House of Commons Hansard #377 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was families.
Joël Lightbound LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance
Madam Speaker, I would simply like to ask my esteemed colleague, who knows a lot about housing, if he can explain his vision for the national housing strategy and the impact it could have in communities across the country. If this is of particular interest to Quebec, I would be interested in hearing his comments on this matter.
Adam Vaughan Liberal Spadina—Fort York, ON
Madam Speaker, the national housing strategy builds on the $5.7 billion we have invested in the first budget when we took office and now adds $40 billion on top of that $5.7 billion over the next 10 years. It really reprofiles a package of housing programs that deal with everything from building housing to repairing house to subsidizing people in housing and also provides supports for the people who need supports to stay in housing.
The great thing about housing is that we have to build it in the communities where people live. If there are housing needs in certain ridings, regardless of whether they are rural ridings, urban ridings, coastal ridings or northern ridings, the investments land and employ local tradespeople in those communities. It builds good, strong economies. It also builds capacity in towns that might be struggling for population growth, but the other thing it does is that it locks stability into people's lives and allows the other investments we make to social programs to be much more effective. It cuts costs for government as well, in terms of health care and the criminal justice system. Well-housed people do not cause problems for government because they succeed and support themselves.
It is a great tool for building a strong economy. It is a great tool for building strong economies right across the country in every single community. I am very proud of the investments we have made because they are making a difference in Canadians' lives from coast to coast to coast.
Francis Scarpaleggia Liberal Lac-Saint-Louis, QC
Madam Speaker, the member mentioned that investing in housing saves money. I remember when I was on the public safety committee a few years ago, I heard a story about a gentleman who lived on the street. He had a disability. He was acting out quite a bit and it was costing the Calgary police force hundreds of thousands of dollars to respond to incidents created by this gentleman. One day they found him a place to live and no more interventions were required. I want to underscore that what the hon. member is saying is true and fact in reality.
Adam Vaughan Liberal Spadina—Fort York, ON
We know this, Madam Speaker. When we support Canadians and give them the platform to succeed, they do not just thrive; they exceed expectations. That is the 850,000-plus jobs we have seen created since we took office. That is the growing and strong economy that has led the G7 in growth over the three years we have been in office.
We also know that we mitigate social harm by making good, smart social investments in housing, in transit and in making sure that climate change has resistance and resiliency strategies.
When we protect our communities and our families and invest in children, we get resilient kids, strong families, better communities and a strong Canada.
Joël Lightbound LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak to the motion moved by my Conservative Party colleague today, but I do not know where to begin addressing this motion riddled with misinformation.
Canadians made a choice in 2015. They supported a plan to invest in the economy, strengthen and grow the middle class, and provide real help to the people working hard to join the middle class. We came in determined to help hardworking Canadians share in the benefits that come from a strong and growing economy, and that is exactly what we have done.
That is why our government's first action was to ask the wealthiest Canadians to pay more tax so that we could cut taxes for the middle class. We asked the wealthiest 1% to pay a bit more tax so that we could lower taxes for the vast majority of Canadians. As a result of these tax cuts, over nine million middle-class Canadians have more money in their pockets. They can save more, invest or buy what they need.
Instead of offering tax credits to millionaire families, our government created the Canada child benefit, or CCB, which is a more generous tax-free benefit designed for the families that need it most. Thanks to the CCB, nine out of 10 Canadian families are getting more money than under the previous government. This benefit has lifted hundreds of thousands of children across Canada out of poverty. In my riding, as in every riding, this benefit has made a huge difference in the lives of many families in need.
As a result of the tax cut and measures like the Canada child benefit, a typical middle-class family of four is receiving, on average, about $2,000 more each year to help with the cost of raising children, save for the future, and help grow the economy for the benefit of everyone. That is $2,000 more than that family was receiving in 2015, under the previous government.
This completely contradicts the misinformation presented in the motion moved by the member for Carleton, which is based on a study that falls apart under closer scrutiny. Naturally, since the Fraser Institute does not take the Canada child benefit into account, it is hard for it to come up with reliable figures.
The fact is that most Canadians are paying a lower effective tax rate under our government than they did under the previous government. Individuals are paying less, single-earner families are paying less, two-earner families are paying less, and single mothers are paying a lot less. The only Canadians who are paying more are the wealthiest 1%, so that we could lower taxes for the middle class.
