Debates of Dec. 17th, 2024

Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP leader knows full well that we won the confidence of the House last week on multiple occasions. This government's objective is always to protect Canadians, Canadian jobs and the Canadian economy. That is what we are focusing on right now, and I can assure the House that we are managing our relationship with the United States effectively.

Finance

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the fall economic statement confirmed what the former finance minister, the Parliamentary Budget Officer and The Globe and Mail already told us, that the weak and now wounded Prime Minister hijacked the statement to drive Canada through the fiscal guardrail and over a cliff. There is $62 billion in overspending. This is 50% higher than their own target set just months ago. They told us over and over again that the deficit would not exceed $40 billion.

I have a simple question: Why did they mislead Canadians again?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, far from misleading Canadians, the government thinks it is important to be transparent in terms of the fiscal picture of the government. This is why, based on legal advice and accounting practices, the government booked contingent liabilities that increased the initial deficit projection to the level my colleague referred to. This is about righting historical wrongs with indigenous peoples, something the previous Conservative government ignored. We think the responsible thing to do is to be transparent with Canadians. That is exactly what we did.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, of the Liberal ministers who still remain, not a single one would stick around yesterday to even defend the statement. They dropped it here and then ran out the door. This is $62 billion of new debt and new inflationary spending for Canadians to pay on their grocery bills, on their home heating and on everything else. This is equivalent to spending a dollar every second for nearly 2,000 years. The Prime Minister has clearly lost control of his caucus. He has lost control of his cabinet. He has now lost control of spending.

When will he give Canadians the chance to weigh in and call a carbon tax election?

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

Mr. Speaker, we have no lessons to learn from the Conservatives. On the eve of Christmas, what we present to Canadians is not slogans or smiles. It is time for us to be serious. What the former minister of finance presented yesterday was a fall economic statement focused on growth, investment in our workers, investment in our industries and investment in Canada because confident countries invest in themselves. This is something the Conservatives cannot understand. We will stand for Canadians and we will stand for Canada on this side of the House.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Mr. Speaker, who is in charge of the clattering train? The Prime Minister has lost the confidence of Canadians, and now he has lost the confidence of his MPs and his cabinet. He is focused not on Canadians, but on himself as he clings to power. Yesterday, the government posted a $62 billion deficit, blowing through the guardrails. The government is careening out of control. Things are in complete chaos.

When will we get an election?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, what the Conservative opposition is doing is focusing on us while we are focusing on Canadians. We are focused on ensuring that we are delivering affordability measures for Canadians at a difficult time. We are focused on ensuring that we have a strong relationship with our most important trading partner, the United States. That is what the Liberal government is squarely focused on: Canadians, protecting the Canadian economy and protecting Canadian jobs.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Mr. Speaker, not only did the statement post a $62 billion deficit, but also, it revised 2025 growth down, and it revised 2025 unemployment up. The Prime Minister has failed to recognize the gravity of the moment. He is focused not on Canadians, but on himself. His government is in utter and complete chaos.

When will the Prime Minister realize that the end is here, that his government and this Parliament are dead, and call an election?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board and Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we have the lowest debt and deficit in the G7. In addition, in the fall economic statement, Canadians can see supports for affordable housing, supports for $10-a-day child care and supports for public servants who want early retirement. On this side of the house, what do we do? We support Canadians, as opposed to what they do, which is cut.

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

Mr. Speaker, we would of course like to congratulate the new Minister of Finance, but we would also like to point out that, just nine years ago, in 2015, he, the Prime Minister and pretty much everyone on that side of the House were elected on a promise to run three small deficits followed by a zero deficit in 2019.

Nine years later, Canada has the worst deficit in our country's history, at $62 billion. How can he look people in the eye and tell them that, yes, the public finances are fine and that, yes, the Liberals are ready for an election?

Will he at least have the courage to ask his leader to call an election so that the people can decide whether the Liberals deserve Canadians' trust?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I thank our colleague for his congratulations. It will come as no surprise that we do not share his pessimism. We have every confidence in the Canadian economy, in Canadian workers and in the fall economic statement, which gave Canadians a great deal of hope in terms of support for these difficult economic times.

We have also announced significant investments. I look forward to sharing more details later today about the border measures that will further protect Canadians and reassure our American friends. We are working to support Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, this is basic finance. A deficit is money that we do not have. This $62 billion is money that we do not have. This money represents the debt we are passing on to our children, our grandchildren and great-grandchildren who are not even born yet and who will have to pay for the current mismanagement.

Every Canadian knows that the Prime Minister is alone because Canada has never had such a narcissistic, egotistic, self-important Prime Minister. The problem is that all Canadians, even those who are not born yet, will have to pay for this mismanagement.

