Mr. Speaker, I am very grateful to have the opportunity to speak this evening to highlight the Government of Canada's efforts to make life more affordable. This very important piece of legislation, Bill C-38, is part of those efforts.
As we know, Canadians are having to cope with an increasingly complex and unpredictable world and, unfortunately, this world is also, in many respects, more dangerous and more expensive.
In view of this, the Canadian government continues to focus on what it can control: building a stronger Canadian economy, diversifying our foreign trade, forging more alliances with countries that share our values, ensuring responsible fiscal management and supporting Canadians in managing the cost of living.
Allow me to give a very concrete example. For several months now, shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has been disrupted. This has led to soaring oil prices, a sharp rise in gas prices and increased costs for other essential goods.
Did the Canadian government, or Canada, start this war in Iran? Of course not.
Has the Canadian government taken action, and should it take action, to reduce costs for Canadians? Of course it has, and it should.
Global conflicts and the persistent, significant disruptions to these supply chains stemming from the Middle East or elsewhere, including the conflict in Ukraine, are not things the Government of Canada can stop or even control.
However, what we can do here in Canada and in the House of Commons, and what we are already doing, is help Canadians who are bearing the brunt of these conflicts through no fault of their own.
The federal fuel excise tax has been suspended since April 20. Earlier in September, the Minister of Finance and National Revenue announced that the Canadian government had decided to extend the temporary suspension of the federal fuel excise tax until January 31, 2027, and then to apply a rate equal to 50% of the regular excise tax rate from February 1 to March 31, 2027. This will help reduce daily expenses for Canadians, particularly those related to road transportation and the food, agriculture, housing, construction, and delivery sectors.
The suspension of this tax is expected to save Canadians up to about $5.75 on a 50-litre tank of gas. These are real savings for families. It also means lower costs for truckers and businesses. This measure is expected to provide more than $2.4 billion in relief to Canadians in 2026–27.
By lowering the price of gas and diesel at the pump, the Government of Canada is taking real action to support all those who are currently facing very real challenges.
I want to point out that this temporary suspension of the federal excise tax builds on other measures that have already been announced and put in place. I will give an example. Even before the conflict in the Strait of Hormuz began, economies, businesses and workers in many countries, including Canada, were thrown into uncertainty by a historic increase in tariffs.
Is Canada responsible for the upheaval in global trade and the resulting rise in the cost of essential goods? Of course not.
Should the Government of Canada take action and has it done so? Of course it should, and it has.
To help Canadian families make ends meet, earlier this year, for example, we launched the new Canada groceries and essentials benefit. This new benefit is based on the GST tax credit and provides increased support to two million low- and modest-income Canadians. That is just the beginning. Starting in July of this year, middle- and lower-income Canadians received higher quarterly payments. The benefit will be increased by 25% for another five years and will add approximately $8.6 billion in additional support to families that are struggling to make ends meet, including middle-income and modest-income families.
In total, a family of four could receive up to $1,890 this year and then about $1,400 a year for the next four years. A single person could receive up to $950 this year and then about $700 a year for the next four years. This is real support. It is concrete and tangible. It is helping people buy groceries, pay bills and cover essentials.
That is not all. We also cut taxes for 22 million Canadians by lowering the tax rate for the first personal income tax bracket from 15% to 14%. In 2026, that reflects savings of $420 per person and $840 for a two-income family. We also eliminated the goods and services tax, or GST, for first-time homebuyers of new homes valued up to $1 million and reduced it for homes valued between $1 million and $1.5 million.
In addition, we made permanent Canada's national school food program, which is helping 400,000 children and their families access high-quality meals at home and at school, saving the parents of two children an average of $800 a year on groceries.
We have also taken very real action to improve the banking system's fairness and affordability for Canadians, especially those struggling to make ends meet. Since March, for example, consumers can no longer be charged more than $10 if their personal bank account balance is too low to cover a payment. In addition, non-sufficient fund fees cannot be applied if the account overdraft is less than $10.
This year, we are also going to begin automating the payment of federal benefits. This will help up to 5.5 million low-income Canadians get the benefits they need and are entitled to receive.
In conclusion, the Government of Canada is focusing on the things it can control, like building a stronger, more resilient Canadian economy, while at the same time helping Canadians who struggle in their daily lives under cost-of-living pressures caused by the many severe global disruptions that we are familiar with.
For all of these reasons, I sincerely ask all members of the House to vote in favour of the bill.