Debates of Oct. 20th, 2022

The Economy

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, what a flip-flop. After adding $100 billion of new debt before the first case of COVID, half-a-trillion dollars of debt before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, doubling the debt, adding more debt than all other prime ministers combined, now the Prime Minister's government is saying that it is going to cut $9 billion and even bring in my “pay-as-you-go” law to find savings for every new dollar of spending. However, it now admits that deficits add fuel to the inflationary fire. Can we really trust the arsonists who lit the fire to put it out?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I would obviously pose a question. During the pandemic, what would the Conservatives have cut? What supports would they not have offered to Canadians? In what way would they have not been there when Canadians needed them the most?

The second question I would ask is this. As we enter a time that is the most difficult probably that the globe has faced since the Second World War, it demands responsible leadership. Amplifying anxiety is easy; solutions are hard. Are the Conservatives going to support dental care for those who need it?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, what would we have cut? We would have cut the $54-million ArriveCAN app. We would have cut the half-billion dollars for the WE organization. We said that they should never have given wage subsidies to wealthy corporations that were capable of paying out bonuses and dividends to their executives. That is an easy question to answer.

In fact, $200 billion of the $500 billion in new debt in the last two years had nothing to do with COVID at all. Inflation was already spiralling out of control well before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Liberals should stop blaming everyone else and tell us how they are going to reverse the inflation that they caused.

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition is stating that inflation is a problem that is only faced by Canadians. He is presuming that Canadians are not watching what is happening in the rest of the world.

Right now, he has an opportunity. The Conservatives reversed the decision they made on Bill C-30 to provide support for Canadians. They have another opportunity to reverse their position to ensure that low-income renters have an opportunity to get the money they need in these difficult global times. They have an opportunity to ensure that those who need dental care get it. Will they reverse their position and support us in these measures?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, it is true that dumb governments that ran massive deficits all around the world and printed money to pay for it all have inflation problems. Countries like Switzerland that have low or no deficits have low or no inflation.

This was a choice. The government decided to spend a half-trillion dollars inflating the cost of living. More dollars chasing fewer goods leads always to higher prices. Now we have 40-year highs in inflation.

How can we trust the very few people who caused this problem to fix it?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, around the world we are dealing with unprecedented times: climate change, a war that has happened in Ukraine. We are dealing with global inflation and that demands maturity and serious answers.

I would say for the member opposite that in this time, we have an opportunity not to amplify anxiety, not to make people more scared, but to provide them real solutions. It is bad enough that the Conservatives are not willing to support dental care. I am just asking, as the House leader, as somebody who is attempting to get that legislation in support of Canadians, will they at least stop opposing it so the parties that do support it can get it done?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, now the member blames the war in Ukraine for inflation, when less than 0.3% of Canada's trade is with Russia and Ukraine combined. Furthermore, the very things that the Russians and Ukrainians produce, oil and agriculture, are abundant here at home if only the government would get out of the way and let our farmers and energy workers produce them. If we cannot do that we have bigger problems still.

It is time for the Liberals to actually take responsibility. A half-trillion dollars of inflationary deficits have made life more expensive and have been bone-crushing for our consumers. When will they reverse these inflationary policies?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives did not support child care for those who needed it, to help cut it in half immediately and make sure that it goes to $10 a day. They did not support raising taxes on those who are earning the most so that we could give a break to those in the middle class. Here we are again with dental care, where many families are struggling because of the challenges happening across this globe, and they are not supporting that. I understand they are not supporting that, which is their partisan position, but will they at least get out of the way so that those of us who are trying to help Canadians right now can pass legislation?

Democratic Institutions

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Quebec is currently having a debate on the oath to the King of England. It is also a debate on the general principle of the monarchy. We are told it is not a priority. What is likely a priority is challenging Quebec's secularism law. What is surely a priority is challenging a stronger Charter of the French Language. This raises a fundamental question and I would like a clear response.

Who is the head of state of Canada?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, the oath is in our Constitution and it is a long-standing tradition in our parliamentary system. It is above all an oath to our institutions and our democracy, of which the sovereign is part. The Canadian courts have clearly established that it is not an oath to the person, now King Charles III, but to the state he represents.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, what I heard the member say is that swearing an oath to the King of England is like swearing an oath to a symbol and a democratic institution, even though the king is in fact an actual person. Now I have heard it all. This is not a trivial thing.

We are in a country where no one can tell me who the head of state is. That is quite something, yet they are saying that it is normal. A democratically elected prime minister is encouraging an oath to a foreign king.

I would like someone to explain that to me.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, everyone has their own priorities.

