Francesco Sorbara

[National Security Review of Investments Modernization Act, November 9th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, it is great to take the floor in the most honourable House to speak to a very important topic, Bill C-34, the Investment Canada Act modernization.

Before I get into my formal remarks, perhaps it is a coincidence, although I do not think so, that this morning the OECD released its foreign direct investment numbers, and Bill C-34 deals with foreign entities investing in Canada, Canadians and our communities. Canada came third in the OECD ranking for the first half of 2023. First is the United States, then Brazil, ourselves and Mexico. I think that speaks not only to the confidence of foreign entities, companies and corporations investing in Canada, creating jobs, wealth and great futures for Canadians, but also to what I would say is the idea that confident governments invest in their people and their communities. That is something we, as a government, have done since 2015 with respect to the Canada child benefit, the Canada workers benefit, the implementation of an early learning and national day care plan, the support for students by eliminating interest on student debt, and the two middle-income tax cuts: the first in 2015 from 22% to 20.5%, with roughly $3 billion to $4 billion a year, depending on tax filings, in savings for Canadians, and raising the basic personal expenditure amount to $15,000, which in the fiscal year 2024-25 will deliver over $6 billion in savings for Canadians from coast to coast to coast. Confident governments invest in Canadians and Canadian communities.

I am grateful to hon. members, my esteemed colleagues, for giving me the opportunity to speak to Bill C-34, an act to amend the Investment Canada Act.

So far, the House of Commons has voted unanimously in favour of these objectives. The bill has been thoroughly studied by the members of the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology. We encourage the House to send this bill to the Senate for consideration. Everyone already knows that this legislation plays an important role in our economy and helps make Canada a destination of choice for foreign investment.

Foreign investment in Canada is booming. We have seen it in the auto sector, the mining sector, the food processing sector, the agriculture sector and so many sectors across this country, because Canada is a destination of choice for foreign investment. It creates jobs. It creates futures.

The act helps create business-friendly conditions based on a stable and clear set of regulations.

We need a stable and clear system in place to attract foreign investment, and Bill C-34 would do exactly that.

The act encourages economic growth and employment. It provides for intervention only if an investment is potentially harmful to Canada's national security, but it also permits quick action and judgments as circumstances warrant. That is what we intend to accomplish through the amendments made by Bill C‑34.

The time has clearly come to modernize the Investment Canada Act and bring it in line with the times. Our industries are still some of the most dynamic in the world. However, Canada is confronting unprecedented geostrategic and national security challenges.

Indeed, Canada remains a destination of choice for foreign investment. It continues to grow and to create good middle-class jobs from coast to coast to coast. This investment helps businesses prosper and grow, creates good-paying jobs and ensures strong economic growth that benefits all Canadians. Canada has a long-standing reputation for welcoming foreign investment and a strong framework to promote trade while advancing Canadian interests. In fact, Canada has one of the earliest and most robust screening processes for foreign direct investments. The Investment Canada Act, the ICA, was enacted 38 years ago, in 1985. The act allowed the government to review significant foreign investments to ensure that these benefits exist. It was updated in 2009 to include a framework for a national security review of foreign direct investments.

The world in which Canada now operates is increasingly characterized by the complexity of linkages between economic competition and the geostrategic clashes. We see it on a daily basis. Globalization has brought new threats to Canada's national and economic security, but of course many benefits also. Canada must have the tools and resources to protect its assets from economic threats to national security when those are deemed so. The Investment Canada Act must, therefore, also continually adapt to these considerations. The complexity of these dynamics can be seen in the increased volume of activity under the act in recent years. Indeed, there have been more national security reviews since 2020 than in the entire previous decade. The review process is also increasingly complex as international transactions and ownership structures are increasingly becoming more complicated and, in some locations, more opaque.

The proposed modernization of the Investment Canada Act is designed to make the review process more efficient and transparent. Bill C-34 sets out a series of amendments to improve the national security review process of foreign investments and to modernize the Investment Canada Act. Collectively, these amendments would be the most significant legislative update of the act since 2019. These amendments also represent one of the multiple steps the government has taken to ensure that we can defend our economic interests, contribute to global supply chain resiliency and protect our national security. This, in turn, would help us to attract stronger partnerships with our allies to foster economic growth. A stronger foreign investment regime attracts good, beneficial investments into Canada, ones that would create high-quality jobs and opportunities for all Canadians. We have seen this with the $7-billion investment by Volkswagen and the multi-billion dollar investment by Stellantis. We see it with Honda and Toyota, in Alliston and Cambridge, where they continue to invest hundreds of millions of dollars, and billions of dollars initially, in creating quality good-paying jobs for Canadians here in the province of Ontario, with a supply chain that stretches from coast to coast.

