Bill Morneau

[COVID-19 Pandemic, March 25th, 2020]

Madam Chair, first of all, to continue where I left off, our measure would ensure that every Canadian who is off work for any reason, which means they are not going to be able to have the income that they previously had if they had income the year before, will be able to get a wage subsidy. That, of course, will be very important in allowing them to deal with the challenge that they are facing. This would not only provide the employee with support, but would also ensure that the firm they work for is able to have that kind of support through those funds. That we see as critically important. It would allow those firms to have the people off work who need to be off work and the ones who are at work not at work.

With respect to anything to do with the Bank of Canada, I think it is important to note that the Bank of Canada is independent of government and will remain so under this government.

[COVID-19 Pandemic, March 25th, 2020]

Mr. Chair, the place I would like to start, of course, is to recognize the nature and the scale of the challenges we are facing today. I want to acknowledge that even with the enormous challenges that Canadians are facing and the significant issues our economy is facing, we still do not know and cannot know the depth and duration of the challenge we are facing. How we must protect ourselves is by ensuring that we, together in this House, have the capacity to deal with this on behalf of Canadians.

In that regard, I am obviously pleased that we are moving forward with the legislation proposed today. It will allow us, with the oversight of this House as appropriate, to come forward and make sure that we can protect Canadians in the short term through health measures that are of critical importance, in the medium term as we think about how we deal with our economic challenges, and more importantly, prepare ourselves for opportunity to come out of this challenge in a way that will show the strength of Canadians and Canada for today and for tomorrow.

We have put forward measures here today that we believe are going to enable us to support Canadians and also support Canadian businesses. We think that is the way we should be moving ourselves forward. We have put forward measures that will provide every Canadian who is finding himself or herself away from work because of sickness, quarantine, supporting an elderly parent, supporting their children who might be away from school due to sickness or just because they are away from school, or importantly, if they are away from work because they cannot actually be at work or their employer has asked them to—

[Ways and Means, March 25th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 83(1), I have the honour to table a notice of a ways and means motion to introduce an act respecting certain measures in response to COVID-19.

Pursuant to Standing Order 83(2), I ask that an order of the day be designated for consideration of the motion.

[The Budget, March 11th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, in the past four years, we have made very significant investments to make life better for Canadians. It is very important to note that we have boosted our country's economic growth while maintaining, and even improving, our fiscal situation.

That fiscal position is so important for our ability to deal with challenges, real challenges that Canadians recognize we are facing in the economy today. That is why I am so pleased to address those challenges and to bring forward budget 2020.

I am pleased to announce that on March 30, at 4 p.m., we will be presenting budget 2020. I ask that an order of the day be designated for that purpose.

[The Economy, February 4th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Laval—Les Îles for the work he is doing to listen to his constituents on how we can build budget 2020.

We are in the midst of doing our pre-budget consultations this year. We are listening to Canadians about things they think we should be putting in the budget and how we can keep the economy strong and resilient in the face of challenges.

In our budget, we will be working to make sure that we keep the middle class strong. We will be working to ensure that our environment is strong. We will be looking to make sure we keep Canadians safe and healthy and, of course, that we continue to reconcile with indigenous peoples.

I look forward to working with all members of the House on budget 2020.

[Health, January 30th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to hear a question about our tax approach.

The first thing our government did was cut taxes for 20 million Canadians. That is very important. We started by cutting taxes for all Canadians in our first term. We want to assure Canadians that we will continue to improve their living conditions today and in the future.

[Health, January 30th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, we want, every day, to remind Canadians that the very first thing this new government did was put in place a tax cut for 20 million Canadians. Of course, this followed on the heels of the last Liberal government, which also put in place a tax cut for millions of Canadians.

We want Canadians to know that we are going to continue to work on their behalf. We are going to deal with the real challenges of affordability now and in the future.

[Finance, January 28th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, we have been very clear since day one, since the very first day in office, that we want to make investments in Canadians. We want to make investments in middle-class Canadians. We want to make investments in infrastructure. We know that this can advance our economy. It can also help Canadians.

With respect to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, what we have said is that we want to support multilateral development banks. We know that they help the global economy grow, and helping the global economy helps Canadian firms and Canadians to have a better future.

[Health, January 28th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, it is important for us to look at how we can have the broadest impact on Canadians. That is why we put in place a tax plan that is going to significantly make a difference for millions of Canadians.

Yesterday in the House I said that it would help nine million. In fact, when I went back to my office, it is actually 20 million Canadians who will be paying lower taxes as a result of our tax changes and, yes, it will be means-tested so that the wealthiest will not get the tax advantage. It will help those people who are most in need of help. That is important for the future of our country.

[Taxation, January 27th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, we are prepared to work to make sure that our tax system ensures that people pay the appropriate amount of taxes.

We have reduced taxes on middle-class Canadians. Our most recent approach is to make sure that not only middle-class Canadians but also those at the lowest end of the income scale have the opportunity to have reduced taxes. Through our tax changes, nine million Canadians will see reduced taxes. We believe this is important in helping them to be able to afford the things they want for themselves and their families.