Debates of March 31st, 2022

Terminology in the House

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

I thank the member for his intervention. Of course, we will look at that with great interest.

The House resumed from March 30 consideration of the motion that Bill C-5, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Criminal Code

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

It being 3:14 p.m., pursuant to order made on Thursday, November 25, 2021, the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion at second reading stage of Bill C-5.

Call in the members.

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

Vote #53

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

I declare the motion carried. Accordingly, the bill stands referred to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.

(Bill read the second time and referred to a committee)

Business of the House

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am going to be very judicious in my language so as not to offend the hon. member for Elmwood—Transcona and refer to it as a neo-liberal government. There has been thunderous applause this week every time we mention the NDP-Liberal government, so I would like to ask the NDP-Liberal government House leader what the plan is next week for the agenda in the House of Commons.

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow morning we will continue with second reading debate of Bill C-13, which would amend the Official Languages Act and enact the use of French in federally regulated private businesses act. On Monday we will have the fifth day of debate at report stage of Bill C-8, which is an act to implement certain provisions of the economic and fiscal update that was tabled in Parliament on December 14. Tuesday shall be an opposition day. Further, Wednesday we plan to start debate on Bill C-14, which concerns electoral representation in Quebec. We will continue debate on Bill C-13 and official languages on Thursday until 4 p.m., at which time the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance will be presenting the budget. Friday will be the first day of the budget debate.

The House resumed consideration of the motion.

Opposition Motion—Federal Budget

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

I wish to inform the House that because of the deferred recorded divisions, Government Orders will be extended by 15 minutes.

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

Mr. Speaker, I had previously finished commenting on child care, and the last thing I would like to be able to emphasize is that we should remember that it was not that long ago, just a few months back, when we had a national election. One of the big policy issues for the Conservative Party of Canada was a price on pollution. Conservatives actually supported and campaigned on a carbon tax.

It would appear, if we listen to Conservative after Conservative stand up and speak in the House today, that at least the majority of them are now against a price on pollution. I think it is kind of encouraging, to a certain degree, that without a leader, we see that far right coming out and surfacing. It used to be the reformers. Many of them are not very sensitive to our environment and do not recognize the true value and the benefits of sound government programs, which we have seen developed over the last six years, going right up until we had the child care announcement two days ago.

[Stephen Ellis, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for his very loud and vociferous protestation and fantasy telling. I thought he was actually telling a fairy tale to a child at nighttime.

That being said, when the real world hits and we actually speak to people who live in our constituencies, and we talk to individuals who are seniors living on fixed incomes and cannot afford to eat, who cannot afford their rent, who cannot afford to drive their cars and who cannot afford anything, then these fantastical tales need to end at some point.

When is the government going to grow up and stop telling these tales to Canadians?

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I will give the member a couple of facts. When he makes reference to seniors, one of the first actions this government took was to substantially increase the guaranteed income supplement, something that the Conservative Party actually voted against.

Then, once we got into the pandemic, we gave one-time payments to our seniors 65 and over, and for those on the GIS, there were two payments. Again, that is something in which we continue to support seniors through supporting, with literally tens of millions of dollars, non-profit organizations that provide different types of programs for seniors. Those are some of the direct and indirect ways in which we are there for seniors.

Then, we have many of my Liberal colleagues who are also advocating for things such as long-term care standards, financial resources and the issue of mental health. That is not to mention the campaign commitment we made, which we are materializing, of the 10% increase for people 75 and over. The list continues, and I appreciate the question from the member opposite.

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Madam Speaker, I find it odd to hear my colleague from Winnipeg North say that seniors are important. The Liberals did promise an increase, but it only amounts to $50 to $60 a week. We know that seniors have greater needs than that. We only have to think of the cost of groceries and the impact of the increase in the price of gas and housing. Everything has gone up.

The Bloc Québécois is urging the government to implement a $110-a-month increase immediately without discriminating against those aged 65 to 74. Yes, the Liberals did send out pre-election cheques to get people to vote for them, but they got their answer and they still have a minority.

