Debates of Dec. 8th, 2021

Supplementary Estimates (B), 2021-22

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Chair, fraudulent CERB recipients was the question. How many?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Mr. Chair, nine million Canadians were supported by the CERB.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Chair, so the only number we are getting is nine million when I ask how many people took the CERB who did not live in Canada. If nine million is not the right number, which number is?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Mr. Chair, maybe the hon. member would like to know about the CEBA, which helped over 898,000 small businesses survive.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Chair, why is the minister hiding the true number of people not living in Canada who got the CERB?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Mr. Chair, following a steep decline of 27% in the first half of 2020, corporate profits rebounded 61% above pre-pandemic levels.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Chair, could we replace the minister with a cassette tape that we could just hit “play” on?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Mr. Chair, I am sure there are all kinds of technological advancements available, but I can tell the member that the wage subsidy helped over 450,000 employers—

[The Chair, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

The member for Carleton.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Chair, is there a technological advance that might help the minister answer the question?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Mr. Chair, the rent subsidy helped more than 213,000 businesses stay afloat. That is good for all Canadians.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Chair, can the officials who are here today hand the minister a new script? He seems to be reading one unrelated to the questions.

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Mr. Chair, all right, I will talk about consumer confidence that went to an all-time low. It is back. That is good for business and that is good for Canadians.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Chair, one last time, FINTRAC, which is responsible for monitoring monies that are misappropriated, organized crime and money laundering, indicated that many people have received the CERB even though they do not even live in Canada. I am going to ask one last time: How many was that?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Mr. Chair, the hon. member knows that FINTRAC is independent.

What we know is that consumer confidence is back, and people are able to pay their bills, thanks to our historic investments in their lives and in their livelihoods.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Chair, what is the inflation rate for the price of land in the last year?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Mr. Chair, I am glad to talk about inflation, because we know that it is a global phenomenon.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Chair, land prices are a global phenomenon. Does the minister realize that the land we have here does not come from the rest of the globe? It is already here.

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Mr. Chair, I think members can read Hansard, as the hon. colleague can. I said very clearly that inflation is a global phenomenon.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Chair, “land-flation”. How much?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Mr. Chair, our inflation is in line with peer countries around the world. In fact, we are doing much better than the United States, Mexico and countries in the eurozone.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Chair, the question was about land price inflation. How much have land prices inflated in the last year?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Mr. Chair, land price is part of the basket of goods in inflation. Our inflation is in line with peer countries.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Chair, he is allowed to say that he does not know.

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Mr. Chair, we are focused on affordability, and that is what matters.