Debates of Dec. 6th, 2024

Finance

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Innovation]

Madam Speaker, we will put our record up against the Conservatives' any day of the week and twice on Sundays. Let me quote from a former governor of the Bank of Canada, David Dodge. He said, “because it was obsessively focused on reducing the federal deficit over fiscal years 2011-12 through 2015-16, the Harper government unnecessarily contributed to a slower, rather more muted recovery”. While Conservatives slowed down our recovery, we have accelerated our postpandemic recovery and are now on track to have the highest growth rate in the G7. That is in addition to Canadian workers—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. member for Thornhill.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Madam Speaker, if the member wants to put his money where his mouth is, he should call a carbon tax election and let Canadians decide. The finance minister is going to have to find another job after the next election. Maybe she will find out that we cannot turn in overdue work. It is something we learn in grade school, but she must have skipped that day. The government has lost control of our borders. It has lost control of immigration. It has clearly lost control of the deficit too, and it is trying to cover up its tracks.

I will ask again, for those in the back, and I will say it slower: What is Canada's deficit this year?

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Innovation]

Madam Speaker, let us review the Conservative track record on affordability. They will not support feeding hungry kids healthy meals at school. To 400,000 more kids, they said, “No, we do not want to feed you.” They will not support a GST break over the holidays on food, toys and other essentials. They said, “No, we will not support a GST cut for Canadians.” They also will not lift a finger to fight climate change, which is cited in the report as being the greatest driver of food price inflation. When will they get on side with Canadians and actually support—

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Madam Speaker, it does not get more secretive than this. The Liberals have not even tabled this fall's economic statement. The Parliamentary Budget Officer was scathing. The audits for the 2023-24 fiscal year have not yet been tabled. This lack of transparency is unprecedented in the history of our country.

Canadians have the right to know what the deficit is for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024.

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his question. As he is well aware, our government is investing to increase the number of jobs across the country.

Today, there is good news. There are 51,000 new jobs for Canadians.

We are going to continue to make the investments that are going to help grow the economy, help us transition into a modern economy, help build the homes Canadians need and, importantly, provide support to families who are dealing with a higher cost of living. It is a shame that the Conservatives, every step of the way, oppose these measures.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Madam Speaker, twice this fall, the Bloc Québécois voted to keep this bad government in power. This government cannot even cap its inflationary deficit at $40 billion, which will result in an $800 increase in the price of the average family's grocery bill in 2025. It has gotten to the point where children are putting basic necessities on their Christmas wish lists.

Canadians want to know how high the inflationary deficit is now.

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Madam Speaker, honestly, it is hard to listen to this question, because this week the member had the opportunity to vote to reduce taxes on food, but he voted against it. The member will have another opportunity in the very near future to vote in favour of school food programs across our country. However, I think the members is still planning on voting against that measure.

Members of the House need to support families and communities yet, at every opportunity, the Conservative Party votes against measures that support families in my community and those of my colleagues.

Justice

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Madam Speaker, the Quebec National Assembly has unanimously called on the federal government to repeal the religious exemption in the Criminal Code that permits hate speech under the guise of religious belief. Religion is not an excuse for inciting hatred. One would think that everyone would agree on that, but on Wednesday, the Liberals blocked a motion defending this simple principle, even though the Minister of Justice claims to want to combat hate speech.

What does he have to say to his colleagues who want the federal government to protect religious extremists who incite violence?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the Bloc Québécois member's question.

We are well aware of what was suggested in the Bloc Québécois's bill. On this side of the House, we are in favour of any effort to combat hatred, particularly the anti-Semitism that we are seeing in Quebec and across Canada.

We could work together to improve or amend our own bill on online harm, Bill C‑63, which is already before the House. We are perfectly willing to work with the Bloc Québécois in that regard.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Madam Speaker, the National Assembly of Quebec wants to abolish the religious exemption that allows for hate speech. In Ottawa, some want to protect the religious exemption and protect hate speech. In Quebec, we defend communal harmony and social peace. In Ottawa, some defend division and violence. In Quebec, we defend secularism. In Ottawa, some defend the right to commit crimes in the name of religion. This is backwards. Religion is no excuse for committing crime.

What is so hard to understand about that?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Madam Speaker, on this side of the House, we have a plan to combat hate in our country. That includes a national strategy to combat hate, as well as Bill C‑63, which is on the radicalization that happens online. We know that radicalization starts with feelings and ends with acts of violence in the real world. That is what we are targeting with Bill C‑63.

Bill C‑63 targets the very same sections of the Criminal Code that the Bloc Québécois bill seeks to address. We are perfectly happy to co-operate with the Bloc Québécois to combat hate.

Taxation

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Madam Speaker, Liberals and Conservatives have a choice: Will they support Canadians in real cost of living relief, or will they just keep letting Canadians get ripped off?

The NDP is forcing a vote in the House to permanently scrap the GST on all family essentials and have the rebate be extended to seniors, students and people with disabilities. It is time for Canadians to come first, not the profits of ultrarich corporations.

Will the government support our NDP plan to help Canadians put food on the table and keep a roof over their head?

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Innovation]

Madam Speaker, it is great to see the NDP getting behind a tax break for Canadians over the holidays on essential goods at the grocery store, kids' toys, Christmas trees and everything that will make this holiday season a bit more merry and bright for Canadians.

