Debates of April 17th, 2023

Financial Statement of Minister of Finance

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Madam Speaker, I am going to reserve my comments about some of the remarks made by my colleague on this side of the House. When it comes to medically assisted dying, if there is one person who has personal experience, who was at the bedside of a loved one who qualified for medically assisted dying for eight years, that person is me. There is a lot I could say about it.

My question for my colleague concerns seniors. I would like him to tell me his thoughts on the budget. Some of the people receiving the GIS would like to work. Sadly, the government is rejecting a win-win solution that has been suggested for years now, namely to relax tax rules so that these people can go back to work or pick up a few extra shifts.

Now, here we are today, listening to the government talk about dental care and grocery rebates.

I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on the two classes of seniors.

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, York—Simcoe, ON]

Madam Speaker, it was heartbreaking to go out and visit these seniors. At the first trailer I went to, the gentleman told me he is eating Kraft Dinner to stretch his week. I went to the next area and, of all things, there were people actually lined up and there were three people looking at used shoes in tubs because they did not have any money. The senior I spoke about, who was working two jobs at Home Hardware, had to go back to work. The current government punishes hard work, and we have to stop punishing hard work and support our Canadian workers.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Madam Speaker, one of the real issues we are dealing with is the climate catastrophe that is looming, and we certainly see that the Conservatives do not even believe there is a climate crisis. The Liberals have been sitting and doing nothing. New Democrats have pushed them to action to invest in clean energy, as Biden is doing. We now have $85 billion committed, and it is tied to ensuring that there are good union jobs and good wages. These are not McJobs; these are good jobs. This is the support that we have gotten from Alberta energy workers who called on this.

Will my colleague stand with us and keep pushing the current government to make sure that these jobs are there, in the clean-tech sector that is taking a revolutionary approach around the world?

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, York—Simcoe, ON]

Madam Speaker, I will always stand up for farmers.

Here is the funny thing. In my riding, in the soup and salad bowl of Canada, the Holland Marsh, half the riding is on propane. My farmers cannot even get natural gas infrastructure. There is a 35% tariff on fertilizer. Where is the money going? It is going overseas. They are sending money to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. People in my riding feel like they are on the outside looking in. They have had enough. They want to do the right thing. They want to cut their costs.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Madam Speaker, once again, it is a privilege for me to rise in the House to speak for the people of Lévis—Lotbinière, whom I proudly represent. From the outset, I would like to say that back home, we do not have the same definition of the word “budget” as the Prime Minister, nor the same approach to budgeting.

On March 28, the Minister of Finance and this spendthrift Prime Minister proved to us for the eighth time in a row that the Liberals are incompetent and that their only talent is keeping us in the financial hole we have fallen into, in spite of ourselves, with debt interest payments we will never see the end of in our lifetime.

The Prime Minister is proud to wear the same rose-coloured glasses as the Minister of Finance, but even worse is that he is out of touch with reality in Canada. He sees us as a country to be envied within the G7.

I am going to show the House that we are getting poorer all the time, that we are living in poverty.

To talk about this budget, I will begin by saying that I am very annoyed by all the words that ring false coming from the Prime Minister, starting with the words “budget” and “economy”.

This brings me to an important question: Does the Prime Minister know what a piggy bank is? When the Prime Minister appeared on Tout le monde en parle on April 2, he talked about a large pot of money that certainly should not be saved for tough times or for a contingency. It is a big pot of money that could be used to balance the budget within five years, if only the Prime Minister knew how to count. I believe that he views it as a huge pile of cash or an unlimited jackpot for him to spend.

The only problem is that there is no more money. All these investments he is announcing are being made on credit. I cannot even fathom the amount of interest that will have to be repaid. I am picturing a big warehouse filled with pallets laden with bundles of money. It is really outrageous.

The exceptionally spendthrift Prime Minister is the perfect example of someone who never had to save up their hard-earned pennies in a piggy bank as a child.

