Debates of May 26th, 2021

Finance—Main Estimates, 2021-22

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Madam Chair, let me just point out again that it is the members on the opposite side of the House, in particular the Conservatives, who have delayed this essential support coming to Canadian families. They—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member.

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

Madam Chair, I will answer for her: Two hundred and sixty-five thousand wealthy Canadians got the extra money.

Who in the House said this just on Monday: “The Canada child benefit puts more money in pockets of Canadians by not sending cheques to millionaire families”?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Madam Chair, the Canada child benefit is a program that has lifted millions of Canadian children out of poverty. It is such an effective program that it is being used as a model in the United States—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member.

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

Madam Chair, I will answer for the finance minister: It was the Prime Minister who said that.

How much was paid out in taxpayer dollars to the top 1%, tax free, by the current government?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Madam Chair, let me just underscore how important the Canada child benefit was before COVID as a program to lift Canadian children out of poverty, and this top-up in the fall economic statement is essential for Canadian families. Thank goodness it is—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member.

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

Madam Chair, I will happily answer for the minister again: it was $88 million.

The federal government only offered the City of Edmonton $17 million for supportive housing. Does the minister think $88 million for the top 1% is more important than housing for the homeless in Edmonton?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Madam Chair, I hazard to guess that I speak more with the municipal leadership of Edmonton than do the members on the opposite side of the House, and I am very proud of the innovative programs Edmonton has put in place to tackle homelessness.

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

Madam Chair, I think I can say, for the City of Edmonton, that it would rather see some of that $88 million the current government paid to the top 1% earners than the paltry $17 million the government decided was a priority.

Does the minister know how much Elon Musk is worth?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Madam Chair, I would really challenge whether the municipal government of Edmonton feels the member opposite speaks for the elected representatives at the municipal level of the City of Edmonton.

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

Madam Chair, I can assure Canadians and the people of Edmonton that the minister does not speak for them, nor does she hold them in high regard if she is offering more money to the wealthy 1% than to Edmonton homeless people.

To answer the question, Elon Musk is worth about $175 billion.

Taxpayers, under the current government, have given Elon Musk $100 million in subsidies to the wealthy to buy Tesla cars. Does the minister believe that is of bigger importance than perhaps housing the homeless in Edmonton?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Madam Chair, I would like to just salute Edmonton for its innovative and, I would say, Canada-leading programs on people experiencing homelessness. I am pleased, although somewhat surprised, to see the new-found concern for homelessness on the Conservative benches. I would encourage the Conservatives to vote for the budget, which includes $1.5 billion for the rapid housing initiative.

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

Madam Chair, I am surprised that the government, which is constantly talking about sending cheques to millionaires, places a higher priority on sending cheques to millionaires and billionaires than on helping the City of Edmonton house the homeless.

The ultra-exclusive Royal Ottawa Golf Club received $1 million in the wage subsidy program into the 2020 year, with a surplus 19 times more than it reported in 2019. Can the minister justify this taxpayers' handout?

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The member for Thérèse-De Blainville on a point of order.

[Louise Chabot, Bloc, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

Madam Chair, we have been without French interpretation for a few minutes now.

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Now that the problem has been resolved, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the interpreters. They must be tired as well.

Let me say I welcome the rather surprising conversion of the Conservatives to really caring about homelessness. Why do you guys not put your vote where your questions are, support the budget—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

I would remind the hon. minister that I do not vote in this instance.

The hon. member.

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

Madam Chair, I will forgive the finance minister for answering the wrong question because of the delay. I was asking about the minister justifying a handout to an exclusive golf club.

The President of the Treasury Board was not able to confirm that the $100 billion wage subsidy program went through the required regular Treasury Board scrutiny. Is this the reason why billions were paid out to wealthy hedge fund managers and super profitable multinationals: so they could pay out executive bonuses and dividends on the taxpayer dime?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Madam Chair, the rapid housing initiative is $1.5 billion. Vote for it in the budget. I would urge all members to vote for it in the budget. It is a great way to end homelessness.

Okay, on the wage subsidy—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member.

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

Madam Chair, good Lord, this is embarrassing: $100 billion did not go through the Treasury Board process for approval. Now we see the government paying out wealthy hedge fund managers, and the minister makes a joke about it.

Other G7 countries had wage subsidy provisions to protect taxpayers. Why did the government not put protections on the wage subsidy through the required Treasury Board approval process to protect taxpayers?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Madam Chair, the wage subsidy supported 5.3 million jobs across the country, and 674,000 in Alberta alone.

[Paul Lefebvre, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

Madam Chair, I am very pleased to be taking part in today's discussion.

As everyone knows, the COVID-19 pandemic has created immense costs for all Canadians and brought about the deepest and fastest recession worldwide since the Great Depression.

In Canada, more than three million Canadians have lost their jobs, and another 2.5 million have had their hours significantly reduced. This represents roughly 30% of the pre-pandemic workforce.

Furthermore, Canada's gross domestic product, or real GDP, dropped by 13% from the first half of 2020. As a result of the pandemic, economic activity in Canada declined about three times as much as in the 2008-09 recession, in a much shorter time.

