Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to be here in the House this evening to discuss a government bill, Bill C-78, and to finally be moving forward on behalf of Canadians. This is important legislation that will deliver meaningful savings for Canadians with a GST/HST exemption across the country. Canadians will be able to buy essentials, such as groceries, snacks and kids' clothing, all tax-free. It is a bill that is focused on making life more affordable for Canadians and building on previous government actions that are already saving families and individuals thousands of dollars a year.
As Canadians, we take care of each other. It is a promise at the heart of who we are, and it goes back generations. From universal public health care to employment insurance and strong, stable, funded pensions such as the Canada pension plan, there has always been an agreement that we will take care of our neighbours when they are in need. It gives our workers stability and our businesses the confidence that the right supports will be in place to keep our country and economy fair; keep people healthy, safe, ready and well-supported; and keep the middle class strong.
On the other side of the aisle, we see a party obsessed with making devastating cuts to child care, dental care, housing and pretty much everything else that supports Canadians' affordability, leaving the middle class worse off. That is what the Conservative Party will do if it is ever fortunate enough to form government. Conservatives are not interested in investing in Canadians. They are only interested in their own political advantage and gain.
In 2015, our government recognized that the economy had changed. Canadians needed more support. We created the Canada child benefit to help with the cost of raising children. Today, that benefit is providing nearly $8,000 per child. It is indexed to the cost of living, which allows families to keep up with the cost of living as it naturally tends to increase over time. We promised and delivered affordable child care from coast to coast to coast, with eight provinces and territories already providing care for $10 a day or less. Before 2021, child care fees in Canada cost as much as, if not more than, rent or a mortgage; few parents could afford it. When my family had our first young daughter, child care was up to $1,800 per month, and it certainly had my wife and I pause and consider whether both of us were going to go back to work. That is the case for many parents. We realized that this support, the Canada child benefit, made it cheaper and easier both for parents to return to work and for kids to get the best start possible.
Liberals knew that it was fundamentally unjust that families should struggle, especially mothers, which is why we created a high-quality, affordable, flexible and inclusive Canada-wide early learning and child care system. In less than a year, we reached early learning and child care agreements with all 13 provinces and territories. That is remarkable. Provinces and territories have already announced measures to create over 100,000 new spaces, and we are well on our way to reaching our goal of 250,000 new spaces by March 2026.
We have also never forgotten that the promise of access to health care is at the heart of Canada's social safety. That includes ensuring access to affordable dental care. The Canadian dental care plan is making the cost of dental care more affordable for up to nine million Canadians. Thanks to the Canada dental care plan, over one million Canadians have now been able to visit a dentist and access the oral health care they need and deserve.
In budget 2024, we announced an investment of $1 billion over five years to launch the new national school food program with provinces, territories and indigenous partners. This is something I long advocated for, for many years, before getting into politics. I have known many people in the national food movement who advocated for a national school food program. It was an investment from the federal government for many years before that. It is a great pleasure to be part of a party and a government that is investing in kids, ensuring that they get a healthy start to each and every day at school.
Liberals have already signed agreements with three provinces, Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba and Ontario, which is great. My home province of Ontario has finally signed up. It is not last like we saw with the early learning and child care agreements. Ontario was third. It is fantastic to see Ontario join and make these investments in our kids.
The program will provide meals for up to 400,000 more children every year, with 160,000 of those being in Ontario, beyond those served by the existing school food programs, so that every single child across Canada can have a fair chance at a good and healthy life, regardless of their family circumstances. This national program is expected to save an average participating family with two children as much as $800 a year in the cost of groceries.
It is a shame the Conservative members opposite voted against this program. They voted against feeding kids in school. Can people believe that? Every day in this House, for months and months, they cite food bank lineups and the HungerCount report from Food Banks Canada, which has asked for an investment in a national school food program for as long as I can remember. Our government steps up to make that investment and what do the Conservatives do? They vote against it. They vote against feeding hungry kids. That is shameful.
