House of Commons Hansard #66 of the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was children.

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The House resumed from May 5 consideration of the motion that Bill C-19, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on April 7, 2022 and other measures be read the second time and referred to a committee, of the amendment and of the amendment to the amendment.

Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1Government Orders

10 a.m.

Conservative

Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic—L'Érable, QC

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to say that I will be sharing my time with the member for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes.

I rise today to speak to Bill C-19, an act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on April 7, 2022 and other measures, and, of course, to my colleague's amendment.

First of all, I would like to quickly revisit what happened in the House this week. Every day, I have tried to get answers from government representatives on various topics, including the Emergencies Act and the government's desire to keep information confidential, and therefore hidden from Canadians, about the reasons why it invoked the Emergencies Act.

I also asked the Prime Minister about his knowledge of our country's justice system, specifically whether someone should be allowed to avoid a criminal charge because the act was allegedly committed a long time ago. I also asked about the current delays in accessing various government services such as passports, immigration, employment insurance payments or access to information about the Canada Revenue Agency.

All week, the Prime Minister and the rest of the ministers consistently failed to answer the perfectly legitimate questions I asked about issues that affect all Canadians. I asked questions that affect each and every member of the House on a daily basis because each and every one of us gets calls from constituents who are concerned about how long it takes to get a passport or how long they have to wait on hold to talk to agents at various government departments. Unfortunately, I got no answers, and the government has taken no action to inspire hope in the people dealing with these problems.

To make matters worse, yesterday, the minister responsible for Service Canada clearly invited people who cannot reach federal government services to try going through their MP's office. That is essentially taking a problem from over here and putting it over there, in hopes that the added delay will get people to wait just a little longer before they get an answer. That is unacceptable, and I hope the message we sent the minister, and especially her government, this week will be heard. People are sick of waiting and they are sick of this government's inability to make the right decisions. The right decision would be to let all federal employees go back to work doing what they were doing before the pandemic. The right decision would be to let federal employees go back to their offices so they can get back to a process that worked, sort of, but that at least gave people access to someone they could talk to on the phone and access to services. Unfortunately, that is not what is happening now.

I hope this message will be heard. The government says that it is in the process of reviewing the various health measures imposed on its federal employees. I hope that, one day, it will present us with a plan for getting back to normal and learning to live with COVID-19.

I remember very well that, at the time, we called on the Minister of Health to table any documents showing that the vaccine mandate and various other measures imposed on federal employees were based on science. Unfortunately, I still have not seen the Minister of Health or any other government minister table any documents in the House that would justify imposing these health measures or, more importantly, maintaining them, when every other country in the world is fully reopening their doors. Quebec is even going to lift its mask mandates almost everywhere on May 14.

Given what I just said, it should come as no surprise to anyone that I was rather disappointed with the budget the Liberal government tabled on April 7. This budget has Canadians shaking in their boots, for many reasons. It does not take an expert to realize that the highest inflation rate in 30 years poses a direct threat to the savings of young families, workers and seniors.

Over the past few weeks, and months for that matter, the cost of living has risen dramatically everywhere. The price of groceries, gas and housing is at record highs. Yesterday in Quebec, the price of regular gas passed the psychological barrier of two dollars a litre. The Conservatives had asked the government to temporarily eliminate the GST on gasoline as a small gesture of goodwill. This would have left a little more money in the pockets of Canadian and Quebec families. Unfortunately, the NDP-Liberal government said no.

There is no doubt that with rising inflation and interest rates, families are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet. Small businesses are suffering from labour shortages, supply problems and rising costs on just about everything.

We need better leadership. Unfortunately, the government has none. In fact, when we ask members of this government for explanations, when we ask that they take action for young families and professionals or for young Canadians who are seeing their dream of homeownership completely disappear and go up in smoke because of rising interest rates and the cost of homes, which is scandalous, the Minister of Finance flat out dismisses all these claims and everything Canadians are going through by quoting us figures on Canada's performance globally.

According to the Minister of Finance, since Canada's global performance is so good, everyone in Canada is doing well. Families are not struggling and businesses are problem-free, because Canada's global economic record is so good. Families need not worry that milk, bread and everything else costs more at the grocery store, or that some products are hard to find. It is not so bad.

