Madam Speaker, I will start by sharing and making clear that the Greens certainly support this GST break for two months. It is a $1.6-billion expenditure. We would put forward that there were other options the government could have started with first, for example, by more than doubling the completely inadequate Canada disability benefit. However, on balance, we would support it.
What is markedly different in the legislation to be debated tomorrow versus the draft that was provided last week is that the entire $250 vote-buying scheme is left out altogether. Now, what was left out in the original scheme, as is always the case, are people with disabilities.
My question to the parliamentary secretary is this: What will it take for the government to recognize that people with disabilities and low-income seniors are the people in this country who need some of the most support? People with disabilities make up 40% of those living in poverty across the country. When the Liberals talk about addressing affordability, why is it that people with disabilities are never included?