Ed Fast

[The Budget, April 19th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, these are unprecedented times and today we have the biggest spending budget in Canadian history, but this budget comes far too late. It is the federal government's first budget in well over two years. For that long, Canadians have been without a comprehensive plan for the economy to guide us through what has now become the stormiest time of our lifetime. I believe that Canadians will feel let down by this budget.

They are expecting a comprehensive plan to safely reopen our economy; to get Canadians vaccinated and back to work again; to help struggling small business owners back up on their feet; to manage the massive, looming financial consequences of this pandemic, including a clear fiscal anchor that I mentioned earlier; and, of course, most important, to provide future generations of Canadians with the hope and confidence that the Canadian dream is still alive and well. My fear is that Canadians will be profoundly disappointed.

To be sure, there appeared to be a number of positive measures in this budget, especially those that continue to support Canadians in their time of need as they struggle to make it through to the end of the pandemic. We will carefully review and analyze them to see whether they are sufficient to help our country through this difficult time and to secure our long-term future. So far, I am not encouraged, but we will have more to say in the days ahead.

Until then and until tomorrow, I move:

That the debate be now adjourned.

(Motion agreed to)

[The Budget, April 19th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, let me be the first to formally congratulate my colleague on becoming the first female finance minister to table a federal budget in this House. I will add that it is a remarkable accomplishment. It is long overdue, and I believe it defines a new role model for Canadian women across our country to aspire to. I send my congratulations to the minister.

I note the Prime Minister's mandate letter to the minister, dated January 15, called for her to present a “new fiscal anchor” to guide her work. The budget fails to do that. Instead, it contains vague references to a declining debt-to-GDP ratio starting two years from now. It turns out that was the Liberal government's old fiscal anchor, so there is nothing new about this one. In fact, her anchor does not even include measurable targets that would give Canadians the comfort of knowing their government understands the importance of proper debt management. All we have are references to the trajectory of the debt-to-GDP anchor.

My question is this: Why did the minister not deliver a new fiscal anchor the way the Prime Minister had directed her to do?

[The Economy, April 19th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I see there is no debt management strategy.

The Prime Minister also told his minister to present “a new fiscal anchor”.

The Liberals have tried to manage this pandemic and its massive financial consequences without a clear set of rules. We have spent more per capita but achieved less than any other major developed country. Meanwhile, future generations of Canadians fear they will be left to pick up the tab.

I ask the minister this: Will her budget include a meaningful fiscal anchor, or does her Prime Minister still believe that budgets balance themselves?

[The Economy, April 19th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I will take that as a yes. It is another broken promise.

Canadians expect their government to support them in their time of need, and we have supported those efforts, but the Prime Minister has incurred the largest deficit and achieved the worst outcomes in the G7. He has also incurred the largest debt in Canada’s history, so he recently instructed his finance minister to “review [Canada’s] debt management strategy”.

Can she now tell us whether her budget contains a serious plan to manage the massive debt that future generations will be left to pay, yes or no?

[The Economy, April 19th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, today the finance minister will finally table a budget.

She recently had an epiphany about new social programs in a reimagined economy, and letting future generations pay for it, but the Prime Minister recently sent a letter directing his minister to “avoid creating new permanent spending.” That is his standard, not mine, but we know how easily the Prime Minister makes and breaks promises.

Will the minister's budget contain new permanent spending, yes or no?

[The Economy, April 13th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, he did not answer my question. The middle of a pandemic is no time to introduce a massive new social program. To pay for universal income, the government would have to increase income taxes by 47%, or triple the GST. This scheme is unaffordable and would discourage Canadians from working. That is why numerous experts and economists have slammed the idea. The Prime Minister should take their advice.

Will the minister's budget include any new permanent spending programs, yes or no?

[The Economy, April 13th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, at its recent convention, the Liberal Party endorsed the creation of a new universal basic income program. The Liberals have again shown that their priority is not our economic recovery or getting Canadians back to work. They want to reimagine our economy and expand the welfare state. The Parliamentary Budget Officer says the cost would be a staggering $93 billion a year. Who pays for this? It is ordinary Canadian families, of course.

Will the minister's budget include a universal basic income, yes or no?

[Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2020, April 12th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I have absolutely no idea what he is talking about. He is suggesting that somehow this delay happened.

I noticed today that the Liberals were debating this very bill. If they were so intent on getting this bill passed, why do they continue to debate and debate in the House? The hypocrisy is jaw-dropping. I will repeat what I included in my earlier comments. The role of an official opposition, which the member obviously does not understand, is oversight and to exercise scrutiny over the—

[Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2020, April 12th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, if the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands looks at the opposition day motion that asked for the Liberal government to come up with a proper plan to reopen the economy, she will notice the words “safely and gradually” prefaced the word “reopening” the economy. We are in favour of reopening the economy, but only if it can be done safely and gradually.

However, we have not seen any plan from the Liberal government at all. The one plan it had for rolling out vaccines has been badly botched. We are falling way behind other developed countries in the world. We are last in the G7. We are, I think, 52nd in the world. That is not a record of which I would be proud.

We need the government come up with a plan to restore and protect the health of Canadians and also restore—

[Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2020, April 12th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I completely disagree with the premise of that member's question, but I would point him to what is the greatest generator of prosperity in Canada, and it is not going to be taxing Canadians to death. It is going to be generating economic growth, putting in place the key drivers of economic growth: investing in our productivity, investing in the competitiveness of the Canadian economy and ensuring our tax environment is one that attracts foreign investment rather than chases away foreign investment the way it has been chased away under the Liberal government.

We, as Conservatives, will be coming forward with a plan for our economy. It will be a plan that focuses on economic growth and one that is going to ensure that future generations of Canadians have a prospect of prosperity, a prosperous future for themselves and their families.