Debates of May 28th, 2021

The Economy

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance]

Madam Speaker, the hon. member is selective in his choice of sources. A number of credible experts, including former governors of the Bank of Canada, have described the fiscal framework outlined in the recent budget as being sustainable.

If the member is concerned about inflation, I would point him to the fact that we have been able to lock in long-term interest rates. If he looks at the costs of servicing our debt outlined in budget 2021, he will see that in raw dollar terms, despite the fact that we have had to incur debt to support Canadians, the cost of servicing that debt is actually less than what was predicted in the fall economic statement before this pandemic. We will move—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. member for Mégantic—L'Érable.

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

Madam Speaker, the cost of everything is rising. That is the reality.

Yesterday, the Parliamentary Budget Officer released a report that confirms what we have been saying all along about this Liberal budget: There are more risks and more debt for Canadians. Revenues have been overestimated, deficits and debts have been underestimated, and there are no plans for the Liberals to ever balance a budget again after one two years in the making.

Why has the government failed to produce credible plans for the future?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance]

Madam Speaker, the hon. member sees the cost of the measures we have put in place, but he does not see the value in them. I would point out to the hon. member that today is actually the day that families with kids under the age of six are going to receive an enhanced Canada child benefit after months of delay by the Conservatives. They pretend to support our measures when they opposed CERB, voted against measures to extend the wage subsidy and held a press conference at the beginning of the pandemic to say they would not support big, fat government programs.

Canadians should know that in their time of need it was our government that was there for them to ensure they could keep their jobs and put food on the table. That was the right approach then and it is the right approach—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. member for Mégantic—L'Érable.

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

Madam Speaker, the facts are that inflation is on the rise and with it interest rates will go up sooner than expected. A rise in interest rates will cause debt-servicing costs to also skyrocket.

The PBO confirmed yesterday that interest rate increases will add, on average, $3.4 billion in debt interest costs annually. That is $3 billion less for health care, infrastructure or helping make small businesses more competitive.

Therefore, I ask again: Why has the government failed to put a credible economic plan in place?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance]

Madam Speaker, I will take no lessons from a member of a party that had the worst economic record since the Great Depression before this pandemic. If he wants to see a credible fiscal plan, I would direct him to budget 2021. The plan is to continue to support households and businesses through this pandemic. The plan is to defeat COVID-19. The plan is to ensure that all Canadians, not just wealthy Canadians, get to benefit from the growth that is being projected not just by our government but by private sector economists wherever we look.

The reality is our plan maintains an AAA credit rating, it maintains the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7 and it supports Canadian workers. This is—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. member for Mégantic—L'Érable.

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

Madam Speaker, it was indeed a big budget, but not for the right reasons. It is the biggest spending, biggest deficit and biggest debt in the history of our country. The PBO even said that inflation and rising interest rates will blunt the effectiveness of the so-called stimulus spending in the massive budget.

With no fiscal anchor, no debt management strategy and a never-ending deficit, why is the government setting up the country for massive failure?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance]

Madam Speaker, it is clear that the hon. member has not taken the time to read the budget.

He claims there is no fiscal anchor. The fiscal anchor is actually described in those terms as a declining debt-to-GDP ratio. He says there is no debt management strategy when the phrase “debt management strategy” is actually included in the portion of the budget that seeks to explain how we plan to manage our debt.

The reality is that we have launched spending measures to keep businesses open and to support Canadian families. We have done so in a way that is sustainable, that has preserved the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio of any G7 country, and maintained a AAA credit rating. That is more than could be said for any plan the Conservatives have offered.

Official Languages

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Madam Speaker, the Bloc Québécois and all Quebeckers want Bill 101 to apply to federally regulated businesses. When we ask the minister about this, she tells us that she will protect the right to work in French, but that is not what Bill 101 is for.

This bill does not protect the right to work in French; it makes French the language of work across all of Quebec. Does the minister want to protect the right to work in French in Quebec, or does she want to protect French as the official language of work in Quebec?

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages (FedDev Ontario and Official Languages)]

Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for her question. We recognize that French is in decline and that we need to protect and promote the French language not only outside Quebec, but also within Quebec.

