Debates of March 27th, 2023

Taxation

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the only place he has been is in the pockets of Canadian workers, taking away their money. He has raised taxes on paycheques, raised taxes on gas, raised taxes on home heating, raised taxes on food and raised taxes on small businesses. What does he want to do this Saturday? He wants to raise taxes again.

Inflation is at a 40-year high. After eight years under the Prime Minister, Canadians cannot afford to eat, heat and house themselves.

Will he show a little bit of restraint and commit, in tomorrow's budget, to no new taxes?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have demonstrated, every step of the way, that we are there to support workers. We are there to support Canadians, and that is exactly what we did when we lowered the small business taxes to record levels and even allowed larger growth for small businesses while continuing to benefit from those. We have continued to step up on supports for workers and continued to step up on supports for families.

That has created economic growth that has benefited everyone, as opposed to the trickle-down that the Conservatives still push, with tax breaks for the wealthiest. We have continued to grow the economy in meaningful ways for everyone.

Finance

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the trickle-down is his. He wants to take away everybody's money, centralize it in his own hands and promise that it will trickle down through his mighty bureaucracy and all the prodigious interest groups that gobble it up. There may be a few little drops that get down to the people who actually earned it in the first place.

When I first said that deficits would cause inflation, all the experts disagreed. Now they all agree with me.

In fact, even the finance minister has now come around to my view, admitting that deficit spending causes inflation. That is why people are paying more than at any time in 40 years.

Will he cap government spending and put an end to the inflationary deficits tomorrow?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we can tell that the Leader of the Opposition is still hoping and waiting for experts to endorse his plan to opt out of inflation by buying cryptocurrency, something that would have erased the savings of Canadians.

The fact is that tomorrow, we are bringing forward a budget that is focused on affordability and supporting Canadians. It is going to be delivering health care results for Canadians right across the country and creating great jobs for the middle class in a clean and growing economy. Those are the focuses that we have been laser focused on over the past many years, for Canadians. We will continue to step up and be there to grow the economy and support all Canadians.

Housing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the worst part of his inflationary policies is in the price of housing. We see that now Vancouver is the third-worst housing bubble in the world. Toronto is the 10th. They are worse than Manhattan; Singapore; London, England; and countless other places. The average required down payments, rents and mortgage payments have doubled under the Prime Minister. His inflationary policies have made life worse, and his gatekeeping friends prevent housing construction.

Will the Prime Minister announce in tomorrow's budget serious penalties for the gatekeepers that drive up housing prices so that hard-working Canadians can have homes they can afford?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we know Canadians are struggling with the cost of housing, whether it is a young family looking to buy their first home or a student looking for an affordable apartment near campus. That is why we have taken action on so many fronts, from helping Canadians save up for their first home to investing in building and repairing more homes, including supporting local governments to fast-track the creation of 100,000 new homes. We are providing support for low-income renters, which the Conservatives voted against, and ensuring houses are used as homes, not investment vehicles, by curbing unfair practices that drive up prices, including banning foreign homebuyers and putting in a federal anti-flipping rule.

Democratic Institutions

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about Chinese interference. We have not forgotten about it. The Prime Minister has not managed to sweep it under the rug.

On Thursday, the House of Commons voted in favour of holding an independent public inquiry into Chinese interference. The Bloc agrees, the NDP agrees, the Conservatives agree and 72% of Canadians agree. Even the member for Don Valley North agrees. Even the Liberal member against whom the most serious allegations have been levelled is calling for a real commission to investigate.

When will the Prime Minister understand that his only defensible option is an independent public commission of inquiry?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, this is a very serious issue and one that should never be partisan. That is why we appointed an independent expert, our former governor general, David Johnston, to identify any gaps in our system. This special rapporteur will make public recommendations that could include an official inquiry or some other type of independent review, and we will implement his recommendations.

Two national security organizations will conduct separate reviews of foreign interference in our elections. They are capable of getting to the bottom of this.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I forgot that the Prime Minister is not the only one who does not want an inquiry. His Liberal buddy Jean Chrétien feels the same way. Interference is not a big deal to Mr. Chrétien as long as the Chinese ambassador or consul general were not walking around with envelopes stuffed with cash. In other words, as long as there are no envelopes full of cash, there is no need to launch an inquiry into our democracy.

Is that still the Liberal standard for ethical behaviour? Is the Prime Minister comfortable with the fact that his only ally against an independent public inquiry is the man behind the sponsorship scandal?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it is obvious how badly the Bloc Québécois wants to turn this into a partisan issue, which it is not. Rather, it is an extremely serious issue that must be dealt with in an impartial and independent manner.

That is why we have asked an extraordinary Canadian, someone who has demonstrated his loyalty and service to his country, to oversee all the processes necessary to get to the bottom of this matter and assure Canadians that we are doing everything possible to counter foreign interference. That is exactly the serious approach that Canadians deserve, rather than the partisan attacks being levelled by the Bloc and Conservative members.

Finance

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, millennials in Canada are feeling the squeeze of inflation more than the rest of Canadians. As a CBC article reports, the trustee in insolvency has concluded that Canadian millennials have been dealt a bad hand, and it is true. If we look at it, they have student debt, bad credit card debt and postpandemic tax debt from collecting CERB. In fact, it means that more and more millennials are filing for bankruptcy.

