Debates of March 19th, 2018

Financial Statement of Minister of Finance

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, in Canada, the federal budget has two main purposes: one is that it is a financial accountability record, and second is that it is a vision statement of sorts of our country. I would like to discuss both of these elements in my speech.

With regard to the financial accountability mechanism, when we spend more than we make, it is called a deficit. When it comes to revenue streams or making money, there are only two ways that a government is able to do that. One is that it can develop the natural resources within the country and then get those commodities to market, and, two, it can tax the people who live within the country. These are the two ways that a government has to generate revenue. If it does not do enough of either of these, it results in deficit spending and a debt load incurred by the public in the form of further taxation.

The Liberal government appreciates that model. It appreciates taxing its people to the point where they find it very difficult to live their lives. A Conservative approach would be to develop natural resources such as our oil and gas industry, which is something the Trans Mountain pipeline would allow us to do and unfortunately the government does not take a stand for. The policies brought forward in the 2018 budget will make life very difficult for Canadians

Budget 2018 could have been great. The Liberals have inherited a great fortune. The world economy is thriving. The Canadian dollar is down, which is excellent for our trade market. Entrepreneurs are working hard and creating jobs. They are doing a phenomenal job. Women and men across the country are taking risks and starting up local companies. A responsible government would take advantage of this and put money aside so that when times get tough there is some money in the bank to take care of the Canadian public. Instead, the government broke its electoral promise. Instead of balancing the budget, or at least bringing it closer to balance, it decided it would incur another $18 billion worth of deficit.

When asked about the need for deficit spending, the Liberals responded by saying they need to invest in infrastructure. The problem is that when we look at the budget closely, we see they have cut infrastructure spending domestically by $2.1 billion. In fact, they cut it here, but the Liberals are willing to take $35 billion and put it into overseas infrastructure to help places like China. It is the Canadian people who will have to foot that bill. We have to ask whether this helps Canadians. The truth is, it does not, at all. The Prime Minister had the audacity to tell veterans that there is not enough money in the budget or in government coffers to help veterans who have served the country faithfully, yet somehow there is enough money to send overseas and invest in infrastructure projects in places like China.

Canadians expect better. The Liberals have said that better is possible. Better is always possible. Canadians expect the government to implement policies that will create jobs. They expect the government to respect the rights and freedoms of Canadians. They expect the government to stand up for victims; to defend families; to advocate for the most vulnerable, including our seniors and those who live with a disability; to invest in health care; and to deliver services with excellence, all while stewarding the taxpayer dollar.

Canadians are hard-working people with great potential which deserves to be realized. It should be the government that facilitates that for the Canadian public. The government had the ability to facilitate that prosperity, but unfortunately it has wasted that opportunity in 2018.

Mr. Speaker, I should mention that I will be splitting my time with the member for Markham—Unionville.

The government has failed to deliver what matters most to Canadians. At a time when the government should be focused on making life more affordable and getting out of the way, it is focused on putting barriers in place for Canadians starting businesses and for investments coming into Canada. It is standing in the way of resource development. The Prime Minister is failing Canadians.

According to an Ipsos Reid poll that was recently released, nearly half of all Canadian families are within $200 a month of not being able to pay their household bills. That is their mortgage, their car payments, the food on the table, the clothes on their back. They are within $200 a month of not being able to make ends meet.

Why is that? The reason is the current government is making life more expensive. On average, a Canadian family is spending $840 more per year in taxation than it was under the previous government. That is money that could have been spent on music lessons or sports for their kids, or going on a weekend vacation as a family. That amount, $840, is significant. Life is being made more expensive.

I am going to talk a little about my riding of Lethbridge. I am very pleased to represent the people of southern Alberta in Lethbridge. One of the things we were looking for in this budget was infrastructure dollars. As I mentioned, those have been cut. Specifically, we could use roads, bridges, and social infrastructure. We are a growing community. Families are vibrant. Things are going well for us, but unfortunately, in this budget, as in previous budgets from the government, we have been left in the cold because of the size of our community. The government places all of its emphasis on large urban centres, and that simply is not us.

Agriculture is a sector within my area that is very strong. It is the sector that keeps us afloat. We are very thankful for our ag producers. Again, in this budget, there was absolutely nothing for the agriculture sector.

When it comes to small businesses, entrepreneurs, women and men who are taking risks, who are creating businesses in order to facilitate job creation in this country, which then allows families to provide for themselves, the government is choosing to punish these women and men who are incredibly hard-working risk-takers. These women and men are no longer going to be able to do income splitting between spouses who co-labour in order to run a business. They are no longer going to be able to do passive investments in a way that makes sense economically. Instead, they are going to be taxed through the roof on a good portion of those passive investments.

That said, I will give credit where credit is due. One thing which took place is that Canadians actually stood up against the government. They spoke out saying that these changes are punishing and inappropriate. The government finally came back, with a Conservative promise I might add, saying that it would reduce the taxes that small businesses have to pay on a yearly basis. It has come down to 9%. That is the promise. I will give the government credit for that.

