Debates of April 17th, 2023

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[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I thank the hon. member for Lethbridge for her intervention. However, I am not satisfied that the request meets the requirements of the Standing Orders at this time.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I would stand on a point of order. During the debate, there was an accusation thrown against me that I was spreading a conspiracy theory in bringing up the fact that the government has applied pressure to social media companies 214 times. I would like to retable the documents already tabled, which show that I am in fact telling the truth, and therefore, my emergency debate request is substantiated.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

All those opposed to the hon. member's moving the motion will please say nay.

[Some hon. members]

Nay.

The House resumed consideration of the motion that this House approve in general the budgetary policy of the government, of the amendment and of the amendment to the amendment.

Financial Statement of Minister of Finance

[Julie Dzerowicz, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is a true honour for me to speak to federal budget 2023 in the House on behalf of the residents of Davenport. It was really wonderful for me to be back in the riding over the last two weeks, to get a chance to go out and talk to the various Davenport residents, organizations and businesses about the different measures that we have in the budget.

Before I go on, I want to say a huge thanks to all those who made submissions in budget 2023. Over 700 Canadian stakeholders and organizations made submissions. It was a huge effort. It was a lot of work, a lot of outstanding ideas, a lot of great creative thoughts and so I wanted to say a huge thanks to them.

Budget 2023 is the most targeted budget that has been introduced by our government in the seven and a half years that I have had the privilege to serve the residents of Davenport in this venerable House. However, what I think is really important to note is that it builds on the work and investments that have already been announced and made in previous budgets. That said, there are three key sections that I would like to speak about, depending on how much time I have.

I want to talk about the major investments we are making in health care, including dental care; the huge investments in accelerating the clean economy in Canada; and the targeted investments in affordability, which will support our most vulnerable Canadians, who continue to have such a difficult time with the high cost of living.

Maybe that is where I will begin: affordability. We had to be very targeted with our spending in budget 2023 and very much focused on delivering support to those who need it the most.

Why is it that we had to be very targeted? It is because inflation continues to be high. As a national government, we cannot make it worse with big spending programs.

Canadians want us to be responsible in our spending, and this means we had to make some choices. Here are some of the affordability measures that we have introduced in our latest budget.

We have introduced 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 an extra $234 and seniors with an extra $225, on average.

As another measure, the federal government is taking additional steps to ensure that more low-income Canadians can easily file their tax returns to receive the benefits that they are entitled to.

Budget 2023 announces that the federal government will increase the number of eligible Canadians who can do automatic tax filing to two million people by 2025, which is almost triple the current number. This is something that, for a very long time, poverty advocates have been asking for. Far too many Canadians do not know what benefits they are entitled to, and therefore, they leave that money on the table. These tend to be the people who need the benefits the most.

The third measure I want to mention, although there are many others, relates to some additional measures we have for our students. We need to continue to do all we can to help them as they go to school, study and try to start their careers in life.

Our federal government previously announced that the interest for Canada student loans and Canada apprentice loans had been permanently eliminated for all students. In budget 2023, we provide more financial assistance for students by increasing the Canada student grants by 40% annually, which will provide an additional $4,200 a year, and also by raising the interest-free Canada student loan limit from $210 per week to $300 per week of study.

Part of the reason I was so happy to be back in Davenport is that I got a chance to actually go visit various different places across the riding, just to hear what people were thinking about in terms of the different measures that we have introduced.

At Nossa Talho, a really wonderful Portuguese grocery store in my riding, I talked to Sylvia. Sylvia said to me that she loves the grocery rebate. She said that every penny that is put into her bank account is a dollar that she will spend on her family. That is going to help her meet all the higher costs she is seeing in terms of groceries.

I also talked to Diana and Monica, who were at the grocery cash register. They had a lot of positive things to say. They did not know about the grocery tax rebate, and I know that they are going to tell many other people.

