Debates of Nov. 17th, 2022

Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

Mr. Speaker, before the Minister of Finance introduced Bill C-32, the fall economic statement implementation act, on November 3, the Conservative leader made two clear demands on behalf of our party.

First, we wanted the Liberal government to stop the taxes. This included cancelling the planned tax hikes and the tripling of the carbon tax. Second, we wanted the Liberal government to stop the spending. Any new spending by Liberal ministers in the government must be matched by an equivalent saving to cut wasteful spending and stop the inflationary deficits that drive up the cost of everything for Canadians.

Unfortunately, neither of our demands was met by the government and, for that reason, I will be voting against this bill.

Simply put, the fall economic statement does not address the cost of living crisis facing Canadians right now. In fact, it makes the crisis worse. After seven years of the Liberal government, we pay more today for goods and services and get less. Groceries, gas, home heating and more are getting more and more expensive by the day because of the Liberals' reckless spending habits, the same reckless spending habits that have played a big role in driving up inflation.

Many of the inflationary issues and concerns we face are of the government's own making. For months we have been warning the Liberals that their out-of-control spending would lead to an increase in interest rates. The government responded by telling Canadians not to worry and to go ahead and take out big loans and mortgages, because interest rates would remain low for a long time and there would not be any negative consequences.

Well, fast-forward to now, and interest rates are increasing at the fastest rate in decades. Families that bought a home five years ago with a typical mortgage that is now up for renewal will pay $7,000 more a year. The Bank of Canada has signalled that interest rates will have to rise even higher to tackle inflation. Many Canadians will not be able to afford their mortgages and will risk losing their homes.

Through the government's bad spending habits, as inflation soars, so does our national debt. Since they were elected in 2015, the Liberal government has doubled our national debt, spending more than all previous governments combined since Confederation in 1867. Let that resonate for a moment.

Here are some recent examples of reckless Liberal spending contributing to inflation and our national debt.

The government wasted $54 million on the disastrous ArriveCAN app, yet it refuses to tell us who got rich off those massively excessive contracts.

The federal government paid out generous bonuses to Destination Canada executives when the tourism industry badly needs to recover.

The Liberal government recklessly spent $400 million on random testing at our borders, when medical experts said this policy was no longer needed.

Just last month, the Prime Minister spent $6,000 to stay for one night in a luxurious European hotel room.

Despite all the reckless and record Liberal spending, Canadians have less to show for it and are worse off because of it. Is it any wonder, then, that Canadians are struggling? The cost of groceries is up almost 11%. The cost of transportation is up over 10%. Gas is up over 22%. Next April, the excise tax on alcohol will increase by nearly 7%.

Under these deteriorating conditions, people work harder to try to get ahead, but they take less home because of the higher cost of the things they buy and the higher cost of punishing taxes to afford all this reckless Liberal spending. As a result of the Liberal government's incompetence, goods and services are more expensive and we have less money to pay for them.

How are Canadians reacting to this new reality? Families are downgrading their diets to cover the jump in food prices. Food bank usage is at an all-time high. Seniors are delaying their retirement and watching their life savings evaporate with inflation. Younger adults who did everything right are now trapped in 400-square-foot apartments or living in their parents' basements. No wonder Canadians feel like they have lost control. Many are falling behind, and others are struggling to get ahead.

The fall economic update shows that federal government revenues have increased by $40.1 billion this year alone. As Canadians suffer financially, the Liberal government is actually profiting from increased inflation that it generates and Canadians pay for.

How did it do that? Well, when Canadians pay higher prices on goods and services, they are also paying higher taxes. When they pay higher taxes, the government makes more money.

My NDP colleagues in this place have a history and reputation for taking issue with big corporate greed, yet when it comes to big government greed, apparently it is different and they turn a blind eye.

Rather than rein in the spending to begin slowing down the vicious cycle of spend and inflate, the Liberals drive the cycle of inflation even faster by spending more money at every opportunity they get. In addition to driving inflation, the federal government is also incurring tremendous amounts of debt. In fact, debt interest payment costs will have doubled this year. Next year, interest payments will be nearly as much as the Canada health transfer, and it is projected to be larger than what the government spends on the budget for the Department of National Defence.