A typical middle-class family of four is receiving on average about $2,000 more each year. That money is changing those families' lives. For example, it is helping them put healthy food on the table, clothe themselves, prepare for back to school, and buy warm clothes for winter.
Moreover, in the fall of 2017, the government introduced measures to help low-income workers, and this led to the creation of the Canada workers benefit, or CWB, in budget 2018, and I am very proud of that. The CWB is basically an enhanced, more generous and more accessible version of the former working income tax benefit. Beginning in 2019, the CWB has made it possible for low-income workers to keep more money in their pockets. This new measure will also encourage a larger number of workers to secure and keep jobs while providing real assistance to more than two million hard-working Canadians.
We also recognize that small businesses are key, vital drivers of the Canadian economy. Small businesses provide 70% of all private sector jobs in Canada. That is why, in January 2018, our government lowered the small business tax rate to 10%. In January of this year, we lowered it again to 9%. The combined federal, provincial and territorial average tax rate on small businesses is now 12.2%—by far the lowest rate in the G7.
Consumer confidence remains strong and corporate profit margins are good, which opens the door to other investments that could lead to the creation of more meaningful, better-paying jobs for Canadians.
Our efforts to build a more just and equitable society where we give more back to the middle class have helped make Canada's one of the fastest-growing economies in the G7.
Over the past three years, through their hard work, Canadians have created over 800,000 new jobs, most of which are full-time jobs. As a result, our unemployment rate is the lowest it has been in over 40 years.
Our government is also committed to advancing gender equality, which will support long-term growth in Canadian businesses. The costs of the unequal participation of men and women in the economy are not only moral but also economic. The studies are clear on that.
We also signed new trade agreements, which will create more economic opportunities for Canadian businesses in the years to come. Canada is making historic investments in infrastructure, innovation, science and research. Budget 2018 included the biggest new investment in science in Canadian history. We are also making investments in skills development and training to ensure that Canadians have the skills they need to succeed in the labour market.
The policies and measures that we put in place are in keeping with the commitments that we made during the election campaign and the course of our mandate. We have taken concrete measures for Canadians. These measures were the right thing to do to create new jobs and lay the groundwork for long-term prosperity for Canadians.
Marilyn Gladu Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON
Madam Speaker, I would like to talk about some of the impacts that the Liberals' policies have had, because it is clear they are very out of touch with what is going on in the country. We know that 46% of Canadians are within $200 of insolvency. We know that small and medium-sized businesses are struggling. Some of them are shutting down. Many of them are moving to the States because of the lack of competitive environment here.
The member sings the song like he is the band playing on the Titanic. Could he please update the House on why he is not in touch with what is really happening and the struggles that Canadians are facing?
Joël Lightbound Liberal Louis-Hébert, QC
Madam Speaker, my colleague alluded to the group that was playing music on the Titanic, but I imagine that she knows the song well, since she was part of the former government that led Canada into a technical recession. During the last election campaign, we were debating whether Canada was in a recession or on the cusp of a recession. Technically, we were in a recession.
We have changed course since 2015. The government has made the necessary investments, including in science, to keep us competitive for the long term. For 10 years, the Conservatives curtailed investments in science. In Quebec, at Université Laval, that was a very lean decade. The Conservatives made cuts to innovation, compromised the well-paying jobs of tomorrow and undermined Canada's competitiveness. That is the legacy of the Conservative government, which refused to make the necessary investments in areas such as science and innovation.
My colleague talks about the economic spinoffs of our measures, but the opposition motion is based on a study by the Fraser Institute that was discredited and debunked by everyone who looked into it, since it does not take into account the Canada child benefit, which is so very important. The Canada child benefit has had a considerable positive impact on children's lives, especially in my colleague's riding, where 16,000 children and nearly 9,000 families are getting on average $7,440 a year, tax free, thanks to the benefit. This is changing people's lives.
Brigitte Sansoucy NDP Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC
Madam Speaker, I meet regularly with the people of Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, who share with me their concerns about the significant debt accumulated by the Liberal government over the past three years.
Earlier today, we commended the Parliamentary Budget Officer, who recommended establishing a deadline for balancing the budget.
Why is the parliamentary secretary not responding to this request that there be a deadline for returning to a balanced budget which, I have to say, was also made by my Conservative colleagues? This is worrisome for many Canadians.
