Debates of Nov. 28th, 2024

Government Business No. 43—Proceedings on Bill C‑78

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Madam Speaker, people have indeed been asking for lower consumption taxes for quite some time, but they were referring to a permanent, or at least long-term, suspension, not the two months we are getting.

As everyone knows, my family was disadvantaged for many years. For families like mine, buying new toys is often impossible. They buy toys at the thrift store. I had a $100 budget for my four kids. On that amount, a cut of 5%, which is what the federal tax is in Quebec, comes down to a savings of $5. That would not have been enough for me to even buy better food. I was not buying chips, beer or alcohol. There is no tax on groceries.

How exactly does removing GTS actually help the least fortunate?

I do not understand how that works.

[Leah Taylor Roy, Liberal, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Madam Speaker, Canadians buy a range of things. Every family is different, and we certainly want to help every family. We cannot look at just one purchase; we have to look at the basket of purchases, and certainly the tax break is going to help Canadians. We are trying to make sure our constituents have some relief, and this is a great way to do it.

We have chosen a number of different items that families generally buy over the holiday season, as different families buy different things. Tax relief on things like children's clothing, diapers, food and other holiday items will make a difference, I know, for my constituents.

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Madam Speaker, New Democrats hold the belief that we need to ensure that the taxes people are paying are truly fair. The rich in this country, the super-rich mega-billionaires, pay almost next to nothing because the government continues to keep the immense tax breaks brought in by Harper. We need tax fairness. The measure is, of course, a temporary one. New Democrats believe that the GST should be removed permanently from all essential goods. Would the member comment on whether she believes the same?

[Leah Taylor Roy, Liberal, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Madam Speaker, we do need to look at our tax system overall. This particular measure, though, is not a tax overhaul, as the member knows. It is a specific program being put in place to provide relief for Canadians over the holiday season.

We understand that Canadians are struggling right now. Our economy is getting better and we have seen many signs of improvements, but it is still a time where people need help. We are putting in a temporary measure to help them for now, perhaps with a rebate cheque in the spring, and then we hope to see a better economic situation for all Canadians.

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

Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise today. I will be sharing my time with my great colleague from Kelowna—Lake Country.

The Liberals are so desperate, so worried about getting wiped off the electoral map, that they actually think they can buy Canadians' votes for $250, using Canadians' own money. It is all borrowed, too. Liberals have already spent all the tax dollars they have collected; therefore they are actually borrowing money from the banks to give cheques to Canadians, so Canadians will be stuck with the bill.

This reminded me of someone's taking their credit card to the bank machine, taking out $250 and thinking they are actually ahead by $250. That is exactly what the government is doing, all for the crass purpose of trying to buy Canadians' votes.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

There is a point of order by the member for Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill. Maybe she could tell me which standing order she is—

[Leah Taylor Roy, Liberal, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Madam Speaker, I cannot. I am sorry, but it is the one that has to do with relevance to the topic, because we are debating a bill about an HST break and not a bill about rebate cheques.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. member is only one minute and four seconds into his speech. There is some latitude, as members know, as there just was with the hon. parliamentary secretary.

However, I do want to ask members to please be relevant to the legislation that is before the House. I am sure the hon. member will include the relevance in his speech.

The hon. member for Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley has the floor.

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

Madam Speaker, as I said, it is all borrowed. It is like someone putting $250 on their credit card and then thinking they are ahead. That is what the government intends to do.

Canadians are not going to fall for it this time. They are just smarter than that, and after nine years of the NDP-Liberals, everything is broken. They have doubled housing costs, doubled the debt, doubled food bank use and doubled gun crime. Food prices have risen 36% faster in Canada than in the U.S., a gap that opened up after the Prime Minister put a carbon tax on farmers and on the truckers who bring us food.

Two million people are lined up at food banks, and our GDP per capita is actually lower now, after the government's having doubled the national debt to over $1.2 trillion. Our GDP is actually lower per capita than it was in 2015. Now Donald Trump is imposing crippling 25% tariffs on Canadian goods, yet the weak Prime Minister plans to quadruple the carbon tax to 61¢ a litre.

