Debates of June 12th, 2024

The Economy

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the member mentions welders. Welders start businesses, which are among the 300,000 small businesses that are targeted by the tax, according to the minister's own published documents, so those welders will pay a 66% tax on their investments. The same welders who build the homes that we are going to need—

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

Order. I am having trouble hearing the question, and I am having trouble hearing the answer, so I am going to ask hon. members to allow the questions and answers to happen.

From the top, the hon. leader of the official opposition

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the member mentions welders. Welders incorporate. They start small businesses, welding businesses that build things. They weld products that go into apartment complexes in which people live. Therefore, when the member taxes the small businesses that help us build the housing, she not only kills jobs for those welders but she also actually kills housing when we are in a housing shortage.

How could the minister possibly think it is a good idea to tax homebuilding in a housing crisis and farmers in a food crisis?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, for one thing, the Conservative leader should get his facts straight. Of course, what we are talking about is a two-thirds inclusion rate, not a two-thirds tax rate, but he never bothers to actually get his numbers straight.

The Conservative leader also does not bother to actually stand on the side of working people. He has been faking his support for workers, but yesterday workers learned where he really stands, and that is not with them.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, taxing farmers during a food crisis, taxing home builders during a housing crisis, taxing away doctors during a health care crisis and taxing small businesses during an economic growth crisis is economic vandalism and nothing less.

That is precisely why the minister has given us the worst growth in the G7, the worst growth for the next 40 years projected by the OECD and 256 homeless encampments in her hometown. Is that not the predictable result of her disastrous policies?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, do members know what the average income in Ottawa-Carleton is? I do; it is $58,400. The average person in Ottawa-Carleton could only dream of earning $250,000 in a given year, but the Conservative leader thinks his average constituent should pay tax on their hard-earned salary at a higher rate than someone who is earning more than $250,000 in capital gains alone. Whose side is he really on?

Taxation

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. The Liberals want to tax the wealthy's capital gains, but their simplistic definition of who is wealthy includes Quebeckers who are small investors or individual entrepreneurs.

The Bloc Québécois will propose amendments to correct the situation, such as offering these ordinary property owners, who are not real estate speculators, access to a higher one-time lifetime exemption instead of the annual exemption of $250,000.

Is the government committed to working with us to avoid overtaxing the assets of Quebeckers who are not ultrarich?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking the Bloc Québécois for its vote on tax fairness yesterday. They understand the importance of social solidarity and fairness, just as Quebeckers do. They understand that a teacher should not pay tax at a higher rate than the ultrarich.

It is such a shame that the Conservatives do not understand that.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is simple. We say yes to raising taxes on the gains of the ultrawealthy, but no to raising taxes on the savings of self-employed workers without retirement funds who have invested everything in a triplex.

These people have nothing to do with the real estate bubble. They have nothing to do with the problems that first-time homebuyers—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

Order.

I thank members for keeping it down. The hon. member for La Prairie may begin his question again.

The hon. member for La Prairie.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is simple. We say yes to raising taxes on the gains of the ultrawealthy, but no to raising taxes on the savings of self-employed workers without retirement funds who have invested everything in a triplex.

These people have nothing to do with the real estate bubble. They have nothing to do with the problems that first-time homebuyers are experiencing.

The Liberals have a choice to make. They can work intelligently with us, or they can harm Quebeckers who are not ultrawealthy to score political points against the Conservatives.

Will they make the right choice?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I want to once again point out that we have made an important decision. The House supported an important measure, a measure for fairness that will fund extremely important investments for Canada and Quebec.

Through this measure, Quebec will receive $3 billion. I think that, in terms of health care, Quebec will be really pleased—

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

The hon. member for Rosemont—La Petite‑Patrie.

Housing

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the housing crisis is wreaking havoc everywhere. Elderly people are sleeping in their cars. People are unable to pay the exorbitant amounts being charged for rent. A recent report tells us why.

Affordable housing is disappearing at an alarming rate across the country. Simply put, there is little to none left. The Liberals, like the Conservatives, turned their backs on social and affordable housing. It was not making enough money for their speculator friends. However, people need a roof over their heads.

What good are these two tired old parties if they cannot even guarantee a basic need like the right to housing?

[Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Liberal, Minister of Tourism and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my colleague that one of the measures in the last budget we tabled was praised by people like those at FRAPRU. This housing rights group noted that we invested $1.5 billion to take housing out of the market.

What does that mean? It means securing and reserving affordable rents, off the market, for people who need them. That is exactly what we have done.

We are going to work with every not-for-profit organization and municipality to achieve this, to increase the number of affordable and social housing units.

[Bonita Zarrillo, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, tenants at Thorncliffe Park and across the country are rising up against corporate greed, which is causing skyrocketing rents and resulting in evictions and rising homelessness. Renters cannot keep up with the costs of unfair corporate practices, and the Liberals themselves are partners in making rental units unaffordable. This is a violation of the human right to housing.

Why is the Liberal government partnering in exploitative practices and causing harm to Canadians?

[Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Liberal, Minister of Tourism and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, I want to say to the member and to all Canadians who are watching that the current government was the first government that made historic investments in housing. Not only that, but we also recognize the human right to housing. We have, for the first time, named a commissioner to defend the rights of tenants, and we will continue to work with all provinces and municipalities to defend those rights.

Taxation

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois is now condemning the same tax hike it just voted for. Talk about flip-flopping.

The minister says that welders would not have to pay the tax; only the 0.13% wealthiest would. Well, all the economists contradict that. The fact that there are 300,000 businesses that she admits would be taxed, and all of their owners would be taxed, contradicts that as well.

There is one way we can solve this controversy. Will the minister commit to putting in law that no one in the bottom 99.87% would pay any new taxes?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, a moment ago, the Leader of the Opposition already demonstrated his financial illiteracy. He does not understand how the capital gains inclusion rate works. However, I want to offer him an opportunity to continue his economic education.

Yesterday, the IMF published a report on the Canadian economy. The IMF commented on our capital gains move and said it makes the system more fair, and it also said it would have no impact on investment or productivity. That is the IMF.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I think we should just put aside the disagreement and even the debate on this. Let us come to a resolution here that will bring a lot of calm to the millions of Canadians who are worried about their taxes going up. The minister claims that only the 0.13% wealthiest Canadians would pay, so why not just enshrine that in law?

Will the minister commit today to passing an amendment to her tax bill stating that no one whose income is in the bottom 99.87% would pay any new taxes at all?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I want to quote some interesting words that were stated in the House of Commons: “The monstrous increases in capital gains...[are] making the rich vastly richer and creating a kind of aristocratic feudal economy”. Do members know who said that? The member for Carleton did.

We agree the current system is unfair. We are pushing against it. What made the member, after eight weeks of dithering, change his mind?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, we are simply asking the minister to put her words in law. She has claimed that no one who earns less than the top 0.13% of income in the country would be affected.

Once again, will she amend her bill to say that no one who is in the bottom 99.87% of income earners would pay any new tax increase whatsoever, yes or no?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, let us review what we have learned so far in question period today. First, the Leader of the Official Opposition does not even understand how the capital gains inclusion rate works. That is a problem. Second, the Leader of the Official Opposition disavows his own words in the House about capital gains. However, probably the most important thing is that the average income in Carleton is $58,400. Carleton's MP is not on the side of working people earning that wage in his own riding. That is shameful.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I am just quoting right now from the minister's own budget speech, where she said that for 99.87% of Canadians there will be no extra capital gains tax.

She put it in her speech, so why will she not put it in the law?