Debates of April 21st, 2021

Financial Statement of Minister of Finance

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Unfortunately, the hon. member's time is up, however he will be able to add comments during questions and comments. I am sure he has lots to add.

Questions and comments, the hon. member for Kingston and the Islands.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the member's passion and I listened to him very attentively until he started to reference the Fraser Institute. We can debate that another time.

The member talked about the position we are in. Never did I imagine, when I ran in 2015 or in 2019, that while I was here Canada would be in a position where we owed over $1 trillion in debt. That is the reality. I do not think any of us did, but we also did not realize the position that we would be in. We are not the only nation to be in this position. Most developed nations like ours are in the same position, yet we made a choice to invest in Canadians. Yes, all the money comes from taxpayers, but the difference is that we thought the taxpayers should bear the burden rather than certain sectors of the economy or certain sectors of the population.

Would the member agree that if we did not invest in Canadians like this we would be in a much worse place when we do come out of this pandemic?

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

Madam Speaker, I want to say I agree with the member. We do support Canadian workers. It is really key. Conservatives have looked for ways of how we can help. How can we help Canadians? We are there.

Not everything is bad in the budget. There might be a few things that need improvement and we will make some amendments, but most of it is a real mess. The situation is that one-third of the budget of the first prime minister related to the current one was going to debt servicing. That is disastrous.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his passionate speech. I get the feeling that he still has a lot to say on the matter, but I would like to come back to help for workers.

In his speech, he talked about the wage subsidy. Obviously this affects some sectors more than others, including tourism and culture, and they are the sectors that fuel our local economies.

I would like him to elaborate on the importance of extending some of these measures in the budget to help workers and economies throughout Quebec and the provinces.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

Madam Speaker, I agree with the member from the Bloc Québécois. There should be more in the budget for workers.

In my region, in British Columbia, cruises are one of our most important sectors. This is a $2.6-billion industry. The Liberals do not even want ships to dock for provisioning, even if the passengers stay on board and do not visit the area. That is very important. The government is telling us that this sector will reopen in a year. That does not work for this industry and all the other sectors.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

We have time for a brief question.

The hon. member for Windsor West.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Madam Speaker, the member's speech was very diverse, there is no doubt about it. I think it is the first time someone has read a word cloud in the chamber. The question I want to ask him is related to credit cards and interest rates, and to find out where the Conservatives are with regard to the modest improvements mentioned in the budget to treat small businesses more fairly with interest charges and service fees. That is one issue, or part of it, but there is no doubt that credit card rates and borrowing rates, in a range of 11% to 19% on average, are excessive.

Would the member support a regulatory approach to bringing down credit card rates, even in the interim, as the rates are disproportionate to the benefits of borrowing and of the—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

A brief answer from the member for Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

Madam Speaker, I think it is very positive when we can see a lowering of the interest rates on credit cards or anything else. I think that has really helped people to purchase homes. However, what is positive can also be negative, because credit card rates will increase if the rates increase also, so it goes hand in hand. This budget is leading us toward inflation. That would lead to higher credit card rates and other problems, including higher mortgage rates. That is a big concern.

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue]

Madam Speaker, I wish to indicate that I will be splitting my time with my hon. colleague, the parliamentary secretary for the riding of Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation.

It is a pleasure to speak on budget 2021, which would not only continue to have the backs of Canadians impacted by COVID-19, but would take substantial next steps to position our economy for ongoing recovery and economic growth. Simply, it is about ensuring a better future for all Canadians and strengthening our middle class and those working hard to join it.

It is a pleasure to represent the residents of Vaughan—Woodbridge. I wish to thank my residents for heeding the calls of public health during the pandemic to stay home, wear masks and socially distance. Now, these same residents are doing their part in getting their vaccinations. I encourage all residents and all Canadians, when they are eligible, to please get their vaccine shots. As we all know, normality will only return with an effective vaccine rollout and vaccinations.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a once-in-a-lifetime event. It froze our economy and overnight resulted in millions of people losing their jobs, businesses being shuttered and, to this day, families' lives being altered. I will be getting my vaccine shot tomorrow evening, so I am quite excited.

This was an exogenous shock to our economy that required a massive response by our government. Yes, our government is there for Canadians, but Canadians, our neighbours, friends and industries, have also risen to the challenge. The Canadian economy has bounced back much faster than many had anticipated, including the forecasts made by the Bank of Canada. We saw this morning the revised upward forecast from the BOC, which stated that, “Activity has proved more resilient than expected in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic”. The line I very much appreciated was that, “The Bank has revised up its estimate of potential output in light of greater resilience to the pandemic and accelerated digitalization.”

