Debates of Sept. 22nd, 2022

Taxation

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, if the member opposite bothered to read the “Fiscal Monitor”, he would know that the budget was actually in surplus for five months this spring, but I have a question for him. I would like to know—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I just want to remind the hon. members that the hon. member for Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo asked a question, and he wants to be able to hear the answer.

The hon. Deputy Prime Minister, please begin from the top so the hon. member can hear the full answer.

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, since the member seems interested in the economy, I want to give him an opportunity to clarify a point of Conservative policy. I would like to ask him if he agrees with the Conservative leader that crypto is a good way to “opt out of inflation”. Does he agree with the Conservative leader's reckless advice to Canadians to invest in Bitcoin?

Since the leader gave that advice, Bitcoin has crashed by 56%. Canadians who invested according to his advice would have seen their life savings destroyed. Is that their economic policy?

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I think the minister thinks she is in opposition, and she will be soon enough.

Canadians' paycheques are already not keeping up with the Liberal tax hikes and the Justinflation crisis. Canadians are falling further behind, becoming desperate and losing hope. The government and its ministers are failing Canadians, and their responses today are further proof of their inability to provide viable solutions and restore hope.

Will the government cancel the payroll taxes on Canadians' paycheques?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, our government's approach is both fiscally responsible and compassionate. The Conservatives' approach is neither. Do the Conservatives really think that a family of four earning just $35,000 a year could not use $500 this fall to buy groceries? Do they think a low-income essential worker who is struggling to pay her rent could not use an extra $500? We know Canadians need this support. We know it is part of a AAA-rated fiscally responsible approach.

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Frank, a father in my riding of Vaughan, is struggling to support his family of four. He currently works two jobs to put food on the table and gas in his car. These are not luxury items, and the struggle to afford the necessities is taking a serious toll on his mental health and well-being.

Will the government cancel its planned tax increase for Frank and all Canadian taxpayers?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we understand that Canadians are going through a difficult time, and we understand they need support. We heard yesterday that there is at least one Conservative MP who understands that our doubling of the GST tax credit makes sense today.

I would like to ask all of the Conservatives that. I really would like to believe Conservatives share our sincere desire to help Canadians. They can join us with this measure. It would help all Canadians.

Employment Insurance

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

Mr. Speaker, the pandemic exposed the flaws in the employment insurance system. The Liberals responded to the emergency with temporary patch jobs while promising real reform someday. Those temporary measures run out on Saturday. On Sunday, thousands of people will be stuck with the old system that does not work. The unemployed deserve respect. Women, part-time seasonal workers and freelancers deserve respect.

Will the Liberals wake up, or will they condemn workers to getting screwed by the old system the Conservative Party leader is such a fan of?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, we are committed to completely overhauling Canada's employment insurance system. Some temporary benefits programs implemented during the pandemic will indeed come to an end, but regular benefits will continue to be available to workers, as they were before the pandemic.

We are looking forward to announcing our long-term plan. We are looking forward to increasing EI sickness benefits to 26 weeks before the end of December.

Taxation

[Laurel Collins, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, while Canadians are struggling, oil companies are making record profits. Last quarter alone, Imperial Oil made $2.4 billion. New Democrats have been calling for a tax on these excess profits to help put more money back in people's pockets, but the Liberals have refused.

Now, the UN Secretary General is calling on countries to implement a windfall tax on big polluters. Will the Prime Minister finally do the right thing and make big oil pay their fair share?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, our government has been and continues to be committed to being sure everyone in Canada pays their fair share. That is why we are permanently raising the corporate income tax by 1.5% on the largest, most-profitable banks and insurance companies. That is why we introduced a recovery dividend of 15% on the excess profits of these institutions during COVID. We have implemented, effective September 1, a 10% luxury tax on private jets, luxury cars, boats and yachts.

Child Care

[Viviane LaPointe, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we know that the Canada-wide early learning and child care system is getting up and running from coast to coast to coast. Families in my home town of Sudbury are already seeing the benefits of the transformative investments that Canada and the provinces are making together.

Can the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development update the House on the milestones Sudbury has reached as this national system is built out?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for Sudbury for all of her hard work advocating on behalf of early learning and child care.

I am really pleased to announce that the City of Sudbury is moving forward with the Canada-wide early learning and child care agreement and has already begun issuing rebates to families in Sudbury. This is excellent news for families in Sudbury.

I had the opportunity to visit Sudbury a couple of months ago to speak with providers and families about what this agreement means for them, and I am excited to say that today they are delivering.