The federal government must do everything it can to facilitate an environment of economic prosperity, where businesses want to stay, want to grow, and want to create jobs, because this is what sustains us as a society. When it does things like putting in place a federally imposed carbon tax, it actually drives businesses south of the border, which is something that has happened in my region recently. Two fairly decent-sized companies have moved south, simply because the policies look much better down there. This is costing us as Canadians. It is making life less doable.

The last thing I want to talk about with regard to the budget is that in addition to serving as a financial record, it also serves as a vision statement. One of the things the government did is it put a lot of emphasis on women. As Conservatives, we absolutely believe that women are equal and that they deserve equal pay for equal work. If we were to look at a bar graph, we would see that the pay gap between men and women shrinks to the greatest extent when a Conservative government is in power. We are very proud of that record and will continue to work on that going forward.

What I am hearing from women across this country is that the government has put forward a statement that forces women into the workplace full time and tells them exactly where they need to be putting their time and energy, that it needs to be put into STEM, or it needs to be put into leadership, or it needs to be put into technology. Women would love to have the choice left up to them. They would like the opportunity to choose to work full time or part time. They would like the opportunity to choose to work within the field or the sector that most interests them, that they place value on, rather than the sector or the field that the government places value on.

What happened to a woman's autonomy? What happened to her choice? What happened to creating equal opportunity for men and women to thrive alongside one another, for our society to be robust, for us to pursue the things that we are most passionate about, rather than having a government dictate what those passions should be?

As Conservatives, we support working women and working mothers, whether that work takes place in the office, in the lab, on the farm, or at home. Those women should be celebrated for their choice. They should be celebrated for their passions, their dreams, their abilities, and for the way that they are contributing to society as a whole.

Autonomy must be granted. Freedom must be protected. Choice must be recognized. In this budget, the government failed.

[Darrell Samson, Liberal, Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS]

Mr. Speaker, in her very passionate speech, the hon. member made some very good arguments. I would like her to expand on something she said.

The member talked about two aspects of not having deficit financing. She talked about bringing revenues in or taxing people. When I look at the previous government's record during its 10 years in power, I see the weakness. When the Conservatives were doing their budget or when the campaign was moving forward, they were saying that they would have no deficit and that they would make some major cuts. However, it takes money to make money.

Our government invested in the people. We brought in the Canada child benefit, which is one of the greatest investments for young families ever put forward. That was a strong investment. We have also invested in veterans, seniors, young families, and women.

I would like the member to tell me, if her government would have no deficit, which programs her government would cut, because there would have to be some major cuts in those areas.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the problem with the hon. member's question is the premise on which it is based, which is that the government has to spend a ton of money in order to create money. That simply is not true. In fact, the government is the worst at being able to steward money in order to generate money.

Instead, let us take down the barriers. Let us cut the red tape. Let us put policy in place that would help entrepreneurs start businesses that will invest in our economy, which will attract further investment from other countries, which will help get our nation back on track and create jobs for hard-working women and men across this country so that they can provide for their families. Let us go into our natural resource sectors and develop those. Let us incentivize the development of those instead of standing in the way of pipelines which is preventing a commodity from getting to market, which then means that we do not have the revenue that it could be bringing into our country, which then means that families across this country have to pay for the government's ill choice.

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, over many years, probably decades now, wonderful things have been said in the House about the importance of an issue like pay equity. We have pay equity here in Parliament. Every MP is paid an equal amount regardless of gender, yet we do not have pay equity legislation that exists across the country.

My friend's party, I would argue, has never been a champion for pay equity legislation. The Conservatives had many years in office, both the previous administration and prior ones, but did not move the needle forward. The Liberal government came in with much promise to do something about this for women who, on average, are making 75¢ on the dollar for what a man does for equal work. These are the statistics we have, and my friend can argue alternate facts, but the reality for many women in the workplace right now doing the same job as a man will, on average, is that they will be paid less.

Here is the opportunity for the federal government, who alone has this power, to regulate federally directed industries, telecoms, the banking sector, and other jurisdictions. Now, this allegedly feminist Prime Minister said, “I got this.” He put hand on heart and told Canadian women and men that the Liberals were going to do something about it. The natural course two and half years into the government to do this, the vehicle, was the budget. However, not only did the Liberals not do anything to legislate pay equity, they did not even fund a pay equity commission to get to legislating pay equity.

Can we at some point get to a confirmed and unified position in this House that legislation directing federally regulated industries to require equal pay for equal work for men and women become the law in Canada, yes or no?

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, women and men who work the same job deserve the same pay, full stop. I invite the hon. member to look at the Statistics Canada data and he will see that the graph shows that the wage gap between a man and a woman decreased the most when a Conservative government was in power. I will reiterate that a man and a woman working the same job deserve the exact same pay. We will always take a stand for that.

[Bob Saroya, Conservative, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise in the House today to discuss budget 2018. The Liberals really cannot help themselves can they? Another year goes by of mismanagement of taxpayers' money. This budget has a complete disregard for businesses and hard-working families across the country.