Can members hear the sound? It is the sound of the mass exodus of Canadian jobs fleeing to south of the border. Donald Trump loves our carbon tax. He loves that the Prime Minister recklessly jacked up the capital gains tax too. People are popping the champagne at Trump Tower as we speak, celebrating the economic vandalism of the Prime Minister, who seems hell-bent on exporting good Canadian jobs to the United States.

I know that Donald Trump wants to put America first, and he should. What Canadians do not like and really do not understand is why the Prime Minister wants to put Canada second. We need a Canada first plan for our economy and our security.

The NDP leader made a grand announcement during the Elmwood—Transcona by-election. He was terrified that the New Democrats were going to lose, so he panicked and called a press conference, proudly announcing that he was tearing up the agreement and that he could not support the Liberals anymore. What happened? I recall that even yesterday he made a statement that he was not going to support the bill, and now he has made a statement this morning that he is supporting it. He just does not know what he is doing, and now he has taped the agreement back together, desperately hanging on until February 25, 2025, the day his pension kicks in.

The NDP leader has sold out Canadians yet again to the reckless Liberal tax trick that would push Canada even deeper into debt. The two-month temporary tax trick would be more than offset by the quadrupling of the carbon tax on heat, housing, food and fuel planned for next spring, so here is the trick, the scam: In just a few months, the Liberals will actually raise taxes on all the same things they are claiming that they are giving Canadians a tax break on.

Instead of trying to trick Canadians, our leader, the member for Carleton, is offering a common-sense solution. Conservatives would axe the carbon tax permanently on everything for everyone for good and take the GST off new homes to save people up to $50,000 on a new home purchase and stimulate the building of 30,000 extra homes every single year. Only common-sense Conservatives will bring home powerful paycheques and lower home prices so people can afford food and a home in a safe neighbourhood.

I want to talk about how we got to this point. Members can imagine, if they will, a prime minister's actually saying that the budget will balance itself, saying that they do not think about monetary policy or saying to let the bankers worry about the economy. It seems unimaginable that a prime minister, responsible for the economy of this country, would say such things. However, it is not unimaginable; our Prime Minister actually said these things. It is no wonder we are in so much trouble, but it gets even worse.

Just this week, the Minister of Finance, in her weak defence of our economy, said that she could not understand why Canadians were complaining about the great job she thinks she is doing. Her explanation was that Canadians are in a “vibecession”. Yes, for those watching, the Minister of Finance thinks they just do not get the vibe, and that they should feel great when they lose their job and when they cannot afford groceries in the grocery store, and that they should feel great about not being able to heat their home, gas up their car or pay their rent or their mortgage.

That is what the minister thinks. She thinks people just do not get the vibe. She does not get it. The truth is that Canadians are suffering and the Prime Minister does not believe it or understand it. He is weak. He is out of touch. His own Liberal members want him to resign, and it is time for him to go.

The quadrupling of the carbon tax to 61¢ a litre will stop our trucks from delivering parts to factories, clothing to stores and food to grocery shelves. Just last spring, the Prime Minister actually admitted he does know at least one thing about monetary policy. I will give him that. He acknowledged, when sending out billions of dollars in cheques, that “as soon as you do that, inflation goes up by exactly that amount.” According to his own words, with the planned $4.6 billion spend for $250 cheques, he is committing economic malpractice. It will cause inflation. It will force the Bank of Canada to keep interest rates higher for longer.

The Liberals like to say that most Canadian families get back more than they pay in the carbon tax. They completely ignore the findings of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, who has said many times that when we take into account the economic knock-on effects of the carbon tax, 100% of middle-class Canadians pay more than they receive in the rebates.

On top of this, the inflationary effects of the tax mean that families will have to spend $700 more on food this year than they did in 2023. Since 2015, when the Prime Minister came to power, by the way, the price of food has increased by 35%. The price of gas is up nearly 50%. Rents are up 33% and mortgage interest is up 73%.

Canadians deserved tax relief before Donald Trump made his “I love tariffs” comment. He was elected three weeks ago, and the Prime Minister did nothing at all to head off the tariff. The killer tariff will devastate our economy when we have a weak Prime Minister who is panicking because he does not know what to do about it.

However, there is a leader who can stand up to Donald Trump and put Canadians first. The member for Carleton cannot become the prime minister soon enough.

