Debates of June 6th, 2023

The Economy

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

Mr. Speaker, I think it is worth ensuring that Canadians know the other vital measures that this partisan, posturing Conservative opposition is denying them. The Conservative filibuster is preventing Canadians from getting advance payments of the Canada workers benefit. They are blocking a crackdown on predatory lending. Who would oppose that? They are blocking the extension of seasonal EI.

Again, I would like to know if their MPs from Atlantic Canada are aware of that and support that outrageous, appalling action.

[Tim Uppal, Conservative, Edmonton Mill Woods, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister recently said, “What Canadians want right now is for inflation to come down and for interest rates to fall. And that is one of our primary goals in this year’s budget: not pour fuel on the fire of inflation”, but that is exactly what the Liberals did. Budget 2023 adds $60 billion of new spending. That is $4,200 for each Canadian family. That is higher cost, higher inflation, higher taxes.

When will they get their budget under control and control their out-of-control spending?

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

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about some facts. When COVID hit, Canada suffered the deepest recession since the Great Depression, but today unemployment is at 5%. Under Stephen Harper, the lowest unemployment got was 6%, a full percentage point higher than it is today. What else? Today, for women in their prime working years, the employment rate is more than 85%. Under Stephen Harper, the highest that ever got was 83%.

Our policies are getting Canadians back to work. That is what they need.

[Tim Uppal, Conservative, Edmonton Mill Woods, AB]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years, what their policies have done is doubled rent payments and mortgage payments for Canadians. Most young Canadians have even given up the hope of ever owning a home in Canada, and now Canadians are concerned that the Bank of Canada will have to raise interest rates again just to keep up with their inflationary spending.

Once again, when will they balance the budget and solve this inflation crisis?

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

Mr. Speaker, I understand why the Conservatives prefer rhetoric over facts, and the reason is that their policies led to such a lacklustre recovery from the 2008 recession, which was much more mild than the COVID recession. It took Canada, after 2008, 110 months to recover to the prerecessionary unemployment rate. After the COVID recession, it took just 24 months.

Things have been hard for Canadians, but thanks to our government's support, people are back at work. That is what matters the most.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, members will perhaps recall one of the most ridiculous statements made in the history of Canadian politics when the Prime Minister said that budgets balance themselves.

No one repeated it because it makes no sense. The problem is that, after eight years of Liberal governance, budgets have never balanced themselves. We have had deficit upon deficit.

I will share something. Last November, we thought we saw the light at the end of the tunnel when the Minister of Finance said that we should not throw fuel on the inflationary fire, meaning that spending must be controlled.

Why did she change her mind, with the disastrous results we are seeing today?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Louis‑Saint‑Laurent for his question.

I hope that the Canadians watching today will realize that the Conservative Party is delaying the adoption of a tax credit for clean electricity, a tax credit for the manufacture of clean technologies and a tax credit for clean hydrogen.

Do the Conservatives actually listen to Canadians once in a while?

We are building the economy of tomorrow and seizing generational opportunities, while the Conservative Party is preventing Canada from advancing the economy of the 21st century. That is shameful.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, what I find shameful and embarrassing for the Liberal Party is to watch the Minister of Industry prevent the Minister of Finance from answering a question that is 100% under her responsibility.

We can understand that there may be some bickering at play here, because both of them want to become Prime Minister. That is not going to happen any time soon. Maybe the Deputy Prime Minister has also realized that there is many a slip twixt cup and lip, especially when the cup is full of champagne these days. Champagne is expensive.

I have a clear question and I think the Minister of Finance wants to answer it. Things are looking up, she has a smile on her face.

Can the Minister of Finance explain with a straight face why she said that it was fuel on the inflationary fire—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. Deputy Prime Minister.

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

Mr. Speaker, when we talk about the economy, it is important to talk about the facts and not use partisan rhetoric. I want to remind Canadians that after the budget was tabled, S&P reaffirmed Canada's AAA credit rating. I also want to remind Canadians that Canada has the lowest deficit of all the G7 countries. Canada also has the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio of all the G7 countries. That is the—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Trois-Rivières.

Democratic Institutions

[René Villemure, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, during this morning's committee meeting investigating Chinese interference, David Johnston explained why he believes a public inquiry had to be avoided. His reason? In his opinion, an inquiry would be expensive and time-consuming.

