Debates of Dec. 7th, 2022

(Return tabled)

Question No.908—

[Corey Tochor, Conservative, Saskatoon—University, SK]

With regard to the recovery of overpayments and fraudulently obtained payments to the various COVID-19 related financial relief programs put in place by the government: (a) how much did the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) (i) spend to date, (ii) expect to spend in the future, on recovering the payments; (b) how many CRA employees or full-time equivalents are assigned to files related to the recovery of such payments; and (c) what is the breakdown of (a) and (b) by relief program?

(Return tabled)

Question No.909—

[Corey Tochor, Conservative, Saskatoon—University, SK]

With regard to government procurement and contracts for the provision of research or speechwriting services to ministers, since March 1, 2022: (a) what are the details of all contracts, including the (i) start and end dates, (ii) contracting parties, (iii) file number, (iv) nature or description of the work, (v) value of the contract; and (b) with regard to contracts for speechwriting, what is the (i) date, (ii) location, (iii) audience or event at which the speech was, or intended to be, delivered, (iv) number of speeches written, (v) cost charged per speech?

(Return tabled)

Question No.910—

[Corey Tochor, Conservative, Saskatoon—University, SK]

With regard to the consultations conducted by the government on items contained in any government legislation introduced so far in the 44th Parliament, broken down by each bill: (a) which bills contained measures for which the government consulted with stakeholders, including any other level of government, prior to the introduction of the bill; and (b) what are the details of all such consultations, including (i) the bill number, (ii) the measures that were consulted on, (iii) who was consulted, (iv) when were they consulted, (v) how were they consulted?

(Return tabled)

Question No.911—

[Leslyn Lewis, Conservative, Haldimand—Norfolk, ON]

With regard to the government’s participation in the Agile Nations network: (a) what was Canada’s role in the initiation and development of the Agile Nations concept and its charter, signed in November 2020; (b) what were the policy imperatives and rationale to sign the charter; (c) with which stakeholders did consultations on a proposed Agile Nations Charter take place; (d) how was each stakeholder in (c) consulted and what feedback did they provide; (e) what are the terms of Canada’s participation in the Agile Nations network, including the participation length; (f) what are the specific results, outcomes, and measurable objectives expected to be achieved as a result of Canada’s participation in the network; (g) what projects has the government participated in or funded as part of the Agile Nations, including, for each project, the (i) name, (ii) agency or department responsible, (iii) objectives, (iv) project summary, (v) reason the project received funding, (vi) location, (vii) partners; (h) what are the total expenditures related to Canada’s participation in the Agile Nations since 2020, broken down by (i) department or agency, (ii) project (if applicable), (iii) type of expenditure; (i) what are the project details of the Digital Credentials and Digital Trust Services, including the (i) description, (ii) latest status of the project, (iii) anticipated completion date, (iv) implementation risks or issues identified, (v) projected outcomes; and (j) what are the project details of the National Digital Trust Service, including the (i) description, (ii) latest status of the project, (iii) anticipated completion date, (iv) implementation risks or issues identified, (v) projected outcomes?

(Return tabled)

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all remaining questions be allowed to stand.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Motions for Papers

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all notices of motions for the production of papers be allowed to stand.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

Pursuant to order made on Tuesday, November 15, the House will now proceed to the consideration of Bill C-32 at the third reading stage.

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Gaspésie—Les-Îles-de-la-Madeleine, QC]

moved 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 third time and passed.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I ask for unanimous consent to share my time with the member for Scarborough Centre. Otherwise, I will be speaking for 20 minutes.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I thought that might be added incentive.

It is really important we recognize something that came out of the Auditor General's report that I would like to start my comments off with this afternoon. When we look at it, whether with respect to the Prime Minister, the ministers or the members on this side of the House, we will find a consistent theme. We want to be there in a real and tangible way for all Canadians with an economy that works for all of us. That has been consistent virtually since we have been in government.