It is worrisome to hear such comments from the Minister of Finance of our country. It is insulting and very disrespectful to Canadian families. I hope that before the end of June the Minister of Finance will take two minutes to realize the magnitude of the extra financial burden that has been put on the shoulders of Canadian families and that she will stop reading talking points so she can finally respond to the concerns of Canadian families.

This is the first NDP-Liberal budget. Some may say that we had one before, because it was in fact the Liberals with the NDP, but we can now confirm that the NDP has joined forces with the Liberals and that this coalition, as the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions called it yesterday, has unfortunately done its job.

In this NDP-Liberal budget, there is $56.6 billion in new spending that has nothing to do with COVID-19 or anything else other than the Prime Minister's desire to buy a majority that he did not earn in the election that was called in the middle of the pandemic. As he did not earn a majority, he bought one, and that is costing Canadians $56.6 billion. Unfortunately, our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will have to pay for the decision made by the Prime Minister, who is putting his personal interests before those of Canadian families in order to remain Prime Minister of Canada as long as possible.

Naturally, for all these reasons, I will be opposing the budget, and I invite all my colleagues to do so for the good of all Canadians.

Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1Government Orders

10:10 a.m.

Winnipeg North Manitoba

Liberal

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

Madam Speaker, the Conservative Party really needs to get its head into the world given what is actually taking place. It was not that long ago that the Conservative Party was criticizing the federal government because the price of oil was too low. When it was 88¢ a barrel, the Conservatives were saying it was too low and were blaming the government. Today, they are blaming the government because the price of oil is too high. They do not seem to understand that it is called the world price of oil, much as there are things happening in the world today, whether it is the war in Ukraine or the pandemic. All of these factors play a role in things such as inflation.

Will the member recognize that the world does have an impact, even on Canada?

Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1Government Orders

10:10 a.m.

Conservative

Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic—L'Érable, QC

Madam Speaker, yes, I recognize that. However, what is this government doing for Canadians other than saying that Canada is handling this crisis better than other countries? It is doing absolutely nothing.

Today, the cost of gas in Vancouver is $2.11 per litre. That is the reality. When the government was asked to temporarily remove the GST to help Canadians currently struggling here, in Canada, what did the NDP-Liberals say? They said no. That is the reality.

Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1Government Orders

10:10 a.m.

Bloc

Gabriel Ste-Marie Bloc Joliette, QC

Madam Speaker, I want to salute my colleague from Mégantic—L'Érable and thank him for his speech.

Bill C‑19 is the first budget implementation bill introduced by the Minister of Finance, which would implement certain measures of the budget.

This bill is more than 420 pages long and it extends far beyond the content of the budget. This bill talks about laws being enforced in space, in a galaxy not so far away. The next division talks about strip-searches in prison.

Does my colleague think there is a legitimate reason to include all kinds of other bills in an already massive bill? Why does he think the government is choosing this approach?

Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1Government Orders

10:15 a.m.

Conservative

Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic—L'Érable, QC

Madam Speaker, in response to my colleague's excellent question, I will say that I think the government is lost in space. Stripping down in front of Canadians would involve a little more transparency.

Unfortunately, aside from one MP who already has some experience with that, I do not think that the Liberals are truly ready to show some transparency.

Anytime you talk to this government about transparency, the Liberals tell us that Canada is doing very well globally and Canadians do not need to know what is really going on within our borders.

Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1Government Orders

10:15 a.m.

NDP

Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC

Madam Speaker, there are some things about the budget that we do not like either, namely, the oil subsidy increases.

However, there are also some worthwhile things in there that will help people in a meaningful way, things like funding for dental care and for children, youth, seniors, the poor and the middle class.

Does my colleague not agree that his constituents will benefit from these social measures?

Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1Government Orders

10:15 a.m.

Conservative

Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic—L'Érable, QC

Madam Speaker, I have a hard time understanding how the NDP could sell its soul by agreeing in advance to support a budget without knowing, or supposedly without knowing, what it would contain. Actually, we do not know if that is true, because we were not informed of all the negotiations that took place between the two parties.

The reality is that the NDP agreed in advance to support not only this budget, but also the ones for next year and the year after that without knowing the content of those budgets. Perhaps now that they are part of a new coalition, the NDP trusts the Liberals to keep their promises, but I would like to remind them that the Liberals have not been very good at keeping their promises since 2015.

Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1Government Orders

10:15 a.m.