Does anyone know what else is expensive and time-consuming? That would be the three months of work in progress since February that we have spent calling for an independent public inquiry, which is supported by everyone except the Liberals and their special rapporteur. The Liberals' resistance to shedding light on this matter is the expensive waste of time. It is damaging public confidence. When can we expect an independent public inquiry?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, how unsurprising to hear that another of my ideas has been branded a waste of time. The Bloc Québécois leader refuses to receive reliable top secret information from our intelligence agencies. Furthermore, Mr. Johnston was invited to appear before a parliamentary committee, which he did, for more than three hours, during which he was asked no questions of substance on foreign interference, but simply grilled on his integrity. In our opinion, that is the real waste of time.

[René Villemure, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, what does Mr. Johnston recommend in lieu of the independent public inquiry that everyone is calling for? Mr. Johnston recommends himself. That is what he is offering us. Mr. Johnston is substituting himself for an inquiry, despite the fact that the House is asking him to step aside. He wants to hold his own hearings that will in no way be independent. David Johnston is the man who dismissed the idea of a public inquiry on the basis of information that he refuses to disclose. David Johnston wants to control what might be discussed in public at his own hearings. It may be less expensive, it may take less time, but it will be less clear.

Is there anyone who would claim that this is not smoke and mirrors?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, as everyone in the House knows, information from national security agencies must remain secret. Those circumstances exist in every one of Canada's allied countries in this important area.

The good news is that we have offered the leaders of the opposition parties, including the Bloc, access to this information and the opportunity to judge Mr. Johnston's findings for themselves. They simply prefer to play partisan games and attack Mr. Johnston instead of looking at the facts and fully understanding the reality of foreign interference.

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

Mr. Speaker, David Johnston has yet to answer what is actually a simple question, and the same goes for the government. If the federal government was able to hold a public and independent inquiry in the Maher Arar affair, which implicated the secret services of foreign countries, if the federal government was able to hold a public and independent inquiry into the Air India bombing, which implicated terrorist entities and foreign governments, why is it suddenly too complicated to hold one on Chinese interference right here in Canada against our democracy—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. Minister of Canadian Heritage.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, if the Bloc Québécois really cared about what is going on in Quebec, if the Bloc Québécois really cared about what is worrying Quebeckers right now, it would be asking questions about the wildfires, because that is what is worrying Quebeckers. If the Bloc really cared and had asked a question about the fires, I would have told them that my colleague is in constant contact with the Quebec government. We have received specific requests to which we have responded promptly. We will always be there for Quebec.

Carbon Pricing

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, to quote former Liberal Premier McNeil, “we would all benefit from all governments being able to manage their own budget a lot better.” Go figure. After the budget was released, inflation went up. After the carbon tax increase, inflation went up.

The Liberals must give Canadians a plan to end their deficits and bring down spending so that we can stop inflation and interest rates. They must cancel their carbon taxes that are hurting struggling Canadians the hardest. When are they going to do this?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is really appalling that the Conservatives continue to talk down the Canadian economy, but the reality is that Canada's AAA credit rating was reiterated after we tabled the budget.

The reality is that our economy grew by 3.1% in the first quarter of this year. We have the strongest recovery in the G7. When it comes to inflation, it has gone down from 8.1% last June to 4.4%. It is lower than the inflation in Germany, the U.S., the U.K., the OECD average, the EU average—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Kenora.

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, what is appalling is that the government has done absolutely nothing to help struggling Canadians.

We know the Liberals already have one carbon tax in place that will add 41¢ a litre to the price of gas. Now they have carbon tax 2, the terrible sequel that will add another 17¢. Of course, on top of that, they have added the GST. When we add that all up, we have an extra 61¢ a litre that will cost people in Ontario $2,300 more.

The Liberals' plan has failed to do anything but make life more expensive. Therefore, why do they not finally scrap this carbon tax?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, what is appalling for Canadians who are watching at home today is that they realize the Conservatives are blocking the clean technology manufacturing tax credit, a clean electricity tax credit and a clean hydrogen tax credit.

At a time when the world is looking to build the economy of the 21st century, at a time when we need to fight for workers around our country, at a time when we need to position ourselves for the 21st century, the Conservatives' answer is delay, delay, delay. We need to act in the interest of the country.

The Economy

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, in February 2022, the finance minister said that deficits must be reduced and that this was a line that could not be crossed. We all know now that this was a broken promise. When the budget was introduced, inflation went up. When the carbon tax increased, inflation went up.

When will the Prime Minister commit to eliminating inflationary deficits, eliminating inflationary spending and cutting the carbon tax so that Canadians will have lower interest and lower inflation?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I said, Canada has the lowest deficit in the G7. We have the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7. Our AAA credit rating was reaffirmed after we tabled the budget.

What is truly astonishing is that at a time when Alberta has been burning, when Quebec is burning, when Atlantic Canada is burning, when we are struggling to breath here in Ottawa, that party continues to resist climate action. That is a huge disservice to every single Canadian.