House of Commons Hansard #385 of the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was indigenous.
The Speaker Liberal Greg Fergus
Once again, I am not sure the question has anything to do with government business, but I see that the Minister of Labour and Seniors is rising to answer.
Steven MacKinnon LiberalMinister of Labour and Seniors
Mr. Speaker, Bill C‑377 and Bill C‑525, some of the most anti-labour legislation in western history, passed in a previous Parliament. The spokesperson and main architect of those bills was none other than the current Leader of the Opposition. That makes him the most anti-union leader in Canadian history.
I invite that member to explain his position.
Leah Gazan NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB
Mr. Speaker, Women's Shelters Canada says that the housing shortage is trapping people in abusive circumstances, especially in cities where rent is skyrocketing. In Saskatchewan, victims are fleeing to rural areas with cheaper rents but with fewer social supports and public resources, and shelters in the greater Toronto area are overwhelmed because rents are out of reach. Liberals have let people down. Survivors need affordable housing to seek safety from abusers now.
When will the minister deliver affordable rent-geared-to-income housing to save lives?
Peter Fragiskatos LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing
Mr. Speaker, my colleague is right. We do need more affordable housing in Canada. We do need more shelters in Canada, and that is why the federal government put forward the national housing strategy, which is doing just that.
The member began her question by pointing to vulnerable women, and I sympathize. In my own community and communities across the country, it remains not just a challenge but a crisis, and that is why the housing strategy that I mentioned just now has placed a focus on ensuring women who have experienced domestic violence are housed. The rapid housing initiative is doing the same thing.
We have more to do, and we will do that work in partnership with any interested party. I know the Conservatives will not be there.
Lisa Marie Barron NDP Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC
Mr. Speaker, families in Nanaimo—Ladysmith are trying to get by, but times are tough, with more and more people relying on food banks.
Loaves and Fishes and its many volunteers have gone above and beyond, but they require funding to expand and meet the growing need. Despite ample attempts, the Liberals have not delivered.
I will ask again, will the government finally provide Loaves and Fishes with the funding required so people on Vancouver Island are not left to go hungry?
Jenna Sudds LiberalMinister of Families
Mr. Speaker, I often take the opportunity to meet with volunteers at food banks in my community here in Ottawa and across the country. What I hear about consistently is what a difference the Canada child benefit has made for families who are relying on a food bank for service. The Canada child benefit provides monthly support for families, up to $7,800 a year per child. This is timely support that we know the Conservatives would oppose.
Jean Yip Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON
Mr. Speaker, the government is introducing a two-month tax break for all Canadians. After all their talk about cutting taxes, one would expect the Conservatives to walk the walk and support this measure, but they voted against it.
Can the Minister of Small Business speak more about what the government is doing to make life better and safer for Canadians and businesses?
Rechie Valdez LiberalMinister of Small Business
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are all talk and no action.
Starting December 14, Canadians will get a GST holiday. The Conservatives talk about axing the tax, but they voted against removing the GST from groceries and family essentials. They say they will build the homes but vow to cut the housing accelerator fund, which is helping build hundreds and thousands of homes right across the country. They say they will stop the crime, but they vote against our gun control measures.
As Canadians can see, the Conservatives are the ones putting a stop to the measures that are helping Canadians and small businesses.
Jasraj Singh Hallan Conservative Calgary Forest Lawn, AB
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal-NDP government created a fall fiscal fiasco as it failed to table its fall economic statement. After nine years of inflationary deficits, adding more debt than every government before it combined, it has a lot to hide. Even the Parliamentary Budget Officer said this feudal finance minister blew through her own fiscal guardrail of her $40-billion deficit.
Why does the government not just stop the economic arson, stop the tax hikes, stop the inflationary deficits, stop adding to the debt and call a carbon tax election now?
Ryan Turnbull LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Innovation
Mr. Speaker, we know the only thing the Conservatives are serving up for Christmas dinner is stale slogans. They have been trying to change the channel.
