Debates of May 26th, 2021

Finance—Main Estimates, 2021-22

[Annie Koutrakis, Liberal, Vimy, QC]

Madam Chair, the elderly are some of the most vulnerable members of our population in Canada, and the pandemic has highlighted and exacerbated some of the issues that currently exist with respect to long-term care facilities.

To complement the work by the Health Standards Organization and the Canadian Standards Association to establish national standards for long-term care, budget 2021 proposes a series of investments to support long-term care in all provinces and territories. It considers the importance of culturally appropriate palliative care and steps to support seniors so that they can live independently for as long as possible, recognizing the importance and benefits of seniors living in the comfort of their own homes and allowing them to continue to be close to their communities.

Can the minister speak about some of the efforts that will be made through this budget to keep seniors safe in Canada and ensure that they are receiving the highest quality of care?

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Madam Chair, COVID-19 has highlighted many of the concerns facing our elderly population, and our government is committed to enhancing our current long-term care system and establishing national standards that meet and exceed the needs. That is why we have allocated $3 billion to support provinces and territories in ensuring that they are meeting long-term care standards and that the necessary changes are being made.

To continue to support seniors during COVID, we propose an increase in old age security for seniors aged 75 and up and will provide a one-time payment of $500 to these seniors to help them pay their bills. We also understand the importance of living at home for many of our seniors and propose an investment of $90 million towards the launch of our “age well at home” initiative to provide seniors with the support needed to ensure that they can live in the comfort of their own homes for as long as possible.

I will conclude by saying that we have also proposed an investment of $41.3 million to improve our data infrastructure and collection on supportive care, primary care and pharmaceuticals so that we can gather the data needed to continue to monitor the challenges and support future investments. We know that seniors are among the most—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

Resuming debate, the hon. member for Sarnia—Lambton.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Madam Chair, I will be splitting my time with the member for Edmonton West, and I will be spending my time questioning the minister.

The minister has described budget 2021 as a growth budget, and I want to begin with the oil and gas sector, which is quite important for my riding. This is a sector across the country that has lost hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars of foreign investment. What is the funding end for measures of growth for this sector in these estimates?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Madam Chair, I agree with the member opposite that the energy sector is a vital part of the Canadian economy, and I would remind all members of this House of the very effective orphan wells program, which our government put in place with strong support from the provinces. In terms of this budget, one measure that I think is really worth highlighting is the tax incentive on carbon capture, utilization and storage.

I see, Madam Chair, that you are rising, but I will be happy to talk about this some more in further questions.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Madam Chair, I will expand it to the natural resources sector, because I did not see a lot in this budget for that, and it is 17% of our GDP. What are the measures and funding to spur growth in that sector?

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

Madam Chair, I just want to say a couple of things about carbon capture, utilization and storage, because this is so important for our energy sector. It is important for the planet. This new tax incentive, for which we are launching a 90-day consultation, is going to really help Canada and the Canadian energy sector make the green transition and make the leap into a clean and green economy. It is an important measure, and I am glad it is there.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Madam Chair, I did not hear any funding for any growth in the natural resources sector, which is 17% of our GDP.

Let us turn, then, to agriculture, which is 8% of our GDP. Can the minister talk about the funding and growth supports for agriculture?

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

Madam Chair, actually, I was talking about natural resources.

Let me just talk about one other aspect of natural resources where I see tremendous potential for Canada, and that is in heavy earths and the critical minerals and metals for electric batteries. There is a huge opportunity here for Canadian leadership, and this budget makes big investments in electric cars, in batteries and in that whole value chain.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Madam Chair, I would just point out to the minister that electric batteries are not the agriculture sector of Canada, which was my question.

Let us turn, then, to something that interests me as the chair of status of women, where we have been studying unpaid work and obviously looking at the child care issue. I see there is a pledge of $30 billion over five years, but it is contingent on the provinces matching that funding. What happens if the provinces cannot pay their half? Does that just become another broken election-year promise? What is the plan?