The budget represents big government and little incentive for businessmen and businesswomen to set up shops or continue operating in Canada. I cannot believe how the Liberals expect our economy to grow when they are creating less competition and scaring business out of our country. The Liberals continue to give with one hand and take with another. Businesses will continue to choose to operate anywhere else but in Canada if the Liberals keep going down this road.

Just as we have seen from the proposed tax changes earlier this fiscal year, Liberals do not do what is best for business in this country. The budget means less money in the pockets of Canadians and more debt on the backs of our children.

I would never manage my family's budget like this, so how can the Liberals justify managing the country's budget like this? This out of control debt and deficit is going to leave our children to pick up the tab. What I see from the budget is missed opportunities. This budget could have been a way to do real good for Canadian families, but instead, the government has continued to rack up the debt.

We know the recipe for job creation: low taxes, open competition, free trade, responsible spending of taxpayers' money. That is what the government should focus on. The government is taxing Canadians to death as it is. This is only going to get worse.

The Conservative caucus demands a real plan to create jobs, fight to keep more money in the pockets of hard-working Canadians, and push the Liberals to live within their means and not borrow billions of dollars the country does not have.

The previous Conservative government lowered taxes a total of 180 times, bringing the tax burden to the lowest level in 50 years. By the end of our mandate, the average family of four was saving almost $7,000 per year. Contrary to what the Liberals tell us, lower-income and middle-income Canadians benefited the most from our tax plan. I have said this before and I will say it again. We created jobs. During the worst economic downturn since the great recession, Canada had the best job creation and economic growth record among G7 countries. We balanced budgets. After running a targeted stimulus program that created and maintained approximately 200,000 jobs, we kept our promise to balance the budget and left the Liberals with a $3.2 billion surplus at the end of 2015. We lowered taxes. We reduced taxes to their lowest point in 50 years, with a typical family of four saving almost $7,000 per year.

There are several issues that I would like to take the next few moments to address.

We know that budget 2018 provides for the expansion of tax information sharing with foreign law enforcement authorities in 35 countries, including the United States, the European Union, Brazil, Belgium, France, Israel, Russia, and China. The Liberal government's new information-sharing measures fail to protect Canadians' privacy and civil rights, something the Prime Minister is obligated to do by law. Canadians' confidential information must only be shared with trusted allies. This is problematic. In addition to the out of control spending and double whammy of debt and deficit, now we have a potential privacy issue on our hands.

The second issue I would like to address is health care. There were many disappointments overall in budget 2018 for health. I am deeply concerned about the removal of palliative care from the federal budget and the fact that the government has failed to deliver on the Prime Minister's promise to support home care for Canadians.

Budget 2018 has also failed to support drug treatment centres to address the growing opioid crisis. Spending a billion dollars on the legalization of marijuana does nothing to help parents who are increasingly concerned that their children are being exposed to dangerous opioids.

Budget 2018 restored autism support. This was a result of strong advocacy from the Conservative caucus. However, budget 2018 does not do enough to support Canadians struggling with dementia, PTSD, and other mental health issues. Canada's aging population does not need a $75 million pilot project in the health minister's home province. They need a real solution to address their actual needs.

The Liberals are not adequately addressing the serious drug addiction problems in Canada, and this was a missed opportunity. I will remain focused on bringing forward solutions that address the health priorities of Canadians, and policies that put people before government.

We cannot throw money at a wall and expect results. The government needs a real plan for Canadians. High debts and revolving deficits are not the solution. The Liberals fail to address the health priorities of Canadians, especially the aging population and those coping with addiction and mental illness. The Prime Minister has all but abandoned his pledge to support our aging population with more home care.

The Prime Minister is spending billions of dollars on foreign pet projects but has no plan to combat the opioid crisis. This is not right. We continue to see inconsistencies and contradictions from the Liberals. The Prime Minister's health care priorities fail to make a difference in the lives of Canadians. In fact, the government is spending nearly a billion dollars to legalize marijuana, and a third as much on addressing the opioid crisis that is killing thousands of Canadians each year. Spending $80 million to entice Canadians to quit smoking while simultaneously spending almost a billion dollars to legalize marijuana does not make sense.

Budget 2018 was a missed opportunity. The world economy is roaring, but the Liberals are failing to turn this opportunity into results for us.

The third issue I would like to address is Canada's north and the implications it will face as a result of this budget. The Prime Minister is raising taxes on over 90% of middle-class families in the north, and this budget announces new tax hikes on local businesses. I wish the government would be more focused on bringing forward solutions that put hard-working people before the government, but sadly it is not. The Prime Minister's imposed carbon tax will find its way into everything that northerners buy every day. The communities that can least afford it are going to be the most impacted by this reckless decision. The reality is that never has a prime minister spent so much to achieve so little. It is critical that government spending translates into meaningful results on the ground.

Last month, we heard the finance minister speak for 36 minutes to introduce this budget. In that time, Canada's national debt increased by $1.44 million. With another $18 billion in deficit spending this year alone, never has a government spent so much to achieve so little. The numbers do not lie. We need to think about what is best for all Canadians, not just Liberal voters.