Let us think about that. This is not good governance. It is dangerous governance. Anyone with a stake or interest in the good governance of our country should be alarmed and concerned.

Today, the federal government spends more money than any federal government before it. It is bigger, in terms of workforce, than ever before, yet what are the results? Millions of immigration applications are backlogged. Passport applications are severely delayed. New NEXUS and FAST applications are far behind schedule. The Phoenix pay system disaster continues. Government transparency is all but gone as journalists, researchers and Canadians cannot access federal information because the access to information system is broken in many federal departments.

Another irony I will point out is that despite the record number of federal employees and a track record of nothing working, this big-spending Liberal government spent $14.6 billion last year on outsourcing contracts to businesses outside of the public service to do public service work. This is yet another indication that the federal government is too big, which is causing it to break down.

Canadians are paying for reckless Liberal spending. We are not benefiting from it. In fact, future Canadian generations are at risk because of that and the debt the Liberal government has incurred. Canadians must realize that as the Liberals make more promises for a better tomorrow to detract us from the issues of today, none of the problems they have created, which Canadians now face, are getting fixed. After seven years of Liberal government incompetence in Ottawa, Canadians are realizing they are worse off today compared to when the Liberals first took office in 2015. We need real solutions to these real problems that Canadians are facing right now.

Instead of creating more cash, the Conservatives would create more of what cash buys. Enough with the talking, we need to get more homes built. We need to make energy more affordable, and to do so we would repeal anti-energy laws and get Canadian energy out to market. We would cut corporate welfare and axe the carbon tax. We would tackle climate change by making alternative energy cheaper, not by making Canadian energy more expensive. We would reform the tax system to ensure that whenever people work an extra hour, take an extra shift or earn an extra bonus they are always better off and would keep more of that dollar for themselves and their needs, not for the government's political agenda.

Conservatives have an ambitious vision and plan for when we form government after the next election, but for now, I am going to do my part by voting against Bill C-32.

[Leah Taylor Roy, Liberal, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Madam Speaker, we have heard many of the member's comments several times before from members opposite.

The member mentioned that spending has not come down at all. There was an article on Global News recently about budget 2022 and Canada's incredible disappearing deficit, and that the deficit has been reduced significantly. It has shrunk by $275 billion in just two years.

I am wondering where you are getting your facts from when you say the deficit has not shrunk at all.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I would remind the member that she should not use the word “you” or “your”.

The hon. member for Niagara Falls

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

Madam Speaker, looking at the government's own financial document, the recent statement, it shows the actual service levels for the debt it has created. Let us remember that Mark Carney, the former governor of the Bank of Canada, and Tiff Macklem, the current Governor of the Bank of Canada, said that inflation was caused by that extra $200 billion that was not related to COVID spending, which the Liberal government decided to make. It caused the inflationary pressures we are facing today.

Let us think about this. In the next several years, we are going to be spending more on servicing the debt than we will be on health transfers, which is $45 billion now. The Province of Ontario is spending $74 billion right now on health care services and the federal government only spends $45 billion. It is going to be spending more to service the debt on top of that in the coming years, more than on national defence. That is ludicrous and it needs to be fixed.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Madam Speaker, I want to be sure I understand what our colleague said. He talked about spending and spending. I understand that the Conservatives do not like spending and they see it as the source of inflation, which is not entirely untrue, but it is more complicated than they often present. This issue certainly deserves better than a childish campaign of hashtags with silly wordplay using the Prime Minister's name, even though it is not necessarily false. This could be in the middle of a discussion. However, we are living in a time when we also need spending. He talked about health spending.

Would the Conservatives respond favourably to Quebec's request for $28 billion in ongoing funding?

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

Madam Speaker, I mentioned what we are supporting. If governments are looking to spend, the policy we would be putting forward is this: For every dollar spent in new spending, one has to find a dollar in savings from other departments and other types of spending. That is to be used for the programs people deserve.