I also had a wonderful chance to visit the seniors at Joseph J. Piccininni Community Centre. I stopped in while they were playing pickleball and talked to them about some of the measures we had. They were also very happy. I also managed to talk to the seniors at The Stop Community Food Centre, the LA Centre for Active Living Seniors and the Abrigo Centre. They were all extraordinarily happy about the automatic tax filing; the dental care program, which I will talk about in a couple of minutes; and the grocery rebate. There were a lot of thumbs up across the riding of Davenport.

I want to mention a few measures that mean a lot to small businesses in my riding. The lowering of the credit card transaction fees for small business was huge. I do not know what is happening in other members' ridings, but in my riding, our small businesses are really struggling. They have said that anything that would help keep some money within their businesses so they could reinvest in their business, cover some of the higher costs or pay more in wages would be helpful for them. Our federal government has secured commitments from Visa and MasterCard to lower fees for small businesses while also protecting reward points for Canadian consumers offered by Canada's largest banks.

More than 90% of credit card-accepting businesses will see their interchange fees reduced by up to 27% from the existing weighted average rate. These reductions are expected to save eligible small businesses in Canada approximately $1 billion over five years. That is a lot of money, and they are very happy about this. A lot of businesses did not want to pay this extra interchange fee, so many were not accepting credit cards. This will now allow them to accept credit cards. It makes it more affordable for them, which means they will have more customers who are willing to spend more money.

The other item that is big for many of the craft brewers, which are small businesses in my riding, is the freezing of the excise tax on beer, wine and alcohol at 2% for one year. That is huge for them. It is something the industry has been asking for. I am very blessed in my riding of Davenport to have a lot of really wonderful craft brewers. When I told them about the freezing of the excise tax, they were extraordinarily happy. I want to give a huge shout-out to the people at Henderson Brewing and thank them for welcoming me, talking to me and advocating for this. I know that all the other craft brewers in my riding are very happy about it as well.

I also want to thank all the West Queen West businesses that I managed to pop by, such as the Dog & Bear pub, Hello 123 and Nunu Ethiopian Fusion Restaurant. They were all extremely delighted to hear about the lowering of the credit card transaction fees.

I am now going to move on to health care. We have all heard about the long lineups with respect to surgery backlogs, as well as emergency rooms being too full and taking a long time to serve Canadians. We have heard about Canadians not having access to doctors and the lack of funding for mental health, among many other issues. I had a chance to visit thousands of doors in my riding of Davenport in the months of January and February, and this was one of their top-of-mind issues. They all said that it would be really great if the federal government could step up and better support the provinces with health care, and step up we did. In budget 2023, we made major investments, adding an additional $195.8 billion over 10 years.

These are the key items to highlight: We have increased the Canada health transfer by about 5% a year. We have added an immediate $2 billion top-up to address the urgent pressures I mentioned regarding emergency rooms, operating rooms and pediatric hospitals. We have added $25 billion for bilateral agreements to address the need for more dollars for mental health and ensure that more Canadians have access to family doctors, among many other things. We have included far more money to support the hourly wage increases for personal support workers and strengthen the retirement savings of personal support workers who do not have workplace retirement security coverage, as well as more money to expand the reach of Canada's student loan forgiveness programs for doctors and nurses who work in underserved rural or remote communities, including all communities with populations of 30,000 or fewer.

I see the Speaker has given me the one-minute mark, yet I do not seem to have covered very much.

I want to say that this is a really excellent budget for the residents of Davenport. It is very targeted. I encourage all members of this House to support it when it comes time to vote.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Madam Speaker, our hon. colleague from Davenport, in her comments on budgetary policy, spoke about mental health. As many of my colleagues know, I have dedicated the last seven and a half years, my political tenure, to championing mental health within our country.

National mental health transfers were something that the government, the Liberals, ran on in 2021. They promised a $4.5-billion mental health transfer so we could finally have mental health in parity with physical health, yet they walked back on that. They lied to Canadians.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Madam Speaker, they misled Canadians.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Madam Speaker, on a point of order, we are just following a lengthy point of privilege on the use of that word in the House. The member should apologize for using it.