For ordinary people, a dollar is still a dollar, because loonies are not made of gold. I say that as a reminder to the Prime Minister, who is about to shell out $43 billion on a new spending spree with the unconditional support of our NDP friends. Theirs is a beautiful love story, but it is costing us very dearly.

Currently leading Canada is a Prime Minister who has never had to make tough choices, as thousands of families are doing right now. We are not talking about choosing between buying a huge TV on credit and subscribing to cable TV channels. We are talking about choosing between buying groceries and paying the electricity bill or making car payments to be able to get to work.

With the Liberal-NDP coalition, we are not dealing with two teams that decided to pool resources in order to be able to offer Canadians more money. Instead, we have two political parties that have joined forces to find ways to spend even more of Canadians' money, because their own pockets are now empty or, even worse, because they are actually spending the future savings of generations yet to be born. Simply put, the big pot is broken and is now empty.

The Liberal-NDP coalition is undermining democracy in Canada and in our institutions. Canadians did not vote for this hypocrisy in the last election. However, this is not the first time in Canadian history that a party that will never have a chance to be in power has resorted to scheming with the Liberals to achieve its ends with no legitimacy.

I would like to talk about another word that I heard on April 2 that the Prime Minister does not seem to know the meaning of, and that is the word “austerity”. When did being reasonable and fiscally responsible or using good judgment and common sense become synonymous with austerity in Canada?

Even more serious than austerity, in my opinion, is the fact that people can no longer make ends meet, even by tightening their belt or earning a higher salary. Inflation keeps driving up the price of housing, mortgages, groceries and all the basic necessities. Before this Liberal government came to power, it took only 39% of the average wage to make the monthly payment on an average home. Today, that number has increased to 62%.

Just last week, my heart broke once again when I had to help a family with three children in my riding who could no longer afford food and shelter. The pandemic, coupled with the cost of living, is putting the squeeze on millions of Canadians who have no savings and no available credit. They have nothing left. Many are skipping a meal every day, and people are increasingly using food banks on a weekly basis. Where and when will this end?

I am not knocking the green energy sources of the future, quite the contrary. They are what we are all hoping for. We, the Conservatives, were the first to offer energy efficiency tax credits. I predict that more and more people will turn to solar energy, but not for the right reasons or the same reasons. They will do it because they no longer have the ability or the opportunity to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. Basically, they will be out on the street. That is so sad.

Canada has the lowest number of housing units per 1,000 residents of any G7 country. Because of strong population growth, the number of housing units per 1,000 Canadians has been dropping since 2016, a date that makes me think of the 2015 election. An additional 100,000 homes would have been required to keep the ratio of housing units to population stable since 2016, which still leaves us well below the G7 average and well under what the Liberal government promised. According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Canada now needs 3.5 million more housing units than planned to restore affordability.

I see the Prime Minister cockily saying that we will bring in foreign workers to deal with the labour shortage, even though we already have trouble providing decent housing for homeless people, Canadian families and seniors. Will the government tell us where these missing affordable housing units are going to come from, when we know that mortgages and rent have almost doubled since the Liberals took office?

Stress and anxiety have now become an inherent part of life for millions of Canadians. Parents, children and grandparents are worried because they know that opportunities are dwindling in Canada. Not so long ago, many people never would have thought they would end up in this precarious situation. They are living a nightmare, with no chance of waking up. In eight years, the Liberals have brought us to a nightmarish reality.

Legalizing marijuana did not help at all. Written briefs to the House and the work of committees can attest to that. Countries that legalized marijuana saw an increase in crime. Surprise surprise, that is what we are seeing now too: a 32% increase in crime. They also reported an increase in mental health problems. We too are seeing an increase in the number of people who are facing mental health challenges. We are also seeing increased substance abuse and a rise in deaths related to drugs, the hard drugs that the Liberal Party wanted to legalize at all costs. That is the Liberal legacy, or should I say, the Liberal investment in our society. For shame.