Conservative

Tracy Gray Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC

Madam Speaker, the member mentioned the amount of new spending, which is roughly $57 billion. I am wondering if he can comment on whether there is something in the budget to show how that will be paid off. Is there anything in the budget about fiscal anchors or anything that leads to when and how all of this debt is going to be paid off?

Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1Government Orders

10:15 a.m.

Conservative

Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic—L'Érable, QC

Madam Speaker, the answer is no.

Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1Government Orders

10:15 a.m.

Conservative

Michael Barrett Conservative Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON

Madam Speaker, the budget is a big document. It has a very nice cover, and it spends an awful lot of money. This year, Canadians are going to have an incredibly tough time getting by.

One of the questions for the previous speaker was whether it was appropriate for the budget document to have so many things jammed in it that did not address the raison d'être of the budget. No, it is not appropriate. The government had one job with this budget, and that was to make sure that Canadians could afford to live. We have seen, over the past two years, incredibly challenging times that were met with an incredible response, including incredible sums of money being spent by the government. However, there is $57 billion in new spending at a time when the economy does not need more stimulus, but Canadians need a break. We are not seeing that. Canadians were looking for ways that the government was going to make their lives more affordable.

We have the highest inflation that we have seen in more than three decades: it has climbed up over 6.7%. We have not seen an inflationary hit like that since the introduction of the GST. What does this look like for families? We hear the government's response to the pleas, cries and assertions of the opposition that Canadians need help, and government members will say it is a global phenomenon and our net debt-to-GDP is pretty good when we compare it with other countries'. That does nothing to help Canadians who are going to spend, on average, $1,000 more this year to feed their families. That word salad will still leave people with empty bellies.

The price of gas in this part of the country, eastern Ontario, is going to climb over $1.90 a litre between today and tomorrow. It is not a question of if gas is going to hit $2 a litre, but of which day it is going to hit $2 a litre. What does that look like for someone who has to drive to work? What does that look like for someone who depends on their vehicle for so many things, especially in parts of rural Canada? In rural eastern Ontario, in my community of Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, people have to drive to get to a doctor's appointment, to get to work and to take their kids to school or recreational activities, to say nothing about social visits. It means that they cannot afford to. We also live in one of the world's coldest climates, and the price of home heating is going up, as well.

What is in this budget document? Is there a GST holiday for Canadians to help them when more than half of Canadians, nearly two-thirds, are within $200 of insolvency and not being able to pay their bills? That would jeopardize their ability to keep a roof over their heads, to feed their families and themselves. No, it is not in there. With energy prices soaring and hitting the average Canadian especially hard, is there a break on the carbon tax increase, which does nothing to stop the necessity to drive? It is not correcting a bad behaviour. They are good people doing good things. No, there is no break on the carbon tax increase in there for them.

It is incredibly disheartening to see this document from the government after so much goodwill was given, by all members in this place, to support a team Canada approach in helping Canadians get through the pandemic. Canadians now need a team Canada approach to support them when life is so unaffordable.

Before the pandemic, the provinces and territories were asking for something in the range of $28 billion in increased health care dollars, and during the pandemic, the Prime Minister said we would talk about health care spending when the pandemic was over.

I think that COVID is going to be with us for a long time and this is, arguably, the first post-pandemic budget, but the Liberals have not even started the conversation with the provinces about stable and predictable health care funding.

Instead, they introduced a separate bill to spend $2 billion to address backlogs on surgical wait times and delayed and cancelled care and treatment appointments that are devastating Canadians with unbelievably negative results for their personal health. They have tied that $2-billion commitment into this bill.

We had hallway health care across this country, and hospitals operated at between 95% and 130% capacity before COVID. Instead of introducing new programs that are going to tax a health care system that is already experiencing a health care human resource shortage, and there is nothing to address that health care human resource shortage in the budget, they are putting in new programs that the provinces did not ask for. Health care is solely their responsibility, and a $2-billion one-time payment is supposed to stand in the place of meaningful consultations between the Government of Canada, the Prime Minister and the provinces' premiers.

That is not partnership. It is not co-operation. It is certainly not going to give Canadians any comfort. Frankly, Canadians have been very patient over the past two years, and as I said the results have been of varying degrees. They have been terrible for those who had delayed, missed and cancelled treatment and care appointments and surgeries.