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

The member did correct himself. An apology would be nice, too.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Madam Speaker, they misled Canadians on such a vital promise during the 2021 election. I would like to ask our hon. colleague what she has to say about that.

[Julie Dzerowicz, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for his amazing leadership in advocating for more mental health support. I do not think there is anybody in the House who does not agree that we need to have far more investment in mental health services. At all levels, we have not provided enough in the past.

I will say there is an enormous top-up and an enormous investment in federal budget 2023. In Ontario, they have signed a bilateral agreement. The organizations that advocate for mental health supports in my riding are very happy, and they are looking forward to additional dollars flowing in this area.

I thank the member opposite for his enormous leadership. We do need to do more. We will do more.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech. She slipped in a brief comment about the grocery rebate. She talked about an extra $225 on average, but an extra $225 on what, exactly?

This is a one-time cheque to help with groceries. Obviously, seniors cannot be against this measure, but will a one-time rebate of $225 really address the unanimous request from seniors' groups?

They are calling for measures to improve their financial situation in the long term, which means recurring assistance, not just one-time cheques that will only help them at a specific time.

[Julie Dzerowicz, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Madam Speaker, as I mentioned at the beginning of my speech, we have a very targeted budget with very targeted supports for our most vulnerable, but these should be taken in concert with all the other measures we have introduced. Seniors who are aged 75 and older in my riding were very happy to have an increase of 10% for their OAS. They were very happy for past GST rebates. That has been very helpful to them.

I will talk of families in my riding. They love the grocery rebate because it is on top of the Canada child benefit, which they have already been receiving, and which was introduced by our government. As well, with the national child care plan that we introduced, they have seen 50% of their costs on a monthly basis reduced, so these are never to be taken in isolation.

We have introduced so many measures that help low and middle-income Canadians, better supporting them with the high cost of living today.

[Laurel Collins, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Madam Speaker, I wanted to raise the issue of dental care, which is encouraging to see in this budget. It will make such a huge difference for people who are struggling with the pain of not being able to fix their teeth. We know that for kids, one of the most common surgeries in pediatric hospitals is dental surgery. However, people with disabilities, seniors and kids under 18 are having to wait until the end of the year, I would like to see people able to fix their teeth now.

In June of 2021, the member voted against dental care when the NDP put this forward as a private member's bill. The Liberals voted against dental care in February of 2020 when we used our opposition day to put forward a motion. I am curious, given the fact that these delays are because—

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

I have to give the hon. member for Davenport time to answer.

The hon. member for Davenport.

[Julie Dzerowicz, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Madam Speaker, I would say to the hon. member that actions speak louder than words.

We are very proud of the fact that we have worked with the NDP on the supply and confidence agreement. The supply and confidence agreement is about what we can work on together that we both agree on. More money for health care was a key part of that, so I am very proud that we are introducing a dental care plan by the end of this year.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Madam Speaker, never in the history of our country has a prime minister spent so much to achieve so little. He has added more money to our national debt than all previous prime ministers combined, and he is not done. With this spending, our national debt is projected to rise to $1.3 trillion, meaning Canada now spends more money servicing our debt than we spend on our military, child care or social programs. Budget 2023 sets out spending for this year at another $456 billion.

With all of this spending, one would think that Canadians would be better off, but the reality is that more and more Canadians are struggling. We are facing higher taxes, smaller paycheques, a rise in the cost of living, higher rates of inflation, higher rates of crime and higher rates of homelessness. Inflationary spending is negatively impacting the mental health of Canadians. As I said earlier, Canadians are struggling.

In the last election of 2021, this Liberal government promised to start spending more money on mental health and to actually view mental health in parity with physical health. As I mentioned earlier in a question to our colleague from Davenport, I have spent the last seven and a half years championing the mental health situation of our nation. I think we can do more. The member for Davenport says that we all must do more.