As always, I will advocate for low taxes, support for families, and safe communities. The government and this budget are not doing that for Canadians.

[Chandra Arya, Liberal, Nepean, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the temporary February job report showed that 283,000 jobs have been added to the Canadian economy compared to the previous 12 months. More importantly, all of that job growth was full-time work. Also, since we have come to power, there have been 600,000 jobs added to the Canadian economy.

The member referred to personal finances. In my personal life, I do not like credit card debt. However, I like mortgages, because a mortgage allows me to create an asset that will yield returns for a long period of time. With respect to the government, it is not the debt that is important. No rich or developed countries have ever repaid their debts in full because the debt will always go up. The key factor is the debt-to-GDP ratio, which is low and is going lower. It is currently at around 28.5%. Does the member not like the low debt-to-GDP ratio, which is the best in all of the G7 countries?

[Bob Saroya, Conservative, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, let us take one thing at a time and start with job creation. When we were in power, we were always side by side with the U.S. Its job creation rate was 8%, and now it is less than 3.5%. We came down to 7% on job creation. A net 200,000 jobs were created in that window. We have the opportunity to do something with the U.S. economy, yet we have failed to show anything meaningful when creating jobs.

Let us talk about the debts. When I pulled in this morning, I thought something looked different. I kept walking and realized that the $5.7-million ice rink was gone, which had only been there for a couple of days. Then there is the $35 billion for infrastructure in foreign countries. The current government is out of control when it talks about spending taxpayer money. That is the real problem.

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I suppose some Canadians may have been looking for affordable child care or pay equity in this budget, because they were promised that by the Liberals.

However, one of the things Canadians did not anticipate at the time of the last federal election in Canada, although a few of us did, is that we would have Donald Trump as President of the United States. Now that it is the reality, one of the expectations of this budget was that the so-called “plan B” would be unveiled with respect to what would happen if a trade war were to be initiated by our largest trading partner. The budget has an anticipation quality to it. It lays out the plan for the next year. We have seen the threat and then the temporary withdrawal of major tariffs on aluminum and steel by the Trump administration. However, I have not checked Twitter in the last five minutes, so they could be back on the table. We do not know. That is what we are dealing with.

Obviously that is not within the control of the federal government in Canada. However, what is in its control is support for those industries that are particularly threatened by a volatile president sitting in the White House. There is no contemplation with respect to what would happen if NAFTA were to be abrogated or torn up by that president and Canada was only left with the free trade agreement between the two of us.

The lack of planning is the concern. Many thought the budget would present what that plan B would look like. I am wondering if my friend, in the 300 pages of the budget, was able to find what the Liberal plan B is, if our trading relationship were to fundamentally change with our largest trading partner, the U.S.

[Bob Saroya, Conservative, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is absolutely correct. This budget does not do anything for hard-working Canadians, especially in the steel and aluminum industry. This budget has not been well thought through. There is nothing in the 328 pages that talks about hard-working Canadians. I agree with the hon. member.

[Pierre Breton, Liberal, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to address my House of Commons colleagues today. I will be sharing my time with the member for Don Valley East.

As we have said, the 2018 budget is the next step in our government's plan to stimulate the economy and benefit the middle class and those working hard to join it.

Thanks to our plan and Canadians' hard work, ingenuity, and creativity, Canada has created hundreds of thousands of jobs since November 2015. The national unemployment rate is about as low as it has ever been in the past 40 years. Since early 2016, Canada's growth has been the strongest in the G7.

Prebudget consultations with a record 1.5 million people shaped this budget, which gives our government the tools to build a fairer and more competitive, diversified, and inclusive nation where everyone truly has the same opportunity to succeed.

We are working hard to reward curiosity and foster the creativity we need to innovate and maintain our competitive advantage in an ever more rapidly evolving global economy.

With this budget, we are putting initiatives in place to ensure that the benefits of economic growth are experienced equally by men and women. It is important that Canadians' various experiences be taken into account. That is why we are starting to put gender at the centre of government decisions. For instance, we are going to make substantive efforts to reduce the gender wage gap by introducing fair wage practices in federally regulated sectors and adopting proactive pay equity regimes, the details of which will be revealed later this year.

With regard to EI parental benefits, we are creating a new incentive for the sharing of benefits to support the parental role, adding additional weeks of benefits when parents decide to share the leave.

We are also going to support female-owned businesses to help them expand, find new customers, and increase export opportunities.

Ensuring that every Canadian man and woman has a fair and equitable chance of achieving success is not only the right thing to do, it is also the smart thing to do, and Canada's prosperity depends on it.

As a government, we are determined to help the next generation of Canadians remove the obstacles that have been holding us back for far too long. We know that we cannot continue to grow the middle class if half of us, namely women, is always being held back.

This budget is also for researchers and innovation. Our great country has long been at the forefront of scientific discovery and innovation. Open heart surgery, the Canadarm, and the discovery of insulin are just a few examples that spring to mind.