Let us talk about small businesses. I mentioned this earlier in my question to the member for Winnipeg North. The CFIB released a statement just today, saying that a majority of small businesses in this country oppose the policy. Only 4% of small businesses believe their sales will improve; 75% say it will be costly and complicated to implement the holiday, and 65% of businesses say there is not enough time to implement the change. This comes from a group that represents small businesses in Canada.

The Liberals have also jacked up the capital gains tax. Economists like Jack Mintz say this will hurt way more people than just the 0.13% of tax filers who are directly affected, and will blow a $90-billion hole in our GDP, costing 400,000 jobs.

Of course, there is the so-called luxury tax. The head of the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada was at the finance committee a couple of weeks ago. He said that it has cost $1.8 billion in sales to the aircraft industry and $90 million in GST revenue. The government has collected only $15 million in luxury tax, while it cost it $19 million to administer the tax. Leave it to the Liberals to create a tax and lose money doing it.

The bottom line is that this country needs a prime minister who understands economic issues. Enough is enough. It is time for a prime minister who, as Wilfrid Laurier said, will put “Canada first, Canada last, and Canada always”.

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Madam Speaker, I have a great deal of respect for the hon. member from Winnipeg. Today there was great news for the Canadian economy, because StatsCan provided information on our foreign direct investment flows. With that, Canada had $23 billion of foreign direct investment in and $9 billion out, which is $16 billion. It is the second consecutive quarter where the Canadian economy has seen foreign direct investment coming into our country. That means that companies and entities around the world are investing in Canada.

On top of that, we are meeting Canadians where they are at, and Restaurants Canada and the Retail Council of Canada are applauding our move. I would say to the member from the city of Winnipeg that there are over 5,000 employees in my riding who work in the restaurant industry and who would benefit from the increased hours and increased sales for restaurants. This is a great thing. Ontario has joined it.

Would you not agree with all the great data that has come out for the Canadian economy and our hard-working workers who work in restaurants?

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. member for Vaughan—Woodbridge knows that he is not to address questions and comments directly to the member. It has to be through the Chair.

The hon. member for Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley has the floor.

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

Madam Speaker, that is what we get from the Liberals. They know this policy is a flop. They are just trying to put lipstick on a pig. That is the reality. This policy is a flop. Canadians know it is a flop. They cannot be bought with their own money.

As well, small businesses hate it. Hundreds of thousands of businesses responded to the CFIB survey. Only 4% of those businesses like the tax. I think that would answer that member's question.

[Sylvie Bérubé, Bloc, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Madam Speaker, I have a question for my colleague. What would be the Conservative Party's plan to address the cost of living, which mainly affects families?

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

Madam Speaker, the member's question was about the Conservatives' plan to help families. Maybe the hon. member has missed this talking point in the House.

I know we have not been saying it very often. I will repeat it for her, so she has the information first-hand from me: We are going to axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime.

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Madam Speaker, my colleague and I come from the same city. I represent a riding with children experiencing some of the highest rates of poverty in the country. They should not be paying the bill for the billionaires and the big corporations. This is an opportunity for us to give some relief to Winnipeggers, and what are the Conservatives doing? They are voting against families. They are voting against single moms. They are voting against kids.

I share that because, when the Conservative leader was in government, the member voted for a $60-billion tax break for big corporations, yet the Conservatives will not even vote in favour of a two-month holiday on taxes for people who really need a hand-up during an affordability crisis. I thought the Conservative Party was the party that hated taxes.

I would like to ask why the Conservatives are fighting so hard to keep this tax if their party hates taxes so much.

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

Madam Speaker, I think the member might not have read the entire bill. This tax break benefits billionaires the most. They are the ones who spend more than anyone else. This is not a progressive move by her party. She is not going to be voting for a progressive tax change. She is going to be voting for a tax that benefits millionaires and billionaires. If she is concerned about that, I would suggest that she vote against this bill.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Madam Speaker, it is always an honour to rise on behalf of the residents of Kelowna—Lake Country.

I rise today to discuss the Liberal government's two-month temporary tax trick, which looks like it was written on the back of a napkin as a knee-jerk reaction to seeing some new poll. Canadians are smarter than that. Residents in my community, and all Canadians, expect better policies to make basic necessities, such as food, fuel and housing, more affordable and to address the causes of cost increases. The measures the Liberals have proposed would not address the causes of affordability or bring sustainable cost reductions. Many people and businesses are struggling after nine years of the costly Prime Minister and his partners in the NDP.