The Bank of Canada governor said at a Senate committee recently that government spending is not pushing against us getting inflation down. The Parliamentary Budget Officer recently said the current fiscal policy in Canada is sustainable. He also said we could spend up to 1.5% more of GDP.
What is appalling is that the Conservative Party of Canada will not step up to support a tax break with their obsession about tax cuts.
Jasraj Singh Hallan Conservative Calgary Forest Lawn, AB
Mr. Speaker, while the Liberals brag about turning temporary two-month tax tricks, like taking dimes off Doritos, common-sense Conservatives will axe the tax for good because the Liberal carbon tax scam is driving more than two million Canadians to a food bank in a single month and one in four to skip meals.
If the Liberals are so sure about quadrupling their carbon tax scam, why do they not just stop breaking the country further and call a carbon tax election now, so Canadians can choose between more tax tricks or a common-sense Conservative government that will bring home lower prices and powerful paycheques?
Ryan Turnbull LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Innovation
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives want to talk about tax tricks, but what I think is interesting is tricking Canadians into thinking the Conservatives are actually serious about cutting taxes for Canadians. At the first opportunity they get to stand up in the House and support Canadians who they well know have been struggling through an inflationary period, the Conservatives will not. They stand up against it. They oppose the very tax cuts they campaigned on.
A GST holiday for Canadians on essentials over the next two months is a good thing. I do not know how the Conservatives can deny the support that Canadians deserve.
Adam Chambers Conservative Simcoe North, ON
Mr. Speaker, last year the finance minister said the deficit would be less than $40.1 billion, and now Parliament is still waiting for the public accounts to confirm whether the minister kept that promise. Can the minister spare us the suspense and tell us what the deficit was for last year?
Ryan Turnbull LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Innovation
Mr. Speaker, our government has stuck to our fiscal guardrails and that is exactly why inflation has come down for 11 months in a row. It has been within the Bank of Canada's target range for 11 months in a row. We were the first in the G7 to cut interest rates and we have had four consecutive rate cuts. We are looking forward to this Wednesday when the Bank of Canada will have another meeting. We are looking forward to its announcement.
The Speaker Liberal Greg Fergus
Colleagues, especially the hon. member for Abbotsford, please do not speak unless recognized by the Speaker.
The hon. member for Simcoe North.
Adam Chambers Conservative Simcoe North, ON
Mr. Speaker, what is the point of making promises that the Liberals do not intend or try to even keep? In 2020, the finance minister said that when the need for stimulus was over, it would be withdrawn. The Liberals did not withdraw it. Then it was that the debt-to-GDP ratio would continue to go down, except one year later, it went up. Then she said the deficit would be less than $40.1 billion, and lo and behold, we find out she broke that promise too. When will someone at least admit these folks are committing economic vandalism and tell us what the deficit is, or are they just worried it is going to shred all the credibility she has left?
Ryan Turnbull LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Innovation
Mr. Speaker, our government will stack up and compare our record to the Conservatives' and run on that any day of the week and twice on Sundays—
The Speaker Liberal Greg Fergus
Order. I am going to ask hon. members to please not have conversations, especially over those who are using devices to be able to listen to the proceedings of the House.
The hon. parliamentary secretary, from the top, please.
Ryan Turnbull Liberal Whitby, ON
Mr. Speaker, our government will stack up and run on our record, our fiscal and economic record, against the Conservatives' any day of the week and twice on Sundays. I am happy—
The Speaker Liberal Greg Fergus
Colleagues, the more time the Speaker has to spend on his feet, the fewer questions we have to get through in question period.
The hon. parliamentary secretary.
Ryan Turnbull Liberal Whitby, ON
Mr. Speaker, we have an AAA credit rating, the lowest deficit and the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio. We have seen that Stats Canada has revised the forecast for Canada for the last three years up, which is significant. We are also rated by the IMF to have the strongest GDP growth in the G7. I think that economic record stands for itself.