This budget includes historic investments in the next generation of researchers, which will lead to even more significant breakthroughs that, hopefully, will benefit not only Canadians, but the entire world.

We know that the government has a role to play in helping Canadians develop the skills they need to benefit from current and future economic opportunities. We also know that research contributes to the emergence of a workforce that can seize these opportunities with creativity and confidence. We are investing in training the next generation of researchers, which includes a larger proportion of women, and to provide them support by allocating new funding for fundamental research through the granting councils.

To make sure they get the infrastructure and support they need, we are also going to invest more in the research support fund, the Canada research chairs program, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, colleges, and polytechnics.

This budget also lays the groundwork for the digital research infrastructure strategy that is going to be developed to stimulate progress in advanced computing and big data.

Canadians want to make sure economic growth goes hand in hand with environmental protection. They know that their quality of life and their future economic prosperity depend on our commitment to protecting our natural heritage and keeping the environment healthy for future generations.

Furthermore, the extraordinary beauty of our natural surroundings, parks, and wild spaces is central to the Canadian identity. Whether we are building a campfire with our kids, hiking with friends and family, or going for a swim in clean, refreshing water, we all have a stake in protecting the natural environment, which is one of the pillars of our identity.

To that end, we have already allocated billions to the development of the pan-Canadian framework on clean growth and climate change, but we are not stopping there. In budget 2018, we propose further investments to encourage the growth of a sound, sustainable economy. We are going to make historic investments in nature conservation by protecting Canada's ecosystems, landscapes, and biodiversity, as well as our species at risk. We are going to develop the federal carbon pricing system, extend tax support for clean energy, and bring in better rules for regulatory processes and environmental assessments.

We are on the right track. Thanks to our various budgets focused on strengthening and growing the middle class, as well as the hard work, ingenuity, and creativity of Canadians, Canada has created close to 600,000 jobs since November 2015, and the national unemployment rate is almost the lowest it has been in 40 years. Since early 2016, Canada has had the strongest economic growth in the G7. Thanks to this budget, which was designed by Canadians for Canadians, we are addressing the challenge of equality head-on by asking the hard questions and beginning to come up with solutions.

We will continue to redouble our efforts to deliver on our plan to invest in the middle class and those working hard to join it. This plan makes people a priority, builds on Canadians' hard work, and keeps us firmly focused on the future so that our children have a better chance of fulfilling their dream of getting good jobs and contributing to their community.

I listened to and heard what my constituents had to say during the prebudget consultations that we held in my riding of Shefford, and as a result, I strongly support the budget tabled by my colleague the Minister of Finance. This budget and our previous budgets have made it possible to implement many measures to strengthen the middle class, such as the Canada child benefit and tax cuts that put tens of millions of dollars back in the pockets of families in my riding.

Once again, I am very proud to represent the interests of the people of Shefford, and I will always strive to do more to address their concerns.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I salute my colleague from Montreal who just spoke. I would like to ask him a simple question.

When he was a candidate in the election, what was the Liberal government's target date for balancing the budget?

[Pierre Breton, Liberal, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to answer my colleague's question. I am actually the MP for the Eastern Townships, but that's okay as it is not that far from Montreal.

In 2015, Canadians and the constituents of Shefford decided to invest responsibly in Canada. They chose a government on that basis. As I mentioned in my speech, today we are in a positive position. Since November 2015, a total of 600,000 new jobs have been created. Our unemployment rate is the lowest it has been in 40 years, and we have the fastest economic growth in the G7. Our debt-to-GDP ratio is the lowest of all G7 countries and our deficit-to-GDP ratio is low. We are already in an enviable position with a rate of 0.8%, and we are headed to 0.5% or 0.4% in the next few years. Canada's economic position is the envy of the world.

[Sheila Malcolmson, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Mr. Speaker, for a feminist budget, a gender budget, the budget was sorely lacking in funding for new child care spaces. The International Monetary Fund, the Conference Board of Canada, and the Governor of the Bank of Canada all say that universal, affordable child care as a publicly-funded program will get women to work and will largely pay for itself, as it has in Quebec.

I am concerned that the government's budget, although it has the label of a gender budget and names women many times, has not funded new child care spaces yet in its term. It has had two and a half years to do so, and there was no new funding in this budget to create new child care spaces for women who want to go to work can take their children. It is deeply unaffordable and costs more than rent in some communities.

Could the member please explain why there were no dollars allocated in this budget for this fundamental program for working women?

[Pierre Breton, Liberal, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this gives me an opportunity to reiterate that gender equality in Canada is an important focus of this budget. Canada has probably never had a budget more focused on gender equality.

I simply want to remind my colleague of three extremely important measures that we have implemented and that will be developed in the coming years. We are investing 1.7 billion to drive the economic advance of women. We want women to start and grow their businesses and to export more from these businesses. This money is earmarked specifically for them, and we are very proud of this.