That brings me to today's legislation on the GST holiday with the goal of putting even more money in the pockets of Canadians. Canadians have been through a lot, there is no doubt about that. They have had the pandemic, post the pandemic, shocks to the economy and global inflation. We have had major climactic events and weather events that have obviously put a strain on our economy. Canadians have been living through all that, and we realize it has been challenging. We know this, and we want to step up and help, as we always have done.
Our government, and I am proud of this, always identifies and listens to what Canadians need. We are responsive and trying our very best to govern this country in a way that steps up constantly and supports Canadians when they are in need. We are offering good news this holiday season. This Christmas is going to be more merry and bright, is how I think about it, because Canadian families are going to be able to purchase a lot of the things that they would purchase over the holidays with no GST on those purchases. That is really good for Canadian families who have been challenged with the cost of living pressures that they have been living through.
All of this comes on the tail of really good news for our economy. Inflation was at 2% in October, which means inflation has been within the Bank of Canada's target range all year long. For Canadians, that means prices are more stable. It means that interest rates are coming down, and they have come down four times, which is great to see. That is great news for homeowners, for people renewing their mortgages and for business owners who might be carrying debt. This is solid progress and we should not deny this.
I know the members opposite constantly deny that the economy is steadily improving and stable, and that Canada is doing better than many of its peer countries in this world. The Conservatives cherry-pick indicators from the economy to try and talk down the Canadian economy because they do not want Canada to do well. They would rather Canada do poorly so that they can do well, so that they can use the misfortune of Canadians for their own political advantage, and we see that every single day in this House.
I think Canadians have been going through a lot. This holiday season, the Liberals are waiving the GST on many of the things that they spend money on. This is going to start on December 14. The government intends to give a tax break to Canadians. Why is today's legislation so important? Why is time of the essence? Time is of the essence because we know Canadians need a boost. They need to feel like they can afford more.
Although the economy is improving, Canadians are not always feeling that immediately. Liberals think that offering them a GST holiday for two months over the Christmas period is really going to be helpful to them. The temporary, two-month GST/HST exemption for select expenses will help Canadians be able to buy items like snacks, and children's clothing and toys, all tax-free. It will also apply to prepared foods, vegetable trays, premade meals, salads, sandwiches, books, newspapers, puzzles, Christmas trees and more.
This exemption is designed to help Canadians with many of the things they purchase over the holidays. I think that is great. It would make the holidays just a little better for Canadians and give them a bit of relief. It would boost the economy in terms of the spending Canadians do as well, because I think they will support our retail industry, which will boost local businesses.
For a typical family spending $2,000 on qualifying goods between December 14 and February 15, 2025, it would mean a savings of $100, keeping more money in their pockets. With this support, Canadians could focus more on celebrating the season with family and friends and start the new year with a little more money in their pockets.
However, yet again, we see the Conservative leader and his MPs putting their partisan interests above Canadians. They voted against dental care. They voted against the national school food program. They would cut the Canada child benefit, there is no doubt. They would cut the housing supports and investments our government has made. They also voted against more spots in day care, and they are going to vote against the tax break we are offering Canadians to help them over the next few months.
I encourage all members of Parliament to quickly and unanimously pass this legislation to make the holidays a little more merry and bright for Canadians who have been going through a tough time. “Make their Christmas” is my message to every member of the House.
The question I have for the Conservatives is the following: Will the Conservative leader unmuzzle his MPs and let them vote in favour of this legislation? Will he let them vote in favour of their constituents, who deserve a tax break over the holidays? Will Conservatives support their constituents? I have no idea, but what we see every day in the House is that they are not working on behalf of Canadians. They are working on behalf of themselves.
If Conservative members need help filling out a permission slip for their leader to give them permission to speak their mind and vote their conscience in the House, I would offer my help. I will even create a permission slip for them if they need, and advocate on their behalf.
Hopefully, Conservatives will be able to stand up for Canadians for once and actually support a tax break for Canadians over the holidays. It really gives me great pleasure to get to kick off the debate on this topic tonight. It is great to see the House finally doing business that matters to Canadians, instead of hearing Conservatives filibuster for 36 days on a motion they will not allow to be referred to procedure and House affairs committee and wasting all kinds of time, energy and resources at the heart of our democracy. It will be great to get a GST/HST cut over the holidays for Canadian families.