House of Commons Hansard #58 of the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was dental.

Topics

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:15 p.m.

Bloc

Martin Champoux Bloc Drummond, QC

Madam Speaker, following the NDP-Liberal agreement and alliance and the announcements made about pharmacare and dental care, there is something missing in the budget, namely a recurrent and unconditional increase in health transfers. This an important, basic and unanimous request by Quebec and the provinces, to which the government is responding only in a roundabout fashion.

That is not what this government is doing with its noble proposals. In fact, no one is opposed to dental care or pharmacare. However, there are things that are the exclusive purview of the provinces and that could have been managed by Quebec and the provinces according to their respective priorities.

Does my colleague not think that it would have been better for all the provinces and Quebec to simply meet their request and transfer the money to the provinces so that they can pay for and manage these programs themselves? As we have been asking for a long time, and as the Bloc Québécois is repeating yet again, would it not have been better to increase health transfers on a recurrent basis so that we can properly manage our health care systems?

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:15 p.m.

Liberal

Judy Sgro Liberal Humber River—Black Creek, ON

Madam Speaker, I do not want to be too blunt about it, but the reality is that the federal government passes millions and millions of dollars down to the provinces for health care and so on, but the provinces' priorities are not always the same priorities that we at the federal level maybe think they should be.

On the issue of dental care, many of the provinces probably would have never got around to doing it because it is all about decisions. I am glad that we are supporting something this important. We were headed in that direction, and I suspect in the next election we would have been covering off dental care, but we were able to move forward sooner and it is that much better.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:20 p.m.

NDP

Brian Masse NDP Windsor West, ON

Madam Speaker, I thank the member, as well as Greg and others at the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, for their hard work on sea lamprey and getting that accomplished. I appreciate the member's continual work on that for the Great Lakes.

With that, I would like to ask the member about my private member's bill, Bill C-248, which is coming up. It is on a national urban park that would protect one of the last areas of the Great Lakes. It is supported by Caldwell first nation, and was supported unanimously by the City of Windsor just yesterday through a motion. I am hoping we can bring this bill to committee.

I would ask my colleague about how important national urban parks are. Given that this one will not require any funds, as it would be an assembly of public land, will it get the support to go to committee and be investigated for our national urban parks?

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:20 p.m.

Liberal

Judy Sgro Liberal Humber River—Black Creek, ON

Madam Speaker, the member for Windsor West and I have been working together for I do not know how many years now. We very often have similar thoughts. I would be very interested to see what is in the bill. To find the opportunity to dedicate land as a national park is a wonderful idea. I look forward to seeing what is in the bill my hon. colleague has brought forward and to hopefully support it with him.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:20 p.m.

Labrador Newfoundland & Labrador

Liberal

Yvonne Jones LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and to the Minister of Northern Affairs

Madam Speaker, the member's speech really goes to the heart of where many Canadians are. What she is hearing in her riding is very similar to what I have heard across my riding.

When we talk about affordability now, we know that it is increasingly harder for so many families and sectors in our society. I would ask the member to highlight for us some of the things in this budget that would make it easier for Canadians, seniors and families to be able to continue through what have been very trying times.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:20 p.m.

Liberal

Judy Sgro Liberal Humber River—Black Creek, ON

Madam Speaker, I can say that over the last last two and a half years that we have been dealing with the pandemic, nothing has made me more proud of our government than the amount of help that we put out there for people who were losing their jobs or did not have jobs to go to any longer. With the monthly support they received and the help that we gave to businesses, the job numbers are now back up to pre-1974 levels, and a lot of that is because this government handled the pandemic and those challenges the correct way.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:20 p.m.

Liberal

Rechie Valdez Liberal Mississauga—Streetsville, ON

Madam Speaker, today I am here to highlight three areas from budget 2022. Before I do that, I would like to thank my hon. colleague from Humber River—Black Creek for her lovely words.

