House of Commons Hansard #142 of the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was spending.

Topics

Bill C-32—Time Allocation MotionFall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022Government Orders

11:05 a.m.

Long Range Mountains Newfoundland & Labrador

Liberal

Gudie Hutchings LiberalMinister of Rural Economic Development

Madam Speaker, we all remember sadly the events of 30-odd years ago, and our hearts and prayers go out to the families of the young women whose lives were tragically taken.

There is also another tragedy in my riding of a different scale, which is of course due to climate change. We all saw the impact of hurricane Fiona, the largest hurricane to hit Canada and wallop eastern Canada, and I would love to know my colleague's response regarding the supports we are giving in the fall economic statement to help these communities rebuild and get back on their feet after this terrible climate action.

Bill C-32—Time Allocation MotionFall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022Government Orders

11:05 a.m.

Liberal

Randy Boissonnault Liberal Edmonton Centre, AB

Madam Speaker, I thank the minister for rural development for her passion and her work on restoring the livelihoods and the infrastructure in her home province of Newfoundland and Labrador and across the region. Having been in Charlottetown and Halifax just last week, I can tell members the scale of the rebuild is like nothing we have ever seen before, and it is going to take us as a country and businesses from across the country to help people to rebuild.

How are they going to get the financing? We have the disaster finance agreement in place, with $300 million we have already put on the table, but the reason we need to get this bill passed is that we put $1 billion in. The people I spoke to are counting on that financing so that they can be ready not just for the tourism season this summer, but to rebuild their lives. We need this money to go out. We need the supports to be in place. That is why we need to get to a vote.

Bill C-32—Time Allocation MotionFall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022Government Orders

11:05 a.m.

Conservative

John Barlow Conservative Foothills, AB

Madam Speaker, my colleague, the minister, was unable to or did not want to answer the question from my colleague from Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, but the Auditor General's report today is quite clear that more than 10% of the $200 billion the Liberal government put out as COVID relief programs is unaccounted for and very likely went to people who were ineligible for those programs.

I find it quite interesting that the minister is complaining that the opposition is doing its job of scrutinizing spending that is being proposed by the government. I was elected by my constituents in southern Alberta to do just that, to make sure every single taxpayer dollar is being used wisely and efficiently and going to the programs it was intended for. As the opposition, we voted in support of many of those COVID-19 relief programs. However, we did not vote in support of wasting more than $30 billion that the Auditor General is saying in her report today will very likely be unrecovered.

Despite the programs the minister is talking about, when $30 billion of taxpayers' money is being wasted we want to ensure there is some accountability there.

Is the opposition not doing its job? Why should my constituents trust the minister now, when he obviously did not earn that trust with the COVID-19 program?

Bill C-32—Time Allocation MotionFall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022Government Orders

11:05 a.m.

Liberal

Randy Boissonnault Liberal Edmonton Centre, AB

Madam Speaker, I respect my colleague from Foothills. We were both attending Agribition and related events in Regina this past weekend to make sure rural Canadians know they have our support, both from the government side and also from the opposition side. Of course the opposition should oppose. That is its function, and as a democrat and as a parliamentarian I respect the work of all the opposition parties.

What is perplexing to me is why the opposition would hold up a bill that is so important to the functioning of our economy and to getting help to the Canadians who need it the most, over the issue of the short title of the bill. Certainly there is more substance, and to the substantive question my colleague from Foothills and my colleague from Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan asked, we are going to read the Auditor General's report in detail. We will respond and take the advice from the Auditor General, but I know that what this government did during the pandemic kept 60,000 people working in the energy sector alone. It helped millions of people.

Yes, the Conservatives supported us; they also voted against some of the measures. We prevented a depression on the scale of the one in the 1930s. It was the right thing to do, and we will take the Auditor General's advice very seriously.

Bill C-32—Time Allocation MotionFall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022Government Orders

11:10 a.m.

NDP

Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House to remind everyone that, in this minority government, the NDP is acting responsibly and forcing the Liberal government to do things that matter to people, such as introducing dental care and increasing the GST credit.