Not so long ago, we could say that any problem could be solved through policy, but that was before the Liberal era. The best way to put an end to the Liberal government that is destroying our future has always been to show them the door. Since 2015, if the Prime Minister had been paying attention to his big pot of money, as he likes to call it when he talks about the economy, we would not be in this situation.

Everyone has heard the phrase “the sky is blue and hell is red”. As a result of this NDP-Liberal coalition, everyone will be smiling as they think about what they like, but the real truth that is now on the lips of all Canadian workers is that they are paying far too much in taxes right now because the Liberal government is wasting far too much money.

The 2023 budget continues the Liberal practice of depending on tax increases and inflationary deficits. That is why I will be voting against the budget, to honour those who work hard for their money and know how to count.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Madam Speaker, when I look at the budget, I see a budget that very much reflects what Canadians want to see. We get a first-hand look at that. In the past week, we have had the Prime Minister touring the country and having town halls. In Winnipeg, he was relatively close to the north end. He met with tradespeople. The feedback we are receiving is very encouraging. We realize there is still more work to be done; we will continue to work to ensure the budget and legislative measures brought forward in the House reflect what Canadians' expectations are.

Can the member explain to Canadians why the Conservative Party committed to voting against the budget even before it knew what was in the budget?

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Madam Speaker, the answer is relatively simple. Canadians are all struggling to find a home to rent or buy. There is absolutely nothing in the budget to ensure a future for Canadians who need housing. It is going to be very expensive. Over the past eight years of Liberal rule, the cost of housing has doubled and almost tripled. The cost of home ownership has truly outstripped the incomes of most Canadians. It is truly shameful that this government is letting Canadians sleep in the streets.

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Madam Speaker, with all due respect for my colleague, it is important to be vigilant when talking about money. We often see bills in the House whose purpose is precisely to help the economy. Bill C-11, the online streaming act, and the bill on supply management come to mind.

I would like my colleague to explain why the Conservative government will agree with something here in the House, but then change their minds and drag things out at committee. This should help us respond to the current challenges.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to hear my colleague talk about “the Conservative government”. Perhaps she can see into the future and knows that Canada will be in a better position.

We will have a lot of cleaning up to do in a few months. I hope my colleague will help us do that, to give Canadians some hope.

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Madam Speaker, in the last federal election in 2021, I campaigned extensively on dental care. I for one am very proud that I am helping force the government to deliver. Last year it was for children under the age of 12. This year it is for children under the age of 18, persons with disabilities and seniors. It is fine if the Conservatives want to vote against those measures.

Once we move toward a full program that is implemented, can the Conservatives commit today to keeping that program in place, or are they going to dismantle it and force low-income families to fend for themselves as is the status quo right now?

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Madam Speaker, that is a lovely thought; however, we believe that health care falls to the provinces. If the government, in its coalition with the NDP, had transferred more money to the provinces for health care, Canadians would probably have gotten more services.

This is an example of two different visions for Canada. The Liberals think they can centralize everything in Ottawa, whereas constitutionally, health care services fall to the provinces.

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Milton.

I am proud to rise in the House of Commons today to speak on budget 2023, our government's plan to build a stronger, more sustainable and more secure Canadian economy for everyone.

Budget 2023 is a made-in-Canada plan that builds a stronger middle class, an affordable economy and a healthy future from coast to coast to coast. Canadians have demonstrated their strength and resilience over the last few years as global economies have moved towards recovering from the COVID recession. In Canada, we have seen 830,000 more Canadians employed than before the pandemic, unemployment near a record low and a record 85.7% labour force participation rate for Canadian women, which has been supported by our Canada-wide system of affordable early learning and child care.

In budget 2023, our government is responding to global economic challenges by delivering new targeted inflation relief to the Canadians who need it most, strengthening our universal public health care system, rolling out a new Canadian dental care plan for millions of Canadians and making transformative investments to build Canada's clean economy and create good middle-class jobs across Canada.