There are women entrepreneurs in my riding working in various sectors, from farming to industry, and they want to see these changes implemented quickly. I also want to remind my colleague of the additional EI benefit weeks for women, which should help ensure a smooth return to work after pregnancy.

[Chandra Arya, Liberal, Nepean, ON]

Mr. Speaker, for a long time Canada's prosperity and the high standard of living Canadians enjoyed was based basically on natural resources, including forestry resources, minerals and fossil fuels, and to an extent with manufacturing in basic industries like steel and aluminum, and in auto and aviation. However, the future is not in these industries. It is going toward a global-based, knowledge-based economy.

Could the member kindly highlight the investment this budget is making to foster innovation in Canada's economy?

[Pierre Breton, Liberal, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague. Indeed, the jobs of the future hinge on Canadians' ability to constantly adapt, innovate, and maintain our competitive advantage over the rest of the world. We are investing an unprecedented $3 billion to support the next generation of researchers. This is extremely important, and I remind members that an additional $511 million, on top of the current budget, will be allocated to regional economic development. Regions are important

[Yasmin Ratansi, Liberal, Don Valley East, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege and a pleasure to rise in the House to speak to budget 2018.

Over the past two years, our government has invested in Canadians and in the things that matter most to them.

In 2015, the economy was sluggish and despite the previous Liberal government leaving the Conservatives with a $13 billion surplus, they had nothing to show for it. They did not invest in the economy and left us with a deficit. Our government decided that investing in people was the best way to boost the economy.

We are now seeing our investments paying off. Our economy has added 500,000 jobs, our unemployment rate is the lowest it has been in 40 years, and the Canadian economy is the fastest growing of all G7 nations. We are following through with our promise to reduce the small business tax rate from 11% to 9%, which will save small business owners an average of $7,500.

In 2015, Canadians made a choice to discard the failed austerity measures and to vote for a government that provided hope. They were in favour of rejuvenating the economy.

How are our investments helping?

Through budgets 2017 and 2018, our government has made targeted and strategic investments for economic development. I will focus on four of these and talk about the impact on my riding.

The first is our investment in housing. My riding of Don Valley East sits on the perimeter of downtown Toronto. The high demand for housing has driven up rental rates and has made it more difficult for Canadians to live and work in the same area. The government's investment in housing is a critical step to encourage a stable supply of affordable rental housing for middle-income households. Budget 2018 is investing $3.75 billion over the next three years in the rental construction financing initiative. This initiative is expected to generate the construction of more than 14,000 new rental units across Canada.

Further, our government's national housing strategy is investing over $40 billion over the next 10 years to create over 100,000 new units and repair 300,000 housing units across Canada. This means that 530,000 households will benefit from this investment and it will reduce the pressures on many municipalities. As well, 435,000 households will benefit from the maintenance and expansion of community housing in Canada. My riding has a large number of these houses, 68 such projects that will benefit.

Through this investment in affordable housing, we hope to alleviate poverty, as one of the root causes of poverty is the lack of affordable housing. As well, with this investment, we will help seniors, single moms, and people with disabilities to have access to good and affordable housing.

The second area is investments in infrastructure. Budget 2017 committed over $180 billion in infrastructure investments. Over $100 million of this are being invested in infrastructure projects in and around Don Valley East. One example is the Eglinton Crosstown LRT that crosses many ridings, including mine. This investment will help connect people, reduce traffic and travel times, and in turn increase productivity and economic opportunities. It will also give families more time to spend with each other in a cleaner, greener environment.

The third area is equality and growth. Budget 2018 is a family-friendly budget that makes significant progress towards equality of opportunity and growth. It does this by taking leadership to address the gender wage gap, supporting equal parenting, and introducing a new entrepreneurship strategy for women.

The women's entrepreneurship strategy is a comprehensive approach to addressing critical growth stages and other challenges that women entrepreneurs face. Our investment will help them grow their businesses and remove barriers to success. A study by the Royal Bank of Canada, RBC Economics, estimates that the size of the Canadian government would increase by 4% if there was equal representation of men and women in the workforce. In addition, a McKinsey study shows that, by boosting women's participation in technology and in the workforce, it would add an additional $150 billion to our economy. These figures are substantial, and it would mean more middle-class jobs and more Canadians who would have the ability to pay their bills and save for retirement.

Canadian women are among the best educated in the world, yet they earn less than men, are less likely to participate in the labour market than men, and are more likely to work part time. A study that I did as chair of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women stands true today. Women earn 30% less than what men earn for doing the same job.

When women have the support and opportunities to fully contribute to Canada's economy, the entire economy does better. One example of our government's policy measure is the Canada child benefit, or CCB, which was introduced in budget 2016. This is making a positive difference for millions of Canadians.

In my riding, there are many women who have to stay at home due to the high cost of child care. The CCB has now made it possible for them to go to work. Over 3.3 million families are receiving more than $23 billion in annual CCB payments. Last fall, the government proposed to strengthen the CCB by providing an additional $5.6 billion, starting in July 2018, in support of Canadian families. The CCB is making a large difference in Don Valley East where nearly 10,000 families receive an average annual payment of $7,500, elevating thousands of children out of poverty. When poverty is alleviated, people are able to contribute more to the economy.