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

Madam Chair, I have to say to the member opposite that I have a real interest in agriculture, too.

This budget makes tremendous investments in agriculture. Let me talk about the clean fuel standard, which is going to be transformative for Canadian canola producers. I spoke recently with Kyle Jeworski of Viterra, and he told me about the investment in canola crushing they are working on, which will be tremendous for our canola producers. Likewise, our investments in the green transformation for farmers will be very important for the sector. Let me just mention wild salmon, another natural resource.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Madam Chair, that was a great answer for the child care question, not.

Let us move along, then. One of the files that I have has to do with the election. I noticed there was a section 91 change. This was something that came before the courts. Members will remember that in the previous session the government brought forward legislation to make it an offence to say false things about a candidate or public member, and the courts ruled that a violation of freedom of speech. Instead of respecting the courts' decision, now it has been put into a budget bill.

I did not see a line item that specifically had to do with that. Was it just that it was put into an omnibus bill with a phrase that says it applies to an election in the next six months, which I assume means the government intends to call an election in the next six months, or is there money in the estimates that I missed?

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

Madam Chair, there is just so much good stuff in the budget, and I do want to touch on all the issues that the member opposite is raising.

She talked about early learning and child care, and I am delighted she raised that issue. This is one of the key investments this budget proposes. This will drive long-term growth for the Canadian economy and provide a huge amount of relief to Canadian families.

The member asked about the role of provinces and territories. Of course, this needs to be a shared effort. We are already working with provinces and territories on this. I have to say that I believe there is going to be real enthusiasm, because everyone understands this is what Canada needs for jobs and growth.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Madam Chair, I am very concerned about the amount of debt the government has racked up, $460 billion before budget 2021, which brought in another $101 billion. If we look at the debt of $30,000 that this has added to every Canadian, and I did the math, that is $250 a month, every month for the next 10 years, assuming no interest. That is for everyone: men, their wives, their children, every Canadian.

I do not see a plan to eliminate the debt. Could the minister comment on what that plan is?

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

Madam Chair, the plan is jobs and economic growth.

Let me tell the House about some other people who did the math and came up with an AAA grade for Canada. That is the economists at S&P. Their job is to determine the creditworthiness of borrowers, of countries, and when they looked at our budget, they saw that the numbers, including the growth supportive measures, add up. They reaffirmed Canada's AAA rating, the highest rating possible. Let me remind members that Canada continues to have the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7.

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

Madam Chair, I will be using my time for questions.

Through you to the minister, what was the discount rate used in the assessment of the financial support for Air Canada?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Madam Chair, this gives me an opportunity to thank my deputy minister, Michael Sabia, who played a key role in our work with Air Canada.

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

Madam Chair, the minister does not have an answer.

How does the government determine the merits of spending taxpayer dollars without knowing what the planned return is?

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

Madam Chair, our agreement with Air Canada is a tough and excellent agreement that guarantees a great deal for Canadians. The Government of Canada—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member.

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

Madam Chair, what income does a person have to have in Canada to be considered one of the 1%?

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

Madam Chair, I just need to say a few more things about the Air Canada deal. Our government [Technical difficulty] so we have an upside, and there are strict limits on executive compensation.

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

Madam Chair, as the minister will not answer, I will tell her that it is about $300,000. The government has amended the Income Tax Act to allow Canadians earning up to $308,000 to get the tax-free child benefit top-up.

How many Liberal ministers would be eligible for that tax-free gift under the changes they made?

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

Madam Chair, the Canada child benefit top-up, which has been lamentably delayed by the filibustering tactics of the Conservatives, is going to provide crucial support to Canadian families as we get through these last weeks and months of COVID.

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

Madam Chair, I will answer for the minister: all 37.

How many of these top-percentile income earners received this tax-free Liberal bonus for the child benefit under their changes to bring it up to $308,000 earned?