We understand and recognize the importance of investing in affordable housing, which is why our government is committed to ensuring that every Canadian has a safe and affordable place to call home. I have met with my constituents in Surrey Centre, who expressed their concerns with the rising costs of housing and the barriers to being a first-time homeowner. To confront these barriers our government has announced significant investments and support for the reallocation of funding, which will amplify the construction of new affordable homes for the Canadians who need it most. To support our communities' most vulnerable and those experiencing homelessness, budget 2023 will deliver over $500 million to achieve our goal of ending chronic homelessness through Reaching Home, Canada's homelessness strategy.

In budget 2022, our government committed to introducing a tax-free first home savings account; the implementation of this plan would provide prospective first-time home buyers the ability to save $40,000 with the benefit of a tax deductible. Budget 2023 has delivered on this commitment, and we are happy to announce that as of April 1, financial institutions are now able to start offering the tax-free first home savings account to Canadians. In fact, I was in the elevator today, and I saw the first ads going up for this first-time home savings account for Canadians.

In addition to affordable housing, the rising costs at the grocery store have affected many Canadians. The increased prices on essential goods have caused many to go without. Budget 2023 is committed to providing new, targeted inflation relief to the Canadians experiencing food insecurity. Budget 2023 proposes to introduce a one-time grocery rebate, providing $2.5 billion in targeted inflation relief for 11 million low- and modest-income Canadians and families. The grocery rebate will provide eligible couples with two children with up to an extra $467, single Canadians without children with up to $234 and seniors with up to $225.

COVID-19 created and exacerbated challenges for Canada's health care system. We recognize that many Canadians do not have a family doctor and that health care workers are still recovering from their tireless efforts during the pandemic. We recognize how crucial our universal health care system is for the well-being of Canadians and the importance of supporting provinces and territories in delivering better health care results, regardless of where people live.

Budget 2023 delivers the government's plan to provide an additional $198.3 billion over 10 years, including $46.2 billion in new funding for provinces and territories. We believe that all Canadians deserve access to health care services. However, we recognize that many rural and remote communities lack access to primary health care because of a shortage of health professionals. Our government addressed this shortage in budget 2022, announcing a 50% increase to the maximum amount of forgivable Canada student loans for doctors and nurses working in underserved rural or remote communities. This year, our government has proposed $45.9 million over four years, with $11.7 million ongoing to expand this program to more rural communities. Our government is committed to retaining doctors from coast to coast to coast so that every Canadian has access to primary health care.

In 2021, it was my personal promise to the people of Surrey Centre that I would advocate and push to have a Simon Fraser University primary care medical school for Surrey, for the purposes of primary care, rural medicine and indigenous care. I am proud to say that it is moving ahead, with the provincial government already committing $6 million. It is expected to open and take in its first students in 2026, and in short order after that, have a full school thereafter.

An important component of our health is access to dental care. However, many children go without these critical services because of the cost. The Canada dental benefit is now providing eligible parents with direct, upfront, tax-free payments to cover the costs of dental care for their children under the age of 12. To date, our government has supported more than 240,000 children across Canada, who are now able to go to the dentist.

In budget 2023, we plan to expand this program to children 18 and under, seniors 65 and older and those suffering with disabilities. We plan to deliver a transformative investment of $13 billion over five years and provide $4.4 billion ongoing to implement the Canadian dental care plan. This plan would provide dental coverage for uninsured Canadians with an annual family income of less than $90,000.

Immigration has historically reunited families and contributed to the Canadian economy, and it continues to do so. The global pandemic changed how we could process immigration requests. Canadians and newcomers were forced to experience unacceptable wait times. To address this, our government has adopted new technologies, streamlined processing and made significant new investments, including $135 million in 2022-23 to address immigration application backlogs.