To start, I would like to share a story about a Mississauga resident named Norma. Norma immigrated here to Canada in 1989 with her family. She had previously completed a bachelor's degree in nursing in the Philippines. However, since her foreign credentials were not recognized here in Canada, she had to work really hard to go back to school for additional studies while working and raising her family. After a lot of sacrifice, dedication and perseverance, she finished her schooling and college, and passed her board exams. Norma's credentials were eventually recognized as those of a registered nurse. The woman I am referring to is my mom.

Many Filipinos and immigrants like my mom come to Canada to build a better life for families. I am excited to share that in budget 2022 we propose to provide $115 million over five years, with $30 million ongoing, to expand the foreign credential recognition program. This would help up to 11,000 internationally trained health care professionals per year to get their credentials recognized and find work in their field. It would also support projects, including standardized national exams, easier access to information, faster timelines and less red tape. That would reduce barriers to foreign credential recognition for health care professionals.

There are many immigrants like my mom who have the critical skills and/or experience required to fill the job and labour shortages we have in this country today. In a 2009 report, the Canadian Nurses Association predicted that Canada could see a shortage of 60,000 full-time nurses by 2022 as a result of retirement projections. We know that this has been further impacted by the negative effects of the pandemic.

This pandemic has really shown the public the value of nurses and health care professionals in our overall health care system. As such, I want to take a moment to thank our frontline workers, who continue to take care of our families and loved ones, and who have carried the greatest burden during the COVID pandemic. Their hard work and dedication are truly appreciated. I also want to thank my mom for sacrificing so much for John and I. After seeing her 25 years of service in the long-term care industry, I am so happy that she is now enjoying her retirement with my dad and the grandchildren.

Another major concern that worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic was family and intimate partner violence. Family and intimate partner violence is any type of controlling or threatening behaviour, physical or sexual violence, or abuse between intimate partners or family members. In 2020, police in Peel, which includes my riding of Mississauga—Streetsville, responded to more than 18,000 incidents of family and intimate partner violence. This averages about 50 disputes every day, or two per hour. Most incidents never get reported.

Over 85% of the incidents reporting this type of violence are from women, with the highest report rate being from those between the ages of 25 and 34. This includes women of any race, sexual orientation, religious or economic background. This happens mostly to women, and it threatens our basic right to live free of violence.

Between 2015 and 2019, there was a 12% increase in the rate of intimate partner disputes reported to Peel Regional Police. This has increased further during the pandemic. It has been reported that 44% of women 15 years of age and older who have been in an intimate partner relationship have reported experiencing some sort of psychological, physical or sexual violence in the context of an intimate relationship. It has been proven that violence and abuse can lead to poor physical and mental health, serious injuries and even homicide.

COVID-19 has created unprecedented challenges for those experiencing gender-based violence, and the organizations that provide support and services to them. Our government moved swiftly to ensure those facing gender-based violence have a safe place to turn. To date, the government has provided a total of $100 million in emergency funding to over 1,200 organizations, including shelters; indigenous shelters, both on and off reserve; sexual assault centres; women's organizations; and other organizations delivering essential frontline supports to women and children experiencing violence and abuse across the country.

The Department for Women and Gender Equality contributed an additional $9.5 million from its program budget to support the high demand. Since April 2020, this funding has helped frontline organizations maintain capacity, so that the nearly 800,000 women and children across this country experiencing violence had a place to turn. This funding has ensured that critical services to those in need will continue, but the work does not stop here. That is why budget 2022 allocates funds to develop an action plan to end gender-based violence.

Budget 2022 proposes to provide $539.3 million over five years, starting in 2022-23, to Women and Gender Equality Canada to enable provinces and territories to supplement and enhance services and supports within their jurisdictions to prevent gender-based violence and support survivors. These funds will also assist to address family and intimate partner violence, and I hope that in this House we can all work together to stop abuse against women in all forms.

I thank my mom for giving me the tools to choose a partner in my life who loves, respects and supports me for who I am.

Last month at the Dar Al-Tawheed Islamic Centre in Mississauga, a man intent to “kill terrorists” attacked Muslim worshippers during their prayers. The man had an axe, bear spray and numerous sharp-edged weapons. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt, since 20 men took that man down as he let loose a stream of bear spray. This incident has shaken and greatly disturbed the residents and constituents in my riding of Mississauga—Streetsville. This is just one of many unacceptable incidents that have occurred regarding religion-based hate crimes.