Let us think about this. We are spending almost $45 billion on interest to service the debt. That could be used for programs Canadians deserve and need right now, yet it is going to service the debt. That helps no Canadian.

We have to fix that. We have to get our economic conditions in a better state. The government has failed to do that.

[Richard Cannings, NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

Madam Speaker, I was surprised the member did not mention wine, which is one of the industries both his riding and mine share. We do not make as much as the Niagara region, but we make better wine, of course.

I wanted to perhaps give him some time to expand on what we were hoping to see in this fall economic statement about support for the wine industry.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

Madam Speaker, we can debate whose wine is better. One concern I mentioned in my remarks just now was the excise tax. In April it will be going up almost 7%. That will be hitting our wineries and our producers and hurting them tremendously.

Another thing happening at the end of March is that the two-year replacement program for the ending of the excise exemption will end. That was $166 million provided over two years for our wineries, and there is no certainty on what is there to replace it.

The government has to work and come forward with suggestions and ideas on how it is going to support our growers in the future.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Order. It is my duty pursuant to Standing Order 38 to inform the House that the questions to be raised tonight at the time of adjournment are as follows: the hon. member for Regina—Wascana, Agriculture and Agri-Food; the hon. member for Saanich—Gulf Islands, Natural Resources; the hon. member for Nanaimo—Ladysmith, Health.

[Pat Kelly, Conservative, Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise to add my voice to the debate on the fall economic statement.

The bill is a disappointing but unsurprising continuation of the high-tax, high-inflation policy that we have come to expect from the Liberal government. The bill offers Canadians more debt, more taxes, more spending and the prospect of more inflation and higher interest rates in the months and years ahead. I say that Canadians have come to expect this kind of bill because this is consistent with what these Liberals have delivered for the last seven years.

Back in 2015, these Liberals promised three years of what they called “modest deficits” that would be incurred entirely for the purpose of a transformational infrastructure construction program, which would lead to the budget balancing itself by 2019. It was obvious right from the start that this solemn election promise was a lie told to Canadian voters. They immediately started piling on new spending without any fiscal restraint and drove Canada straight into deficit, and they have never talked about a balanced budget since.

It was as if no Liberal MP had ever heard the promise they made to millions of Canadians on doorsteps that, if Liberals were elected, they would get short, modest deficits offset by gleaming new productivity-improving infrastructure. Instead, we have structural deficits and industries struggling under the weight of ever-increasing regulation. I would remind members of the House, and Canadians watching or reading this, that this government's track record is how its credibility should be measured.

After ignoring their promise by pretending they never made it, Bill Morneau assured Canadians that what really mattered was not deficits but that the debt-to-GDP ratio would constantly shrink. Then, when his own departments' projections looked like this so-called fiscal anchor was in jeopardy, he suddenly said that, no, what really mattered was Canada's AAA credit rating. Then, at the moment when one agency downgraded Canada's credit rating, when Canada was paralyzed by rail blockades, when Canada's lack of pipeline capacity was helping drive Canadian energy prices below zero, when the economy was teetering on the brink of recession, and when this government was about to table a massive deficit budget, COVID struck. It is critical for Canadians to remember this important point. This government squandered four years of a booming world economy by creating new taxes and regulations that decimated Canadian industries and racked up $100 billion in new debt before the pandemic. All of this happened before the pandemic.

Conservatives warned this government throughout the first four years that it was grossly irresponsible to run large deficits and fail to build promised infrastructure while times were relatively good. Conservatives repeatedly warned the government that it was leaving Canadians vulnerable by leaving the cupboard bare during good times. The Conservative leader certainly did not predict the COVID pandemic, but he did warn the government that it had a responsibility to act prudently to maximize Canada's capability to manage an economic downturn.

Now, nearly three years later, according to the fall economic statement, Canada's debt is nearly $1.2 trillion, more than half of which was piled on by this government alone, and the majority of the new debt this government has added had nothing to do with COVID response measures, as $100 billion of it came before COVID, and $205 billion was added to the debt after the pandemic for spending that had nothing to do with the pandemic.