In doing so, 5.2 million applications for permanent residence, temporary residence and citizenship were processed in 2022. Our government committed to implementing these new technologies to move more key services online, including confirmation of permanent residence status, introducing online citizenship testing and ceremonies.

Our government recognizes that the cost of living has affected all Canadians and that students pursuing an education need support. Budget 2023 proposes to enhance student financial assistance starting August 1, 2023. This proposal includes increasing Canada student grants by 40%, which could provide up to $4,200 for full-time students; raising the interest-free Canada student loan limit; and waiving the requirement for mature students to undergo credit screening in order to qualify for federal student loans.

Budget 2023 would make life more affordable, provide improved health care services for all Canadians from coast to coast to coast, provide targeted funding for students and workers, and encourage investments in the green energy economy.

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Madam Speaker, I want to draw to the hon. member's attention that there is again no commitment to increasing funding for the Canadian Armed Forces in this budget.

We saw in the last report from NATO that Canadian investment in our armed forces and our collective defence with our allies has fallen to 1.29% of the GDP rather than 2%, where it is supposed to be. That is down from 1.34%, where it was just a couple of years ago.

Under the Liberals, the government continues to allow spending to erode. From his recent trip to Taiwan, the member knows how important collective defence is and how, in these times of great power rivalries, we are dealing with the Communist regime in Beijing, the corrupt kleptocrats in the Kremlin and the war in Ukraine. Therefore, we need to be standing on guard.

Will the member ensure that his government makes the proper investments in the Canadian Armed Forces so that we have enough staff, which is currently down 10,000 members, and the equipment to do the tasks that our military is so often called upon to do?

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

Madam Speaker, I witnessed first-hand the needs of the Canadian military and Canada's defence needs on our trip to Taiwan, noting that many countries rely on us and our support and our allies.

Canada's commitments to NORAD, NATO and the fight against Russia's war on Ukraine have demonstrated that we punch above our weight. We are committed. We have just ordered the F-35s, a new fleet of fighter jets. We will continue to make the necessary investments, just as we are doing in NORAD, with more radar stations.

When it comes to human resources challenges, I think we are facing that across the board in Canada, not only in our military. It is across government and the private sector. For that, we are doing as much as we can to gain immigration, give more opportunities and fill that employment gap of almost one million that we have in Canada right now.

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Madam Speaker, the member will remember, of course, our colleague Jack Harris, who used to be the member of Parliament for St. John's East. In the previous Parliament, he introduced a non-binding motion asking the House to affirm support for dental care for low-income families. At that time, the Liberals voted against it, and I am glad the NDP has pressured them to see the light.

Maybe my hon. colleague can talk about his own personal journey, from being against dental care to now fully supporting it and realizing the important benefits it is going to provide to families, not only in my community but in his as well.

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

Madam Speaker, it is a good question, but I think Canada's road to recovery was a big challenge after the Harper government. There were a lot of things that needed to be done in Canada. I think we had to make a commitment to the Canada child benefit, as I had seen, first-hand, cheques being given to millionaires' families and the taxing of those who were much in need. As well, we needed $10-a-day child care to give women, particularly, a greater opportunity to participate in the labour force, from which we are now seeing results. We also needed to work on health care in general. I think the timing was right for a dental care plan, and I want to thank my colleagues from the NDP for supporting it. However, it is a joint initiative, and I am glad that, when Parliament works together, we can solve a lot of things and will continue to do so in the near future.

[Mike Morrice, Green, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Madam Speaker, the member for Surrey Centre spoke about the first home savings account. It is expected to cost at least $1.4 billion a year, but it is disproportionately going to go to higher-income Canadians, families that, for example, have the means to gift their kids or grandkids a $40,000 tax-deductible, tax-sheltered nest egg.

I wonder if the member could comment on his interest in potentially working to improve what is being proposed right now or to redirect those funds to what we do need: investments to build the non-market affordable housing that would help address the housing crisis we are in.