Canada has also experienced more targeted hate since the pandemic. The public health crisis further exposed and exacerbated issues related to community safety and discrimination in Canada, including hate crime. The Canadian centre for justice and community safety statistics found police-reported hate crimes targeting race or ethnicity rose 80% in 2020 compared with 2019, and they accounted for the bulk of the national increase. Hate crimes targeting East or Southeast Asian people went up 301%; those targeting Black people went up 92%; and those against South Asian people went up 47%. The number of anti-indigenous hate crimes reported to police jumped 152% during the first year of COVID-19.

In budget 2022, $85 million will be allocated over four years to launch a much required anti-racism strategy and national action plan. This action plan will combat hate, and the funds are allocated specifically to fight racism, discrimination and hate. I hope that in this House we can all work together to end racism, discrimination and hate in all forms.

I thank my mom for teaching me to be strong and to stand up for myself in the face of hate and racism over the years. Very recently, my mom experienced blatant racism when she went door knocking for me. The hate and slander that she experienced while a door was being slammed in her face was absolutely unacceptable. That incident could have traumatized her and stopped her, but she kept going. I thank her for continuing to stand up for me.

I thank my mom for showing John and me what is possible in this country and for travelling with dad to two different continents to provide us with a better life. All John and I ever wanted was for her to be proud of us. As an early Mother's Day gift, I dedicate my maiden speech to her, to my grandmother Lola in heaven, and to our not so little girl, Cassidy.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:30 p.m.

Bloc

Denis Trudel Bloc Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC

Madam Speaker, I would like to commend my colleague.

She has just made a remarkable speech. It was so very touching and inspiring. We do not hear enough speeches like this. I would like to commend her and sincerely thank her.

I would like to get back to something she mentioned that is a major concern, namely women who are victims of intimate partner violence.

Thanks to the funds allocated to housing, a frontline shelter for women who are victims of intimate partner violence was built in my riding. It will be able to take in nine women and their children. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of resources. Every day in Quebec, a woman experiencing intimate partner violence gets turned away from a resource and has to return home to a toxic relationship because of a lack of resources.

Does my colleague not think that we should work even harder to get the government to provide more funding for resources for families and women who are victims of intimate partner violence?

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:30 p.m.

Liberal

Rechie Valdez Liberal Mississauga—Streetsville, ON

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for his feedback and for his question. I am excited to say that, as a part of our budget 2022, we are certainly investing in Canadians and making life more affordable. Specific to housing, I can say that we are allocating 25% specifically to women to ensure that they can continue to be supported in Canada.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:35 p.m.

NDP

Leah Gazan NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB

Madam Speaker, I would like to acknowledge what a moving and powerful speech my colleague across the way gave. I have shared some of the experiences, certainly as an indigenous woman, in terms of racism in this country. It takes a lot of courage to talk about those things in such a raw, open and giving way.

I have a question about the funding that has been provided specifically for gender-based violence. One of my concerns, and I have raised this publicly several times, is the fact that in this budget there were zero additional dollars provided for murdered and missing indigenous women and girls. This is something that has been acknowledged as a genocide, certainly by the Prime Minister of this country, and human rights groups have acknowledged it internationally.

I am wondering what my colleague thinks of that. Does she support the need to provide additional funding to address this ongoing genocide?

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:35 p.m.

Liberal

Rechie Valdez Liberal Mississauga—Streetsville, ON

Madam Speaker, I can actually attest to what my hon. colleague just described. I visited Winnipeg and saw what was going on there. I listened to the stories of those people impacted in her community.

As I mentioned, in the funding we are definitely going to be focusing on providing supports to women in that way. I look forward to this being the beginning of a very strong conversation to continue to advocate for that, and I will certainly assist her and other colleagues in the House in that fashion.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:35 p.m.

Labrador Newfoundland & Labrador

Liberal

Yvonne Jones LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and to the Minister of Northern Affairs

Madam Speaker, I really want to thank my colleague for Mississauga—Streetsville for that very powerful speech today on the budget and for all the advocacy that she does for women and families in this country for funding and stronger supports.