This is a testament to the work of Canadians and the work of our government through its various support programs, and to the unique nature of the shock to our economy. This shock to our economy was not a failure of the markets nor of capitalism but, importantly, the response to this shock required that the government come in and assist its citizens in their time of need.

Budget 2021 would respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and represents a paradigm shift. We must implement further policies to strengthen our social safety net and ensure a more inclusive and sustainable economy where no Canadian is left behind. It is a budget I can best describe as ambitious: It is ambitious for attempting to answer the challenges we face not only today, but tomorrow. It is a budget that would continue the path toward a green transition, where we would surpass our GHG reduction targets and use this as a catalyst to grow our economy. It is inclusive by proposing a national child care program, which would assist families across Canada in covering child care expenses and increase women's labour force participation in our economy. It is a win on so many levels. National child care would become a foundational piece of our social infrastructure here in Canada.

The budget would assist students with an additional $3 billion in funding via Canada student grants. It would help out our seniors with a one-time OAS payment of $500 and a permanent 10% increase beginning in July 2022, and it aims to lift over 100,000 more Canadians out of poverty through a material enhancement to the Canada workers benefit. It would encourage business investment, and would assist businesses across the country to digitize; it would invest, through the national trade corridors fund, in our key transportation corridors; and it would position our entrepreneurs for leadership in the green transition, which is happening at a rapid pace.

We will ensure that no Canadian family is left without broadband. It is a necessity in today's world, accentuated by COVID-19. As noted by Scotiabank economists in their opinion on the budget, “Overall, the measures seem well targeted to raise potential output by focusing on economic inclusion, the green transition and measures to encourage business investment.”

To review the 10 priorities and the associated 250 or so measures would require a few hours, but there are a few things I know the residents and businesses in my riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge would benefit from that I wish to highlight. We would continue to support businesses and workers as we battle COVID-19. As many have advocated for, the COVID-19 relief programs would be extended through to September. For hard-working Canadians who remain unemployed, we would be providing an additional 12 weeks of recovery benefits available to September 25, 2021. The rent and emergency wage subsidies, which have been so crucial to supporting businesses in my riding and across the country, would also be extended. In total, our government would commit an additional $32 billion in temporary COVID spending measures to assist Canadian businesses and workers through to the end of this pandemic. We have their backs.

I am so proud that budget 2021 proposes a major investment in the Canada workers benefit. It is a nearly $9 billion investment over six years, and $1.7 billion thereafter. I have long favoured this income support measure. Along with the prior enhancements to the program in budget 2018, approximately three million Canadians would benefit from this program, with an additional 100,000 lifted out of poverty with this budget's measures. With the automatic enrolment for the non-refundable credit via the CRA, Canadians would continue to benefit from this measure.

We know that our seniors, including my parents, helped build our country and sacrificed so much. Their fiscal prudence, work ethic and ingenuity still inspire me. We will fulfill our promise to raise the OAS by 10%, which would benefit 3.3 million Canadians, and is a $12 billion investment over the next five years.

We are too aware of the issues with our long-term care homes here in Ontario and across Canada, including in my riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge, where the Canadian Armed Forces came to assist the long-term care facility of Woodbridge Vista. Budget 2021 would fulfill our commitment to work with provinces to develop and implement national standards while providing for a commitment of $3 billion over five years.

As the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue, I applaud the government's commitment to continue to invest in, and ensure the CRA has the resources to tackle, tax avoidance and evasion with a $304 million investment over five years to fund new initiatives and strengthen new programs. There is a further investment of $230 million so the CRA could collect outstanding taxes, which is anticipated to result in an additional $5 billion in outstanding taxes being collected over five years. This would be used to fund the precious social programs we all depend on. We would invest an additional $330 million over five years to provide safeguards on protecting the data of Canadians held by the CRA.

An initiative that in my view would and could be transformational for Canadian businesses, including the estimated 13,000 SMEs in the city of Vaughan, is e-payroll. This may not be the flashiest investment in the budget, but the potential for digitization, and the potential for a real-time payroll data reporting system among businesses, the CRA and ESDC, is simply transformational. I am so glad to see this measure in our budget. It is a measure that is needed at this time. Going forward, it would help our businesses digitize and allow them to spend less time on paperwork and more time serving their customers. A commitment of $44 million over three years for the CRA and ESDC would help to develop the first phase of an e-payroll prototype. I am excited about this initiative. It is the future.