Joël Lightbound Liberal Louis-Hébert, QC
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question.
That is actually a question I am asked by my constituents who have concerns. My response is that we have to compare the size of our deficit and our debt to the size of our economy. This ratio continues to shrink. Canada has the best record and is in the best fiscal position of all G7 countries.
Our government's spending allows us to address the other deficits we inherited. For example, after a decade of Conservative rule, there was a deficit in investment in science. That was also the case for infrastructure. When you put money back into the pockets of Canadian families, you boost their confidence. When you invest in housing, you build the foundation for long-term prosperity in Canada.
To respond specifically to my colleague's question, it is important to remember that our debt-to-GDP ratio is steadily shrinking and we have the best fiscal position of all G7 countries.
Alupa Clarke Conservative Beauport—Limoilou, QC
Madam Speaker, the member for Louis-Hébert said that we were giving tax credits to wealthy families. After knocking on 40,000 doors in my riding, I found that, on the contrary, the families using our tax credits were not wealthy. Under the member's government, 46% of these families are $200 away from insolvency at the end of the month. Perhaps they could have used some tax credits.
I have a very specific question for the member. We signed Canada onto the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the CETA, which are major forward-looking projects. We also developed a shipbuilding strategy to ensure that Canada is prepared to defend itself in the world.
Can the member name a single visionary project, not for today, but for 50 years from now, that his government could have developed? I would like to hear him name just one.
Joël Lightbound Liberal Louis-Hébert, QC
Madam Speaker, where do I start?
First, I encourage the member to find a family of millionaires that is still receiving the child benefit. We stopped the Conservatives' practice of sending out cheques, regardless of family income. They increased the TFSA limit to $11,000. How many people in Beauport—Limoilou have $11,000 to put into their TFSA at the end of the year after taxes? Frankly, who did that measure help?
Tom Kmiec Conservative Calgary Shepard, AB
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to be joining this debate late in the day. Before I continue too far, I want to say that I will be splitting my time with my newest colleague, the hon. member for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes. I want to make sure I say that, because I am known for running on and speaking too much. I want to make sure I give the member part of my time.
I want to address some of the things I have heard during the debate so far today in the House on this very reasonable Conservative motion to ensure that Canadians' taxes do not go up again. We have had difficulty, obviously, in convincing the government of this fact. As we have seen in the Liberal election platform, it means nothing to them. Every promise that is made by a Liberal government is meant to be broken.
The most important of those promises was balancing the budget. This year, in 2019, Canadians were promised a balanced budget of $1 billion. Instead, what they have is a deficit that is closer to $20 billion. That brings up a Yiddish proverb, and members know I love Yiddish proverbs: “Anything in excess is unhealthy.” Excessive deficits, debts, and piling on the debt, are unhealthy exercises of the government's power to borrow on the backs of Canadians and future Canadians.
I am sure that a Liberal MP will stand up and say that the previous Harper Conservative government borrowed gobs of money, ignoring the fact that there was a great recession, while also conveniently ignoring that it was the Liberals at the time who called for three times as much borrowing. All they need to do is go back to a time when a certain leader, Stéphane Dion, signed a coalition agreement calling for more spending, which was three times as much as proposed by the Conservatives.
Today, the Liberals will say that the Conservatives did it too. However, the Liberals have neither a great recession to face or a minority government. They simply have an inability to spend within their means, something that every Canadian family has to do at the end of the month. If their bills do not add up, if the debits and credits do not add up to zero, or close to zero, these families would be taking on more debt which they have to pay back. They do not have the luxury of a AAA credit rating that they can just keep borrowing on well into the future. Canadian families do not have that great advantage that the Government of Canada has. It is easy for governments to borrow large amounts of money.
There is no expectation of a balanced budget until 2040. There is no chart in any of the budget documents thus far demonstrating a return to a balanced budget or the method by which the government will do so. If we add up the national debt along with Crown corporation debt, it is over $1 trillion already. It is $1 trillion right now. If we add in provincial government debt and municipal debt, it would probably be closer to $2 trillion.
The taxpayer has to pay all of that. There is no one else to pay for it. If corporations are taxed, they will simply pass the higher prices on to consumers, which is the main reason we are opposed to the carbon tax. Government document after government document demonstrates that the carbon tax, per GHG tonne, has to go up. The pricing has to go up in order to meet international obligations, in order to meet the government's own goals. The Liberal government's own documents demonstrate that the costs must go up for families.
