Debates of March 28th, 2022

The Economy

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, let me share a personal experience.

On Saturday I went grocery shopping with my wife, as we do almost every week. Several people stopped me in the aisles to tell me one thing: Everything costs more now, milk, cereal, meat, coffee, absolutely everything. Add to that the price of gas, currently at $1.85 a litre in my riding, Mégantic—L'Érable.

People are worried about this new NDP‑Liberal government. They can no longer make ends meet. Instead of negotiating his political future behind closed doors, can the Prime Minister tell us how he plans to help feed Canadian families?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives keep talking down the Canadian economy and spinning economic fiction.

Let me share a few facts. First, Statistics Canada released data showing that our GDP is growing by 6.7%. Second, our economy has seen the largest growth in the G7. Third, next year, our economy will be the fastest growing in the G7. Fourth, our GDP is now back to pre-pandemic levels. Those are the facts.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, first, I invite my colleague to come grocery shopping with me and to talk to people. Second, the Conservatives proposed a simple solution last week and that is to temporarily stop collecting GST. Third, everyone knows that eggs, milk and cereal do not magically appear on store shelves. They are transported in trucks that run on gas that is now more expensive. Those are facts.

Fourth, not only did the NDP‑Liberal government vote against our proposal, but it is also planning to add new taxes on April 1. The New Democrat perspective in this new NDP‑Liberal government is starting to show through. When will it stop seeing the middle class as a never-ending source of revenue?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the official opposition has brought up the important issue of affordability, and there has been some great news on this front today. We signed a child care agreement with Ontario worth several billion dollars.

We have officially signed agreements with every province and territory. This is good news for families, good news for Canadians and good news for Quebeckers. It is all good news on this side of the House.

Health

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, one of the first announcements made by this NDP-Liberal government last week involved setting conditions for the provinces to enter into discussions on health care and transfers.

Now, nothing will get in the way of this government interfering in provincial jurisdictions. The NDP-Liberal centralist coalition will impose not one, not two, but five conditions on the provinces.

The Minister of Health is incapable of scientifically justifying the need to maintain federal vaccine mandates, but now he wants to lecture the provinces. The solution is to trust the elected officials in the provinces. Why is this government incapable of doing that?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, trusting and working together is exactly what we have been doing over the past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, with record investments in health and safety worth $63 billion, in addition to $43 billion through the Canada health transfer.

Most importantly, this exceptional collaboration has saved tens of thousands of lives in Canada. Tens of billions of dollars have been injected to support household incomes. We are very proud of this, and we will continue to work together.

Taxation

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the PBO released a report that literally blows the doors off the environment minister's talking points on the carbon tax. The tax will cost Canadians, and it is not neutral when we include the cost to the economy. Six in 10 Canadian families are actually now going to be losing money.

Will the minister admit the carbon tax is just voodoo economics, or is he going to say the PBO experts got it wrong?

[Terry Duguid, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, we thank the Parliamentary Budget Officer for his work, which confirms that the price on pollution has a progressive impact and gives eight out of 10 families more back through the climate action rebate than they pay. Putting a price on carbon pollution is recognized as one of the most efficient ways to drive down emissions and fight climate change.

Again, let me point out that the Conservative member for New Brunswick Southwest is on the record as saying that his province should go back to using the federal carbon price. We agree with him.

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we know this is question period, not answer period, but perhaps the member and the government should actually read the report before they give a statement in the House. The PBO analysis is absolutely clear. I am not surprised that the government does not do the hard work of the complicated calculations, because it has a Prime Minister who says, “I don't think about monetary policy”.

Either the minister or the government is incompetent because they did not do a full analysis of the carbon tax, or they knew it and were just hiding it from Canadians. Which one is it?

[Terry Duguid, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, again, the Parliamentary Budget Officer confirmed that the majority of households would receive more in climate action rebates than they pay, and that is eight out of 10 families. I am not sure where the hon. member is getting his numbers from.

Speaking of numbers, this year, a family of four will receive up to $745 in Ontario, $830 in my home province of Manitoba and $1,100 in Saskatchewan and Alberta. We are fighting climate change and increasing affordability.

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

We are on question six and it is getting hard to hear already, so just keep it civil.

The hon. member for La Prairie.

Health

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it would be so simple to give Quebec the means to take care of its responsibilities in health care. All Quebec is asking for is for the federal government to pay its 35% share.

However, Ottawa keeps wanting to dictate how Quebeckers' money should be used. It wants to come across as a saviour, when every year it cuts its share of health funding. It is Ottawa's fault that the system is underfunded. It is like a firefighter who is also a pyromaniac: It sets a fire and then tells us how to put it out.

When will Ottawa recognize that the expertise is in Quebec City, not in this Parliament, especially not on the benches across the way nor the ones next to us?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for giving me the opportunity to say more about the important investment we announced on Friday: a $2‑billion unconditional top‑up to the Canada health transfer, in addition to the $45 billion, effective April 1, to reduce wait times for treatments, surgeries and diagnostics, which have done so much harm over the past few months. It is time to clear the backlogs in order to prepare the health care system for future challenges.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is not as though this government is known for excellence even in its own areas of jurisdiction.