Our government is committed to doing everything in its power to protect the health of Canadians and the Canadian economy during this extremely serious crisis. So far, we are living up to that commitment.

Canada's COVID-19 economic response plan has proved absolutely fundamental in bringing Canadians and businesses through these COVID-19 shock waves and stabilizing the economy. We delivered job protection through the Canada emergency wage subsidy, liquidity support to businesses through programs like the Canada emergency business account and income support to individuals through the Canada emergency response benefit and other recovery benefits.

Canada undertook what has been among the largest and most quickly implemented fiscal responses in the G7, at over 23% of GDP with budget 2021 investments included. While these fiscal costs have been high, we must bear in mind that these decisions were necessary to ensure the safety and health of all Canadians. Analysis by the International Monetary Fund, the IMF, confirms that in the absence of these direct support measures, Canada's debt-to-GDP ratio would not have been much different from what it is today.

The takeaway from this is clear. A failure to support Canadians and businesses would not only have left Canadians alone when they needed our help the most, but would have resulted in almost as large a debt burden, greater human misery and greater long-term economic scarring. The actions we have taken were effective and appropriate. Our support has helped keep food on the tables of millions of families and has staved off a flood of bankruptcies, kept the businesses we depend on going, and preserved our capacity to make a strong recovery. As the IMF has confirmed, our economic response plan was a cost-effective investment to avert what would have been a catastrophic economic collapse.

As a result, the Canadian economy is positioned for a strong recovery and is already showing signs of strength, with Canada's GDP rising by 10% annualized in the fourth quarter of 2020. Economists have significantly revised their forecasts for recovery upward since the fall economic statement. Following a record decline in real GDP in 2020, it is expected to grow by 5.8% in 2021 and by an additional 4% in 2022. The projected level of real GDP by the end of 2022 is almost 2% higher than projected in the fall economic statement.

In addition, real GDP is expected to return to its pre-pandemic level this fiscal year, about six months earlier than previously expected.

As everyone knows, we originally projected a deficit of up to $381.6 billion for 2020-21. However, thanks to a strong economic recovery aided by the remarkable resilience and ingenuity of Canadians across the country, we have spent less than we provisioned for. We are now estimating a deficit of $354.2 billion for the current fiscal year, significantly below our previous forecast.

The investments in jobs and growth in budget 2021 will help put the deficit on a downward trajectory. As noted in the budget, the debt-to-GDP ratio should fall to 49.2% by 2025-26, and the deficit will be only 1.1% of GDP.

We are seeing these positive results because of the investments we have made toward the recovery of our economy, which will enable us to repay our COVID debt. That is why budget 2021 proposed game-changing investments in housing, early learning and child care, students, small businesses, innovation, public transit, broadband and the transition to a cleaner and greener economy.

These investments will permanently bolster Canada's capacity for economic growth. We know that Canada is a country with tremendous human and natural resources to drive growth, and this budget will fuel that. These are investments in our future and they will pay great dividends.

The current low interest rate environment means that we can make growth-enhancing investments that will continue to raise our GDP growth and strengthen our ability to pay down the COVID debt in the future. These investments are not only an investment in our economy, they are also an investment in the lives and futures of Canadians across the country.

We will continue to focus on Canadians who have been most affected and ensure that our recovery includes specific measures to continue to support them as needed. We will create jobs by investing in the infrastructure that supports our communities and the social and economic well-being of Canadians. We will support clean growth and a more prosperous future for Canadians by investing in world-leading research and innovation.

We will give skilled workers the opportunity to connect with businesses. Furthermore, we will help hard-hit businesses invest in new technologies and hire more workers, so that they can move forward and jump-start Canada's economic recovery, as we get it back up and running.

As I have shown today, these investments are responsible and sustainable. They move Canada forward on the premise that finishing our fight against COVID-19 goes beyond simply defeating the virus. It is about healing the economic wounds left by the COVID recession. It is also about securing Canada's long-term economic growth outlook, and budget 2021 sets us on that path. It sets the stage for our victory over this pandemic and a more prosperous future for all.

I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak today. I now have a question for the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity. I am a proud Franco-Ontarian, and our minority language communities and two official languages are very important to me. They make me who I am.

It is clear to me that our government is committed to celebrating and promoting both official languages and that it recognizes the important role our two official languages play in the lives, traditions and culture of Canadians from coast to coast to coast.

We know that education in French plays an essential role in shaping and promoting a bilingual country. Education in French must be available to all Canadians. Recent events have shown that our government must play a leadership role, certainly in my region.

Children in minority language communities everywhere, from Moncton to Victoria, including in my hometown, have participated in programs such as French immersion and the explore program, and these communities can speak to how beneficial these programs are, not only for post-secondary studies and access to the job market, but in many other ways. These programs help make our communities more diverse and contribute to preserving our linguistic history.

Our government also recognizes the value of post-secondary studies in the minority language and the importance of protecting the French language and supporting official language minority communities across the country.

Can the minister tell us why it is important to take these actions to promote Canada's two official languages?

What measures are set out in the budget to achieve that?