What we saw with the Australian taxpayers, Australian citizens, was that after two years of carbon tax, they said, “We have had enough. The experiment has failed. Try something else.” That exact same scenario is repeating itself here in Canada today.
The cost of living is going up. Monthly bills are getting higher. That is the feeling that Canadians have. We all saw the reports from RBC saying that almost 50% of families are $200 away from not being able to make ends meet. That is because their daily cost of living is going up, something we call affordability. I call it the cost of living, and it is all going up.
We have had a succession of costly mistakes. There was the expropriation of the Trans Mountain pipeline by the Government of Canada. We found that the government paid the sticker price. Basically, it walked into a dealership and said, “We would like that Denali pickup truck, please.” It was told the sticker price, and then they said, “We will buy it. No negotiation is necessary.” The government bought it, just like that. It overpaid by $1 billion.
It is not the Conservative opposition saying that. It is not the New Democrats saying it. It is the Parliamentary Budget Officer saying it. The PBO did an analysis showing that the government overpaid for the pipeline.
This is a pipeline that has to be expanded, which will cost another $9 billion. After the evaluation is done, we will not even get that $9 billion back for a pipeline that today the Government of Canada is losing money on. The operating fees and royalties being paid on the contract are not equivalent to or more than the cost of borrowing the $4.5 billion. Somehow the Government of Canada is managing to lose money on the most profitable part of the oil and gas sector: the shipping. It is amazing.
When I go door to door in my community, when I talk to people in the coffee meetups we have or when I do Facebook town halls, I have a lot of oil and gas workers who are unemployed, under-employed or barely getting by, and they cannot believe we can lose money on shipping. Extraction is one thing. Running a refinery is one thing. Those are difficult parts of the oil and gas industry, the downstream and upstream, but not the middle. How do we lose money on that?
There are more mistakes. Illegal border crossers are costing Canadian taxpayers over $1 billion. We have resources being reallocated to ensure the public safety of Canadians.
The cost of government is up 25% from 2015. We heard the member for Carleton say this. This is not President's Choice; this is the Prime Minister's choice, and it comes with a 25% surcharge. We are paying more for government. I meet very few people who say that they are getting their money's worth from the federal government in terms of services provided or transfers provided. I do not think anyone on the opposition side could say that we are getting value for the money being spent by the Liberal government. We are paying for the Prime Minister's mistakes. Canadian families are paying for his mistakes, and it is just the beginning. After the 2019 election, as the member for Carleton as well as other members on this side of the House have said, Canadians will pay even more, because that is when the full bill will come due and the decisions the government has made thus far will come to roost.
As I said at the beginning, anything in excess is unhealthy. Large government borrowing is destabilizing to the economy. I often hear Liberal caucus members claim that we have the best growth numbers ever. Everything is great. Everything is going well. However, in every single budget document tabled so far, the GDP growth numbers have been revised downwards. I wonder why. When we look at OECD numbers, we are not leading in the G7. The United States is leading. Our main competitor, main supplier, main consumer, and main client is growing faster than we are. That discrepancy between the two is pretty significant.
Our numbers keep being revised down, and we now have a stress test that will eliminate 200,000 residential construction jobs between now and 2021. We have successive government decisions that are again hurting job creation, reducing job creation, and providing an inability for the private sector to maximize the return of opportunities. We have a government getting in the way of the private sector, the energy sector, making it more difficult for Alberta's, Saskatchewan's and British Columbia's energy workers to get back to work and actually earn an income so they can pay taxes and pay fees and the companies can pay their royalties. All those things are beneficial. We have a government intent solely on obstructing and getting in the way. It is another mistake. Canadians will pay. Over the next eight months, they will pay even more, but the bill will come due only after the election.
I know that Liberal caucus members will sing and dance about how they have introduced the CPP enhancement, which will not do anything for anyone today. No senior today will gain more than maybe a few dollars, at best. The federal government's own website says that one can work for 40 years before one gets the full benefit of the CPP enhancement. That means that if 2025 is when it is fully phased in, it will be 2065. My kids will be able to take advantage of it, but no senior today will. The baby boomer generation retiring today will not get almost any benefit out of that. However, the Liberals are claiming great victory. They will use rhetoric. They will use personal attacks on members on this side of the House in both parties. They will also attack, as we saw from one parliamentary secretary, their provincial counterparts. It must be their new intergovernmental strategy to improve their relations with the provinces.