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

Madam Speaker, we have a national housing strategy with $86 billion over 10 years committed to it, which is not a small feat. These are additions to the strategy to expand it. We began by helping those who are homeless and those who need an extra hand. The residential construction financing initiative helps exactly those people in non-market housing to get more affordable housing. There has been $26 billion, if not more, injected into that, with $10 billion in the last fall economic statement. We are working in all facets of it.

The first home savings account is one tool, but not an exclusive one, in the tool chest. We will look at other ways to modernize it and perfect it so that it helps all families.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and to the Minister of Sport]

Madam Speaker, it is a privilege to rise today to discuss budget 2023, which is, of course, a made-in-Canada plan to build a strong middle class, an affordable economy and a healthier future. In this budget, we are proposing many measures to make life more affordable from coast to coast to coast, to improve service delivery for Canadians, to achieve better tax fairness, to strengthen our health care system and to develop a cleaner economy and invest in clean electricity.

It is nice to be back in the House of Commons after just two weeks back home for Easter, for Vaisakhi, for Passover and for Ramadan. We also celebrated other events in my riding. We raised the flag for Sikh Heritage Month, as well as for World Autism Awareness Day and many other important causes.

I had the opportunity to visit quite a few businesses. I did three school visits, as well as two high school visits set up by two incredible co-op students, Abigail from Milton District High School and Arianna from St. Francis Xavier, and I had the chance to speak to over 400 students at those two visits alone.

I am going to reflect on some of the conversations I had with students in my riding because, as I always say whenever I go into a classroom, auditorium or gymnasium to talk to the young people in Canada, students might not have votes but they do have voices, and I like to be able to bring their voices to the House of Commons because they have the most invested in the future. I think that this really is a budget for the future and a budget designed for that generation.

More specifically, I would like to talk, for the first half of my speech at least, about what we are going through right now and what we are doing to develop a clean economy. In the last couple of weeks, I had the chance to visit two electric companies. These are companies that build components for decarbonization, for electric vehicles and for pretty much all of the things that we do not understand. I am not an electrical engineer by any stretch of the imagination, but the components that Phoenix Contact has been building for the last 80 years, many of them built in Milton, Ontario, really do fuel the electrification future we talk about. If someone were to open up an electric car charger and look inside, a lot of those components would have been made and assembled in Milton, Ontario.

They were really grateful for this budget, primarily because it is clear that we are investing in decarbonization and the green economy of the future and building more good union jobs in places like Milton that are getting us closer and closer to that net-zero future that we know is so necessary in Canada, which is really leading the way in that regard. Canada has demonstrated to countries around the world not only that it is important to invest in a green future but also that one really does not have a plan for the economy of the future unless one has a plan for the environment too. That is true of budget 2023.

The other company I visited is called Eaton Canada, on Industrial Drive. I toured the shop floor with the minister of federal economic development for southern Ontario. We got to walk around and visit with a couple of the workers on the floor and see some of the really incredible innovations happening right there in Milton, building not just components for electric vehicles but also all sorts of components that go into things that run on electricity rather than on fossil fuels. It was really extraordinary. They also reflected on the value of this budget, in particular the investment tax credits for clean electricity, for green technology and for all of the innovations necessary to get us to net zero by 2050.

We also did a couple of visits to small businesses in my riding, reflecting on the measure in budget 2023 to reduce credit card fees. I know hardly anybody who brings cash with them anymore when they are buying something small, such as going in for a coffee and paying $4.50. I always feel a little bit sheepish about pulling out my phone or my credit card and paying for something under five dollars, because I know that the small business has the burden of those credit card fees. I am thrilled that, in budget 2023, we are tackling those head-on. We are going to try to reduce them by 27%, and that will save small businesses across the country upward of $10 billion over the next decade.

That is extraordinary. It improves productivity. It allows them to hire more employees. It increases their profits and allows them to keep prices low, which is an advantage for small businesses like Butcher Bar in Milton, where I went for an espresso with the minister. We sat down and had coffee and discussed some of these measures as people were coming in and out, buying their groceries. I also had the opportunity to discuss with them the rising cost of groceries and why they thought groceries were so expensive.

