Debates of Sept. 28th, 2022

Taxation

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals will tell Canadians they have never had it so good. They have never had it so good. Listen, the government is out of touch and Canadians are out of money. Here are the facts: “Food bank use triples, hits record almost every month: Daily Bread Food Bank”, “GTA food banks say they are facing the highest demand in their history”, “Inflation is driving Ottawa food bank use to record highs, with no end in sight”, and students are literally living in homeless shelters while they go to school.

The Liberals think that now is the time to raise their energy costs by tripling the carbon tax. Will they cancel this heartless tax hike now?

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

Mr. Speaker, do colleagues know who is out of touch? A Conservative leader who thinks that now is a good time to slash pension savings. The reckless Conservative scheme would cost $3.8 billion a year, so that means the Conservatives are planning to either increase our deficit by $3.8 billion or slash the retirement income of our seniors.

They need to come clean. Do they plan to slash pensions and increase the deficit, or did they just not bother to think that far ahead?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the answer is neither, just like when we were in government. We froze CPP taxes and protected the CPP, increasing its benefits to seniors every single year we were in office.

Now the government wants to raise taxes on those very same seniors. According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, in every single province where the carbon tax applies, Canadians pay more in costs than they get back in rebates, and it is especially high in provinces like Quebec, where there is no rebate whatsoever and people will have to pay the increased costs the government is imposing.

Will the government cancel this heartless tax hike today?

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

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about a centrepiece of the Conservative economic agenda. Recently, the member for Kingston and the Islands asked the Conservative leader directly if he was finally ready to flip-flop on cryptocurrency and Bitcoin. In response, the Conservative leader could not even bring himself to utter the words “crypto” or “Bitcoin”. Maybe that is because since he offered his reckless advice, Bitcoin has fallen by 56%.

It is time for the Conservative leader to apologize to those Canadians who made the mistake of listening to him.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I borrowed some lemons from the Governor General and have $150 worth of lemons in my glass.

More seriously, what is more humane: Welcoming tens of thousands of desperate asylum seekers knowing that most risk being deported after they have had time to make a life for themselves in Quebec, or investing an astronomical half a billion dollars in competent staff at the immigration department and sending claimants to a regular crossing and reducing processing times?

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

Mr. Speaker, we believe in the strength of our asylum and immigration systems. We are working closely with stakeholders on the border situation. We will always work closely with all of our partners to respect our national and international obligations towards asylum seekers.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in the hope of receiving a more substantive answer, I will ask the minister a more direct question.

What is cheaper: Using existing infrastructure that is adequate for processing refugee claimants or spending between $500 million and $1 billion and hiding how much of this money is going to Liberal Party donors? Once a Liberal, always a Liberal.

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

Mr. Speaker, what the Canadian and Quebec economies need are workers.

There is a labour shortage right now, particularly in Quebec. We need to work together for our economy and welcome immigrants. We need to be a society that welcomes immigrants. That is what our government is going to do, and I hope that we can work closely with all the members of the House and all the members from Quebec.

The Economy

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we are experiencing the highest increase in food prices in 41 years. That means families are having a very difficult time buying groceries and putting food on the table. Do members know what else has gone up? It is CEO bonuses. Neither the Liberals nor the Conservatives are willing to call out greedflation, but we are.

Will the government support our demand to investigate food prices?

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

Mr. Speaker, Canadians know that our government is absolutely committed to ensuring that everyone in our amazing country pays their fair share. In fact, we are raising permanently the corporate income tax on the largest, most profitable banks and insurance companies by 1.5%, and we have put in place a 15% recovery dividend on the excess profits of these institutions during COVID. We have also implemented a 10% luxury tax on luxury cars, planes and yachts.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the cost of pasta has increased by over 32%, which means it is getting harder for families to buy groceries.

However, it is not getting harder for the CEOs of major grocery store chains. They have earned record profits and big bonuses. Clearly, CEO greed is contributing to inflation.

Will the government support our demand to investigate food prices?

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

Mr. Speaker, we have been and remain committed to ensuring that everyone pays their fair share of taxes. That is why we are permanently raising the corporate income tax rate by 1.5% on Canada's largest, most profitable banks and insurance companies. We have also introduced a recovery dividend of 15% on excess profits at these institutions during the COVID pandemic.

Employment Insurance

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, 40-year highs of “Justinflation” is where we are at. Payroll taxes have gone from $3,400 to $4,100 under the government, a $700 increase, and the planned EI premium hike is yet another increase on paycheques. When Canadians are struggling with paying their bills, the government's next move, on January 1, is to raise EI premiums on their paycheques.