As the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue, I have learned the importance of the disability tax credit and how it assists literally millions of Canadians. Considered a gateway credit for disabled Canadians, it ensures these Canadians with special abilities have access to many other programs. I was proud when in 2017 the Government of Canada reinstated the Canada Revenue Agency's disability advisory committee. The committee just delivered its second report on April 9. I wish to thank the committee for its work during COVID-19. These are volunteers. The committee did not meet in a physical setting, but did all its work remotely.

Budget 2021 proposes two major changes. First, it proposes an update to the list of mental functions for everyday life that is used for assessing applicants for the disability tax credit. Second, it proposes recognizing more activities and determining the time spent on life-sustaining therapy, and reducing the minimum required frequency of therapy. These changes alone would result in an additional 45,000 Canadians being eligible for the disability tax credit and would represent $376 million in additional support over the next five years to disabled Canadians.

Budget 2021, presented by our government, contains a list of measures that move our economy forward. It ensures we have the backs of all Canadians, including Canadian businesses and workers who continue to be impacted by COVID-19.

I am proud of this budget. I am proud to see how Canadians have responded to it, including the residents of my riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge.

[Gerald Soroka, Conservative, Yellowhead, AB]

Madam Speaker, I noticed that wage subsidy and rent relief programs are in the budget. Conservatives support these, as they are very valid and they need to be done. My concern is that the Liberals keep extending them, which probably comes down to the lack of vaccines that have been procured by the government. My issue lies with the fact that when the government talks about the nine million vaccines it got, really each dose means only one treatment. When we talk about nine million doses, that comes down to 4.5 million people who are vaccinated properly. To me, that is a failure in this budget.

Would the member comment on the failure of the government in trying to procure vaccines for Canadians?

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Madam Speaker, first of all, I am very proud of our government's support programs, seven of which were delivered by the CRA to Canadian businesses and Canadian workers. The Province of Ontario has received millions of doses of vaccines. We have seen over 136,000 Ontarians receive their vaccines overnight.

I encourage all residents of my riding to please sign up for their vaccines when they are eligible. All of my loved ones, including my parents in British Columbia, my in-laws in Ontario and other family members, have received their vaccines. Vaccines are available. People can look on the COVID tracker for the province and for the country.

Vaccines are available in Ontario. We are receiving literally a million or two million this week, and the shipments coming from Pfizer and Moderna are only ramping up. That is true all over the world, not just here in Canada. We are on track. People who wish to receive a vaccination will be able to do so in a short time.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Madam Speaker, I am very concerned with the budget. The CRB would be reduced from $500 a week to $300 a week. We are well into the third wave and some people are even talking about the fourth wave. This is a huge concern. People are very worried about how they will make ends meet if that should happen.

In addition, on the issue of disability, the budget put off the throne speech commitment for a disability benefit, and it will be revamped over three years. The budget does not match the commitments made in the throne speech, which in many ways is a hallmark of the Liberals.

I wonder whether the parliamentary secretary would advocate for the government to address this issue, instead of doing a consultation process, and change the benefits and supports for people with disabilities.

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Madam Speaker, as members can see in our budget, we have done a number of things to strengthen income supports. EI sickness benefits will be extended to, I believe, 26 weeks. For the DTC, the disability advisory committee has delivered two reports to the Canada Revenue Agency, and over 90% of the proposals in them have been advanced and worked on. We continue to see a number of income support measures. We are also putting forth the hiring incentive, which will create an incentive for businesses to bring on their staff. The CEWS is still there too, which maintains the employer-employee attachment.

Frankly, we will ensure that no Canadian has to choose between putting food on their table and paying rent during the pandemic. We have Canadians' backs. We will continue to do so. I encourage all parties to help us by supporting this legislation to get it passed so that we can continue to assist Canadians from coast to coast to coast.

[Paul Manly, Green, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Madam Speaker, one thing I am really concerned about is foreign investment in our housing market and the use of residential housing as a way to launder money for the world's elite, who are trying to use it for tax evasion in their home countries. I am disappointed that there was not stronger action here.

What does the hon. member see as the solution to the affordable housing crisis? Are we going to use taxpayers' money to buy our way out of the situation, or are we going to clamp down on the use of tax evasion and money laundering, which is blowing our housing market out of proportion such that people who live in these cities cannot afford—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I ask the hon. parliamentary secretary to give a brief answer, please.