While the current and previous finance ministers were running these huge deficits, they assured Canadians that this was all okay. They said that interest rates were low and would remain low for the foreseeable future. They even said that rates were so low that they could run a deficit while lowering the debt-to-GDP ratio.

While the finance ministers were racking up the debt, the Bank of Canada was cranking up the printing press. The Department of Finance issued new debt, and the Bank of Canada bought it with cash created out of thin air. Current and previous governors of the Bank of Canada assured Canadians that this was fine, that there was nothing to be concerned about.

In fact, I asked the Governor of the Bank of Canada if buying up all this debt with newly conjured money would eventually trigger inflation, and he said no. He dismissed the concerns that I raised two and half years ago about inflation. He said that there would be no inflation, and even if there was, they had plenty of tools to deal with that. Our Conservative leader also raised these concerns consistently over the past two and a half years.

The finance minister dismissed these Conservative concerns about inflation and said that any inflation was simply transitory and nothing to worry about. Now here we are. We are in a full-blown cost of living crisis. Canadians are increasingly unable to afford basic necessities of life such as food, groceries, gasoline, housing and home heating.

Inflation has been called the cruellest tax of all. It destroys the life savings of seniors. It destroys the purchasing power of workers whose wages do not keep up with the cost of the goods they need to live. Canada now has the highest inflation in 40 years, yet there is absolutely nothing in the fall economic statement that would meaningfully address this crisis.

Milton Friedman said, “Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon in the sense that it is and can be produced only by a more rapid increase in the quantity of money than in output.”

As the Conservative leader has put it, there is too much money chasing too few goods. The cost of government is driving up the cost of living. We must stop printing cash and start producing more of the things that cash buys, such as food, houses and affordable energy. Now that inflation is out of control and wreaking havoc on Canadians' ability to feed, house, and transport themselves, and heat their homes, the Bank of Canada is raising interest rates faster than at any point in decades.

This has two important consequences for Canadians. First, it means that thousands, perhaps even millions, of Canadians are going to see their monthly mortgage payments shoot up drastically in the months and years to come. Second, it means that the interest on Canada's debts will soon approach $50 billion per year, according to the fall economic statement. The Canadian government will soon spend more on interest than it does on health transfers or national defence.

On top of all that, this bill offers no meaningful tax relief for Canadians. The government is proceeding to triple the carbon tax on home heating, gasoline and groceries, again breaking a previous Liberal election promise to not raise the carbon tax above $50 per megatonne. This is in addition to the payroll tax, which is set to increase in just a few weeks. Canadians cannot pay a higher carbon tax with a smaller paycheque. They cannot afford higher food prices, higher home heating costs or higher gasoline and transportation costs. As the interest rates rise and house prices remain out of reach, Canadians despair that an entire generation has given up on the dream of home ownership.

However, the problems with the government go way beyond this terrible bill and deeply flawed and disappointing fall economic statement. It is a government that has failed Canadians so thoroughly that it is almost incomprehensible. The government is so hopelessly incompetent that Canadians cannot get a passport. The government cannot ensure access to basic children's medication. There are nearly two and a half million people waiting for an immigration decision, and 10,000 people who were ordered into quarantine and threatened by a useless and dubiously acquired phone application.

The government's payroll systems cannot pay, and its procurement systems cannot procure. Our Arctic is inadequately defended. Public officials have denied and defied democratic orders of Parliament. Emergency powers have been declared under false pretense. Cabinet ministers interfere with police investigations. Basic information is routinely denied to members of the public and to journalists. Our energy resources remain in the ground while Europe freezes and Putin laughs. Canadians cannot afford food. They cannot heat their homes. The finance minister continues to jeopardize Canada's future with reckless spending and punishing taxes, while mocking desperate, suffering Canadians by having them believe that she shares their hardships and can relate to them because she cancelled her Disney+ subscription.

I have no confidence in the government. I oppose this bill, and I oppose the government. It is time for a Conservative government and hope for Canadians.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

Madam Speaker, my friend opposite's speech was impassioned. I have to admit that for a while there I was feeling kind of bad, but then I remembered that the members of the party opposite live in an alternative reality where they are the fiscal managers and fiscal stewards of this country.