We have to wonder how the Liberals came up with this out-of-the-blue policy, which would be implemented literally just before Christmas, on the evening of Friday the 13th, no less. The Liberals do not have a one-for-one rule like that the Conservatives have proposed. The one-for-one rule is when, for every dollar spent, we need to find a dollar of savings, or for every dollar less in revenue, such as this Liberal measure, we need to find a dollar of savings. This is how households and small businesses operate. This is the principle used for the Conservative commitment to remove the GST on new home sales under $1 million to bring savings to home builders and families. Conservatives were transparent in how this reduction in federal revenue would be offset.

The Liberal government does not operate or create policies like this. The measure we are debating today is not a tax cut and would only be inflationary, but the Liberals do not want to talk about that. Conservatives have real tax cut plans that would lower costs and spark production.

It is also unbelievable how much Canada will be spending on servicing our debt. Our children and grandchildren will be paying for it. It is clear that the Prime Minister has a spending problem. He also has no clue about fiscal responsibility. He stated that budgets would balance themselves and that he does not think about monetary policy. His latest statement is that bankers will look after the economy.

On addressing the rampant unaffordability we are seeing across the country, the measures we are debating today would not be a permanent solution. We know how bad things have gotten for Canadians after nine years of the Liberals being propped up by their NDP partners. The Liberals do not think Canadian families are struggling. They think that this is just in their heads and they are having a bad vibe. Statistics Canada figures show that food prices have increased by 35% since 2015. Grocery prices have jumped by 20% over the past three years alone. Food prices have risen 36% faster in Canada than they have in the United States.

This gap can be said to have started when the Liberals introduced a carbon tax. This has increased costs throughout the agriculture and agri-food supply chain. These rising costs, which have not increased this dramatically since the 1980s, will see families having to spend $700 more on food this year than they did in 2023. The price of gasoline has also soared. Housing unaffordability has also risen to levels not seen before, with housing, rent and mortgage costs all doubling since 2015. This is real. This is not just in Canadians' heads and it is not just a bad vibe, as the Liberals believe.

One thing with this temporary tax trick is that it picks winners and losers, this product over that product, rather than lowering the cost of everything. This Liberal measure does not acknowledge everyone's place in life or that their priorities are different. Another problem with this temporary tax trick is exactly that: It is temporary. It will not help address the causes of affordability over a longer time frame, and it is not addressing costs of basic necessities such as nutritious food, fuel or housing.

This measure will also not help hedge against the impending almost 19% carbon tax increase that will hike the costs of food, fuel and housing. That is right. On April 1, the Liberal government, supported by the NDP, will increase the carbon tax again. Over the next few years, it will increase to a whopping 61¢ per litre.

Even worse, to add insult to injury, the excise tax is also set to automatically increase on April 1, and this is on liquor. Again, the Liberals are giving a slight, temporary tax reprieve so Canadians forget that they will be increasing those taxes in just a few months. These April Fool's Day tax increases are not a joke. They are real.

Another thing the Liberals want to divert Canadians' attention away from is how the Canadian dollar continues to drop. It is now hovering around 70¢ compared to the U.S. dollar. The Canadian dollar is the lowest it has been in five years. This will make buying everything from the U.S. more expensive, whether it be a new refrigerator or food sold in Canadian grocers that came from the U.S. That is a lot of products, including everything from fruits and vegetables to cereal, which households, restaurants, senior homes, care centres, hospitals, day cares and everywhere else all buy. However, the Liberals and the NDP do not want us talking about that.

They also do not want us talking about the fact that there is GST on the carbon tax, a tax on a tax, which is so wrong. Last winter I had many residents send me screenshots of their home heating bills, asking why GST was charged on the carbon tax. I just responded to another constituent asking about this the other day. On the measure we are debating today, one resident wrote to me saying, “We don't want the added burden of debt. We want real change.”

I also have a message from a local business retailer in my community. I need to paraphrase what he said because I cannot use that type of language here in the House of Commons. He is a merchant, and he said that the Liberals have “no clue” how much of a huge administrative and costly effort these temporary tax changes on select items is going to be. His staff and customers are already confused.