Bill C‑32 is not perfect, but it contains concrete measures that will help students, first-time homebuyers and our small and medium-sized businesses. In addition, this bill will make big Canadian banks pay a little more of their fair share—not enough, in our opinion, but it is a step in the right direction. We think it is important to pass this bill so we can help Quebeckers and Canadians as quickly as possible.

Bill C-32—Time Allocation MotionFall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022Government Orders

11:10 a.m.

Liberal

Randy Boissonnault Liberal Edmonton Centre, AB

Madam Speaker, I respect the NDP members and thank them for supporting this bill.

My colleague is absolutely right. This bill will help growing companies lower their tax bill. We will eliminate interest on student and apprentice loans. We will also help Canadians buy their first home. We are going to make significant investments in the economy akin to those in the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act.

It is time to take action. The game plan is consistent across the continent. That is why we need to take action and vote in favour of Bill C‑32.

Bill C-32—Time Allocation MotionFall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022Government Orders

11:10 a.m.

Bloc

Andréanne Larouche Bloc Shefford, QC

Madam Speaker, we are here to debate a record number of gag orders for a minority government. That is a big deal.

We all recall how Parliament was prorogued in the summer of 2020. The election that was called in the midst of the pandemic did not change anything. We traded four quarters for a dollar. Voters gave the government another minority mandate, in other words, voters did not give the government a blank cheque to do whatever it wants. It has to work with the other parties.

Is democracy a secondary issue for this government? As my whip said so well, we all agreed on this bill anyway. Why impose these mega closure motions? Why not work with the opposition parties? We are here to work with the government on this bill.

I do not understand it, and it is worrisome to see that the government did not understand the message it was sent by voters, namely that it is leading a minority government not a majority one.

Bill C-32—Time Allocation MotionFall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022Government Orders

11:10 a.m.

Liberal

Randy Boissonnault Liberal Edmonton Centre, AB

Madam Speaker, I would like to begin by telling my colleague from Shefford just how deeply I was touched by her observations this morning. I thank her for her comments.

Regarding Bill C‑32, we need to focus on democracy and meeting Canadians' needs when it comes to building the economy, putting Canada in a very strong fiscal position and providing support to Canadians who need it.

We have already had 27 hours of debate and 140 speeches on Bill C‑32. We will be spending more time on it and hearing more speeches about it today and throughout the week. Implementing the support measures in this bill is essential to the economy, to our fiscal position and to Canadians.

With that, we are here because we are ready to vote.

Bill C-32—Time Allocation MotionFall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022Government Orders

11:10 a.m.

Conservative

Marty Morantz Conservative Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB

Madam Speaker, I wonder if the member could answer a question for me. The Parliamentary Budget Officer identified $14.2 billion in what he called unannounced spending in the fall economic statement.

Can the member tell us what it will be spent on before we vote to approve it?

Bill C-32—Time Allocation MotionFall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022Government Orders

11:10 a.m.

Liberal

Randy Boissonnault Liberal Edmonton Centre, AB

Madam Speaker, what is important in Bill C-32, the fall economic statement, is the fact that we have put money down on our deficit to have the lowest deficit in the G7. We are investing billions of dollars to make sure that we have a clean tech sector, a hydrogen sector and good labour provisions to make sure there are good-paying jobs.

We are talking about making sure that people can buy their first homes, eliminating the interest on student loans and apprentice debts, and making sure that small businesses in the member's riding, in my riding and ridings across this country can grow and have their taxes reduced, so we do not see them pack up and go to another country.

This is an important piece of legislation. The Conservatives are objecting to the short title of the bill. That is a very clear signal that it is time for us to move to the vote.

Bill C-32—Time Allocation MotionFall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022Government Orders

11:15 a.m.

Winnipeg North Manitoba

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Madam Speaker, we have a worldwide pandemic, a war in Europe and inflation around the world. When we look at this from that perspective, Canada's inflation rate is doing quite well compared to that in countries such as the United States, England and those in the European Union. Even though we are doing relatively well in comparison to the rest of the world, inflation is hurting.

Could the member provide his thoughts on what is in the legislation to support Canadians during this inflation situation?

Bill C-32—Time Allocation MotionFall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022Government Orders

11:15 a.m.

