Debates of Oct. 26th, 2022

The Economy

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what our government is doing. We are remaining responsible within the fiscal framework to maintain our capacity to respond if economic conditions worsen, but we are also there with targeted assistance for those who need it.

Whether it is the 11 million households that will receive a GST rebate cheque in the coming weeks, whether it is direct assistance to families for dental care, or whether it is help for low-income renters, we are helping Canadians get through the difficult months ahead.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's own former economic adviser has raised concerns of increased household costs because of interest rates going up. He says an average family with a new mortgage, before today's new increase, could see an increase of $11,000 in extra costs to their annual budget. Most families do not have the ability to absorb that kind of hit.

When will the government help families that are reeling with the shock of increasing interest rates?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we know how much families are concerned both with rising prices right now and with the spectre of increasing interest rates that are going to continue to put pressure on their mortgages and their savings. This is why we are taking action right now, in a targeted way, to ensure that we are supporting millions of households, millions of families, with GST rebates, with help for dental care and with help for low-income renters. We are going to continue to make sure we have the capacity to respond if the economic situation worsens for Canadians over the coming months.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, record inflation is a choice for the Liberals, after causing it with the $500 billion of inflationary deficit, much of which has nothing to do with COVID. They blame everything and everyone else. The Bank of Canada governor says that inflation is homegrown. Another past governor says it is domestic too. Now struggling Canadians are facing yet another rate hike that makes a bad situation worse. The Prime Minister is not letting up. He is raising taxes and, worse, he is still spending.

Canadians know how we got here. They just want to know how he could be so irresponsible.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, record inflation is hitting families around the globe, but that is cold comfort to Canadians who are struggling as well, which is why we are stepping up to directly support them with a GST rebate, with direct help for low-income renters and with dental care.

My question, and Canadians' question, to be quite frank, is this: Why are Conservative politicians continuing to stand against dental care for Canadian kids and stand against support for low-income families?

These are things that would help people tangibly in the months to come, but the Conservatives are just not supporting them. They are actually actively trying to block them.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister will have plenty of opportunity to ask questions in the future, but he does not get it.

Liberals told Canadians that interest rates would stay low. They told Canadians we would have deflation not inflation, and it would be temporary. They spent half a trillion dollars, which is more than every Prime Minister in the history of this country combined. They flooded the market with cheap cash and said not to worry about it. Now the Bank of Canada is cleaning up their mess by raising rates.

Will the Prime Minister finally pull his weight around here and stop fuelling the fire that he himself has lit?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it takes a special kind of Conservative politician to talk about initiatives like the CERB and the CEBA as flooding the market with cheap cash.

We are there to support Canadians in a direct way, as we had their backs during the pandemic, as we continue to have their backs right now with the high cost of living. We are always going to be there to support Canadians.

Why are Conservative politicians not stepping up to support Canadians on rental and dental care? That is the question Canadians are asking now.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's disastrous inflationary policies and reckless spending on the backs of Canadians is sending more families into homeless shelters and food banks. It is up 30%. The Prime Minister’s climate-zealot ideology is keeping billions of dollars of investment in our responsible Canadian energy sector in the ground, increasing home heating costs 50% to 100%, and making more families freeze in the dark.

Will the Prime Minister take responsibility for his inflationary problems that caused the Bank of Canada's interest rate hikes because of just—

[The Speaker, Anthony Rota]

The hon. Prime Minister.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am having a hard time following the particular logic that the Conservatives are putting forward today. They are saying the reason people are struggling is that we were there to help them in record amounts during the pandemic. We were there to keep food on the table for families struggling from having lost their jobs because of the pandemic. We were there to keep small businesses open, and restaurants and neighbourhood stores open, through the pandemic. We were there with supports because otherwise money was not coming in. We invested in the Canadian economy to get through these difficult times and Conservatives say we should not have done any of that.

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

Mr. Speaker, let us look at real, responsible allies of ours, like Japan, Switzerland, Taiwan and Hong Kong, that took the right steps and kept inflation under 3%. They did not print boatloads of money that was valueless and make sure their citizens got put further into debt. Canada now has the highest interest rate in the entire G7, pushing more families to food banks and homeless shelters. Like we said before, the more the Prime Minister spends, the higher interest rates and the higher “Justinflation” goes.

Will the Prime Minister take responsibility for Justinflation causing higher Bank of Canada interest rate hikes, yes or no?

[The Speaker, Anthony Rota]

I just want to remind hon. members that you cannot do indirectly what you cannot do directly. It is nice to play with words, but it was a little obvious there.

The right hon. Prime Minister.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have worked closely with allies over the past number of months and number of years to ensure that we are increasing opportunities for citizens, that we are increasing resilience in our supply chains and that we are working together.

Global inflation is hitting all of our allies, whether it be the United States, the U.K., France or Germany. All our major partners are facing these challenges. Canadians are doing slightly better than folks in those countries, but that is cold comfort to too many Canadians who are struggling. That is why we are stepping up with direct help and more help with a return on the GST credit that will land in Canadians' bank accounts in the coming weeks, and with dental and rental supports, which, inexplicably, Conservatives continue to oppose.