Government members like to stand up to say that they have really got Canadians' backs. Well, they are on Canadians' backs. They are piling more and more debt on the backs of Canadians. Coming out of COVID, they promised Canadians that they were finally going to invest in them to look after them. Canadians were feeling the pressures from the COVID pandemic and three years being locked up, not being around their loved ones. However, as soon as they formed government, they forgot about that $4.5-billion mental health act transfer.

Our friend from Davenport said that the mental health associations and organizations within her riding are happy. Well, I can tell members that I spend almost every day, hours and hours, speaking with representatives from mental health associations. Whether they are our national organizations or grassroots organizations, they are worried.

As a matter of fact, Margaret Eaton, the CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association, in response to budget 2023, said, “The budget is out of touch with the reality of Canadians’ well-being and their ability to afford mental health services. I believe that the government has missed the mark, and that there will be deep human and economic costs to pay.”

We are already seeing the real human costs of the government's inflationary spending. Recent research indicates that Canadians’ mental health is worsening due to the rising cost of living. Canadians affected by inflation are experiencing higher rates of self-rated anxiety and depression, higher rates of a recent diagnosis of a mood disorder since the pandemic, and higher rates of suicidal ideation. Not only that, inflation is forcing people to cut back on health-related expenses. Does one pay for a prescription or for food on the table?

This budget does nothing for Canadians living in rural and remote communities. It is making life even more expensive for rural Canadians, especially in my riding of Cariboo—Prince George, where we have to drive long distances to get services. Everything we consume, whether it is fuel for our vehicles, the food we need to put on our tables to feed our families or the oil to heat our homes, has gone up. We do not have the luxury of taking the LRT to get services. We have to drive long distances. We have to fuel our vehicles.

Currently, gas prices are $1.66 a litre and maybe even higher in Prince George. It was $1.65 in Williams Lake last week and $1.74 in Vanderhoof, and that has actually come down from the $2.00 per litre it was just weeks before. Sadly, on April 1, Canadians woke up to higher prices, higher taxes and a smaller paycheque. By 2030, two carbon taxes could add 50¢ per litre to the price of gasoline, according to the PBO.

This budget says nothing about the promise that the public safety minister made to my community of Vanderhoof about a new police station, which it has been waiting years for, especially after the shooting in November 2021. Someone shot up our police station. An individual targeted the RCMP, and because they work in such an antiquated facility, people were hiding behind plywood and aluminum siding to get away from the bullets. The minister, just last year, promised action on that facility. However, it is not mentioned anywhere in budget 2023.

The budget promises relief for families. However, the Liberals' inflationary spending has caused the cost of food and groceries to skyrocket. One in five Canadians are skipping meals. People are going to food banks. People are asking for help to end their lives and access MAID, not because they are sick, but because they cannot afford the rising cost of living in this country. As a matter of fact, in Toronto, food banks have seen numbers quadruple. It has gone from 60,000 people per month to over 270,000 individuals accessing its food banks. Those are real people. They are not just statistics. Those are the people we have all been elected to serve in the House.

The money the government spends is not its money. It is Canadians' money. I think Canadians are not getting the bang for their buck they deserve from the government and the Prime Minister. The Liberals want to talk about the grocery rebate of $234. I have no doubt that is going to help individuals, but that is one time. What are Canadians doing for the rest of the year? That is one week. That is only a few bags of groceries.

Everything in rural and remote communities has a higher cost. Milk has a higher cost. Loaves of bread have a higher cost. Butter has a higher cost. Every point of contact raises the cost because of the Liberals' tax policies.