What does this budget do? We hear the parliamentary secretary to the government House leader say that it does a lot. It does a lot to make sure that the government gets to stay in power through its deal with the NDP. Voters are going to get an NDP budget, having voted Liberal.

It is incredibly disingenuous of the government to say that they are putting Canadians first when what we have seen is the same thing we have seen from the government time and again: that is a Prime Minister who will do anything to stay in power. If questions get too hot in committee, he prorogues Parliament. When all members of the House agree not to have an election during the pandemic and polls look good for the PM, he calls an election.

When there is a real opportunity to do right by Canadians, and to give them a break on this affordability crisis that we are facing, the Prime Minister saw a great opportunity to hitch his wagon to the NDP and continue for another year to hold on to power, instead of doing what Canadians elected us all to do. That is to look out for our neighbours, look out for each other and not look out for our own self-interest, which is what we have seen with this.

It is very disappointing, but I can assure members that the official opposition is going to continue to stand up for Canadians. We are going to continue to remind the government that on Main Street, life is getting more unaffordable, and even though they are getting their advice from Bay Street, we are going to be here fighting for Canadians every single day.

Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1Government Orders

10:25 a.m.

Winnipeg North Manitoba

Liberal

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

Madam Speaker, I think the member has a little bit of confusion when it comes to health care. If we look at it, when he says that there is no planning or that we are not supporting health care, we have health care accords with all of the different provinces and territories, something that Stephen Harper was not able to accomplish, that give annual increases. In fact, when we look at over $45 billion that we are investing, it is actually over 4% higher than it would have been in the previous fiscal year.

When he makes reference to the $2 billion, that is to deal with the backlog of surgeries and procedures due to the pandemic. That is over and above. Can we only imagine what Stephen Harper would have done?

We are a government that recognizes the importance of health care. We have supported health care, and we continue to support health care.

Is there anything that the member would like to retract when it comes to the issue of health care? That was one of the biggest, most dismal failures of the Harper regime.

Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1Government Orders

10:25 a.m.

Conservative

Michael Barrett Conservative Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON

Madam Speaker, it is interesting that, in attempting to correct what I said, the parliamentary secretary, who obviously only woke up halfway through my speech, repeated what I said: that the $2 billion was to address backlogs caused by COVID-19 in the health care system.

What I said, and I will repeat it for the hon. gentleman, is that the provinces and territories asked for stable and predictable funding. They have since said they want to meet with the Prime Minister to negotiate what that agreement is going to look like going forward. The Prime Minister has refused to do it. Shame on him.

Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1Government Orders

10:25 a.m.

Bloc

Gabriel Ste-Marie Bloc Joliette, QC

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

The government is using Bill C-19 to implement a new tax on luxury items—

Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1Government Orders

10:30 a.m.

Liberal

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

I would ask hon. members to please stop their conversations while the hon. member for Joliette is asking a question.

The hon. member for Joliette.

Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1Government Orders

10:30 a.m.

Bloc

Gabriel Ste-Marie Bloc Joliette, QC

Madam Speaker, the member for Winnipeg North is clearly on fire today, as is often the case.

Back to the question I would like to ask my colleague.

Bill C-19 establishes a tax for luxury items such as luxury cars, luxury boats and aircraft. People are either for or against this idea. The Bloc Québécois agrees with it.

However, during the pre-study in committee, the government and public service representatives informed us that no impact study has been conducted on the jobs and sales numbers for this manufacturing sector.

I would like to hear my colleague's views on that, but also, more specifically, on an aspect that is of great concern to us. The tax is supposed to apply to personal aircraft use. However, the structure of the tax suggests that it may apply to the business sector.

Think of the mining companies that want to transport their workers. It will be difficult for them to opt out. Moreover, for everything that is exported, the tax will have to be paid first before being refunded—

Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1Government Orders

10:30 a.m.

Liberal

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

The hon. member for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes.

Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1Government Orders

10:30 a.m.

Conservative

Michael Barrett Conservative Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON

Madam Speaker, as for so many things, a special interest group or a lobby group picked up the telephone. It rang directly in the Prime Minister's Office. It answered, and said that it was not really concerned about the impact on Canadians, but that it sounded great so it was going to be included in the budget. The problem, when an analysis is not done on something like the impact of this particular tax, is what that looks like for jobs in the communities where people, for example, provide service on aircraft and boats. That is going to have a devastating impact on communities. It was an obligation of the government to study that impact and consider it before putting it in this omnibus bill.

Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1Government Orders

10:30 a.m.

NDP

Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON

Madam Speaker, to me, some of the fundamentals of Parliament are accountability and transparency. My hon. colleague was on the committee with me when we studied the government grant to the WE Charity. This was an opportunity for this children's charity to answer some straightforward questions, such as how many companies it owned, what the separation was between its for-profits and those with charitable status, and who owned the companies, yet we never did get those answers. It took four legal summonses to try and get answers, but still the man who handled all its finances, Mr. Victor Li, never did come before Parliament. We never got the kind of documentation we asked for.

I have a straightforward question. I would like to ask my hon. colleague this: Does he feel we still do not have the answers Canadians deserve about this international organization, the WE Charity?

Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1Government Orders

10:30 a.m.

Conservative

Michael Barrett Conservative Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON

Madam Speaker, we saw a scandal that involved a billion-dollar contract going to insiders again, as I mentioned in my previous response.

With respect to the CFO, Victor Li, who did not appear before the committee in person, as well as multiple members of government staff who were instructed by ministers not to appear before the committee, Parliament and Canadians have not received the answers. It is incumbent on all members in this place to make sure that our lawful powers and authorities are respected in this light.

Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1Government Orders

10:30 a.m.

Winnipeg North Manitoba

Liberal

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

Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Scarborough—Rouge Park.

When I think of the budget, I think we need to recognize a few points right at the beginning. First, it invests in economic growth and innovation. If we read through the budget, we can see that amplified virtually throughout the budget. We believe in investing, not only investing in that area but also investing in people. We could talk about the environment, but in this budget we see an investment in the green transition. This is all good news in this budget.

Was anyone in this chamber or any Canadian surprised when the Conservative Party said it was going to vote against the budget? I was not. I do not think anyone was surprised. I believe the Conservatives already knew they were going to be voting against the budget even before the budget was presented. No one needs to be surprised.

What is surprising, to a certain degree, is the twisting that we are seeing. Conservatives are turning themselves into pretzels trying to justify why they do not support the budget. We see that in some of the procedural games they are playing. Yesterday, for example, they brought in a concurrence motion in order to prevent members from being able to debate the matter. We see members talking about the budget, but not necessarily recognizing the reality. For example, the member who spoke earlier talked about the price of oil and how it is somehow the Government of Canada's responsibility for the world price of oil. The Conservatives criticized us when the price of oil was too low, and now they are criticizing us because the price of oil is too high.

The Conservative Party does not have its mind in reality. The truth of the matter is that Canada, like every other country around the world, was inflicted with the worldwide pandemic. To deny its existence and its impact is unacceptable. We need to recognize that there is a war taking place today in Europe, the war put in place as a result of one person, President Putin, and the impact it is having in Ukraine. We are so grateful for the heroes of Ukraine. It goes beyond the borders of Ukraine, and there is a great solidarity movement worldwide in support of Ukraine. We need to recognize that as something that is having an impact worldwide, in terms of issues such as inflation.

How many times have we heard Conservatives talk about inflation, trying to push the panic button, as if Canada is alone, as if it is Canada's inflation and we are leading the world on inflation? Nothing could be further from the truth. We only need to look south to the United States to find that Canada's inflation rate is lower. Compared to many of the European countries, especially if we were to average it out, we would find that Canada's inflation rate is lower.

If we look at the job numbers, we see that Canada has recovered 112% or 115% of the jobs lost at the beginning of the pandemic. If we compare that to the United States, we will find that we have done exceptionally well. We are definitely doing far better than the United States. If we talk about economic growth, we are predicted to have the healthiest economic growth in the G7 countries, the most powerful nations of the world.

It is interesting when we listen to question period that we get these out-of-reality questions when it comes to the economy but the Conservatives avoid talking about the budget. I suspect it is with good reason, because the budget is fairly well received by Canadians. Canadians know that they have a government that truly cares, a government that is progressively moving forward in supporting Canadians.