Taxation

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we all remember when the Minister of Finance said that she could afford to increase the debt to record levels because the interest rates were so low. Now that she is vying for the Prime Minister's job, she is changing her tune and warning Canadians of the dangers of rising inflation and the fact that her government has to tighten its belt. In the meantime, millions of Canadians cannot make ends meet.

Can the Prime Minister confirm that he will cancel the carbon tax?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Quebeckers and all Canadians know full well that climate change is a reality we need to face. They also know that we need to take this opportunity to grow our economy by making a greener shift. That is exactly what we are doing by putting a price on pollution. It is no longer free to pollute anywhere in the country. The Conservatives want to go back to those days, but we know that we need to move forward. We need to be there to put a price on pollution and put money back in Canadians' pockets, and that is exactly what we are doing.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, what is clear to Quebeckers and Canadians is that the Bank of Canada's key interest rate has just increased for the sixth time. Now it sits at 3.75%. This will have an impact on mortgages, car loans and the money Canadians need to borrow to live decently. Inflation, accelerated by the Liberals' unprecedented spending, is eating into Canadians' wages, purchasing power and pensions. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister is turning a deaf ear and will not commit to reversing tax hikes.

Will he do that?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, while the Conservatives continue to talk about cutting services that Canadians rely on, such as EI and pensions, we will be there to help vulnerable Canadians and invest in the middle class, and we will continue to fight climate change. We know that investing in the fight against climate change is the best way to build a robust economy with opportunities for everyone in the coming years. That is exactly what we will continue to do. The Conservatives may encourage us to cut services for Canadians, but we are not going to do that.

Dental Care

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government's dental cheque scheme is supposed to provide relief for families facing the rising cost of living. That is the title of this bill: the cost of living relief act.

However, if the Prime Minister really wanted to help families, he could have increased family allowances, and all families would have benefited.

Instead, he came up with a cheque scheme that does not help all families, that discriminates against Quebec families and that forces parents to navigate CRA bureaucracy. The Parliamentary Budget Officer has confirmed that a child in Quebec is half as likely to be eligible.

What will the Prime Minister do to stop this discrimination?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we know that too many families cannot afford the dental care they need. The dental benefit will be available to all eligible Quebec families, including those who are covered by a public insurance plan. If eligible families have expenses that are not covered by their existing provincial plan, they will have access to the benefit.

We will continue to work to make life more affordable for everyone.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the the worst part is that a dental cheque discriminates against Quebeckers, who already pay taxes in Quebec to cover the cost of dental care for children.

The bottom line is that Quebeckers have 23% of the children but will get 13% of this federal money. That means about half of the children in Quebec will not be covered by the NDP-Liberals' poor excuse for a program.

Basically, Quebeckers pay taxes to cover their children's dental care. This new program means they will also be covering dental care for children in other provinces thanks to the NDP and the Liberals.

How can the Prime Minister justify that?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we chose to make sure that every family in this country can afford dental care for their children. That includes families in Quebec, who will have access to this benefit.

We know this is something that should transcend political considerations, but, unfortunately, the Conservatives, and apparently the Bloc, are opposed to providing dental care to children who cannot otherwise afford it.

We will be here to help children and families in these difficult times.

The Economy

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government continues with wasteful spending. There is WE Charity, storytellers for the Prime Minister, the infrastructure bank, fridges for Loblaws, cheques to Mastercard, the arrive “scam” app and expensive hotels, just to name a few. Hard-working Canadians who send their money to Ottawa are not being respected. Canadians cannot afford this costly coalition.

Will the Liberals end their inflationary spending?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, if the member for Kelowna—Lake Country were really concerned about hard-working Canadians, she would drop her opposition to supporting families with dental care for their kids. She would stop her opposition to sending a $500 cheque to the lowest-income renters across the country, who need help making ends meet right now.

The Conservative Party continues to talk about trying to be there for people, but when it comes time to stand up and vote to help them, not only are its members voting against it, but they are doing everything they can to kill our dental and rental bill. Shame on them. When will they do the right thing and support low-income and middle-class Canadians?

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, interest rates are up again, and the Bank of Canada says more raises are coming. Now the bank says that inflation reflects Canadian domestic factors, not the global factors the government keeps blaming. The government said interest rates will remain low, and then it went on a spending spree. It said it was irresponsible not to spend. It said there would be no inflation and then it said inflation would just be temporary. Now inflation is out of control and Canadians are paying more.

Will the Prime Minister finally admit his spending has made life unaffordable for Canadians?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, during this unprecedented pandemic, all parties worked together to deliver the kinds of supports Canadians needed, whether it was CERB, whether it was the CEBA account for small businesses or whether it was support for seniors or support for students. We continued to step up. This government led the way, but we had the support of members across the aisle for many of these initiatives.

Now the members across the aisle are saying we should not have been there for Canadians, that we should not have spent that money supporting Canadians with the CERB and the CEBA. I ask Canadians to think back over the past couple of years and imagine what it would have been like had we not been there to support them.