The motion before us is very reasonable. What we want to see is a commitment in the House to not raise the taxes of Canadians and to stop making them pay for the Prime Minister's mistakes.
Francis Scarpaleggia Liberal Lac-Saint-Louis, QC
Madam Speaker, there is a lot of doom and gloom coming from the other side. The member spoke of rhetoric, but there is a lot of negative rhetoric coming from the other side.
If we really want to know how the economy is doing, should we not rely on the opinion of those who have a real stake in the financial health of the markets? If the economy was doing so poorly, would Canada's rating not be affected? Canada has a AAA rating. We have also seen, following economic updates, when there has been talk about the debt, which, by the way, is declining as a percentage of GDP, that the financial markets, those that care deeply about economic conditions, do not react.
We can spread rhetoric. We can talk about doom and gloom, but at the end of the day, we should trust the opinions of those who have a lot of money invested in the economy.
Tom Kmiec Conservative Calgary Shepard, AB
Madam Speaker, we should rate it by how much Canadians are paying today.
In a previous exchange with other members, I mentioned that according to Statistics Canada data, in 2016, the last available income data right now, the top 1% of income earners paid less as a total share of income taxes. It is actually below 20% for the first time in about 10 years. The bottom 50% of Canadians are paying more taxes than they were before. That is a direct result of the Liberal government's decision-making, which the member is supporting by voting in favour of the budget and the estimates and all the other motions that have come before the House on spending.
The Liberal government is also the government that, when it raised taxes on the so-called one per cent, somehow managed to bring in $4.6 billion less in revenue in 2016 from the top 1%.
The government's policies are not working, and everyday Canadians are paying more.
Linda Lapointe Liberal Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
Madam Speaker, thank you for recognizing me, because I was very keen to speak.
As my colleague was saying earlier, our credit rating is among the best. Our results speak for themselves. Thanks to a strong and growing economy, Canadians and the middle class can see that our plan is working. There are 800,000 new jobs. A typical family has $2,000 more in its pocket. Furthermore, the previous government offered tax credits, but in order to qualify for a tax credit, a person has to pay taxes. The Canada child benefit is a tax-free benefit. It is a sum of money that is received. I was checking my notes. I do not know if my colleague from Calgary Shepard is aware, but Alberta is one of the provinces with the largest number of children receiving the Canada child benefit. Could the member tell me what he is going to say to those families? He voted against this. The families of 29,500 children receive about $6,240 a year each. That is quite a lot of money.
Tom Kmiec Conservative Calgary Shepard, AB
Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member for her comments and for giving me the statistics on the number of people in my riding who receive the Canada child benefit.
I would like to say to her that when I go door to door in my riding, people do not thank me for getting their own money back from the government, minus an administrative fee. Instead, they tell me they cannot understand why the Prime Minister's government is working to wipe out the oil sands and the energy sector, why their jobs are disappearing, why they cannot go back to working at Imperial Oil, Emerson, or another energy company. They ask me why the Prime Minister is waging war against jobs in Alberta's energy sector.
Opposition Motion—TaxesBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders
Michael Barrett Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, CPC
Madam Speaker, I rise today to give my maiden speech and to speak to today's Conservative motion on taxes.
I would like to start with what brought me to run for the riding of Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, and that was the passing of my friend and mentor, my predecessor, Gord Brown, who dutifully served in this House for the residents of Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes and all Canadians for many years. Gord was a great Canadian, and I learned a lot working with him. He was very generous with his time in teaching me about the work he did and the work we can do as parliamentarians for our communities.
In seeking the nomination, I had great support from my constituents and my community. The list goes on and on. There were people like Randy and Gloria Stowell, Ena and Rick Ward, Nancy and Chris McCluskey and Tory Deschamps and Erin Merkley, to name a few. With the support of those volunteers and supporters, old and new, we achieved a positive result. It brought me to be able to campaign in a by-election, where I heard about many of the things being discussed in this House today: affordability, taxes and the direction of our great country.
I had many volunteers who helped me. There are too many to name. The days started with Bob Hayes pounding in signs at all hours. There was Reilly Dwyer, my financial agent, and Michael Jiggins, Renee Jackson, Andrew McCue, Ken Neuman and Isaac Roke. The list goes on and on of people who were committed to delivering a Conservative member back to this House to advocate and fight for the things that are important to them. As I said, those are the things being discussed here today.