Let me remind Canadians that this is the party that ran nine straight deficits. It drove the Canadian economy into the ground. It tried to balance the budget in its 10th year by throwing in the sale of GE stocks and the rainy day EI fund and whatever else, but the economy was a mess. When challenged on that, the Conservatives said, “We had hard times.” They forget that we have just been through a worldwide pandemic. Would the member opposite not agree that he does not have a leg to stand on with respect to fiscal stewardship?

[Pat Kelly, Conservative, Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB]

Madam Speaker, it pains me to so thoroughly disagree with my friend from Saint John—Rothesay. I thank him for putting on a tie and participating in the debate today, but he is completely wrong.

The financial crisis that existed when the Conservatives were in office was at the time the greatest financial crash since the Great Depression. Canada came out of that firing on all cylinders with the strongest economy in the G7. They did not resort to quantitative easing and printing funny money like so many other countries did, and like the Liberal government is doing now.

We will take no lessons from the Liberal government on financial management.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Madam Speaker, let me start with a special mention for the member, as I believe he is the first Conservative to say “triple” just once. That is very good for the mental health of everyone in the House, so I thank him warmly. Triple thanks to him, and so the trend continues.

I have two very simple questions and I invite him to give clear answers. It requires a simple yes or no. I believe that our colleagues are just as irritated as we are when we get no answers from the government.

First question: What do we do about the governor of the central bank? Second question: What do we do about cryptocurrency?

[Pat Kelly, Conservative, Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB]

Madam Speaker, I am sorry I did not catch a third question there with all his talk about tripling the carbon tax.

With respect to the Governor of the Bank of Canada, I would hope that all Canadians would expect him to return to the core mandate of limiting inflation to 2% and not devalue Canadian currency. We are very frustrated. I share his frustrations with the lack of responses from the government. We do not get answers.

[Bonita Zarrillo, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Madam Speaker, I am thinking about the resource extraction in our country and the lack of value added to some of the extraction that happens.

Does the member support the need for protections for indigenous communities, including of course indigenous women and girls, as we look at the expansion of resource extraction in Canada?

[Pat Kelly, Conservative, Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB]

Madam Speaker, I think resource extraction offers some of the best opportunities for remote indigenous communities to have access to jobs and the core services that the revenues these projects produce.

We heard that earlier in the leader's speech. It is very important for indigenous communities, and indeed all northern and remote communities, that resource extraction can happen in Canada. Canada has a role to play in the world.

Europe is risking freezing this winter and fuelling Putin's war because of our inability to get energy resources to Europe, where they are needed. It is a shame. The government carries tremendous responsibility for this failure of global energy security.

Message from the Senate

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I have the honour to inform the House that a message has been received from the Senate informing this House that the Senate has passed bill C-31, an act respecting cost of living relief measures related to dental care and rental housing.

The House resumed consideration of the motion that Bill C-32, An Act to implement certain provisions of the fall economic statement tabled in Parliament on November 3, 2022 and certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on April 7, 2022, be read the second time and referred to a committee, and of the amendment.

Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022

[Leah Taylor Roy, Liberal, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Madam Speaker, it is my honour to rise today to speak to the fall economic statement implementation act.

As the member of Parliament for Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, I know the people I represent expect at least two things from me. One is to show compassion and the other, responsibility, and I know, by extension, it is what they expect of our government. That is why, when I saw the fall economic statement that was presented by our Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, I was so pleased. I think it struck the right balance between compassion and responsibility.

We know Canadians are going through a tough time right now. Global inflation, the post-COVID economy and supply chain disruptions exacerbated by the war in Ukraine have caused economic challenges for every country around the world. We know that Canadians are among those who are facing challenging times. As such, in the fall economic statement, we have introduced a number of programs to help Canadians who are struggling the most.

What programs did we introduce and how are they helping? The GST rebate, for one, will be doubling the GST tax credit for six months. There is the elimination of interest on student loans and the top-up to the Canada housing benefit of $500. We are changing the Canada workers benefit so that hard-working families and people who are often making minimum wage but want to continue working get a top-up to their earnings. That is now going to be paid quarterly and in advance.