When will they finally give Canadians a break and cancel the planned EI tax hike?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Before going to the minister, I want to remind hon. members they cannot do indirectly what they cannot do directly. If they are saying something, maybe they can insert the pause where it is supposed to be to avoid any kind of mockery of our system.

The hon. minister has the floor.

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, the facts are very clear. EI premiums are lower today than when the opposition leader oversaw them. In fact, EI premiums are actually the lowest they have been in decades. Come next January, even though the premium will be increased, it will still be 25¢ lower than in 2015 under the opposition leader. EI benefits are also way more generous than they were under the Conservatives 10 years ago.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the minister knows she is collecting more in EI premiums than she will pay to workers, and the finance minister ought to know that the EI surplus goes to their coffers to feed their out-of-control inflationary spending. The government cannot simultaneously say it understands the pain of Canadians and raise taxes on them.

I will ask this again. Will the government cancel the January 1 tax hikes?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, let me repeat that EI premiums are the lowest they have been in decades, and that is a direct result of our government's investment in programs for workers. Special benefits are more generous. The maximum for insurable earnings is more generous. Workers get more now and pay less.

Taxation

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

Mr. Speaker, the employment insurance tax hike means Canadians will have to give up another $2.5 billion from their paycheques. That will not help the unemployed; it will only pad government coffers.

That money should stay in Canadians' pockets to help pay for gas, groceries, heating, and everything else that costs more because of this government's unjust inflationary policies. We can no longer afford this unjust inflation.

Canadians have done their part since 2015. Will the government cancel its plan to raise taxes?

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

Mr. Speaker, Canadians certainly understand that CPP and EI contributions are how we save for retirement and create a safety net for all Canadians.

In this time of global economic uncertainty, it is completely irresponsible of the Conservatives to suggest that our country should stop setting money aside for Canadians' retirement and a rainy day.

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

Mr. Speaker, this is coming from the finance minister who has run up the biggest deficit in Canadian history, more than all previous prime ministers combined. She wants to lecture us on that. She has no credibility with Canadians.

The cost of groceries is at its highest level in 40 years. It has risen more than 10%. What is even worse is that now, the Liberals want to take even more from workers' paycheques as of January 1, 2023.

Rather than hurting everyone, will the Liberals end “Justinflation”, yes or no?

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

Mr. Speaker, if the Conservatives had bothered to read the latest financial monitor, they would know that so far this fiscal year, the federal government is running a $6.3‑billion surplus. We have the lowest deficit in the G7. We have a AAA credit rating.

What Canadians should be worried about is the fact that the Conservatives want to slash pensions.

[Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Conservative, South Surrey—White Rock, BC]

Mr. Speaker, $2.29 is the price of gas in Surrey. Families and workers in B.C. are struggling to make ends meet because of the “just inflation” cost-of-living crisis, but the Prime Minister and the NDP say they are not paying enough. They are forcing the people of my province to pay triple in carbon taxes and take gas close to three dollars a litre.

Will the Prime Minister allow British Columbians to fill their tanks and put food on the table, and cancel his unaffordable carbon tax hike?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the government is certainly taking action to address affordability by, for example, doubling the GST tax credit.

With regard to the price on pollution, the hon. member knows where the federal system is in place, and I would tell her that it is not in place in British Columbia. Rebates are issued quarterly, and most Canadian families get a direct rebate and will continue to get a direct rebate that is more than what they pay.

Let us be very clear. If we want to ensure affordability on an ongoing basis with respect to climate change, we need to ensure that we have a robust climate plan to ensure that we are dealing with the cost of the future. That is something that, for over six months, the Leader of the Opposition has refused to talk about. Where is his climate plan?

[Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Conservative, South Surrey—White Rock, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we are not talking about today. We are talking about April 1, when triple the carbon tax will be imposed on British Columbians.

The Liberals believe that made-in-B.C. solutions do not work, so they are forcing families, workers and businesses to pay three times more in carbon taxes. The Conservatives will give control back to British Columbians over their paycheques, their savings and their lives.

Tomorrow, gas goes to $2.50 a litre in Vancouver. It is shattering all North American records, but that is not enough for the Prime Minister and the NDP. Cancel the tax.

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, as a bit of history, British Columbia was the proud implementer of the first carbon price in Canada. It was implemented by a Conservative premier in British Columbia. British Columbia continues to have its own approach to carbon pricing because it knows it is the most efficient way to address pricing going forward.

I would note it is pretty perplexing that every member of the opposition—