Taxation

[Laila Goodridge, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the burden of the inflated cost of living is felt especially by Canadians living in rural communities such as mine. In northern Alberta, one has to heat one's home and fill up one's gas tank to travel for work, school, groceries and medical appointments. As the Liberals increase taxes to pay for their reckless spending, they are leaving so many rural Canadians in the dark as they struggle to make ends meet.

Will the government cancel its planned tax increases on paycheques, gas, home heating and groceries?

[Gudie Hutchings, Liberal, Minister of Rural Economic Development]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to talk to my hon. colleague across the way and tell her some things that we are doing.

We know that high-speed Internet is a connectivity issue for rural Canadians. Since 2015, we have connected 1.2 million homes. By 2026, we are going to connect another 1.2 million homes. By 2026, we will have 98% of Canada connected to affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet. That is going to help rural Canadians get on par with urban Canadians. It is truly going to help all Canadians.

[Richard Bragdon, Conservative, Tobique—Mactaquac, NB]

Mr. Speaker, Atlantic Canadians and Canadians across the country are seeing their cost of living soar, including the cost to heat their homes. The premier of Nova Scotia is concerned about the impacts of carbon pricing saying, “Almost 40 per cent of Atlantic Canadians already experience energy poverty — [by far] the highest rate in the country.”

These constant increases are hurting Canadians. When will the Prime Minister get off the backs of Atlantic Canadians, put people first, stop these increases and commit to no new taxes?

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

Mr. Speaker, we realize that there are very unique challenges in Atlantic Canada with the cost of living and, of course, the cost of fuel. We made a commitment to be there for them.

I am very happy to say that the Minister of Environment and Climate Change just last week announced $120 million from the low-carbon economy fund to help Atlantic Canadians transition away from heating oil to clean energy. Also, as the House knows, there is the home retrofit program, which also will help with energy efficiency and saving money for Atlantic Canadians.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Mr. Speaker, my constituent, Kerrie Russ, is increasingly frustrated with having a prime minister who has forgotten working Canadians. After paying their mortgage, utility bills, gas, food, child care and school fees, Kerrie and her husband are left with $200 each month. The family does not qualify for the GST benefit and their child benefit has been reduced.

What Kerrie Russ wants to know: Will the Prime Minister cancel his planned tax increases on paycheques, gas, home heating and groceries?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad to hear the MP for Edmonton Manning talk about the child care costs his constituents are facing. I very much believe that one of the important ways our government and governments across the country can support hard-working Canadian families is by making child care not a burden. For too many families, child care is like a second mortgage. Thanks to our early learning and child care plan, that burden is being lifted from Canadian families.

I am pleased the Province of Alberta has joined with us to do that for the member's constituents.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, with the Liberal carbon tax, input costs to heat a barn or dry grain have exploded. I am hearing daily from farmers about how the Liberals' nonsensical fertilizer policy will devastate their businesses and increase the cost of food for Canadians even further. Many farmers and farm families see Liberal tax hikes as the killing blow. If farmers cannot afford to live, they cannot afford to grow the food we eat. It is simple: no farms, no food.

Will the Liberals end this tax hike on Canadian farmers?

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, the biggest threat to our food security is definitely the climate crisis and droughts. When we face droughts or floods, as we did last summer, we have a lot of trouble with food production. That is why are partnering with farmers. We are providing them with financial incentives so they can adopt good practices, reduce emissions and be more resilient in the face of the climate crisis.

We will be there to support farmers.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to make one thing clear. Leaving Roxham Road open is not humane. It encourages criminals who profit from the misery of others to engage in human smuggling. It is making the government complicit with a business trading on desperation where criminals use false information to convince families to pay up to $10,000 per person to cross the border. The only reason this business exists is that the Government of Canada is incompetent in managing its borders and processing refugee claims.

How can the government condone that?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we believe in an asylum system that is fair and equitable and that better protects the rights of refugees.

We are working closely with the Government of Quebec. Every year, we transfer hundreds of millions of dollars to welcome immigrants, including refugees, to Quebec, and we are investing $321 million to strengthen the integrity of our borders. That is good for Quebec. Refugees play a key role in Quebec and they contribute to our economy. We will keep it up.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this is a whole new level of hypocrisy.

Once migrants arrive in Canada, the government is unable to process their refugee claims. It leaves them wondering and worrying for years and then, after all those years, it determines that half the families do not qualify as refugees and deports them.

The federal government is letting criminals lie to families and bankrupt them so that they can get across the border. It leaves them hanging for years only to send them back to their own country. The federal government is not helping migrants. It is helping criminals.

When will it suspend the safe third country agreement and finally put an end to this inhumane racket?