I would be remiss not to mention my family and the support of my mom and dad, Chris and Anne Barrett. My mom took an interest in politics very early on in life and, in fact, was raised here in Ottawa. She never sat in the gallery in the chamber to attend a debate. The first time she took a seat in the gallery was the day she watched me take my seat in this great place and took in question period. I am so blessed to have had the support and to have had them present here that day.
I had many mentors over the years, including Jack Doyle and the McCluskey family, Peter, Bonnie and Ian. Of course, I had my siblings, my sister Allison and her husband Kyle MacDonald; my brother Matthew Barrett and Sulin Quant; and Liz and Rob Waring. My in-laws, David and Arlene Bruce, filled a very special role during my by-election. My wife and I had had our fourth child, James, who arrived prematurely. They were very giving of their time and their house, along with Natalie and Mike Coulter, Tiffanie and Rob Comeau and of course, their children.
I would like to mention my grandparents, Francis and Betty Barrett. Francis was a civil servant, serving the RCMP and CSIS. They were unable to join me on the day of my swearing in but did watch from home and were so proud.
I know that right now at home, eating three bowls of plain noodles with just butter on them, are Luke, Ama and Michaela, and beside them is James, with my wife Amanda.
I mentioned that my son James arrived prematurely. That my wife Amanda knows the importance of the work done in this place was very apparent to me. After a week in hospital with James, my wife said to me, “This is great.” I looked at her, and I looked at James. They were both alive and healthy, and I thanked God and said, “Yes, this is great.” She said, “Yes, now we are not going to have a baby in the middle of an election.” She is such a wonderful supporter. She knows that I have spent my life wanting to be here. I worked incredibly hard to join the 337 parliamentarians who work in the best interests of their communities and their ridings, and I am honoured to join them. I consider it a blessing and something I have been called to. I am honoured to be here.
I did also say I would speak to our opposition motion today, and it is so important to do so. These are the things I heard about across my riding as I met thousands of my neighbours and constituents. I knocked on many doors and sat at many kitchen tables, which was a nice relief because it was very cold to stand on the doorsteps at the time.
When the Conservative government was in power, it delivered on its words with great action. That is juxtaposed against what we heard in 2015. There was a promise of three modest deficits in exchange for an infrastructure program the likes of which we had never seen.
In my riding alone, the former Conservative government delivered infrastructure, as it did across Canada. There was a $12-million investment in the Port of Johnstown, in partnership with the municipality and the Province of Ontario, and $110 million were invested in broadband in eastern Ontario. After my election, I met with chambers of commerce, business leaders and members of the community regarding access to broadband. Many would be surprised to know that many Canadians do not have access to reliable Internet for their businesses and homes and for their kids to do homework. That is sorely lacking.
Today, I call on the government to make that investment, to invest in our rural communities and invest in broadband, as the Conservative government did when in power.
The Conservatives made $25 million in investments in local infrastructure for roads, bridges and facilities across my riding, and a $60-million investment at the two international border crossings, which eased both tourism and trade in eastern Ontario and in my riding of Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes. We have seen what an effective infrastructure program can look like. We have seen what happens when a government lives the phrase “deeds and not words”. That is what we saw with the previous Conservative government.
Now we have a Liberal Prime Minister whose failure to get tariffs lifted after renegotiating NAFTA is hurting businesses. We have businesses that are paying tariffs when they buy the raw material and when they export the finished product. They are getting hit both times, and they do not understand why the government will not stand up for them.
Canadians are tired of paying for the Prime Minister's mistakes. They know that his out-of-control spending and ballooning deficits will be the taxes of tomorrow. Tomorrow is not that far away.
On April 1, we will see the implementation of a carbon tax in Ontario. It disproportionately and unfairly targets all people, including the people in my riding of Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes.
We have just experienced very Canadian, very cold weather. We have one of the coldest climates on the planet. Heating our homes is not a behaviour that needs to be corrected. Driving a car to work or taking children to dance, hockey or soccer is not a behaviour that needs to be corrected. Driving to get groceries or to the doctor is not a behaviour that need to be corrected with a carbon tax.