We are expanding the health care program by including dental care. We are providing funding for children's dental care for families that may not have enough money to pay for it and have to make a choice between dental care or food and clothing. Last is the Canada early learning and child care program. We have managed to reach agreement on that with all 10 provinces and three territories. It is program the Liberal government has worked on for over 50 years. It is finally being implemented with the agreement of the provinces and territories. This program is going to see parents receive 50% rebates, in the province of Ontario where my constituents live, this December, either as rebates to themselves or as credits on future payments. That is real money in the pockets of families that are struggling right now with inflationary pressures.

These are examples of investing in social infrastructure. We have heard many comments from across the aisle about how we should stop spending. They are mostly based on the doctrines of Milton Friedman, whom the previous speaker mentioned and of whom the current Leader of the Opposition is a great disciple, but we know these failed economic theories of trickle-down economics have been disproven many times. The best way to help Canadians is not to hope that money trickles down from the rich, but rather to give direct assistance.

These programs, such as the investment in early learning and child care, will increase productivity in the Canadian labour force, not only for women, but for both parents by having affordable reliable child care. The uptake in Ontario is 92%. Ninety-two per cent of licensed child care facilities will be participating in this amazing program.

There are so many other things we are doing. We know, though, that we cannot continue the wide-set supports that were provided to Canadians during the COVID pandemic, because we are facing inflationary pressures. This is where responsible government comes in. As much as we would like to help every Canadian who is struggling, we know we have to have targeted measures and be responsible.

Spending has been reduced in this past budget and the fall economic statement. It has come down significantly from where it was during the COVID year benefit programs. These were programs, I will remind members opposite, that they voted for, under another leader however, knowing full well that Canadians needed that support and that it would benefit our economy.

We now have a deficit of 1.3% of our GDP. We have received a AAA rating from Moody's, and we have the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7. In addition, we have increased selected taxes to make sure everyone pays their fair share. We are not increasing broad-based taxes, as the members opposite like to say. We are only increasing taxes, such as the Canada recovery dividend, on banks and insurance companies that have made excess profits during this period. We are being responsible. We are also being responsible with other important social programs we have in place and in continuing the fight against climate change.

We know that climate change is one of the most existential threats facing not only our country, but the planet. We are committed to stay the course, to follow the program we have put in place to combat this threat. Unlike the members on the other side of the House, who have gone back and forth as often as their leader has changed, on whether they support the price on pollution or not, we are following through on what we told businesses and Canadians we were going to be doing. This is important because the kind of uncertainty that the threat the Conservatives make about this program discourages investment in our clean economy and works against a just transition. We know that the cost of doing nothing is far greater than the cost of doing something. We also know, and the members opposite know, that all the money that is raised from this price on pollution, all the money taken in, is returned to Canadians. It is a net-neutral program. It is not an additional tax.

I talked about the cost of climate change. Since 1983, the cost of climate change impacts has risen from $0.4 billion to $1.9 billion annually. In addition is the cost of the health impacts. A recent article in The Lancet talked about the global impact, but the monetary value of global heat-related mortality was estimated to be $144 billion in 2021. These are significant impacts that cannot be overlooked. The responsible thing to do is to keep on a steady path to fight climate change, and we are doing that.

We are also investing in our economy, in businesses, and ensuring that we are putting in the incentives to attract investment in Canada. We know that the recent changes under the Inflation Reduction Act in the United States have brought about some challenging programs that we have to respond to. The tax credits under the clean tech program and the green hydrogen program have been put in place to try to keep Canada competitive with the United States in this.

We need to be responsible and we have to be sure that we are not putting out irresponsible messages. On this point I would like to say that the disinformation and misinformation that is being spread with half-truths, cute phrases and slogans is really increasing fear and anxiety in Canadians.

Just now, the Leader of the Opposition mentioned that everything in Canada is broken. I do not agree. Things in Canada are going fairly well. We have challenges we have to get through and we know it. There are real challenges due to these global inflationary pressures, due to the COVID pandemic and due to the supply chain disruptions that we have experienced, but those challenges are being experienced worldwide. We are taking responsible, targeted measures to help those who need help the most. This is the responsible thing to do.

