Debates of Oct. 31st, 2024

The Economy

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

Mr. Speaker, let us be serious. We all know that this government is costing Canadians dearly. Now Statistics Canada has the numbers to prove it. The latest figures show that the gross domestic product per capita has declined eight times over the past nine quarters. What does that actually mean? It means that the GDP grew by barely 1% this quarter, while in the United States, it grew by nearly 3%. Because of this government, Americans are three times luckier than Canadians.

Will the government ever understand that raising taxes does not help Canadians?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, I have a lot of respect for my esteemed colleague, and he can make up all the numbers he wants, but they still will not add up, not even on Halloween. What he can do, however, is ask his colleague and seatmate, the member for Brantford—Brant, to rise in the House at least once to apologize for the anti-francophone comments he made last week.

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

Mr. Speaker, the member knows perfectly well that my colleague has apologized.

The reality is that he wants to divert people's attention from the economic reality. As a university professor, he should be paying attention to the facts, and he certainly cannot dispute the data from Statistics Canada or that of The Economist. He is probably familiar with The Economist. He must have read that a few times over the years.

The Economist concluded that Canada ranks below Alabama, the poorest state in the United States. Is he proud of his record?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about three realities.

First, the economic reality is that interest rates are falling, inflation rates are falling and the unemployment rate is falling.

Now let us talk about the reality that the Leader of the Opposition still does not understand this Halloween, specifically, that the Canada dental care plan exists. It did not magically disappear.

The third reality is that the member for Brantford—Brant has not yet apologized in the House.

Canada Revenue Agency

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on this Halloween, the worst house of horrors is here in Ottawa, the Canada Revenue Agency. Fraudsters got $6 million in fraudulent tax refunds. The agency was not even able to realize that different people were being paid in the same bank account. That is not all. There is a smart guy who fudged his tax returns to try to get a $40 million refund. The agency had time to refund him a small amount of $10 million before the guy's bank warned the agency that something was fishy.

How many other fraudsters are there with both hands in the cookie jar?

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, once again, fraud is completely unacceptable, and I can assure my colleagues that we are taking the necessary measures to deal with the situation.

Obviously, with all the personal information it has, the Canada Revenue Agency is a prime target. However, it is not the agency that is directly targeted, but it is often the information that we, as citizens, share through various systems. As individuals, we need to be careful.

I want to assure my colleagues that the agency is very vigilant, that we have experts who are very careful and that as soon as a fraud is detected, the account is frozen and the individual is informed.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister might think this is our fault, but we want to know how many other times the Canada Revenue Agency has been a victim of fraud as a result of a lack of verification, because the CRA has been hiding the real numbers. Since 2020, the CRA has notified the Privacy Commissioner of 113 cases where taxpayers' personal information was used to commit fraud. When questioned by the media, the CRA revealed that it was not 113 cases but more than 31,000 cases. As for the Minister of National Revenue, she is a real ghost. She is refusing interview requests.

Is the government not tempted to tell the truth the first time around every once in a while?

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, I say what I do, I do what I say and I am not hiding. However, it is important for people to know that the law prohibits the Minister of National Revenue from discussing specific cases. The CRA is very well equipped. We have experts. We are working with all kinds of specialists and with other countries to share best practices. In fact, the J5, the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement, were in Ottawa just two weeks ago.

I want to assure my colleagues that we have the experts we need and that we are doing what needs to be done.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, fraud is on the rise at the Canada Revenue Agency because no one is doing the proper checks, including the minister, who has the power to launch investigations. Then there are the cases where the CRA is defrauding itself, as was the case with 330 employees who had to be fired because they approved themselves for CERB, the Canada emergency response benefit. The vampires were running the blood bank.

The CRA is haunted with issues of audits, accountability, transparency and leadership. It could use a little exorcism.

When is the minister going to clean house?

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the CRA has 60,000 employees. As we went through COVID-19, there were many countries that envied us because Canada and our Liberal government did what it took to help people and businesses. That is why we bounced back so much better than many other countries in the world.

Yes, there are 60,000 employees, but everyone who received CERB was individually checked. The CRA does not gift cheques. We have taken the necessary HR measures.

Housing

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, just a few days after the Leader of the Opposition introduced a common-sense plan to axe the GST on new home sales, even the housing minister's own advisers were raving about the proposal. Economist Dr. Mike Moffatt said it is a “bold” plan and calls himself “a big fan” of the idea.

He and other Canadians know that housing has become out of reach, and the government has doubled its costs in this country. Will the housing minister listen to his own advisers and implement our common-sense tax cut so that Canadians can finally afford a home?

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, if the member is going to quote Mike Moffatt, she ought to include the entire quote. What he said was that if the Conservative proposal was to go ahead, they ought not propose things like getting rid of the housing accelerator fund and ought not get rid of infrastructure programs that enable housing.

If the Conservative leader does not want to listen to Liberal MPs, that is fine. He should listen to Conservative MPs, the dozen, probably more, who want the accelerator fund and have advocated for it because they know it is vital to getting more homes built.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, maybe the member should listen to the housing minister who said that his $3 billion of housing accelerator money built zero homes. Zero is less than the 195,000 homes built under the Leader of the Opposition when he was housing minister.

Now add this to the stellar record of a guy who broke our immigration system and lost track of all the people he let in. While the Prime Minister is fighting his own caucus, he gave the minister a promotion.