The fourth and last area I would like to talk about is youth. The investment in youth is an important one. As I go around, meeting youth from my constituency youth council, I hear that strong, good jobs for the future are important, especially when they are graduating and have student debt. Our investment in youth initiatives are paying off. Last year the government invested $725,000 in the Canada summer jobs program in my riding, creating jobs for 262 young people and providing them with 60,000 hours of valuable work.

Last week I had an opportunity to visit STEM Kids Rock in my riding where our government's investment in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics is giving impetus to young women to lead. I was amazed at the creativity and innovative technology these young people demonstrated.

In conclusion, as members can see, the government's investment in equality, housing, and infrastructure are providing the boost needed to keep growing the economy and supporting all Canadians, who form the bedrock of our country.

[Chandra Arya, Liberal, Nepean, ON]

Mr. Speaker, investment in infrastructure is very important, because this is the investment that was needed for a long period of time. The debt is important to create investment in infrastructure, but the debt has to be at a manageable level. The Government of Canada has managed very well and has kept the debt-to-GDP rate low. It is committed to keeping it low in the future as well.

Does the member agree that a prudent policy of the Government of Canada is to keep the debt-to-GDP rate low in the medium to long term?

[Yasmin Ratansi, Liberal, Don Valley East, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has a very solid analysis of what a debt-to-GDP ratio should be. As an accountant, I believe this is an important aspect to show that we are on the right track. For example, in 1993 when the Liberal government took over, the IMF called the then-Conservative government's mismanagement, the economic basket case. Canada was the economic basket case. It took prudent management. It was prudent fiscal responsibility that led to our leaving the next government with $13 billion in surplus. Therefore, the Conservatives can never claim that they are prudent economic managers because according to economists they have never been able to manage the economy.

[Jamie Schmale, Conservative, Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a couple of questions regarding my friend opposite's speech, in particular the part where she talked about affordable housing. As we all know, the money for affordable housing starts well past the government's mandate. As well, the member did not mention the reason why people need affordable housing. Many of them are not able to access proper employment to allow them to get out of poverty. The government completely ignores the fact that the best solution for poverty is a job. We have people in Alberta suffering because of the government's inaction to get pipelines built. If the Liberals want to help the steel industry, one way is to build pipelines. We are completely lacking that leadership on that side of the House.

Is a strong economy not something that will get people out of the poverty situation they find themselves in? However, especially here in Ontario, most people were driven into poverty because of bad government decisions especially in regard to electricity. That is putting more and more people into poverty, yet more unemployment is what that government is promoting.

[Yasmin Ratansi, Liberal, Don Valley East, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member's good question allows me an opportunity to read something to him, because he said that jobs are required and that he believes a government that came in two years ago is responsible for some of the policies of the previous government. Here is a quote from economists:

Far from unleashing a business-led boom, Harper has in fact presided over the weakest economic era in Canada’s postwar history. For example, from 2006 through 2014...Canada experienced the slowest average economic growth since the Great Depression.... Harper wasn’t even close to the next-worst prime minister: another Conservative, Brian Mulroney.

As Liberals, we do not really need lessons from the other side on how to manage the economy. We made investments in 2006 and that was, interestingly enough, defeated by that government.

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the federal government has been asked by the parliamentary budget officer how it will spend $186.7 billion in infrastructure money over the next 12 years after the budget showed that about one-quarter of the planned spending for 2016 to 2019 would be moved to future years. The whole basis of the current government's deficit spending was infrastructure to get Canada's economy going, yet that is the area that it is drawing back. What is the rationale for that?

[Yasmin Ratansi, Liberal, Don Valley East, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the bottom line is that as an accountant I know that when we have to spend money we spend it in tranches. We do not spend lump sums because it is not possible to spend anything lump sum. We have to be good economic managers to know exactly where. Therefore, we have invested $7 billion, for example, in affordable housing. We have invested in child care. We have invested in various components of the economy and we will keep on doing it in strategic and targeted investments, so that we can get people out of poverty and into well-paying jobs and increase the middle class.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is with pride and some emotion that I announce that I will be sharing my time with my colleague from Durham.

We are gathered here to go over the government's budget. This is a budget in which, for the third time in a row, the government fails to keep its promises, fails to keep its word to Canadians, and throws caution to the wind when it comes to the sound management of public finances. Never in the history of Canada has a government spent so much to give Canadians so little. Those are the words of our leader, the leader of the opposition, who thankfully will be leading this country in two years.

Two and a half years ago, the Liberal Party was elected on a promise to run small deficits and return to a balanced budget in 2019. Those small deficits were meant to be invested in infrastructure. In my overview, hon. members will see that there is no sign of small deficits, a balanced budget, or infrastructure plans, and the parliamentary budget officer agrees. The deficit is currently $18 billion. A deficit is a clear indication of overspending. It is proof that expenses are out of control. It is proof that the government is so irresponsible that it is sending the bill to our children and grandchildren.