It is too bad the Conservatives will not stand up to do the same, especially given the fact that they campaigned on this in the last election. It is truly the height of hypocrisy. I am not sure when Conservatives will get on board with actually supporting Canadians.

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

Madam Speaker, everyone should be able to afford a good home and to save for a rainy day. However, people in Nanaimo—Ladysmith are struggling. They need permanent, not temporary, relief.

The Conservatives are a threat to this relief for those who need it most. They only want to give tax breaks to billionaires while everyday Canadians pay the price. Meanwhile, the Liberals have clearly let Canadians down.

Will the Liberals give people in Nanaimo—Ladysmith the break they need by permanently removing the GST from essentials, yes or no?

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Innovation]

Madam Speaker, it is clear that the Liberal Party of Canada and our government believe in giving Canadians a break over the holidays. This relief will certainly save families money over the holidays; this is much-needed relief after the struggles many workers and Canadians have gone through with the inflationary pressures they have felt over many months. It is too bad the Conservative Party of Canada will not step up and support Canadians. In the House, they have obsessively harped on giving Canadians tax breaks. However, when the opportunity arises, they will not step up to actually support Canadians.

Carbon Pricing

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

Madam Speaker, after nine years of the failed NDP-Liberal government, more and more Canadians are going hungry. They see the Liberal two-month tax trick for what it is: nothing more than a lump of coal in their Christmas stockings. One million people are visiting a food bank each month in Ontario. In Niagara Falls, 120 families per day on average are visiting Project Share, our local food bank, because they cannot afford groceries.

When will the NDP-Liberal government axe the carbon tax to provide the permanent, broad-based tax relief Canadians need and deserve?

[Jenna Sudds, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Madam Speaker, I have some good news to share with the member. Just a few weeks ago, we signed an agreement with the Province of Ontario for our national school food program. This means that an additional 160,000 kids will have access to healthy food at school this school year. This is help for parents in a stressful and expensive time. It ensures that kids can focus on being kids and can focus on learning. When will the Conservatives get onside and support these measures for families?

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

Madam Speaker, a two-month Liberal tax trick does not provide the broad-based, permanent tax relief Canadians need. Sadly, the Liberals plan to raise the carbon tax again next year. One in seven residents in my community of Niagara Falls has visited Project Share. Almost 5,000 residents visited for the first time last year alone. Canadians need our help. They need permanent, broad-based tax relief.

When will the government finally call a carbon tax election so that we can scrap the tax?

[Jenna Sudds, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Madam Speaker, I would like to remind the member that, the last time they were in government, the poverty rate for children was 16%. We have lifted hundreds of thousands of kids out of poverty, and the single most effective measure in doing that is the Canada child benefit, which ensures that parents have support each and every month to be able to afford the essentials for their family. Can we guess who voted against it? Can we guess who vows to dissolve it? It is the Conservative Party.

The Economy

[Greg McLean, Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Madam Speaker, the first thing the government has to get right is the basics. For Canadians, that is food and shelter. After nine years of the NDP-Liberal government, these costs are way up. Housing costs have doubled; even more, basic food costs continue to escalate, and food bank usage is up 90%. “Let them eat cake” is not an effective strategy. Escalating deficits are the root cause of inflation, but the government still does not get that. Reality is landing on the plates of Canadians.

When will the government take a lesson and stop its economic mayhem?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Madam Speaker, my colleague points to food and shelter as pressure points for Canadian households. I actually agree, but let us look at what the different parties are proposing to do about it. First, on food, he is complaining about the high price when he is literally voting against a tax break on food. He is literally opposing a national school food program, which is helping hungry kids eat. When it comes to shelter, his own city is directly benefiting from hundreds of millions of dollars in investments to build homes more quickly, and he is supporting a leader who vows to cut that program. I will not take lessons from the Conservative Party, which cuts the very programs that put food on the table for families.

[Greg McLean, Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Madam Speaker, the member keeps trying to talk about putting band-aids on the wounds his economic policies are causing, but step one is to reverse inflationary policies and cancel the carbon tax, which hikes the price of food, fuel and rent. Food inflation has skyrocketed by over 36% in the past eight years. Higher deficits lead to higher inflation and a weaker Canadian dollar, leading to more inflation. This spending is not free; he can just ask the two million Canadians lining up at food banks. Time is up.

When will the Prime Minister call a carbon tax election?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Madam Speaker, it is hard to understand how a member who said he is receiving $228 million for housing considers that to be a band-aid solution. Does he think it is a band-aid solution that we are helping his city lead the country when it comes to converting office spaces to homes for Canadians? Does he think it is a band-aid solution that we are advancing a permanent program that is going to feed hungry kids in schools?

I have great respect for the hon. member. I love the city he calls home; it once provided a home to me. However, it is difficult, once again, to accept questions on the cost of food and shelter from a member and a party that oppose the policies making it easier to put food on the table for families and keep a roof over their head.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Madam Speaker, after nine years of this Liberal government, the cost of living has become unsustainable. Canadians are experiencing an unprecedented crisis. What is the Bloc Québécois doing? It is betraying Quebeckers by voting in favour of $500 billion in spending.

This year, more than 33,000 Quebec children are asking Santa for heartbreaking gifts: a winter coat, a lunch box or, even worse, housing for their family. It is shameful that this is happening in a country like Canada.

Can the “Liberal Bloc” give Quebeckers a break and stop supporting this Liberal Prime Minister who is making Quebeckers poorer?