Everything it touches in its own jurisdictions turns into a fiasco. The Phoenix pay system is not even able to pay its employees. At the immigration department, the backlog is never-ending. It is chaos for Ukrainian refugees. First nations do not even have access to clean drinking water.

The list is long. There is one fiasco after another. Now the federal government is telling us that it is going to look after health care, one of Quebec's jurisdictions. May I say that this makes us very nervous?

Why does the federal government not just increase health transfer as everyone is asking it to do?

It is simple.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, my suggestion is that, after question period, we go invest in shirt manufacturers. At the rate the Bloc Québécois members are tearing their shirts in outrage every day, there is money to be made.

The Bloc Québécois should recognize that it is perfectly possible for Ottawa and Quebec to work together, that it is possible to work together for all Quebeckers.

As the Minister of Health clearly stated, there are no conditions attached to the $2 billion. That is something the Bloc Québécois does not want to hear.

Foreign Affairs

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the President of Ukraine is criticizing the international community for being too slow to impose sanctions on Russia. Meanwhile, Canada is home to the global headquarters of Russia's largest uranium producer.

The company is owned by the Putin government, but this sector has been virtually untouched by the Liberals' sanctions. There is no way to know how many assets have been frozen in Canada or whether the sanctions are hitting Putin where it hurts. The people of Ukraine are fighting for survival and deserve more than empty rhetoric.

Will the government finally tell us how many assets have been frozen as part of the sanctions on Putin?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his important question and for the opportunity to clarify a few points.

When we impose sanctions, we are making the assets of individuals or entities completely useless and depriving them of value. They cannot be sold or transferred. In short, no transactions are possible. Going against sanctions is also a criminal offence.

We will impose further sanctions, because it goes without saying that we must continue to put pressure on the Russian regime.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, that was not the question my colleague was asking. Ukrainians are fighting for their lives. President Zelenskyy is pleading for help as Putin commits war crimes against the Ukrainian people. Zelenskyy has said that governments have been too slow in implementing all possible sanctions to stop the Russian invasion. We still do not know if the sanctions are being enforced, and we still do not know if they are being enforced effectively and if Russian assets are being frozen.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, obviously, we have imposed sanctions and we have delivered lethal and non-lethal aid. Have we done a lot? Yes. Is there more to be done? Absolutely. That is why we will continue to impose sanctions. Just to be clear, when we impose sanctions, we are making their assets completely useless and are depriving them of value. Going against sanctions is also a criminal offence.

The Economy

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the new NDP–Liberal Prime Minister. During the last election, the NDP promised to spend a whopping $214 billion of taxpayer money with no plan to balance the budget. Now, the NDP and Liberals have negotiated a backroom deal to go on a massive spending spree that would cheat future generations out of their prosperity.

How many billions has the Prime Minister bargained away to hang on to power, and how many of the NDP's spending demands will we see in the upcoming budget?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives continue to talk down the Canadian economy and spin economic fiction, so let me take this opportunity to share some good news and some facts. StatsCan data showed that our GDP grew by 6.7% in Q4, exceeding market expectations. Our economy is the second-fastest growing in the G7. Our economy will be the fastest growing in the G7 next year. Our GDP is now back to prepandemic levels. Those are the facts.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, to the new NDP–Liberal finance minister, inflation is raging and Canadians have been left behind. The cost of everything is skyrocketing: gas, groceries and household goods. Millions of families have seen the dream of home ownership slip through their fingers. Canadians are struggling to balance their budgets, yet the minister refuses to balance her own.

When will she finally tell us what she plans to do about the affordability crisis? When will she finally stop borrowing and spending and get inflation under control?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the opposition is raising the important issue of affordability, and today we saw incredible news on that front. This government has signed a deal with Ontario on child care. This multi-billion dollar deal will be good for children and families across the province, and now we have a deal with every province and territory in the country. That is affordability. That is focusing on families. That is focusing on Canadians.

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is estimated that this new NDP–Liberal agreement will cost taxpayers upward of $40 billion by the end of the term. Last week, Scotiabank said, “The finance minister risks further undermining Ottawa's credibility in...tackling [runaway] inflation.” That is because when inflation is more than double the 2% target, and with where we are in the business cycle, additional spending will only make inflation worse.

Will the Minister of Finance change her course or will she continue to plow ahead with additional spending that will make inflation worse?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the other side of the aisle continues to obstruct and delay important legislation that would benefit Canadians and make life more affordable. On Bill C-8 alone, which is up for debate right now, the Conservatives could stop blocking and gutting the bill so that $1.7 billion could flow for COVID rapid tests, along with $100 million for ventilation systems in our schools, tax relief for teachers and real action to help with the cost of housing. While they are obstructing, we are constructing. We are going to work every day for Canadians.