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Madam Speaker, the CRA has put literally hundreds of millions of dollars toward clamping down on tax evasion. I understand, obviously, the reports that have been generated on money laundering in real estate in B.C. and the ongoing consultations. I believe the former B.C. premier has been on a panel providing answers in the last couple of days.

Housing affordability across the country is an issue that we obviously have to deal with. There are many levels of jurisdiction in Canada when it comes to housing, so we have to work with all levels of jurisdiction. In Ontario, we need to increase supply, which is quite apparent. We also have low interest rates, which is encouraging Canadians to purchase a first or second home. That is great to—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Unfortunately I have to go to the next speaker.

Resuming debate, the hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Seniors.

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Seniors]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank you for allowing me to take part in this important debate on the people who built our society: our seniors.

Before I start, I would like to point out that the lands on which we are gathered are part of the unceded traditional territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin people.

I am very pleased to be able to address the House as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Seniors to discuss the measures we presented for seniors in the 2021 budget.

The budget contains major support measures for Canadians, as well as measures to fight COVID-19 and measures previously announced in the throne speech and the 2020 fall economic statement.

To win the fight against COVID-19, governments across the country must tackle it on several fronts. That is why our government invested in health care and provided direct support for the provinces and territories in their fight against the virus. As our Prime Minister said, it was and continues to be a team effort in collaboration with the provinces and territories.

Our Liberal government implemented sound economic programs to help individuals, businesses and organizations of all sizes survive the pandemic, as well as essential measures to protect Canadians' health and Canada's economy. With the 2021 budget, we are continuing to work toward giving people priority, protecting our economy and ensuring equality and fairness for all Canadians, including seniors. We are doing this in a number of ways.

As I said before, since the beginning of our mandate, we have been there for seniors, and we still are. The 2021 budget paves the way for our key priorities for seniors.

As Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Seniors, I would like to explain to the House what this new federal budget means for seniors. Our government is keeping its promise to increase old age security benefits for Canadians aged 75 and over. These seniors will get a one-time payment of $500 in August 2021, and we will be increasing the old age security pension by 10% for these same seniors starting in July 2022.

Let us not forget that the increase to the guaranteed income supplement will give each senior $766 over the first year. That will give 3.3 million seniors more financial security and lift more than 60,700 seniors out of poverty, 65% of them women. This is the first permanent increase to old age security since 1973, other than adjustments due to inflation.

Our oldest seniors face increased care expenses and greater risk of running out of savings. As seniors age, their health care and home care costs go up just as they are most likely to be unable to work, have disabilities or be widowed.

The OAS increase will help ease the pressure seniors face and improve their quality of life. This measure reflects Canada's shifting demographics and targets those who most need support.

Seniors will make up 25% of Canada's population by 2037, compared to 8% in 1971. They are living longer now, and Canadians' life expectancy has risen by seven years, from 75 in 1980 to 82 in 2019. It now takes 100 workers under the age of 64 to support 26 retired seniors, compared to just 13 in 1970. That is why we are offering seniors more support, as promised in our platform.

Budget 2021 is doing much more for seniors. We will give the provinces and territories $3 billion to support the implementation of new standards for long-term care.

To help seniors stay in their homes for longer, we are launching a new initiative, the aging in place challenge program, to help seniors get access to local services such as meal preparation, housekeeping, errands, lawn care and so on.

We will build, repair and support an additional 35,000 affordable housing units for vulnerable Canadians, including seniors. We will help more families and people with disabilities by making it easier to access the disability tax credit and existing support measures.

We will also extend support measures for caregivers who cannot work during the pandemic because they have to care for COVID-19 patients and others.

We are also going to expand and enhance support for veterans, in particular by addressing issues with homelessness, employment, training and health.

Overall, budget 2021 includes major investments that will improve our seniors' quality of life. The pandemic has been hard on everyone, especially on seniors, and the government has not let them down. On the contrary, we took measures to support them on every front. We helped them deal with additional costs during the pandemic. We made one-time tax-free payments of more than $1,500 to low-income seniors. That is something. In fact, $1,500 provided seniors with considerable help during the pandemic.

In 2020 and 2021, we will spend more than $5.5 billion in direct financial support to seniors, which is $1.6 billion more than we promised in our platform.