Businesses and organizations from across the country have also offered critiques of these Liberal measures. The director of the Huron Chamber of Commerce stated the government has “downloaded the administrative cost of this tax cut onto small business owners - and it's going to cost hundreds, if not thousands of dollars”. The Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce CEO stated that these measures will be “very onerous for small businesses”. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business stated that these measures “may add confusion and complexity for general retailers with both taxable and new exempt items.” They went on to state, “Canadians need permanent, not temporary tax relief.”

Ian Tostenson, the president of the B.C. Restaurant and Food Services Association, said that the tax relief will likely have little effect in stimulating the restaurant economy. He said, “If you look at a restaurant bill of say $100, you’re talking here about saving $5. I don’t think that people are going to rev up their cars and head out for that, I really don’t”. He continued, “I think it's a misguided policy”. As described in an article, rather than a limited GST reprieve, “he'd like to see governments do more to increase consumers' disposable income, so dining out is back on the table.”

It has been reported that a “co-owner of Orca Dynamics, which provides point-of-sale products and services to businesses on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, said it’s a 'hellscape' out there for retailers who will have to deal with a tax change on top of their regular work.” He said, “It’s going to cost a merchant a lot of labour hours to go through all these products to exempt the GST for just a few months of transactions.... The maintenance side of this is a nightmare, a living nightmare.”

In closing, I want to describe what bringing home the promise of Canada would look like. It would mean lowering the cost of heat, housing and gas. It would mean lowering the cost of food so Canadians can afford groceries. It would mean having a long-term impact on the ability of Canadians to afford what they need.

Let us axe the carbon tax on everything for everyone, forever. Let us axe the tax and bring home affordability for all Canadians. I have no confidence in the government. Let us call an election now so Canadians can decide.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Madam Speaker, I do know that Canadians are struggling with grocery prices. We are all experiencing it. I also know the part of the world the member is from, and I know that the scourge of the climate crisis has impacted her community. Vineyards that were once successful cannot grow grapes anymore because they have had such unpredictable freezing of grapes on the vine, as well as fires and floods. I know most people do not regard wine as a staple in the grocery stores, but climate change has also wiped out grain crops. It has had impacts all around the world, which have driven up the prices of things, such as vanilla for ice cream because there were storms that wiped out vanilla in Madagascar.

Could the member give us a sense of the connection she sees between the devastation in her own community and higher prices?

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Madam Speaker, we have not heard anyone mention how high the carbon tax has to be in order to stop incidents like the member just described. This is why we are proposing to axe the carbon tax for everyone, forever, everywhere, because it is obviously not working. All it is doing is making Canadians poorer. We believe in focusing on technology, not taxes, because the Liberals and all of their partners have a tax plan, not an environmental plan.

[Irek Kusmierczyk, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment]

Madam Speaker, I really appreciated my colleague's speech. I do enjoy working with my colleague on the HUMA committee.

Our Liberal government delivered a battery plant for Windsor. There are 2,000 construction workers building the plant, and 2,500 local workers will be building batteries for generations to come. Conservatives voted against it.

We delivered a dental care plan that provided smiles for 15,000 residents in Windsor—Essex to date. Conservatives voted against it.

We are now providing a tax holiday. I spoke to a young family who said that this was going to help them purchase a car seat for their child. It is going to help them purchase clothing and other supplies for their child. However, the Conservatives are going to vote against that too.

The Conservatives are voting against jobs for communities like ours. They voted against smiles for seniors in communities like ours. Now they are voting against giving families the financial breathing space they so deserve.

Could the hon. colleague please address why the Conservatives are against those three things?

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Madam Speaker, it is really interesting that the Liberals never want to step back and actually look at why things are so bad or why there are two million people going to food banks in one month. They do not know why there are record numbers of homeless encampments across the country or why there are record numbers of mental illness, addiction and crime. People cannot even afford basic necessities. Seniors have to go back to work because they cannot afford basic necessities or afford their own medicines. The Liberals do not want to step back and actually look at the causes.