Liberal

Randy Boissonnault Liberal Edmonton Centre, AB

Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his insights and his comments because he is absolutely right. Canada's inflation rate is lower than that in the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, the EU as a whole and other countries around the world. However, that does not make a difference to Canadians at home because they are feeling the pinch.

We have Russia's illegal war on Ukraine. We still have a zero-COVID policy in China, and supply chains still have not fully opened up from the pandemic. All of this means that prices are going up everywhere. That is why we have very targeted, calibrated supports in this fall economic statement to help people buy their first home, eliminate student loan interest for students and apprentices, and make sure that small businesses are going to get a tax break when they need it the most.

This is a smart investment in Canadians at the right time. That is why we need to move to the vote.

Bill C-32—Time Allocation MotionFall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022Government Orders

11:15 a.m.

Bloc

Sébastien Lemire Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC

Madam Speaker, I would like to point out that I am very uneasy about the gag order that is being imposed.

It is a little late to propose amendments to Bill C‑32, but a budget will be tabled soon enough. Can my colleague commit to making sure that there is real EI reform? I think it is time. We must use the months ahead to take appropriate action to rebuild our social safety net. Six out of 10 people do not have access to EI, and that includes people who pay into it.

Can my colleague commit to that?

Bill C-32—Time Allocation MotionFall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022Government Orders

11:15 a.m.

Liberal

Randy Boissonnault Liberal Edmonton Centre, AB

Madam Speaker, we are in the midst of consultations on budget 2023. I know that my colleague who is responsible for EI is currently looking at a new version, at modernizing EI. I invite my colleague to submit his proposals to the minister responsible and to me because it is time to modernize our EI system. For today, we need to vote on Bill C-32.

Bill C-32—Time Allocation MotionFall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022Government Orders

11:15 a.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès) Liberal Alexandra Mendes

It is my duty to interrupt the proceedings at this time and put forthwith the question on the motion now before the House.

If a member of a recognized party present in the House wishes that the motion be carried or carried on division or wishes to request a recorded division, I would invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair.

The hon. parliamentary secretary to the government House leader.

Bill C-32—Time Allocation MotionFall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022Government Orders

11:15 a.m.

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB

Madam Speaker, we would request a recorded vote.

Bill C-32—Time Allocation MotionFall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022Government Orders

11:15 a.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès) Liberal Alexandra Mendes

Call in the members.

(The House divided on the motion, which was agreed to on the following division:)

Vote #231

Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022Government Orders

12:05 p.m.

Conservative

The Deputy Speaker Conservative Chris d'Entremont

I declare the motion carried.

I wish to inform the House that because of the proceedings on the time allocation motion, Government Orders will be extended by 30 minutes.

The House resumed from December 5 consideration of 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, as reported (without amendment) from the committee, and of Motion No. 1.

Report StageFall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022Government Orders

12:05 p.m.

Conservative

Warren Steinley Conservative Regina—Lewvan, SK

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to join the discussion today on the fall economic statement.

What we wanted to see is a plan for the future of all Canadians, but what we received from the Liberals in this fall economic statement is more reckless spending. We laid out two requests before the statement was delivered. One was no new taxes. The second was that if the government brought in more spending, it should find savings in the budget. That was not possible for the reckless Liberal-NDP coalition.

What we see right now is more spending and less money in the pockets of Canadians. We even heard the Governor of the Bank of Canada, Tiff Macklem, say that there is a made-in-Canada inflation problem. That is as a result of the reckless spending by the costly NDP-Liberal coalition.

I will go through a few of the spending items that we see as possibly unnecessary.

For one of them, the finance minister could not even answer a question. When asked about the $14.2-billion spend in the economic statement that is unaccounted for, she could not answer what it was earmarked for. As the finance minister of a G7 country, she should really have a better handle on where the money is going.

To add to the idea that the government right now is not in control of its spending, the Auditor General released a report today, and there are some very concerning things in it. A few of the numbers we saw today gave us a second to pause and wonder where the government is taking Canadians. One has to do with “overpayments to ineligible recipients” regarding COVID–19 spending. There was $4.6 billion in overpayments to ineligible recipients that the taxpayers of this country will never get back.