We will step up and ensure that businesses under our jurisdiction contribute to the effort to protect French that has been initiated by the Government of Quebec and francophone communities. We are proposing to provide protection for French as the language of work and service in Quebec and in other communities across the country with a strong francophone presence.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Madam Speaker, I am asking the question because, in the white paper announcing its language reform, the government does not say that it wants French to be the language of work in Quebec. Rather, it says that it will extend the application of the Official Languages Act to all federally regulated businesses.

The government does not want to defend French in the workplace. It wants to defend bilingualism, even though bilingualism is doing great in Quebec. It is French that is in decline. Will the government let Quebec apply Bill 101 to federally regulated businesses to protect the French language?

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages (FedDev Ontario and Official Languages)]

Madam Speaker, as I said, we recognize that there has been a decline in the use of French. We will promote and protect the French language both outside and within Quebec. As we stated in our February reform document, protecting and promoting French is a priority for our government.

For the first time, the federal government recognized that the use of French is at a turning point in this country and that it is the government's responsibility to protect and promote the language both outside and within Quebec.

Canadian Heritage

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Madam Speaker, Facebook just made a deal with 14 media outlets to pay for online journalistic content. We can all agree that is a good thing and a step in the right direction. However, we do not want piecemeal solutions that depend on the wishes of web giants.

The real question here is why the heritage minister is dragging his feet and has not yet introduced a bill to protect our news media. What is he waiting for? For all of our newsrooms to shut down? When will the Liberals stop kowtowing to the web giants and stand up to them for a change?

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Madam Speaker, Canadian news publishers deliver essential information for the health and safety of our communities, and they should be fairly compensated for their work.

It is important. We are continuing to work, and we are committed to ensuring a fair and well-remunerated system for our news publishers here in Canada.

Post-Secondary Education

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Madam Speaker, Campus Saint-Jean, the only francophone campus in western Canada, is ailing. The Liberal government promised $121 million for post-secondary minority-language education across Canada.

It already promised Ontario $60 million. Now, it is asking Albertans to wait. Will the minister commit to supporting Campus Saint-Jean before it is too late?

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages (FedDev Ontario and Official Languages)]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question and also for her exceptional work in making sure Campus Saint-Jean receives the funding it needs.

Our government believes without a doubt that any post-secondary institution in Canada with a strong francophone majority should be supported. The Minister of Official Languages has been in contact with her provincial counterpart in Alberta. We are truly working on solutions and we want to continue to be involved.

That is why, since we came to power in 2015—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Order. The hon. member for Chicoutimi—Le Fjord

Health

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Madam Speaker, the Conservatives raised concerns about Switch Health in mid-April. The Prime Minister said he had asked his team to carefully look into what was happening with the contract and with that company. However, the government had already extended the contract, which is worth up to $180 million, before the Standing Committee on Health had a chance to look into the situation.

Did the Prime Minister call for a thorough review, or did he simply let Canadians down once again?

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Madam Speaker, we expect this company to fulfill its contract requirements. Officials have been working with Switch Health to address any problems and concerns. We will not sacrifice the safe and reliable testing at our borders for Canadians. The minister has also directed officials to look at alternatives for providing this service. We have added an additional provider. We will stop at nothing to ensure that the contract and the testing are both fulfilled.

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Madam Speaker, the Prime Minister has repeatedly said that he is committed to transparency, but he keeps covering up his mistakes.

Nearly 5,000 tests were not processed because the samples were improperly labelled. Now the Liberal government will not even show us the contract, once again citing national security as the excuse.

Why does the Prime Minister refuse to accept responsibility for his mistakes?

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Madam Speaker, it is the contrary. As I said, we expect Switch Health to fulfill its contract requirements. Officials have worked with this company every step of the way to address any areas of concern. In addition to that, we have added additional providers. The Minister of Health is very seized with this file. We will ensure that our testing is safe and reliable, so we can ensure all Canadians can count on it.

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Madam Speaker, Switch Health is an English-only company. This has caused numerous problems for francophones, especially for farmers and business owners who have hired temporary foreign workers.

None of the company's partner laboratories are located in Quebec, and tests performed in Quebec are generally sent to Ottawa to be analyzed.

How can the government ignore the needs of francophones for such an essential service?

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Madam Speaker, I have said in this House before that we expect the testing to be done in both official languages. We have worked with Switch Health on this file. It has doubled its French capabilities. However, even before that, we ensured to add an additional service provider to make sure there is safe, reliable testing in both official languages. We continue to work with officials and Switch Health, as well as look for additional service providers. We will stop at nothing to keep Canadians safe.