Mr. Speaker, now that question period is over, my text is truly up to date. Earlier, we were talking about employment insurance, and we are extremely disappointed that it is not part of the budget.
The Bloc Québécois members are the ones that can actually stand up for Quebeckers. I often hope that the Liberals from Quebec will bring the government to its senses. If they did, we might not have the budget we have now.
Employment insurance is an economic stabilizer. Those are not my words. In fact, the Governor of the Bank of Canada said that on April 16, 2020. We were in the midst of a pandemic, and I was on the Standing Committee on Finance, and I asked Mr. Poloz a question about the need to make the EI system cover a greater number of workers than it does now. Here is what he said:
Certainly.
We've known for a long time that automatic stabilizers aren't very sensitive to the economy. In another era, one study estimated that automatic stabilization was almost equivalent to a change of less than 1% in the interest rate.
Very recently, we talked about the renewal of our target and our agreement with the government on inflation targets. We live in a world where interest rates are already lower than usual. [This was in 2020.] The tax authority doesn't have many stabilizing powers. In this respect, it might be better to have more automatic stabilizers in the system, or at least something more sensitive.
Today is May 1, 2023. It has been three years since Mr. Poloz appeared before the Standing Committee on Finance. I still remember his testimony, but what I remember more is the fact that the government failed to take action. It did not undertake a reform. It did not even listen to the experts. I feel rather discouraged.
With regard to seniors, the Liberal government likes to repeatedly tell us that it is generous, so generous that it is taking care of citizens and seniors. However, in the budget, we once again see that there is nothing for seniors. My Bloc Québécois colleagues have asked the government hundreds of times to make massive investments to increase the old age security pension as of age 65.
This winter, my colleague from Shefford organized a consultation on the needs of seniors with representatives of the FADOQ, community organizations and round tables. Everyone unanimously told us that the government should do away with the two classes of seniors. Once again, the government is dragging its feet and slow to act. I would have liked to be able to tell my constituents in Laurentides—Labelle that the government cares about them. That is what we wanted. I hoped that the government would hear what we had to say about our concerns regarding seniors' income. We even made recommendations. However, once again, the government chose to ignore Quebec's demands.
The Department of Finance decided to perpetuate the discrimination that started in the 2022 budget, which increased old age security only for seniors aged 75 years and over. According to the OECD, Canada's program is one of the worst in terms of income protection for seniors. The government needs to stop leaving seniors to struggle. They are the ones who built our society, yet the government thanks them by marginalizing them. This is preposterous. Inflation affects everyone.
Mortgage rates are going up, gas prices are going up, the cost of groceries is going up, the price of everything is going up, but old age security is not going up for seniors aged 65 to 74. This is preposterous.
I will now talk about social and community housing. According to a report released on March 8, the Laurentides RCM is trailing, along with the Pays‑d’en‑Haut RCM, which is in my riding of Laurentides—Labelle, when it comes to the state of the rental market.
I will provide some statistics. The vacancy rate in the Laurentides RCM is bordering on 0%. I worked in community services for a long time. This is unheard of. The rising cost of rent has seen one of the most significant increases in Quebec.
As I was saying at the beginning of my intervention, an hour and a half ago, in a region where nearly half of the economy is tied to tourism, people are struggling to find housing. Prices are going up because the region is beautiful and the riding of Laurentides—Labelle is a great place to live.
According to the same report, nearly one in four people spend more than 30% of their income on housing, and 30% of those people are in single parent families. That is unacceptable.
In closing, it comes as no surprise that I will be voting against this bill. As members can see, the needs of Laurentides-Labelle have been completely ignored by the Liberals and the Deputy Prime Minister. We are a proud, dynamic and strong region. We will not be taken for fools.