenas like the Canadian Tire Centre, the home of the Ottawa Senators. If we continue at this rate, every municipality across Canada will have an arena like the one the Sens play in. Enough is enough.

When will the government balance the budget?

FinanceOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member was not here at the time, but Mr. Harper added $150 billion to Canada's debt. We do not need any lectures from the Conservatives, especially since they were not even able to demonstrate that their investments stimulated growth.

We have created economic growth because we trust Canadians and because we invested in community infrastructure and public transit, which is making a difference in Canadians' lives and creating economic growth. We are going to keep doing what Canadians asked us to do in 2015.

Canada Revenue AgencyOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

NDP

Guy Caron NDP Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC

Mr. Speaker, for months, we have been talking about how the Canada Revenue Agency persecutes ordinary Canadians and gives the ultra-rich and corporations the kid glove treatment at tax time. Who else agrees with us? The Auditor General. The Canada Revenue Agency has no compunction about persecuting single moms in Saskatchewan, and the Auditor General's report confirms that the agency gives corporations and the wealthy a lot more time and preferential treatment than ordinary individuals.

Here, again, is my question for the Prime Minister: When will Canada drop this double standard?

Canada Revenue AgencyOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Auditor General for his advice on this important issue. We remain committed to ensuring that the CRA treats all Canadians fairly and consistently and makes sure everyone pays their fair share. The CRA will review its internal procedures, processes and definitions to identify taxpayers who participate in aggressive tax avoidance schemes and ensure they face the consequences.

Canada Revenue AgencyOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

NDP

Guy Caron NDP Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General said there is no way to figure out where that $500 million went.

The problem with the Canada Revenue Agency is that Canadians who are not rich are presumed guilty until they can prove they are innocent, but wealthy Canadians or those who are part of corporate Canada are innocent until the CRA can prove their guilt. Because that is way more difficult to do than to go after people who cannot defend themselves, the wealthy get off scot-free. As a result, in the last five years, Canada has forgone $16 billion in unpaid taxes.

I am asking the Prime Minister again, when will the Liberals put an end to this unacceptable double-standard in CRA operations?

Canada Revenue AgencyOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we have made historic investments in the CRA for the fight against tax evasion. We have fully adopted the international standard for automatic information exchange with our partners in the OECD. We have provided resources so that the CRA is better able to identify taxpayers who participate in aggressive tax avoidance schemes. With respect to offshore tax evasion, the CRA has more than doubled the number of completed offshore audits since we have taken office.

Unlike the Harper Conservatives, fighting tax evasion in Canada and abroad is—

Canada Revenue AgencyOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

The hon. member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie.

The EnvironmentOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

NDP

Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC

Mr. Speaker, there is a club of climate bad guys: Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, and guess who: Canada.

A study confirms that the Liberal policies will drive the world above a catastrophic 5° warming. The Liberals are not doing enough, and everybody knows it.

In Quebec, more than 200,000 people have signed the pact and pledged to reduce their pollution. Nobody is buying the Liberal delusion that everything is fine.

Does the Prime Minister really believe that he can fool all the people all the time?

The EnvironmentOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, everything is not fine, and that is why we are moving forward with a historic plan to fight climate change in this country. We are working to reduce emissions across the Canadian economy, to create jobs and meet international commitments.

Our actions include pricing pollution across Canada, accelerating the phase-out of traditional coal power, making historic investments in cleaner infrastructure like public transit and charging stations for electric vehicles, adopting regulations to cut methane emissions from oil and gas by 40% to 45% by 2025, and more.

Canadians know this government is serious about—

The EnvironmentOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

Order. The hon. member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie.

The EnvironmentOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

NDP

Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC

Mr. Speaker, yes we have to put a price on pollution, but the Liberal plan is not working and everyone knows it.

A study has shown that the Liberal government's current policies would cause the global climate to warm by a catastrophic 5°C. We are part of an exclusive group of miscreants along with China, Russia and Saudi Arabia. Everyone but the Prime Minister knows it.

In Quebec, 200,000 people have signed A Pact for the Transition, committing to moving from words to action and taking the environment seriously.

When will the Prime Minister move from words to action?

The EnvironmentOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, unlike the NDP, we have moved from words to action. We put a price on pollution for the entire Canadian economy and we will help Canadian families through this transition.

We have invested in renewable and green energies. We have invested in new technologies. We are in the process of implementing an ambitious plan to combat climate change today and for future generations.

FinanceOral Questions

November 20th, 2018 / 2:25 p.m.

Conservative

Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic—L'Érable, QC

Mr. Speaker, let us try something different.