When will the housing minister leave fantasyland, join the Conservatives in the real world and axe the tax so we can build the homes?

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, years ago, when I worked with the Leader of the Opposition on the finance committee, he told me something that might shock everyone, that it is hard for him to make friends because of his personality. What we look at now is that he has at least one friend on the opposite side. His best friend, as I understand it, is the MP for St. Albert—Edmonton. In fact, that member has advocated for the housing accelerator fund. He went behind his leader's back. I hope it does not affect their friendship. He went behind his leader's back to advocate for the HAF, and the Conservatives want to get rid of it.

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

The Liberals are not worth the cost of housing, Mr. Speaker, and many young Canadians have given up completely on their dream of home ownership.

It is why common-sense Conservatives will axe the federal sales tax on new homes. For an $800,000 house, this tax cut would save the homebuyer $40,000. In other words, that is $2,200 per year in mortgage payments.

Will the Prime Minister finally listen to our common-sense plan and axe the GST on housing to ensure that young Canadians can finally afford a home?

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing]

We hear more slogans, Mr. Speaker. If we scratched the surface of that so-called idea, what would we find? The Conservatives would axe something. They would get rid of the housing accelerator fund, which is so crucial. What does it do? It provides funding for affordable housing to counter homelessness. It provides funding for zoning changes. It provides funding for housing-enabling infrastructure, for community centres and even for vacant buildings in downtown areas, so they can be converted for housing.

If the member does not believe me, he should take the word of the member for Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola who advocated for it. He is their former finance critic who unfortunately is on the back benches because he advocates for good programs.

Indigenous Affairs

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, this week, the special interlocutor, Kimberly Murray, delivered her final report on missing and disappeared indigenous children and unmarked burials in Canada. Among the obligations was adding residential school denialism to the Criminal Code. It is an essential measure to protect survivors from incitements of hate and violence.

The Attorney General accepted this report, but will he listen to survivors, adopt my bill, put an end to the incitement of hate, and implement this obligation now?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations]

Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge the report from the special interlocutor, which was received by the Attorney General earlier this week. It puts forward some very compelling issues that should be discussed and studied. We, as a government, are going to look into it and we will get back to both the special interlocutor, as well as Canadians, on next steps forward.

Climate Change

[Lisa Marie Barron, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians' homes have been swept away in floods and hundreds of people have died in B.C.'s heat waves. This week, The Lancet report revealed a stark escalation in health threats caused by the climate crisis.

Despite this, and against all advice, the Liberals keep handing out billions in subsidies to oil and gas companies, and the Conservatives cannot even agree if climate change is real. The health of Canadians is at stake.

Will the Liberals stop fuelling the climate crisis and end fossil fuel subsidies today?

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

Mr. Speaker, the good news is that Canada is the only G20 country to have eliminated fossil fuel subsidies, thanks to the NDP. I would be happy to provide her office with a briefing on this.

Dental Care

[Valerie Bradford, Liberal, Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON]

Mr. Speaker, dental care is health care. Today we have hit a milestone of one million Canadians who have already accessed care with our government's Canadian dental care plan.

A single visit to the dentist can cost hundreds of dollars. Canadians should not have to cancel their dental appointment because they cannot afford it.

Could the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions tell the House how the Canadian dental care plan will make life more affordable for Canadians?

[Ya'ara Saks, Liberal, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, today we have hit a milestone across the country. A million Canadians have access to dental care services. That is certainly something of which we on this side of the House are proud.

This is what we know, and here are the facts. The Conservatives continue to vote against Canadians. They vote against dental care plans. They vote against the things that make life make sense, common sense, for Canadians, whether it is dental care, whether it is affordable child care, whether it is a national school food care program.

On this side of the House, we are taking care of what matters most to Canadians.

Carbon Pricing

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years of the Liberal-NDP government, taxes are up, costs are up, crime is up and time is up.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer has confirmed that the carbon tax is costing Canadians more than they get back. The Prime Minister's plan to quadruple the carbon tax will cost Manitoba families an extra $1,300 per year. Evergreen Basic Needs, a food bank in Gimli, Manitoba, has seen a 30% increase in usage since 2020.

When will the Prime Minister finally start listening to Canadians and have a carbon tax election?

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

Mr. Speaker, what the member is saying would be tragic if it were only true, which it is not. The Parliamentary Budget Officer said in his report that Canadians get more money back from carbon pricing than what they pay. He did not factor in the impacts of climate change. July and August in 2024 were the costliest months ever, the costliest year ever for climate impacts in Canada, $7 billion in climate impacts.

What do the Conservatives have to say about that? Let the planet burn. Not on this side of the House. We will work to fight climate change and we will work to support Canadians.

The Economy

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the minister knows that a tax plan is not an environment plan.

With the Prime Minister's out-of-touch policies and reckless spending, one quarter of Canadians are relying on food banks this fall. Sadly, this includes members of the Canadian Armed Forces who cannot afford to eat under the costly Liberal-NDP government.

Earlier this year, military personnel doing cyber training at Willis College had to rely on food banks because they could not afford to eat. At one point, college staff even had to set up a food bank to support them in the college.

Will the Prime Minister quit making life more unaffordable for our troops and call a carbon tax election?