Debates of May 29th, 2023

Department of Finance—Main Estimates, 2023-24

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Chair, the IRA has also changed the playing field in the world for investments of this kind—

[The Chair, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

The hon. member for Elmwood—Transcona.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Chair, was the agreement in writing?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Chair, as I said, the—

[The Chair, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

The hon. member for Elmwood—Transcona.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Chair, is the Volkswagen deal in writing?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Chair, I expect these rather childish games of gotcha to be played by the Conservatives—

[The Chair, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

The hon. member for Elmwood—Transcona.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Chair, when the government brags about securing investment for jobs for Canadians, I do not think there is anything childish at all to ask whether it is written down or not. What I find childish is somebody refusing to say whether they have a written agreement or not.

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Chair, I think what is important for Canadians is to know that the Volkswagen deal is a done deal. It has been disclosed. It is fully accounted for in our budget, and the details have been disclosed.

I think Canadians do have a reasonable interest in what is happening with Stellantis—

[The Chair, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

The hon. member for Elmwood—Transcona.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Chair, does “done deal” mean in writing?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Chair, certainly.

Now when it comes to Stellantis, I think it is important for us to all be serious about this. This is an important investment—

[The Chair, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

The hon. member for Elmwood—Transcona.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Chair, is Stellantis a done deal?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Chair, as I think the member opposite knows and as I think Canadians know, we are negotiating right now with Stellantis and we are negotiating—

[The Chair, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

The hon. member for Elmwood—Transcona.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Chair, in this budget, the government allocated another $50 million on top of the over $300 million it has already allocated to chasing money from the poor who were in the CERB program. How much is the government prepared to spend on chasing people who cannot afford to pay their CERB debt?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Chair, our government believes in compassion, and I think we have demonstrated that in budget after budget. Our government also knows that Canadians want to know that there is fairness and program integrity.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Chair, organizations that are currently working with vulnerable Canadians have said that the CRA is no longer offering the $5-a-month or $10-a-month repayment plans. Is the minister aware of that fact?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Chair, I would like to talk about the importance of fairness.

Fairness is important to vulnerable Canadians as well as to affluent Canadians. Vulnerable Canadians who play by the rules want to know that everyone else is playing by the rules too. That is why we are finding a balance between integrity and compassion.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Chair, how much money is the government spending to reclaim emergency wage subsidy dollars that were taken by companies that did not need it?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Chair, the point about the importance of integrity and fairness applies to all Canadians and to all of our programs.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Chair, well, it applies to Canadians but apparently not corporations. I will ask again, how much money is the government spending on reclaiming emergency wage subsidy dollars from companies that posted profits and paid dividends?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Chair, as I said, we absolutely understand the importance of program integrity. It really matters to Canadians.

I also want to point out, and let us remember, that COVID was an unprecedented economic emergency. We took unprecedented—