How does the member feel this budget will have a positive impact on women, especially women who are suffering through violent relationships in communities across Canada?

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:35 p.m.

Liberal

Rechie Valdez Liberal Mississauga—Streetsville, ON

Madam Speaker, as I mentioned, I am very excited for what we have in our budget to really support and make a difference in our communities, specifically for those who are impacted by gender-based violence. In my riding of Mississauga—Streetsville, there are tremendous organizations that we will continue to support and fund. That would certainly go a long way not just for the women in our community, but for their families and everyone that they touch.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:35 p.m.

Conservative

Michael Kram Conservative Regina—Wascana, SK

Madam Speaker, it is always an honour to rise in this chamber and to represent the people of Regina—Wascana. I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak today on the budget.

My grandmother would always say to me, when I was growing up, “If you can't say anything nice, then don't say anything at all.” While that may be good advice for getting along with the neighbour kids, it does not work so well as an opposition member of Parliament. I would like to at least partially take some of my grandmother's advice today and focus on one area of the budget on which I think there is broad agreement. That is the need for Canada to support Ukraine as it defends itself from the Russian invasion.

When the finance minister was presenting her budget earlier this month, I believe she received one standing ovation from both sides of the House, and that is when she said that the Russian army invading Ukraine needed to be vanquished. I agree. Vladimir Putin's war of aggression against Ukraine is completely and totally unacceptable. Countries around the world, including Canada, need to do their part to ensure that free and democratic countries are not overrun and annexed by a dictator like Vladimir Putin.

The finance minister went on to say that it was the brave people of Ukraine who would be doing the fighting against convoys of Russian tanks rolling into their country. There is one fundamental principle the minister did not mention in her budget speech that I believe everyone needs to understand. Every time one of those Russian tanks is destroyed by the Ukrainians, it is soon replaced by another Russian tank rolling off the assembly line.

If we are going to help the Ukrainians win this war and make the world a safer place for our children and grandchildren, then it is not enough to simply destroy the Russian tanks and other weapons on the front lines. We must also stop Vladimir Putin's ability to buy more of them. Tanks cost money. Bombs cost money. Battleships cost money.

Where does Vladimir Putin get his money to buy all these weapons? By far, the biggest source of funding for the Russian war machine is oil and gas exports to western Europe. That is Vladimir Putin's steady paycheque. That is Vladimir Putin's spending money: oil and gas exports to western Europe.

In fact, western Europe imports approximately 3.4 million barrels of oil and gas every day from Russia. The money western Europe spends on this oil and gas goes toward Vladimir Putin's war machine. He spends the money on tanks, bombs and battleships, all of which go toward the Russian war efforts against the Ukrainian military and toward committing atrocities against Ukrainian civilians, such as the bombing of a hospital maternity ward in Mariupol and the slaughter of civilians on the streets of Bucha.

If the international community could figure out a way to send an additional 3.4 million barrels of oil and gas to western Europe, we could seriously inhibit Russia's ability to wage war. How can the international community make up this shortfall? Canada alone could provide almost that entire amount from just four projects. These four projects have been debated many times in the House over the past few years. They are the Keystone XL pipeline, the energy east pipeline, the northern gateway pipeline and the Trans Mountain expansion.

All four of these projects have either been cancelled or significantly delayed over the past several years because of the government's Bill C-69, Bill C-48 and other roadblocks it keeps putting in the way.

Recently, the Minister of Natural Resources announced that Canada would increase oil exports to western Europe by only 300,000 barrels per day from existing infrastructure. Unfortunately, the minister has also described this increase as a short-term solution and only a temporary measure to help our friends and allies fighting in Ukraine.

I would strongly caution the government against reverting back to its old policy of keeping Canadian oil and gas in the ground, for a couple of reasons.

First, no one knows when this war will end. As many of us probably learned in high school history class, when World War I broke out, all of the experts of the day said that the war would be over by Christmas. Four years later, the war was still raging. Today, we are 62 days into the current conflict and it would be foolish for anyone to try to predict with any degree of accuracy when this war will be over. It could very well be the case that our allies in western Europe will need oil and gas for the foreseeable future from countries other than Russia.