Here on the government side, we are concerned about the rising cost of living, access to decent housing for Quebeckers, access to child care for our Quebec children and housing assistance. We are there for our youth, for our workers and for our families. I do not understand the Bloc Québécois's priorities.

In the beginning, the Bloc was here for their passion. Today, we are coming to realize that they are here for their pensions.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Order. I am not sure what is going on today, but there is a lot of chatter. It is nice to see people getting along, but I want to remind people that we want to hear the questions and the responses.

The Economy

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the cost of living is still going up. The inflation rate at the grocery store is a record-high 11.4%. People are finding it harder and harder to pay for food.

We forced the Liberals and the Conservatives to adopt our plan to help families. When will the Liberal government implement our plan to help people?

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we laid out our affordability plan, and the first step is to double the GST credit for 11 million Canadian households. That money will flow in early November, which is very soon.

We introduced a proposal to help low-income Canadians pay their rent and to subsidize children's dental care. I hope that all parties in the House will vote in favour of these measures.

Telecommunications

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, without a question, the Rogers-Shaw merger will be bad for Canadians, for people and for our country. There is no question this will result in job losses. We know the Competition Bureau is also opposed to this decision.

When will the Liberal government finally stand up for people, stand up for Canadians, and oppose this merger?

[Andy Fillmore, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, we have been very clear that greater affordability, competition and innovation in the Canadian telecommunications sector are important to us as a government, as they are to all Canadians concerned about their cellphone bills and connectivity. Our government will ensure that consumers are protected and that the broader public interest is served. These goals remain front and centre as we analyze the implications of this proposed deal.

The Economy

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister had an epiphany after listening to the new Conservative leader's plan for ministers to find savings if they want to spend any new money. The only problem is that before COVID her government ran up $110 billion in debt, and before the Russian invasion added a half-trillion dollars to the debt. Of that, $200 billion was not even COVID spending. The government would rather blame everyone else than take responsibility for its homegrown inflation issue.

How can any Canadian trust the government to fix the inflation crisis it created?

[Terry Beech, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to address that member's question. For weeks now, the Leader of the Opposition has considered our pandemic spending frivolous. I respectfully disagree. I think the millions of Canadians who kept their jobs and stayed employed because of the CEWS disagree. I think the millions of Canadians who were able to feed their children because of the CERB disagree. I think the hundreds of thousands of businesses whose doors are still open today because of our investments would disagree.

Thank goodness we were here, because the Leader of the Opposition does not want to lead.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals will continue to blame everyone else for their homegrown failures, and these failures are driving Canadians deeper into debt. They cancelled good Canadian energy projects, attacked our farmers and hit Canadians with a job-killing carbon tax. They drove up inflation and made groceries, gas and home heating more expensive, driving more Canadians to food banks and homeless shelters at an alarming rate.

How can anyone believe that the same government that is pile-driving more Canadians into insolvency will give this economy a soft landing?

[Terry Beech, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, in the context of a country where fires, floods and hurricanes are already devastating and in the context of a time when there is a scientific deadline and timetable to when we must address climate change, we must make sure we take these actions so that we do not put future generations of Canadians at risk.

I call on that member and the entire opposition to come with us, together in this place, and figure out a plan, like we have, to grow the economy, create jobs and fight climate change.

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government increased the debt by over $100 billion before COVID and then increased the debt another $500 billion during COVID, half of which it did not even spend on pandemic measures. Now we are supposed to believe the government has a new-found religion called fiscal restraint.

If the government has not shown Canadians any fiscal responsibility in seven years, why should we trust it now?

[Terry Beech, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we are a fiscally responsible government. Every single year over the last seven years we have been in government outside of the pandemic, the debt-to-GDP ratio has gone down. That is while we have invested in Canadians. In fact, the poverty report came out in October. We have lifted millions of Canadians out of poverty. Today, 25% fewer seniors live in poverty than when we took office in 2015, and that is because we are supporting Canadians.

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, if the government wants to run on its record, it is going to have to own up to its spending having helped drive inflation to 40-year highs. Canadians are having a hard time putting food on the table. Even the Bank of Canada says that inflation is a homegrown problem.

The Liberals promise to keep spending increases to 2% a year. Has the Deputy Prime Minister told the rest of cabinet about this new fiscal plan?

[Terry Beech, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we know that inflation is a global problem. Inflation in Canada has come down from its peak to 6.9%, but we know it is 8.2% in the United States. It is over 10% in the euro area. It is over 10% in the OECD.

It is important that we continue to focus on affordability measures that are going to make life easier for Canadians, like we did by doubling the GST benefit, which is going to 11 million Canadian families that need it and over 50% of our seniors.