We love the fact that, for the first time ever, we have a national child care program, a program that is going to ensure affordability in day care from coast to coast to coast. As with other things, we were able to achieve, through consensus, a health care and a child care agreement with all provinces and territories. As a result, we will have a healthier population and we will have more people engaged in the workforce. On the latter point, all one needs to do is look at the province of Quebec. The province of Quebec has demonstrated very clearly to the rest of Canada that making child care affordable enables more people to get engaged in the workforce, not to mention the quality of life for all. This is a government that has moved forward on that issue.

Within the budget, there are so many initiatives that it is impossible to get to everything in 10 minutes. I want to highlight a few points.

I made reference to the $2 billion earlier, and I talked about it last night. Canada provides historic amounts of health care transfers to the provinces. We are talking over $45 billion. Never before have we seen a federal government give that kind of cash to the provinces, but within this budget we are giving an additional $2 billion top-up. Yes, it is targeted. I know that might upset some members of the Bloc, and some of the Conservatives are also a little upset with it. I hope my friends in the NDP are not upset with it, because it provides additional dollars, hundreds of millions of dollars, to our health care system to ensure that we can deal with some of the surgery and health care issues, such as backlogs. We can imagine the pain that is involved in a hip that needs to be replaced, or the individuals who had cancer detection and have not had the types of surgeries that are quite often necessary. These are the types of supports we are providing through the $2-billion transfer because of the pandemic. That is over and above the health transfer agreements that we have achieved with the provinces and territories.

Critics will say that the provinces and territories want more money. I have been a parliamentarian for 30 years, and every year the provinces and territories ask for more money. Why would they not? That is not the only thing they ask for. I used to be a provincial health care critic and I understand the system. The greatest threat to health care today is not providing the funds and not dealing with the need for managing the changes that are necessary. That means investing in and looking at, for example, expansion in mental health care. It means looking at long-term care.

How can we ensure that seniors are spending more time in their homes? We have a wonderful initiative in this budget, which I would suggest is one of those gold nuggets. It is the multi-generational home renovation program. I believe this program is going to enable more seniors to live longer in their homes with their families. It is a program that is going to save health care dollars, but more importantly, it is better for our communities and for our families.

I see my time has expired and I only got to my first two points. Hopefully I will be able to get more time in the coming days.

Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1Government Orders

10:40 a.m.

Bloc

Sylvie Bérubé Bloc Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for that interesting speech.

I have to say that Bill C‑19 has its flaws, starting with the health transfers that Quebec and the provinces asked for. Nevertheless, I also have to say that there are some good things in it, such as the green transition, extending employment insurance by five weeks for seasonal workers and so on.

Here is my question. What can the government do to address the needs of Quebec and the other provinces, especially when it comes to health care, while respecting their jurisdiction?

Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1Government Orders

10:40 a.m.

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB

Madam Speaker, I believe we are meeting the needs of our provinces and territories with record-high health transfers. Those transfers are tied to the Canada Health Act, something that Canadians in all regions of our country genuinely believe in. Further to that, we are also emphasizing, not just talking about it but providing dollars to go toward it, standards on long-term care, expansion into dental programs, and expansion into mental health care.

The government recognizes that the provinces have the administrative responsibility for health care, but the federal government also has a strong leadership role. The Government of Canada and the Prime Minister are stepping up to the plate to fulfill that commitment.

Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1Government Orders

10:45 a.m.

Conservative

Laila Goodridge Conservative Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB

Madam Speaker, in listening to the debate from the member opposite, I did not hear a lot of clarity when it comes to actually understanding that some of these issues clearly are in provincial jurisdiction, as well as supporting the provinces and working in partnership and in consultation with the provinces. There was a lot of word salad in that last answer and not a lot of concrete understanding that it is not just a responsibility of the provinces, but it is a constitutional responsibility of the provinces. I just wonder if the member actually understands what provincial jurisdiction means.

Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1Government Orders

10:45 a.m.

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB

Madam Speaker, I was a member of the Manitoba legislature for almost 20 years. I understand the differences between federal and provincial responsibilities. I also understand what my constituents want. What my constituents want is for Ottawa to continue to play a leadership role. To say that Ottawa has no role in health care would be absolutely and totally wrong.

I dearly hope that my Conservatives friends will come to that understanding. It is in the long-term best interest of all Canadians that the official opposition recognize the degree to which Canadians love and appreciate their health care system. The Conservatives should not be dissing it; they should be supporting it. Our current Prime Minister has had more discussions with premiers in a few years than Stephen Harper ever did in his entire 10 years—