Second, even if the war were to end tomorrow, it would be foolish for us not to learn from our past mistakes. One of the reasons why the world is in this situation is because, for far too long, peace-loving democratic countries have fallen into the bad habit of relying on petty dictators for their energy needs. All the while, Canadian oil and gas has stayed in the ground.

If this country could increase its oil and gas exports by 3.4 million barrels per day and displace Russian exports to western Europe, it raises the question of what Canadians could do with this extra money. The short answer is they could do whatever they wanted. Many people who work in the natural resources sector would love the opportunity to pay down their mortgages, save for their children's education or take a well-deserved vacation, especially after the last two years.

It is not just oil and gas workers in the private sector who would benefit. In my home province of Saskatchewan, in any given year between 10% and 15% of the provincial government's budget comes from natural resource royalties. That is money that can go toward roads, schools, hospitals and other services that people rely on. Over a decade ago, when resource royalties were at their height, the provincial Government of Saskatchewan announced that it would build a new children's hospital in Saskatoon. This hospital opened just a few years ago and it has since helped thousands of children.

I believe that the vast majority of people who let their names stand to run for public office do so with good intentions to make the world a better place for our children and grandchildren, but we all know what they say about good intentions. The cost of our inaction could not be more clear and the contrast could not be more stark. Instead of oil and gas revenues going toward bombing children's hospitals in Mariupol, they should be going toward building hospitals here in Canada.

Clearly, any objective observer would have to agree that Canada has a tremendous amount of potential to do a great deal of good on the world stage. It is not necessary for democracies in western Europe or the rest of the world to rely on petty dictators for their energy needs. It is not necessary for them to fund the war machine of Vladimir Putin or any other hostile regime.

Canada can be a force for world peace and stability by simply extracting and exporting the resources that we have in this country literally sitting beneath our feet and not doing anyone any good. If Vladimir Putin's army is to be vanquished, to use the finance minister's term, then we need to get serious about building pipeline capacity in this country so that western Europe and the rest of the world can buy their oil and gas from Canada instead of from Vladimir Putin's Russia.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:45 p.m.

Winnipeg North Manitoba

Liberal

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

Madam Speaker, I agree with the member that what is happening in Ukraine today is horrific in nature. I believe that inside the chamber there is virtually unanimous desire and willingness to support Ukraine in whatever way we can to get through this very difficult time. It goes far beyond Ukraine's borders, but impacts the entire free world. We wish Ukrainians the very best, and we will continue to support them in whatever way we can.

The member is trying to give an impression that if Canada were to export oil today, money going to Russia would dry up. We all know that even if the political will and the desire of Canadians as a whole was to have that happen, it could not happen overnight. I wonder this. Could the member provide his thoughts and comments in regard to that? We do not want to say something that ultimately we know we cannot deliver.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:45 p.m.

Conservative

Michael Kram Conservative Regina—Wascana, SK

Madam Speaker, I am glad to hear that all parties in the House support the people of Ukraine. Certainly, dictators cannot roll their tanks into neighbouring countries, take over and expect to think that is okay.

As for the issue with displacing Russian oil and gas going to western Europe, I believe that the four projects I mentioned should have been built years ago. I do not see why that could not have been done years ago. I do not see why it has to be so difficult for private sector businesses in this country to build pipelines or other major projects. It should be a lot easier and it should have been done a long time ago.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:45 p.m.

Bloc

Yves Perron Bloc Berthier—Maskinongé, QC

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his speech.

I listened to him talk about building pipelines to solve the war in Europe. We need to understand that, if we start building pipelines today, that will not have an effect on the current war. He said that we should have done it a long time ago.

With all due respect, is my colleague aware of global warming and the world crisis we are in? Has he seen what I have seen, and what everyone in the country saw last year in British Columbia with the floods and forest fires? Does he not think that we should start transitioning and stop the most polluting projects? The most polluting projects are those involving the oil sands.