The good people of Westport would love to hop on the GO train to head over to Merrickville, or take the SkyTrain from Kemptville to Cardinal or take OC Transpo from Gananoque to Prescott. However, public transit is not available throughout most of my riding, and it is not available throughout most of Canada.
We need a government that is going to reduce the burden on Canadians, cut taxes and make life affordable. That is what we are calling on the government to do. That is what the residents of Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes sent me here to do, with the support of the people I listed and the support of hundreds more.
Mark Gerretsen Liberal Kingston and the Islands, ON
Madam Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to welcome the new member to the House.
His riding neighbours mine. I drive through his riding, both going to Ottawa and coming home at the end of the week. As I am half Italian, I grew up eating a lot of pasta and butter. I always drive through his riding around dinnertime on Thursday nights, so he can feel free to invite me over. I would love to stop by.
I heard him speak about rural Canada and what the government, in his perception, had not done. When the budget comes out in a couple of months from now, will he take an honest and open look at it and assess for himself whether it provides for rural Canada? If it does, would he consider voting in favour of it?
Opposition Motion—TaxesBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders
Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, CPC
Madam Speaker, answering a question is another first for me, and I am happy to do that.
We saw the budget tabled by the government. The real challenge we will face on this side of the House, as will Canadians, is that promises were made in 2015 and promises were made in the budget. We know the promises made will be promises broken.
The government has turned a blind eye to the more than half of Canadians who are only $200 away from insolvency. We know that hard-working, low-income, wage-earning retail workers were targeted with taxes. These were not in the platform in 2015 that came to pass or almost came to pass with the government. Therefore, that is what we are going to be looking for.
Anthony Housefather Liberal Mount Royal, QC
Madam Speaker, I want to congratulate the hon. member on his election. It is a great pleasure welcoming him to our justice and human rights committee. It is also a pleasure to see the House of Commons from the eyes of a new member, recognizing the awe we hold this place in and how lucky each and every one of us, from all parties, is to be part of this great place representing Canadians.
Therefore, I am going to throw a really tough question at him, for his first question period after his speech. Who was more proud of you when you were elected? Was it your mom, your dad or your wife?
The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes
The member knows he is to address the questions to the Speaker, and all of them are proud of me.
The hon. member for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes.
Opposition Motion—TaxesBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders
Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, CPC
Madam Speaker, I thank the member very much for his kind words. I am proud to sit as a member of the justice and human rights committee.
In answer to his question, I would hope there would be another day where we would have as many smiles in the House as I see now. It has been a tremendous honour to share this experience with my family.
I call my mom on my drives back to my riding. I drive back to my home every day. My mom is very proud to share this with me, as is my whole family. Right now, many more people who I listed in my speech are watching on CPAC, so CPAC is seeing its numbers bumped. That is how many people are proud of me today.
Brian Masse NDP Windsor West, ON
Madam Speaker, I would like to welcome the member for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes. Gord Brown was a good friend of mine. We are glad to have someone in the House to represent the area. Those were very kind words to start.
I cannot say whether the member for Malpeque is in the House or not, but we also participate in the Canada-U.S. parliamentary association. I know, on behalf of him, we would extend an invitation for the member to hopefully join that association. Gord Brown did such great work on it, not only for his party but also our country.
Opposition Motion—TaxesBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders
Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, CPC
Madam Speaker, I look forward to participating in that association and furthering relations with our American neighbours.
Wayne Easter Liberal Malpeque, PE
Madam Speaker, I second the suggestion from the member for Windsor West, and I congratulate the member for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes.
I will be splitting the time with the member for Mississauga East—Cooksville.
I welcome the opportunity to speak to this opposition day motion. However, I have to admit I am somewhat saddened that the official opposition, under the leadership of the member for Regina—Qu'Appelle, would allow such an absence of truth in the written and spoken word. I say that seriously. It is becoming very obvious that there has been a great attempt in recent weeks by the Conservative Party of Canada to misrepresent the work of the Liberal government in this the 42nd Parliament.
Through my remarks today, I will deal, one by one, with the misrepresentations of the facts by the member for Carleton in his motion.
In parts (a) and (b), he tries to allege taxes are higher. Nothing could be further from the truth. The truth is that starting off, in our very first budget, we reduced taxes for the middle class, while raising taxes on the wealthiest 1%. Specifically, the government lowered taxes on the middle-class tax bracket of $44,702 to $89,401 to 22%.