Debates of June 12th, 2023

The Economy

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Central Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the deficit spending Conservatives are talking about included the pandemic supports that made sure that families in my community could keep food on the table and a roof over their kids' heads. Those supports helped small businesses keep the lights on and the doors open. Now they are blaming the Canadians who availed themselves of those pandemic benefits for the deficit spending they now are attributing inflation to.

The reality is they do not support this spending now, and, at the time, their leader held a press conference in which he said that, as a Conservative, he did not support those big, fat government programs. However, I support them, because they kept my neighbours fed when they needed it.

[John Williamson, Conservative, New Brunswick Southwest, NB]

Mr. Speaker, that is absurd. During the pandemic, $200 billion was spent that had nothing to do with helping Canadians. The current government just added another $60 billion to its inflationary bonfire, and it now has deficits for as far as the eye can see.

Canadians are struggling to put food on their tables. They are cancelling their summer vacations because of the Liberal-caused inflation. On our side of the House, we are willing to work all summer to fix and pass a budget that will bring down inflation, bring down deficits, and make home ownership and hard work affordable again.

Will the Prime Minister cancel his summer vacation? Will he get to work, or are surfboard—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. Minister of Families, Children and Social Development.

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, what the member opposite is saying is absolutely false. What we did during the pandemic was support Canadians. When he is talking about that additional funding, he is talking about things like child care, $30 billion that is helping Canadians access child care.

We do not know how the Conservatives are going to vote on it, but what we heard during their speeches in the House is that they are pretty against affordable child care. They are pretty against Canadians having access to thousands of dollars in their pockets at the end of the year, that is helping them pay for the high cost of groceries, that is helping them with their mortgages, that is helping them take, maybe, a family vacation.

Let us see what they do. Let us see if they truly care about—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Berthier—Maskinongé.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when our farmers used the emergency account during the pandemic, they could not have anticipated all the other misfortunes that would follow.

The war in Ukraine has driven up input costs. The inflation rate is more than three times higher than in other industries. There is $8 of debt for every dollar of income, and the policy rate continues to rise. I could go on all day. As a result, one in 10 farm businesses are worried about having to shut down within a year.

Will the Minister of Finance allow farmers to defer their emergency account repayments without them losing the subsidy portion?

[Francis Drouin, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question.

We are working with the agricultural sector to ensure that farms can make a fair and equitable profit. We have increased the advance payment interest-free limit from $250,000 to $350,000. This will help our farm families across Quebec and Canada.

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the question about the emergency account was for the Minister of Finance. It would be nice to get some answers. At a minimum, could repayment of the emergency account be extended?

Agriculture has been hit harder than other sectors, especially the next generation of farmers. That is why other groups are taking action. Other governments are also taking action. The Americans have invested $22 billion in agriculture. Quebec has provided emergency assistance through Financière agricole. It is now Ottawa's turn to collaborate. Current programs do not provide assistance for this exceptional crisis, which requires exceptional assistance.

When will the government finally support our farmers?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, as the daughter of a farmer, I understand very well the importance of our agricultural sector.

I agree with my hon. colleague that our farmers are exceptional. They are very important for our communities and our economy. That is why our government was there during the pandemic. Yes, there was significant spending, but it was essential to support our farmers.

We will continue to support them.

The Economy

[Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Conservative, Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is no secret that the government's record deficit spending has shot inflation through the roof. As a result, Canadians are spending more on food than ever before. This is particularly marked in rural communities like my own, where higher shipping costs add on to the cost of the end product and will only continue to get more expensive with this government's carbon taxes.

Will the government finally acknowledge the damage its lavish and out-of-control spending is having on the kitchen table?

Canadians are needing help. It needs to end its inflation-inducing monetary policy. Will it do it?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, we know that Canadians will not receive any help from the Conservatives, because their plan is austerity, austerity, austerity. In opposition, our government is committed to supporting Canadians.

In fact, inflation is a global phenomenon. A recent report noted that Canada actually has the second-lowest food inflation in the world. It does not mean that Canadians are not hurting. That is why we brought forward the grocery rebate that, as of July 5, 11 million Canadians are going to receive.

That is in addition to the Canada child benefit, early learning and child care, the rental benefit. We have been there for Canadians—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Hastings—Lennox and Addington.

[Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Conservative, Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, unlike the federal government, struggling Canadians cannot simply print more money. They need to manage their budgets and spend within their means. They cannot impose a series of punitive taxes on their neighbours to balance their books. They need to manage their finances with the added hurdle of reduced spending power.