In the interest of generational fairness, will the Prime Minister confirm today that there will be measures in the budget to give young Canadians a break?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, from the moment we first took office in 2015, our focus has been on supporting young people and supporting all Canadians. We recognize, for example, that millennials are struggling with the cost of housing, whether it is a young family looking to buy their first home or a student trying to rent an apartment near campus.

That is why we have been taking action on so many fronts. On housing, we have been helping Canadians save up for their first home. We have been investing in building and repairing more homes, including by supporting local governments to fast-track the creation of 100,000 new homes. We are providing support for low-income renters, which the Conservatives voted against, and we are ensuring houses are used as homes, not investment vehicles.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the cost of living is obviously going up. It is becoming more and more difficult to make ends meet, particularly when it comes time to buy groceries.

We learned that the government plans to announce a grocery rebate in the budget. I want confirmation today that this rebate is what we have been asking for for a long time, namely the doubling of the GST credit to help people.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I know that all of my colleagues on both sides of the House are eagerly looking forward to seeing what we are going to do in tomorrow's budget to be there for Canadians, but, like everyone else, they will have to wait to find out all of the measures that we plan to put forward.

I can say, however, that we will be there to help with the cost of living. We will be there for young people, seniors and all workers with measures that will help them get through these difficult times, while ensuring that we make progress on improving our health care systems for Canadians and creating good jobs for the middle class in a greener, more sustainable and growing economy.

Taxation

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Prime Minister's high taxes and higher government spending, 50% of insolvencies and bankruptcies are on the backs of our millennials, despite them only taking up a quarter of the population. They are borrowing into record deficits just to get by. The dream of home ownership is dead for nine out of 10 young people, who will never get into a home thanks to the Liberals. They will make it even harder when they jack up their failed carbon tax on April 1.

Will the Prime Minister today commit to no new taxes in tomorrow's budget so Canadians can get into housing?

[Terry Beech, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, since forming government, our government has reduced poverty in this country by 56%. That is 2.7 million Canadians, mostly seniors and children, who are better off because of our government. We have done that by increasing investments in affordability. These are investments in things like child care, dental care and health care. We are well positioned for the future, with our debt-to-GDP ratio and our deficit lower than those of any other country in the G7. Canadians themselves have produced over 830,000 jobs since the start of the pandemic.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Mr. Speaker, let us look at the record of the most expensive housing minister in Canada's history. This genius spent $89 billion to give Canadians double the cost on mortgages and rents, and now it costs double just to save up for a home. These geniuses have also made the cost of everything going into a house double, like gas, groceries and home heating, and they are going to jack that up even further with their failed carbon tax on April 1.

Again, will they commit to no new taxes in tomorrow's budget, yes or no?

[The Speaker, Anthony Rota]

I want to remind hon. members to use their language judiciously and try to respect and not mock or criticize each other.

The hon. Minister of Housing.

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion]

Mr. Speaker, I guess when one does not have much of a housing plan, one resorts to gimmicks, buzzwords and attacks against one's fellow colleagues.

What we have done from day one is focus on all Canadians in different spectrums of the housing sector. Whether it is getting people off the streets, building permanently affordable housing for those experiencing homelessness, building more deeply affordable housing for the most vulnerable, making sure we are increasing the supply of new rentals, and, yes, building more home ownership options for first-time homebuyers, we have done all of that, despite the party opposite voting against each and every measure.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the cost of owning or renting a home in Canada has doubled. The cost of heating that home has doubled. The cost of getting groceries in Canada has gone up by double digits. Despite the inflation that Canadians are paying and the surge in revenue it is creating for the government, its unnamed sources are conditioning Canadians for more spending and higher deficits in tomorrow's budget.

I have a simple question. Will the Prime Minister tell Canadians today that tomorrow he will not raise taxes on them?

[Terry Beech, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to remind the member opposite that it was our government that reduced taxes for the middle class not once but twice, and reduced taxes for small businesses not once but twice.

While inflation is a global phenomenon, we in Canada are very well positioned to take care of it. We have the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7. We have the lowest deficit in the G7. That is going to allow us to continue to invest in Canadians, in good, sustainable, clean jobs, and in making life more affordable.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have never paid higher taxes. More intervention, more bureaucracy, more spending and more debt have created less productivity, less growth and less for Canadians struggling to pay their bills. In this country, we have record credit card debt, record food bank usage and record levels of stress and anxiety on people's finances. It seems the Prime Minister's response is to raise taxes, as he plans to do on Saturday.

The budget is tomorrow and millions of Canadians who are out of money all want to know if the Prime Minister will commit to no new taxes.

[Terry Beech, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I am very excited, as is the member opposite, for the release of the budget tomorrow. It is going to be an opportunity for us to continue doing what we have been doing, which is making life more affordable for Canadians by lowering taxes for middle-class Canadians and lowering taxes for small businesses, which has allowed us to grow. Despite the fact that we have the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7, we are delivering programs like child care, health care and dental care to make life more affordable for Canadians.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

As you know, Mr. Speaker, a new era was ushered in eight years ago, one where government budgets balance themselves. However, the reality is that, thanks to this Prime Minister's mismanagement of public funds, the cost of a mortgage has doubled since 2015, food has never been more expensive and Canadians have record credit card debt.

Canadians know full well that they need to pinch pennies to pay their bills. Will the Prime Minister commit to no new taxes?

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I really appreciate my colleague's question. As he knows full well, inflation has continued to decline in Canada over the last eight months. We have the lowest deficit and debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7.

We were able to manage Canada's finances responsibly over the last few years. We were there for Canadians in those tough times to help them make ends meet.