What is irresponsible is quoting partial pieces of Tiff Macklem's or Mark Carney's statements, just using little quotes and pieces, or saying that things are happening that are not happening. Do members not realize that the price on pollution has not increased since April of last year? It cannot be the cause of these inflationary pressures. It is not due to increase again until April of next year. How is it accountable for the inflation that is happening right now? There are many countries around the world that do not have a price on pollution and they are experiencing greater inflation than we are. We are responsible for taking care of Canadians, for addressing the challenges that Canadians are facing due to this inflation and we are taking that responsibility seriously and with compassion.

Let me end by saying that we have to also let Canadians know that our economy is strong. Not only were our results during the COVID–19 pandemic strong with respect to our health results, but also with respect to our economy. We have over 500,000 more new jobs now than we had before the pandemic. Our economy had the largest growth of any in the G7. As we have heard, our deficits are the lowest and the only thing that has tripled is our AAA credit rating.

We are in a good position. We are facing challenges. Our government recognizes this and is taking action to address it, but we should not be increasing Canadians' anxiety. We should focus rather on sharing the values of compassion and responsibility and all work together to make this an even better—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Questions and comments, the hon. member for Edmonton Manning.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Madam Speaker, it is very concerning when the government is living on a completely different planet than reality.

Usually with math and the economy, good formulas deliver good numbers. If the numbers are wrong, that means the method is wrong and the plan is wrong. The plan which the government is trying to say is working and there is nothing to be concerned about is not working.

The government needs to rethink this. It is okay to take a step back and think about doing something else and trying another method to get Canadians a better life and better opportunities so that they do not suffer the way they are suffering. I would like to know if the government is willing to do that. The first step is to cut down the triple, triple, triple tax on groceries, gas and home heating.

[Leah Taylor Roy, Liberal, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Madam Speaker, I will try to address this properly this time.

I do not really understand what the member was talking about when he said “triple, triple, triple”, and so I do not know how to answer that, quite frankly. We are not tripling any tax right now. We have not increased the tax. I am not sure what he is talking about.

I would say that, when it comes to economic theories, by following the failed economic theories of Milton Friedman that came out in the 1970s and have been refuted time and time again, how can the member stand there and criticize us?

I am sorry, but I think you have to look at your plan, if you even have one.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I cannot tell the member what my plan is. However, I do want to remind the member not to use the words “you” or “your”. That way she would not be called on it.

The hon. member for Longueuil—Saint‑Hubert.

[Denis Trudel, Bloc, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Madam Speaker, I am always amazed at the fact that the Liberal members on the other side of the House are still wearing rose-coloured glasses when it comes to fighting climate change. Again, the member bragged about her government's record. It makes absolutely no sense.

Canada is one of the worst countries in the world. It came up in question period. We are ranked 58th out of 60, according to the COP27 criteria. That is outrageous. Canada has invested $8.5 billion U.S. a year in fossil fuels. That is outrageous.

We are the worst country in the G20 in terms of average per capita greenhouse gas emissions, and the only G7 country whose emissions have increased since the Liberals came to power. Yes, I said Liberals, not Conservatives. This is not a joke: Environmentalists miss the Conservatives. That is saying something.

What is the Liberal plan to deal with these challenges?

[Leah Taylor Roy, Liberal, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Madam Speaker, yes, we agree that we need to do more on climate change. However, I would say that while the frames on my glasses are red, the lenses are not rose-coloured. I am citing facts today, but I am happy to hear that the Bloc supports us in continuing with the price on pollution and fighting climate change.

We have to do more, but I would point out that our emissions intensity has declined. We would like to say that our emissions have not gone up, and we have met some of the targets, but our economy has also grown significantly over this same time. We have a natural resource-based country, and we are taking action to address that in going to net zero in the oil and gas sector as well as doing other measures. We have to do more, but I am glad to hear that the Bloc is with us on keeping the price on pollution and doing even more.