When we are a family, we have a budget and, yes, sometimes we will go to the bank and borrow money to buy a house. That is quite normal, but we do not go to the bank to borrow money to buy food. That is exactly what the government is doing. If as a family we are doing that, it is because we have a deep problem. We cannot control our spending and we spend too much.

No head of household can live on a line of credit and max out credit cards indefinitely. That is what this government is doing. Who could forget the tragedy of the 1970s that mired us in skyrocketing debt and chronic deficits? Who could forget that Canada's 15th Prime Minister, he of the same name as our current Prime Minister, introduced deficit spending in a time of peace and economic stability? Like father, like son, unfortunately.

The government has no idea how to manage public spending properly. Eliminating the deficit and balancing the budget are like foreign concepts, even though, two and a half years ago, the Liberals promised they would balance the budget in 2019-20. That promise just might have been motivated by the fact that 2019 is an election year, but at least they had a game plan that people could either support or reject. Voters made informed decisions based on the Liberals' promise to balance the budget in 2019, but what is the forecast for 2019 now? Another deficit. How about for 2020? Another deficit. 2021? Another deficit. 2022? Another deficit. 2023? Another deficit. In this budget, the government has looked as far into the future as it can, and all it sees, all we see, is deficits. The government has no idea when the deficit will be gone. That is irresponsible.

We cannot accept the fact that the government was elected, with the hope and the confidence of the people of Canada, saying it would get back to zero deficit in 2019, and today, just a year and a half before the election, the Liberals have no plan and no idea at all of how to get back to zero deficit. That is totally irresponsible and it is not fair to the Canadian people who voted for them in the belief that they would get back to zero deficit in 2019. They failed in this promise and that is totally unacceptable.

Under this budget, 90% of middle-class families are paying more taxes today than they were three years ago, when we were in government. That figure comes from the Fraser Institute, whose analysis has determined that families will be paying up to $2,000 more. That is because this government eliminated tax credits. Astonishingly, it even did away with the public transit tax credit. These people keep saying they support mass transit and green spaces, yet they scrapped the tax credit that we Conservatives had introduced to help public transit users.

It is also worrying that not one cent of the $330 billion spent by the current government has been set aside for the difficult NAFTA negotiations or for responding to competition from the United States, which is both our number one trading partner and our main competitor. We can all see that the U.S. administration is aggressively protectionist, and that is its right. We can disagree with that stance, but these people are acting in the capacity to which they were duly elected. However, our government has failed to set aside a single cent in this budget for tackling these new economic challenges.

Last week, we were treated to the spectacle of the Prime Minister dashing here, there, and everywhere to visit steel and aluminum workers. He put on a fine show, but what are the measures in the budget for countering the Americans' competitive approach? There are none. The same goes for NAFTA. On the whole, we find this budget disappointing.

I am proud to represent the people of Louis-Saint-Laurent and, to put it mildly, the people of the Quebec City region are not very pleased with this budget. Once again, the Liberal candidates, who I ran against during the election two and a half years ago, made several promises that this government still has not kept to our satisfaction.

For example, the National Optics Institute is looking for federal money in order to expand across Canada. The government promised $25 million, but this is the third budget and the money has not materialized. The Institut nordique du Québec, which seeks to develop the full potential of northern Canada, is also waiting for federal money in order to establish a presence at Laval University, in the Quebec region. However, the Liberals have still not kept this promise.

We can say the same about the expansion of the Port of Québec, a vector for wealth creation and the economy in Quebec City. The Liberals promised to support the port authority in its expansion efforts, known as Québec 2020, but, once again, there is no money after a third budget. That is also the case for the Quebec Bridge, a one-of-a-kind architectural achievement recognized by all as part of the world's engineering heritage. Congratulations. The Liberals stated that the issue of who is to maintain the Quebec bridge was to be resolved in 2016. It is now 2018 and, with 2019 approaching, this issue has not yet been resolved. There is a great deal of disappointment in the Quebec City region.

These fine people will say that Canada's economy is doing well. However, the Liberals inherited an exceptional economic situation from our government. Under our government, Canada was the first G7 country to recover from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression with the best debt-to-GDP ratio and a balanced budget. The Liberals are extremely lucky that they followed a Conservative government because we left the house in order.

Since the Liberals took office, they have also benefited from a thriving American economy. When the American economy is doing well, it certainly helps because we are an exporting country and 20% of our international trade is with the United States. What is more, the price of oil is two or three times higher than when we were in office. Let us also not forget that the dollar has been low, which is a big help for an exporting country.

The government is therefore doing a very poor job of managing the things it is able to control since it is running deficits and has no idea when it will return to a zero deficit and balance the budget. The strength of the offshore economy is creating wealth in Canada, and the government has no influence over that.

We are angry that, day after day, the government refuses to answer our questions about when it will balance the budget. The parliamentary budget officer is also fed up. In a scathing report tabled last week, he indicated that it was high time that the Liberals came up with a plan to balance the budget.