We have nothing against his region. I understand the hon. member, who is only standing up for his constituents. We are prepared to invest in his region to begin a transition.

I would like to hear what my colleague has to say about this. Is he open to discussion?

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:50 p.m.

Conservative

Michael Kram Conservative Regina—Wascana, SK

Madam Speaker, I think we can all agree that there has to be a transition to clean energies at some time, but I am of the belief that global warming and the energy transition are long-term problems that require long-term solutions. The war in Ukraine is not a long-term problem. People are literally being bombed to death today in Ukraine, so I think we need to prioritize the war in Ukraine for the foreseeable future.

I would also say that while some countries are transitioning away from oil and gas, that is clearly not the situation today in western Europe. About 3.4 million barrels of oil and gas every day are being exported from Russia to western Europe. That oil and gas creates greenhouse gas emissions just like from anywhere else in the world. Not only is our policy of keeping oil and gas in the ground bad for the war in Ukraine, but it is not doing any good for global warming because Europeans are just buying their oil and gas from Russia.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:50 p.m.

NDP

Lori Idlout NDP Nunavut, NU

Qujannamiik, Uqaqtittiji.

We are seeing climate impacts that are man-made, and emissions reduction is now critical. It is an immediate and long-term issue, as is what is going on with the invasion in Ukraine. They are both immediate and long term.

Does the member agree that investing more into alternative energy sources is what is needed now at this important time in Canada?

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:50 p.m.

Conservative

Michael Kram Conservative Regina—Wascana, SK

Madam Speaker, the short answer is yes. We do need research and development into clean energy technologies if we are ever going to deal with global warming.

I would say that one source of clean energy that we need to do more with is carbon capture and storage. I had the opportunity just a couple of weeks ago to visit the Boundary Dam project just outside of Estevan, Saskatchewan. It is incredible to see the technologies they are developing down there with respect to carbon capture, storage and sequestration. Greenhouse gas emissions are not a problem if they do not go off into the air. If we can sequester them under the ground and can make use of all our existing energy infrastructure, that is a good solution for everyone.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:50 p.m.

Conservative

Stephen Ellis Conservative Cumberland—Colchester, NS

Madam Speaker, it is always an extreme pleasure to rise here in the House of Commons to represent the good people of Cumberland—Colchester as we debate the spend-DP-Liberal budget of 2022. I think it is important to understand this budget in the context of my province, my riding and my constituents, and of course to understand the budget itself.

My home province of Nova Scotia is mentioned four times in the 300-odd pages of the budget and the gazillion other pages. There is a discussion about twinning parts of the Trans-Canada Highway, a reference to remaining project funding through the failed Canada Infrastructure Bank and a reference to a Nova Scotia agreement on offshore revenues. I am not sure the relevance of all those things. The final reference is about the shortage of doctors and nurses in Nova Scotia. We all know the Prime Minister promised 7,500 doctors, nurses and nurse practitioners, whom he is going to create out of thin air, but that has not materialized. Sadly, 88,000 Nova Scotians do not have a family physician. We also know very clearly that we are short 60,000 to 70,000 nurses in the entire country. We have that burden as well.

Sadly, despite requests by all the premiers unanimously, there is no funding committed for an increase in the Canada health transfer. The Liberals did talk about loan forgiveness for physicians and nurses, but they must agree to work in rural or remote areas. Physicians can easily, as I well know, accumulate 250,000 dollars' worth of debt during their education, and the proposed loan forgiveness of $60,000 seems woefully inadequate.

Another major concern in my riding of Cumberland—Colchester is agriculture. Aside from the government's bungled creation of the potato wart problem due to its ineptitude in its relationship with the United States, there is no other mention of agriculture in budget 2022. In Canada, we have eight agricultural colleges, and in my riding we have one. The fact that there is no mention of agriculture in the budget and no funding for agriculture is just a sad misplacement of priorities.

We also know that this comes at a time when Canada could play a significant role on the world stage with respect to feeding the world. This great responsibility comes in relation to Russia's illegal war on Ukraine, which my colleague spoke about in depth. The opportunities that exist now for Canadian farmers come at a time when fuel prices are at an all-time high in the history of our nation. Of course, there is also an unfair tax on fertilizer that the government continues to place against farmers. This is a gross abuse of our farmers at a time when the potential for feeding the world is at an all-time high, and sadly we wonder whether Canada is going to be able to participate in that at all.

