Madam Speaker, the budget continues a regimen of massive borrowing that would burden our generations to come. Canada is experiencing an economic structural problem that will need severe action to mitigate further decline of its status among the G7 nations. The severity of our situation is evident by realizing that Canadians' debt-to-disposable-income ratio is now at $1.75 to $1; for every dollar of disposable income, Canadians have $1.75 of debt. This is not good by any measure. This, by the way, is the highest ratio in the entire G7.
Canada has over-leveraged itself, and the budget unfortunately continues the path in the hope of an economic miracle. The severity of the situation will become more acute in 2026, when 60% of mortgages will face renewal, which will create pressure on the entire ballooned real estate market. The Liberals have successfully transformed our once-great nation into a credit card nation and high mortgage leverage nation by borrowing from the future, by printing money, by devaluating the dollar and by ignoring investment in innovation and productive resources.
In the last 10 years, Canada has chosen asset inflation over productivity growth. Is this what our kids and our kids' kids want or deserve? The Liberals have had 10 years to fix our declining international competitiveness and to increase our real GDP, but what we received is fake GDP growth based on non-productive real estate inflation. As this has happened, the Liberals have successfully chased away international investment by imposing cost-prohibitive carbon taxes and unreasonable regulations.
The Prime Minister is chasing other markets while distancing and alienating Canada from the biggest and strongest market in the world: the United States. Yes, we need to make deals with the United States and not disengage, although we need to pursue new markets and trade deals such as the eurozone, South America and Mexico as a necessary diplomatic objective.
The growing national debt and associated interest costs negatively impact productivity and business investment. A perceived lack of sufficient action on core issues like affordability and health care has placed Canadians in a vulnerable state.
The increase in the capital gains inclusion rate from 50 to 66% for corporations, and individual gains over $250,000, is a major point of contention. Business groups and economists have warned this would discourage private sector investment, potentially drive capital and talent out of Canada and worsen the country's existing productivity problem. There is also criticism that the budget overlooks crucial areas like domestic skills development for major infrastructure projects, relying instead on international talent recruitment.
The Parliamentary Budget Officer has raised concerns that the government's fiscal targets may not be met, noting there is a low chance the deficit-to-GDP ratio will decline as projected. The PBO also questioned the government's use of a new capital budgeting framework, which critics see as a deceptive budgeting technique to separate operating and capital expenditures.
A primary criticism is the significant deficit, projected to be around $78.3 billion for the current fiscal year, which is beyond reckless. The cumulative national debt is projected to climb significantly, leading to high public debt charges that are expected to exceed health transfers to provinces. I guess the waiting lines at the ER and hospitals will continue to get longer. I have experienced this myself recently.
The budget is not going far enough with spending cuts. It is relying too much on new taxes and higher-than-expected revenue to fund its initiatives, rather than on fiscal discipline. It is in essence a continuation of backdoor taxes on the average worker and members of the middle class, who are having great difficulty obtaining a wage that can keep up with a reasonable living standard. The evidence is glaring as we go to the grocery store to buy essential goods or to a restaurant to enjoy a simple meal.
Budget 2025 leaves millions of people behind. It comes at a time when millions are being forced to choose between rent, heat and food. What is missing from the budget is a plan to ensure that everyone in Canada can eat properly. The budget offers no national target to reduce food insecurity. It offers no meaningful increase to income support for low-wage workers or for people with disabilities.
Food insecurity is not simply a symptom of rising costs; it is a predictable result of inadequate incomes and policy changes. By favouring productivity and fiscal restraint over people's basic needs, and by offering tax breaks that would disproportionately benefit higher earners, budget 2025 risks deepening inequality and entrenching hunger in one of the world's wealthiest countries.
The promised tax cut would provide lower- and middle-class income earners savings of up to $840 for a family, but according to Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab, the average family will pay nearly $1,000 more for groceries in 2026. That leaves everyone impacted, even the people who get the maximum tax rebate. The tax break would not even cover the increased cost of food.
The budget lacks meaningful measures to reduce food insecurity for seniors, children who live in poverty, and persons with disabilities. In my community, seniors represent 19% of the population. Children living in poverty in Windsor represent 23.2% of all children in the city, which is the highest in Ontario, and 10.8% of Windsor's population lives in poverty; this means that over 25,000 people in my community are “unable to afford a set list of basic [needs].” Stats Canada has named Windsor the province's southwestern “poverty capital”.
Again, people affected, our seniors on fixed income, cannot make ends meet. Many seniors are deciding to cut food use in order to pay rent and utilities. Some seniors are giving up and are now counted amongst the homeless. Families with young children that are living in poverty are watering down formula and milk. They are opting to feed their children food that is less nutritious and is lacking in protein, healthy fats and vitamins. There is a lot of pasta, meatless meals and Kraft Dinner going on. People living with disabilities and who must live on a fixed income as well are having difficulty coping and with accessing the basic needs of food and shelter.
The long-term effects of food insecurity and poor nutrition are characterized by eventual heart disease, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, obesity, hypertension and vision loss. Poor nutrition impacts one's physical and mental health. It causes inflammation and insulin resistance, and early-life malnutrition affects poor growth of organ development. These total effects reduce economic productivity and quality of life, and they make managing other health concerns harder. Poor nutrition decreases physical and cognitive capacity for work and shortens life spans.
This weekend I was in the Santa Claus parade. I looked at the faces of my constituents and could tell they were looking to me to provide them with some hope for the future. I can tell the House that I do not see the hope Windsorites need in the budget.