The PM, having spent without relent,
Was caught by surprise when the crisis did arise.
No new money in the vaults, just a budget full of faults.
And Canadians, their taxes unending,
Asked the PM to stop with his spending.
What were you doing when the economy was ascending?
Like it or not, I was spend, spend, spending.
What a bad habit it is for you to spend,
It's our kids who will pay, to your rich banker friends.

When will the Prime Minister realize that we are not living in a fantasy and tell us when a balanced budget there will be?

FinanceOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Louis-Hébert Québec

Liberal

Joël Lightbound LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question and for putting it in verse. He should probably keep his day job for now, and perhaps find something new in 2019.

When we came to power in 2015, Canadians were wondering whether we were in a recession or heading for a recession. Economic growth had stalled after 10 years under the Conservatives, who had no economic vision.

We made more investments and gave more back to Canadians. Growth is at its highest since 2017, and we continue to make choices that grow our economy.

FinanceOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Conservative

Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic—L'Érable, QC

Mr. Speaker, unlike my colleague, we love culture.

The Prime Minister said that the budget will balance itself. He is setting a bad example for those Canadians who are collecting credit cards and racking up debt. Their Prime Minister is telling them that they can continue to spend money and that everything will magically work itself out. That is the thinking of someone who has never had any trouble making ends meet. Canadians cannot tell their bankers that they do not know when they will pay them back.

Will the Prime Minister commit to telling us, no later than tomorrow, when the budget will be balanced?

FinanceOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Louis-Hébert Québec

Liberal

Joël Lightbound LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, in 2015, Canadians had to choose between the Conservative Party's austerity measures and cuts and the Liberal Party's plan to make investments and give more money back to families.

Next year, the average family will have $2,000 more in its pocket than it did under the former government, which preferred targeted tax credits that inevitably benefited wealthier Canadians. We took a different approach that focused on more inclusive growth and giving more money back to families, and it is working.

The economy is booming. Over the past two years, 500,000 full-time jobs were created. We will continue with our work.

FinanceOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON

Mr. Speaker, well, there this millionaire trust fund Prime Minister goes again. While he forces taxpayers to fund his nanny services, he had the audacity to attack soccer moms and students as too rich, as justification for taking away the tax credit for kids' sports, arts, textbooks and education.

The average middle-class family is paying $800 more in taxes since the Liberal government took office and even with all the extra revenue from those tax hikes, the deficit is almost $20 billion. When will the budget finally balance itself?

FinanceOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Louis-Hébert Québec

Liberal

Joël Lightbound LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, the member for Carleton keeps on quoting a study by the Fraser Institute that fails to take into account the Canada child benefit. In fact, the authors of that study say that the Canada child benefit is a disincentive to hard work and independence because it fosters dependence on government.

I would argue that the 18,000 children whose families receive more because of the Canada child benefit are hard-working Canadians, that the Canada child benefit is helping them to make ends meet and we stand by that policy that has taken 300,000 kids out of poverty. By next year, Canadian families will have $2,000 more in their pockets than they had under the previous government.

FinanceOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON

Mr. Speaker, for those same kids, we were the first party to actually directly fund child care benefits. The difference is we did it with a balanced budget. We introduced child care benefits and we balanced the budget. When we boosted those child care benefits, we also had a balanced budget because we wanted those kids to benefit today and for the rest of their lives instead of having to pay interest to wealthy Liberal bond holders and bankers in the sum of billions of dollars a year.

The Prime Minister said the budget would balance itself. When?

FinanceOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Louis-Hébert Québec

Liberal

Joël Lightbound LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, that is a creative vision of history. The Conservatives added $150 billion to the debt. The one thing they did with their form of Canada child benefit was tax it and take pictures next to the printing machine with a nice blue Conservative polo shirt. That is what they did.

We have taken a different approach with a tax-free child benefit that is lifting hundreds of thousands of kids out of poverty in this country. That has helped grow the economy, and the results speak for themselves.

FinanceOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON

Mr. Speaker, well, he got me there. I did wear a Conservative T-shirt, but the Prime Minister can appreciate that at least I kept my shirt on.

FinanceOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

An hon. member

We appreciate it, too.

FinanceOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON

I can assure you, Mr. Speaker, that is what helps me with my re-election chances.

The Prime Minister promised that the budget would balance itself. Will he stand now, keep his shirt on and tell us when that will finally happen?

FinanceOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Louis-Hébert Québec

Liberal

Joël Lightbound LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, I just want to correct the member for Carleton. It is not just the Prime Minister who thanks him, but I think 35 million Canadians thank him.

All jokes aside, when we look at the economic record of the Conservative Party in the decades it was in power, we saw the lowest levels of growth in 69 years and the lowest employment and job creation since 1946. Compare and contrast that and we will see that our Liberal record is strong, and we stand by it.