When will there be an election so that we can have a real government, a good Conservative government?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, our colleague will not be surprised that we do not agree with the idea of having a Conservative government that wants to cut programs that support Canadians, that voted against $10 child care to support Canadian families, and that voted against a dental care program in Canada.

Canadians expect to have a responsible government that works to support them in economically tough times. That is precisely what our government is doing.

[Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné, Bloc, Terrebonne, QC]

Mr. Speaker, with a $62-billion deficit, I think we can all agree that now is not the time to be handing out election goodies.

However, in yesterday’s economic statement, the GST holiday represented 98% of new spending aimed at combatting the rising cost of living. Worse still, this purely vote-seeking measure represents almost the entirety of the government’s response to the cost of living until 2030. This two-month tax holiday, described by the former minister of finance as a costly political gimmick, is the Liberal government’s idea of a long-term economic vision.

If that is the Liberals’ long-term economic vision, perhaps they now understand why Quebeckers are calling for an election.

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

Mr. Speaker, we know that the Bloc Québécois and the Conservatives have been talking non-stop about an election since September. We have been working for Quebeckers since 2015.

That is why, in recent months, we proposed a program like the Canadian dental care plan, which is helping one million Quebeckers and three million Canadians with their dental insurance, something the vast majority of them never had before. Unfortunately, the Conservatives and the Bloc stubbornly oppose this Canadian dental care plan. The Conservative leader claims that it does not even exist.

[Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné, Bloc, Terrebonne, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is simple: Quebeckers never wanted the GST holiday, which is harmful to our SMEs. Nevertheless, the GST holiday is the only measure in the economic update to address the cost of living, and it represents 98% of new spending.

The Liberals are running out of steam. They are short on ideas and short on resources with the resignation of the finance minister, which will be followed by the departure of eight other ministers from the Liberal ship. Quebeckers deserve so much better than a government that is crumbling before their eyes.

Will the Prime Minister finally call an election?

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I think it is rather clear that the Bloc Québécois is against tax cuts.

If my colleagues had read the economic update, they would have seen that we created over 330,000 well-paid jobs across Canada. Canada has seen the highest wage growth in the G7. Canadians are cashing paycheques that are 5% bigger, even taking into account inflation. We are making sure that Canadians' paycheques are getting bigger.

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there was a time when economic statements contained measures. This one contains nothing but bad news.

There is quite the contrast between the enthusiasm of 2015 and the cynical vote-buying deficits of 2024. There is a contrast between the solidarity of 2015 and the ministers who are jumping ship one after the other. There is quite the contrast between the superstar Prime Minister of 2015 and the one struggling tonight to rally his team for the Christmas party.

It is over. It is simply over. Will the Prime Minister call an election?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am surprised to hear my colleague talk that way. If he had made an effort to read the economic statement, he would know that it contains major investments for Quebec. Take the investment in AI, which will be at the heart of the 21st-century economy. Montreal has the largest concentration of start-ups in the country.

The economic statement includes investments for Quebec, investments for industry, investments for workers. Every member of the House is expected to celebrate this country. It is time to celebrate Canada.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

The Prime Minister has lost the confidence of his caucus, of his cabinet and of Canadians. The Deputy Prime Minister resigned because the Prime Minister said that he had lost confidence in her. She wrote, “a Minister must speak on behalf of the Prime Minister and with his full confidence. In making your decision, you made clear that I no longer credibly enjoy that confidence”.

Just last week, the Prime Minister was talking about how Americans have lost the ability for females to lead in that country, but the Prime Minister only uses females when it is useful for him. Is that not right?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

No.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has lost the confidence of his cabinet, of his caucus and of Canadians. He blew through the $61.9-billion deficit, over the $40-billion guardrails he had set. The former finance minister tried to warn him, and he fired her for trying to warn him. He offered her another position, and she refused.

Why is it that the Prime Minister only has confidence in women until they question him?

[Marci Ien, Liberal, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives keep bandying about the word “feminism”, but let us talk about tangible policies for women that are offered in the fall economic statement: $50 million to build more shelter spaces across this country and $15 million for women's organizations whose goal it is to end gender-based violence, as well as permanent funding for the sexual and reproductive health fund.

This is what it looks like to have the backs of women. Conservatives know nothing about that.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has lost the confidence of his cabinet, of his Liberal MPs and of Canadians, as he clings to power.

Hours before she was set to release the fall economic statement, the finance minister quit, saying, “On Friday, you told me you no longer want me to serve as your Finance Minister and offered me another position in the Cabinet.” The fake feminist Prime Minister and conflict of interest, carbon tax Carney forced her to blow through the $40-billion guard rail with a massively irresponsible $62-billion deficit, making her take the blame.

Will the fake feminist Prime Minister take responsibility for his economic vandalism and call an—

[The Speaker, Greg Fergus]

The hon. minister.