We have seen policy decisions from the get-go. Whether it was with respect to cutting the tax rates for the middle class, the complete overhaul of the Canada child benefit program or supporting seniors through the GIS going into the worldwide pandemic, there was virtually a smorgasbord of different programs provided. I know there has been a lot of reflection regarding the Auditor General lately, and I want to use her words with respect to the billions of dollars we have collectively approved to spend through the House.

I would like to quote the Auditor General, who said that she found, overall, that the programs were quite effective in meeting the government's objective of first getting support out to individuals and employers quickly, minimizing the increase in poverty or income inequalities, and then also helping the economy bounce back from the pandemic. That comes from the Auditor General.

I think there are members who, over the last couple of years in particular, saw the benefit of the government creating the CERB or wage subsidy programs and the supports for small businesses. Whether it was putting money into the pockets of Canadians or providing and protecting the jobs of Canadians, the Canadian government and the Prime Minister, working with an effective and active caucus, one that continuously sought feedback from communities from coast to coast to coast, understood their importance. We implemented budgetary and legislative measures so Canadians would be in a better position to bounce back after the pandemic. That is what this legislation, at least in good part, is about.

We, and the Conservatives, talk a lot about inflation. We are concerned about inflation. That is why we have this bill before us. When we talk about the inflation rate, yes, we are lower than the United States. We are lower than many of the European countries, England and others, but it is not good enough. The Conservatives are very critical of our inflation rate. I did a background check and in the last two years of Stephen Harper's government our inflation rate was higher than the U.S.A.'s. Today, our inflation rate is lower than the U.S.A.'s. At the end of the day—

[Greg McLean]

Because you're not growing our economy.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the member is wrong. There are hundreds of thousands of jobs out there today. On virtually every point, this government has exceeded what Stephen Harper ever did. One of my constituents summed up quite well the comparison between the previous government and this government when he said that he hated to think what the pandemic would have been like if the Conservatives had been in government.

I believe Canadians are very much aware we have a national government and a Prime Minister who truly care about providing those important services. That is what allowed us, as the federal Auditor General has said, to bounce back to the degree we have.

However, that is not good enough. We believe we can do even more. If we talk about the social programs, things Canadians are very passionate about, I could cite health care and the additional billions of dollars from this government. In fact no government in the history of Canada has invested more money in health care than this government. We have achieved health care accords. We have recognized the priorities of Canadians by looking at long-term health care and mental health. In fact in this very bill we are debating today, we talk about expanding dental benefits for children under the age of 12. For the first time ever, there would be a national program to ensure there are dental benefits for children.

In the fall economic statement, we talk about supporting Canadians who are having a tough time with rent. We would provide rental subsidies to support, as best we can, those individuals. We can talk about the debt students have. Students are going through a very difficult time. We would eliminate the interest on federal student loans. It would not be a one-time thing, but permanent. We want to encourage our constituents and Canadians to look at alternatives, such as how to support the housing demands in Canada.

We have the intergenerational housing credit for people who want to construct suites for parents, seniors or people with disabilities. The Government of Canada is there to support that sort of initiative. We have a government that recognizes that seniors 75 and older incur different types of costs and that there are limitations for those seniors. In fact we made a campaign platform commitment to give a 10% increase on OAS for seniors over 75, and we are doing just that.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

Order.

The hon. member for Montcalm on a point of order.

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I do not want to miss anything my eloquent colleague says, but I have had to adjust my earpiece to the maximum volume. There is no one in the interpretation booths, and the sound is bad.

When a different interpreter comes in, I can hear my colleague as if he were speaking directly into my ear. It is unacceptable that we are unable to fix our interpretation and sound problems.

This is not the first time I rise to mention this. I do not know why there is no one in the booths, but I know that the interpretation system right now is inadequate.

I will not be damaging my hearing and I want to be able to hear my colleague, who I like listening to, incidentally, even if I do not always agree with him. I would like—