Their policies and legislation have actually led to those causes, but they want to step up and say that they are there to help. A constituent of mine said it really well one time. It is like somebody trips us when we are walking, and then they put their hand out and offer to help us up. However, as we lie there looking at them, we know that we would not be lying on the ground if they had not tripped us in the first place.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Madam Speaker, I noticed yesterday when I looked at the bill that the tax was removed from games, but not video games. Later on, I saw that video game media, meaning cartridges, were tax-exempt. However, the game itself and the cartridge are not taxed separately because they are sold together. Is that not further proof of the government's lack of organization, planning, foresight and consistency?

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Madam Speaker, I thank the opposition member for her question.

This is exactly what I was saying. It is like the Liberals put it together on a napkin in one night. They are picking winners and losers, and there are some random things that they have chosen. This is not solid policy they have come up with. This is not solid legislation. It is something they just came up with and threw at the wall. It really was not well thought out at all.

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Madam Speaker, it is always great to rise in the House and discuss important matters. Today, we are discussing making life more affordable for Canadians, Canadian families and hard-working Canadians, and continuing to grow the economy.

I will be splitting my time with the hon. member for Kingston and the Islands, whom I have known for many years, and I know he presents his view in a very eloquent manner every time the hon. member rises to speak.

I would quickly like to note that today is a good day for the Canadian economy. It is a really good indication of where we are. Foreign direct investment flows are something that, as an economist, I very much like. We are at $23 billion in Q3. Foreign outflows are at $9 billion. This is one of the largest-ever recorded foreign direct inflows into our economy. These are not securities. These are actually investment transactions by companies. This is confidence about where we are going as a country and where we are going as an economy.

This is really important to note because it is something I believe in, whether it is the $10-billion Dow project or the $2-billion Linde project in Alberta, whether it is the Stellantis plant in Windsor, near my hon. colleague down the aisle, or whether it is the Volkswagen investment, which is literally transforming southwestern Ontario, in the St. Thomas area. It is just incredible to see those types of numbers presented. Again, there is confidence in Canadian workers and confidence in our country.

We are here to discuss giving Canadians some help and meeting them where they are. When I was growing up, we had this saying within the family that every little bit helps. Every little bit helps a family that is working hard, saving for their kids and for their futures, and looking forward to celebrating the Christmas holidays. I know that in my riding, a lot of families will be getting together, of course, just like they will all across this country. A lot of them will buy prepared meals.

In the city of Vaughan, there are a lot of entities that have these prepared meals, and they are going to be saving, literally, hundreds of dollars sometimes, when it is a large family, on a prepared meal. Those are real savings for families. In my riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge, there are 368 food service establishments employing over 5,000 hard-working Canadians, and they are going to get a boost, from December 15 to the day after Valentine's Day, especially during January. It is the slowest period of the year for many businesses, including restaurants. They are going to get a boost.

I can name a few: Romano's, Castello, Via Mercanti, Giro d'Italia, Funghetto Trattoria, Desserts Plus, That's Italian. Zafferano and pizza restaurants are near my office. There are so many wonderful restaurants.

In all of these restaurants, we are going to see groups of people before the Christmas holidays, during the Christmas holidays, having lunch. The Province of Ontario has signed on. That is for Ontarians, for the residents of Ontario. That is about $1.6 billion to $1.7 billion in tax savings from December 14 to February 15. These are real savings.

I am so proud. The day we made the announcement, Restaurants Canada was there to say that was great work. Its hard-working members need a break. Restaurants have faced higher costs from higher minimum wage, higher insurance costs and higher input costs. Of course, we are going to help them, and that is what it is about.

I have a three-year-old, and most of the time, to be honest, my wife takes care of her because I am here in Ottawa. She goes out to buy diapers, and they are not cheap. We do not control the price of diapers. However, for parents with kids at home, we made raising a child more affordable, much like we did with the national early learning and day care plan. We reduced fees by 52%, again, working with the Province of Ontario. We will see further relief in January, down to, I think, 60%. Then in September, it will be down to $10 a day on average.

We are going to give Canadians a break. We are going to help them out because every little bit helps. These are real savings for hard-working families across the country.

If the Conservatives wish to vote against it, that is their prerogative. We all make our own decisions. That is fine. With the Canada child benefit, for example, in my city, 49,400 children and their families receive the Canada child benefit, and $192 million flows to the residents of the city of Vaughan, to those collecting the Canada child benefit, and the Conservatives voted no.