What is coming is not enough. Does the parliamentary secretary agree that the Liberals are cheap?

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Madam Speaker, in the election, we made a commitment to increase OAS for seniors 75 and over by 10%. I can assure the member, that is not cheap. It is a substantial amount of money. We are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars. At a time when we really need to continue to support seniors, this government has been there. It has demonstrated its presence and support for seniors from virtually day one, as I pointed out, back in late 2015 going into 2016 and to this very day. I look forward to seeing yet another budget and the ways in which we will continue to see a Liberal government supporting the seniors of Canada because we truly care.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Madam Speaker, I am sure you are very tired. You are working a lot and, while I am talking about the amount of time you have been here, I want to pass on my wishes to the Speaker to get well soon.

I have heard the Liberals talk about affordability. We have watched while they have let big oil get a free ride. Big oil has had record profits, and what did they do? They gave record dividends out to their shareholders, and then we saw gas prices go up for everyday consumers. We saw the big banks do the same thing. They had record profits and gave out record dividends. They then increased fees to their regular consumers. Grocery stores made record profits in the pandemic while grocery bills went up by almost $1,000 for the average family. The Liberals continue to support this corporate welfare, just as the Conservatives did, instead of supporting everyday Canadians.

The Conservatives put forward a motion today where they actually want to increase taxes on people's retirement by not recognizing that the CPP is actually deferred wages that everyday people actually need. When will the Liberals stop supporting corporate welfare and make corporations pay their fair share of taxes?

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Madam Speaker, one of the very first things we did was indicate that Canada's 1% wealthiest needed to give a fairer contribution. That is why we had the tax increase on Canada's 1% wealthiest. That was one of the first actions we did back in 2016. Albeit the NDP did not support that motion, but we still moved ahead with it.

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Madam Speaker, we are talking about the Canadian economy, and we see today the Q1 gross domestic product report came out from Statistics Canada. Again, the Canadian economy is outperforming expectations. Again, Canadians, Canadian businesses and Canadian workers continue to have the confidence to move the economy forward as we recover from the pandemic. As we do our part as a nation based on shared democratic values fighting with Ukraine and making sure that Ukraine has the resources it needs, we are standing with the Ukrainian people.

I will just read from an article, which says:

Canada's economy is exceeding [Bank of Canada] expectations....

Canada's economy is growing...faster than the [Bank of Canada] forecast.

Despite restrictions, the economy still grew in January...

...and ripped in February.

Again, we are seeing the Canadian economy outperforming expectations. Again, we are seeing Canadian businesses and Canadian workers investing in Canada.

Our government understands that Canadians are being hit hard at gas pumps from coast to coast to coast as the prices of gasoline and diesel are reaching new records. While at first the idea of reducing taxes on gasoline and diesel may seem to be a good one, it is quite simply the wrong solution to a complex problem. This is simply not the right way to make life more affordable for Canadian families.

It is important to understand that the price of a variety of goods, including gas and diesel, is going up because of a global phenomenon driven by the unstable situation in Ukraine and the unprecedented challenges of rebooting the global economy after the COVID‑19 pandemic. Market forces are behind the price of gas and diesel, among other things. This means that even if our government were to cut prices in Canada by 5% today by eliminating the GST, the benefits to consumers could be completely cancelled out in the days to come. The point here is that prices are very often tied to events that are out of our control and that are happening thousands of kilometres away.

There are much better ways to continue to make life more affordable for middle-class Canadians dealing with high inflation and high gas prices. I will provide very concrete examples of the actions our government is taking to help Canadian families make ends meet.

This week, we signed a historic child care deal with the Province of Ontario in which the federal government will be investing $10.2 billion over the next five years to reduce child care fees, first on April 1 and again on December 1, getting it down within the period of time the agreement takes place by 50% and creating 86,000 news spaces for Ontario families much like my own. My daughter will be going to day care come this October, and we will be able to place her not only in excellent care, but also where she will be learning with her classmates at the same time and at a much lower rate. That is improving affordability for Canadian families. We have done that since 2015, since day one.