When will the government stop spending, reduce inflation and lower massive grocery bills?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said many times in this House, I think we can all agree that affordability is an important issue. That is why there is a rebate with respect to the price on pollution to ensure that we are actually addressing this in a thoughtful way. As we are seeing the evacuations of people across this country, it is time that the Conservatives start to think about climate change. I do not know whether they do not believe it is real or they just do not think it is important, but Canadians certainly do.

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years under this government, many families across the country are struggling to put food on the table. Now, mortgages, car payments and credit card interest are rising again. The cost of everything is going up under this Prime Minister. The Liberal government's deficits are to blame, but the government refuses to take responsibility. Food prices will continue to skyrocket if no one takes action.

When will the Prime Minister wake up and propose a real solution to this crisis?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, I think that more and more people who are watching at home are totally mystified at the fact that the Conservatives have nothing to say about the climate crisis. Over the past year, we have experienced the worst tropical storm on the east coast of Canada and the most severe flooding in the history of our country, and now we are dealing with the largest wildfires in Canadian history.

What do the Conservatives say about climate change? They say that they do not believe in it or that we can make it all go away with a wave of some magic wand.

That is not how it works. On this side of the House, we believe that the climate crisis is real and we are working—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Madawaska—Restigouche.

Public Service of Canada

[René Arseneault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Speaker, this week marks the 31st National Public Service Week, which reminds us of the valuable work that our federal public servants across the country do year after year. Can the President of the Treasury Board tell us more about the important role that the public service plays in Canada?

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague from Madawaska—Restigouche for his important question and especially for the hard work that he does for the community.

As President of the Treasury Board, every day, I see the dedication of federal public servants, who ensure that the government acts in the interests of Canadians. I thank them for that. Canadians are well served by our professional, committed and hard-working public servants, whether they are issuing benefit payments to seniors or protecting our borders. I hope that everyone will have a wonderful National Public Service Week.

The Economy

[Marty Morantz, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB]

Mr. Speaker, this is a very serious problem. Massive Liberal deficits are fuelling inflation. Inflation causes interest rates to go up. Higher interest rates lead to higher mortgage payments and more mortgage defaults. To stop mortgage defaults, we need to balance the budget, end the big deficits and reduce interest rates.

Will the Prime Minister end his inflationary deficit spending so Canadians can afford to live?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, it is time for Conservatives to be honest and transparent with Canadians. They have to tell us what they would cut.

Would they cut the $200 billion that we are investing in health care? I sure hope not because Canadians need a health care system they can rely on.

Would they cut the $30 billion we are investing in early learning and child care? I sure hope not because that is making a real difference for families across our country and helping our labour market to boot.

Would they cut dental care? Would they cut removing interest on federal student loans?

Housing

[Marty Morantz, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB]

Mr. Speaker, that is certainly not a very serious answer.

The bank governor is working to rein in inflation by increasing interest rates. At the same time, the Prime Minister's massive $60-billion spending spree is fuelling inflation and has caused yet another interest rate hike just last week. While the Liberals are making the Bank of Canada's job even harder, it is ordinary Canadians who will be dropping their keys off at their banks and saying goodbye to their homes.

Will the Prime Minister put an end to his inflationary deficit spending and let Canadians keep their homes?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, earlier in question period, I reminded the Conservatives that their leader, at the beginning of the pandemic, held a press conference where he decried our pandemic benefits as big, fat government programs. If members watch that video on the Internet, the member who posed the question is standing behind him.

The reality is the spending we put in place has supported people through the pandemic. The Conservative solution to the cause of inflation is to spend less money on supporting the households that need it.

We are going to continue to be there for Canadians to support health care, to help protect our environment and to make life more affordable. It is a shame the Conservatives will not join us.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this Prime Minister is running deficits like there is no tomorrow and that has driven up inflation.

Inflation prompted the Bank of Canada to raise interest rates nine times over the past year. Homeowners who are making mortgage payments know all about it. The International Monetary Fund has warned Canada: The country is at risk of defaulting on its payments. That is where we are. It is very unfortunate, but that is how it is.

Will the Prime Minister stop with his inflationary deficits?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, a few minutes ago, the Minister of Finance was talking about a juvenile attitude on the part of the official opposition leader when he refused to work on passing the budget last week.

The good news is that our colleague has a juvenile population as well. In his riding, he has roughly 12,000 children who receive the Canada child benefit, which will go up in a few weeks, and nearly 600 children who have been receiving the Canada dental benefit since December.

Does he think that the children in his riding do not deserve help from the Canadian government?