Defending our economic interests and protecting our national security interests are of critical importance, especially in the current climate of rapidly shifting geopolitical threats. This issue is a non-partisan one. During the six sitting days that Bill C-34 was debated, the House has repeatedly stressed the need to modern the ICA to achieve those objectives. The House ultimately decided, in a unanimous vote, to refer the bill for study, because we all recognized how important it was to get these amendments right so we can protect national security while ensuring that we are not chilling useful, good investment.

Canada's foreign investment regime must adapt to the speed of innovation, which we know moves very quickly these days. In recent years, intangible assets in the knowledge economy, like intellectual property and data, have grown in importance in defining Canada's economic strengths and, at the same time, pose new challenges in terms of how these are to be managed in order to ensure that the benefits occur to Canada and Canadians. The government recognizes the value of the intangible economy, its growth and the relevant opportunities for all Canadians, particularly in artificial intelligence and intellectual property. These new innovations are driving new ways of doing business, with huge opportunities for Canadians. The government will support this growth as it helps drive Canada's economy and supports highly skilled, good-paying jobs.

It is great to see the city of Montreal become a cluster for artificial intelligence, with a number of companies investing in that city. It is great to see the Kitchener-Waterloo corridor here in Ontario continue to be the leader in the tech sector. It is great to see the city of Toronto continue to see the investments from domestic and foreign firms in fintech, and so many other types of businesses in this knowledge economy, but to do so—

[Business of Supply, November 7th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, if that post was liked, it was done in error. What's Interesting Vaughan is a Conservative-run Instagram account. My hon. member for King—Vaughan knows that.

She used the language that the carbon tax “killed” Canada. I would ask the hon. member to retract the word “killed”. In the context of what the world is dealing with now, I would say it is an incorrect term to use.

With respect to the Canadian economy, we have a very low unemployment rate. We have had very strong economic growth over the last several years. Our fiscal foundation is very healthy. We maintain an AAA credit rating. Our borrowing rates are almost the lowest in the world. Our growth rates are strong. We continue to generate a lot of jobs.

There are inflationary pressures on all Canadians, which is a global issue. We are dealing with it, and we will continue to deal with it in a responsible manner by putting in place some measures to deal with affordability, including the Canada child benefit and the Canada workers benefit, the middle income class tax cut and the Canada dental benefit, which the member opposite knows will also apply to seniors next year. I cannot wait to go around the city of Vaughan to tell all the seniors about the Canada dental benefit and how it will help every single one of them.

[Business of Supply, November 7th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, our system of taxation in Canada is obviously a progressive system. We brought in a number of measures to cut and reduce income taxes for middle-income Canadians. We have asked the wealthiest to pay a bit more, which is the right thing to do, and we will continue to march in that manner.

It is important that taxes are collected to pay for all the social programs that Canadians depend upon, from old age security to the guaranteed income supplement, to the tax-free monthly Canada child benefit and the Canada workers benefit, to the Canada dental benefit, which hundreds of kids in my riding depend upon and over 500,000 children in Canada have used. Therefore, it is very important that we have a strong social fabric put in place. Canadians understand that. The residents in my riding understand that. We need to continue down that path.

[Business of Supply, November 7th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for York—Simcoe is a dear friend, and I have spoken with him about this issue. He raised it with me.

I think the issue as to how the riding of York—Simcoe is viewed within the carbon pricing system and the proceeds that are returned to its residents needs to be raised. The Holland Marsh area is a beautiful part of Ontario. There are many farmers and rural residents there who we need to ensure are not being considered as part of the city of Toronto, or the GTA, as we would call it. That would be the right thing and the fair thing to do.

[Business of Supply, November 7th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, it is always a privilege and pleasure to rise in this House.

Before I begin my formal remarks, I want to discuss affordability. It is important to get on the record this morning for my constituents and all Canadians what our government has done to make life more affordable for all Canadians over the last several years we have been in power.

We ran on a promise to cut the middle-income tax bracket from 22% to 20.5%. Every year, that is a roughly $3.5-billion tax cut for Canadians from coast to coast to coast. Over eight years, that is over $26 billion in the pockets of Canadians, about $330 per year per individual and over $600 per couple.