I would like to remind my hon. colleagues that our government understands that in order to ensure a strong economic recovery it is necessary to be prudent and responsible fiscal managers. Our economic recovery plan is working.

Canada has exceeded its goal of creating a million jobs well ahead of expectation and has the strongest job recovery in the G7. As of February, 112% of the jobs lost since the peak of the pandemic has been recouped in Canada. I say this to all sides of the House: That is due to our government's focus on investing in Canadians and having the backs of Canadians so our economy could come rip-roaringly back as we exit and continue to exit the COVID‑19 pandemic.

Furthermore, Canada's GDP has now returned to its prepandemic levels, and in spite of the unprecedented measures we had to take to combat COVID‑19, our net debt-to-GDP ratio continues to be the lowest in the G7 by far.

We do not want future generations to be saddled with pandemic-related debt. We also want to ensure that Canada keeps its debt levels low.

That is why we remain committed to the fiscal anchors we announced in the budget last spring.

In terms of Canada's pollution pricing system, we are placing a price on carbon, which is a negative externality, and if one studied economics they would know about Coase theorem. We put a price on negative externalities that are not borne directly by the producers.

We put a price on carbon. That is actually the best way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to do it in the most efficient manner, while transitioning to a low-carbon economy by adopting technologies that are done through innovation. We have seen that. We have seen the announcement down in Windsor, Ontario, where LG and Stellantis will be investing nearly $5 billion and creating 3,000 jobs in a sector of the future: batteries.

We will see, in the days going forward, further investments, not only in the auto sector but across our economy. We are seeing it in the oil and gas sector as it transitions to produce those energy sources in a low-carbon manner. That is what we need to do. We need to see the electrification of our electrical grid and make sure that grid is producing low greenhouse gas emissions when it is in operation.

On jurisdiction, in 2022-23, payments for the climate action incentive will increase. A family of four in Ontario will receive $745, in Manitoba $832, in Saskatchewan $1,100 and in Alberta $1,079. In addition, rural and small communities are eligible to receive an extra 10%.

Our carbon pollution pricing system is innovative. It is groundbreaking. We know other jurisdictions and other countries are looking at it. We know the world needs to transition to a low-carbon economy. It is happening. It is happening quickly. We can look at Tesla and other companies. We can look at every auto company in the world. There is more than $515 billion globally being invested into the electrification of the global auto fleet.

That is something that the Conservative Party of Canada is not going to stop, so it should get on the train. It should get on board and it should move forward like the Liberal Party of Canada has. That is the right thing to do for our environment. It is the right thing to do for our economy. It is a win for workers and it is a win for our standard of living.

What is more is that the remaining fuel charge proceeds that we gather are used to support small businesses, farmers, indigenous groups and other organizations. Going forward, the federal carbon price will continue to be revenue-neutral for the Government of Canada. This is how we make life more affordable for everyone from coast to coast to coast, while also protecting the environment.

Since we were elected in 2015, one of the key priorities of our government was to reduce taxes for middle-class Canadians, while raising them on the wealthiest 1 %, something that the Conservative Party of Canada voted against. We lowered taxes twice for middle-class Canadians. Once was in the 2015 budget, and then we increased the basic personal amount, which will reach $15,000 for every working person in Canada on which they will not have to pay federal taxes. That is a winner. It is a multi-billion dollar tax cut, year in and year out, and it is something I am proud I championed.

I think it is fair to say that we have delivered on the commitment in real terms: promise made, promise kept. Our government has increased support for families and low-income workers through programs like the CCB and the Canada workers benefit, which have helped lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty since 2015.

We increased the basic personal amount that Canadians can earn before paying federal income tax to ensure that the middle class benefits from this support.

