Mr. Speaker, today I would like to take a few minutes to review the measures in the 2025 budget that will impact my constituents in La Prairie—Atateken. Last week, while walking down Saint-Pierre Street in Saint‑Constant, I was able to see how the budget is addressing the concerns of the many people I spoke with.
I am going to start with Bill C‑4, making life more affordable for Canadians act and its flagship measure, a substantial tax reduction that lowers the tax rate for the first $57,000 of income from 15% to 14.5% and then to 14%, saving each taxpayer up to $420 per year.
Furthermore, there is a pressing demand for housing in La Prairie—Atateken. In five years, the median price of single-family homes has risen from $400,000 to $639,000. That is an increase of 57%. Despite this, demand for housing in the towns in my riding substantially exceeds supply, driving up prices. People know that La Prairie—Atateken is a great place to live, which is why they want to move there, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to do so.
The average age of new home buyers has risen from 26 to 36 in the last decade. Couples and young families with children are struggling to save the down payment required for this purchase. Fortunately, the affordability legislation will give first-time homebuyers a GST holiday and allow them to save up to $50,000 on the purchase of a brand new home. That is money they can put towards a down payment.
With Build Canada Homes, the government is also taking concrete action to address challenges to get housing projects built. This means things like cutting red tape, making it easier to access financing and allowing projects to be built on government-owned land. With investments totalling $25 billion over five years in housing, we are boosting home construction and making housing more accessible. The goal is to cut construction time in half, reduce housing prices by 20% and do all this with less polluting, domestic materials.
Sustaining housing and infrastructure for first nations is also present in the budget, with $3 billion affected for the construction of new lodgings, whether in urban or rural environments. Hence, a substantial amount of money will be made available for the Kahnawà:ke community, offering many possibilities for new houses.
Entering the job market is hard for young Canadians in La Prairie—Atateken and elsewhere. Fortunately, housing construction will require a new generation of builders and will generate several thousands of jobs.
The union training and innovation program, with its $75-million purse, will support apprenticeship training for the major trades. Red Seal certification will also allow them to ply their trade anywhere in Canada.
Other programs are also available to support our young people, including the Canada summer jobs program, which has been substantially increased, the youth employment and skills strategy and the student work placement program. These will allow more young people to get that first job experience under their belts and, I hope, gain the confidence and skills they need to embark on a rewarding, well-paid career.
The government is also launching the youth climate corps, a significant innovation that offers paid training placements that teach participants green skills. The youth climate corps will help respond to climate emergencies, support community recovery and contribute to initiatives that strengthen community resilience in La Prairie—Atateken and across the country.
We may have paid particular attention to young people, but we have not neglected seniors. We have made several commitments to them. I am particularly proud to announce three initiatives aimed at combatting the financial exploitation of people who are often less familiar with new financial tools. For seniors, the government will propose a code of conduct for banking institutions aimed at preventing financial exploitation. It is also creating the financial crime agency, which will be tasked with stopping organized crime and online financial fraud. Finally, the national anti-fraud strategy will reduce the risk of individuals falling victim to fraudulent schemes, which are unfortunately constantly evolving and becoming increasingly complex.
When it comes to health care, it is increasingly difficult to retain much-needed personal support workers, the very people we called “the guardian angels of the health care system” not so long ago. I am also pleased to see the $1,100 tax credit granted annually to personal support workers for the next six years.
Still on the subject of health, I also welcome the lowering of barriers to access the Canada disability benefit for low-income, working-age persons with disabilities. This affects hundreds of people in La Prairie—Atateken.
I also want to mention the dental care plan, which continues to grow as more and more Canadians become aware of this essential program. In a nutshell, Canadian residents with a family income of less than $90,000 are quite likely to qualify. I encourage residents of La Prairie—Atateken who believe they are entitled to receive this service to find out more by calling or visiting Service Canada at the Brossard office.
For our children, Canada's national school food program should enable thousands of children in my riding to enjoy healthy meals at school, giving them an equal chance at educational success and overall development. I would like to remind members that our party is making this program permanent this year, despite the incomprehensible and shameful opposition of the Conservatives, who went so far as to call this measure “garbage”.
In public safety, this government has taken several initiatives to ensure that Canadians feel safer in their homes and communities. I have spoken on several occasions in the House to praise the new investments and legislative tools now available to fight transnational gangs and organized crime at our borders and in our communities.
Today, I want to focus on initiatives that are less impressive but just as essential. For example, modernizing the Meteorological Service of Canada is imperative in light of the very real changes in our climate. Funding for the National Public Alerting System will allow for more accurate weather forecasting models and therefore more informed decisions to protect Canadians and their property.
Finally, I would like to say a few words about the economy. Companies in my riding are happy with budget 2025 because it offers several business opportunities. First, I want to mention the significant investments that will be made in national defence. It is important to remember that contracts should now be awarded locally rather than centrally, as has been the case in recent years. The fact that the Saint-Jean military base is nearby means that many companies in my riding of La Prairie—Atateken could soon be awarded service contracts.
Rather than focusing on any one sector in particular, it is important to focus on what is now known as the productivity superdeduction, which applies to all sectors of business, small, medium and large. The purpose of the superdeduction is to allow businesses to immediately write off a larger share of the cost of their new investments. That will encourage businesses to invest and grow. The deduction applies to scientific research and experimental development, as well as to capital assets, the cost of manufacturing or processing machinery and equipment, the cost of clean energy generation and energy conservation equipment and the purchase of zero-emission vehicles.
This is a $110-billion investment that the government is making over five years to stimulate the economy. These measures will make Canada one of the most business-friendly countries in terms of tax benefits. Investments create a virtuous circle by growing the economy, which increases the GDP and generates more revenue for the state, which enables it to maintain its social programs so that no Canadian is left behind.
Everyone in La Prairie—Atateken will benefit from this budget, which should encourage them to look to the future with confidence.