Let us be frank. With the Canada workers benefit, there are 19,000 people in the city of Vaughan who get the Canada workers benefit. There has been over $21 million delivered.

Making life more affordable and growing our economy is what we are about on this side of the aisle, and we will continue to do that. Even in uncertain times, we will deliver for Canadians.

Regarding the Canadian dental care plan, when I first assumed office in 2015, I heard from seniors everywhere. The only place for a senior facing emergency dental work to go was York Region. There was no plan. However, over 21,000 seniors in the city of Vaughan, including nearly 12,000 in my riding, are on the Canadian dental care plan today. These are real savings. Canadians are saving, on average, $710. I have had seniors come to my office who, after nine or 10 years, have gone to a dentist. It was unfortunate to hear that one person had eight cavities, when I spoke to the dentist afterwards. That is real, tangible progress for Canadians.

We talk about our economy. In the city of Vaughan, we had a South Korean firm invest and create 300 jobs. It was a $100-million investment about a month ago. We had a food products company invest another $100 million. Every week I attend a new business opening, whether it is in Vaughan Mills or whether it is in my riding. I have probably attended 10 or 12 new business openings in the last two months.

Canadians have been through a lot. We know it. There was a global pandemic, and there was global inflation, which impacted everyone and elevated prices. However, we have had the backs of Canadians, and that is what being in government is about.

We are now debating a bill to give Canadians some tax relief. I am all for tax relief. They better believe it. I know those hard-working restaurant workers are going to get more hours out of this. Those owners are going to get more profits. They also received the small business carbon rebate, tax-free, which is being delivered today.

I know that Josie and Patricia at Il Castello, and Francesco at Via Mercanti are going to get their tax-free small business carbon rebates back. They are going to get tax-free money, and they will actually receive a tax deduction up front. They are getting a double benefit, and that is very important.

I will talk about the Canada workers benefit because it is not in this bill, but we look forward to it in the future. It will help hard-working Canadians, who work hard every day and who do the right things. They save, invest, create jobs, pay taxes and do the right things for their services.

I look at the other items, some essentials, and I go back to prepared foods. At Brettone Catering in my riding, Romano's, Aidas and all those bakeries, their customers are going to go in at Christmastime, Natale, Noel, and are going to get a tax break. It is great news. Again, regarding the 13% HST in the province of Ontario, the province has joined us in delivering savings for its residents. That is something I am so proud of.

This is about making life more affordable, laying the foundations on social programs that strengthen our social fabric while growing our economy. I think of the Canada child benefit again. It is tax-free, monthly. Almost $200 million flows to the families in the city of Vaughan. There is the Canada workers benefit, the Canada child benefit, as I mentioned, and the national early learning and day care plan.

We also eliminated interest on student loans and on apprenticeship loans for students in university. We raised the amount they can get before they start to repay those loans to get them back in and get them working.

Canada is a work in progress, but we are the ninth-largest economy in the world. We have a AAA credit rating. Our debt-to-GDP is the lowest in the G7. Our deficit-to-GDP is around 1%, versus that of the United States at 7% or 7.5%, versus our European friends at between 3% and 5%. Ours is the lowest. That is being fiscally responsible, and it is something we need to celebrate. These are good foundations to continue to grow and to invest in our economy.

There is uncertainty in the world. We know that, and we will continue to deal with it. That is what strong leadership is about.

I always look forward to getting up and debating in the House about the issues of the day, with my three daughters at home and with the family watching. It is always an honour to rise. I look forward to questions and comments from my most hon. colleagues. I wish everyone a wonderful afternoon.

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

Madam Speaker, recently, I had the pleasure and the honour of canvassing in the member for Vaughan—Woodbridge's riding with Michael Guglielmin and the member for Lakeland, Alberta. When we were knocking at the doors, that is not what we heard. The member's constituents do not trust him. He continues to say that he wants to cross the floor. Well, believe it or not, Conservatives do not want him.

Why is he continuing to bribe taxpayers with their own money? The owners of the restaurants he has mentioned, which I frequent, are fed up with the current Liberal government. They want a carbon tax election. I will tell members that Michael Guglielmin will be the next MP for Vaughan—Woodbridge.