We will strengthen the middle class. We will continue to assist those working so hard to join the middle class.

The advantages of the increase are progressively eliminated for high-income taxpayers. When the measure is fully implemented next year, single people will pay $300 a year less in taxes and families will pay $60 a year less.

In addition, we have increased the guaranteed income supplement, the top-up benefit for low-income single seniors. I look forward to this July with a 10% increase to old-age security payments for over 3.3 million seniors, which is almost $800 a year for so many seniors in my riding.

[Greg McLean, Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague who is quite gifted in the area of economics. I love asking him questions. I love hearing him speak in this House of Commons, especially when he delivers a speech that is full of meat. I will ask him some questions that, I hope, will give him an opportunity to put some more meat on the bones of what he gave us here today.

One of the things I like that he said was “promise made, promise kept”, and he talked about externalities of pollution. Let me ask about those externalities of pollution and the promises made around planting two billion trees, which he knows his government has not even come close to delivering.

He also talks about the affordability that Canadians have at this point in time, a point when inflation, according to Statistics Canada, is going up 5.7%. It is actually much higher. Debt is ramping up at an unsustainable pace. We are reaching an actual cliff point here where we will not be able to manage it anymore as a country. We are subsidizing industries in Canada more and more, and we are putting competitive industries out of business.

How does he see this path, economically, moving forward along these current lines?

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague and more so a dear friend, the hon. member for Calgary Centre, for the question. There were lot of questions within that statement.

First, I very much look forward to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance delivering the budget next Thursday here in the House. I always like to see a budget that is full of measures that encourage business investment, encourage job creation and encourage productivity. That makes more efficient our tax system and our regulatory burdens on industry and on the private sector, and it ensures that we are good fiscal managers of the purse, which we have been to date and we will continue to be in the future.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech.

Today, we are talking about inflation. One aspect of the Conservatives' motion is about inflation.

I am sick and tired of hearing the Liberals say that they are listening and that they are helping seniors when they are leaving out an entire huge segment of seniors, those between 65 and 74 years of age, who make up more than half of the senior demographic. Those hardest hit by inflation are those on fixed incomes.

The government talks about the guaranteed income supplement and says it wants to increase it by 10% to help seniors 75 and up, but that is not enough. It is not just us saying this. Community organizations in Quebec need more help.

What are my colleague's thoughts on that?

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question.

We have taken care of the seniors in Canada, like my parents, from day one, since we reversed the increase in the eligibility for old age security and GIS from age 67 to 65. That was one of the first things we did. We increased the GIS top-up. During the pandemic, we instituted a number of measures to assist seniors, and we sent them funds during that time.

Yes, inflation is obviously on everyone's top of mind, as well as affordability. Much like all over the world, it has been caused by many factors. The heart of the matter is that for Canada's seniors rest assured we have their backs. We will continue to have their backs. I look forward again to seeing more measures in the upcoming federal budget that will assist those hard-working seniors that I call the greatest generation that is currently alive.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Madam Speaker, here we are listening to Liberals, and today Conservatives actually want to go after seniors' retirement income. Together, they helped reduce corporate taxes from 28% to 15%. Meanwhile, people cannot even afford a place to live. We have seen how these tax breaks have worked out. I appreciate being heckled by the—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

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

Can we allow the hon. member to ask the question without interruption?

The hon. member for Courtenay—Alberni.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Madam Speaker, BMO made a net profit of $7.7 billion. It paid out $2.74 billion in dividends to shareholders. Loblaws made a net profit of $1.9 billion and paid out $484 million in dividends. Suncor made a net profit of $4.1 billion and paid $3.9 billion to its shareholders. In the meantime, gas prices went up. Food prices went up. Bank fees went up.

The corporate welfare needs to end. Motions like today's need to be defeated and instead the government needs to support our call to action, which is to charge 3% on the profits of those big corporations that have earned over $1 billion so that we can actually get people the help they need now and make life more affordable.