Let me talk about the opioid crisis. What would budget 2023 do for the growing opioid crisis? It is a national crisis. In my province alone, we are seeing numbers go through the roof. Just last month, we went from 2,000 overdose calls per month to over 3,000 calls per month. As a matter of fact, on March 22, just a few weeks ago, paramedics attended over 205 overdose events in just one day. That is staggering. Our communities are gripped with such a huge mental health and drug crisis, yet there is nothing in budget 2023 addressing these issues.

We seem powerless in this country to stop those drugs from flowing in through our borders and into our communities, and our police, RCMP or security services seem powerless to stop those drugs from getting into the hands of friends and family. I know what I am speaking of. I have a brother who is on the streets and is gripped by his addiction to drugs. We are powerless to get him off the streets, and so many families are experiencing this. Whether they are experiencing the growing rates of suicide, or the loss of loved ones who have died by suicide or overdose, the families who are gripped in the mental health crisis our country is saddled with are being offered nothing in this budget.

As I said earlier on, the government is out of touch. What do we expect from a Prime Minister who tells Canadians to just pay for their debts with their credit cards? It is not surprising. What he has been doing for seven and a half years is using Canadians' money to fuel his out-of-control spending. He is out of touch and Canadians deserve better.

[Ken McDonald, Liberal, Avalon, NL]

Madam Speaker, I enjoyed working with the member opposite for some time on the fisheries and oceans committee.

He mentioned in his speech that people are finding it hard to access health care or other services, but the government has allocated $196 billion for health care for the provinces and territories over 10 years. That is $19.6 billion a year. Does the member think that is a worthwhile investment in our country, for the people who need various services in health care, or will he vote against the budget and not allow this money to go to the provinces as directed?

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Madam Speaker, Conservatives put forth three items we were looking for in this budget, and, sadly, this budget fails to capture any of them. The provincial governments and mental health organizations are all saying that what the government has promised is not enough. It promised $4.5 billion for the mental health act transfer and walked it back. It cannot be trusted. The provinces are waking up to this and so are the mental health associations.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Madam Speaker, I listened carefully to my colleague's speech, and I commend him.

We have a very serious situation right now, and that is the housing crisis. It is indisputable. The entire country is being impacted. Where I live, in the Lower St. Lawrence, in the riding of Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, the vacancy rate in the city of Rimouski is 0.4%. This is a serious situation. There is not enough housing for people of all ages and all financial levels. In the key sector of health care, we are unable to bring in workers to take care of people, and this government's latest budget completely ignores the housing issue.

There are investments for indigenous housing, but there is nothing, zero dollars, to create new housing for people who really need it.

I would like to hear exactly what my colleague thinks about that.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Madam Speaker, we are short millions upon millions of homes for Canadians. The goal of home ownership has gotten farther and farther away. As a matter of fact, the average down payment was $20,000 when the Liberal government was first elected, and it is now over $45,000. Canadians cannot afford that. Rent has gone up from $1,500 to almost $3,300 under the Liberal government.

More needs to be done, and the Liberal government is not doing it. It needs to get out of the way and let Conservatives fix the problem.

[Bonita Zarrillo, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Madam Speaker, I rise in the House to speak about murdered and missing indigenous women and girls in this country. This budget has put forward $20 million over four years to support safer communities, almost $100 million of ongoing help for indigenous families to access information and $20 million a year after that, $2.5 million over two years to support the National Family and Survivors Circle and more.

This budget is important to indigenous families. We know there is not enough, but there are good things in this budget to move forward on reconciliation. Do the Conservatives think this is not enough to support this budget?

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Madam Speaker, my riding of Cariboo—Prince George is right along the route of the Highway of Tears. I have sat with so many families that have lost loved ones: murdered and missing indigenous women and young girls, and young men as well, as a matter of fact. It is absolutely heartbreaking. We need to do more.

My worry is that the government has pledged it, but will it follow through with it? We have seen the government continue to build up hope, then always fall short of actually delivering. That is my worry when I speak with my communities, first nations communities and small rural and remote communities, that the government makes big promises and boasts a lot, but does not follow through on what it promises.