Let us not stop there. There is another one about “payments that should be investigated further” by the Auditor General. This was just released today, and there is $27.4 billion for further programs that we need to look into. One of my questions here, and I hope one of my Liberal counterparts will ask me about it, is whether the Liberals believe this needs to be investigated as well. Are they curious about where that $24.7 billion is that they said was necessary for COVID spending? I ask because we all remember the solemn hand-on-heart moment when Canadians were told by the Prime Minister that he has their backs.

Do members remember one of the last fall economic statements delivered by the current minister and the government? There was a famous line that will go down as one of my favourite quotes from the Prime Minister. He said the Liberals were going to take on debt so Canadians did not have to. How is that working for the government now?

I think Canadians across the country are wondering when exactly that is going to happen, because they have seen the government take on massive debt, more debt than all other governments combined. What I am seeing and hearing from Canadians across the country is they feel that this debt is now being passed on to them. That is how they feel. Where is this solemn pledge by the Prime Minister that the government is going to take on debt so Canadians do not have to? That is not a thing and Canadians are falling further and further behind.

I have a few examples of some of the discussions I have had.

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to speak with the Association of Canadian Custom Harvesters in Saskatoon. People from all over the country do custom harvesting. By the way, in question period, the associate minister of finance, who is from Alberta, keeps saying that there have been massive crop failures across the country, yet I did not hear that from the people who actually harvest crops. That is another one of the fabricated stories the Liberals continue to tell to make sure they have a compelling narrative to keep shovelling out dollars.

At this conference in Saskatoon, it was great to hear about some of the innovations and new technologies these custom harvesters are using to lower emissions. There were questions they kept coming back to ask me: How much is enough? For the carbon tax, what level will make the government happy? I was dumbfounded. I did not know how to answer that because I do not think it will ever be enough.

One of the custom harvesters actually does work across the border in Montana and the Midwestern states, and then comes back up. I asked him what the difference in his fuel bill is when he is harvesting down south across the border compared to when he is harvesting in Canada. He said it is between $15,000 and $20,000 a week. Could members imagine doing business in a different jurisdiction where it costs an extra $15,000 to $20,000 a week on something they have no control over? They have to fuel their vehicles. They have to fuel their harvesters and trucks. I asked him how it makes sense to keep going back and forth across the border. He said it does not. Then and there it just hit me that this is why we are becoming so uncompetitive. That is why the jobs are going south. It is because the current government is taxing businesses out of existence.

Then I remembered a quote I heard from one of the Liberal backbenchers, the member for Whitby. It all made sense when he stood in his spot and said to Canadians that they will have to go through pain. Can members imagine a government member standing up and saying that it is going to get worse? Can members imagine him saying he is not sure it is ever going to get better, but that Canadians can be sure that, as long as the Liberals are in government, it is going to continue to get worse for them, with more pain and suffering? I say “kudos” to that member because that is probably one of the first honest statements I have heard from a member of the Liberal Party in being honest with Canadians and saying that under the Liberals it will continue to get worse.

We see that situation across the country. One of the biggest things that hits me when I look at some of the statistics here is that 1.5 million Canadians are using a food bank every month in our country when we are supposed to be the breadbasket of the world. We have the food, fuel and fertilizer the world needs and we cannot feed our own people.

I opened the mail the other day when I was at home and my wife brought a letter to me. We are both U of R alumni. It was from the University of Regina. Usually people get these fundraising letters when it is for a capital project or some kind of infrastructure project. My wife said, “You will never believe this is coming from the University of Regina.” I read the fundraising letter and it was literally to feed students. It was an anonymous letter from one of the students saying that they go to bed hungry almost every night. There are 58.6% of university students at the U of R who are going to bed hungry. This is in our country now and it is shameful. From where we were to where we are now as a country, the food bank usages are up. Students are living in hostels and going to bed hungry, and they were looking for a vision from this economic statement. The government cannot spend itself out of inflation.

We are getting to another point where, if there are two more interest rate rises in this country, we are going to see a rash of bankruptcies. What is the Liberals' plan for that? Times are getting tough. I know people on variable mortgages whose mortgages have gone up $600 or $700 a month. Now it has come out that grocery bills are going to go up $1,000 to $1,500 per month. Eventually, there is nothing left.