Constituents in my riding of Milton know that inflation is real. It is hitting them in the pocketbook, and it is hitting them in the shopping cart. They want a little bit of help. They were really grateful that the grocery rebate was also part of budget 2023.

The grocery rebate is going to invest upwards of $467 back into the pockets of Canadian families that are just trying to pay the bills. They just want to be able to go to the grocery store, fill up their carts with good, nutritious food and bring it home to their families without experiencing the rising costs that are definitely the case around the world. Many of my constituents reflected on the fact that they recognize that inflation in Canada is lower than in other places. However, that is cold comfort to families just trying to make ends meet, so the $467 is going to go a really long way to supporting the finances of families in Milton and right across this country.

There is another reflection I made at one of the school visits, at Milton District High School, I think. It was on the fact that, with budget 2023, Canada student loans will be interest-free forever. That includes Canada apprenticeship loans for those who are going to college or doing trade apprenticeships. My youngest constituents, in high school, were thrilled when they heard that. They will never actually know interest on student loans, and that is the best part. They are not going to have to experience that burden.

In fact, there were five or six teachers in the room when I brought this up, and a lot of the students were looking at me like they were going to save a couple of hundred or a couple of thousand dollars. It was the teachers in the room, who all have master's degrees in education, who let out big breaths and thought it was actually a huge thing for young people. The students will never actually know how much money they are saving, because the burden will never be placed on them in the first place. That will allow young people to get their first start when they finish school and go off and get their first job. They will be able to start saving sooner and perhaps invest more quickly into the tax-free first-time homebuyers bank account, which is another measure in this budget that is going to support the futures of young people in Milton.

A couple of questions I received after my speech at St. Francis Xavier were about housing affordability, and today we have heard a couple of reflections on housing affordability. I want to point out that the national housing plan that this government has put forth over the last couple of years still has quite a lot of money to invest across the country. We are still seeing the minister of housing make announcements across the country in various communities, particularly in places like Halton, where I grew up and which I am thrilled to be able to represent.

Halton is, without having to put too fine a point on it, quite wealthy. It is a very fortunate community. When I looked at the rankings of the socio-economic statuses of the various ridings in Canada, Milton was in the top 10, and I want to recognize that, in a lot of other ridings, many communities are not as fortunate as Milton, specifically. However, I grew up in community housing at the Chautauqua Co-op. I will always remember this, and I will never lose sight of the fact that non-market housing solutions are going to move us toward a more affordable housing ecosystem in Canada.

I was reflecting on a couple of speeches from before we went on break, by members from various parties on what they thought of solutions to the housing and affordability crisis in Canada. I always come back to the fact that co-op housing, community housing and quality supportive housing are the direction in which we ought to be going, and I am glad to see $1.5 billion in the previous year's budget. That has not all been spent, thankfully, so there is still lots of work to do. There is plenty of funding left in the housing accelerator fund, which is just coming online now for municipalities like Milton to find some really innovative solutions to housing more people more affordably in their communities.

One of the other visits I was able to do was to a dentist's office. I went by Mill Ridge Family Dental Care to see Dr. Sinan and discuss the government dental plan. Before I get a question from the NDP about this, it is great to see that the dental benefit is working for so many Canadians. It is an example of how Parliament can work together and achieve mutual goals and common objectives.

I spoke to one family with four kids. Both parents are independent contractors, so they are self-employed and do not have benefits. The dental care program is going to make it possible for their kids to see a dentist to get their teeth cleaned, to fill cavities and to make sure their smiles are healthy. It is important to note that, as Dr. Sinan pointed out, dentists do not just do work on teeth; it is also about oral care, oral health and full body health. There are a lot of things that can be diagnosed by looking into a young person's mouth. It was great to see Dr. Sinan. I know the parents are grateful for the dental benefit, and so am I.