The budget speaks a bit about the environment and climate change. We are unsure of how this is going to relate to Nova Scotia, with the vague wording in the budget of “proactive management of marine emergencies and...more types of pollution”. I do have an idea of what that means, but certainly there is no proverbial meat on the bones to help people understand how that may relate to Nova Scotia.

There is no mention at all of climate change as it relates to the Isthmus of Chignecto, which I have had the pleasure to speak about here in the House before. We know this is a vital land link that links Canada to the great province of Nova Scotia. There is no mention of that and we know it is a climate emergency waiting to happen.

We also know in Nova Scotia, and hopefully my colleague from Winnipeg knows this as well, that seniors are important to all Canadians and certainly to those of us in Nova Scotia. The crisis that seniors are dealing with now, the affordability crisis, does not appear to be talked about in the budget either. There is no new financing added to the cheques of seniors. It is sad. The budget does mention undertaking another study, spending money that could easily be put in the pockets of seniors for a yet-to-be-named aging at home benefit. There does appear to be financing for seniors who need to make their home more accessible and for projects allowing seniors to participate in their communities more fully. However, as we know, this does not put oil in their tanks, gas in their cars or food in their bellies.

There is absolutely no financial relief for the seniors who helped build this great nation. Indeed, the budget has the audacity to say that Canadians who are seniors “do not have to worry about the value of their benefits keeping pace with inflation”. I find that hard to believe. It goes on to say, “the share of seniors in poverty is only about half that of the overall population”. Is that something to brag about? I am not entirely sure it is. Is that really the ambitious goal the government has set? Does it believe it is okay for our seniors or any Canadian to live in poverty? I should think not.

This leads me to speak, in a very personal way, about Daniel, who reached out and wrote to me about his budget. He really wanted me to speak about the affordability crisis in the House of Commons, which of course we know is ongoing for many Canadians. He came to my office last week when we were home on constituency week and gave me a budget for his monthly income of less than $800.

Daniel is a frugal guy. He has a mortgage of $547. He has life insurance on his home at $35, car insurance at $84, insurance on the house itself at $125 and bank fees of $20. Phone, cable and Internet are, shockingly, $230 per month, property insurance is $35, life insurance for himself is $100 and medical insurance is $140, plus $10 a month for each medication, and he is on eight of them. His power bill is $200 per month, and on top of all of this are groceries and gas. Without any food or any gasoline for his vehicle, Daniel is paying out about $1,596 per month. He is, of course, struggling to pay his bills on his $800 monthly income, but fortunately for him, his wife can work a bit as well to help support the family.

As members can imagine, in this household there is no money left over for any extras. There is no frivolous spending. There are no extras at the grocery store. He has reduced his trips to town for groceries and other essentials to once a month, which saves on his gasoline bill since he is not going to town as much. There is no mass transit where Daniel lives, and I am not entirely sure, when I look at this meagre budget, where he might cut things out.

We are all beginning to realize that this is “just incredible”. It is really “just inconvenient”, and for some it is “just inconceivable” how we are now in a life affordability crisis.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

1 p.m.

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB

Madam Speaker, on a point of order, we have stood up for this in the past and will continue to stand up in the future. Obviously we cannot do indirectly what we cannot do directly. When the member makes reference to the word “just” and then throws in “in”, he is actually making reference to the Prime Minister of Canada, who does have a title. I would ask that we respect all titles, whether it is the official opposition leader, members, ministers or whoever it might be.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

1 p.m.

Liberal

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

The point is well taken, and I was expecting it to be raised.

I remind members not to use the expression “just” and “in” together in the same sentence.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

1 p.m.

Conservative

Stephen Ellis Conservative Cumberland—Colchester, NS

I thank the member opposite for this unusual intervention. I did not realize that “just” was a—

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

1 p.m.

Liberal

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

I remind the member that it is not acceptable.