Regardless of the pension benefits they were already receiving, seniors who lost their job because of COVID-19 were eligible for $2,000 a month under the Canada emergency response benefit and later under the Canada recovery benefit.

More than 450,000 seniors received this assistance. At the community level, we invested half a billion dollars to help seniors and other Canadians obtain essential supplies and services such as grocery delivery.

As part of the new horizons for seniors program, we launched more than 5,000 community projects to help seniors. Every one of us benefited in our ridings, and that was for our seniors.

Our vaccine supply is accelerating. More than 80% of Canadians aged 80 and over and 19% of all Canadians have received at least one dose. We are still on track to get 50 million doses by the end of June.

It is essential that we provide more help for older seniors, and that is what we are going to do through measures like the ones announced in budget 2021. Together, the federal government's measures are making a difference in seniors' lives. Canada's seniors will always be able to count on the federal government to listen to them, understand them and defend them.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech.

I have two questions for him on seniors.

First, does he agree with his government wanting to impose conditions on transferring funding to the provinces to improve the safety of seniors in seniors residences?

Second, why does he think that seniors between 65 and 75 do not deserve to get help from his government?

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, QC]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question.

We are working closely with the provinces and territories on health transfers. The Prime Minister has met with the premiers of every province. The government made a clear announcement that there will be health transfers, but we have a crisis to manage and that is what the government is focusing on right now. We are helping the provinces and territories in many ways through different transfers that are not necessarily in the form of cash.

We will be there for all seniors, but the most vulnerable are those who are 75 and older.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. I am pleased to be able to ask him a question.

How could this member from Quebec ignore the requests of Quebec seniors? I would invite him to tour around Quebec. Perhaps he has already done so because he told us that he had solicited people's opinions. That is fine, but what does he think about the statement made by the FADOQ, which called for help for seniors as of the age of 65 and that criticized the fact that seniors aged 65 to 74 are not included? Those seniors are not any less vulnerable. They are also affected by higher prices for all sorts of things. This summer, they received $1.50 as a result of indexing. That is not even enough to buy a coffee at Tim Hortons.

How can he ignore the fact that the AQDR is also calling for an increase in old age security benefits for people aged 65 and over? How can he, once again, promise to increase monthly old age security benefits by 10% for those aged 75 and over? In 2019, he looked seniors in the eye and made that same promise. Seniors in Quebec will remember. That promise, which will not be kept until 2022, could be used again in the next election campaign.

That is not to mention the fact that the budget proposes a one-time payment of $500 for old age security recipients aged 75 and over. Once again, seniors groups are wondering why seniors aged 65 to 74 will not receive a payment.

With regard to national standards, I would encourage the member to consult the Quebec National Assembly, which adopted a unanimous motion in that regard. The FADOQ is calling for a 35% increase in health transfers.

How can a member from Quebec be so out of touch with the reality of seniors in Quebec and the other provinces?

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, QC]

Madam Speaker, I cannot express today how proud I am to be a member from Quebec and to stand up for seniors.

Budget 2021 was great news and will make a difference for all seniors in Quebec and Canada. I have travelled throughout Quebec and have met with the AQDR and FADOQ over the last two days.

I can say that the AQDR is very pleased with the progress we have made for seniors. We kept our campaign promise. The FADOQ told us that any action taken to help seniors would be most welcome.

I have met with various groups and many seniors. They are proud of what we are proposing. Their pensions have not been increased in decades. The action we are taking today will make a difference for seniors in Quebec and Canada.

[Ted Falk, Conservative, Provencher, MB]

Madam Speaker, like my colleague from Shefford from the Bloc is wondering, I am also wondering why seniors between the ages of 65 and 75 were omitted. I fail to see where the expenses of seniors over the age of 75 would be greater than for those between the ages of 65 and 75. I expect to spend a lot of money once I reach that age, and I think I will be tapering off and winding down once I hit 75. Can the member answer that more thoroughly?

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, QC]

Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question.

We are keeping our promise to increase the old age security pension for Canadians aged 75 and over. We will provide seniors with a one-time payment of $500, and we will increase their monthly benefits by 10% beginning in July 2022.

We will invest $3 billion to help the provinces and territories implement long-term care standards and make permanent changes.

With budget 2021, we will continue to meet the diverse needs of seniors, who are more likely to rely on their savings as they age. Their health care and home care costs increase as they get older, although that is when they are less able to work and might be disabled or widowed. We are taking some of the pressure off of seniors—