In our country, under the current Liberal government, taxes now exceed take-home pay for people who are going to work every day. This is unsustainable in our country. We need a vision and we need a plan. We need to start making paycheques pay again. We need to make it so that people who are going to work have the ability to support their families and do not have to put water in their milk so they can make it go further for the kids. Parents are literally now scared to take their kids to the grocery store. I have constituents who have sent pictures to me of what $100 in groceries is buying for their family now, and it is sad. It is a couple of loaves of bread, maybe a jug of milk, some pasta and some pasta sauce. That is not good enough.

I will leave members with a quote. It is something Premier Wall always said when we were in government. He said that the best thing a government can and should do is leave things better than it found them. The current government has failed on that miserably.

Report StageFall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022Government Orders

12:15 p.m.

Liberal

Kody Blois Liberal Kings—Hants, NS

Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity to read through the fall economic statement that we are here debating today, and I just want to correct the record. Canada has the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7. We have the lowest deficit as it relates to GDP in the G7. We have seen some of the highest economic growth among our comparator countries in that category as well.

I do not disagree with the member's assertion that government needs to be mindful of spending. The Minister of Finance has alluded to that herself. However, as he talks about other members being real or candid with Canadians on screen, will the member at least acknowledge the statistics that the Department of Finance has provided, that are before us here as parliamentarians today, about Canada's true fiscal and economic record?

Report StageFall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022Government Orders

12:15 p.m.

Conservative

Warren Steinley Conservative Regina—Lewvan, SK

Mr. Speaker, if we are being honest, I would also like that member to be honest with his constituents when they are not getting as much back from the carbon tax as they are paying. Every day in question period, we ask straightforward questions of this government, and the government members get on their feet and say that eight out of 10 Canadians are better off under their system and their carbon tax scheme, which is a tax scheme not an environmental plan. It is simply untrue.

If we are going to be honest, we should talk about controlling spending and where the $14.2 billion in this economic statement is actually going. If we are going to be honest, I would like the Liberal member to be honest with his constituents and say with hand over heart, “We have your back, but $200 billion out of the $500 billion that we spent on COVID spending, we do not know where it went.”

Report StageFall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022Government Orders

12:15 p.m.

Bloc

Maxime Blanchette-Joncas Bloc Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague for his speech.

Some important people were overlooked in the government's economic statement. I am referring mainly to seniors. The worst inflation crisis in 40 years has left them vulnerable.

According to a study released last week by the Association québécoise de défense des droits des personnes retraitées et préretraitées, an organization that advocates for the rights of retired and pre-retired people, in collaboration with the Observatoire québécois des inégalités, an organization that monitors inequality in Quebec, one in two seniors in Quebec do not have a livable income. These people do not have enough financial support to age with dignity.

I would like my colleague to talk about this matter, because the federal government is neglecting people aged 65 to 74. It increased old age security for people aged 75 and over, but inflation does not discriminate among seniors based on age. Groceries cost the same whether the customer is 63 or 76.

I would like to hear my colleague present the Conservative Party's vision and tell us whether he is in favour of increasing old age security for people aged 65 and over.

Report StageFall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022Government Orders

12:15 p.m.

Conservative

Warren Steinley Conservative Regina—Lewvan, SK

Mr. Speaker, I agree with the statement that seniors are falling further behind. It is happening in my riding as well, especially, as the member brought up, the stories of going to the grocery stores and having to choose between paying for medications or their food.

One of the things seniors also depend on is their retirement savings plans and savings they use through retirement. One thing those are based on is the fiscal viability and health of the country and the economy. What we would like to see is getting our financial house in order, so those retirement savings actually grow instead of dwindle and inflation gets under control, especially when it comes to rental prices and the inflation on groceries. Those all go down when spending is under control and one's financial house is in order. What the Conservative Party would do, which would start to make the value of the dollar grow more in order to be able to afford more, is get our spending under control, get our fiscal house in order and make sure that our seniors who helped build this country are taken care of the way they should be.