I would be happy to take a couple of questions.

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

Madam Speaker, in his speech, my colleague referred to the grocery rebate, which we on this side of the House know is a GST rebate rebranded to be a grocery rebate. I have heard from many people in my riding about the affordability of groceries and about inflation. We have been studying that at the agriculture committee, and one of the reasons we are seeing an increase in prices is that some of the policies made by the Liberal government make it more unaffordable for farmers to produce food. Then, the prices and costs are passed down the line to consumers.

I am just wondering if my colleague cares to comment on how the government could actually look at policies to help farmers stay in business and keep their costs down so we can have food security in this country.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

Madam Speaker, I am happy to have an opportunity to talk about agriculture and farming, because my community of Milton, being one of the most diverse in the country, has quite a lot of farmers and food producers.

One of the issues that came up at my last agriculture and farming town hall was the cost of fertilizer. I am really glad that was identified as a problem and that solutions were provided in budget 2023 so we can ensure that Canadian farmers are able to produce food, regardless of the market challenges occurring right now due to Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine and the pressures it is putting on various fertilizer markets around the world.

I am always there for farmers across Halton. When my family immigrated from Holland to a community not that far away from my colleague's riding, they farmed apples and tobacco. Every time I take a bite out of an apple, as I did from La Rose when I got a great Honeycrisp the other day, I thank a Canadian farmer.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Madam Speaker, the dental care issue is significant. I had a chance to tour St. Clair College, and I want to congratulate Patti France, the first woman president of the college, on her upcoming retirement as well as John Fairley for hosting us.

What became evident was not only the care of patients, but that dental hygienists often have to work two or three different jobs. Some of them do not even have their own coverage. I would like the member to comment on how this can also improve working conditions. They often have to cobble a couple of jobs together, buy hopefully with more patients, some will start their own collectives as businesses and so forth and be able to have longer, stable employment versus having to find work piecemeal, especially when there is a shortage right now.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

Madam Speaker, that was a great question from my colleague from Windsor. I am really grateful for the fact that it was National Dental Hygienists Week when we released the budget. I had the opportunity to sit down with a fairly large group of Canadian hygienists, and we discussed the budget, which was not out at the time, although they were looking forward to it. They were really glad for these investments in dental care, because a lot of things, like the cleanings, the preparation and the lessons young people get on how to floss and brush more effectively, come from dental hygienists.

I appreciate the opportunity to thank dental hygienists today for their extraordinary work and recognize that their working conditions always need to be improved, because they are really the frontline workers for dentists. The member for Windsor West has reminded me that that I am due for a cleaning, so I will make sure to call my dentist after this and book one.

[Ken McDonald, Liberal, Avalon, NL]

Madam Speaker, I just want to correct something the member for Cowichan—Malahat—Langford mentioned. He said there was a motion put forward by Mr. Jack Harris, a former MP in this House for St. John's East, and that the Liberals voted against it. I want to correct the record. I actually voted in favour of that motion with Mr. Harris at that time.

I am delighted that my colleague, in the speech he just gave, talked about credit card fees going down, student loan fees going down and dental care for kids. However, we are also going to expand it to low-income seniors. Could the member talk about the significance of that for seniors going forward?

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Avalon for bringing up an issue that is very near and dear to my heart. At my constituency office in Milton, which is a very busy place, a lot of seniors call to say the threshold for dental care from the province is far too low. Basically, seniors need to be extraordinarily poor before they can access insurance through the province, and that needs to change.

This year, our government, in budget 2023, is committed to broadening the dental care benefit to seniors as well as kids under 18. I think a lot of 17-year-olds would say they are not kids, so I will say people under 18 whose parents are not insured. A number of seniors who have called my office to say they need root canals or minor surgeries are relying on charitable dentists giving them a good deal. This government is stepping up and saying they do not have to rely on charity; they can rely on us.