Then we brought in something else, which I want to claim a little credit for. It was to raise the basic personal amount to $15,000 by 2023. That means Canadians will not have to pay federal income tax on the first $15,000 of their income. In fiscal year 2024-25, that will be a $6-billion tax cut for Canadians. It is putting hundreds of dollars back into Canadians' pockets. We should be proud of the $300 or $400 going back into the pockets of individual filers and, more so, families. Combined, we are looking at nearly $10 billion in tax cuts for hard-working Canadians from coast to coast to coast.

Then there is the Canada child benefit, which has lifted 653,000 children out of poverty. Along with a strong labour market, growth and wages, it is a $26-billion-plus program that we put in place to help Canadian families and children and to lift children out of poverty. For small businesses, we cut the tax rate from 11% to 9%, again putting more money into the pockets of business owners across this country.

There are so many other measures I could mention, but I want to speak directly to the opposition motion at hand, the energy sector it references and other aspects of it. The energy sector is about 10% of the Canadian economy. I salute the workers, who contribute real export dollars. Trade statistics came out this morning saying the energy sector again led the way and accounts for over 25% of Canadian exports. It will account for them today and tomorrow. Even with the green transition we are seeing in full force, the Canadian energy sector leads the way for Canadian workers and families.

I am pleased to take part in today's debate. The motion brings up important issues. There is no doubt that the effects of climate change are real and are becoming more and more devastating, harmful and expensive. That is why the government has put in place a price on pollution, and stands by it. Economists agree that a price on pollution is one of the least expensive and most efficient ways to reduce emissions. It is much less costly than the cost of doing nothing.

As everyone knows, the majority of proceeds from the price on carbon pollution go straight back into the pockets of Canadians in provinces where the federal fuel charge applies, with eight out of 10 Canadians in those provinces getting more money back through the climate action incentive payments than they pay as a result of the price on carbon. In Ontario, for example, a family of four gets nearly $1,000 back in quarterly installment payments. It is returned to hard-working Ontarians. Eight of out 10, or even more than that, I would estimate, are better off under this system. It is very efficient and the least expensive way to reduce emissions.

Our world-leading carbon pollution pricing system is essential in our fight against climate change. It not only puts money back in the pockets of Canadians, but it is also highly effective because it provides a clear economic signal to businesses and allows them the flexibility to find the most cost-effective way of lowering their emissions.

At the same time, it also increases demand for the development and adoption of clean technologies. Furthermore, investments in strengthening Canada's competitiveness in the clean economy will not only promote the shift towards net zero.

They will also deliver good middle-class jobs for Canadian workers in communities right across Canada.

Today, a climate plan is just as important as an economic plan and a jobs plan. Climate policy is economic policy.

However, the reality is that many Canadians across the country are currently struggling to pay their bills and are under a lot of financial stress. It is important for us to help them.

I would like to say that I will be splitting my time with my colleague and good friend, the hon. member for Whitby.

On October 26, the Prime Minister announced that we will be doubling the pollution price rebate rural top-up rate from 10% to 20% of the baseline amount starting in April 2024.

Our government recognizes that people who live in rural communities face unique realities, and this measure will help put even more money back in the pockets of families dealing with higher energy costs because they live outside a large city and have limited access to clean transportation alternatives.

People in rural communities will receive their first increased payment in April 2024. This increase will be applied every year going forward.

I note that the motion at hand mentions heat pumps. To provide more time and financial support for the roughly 1.1 million homes in Canada, including tens of thousands of homes in Ontario, using home heating oil to switch to heat pumps, as part of that October 26 package, the government also announced that it would temporarily pause the application of a fuel charge on deliveries of home heating oil, in all jurisdictions where it currently applies, for a three-year period.

Canada's cool climate means that heating accounts for over 60% of the energy used in the average Canadian home. Making the switch to more energy efficient heating equipment, such as a cold climate air source heat pump, can save energy, reduce utility bills and, yes, reduce the carbon footprint. Heat pumps are one of the best ways for homeowners to get off of home heating oil when compared to other electric home heating sources, and they are also two to three time more efficient.

In another part of the affordability measures put forward two weeks ago, the Prime Minister also announced a stringent oil to heat pump affordability program, which was introduced in 2022. The program helps low- to medium-income homeowners who are currently heating their homes with oil to transition to electric heat by installing a cold climate air source heat pump system.

To strengthen the program, the federal government is partnering with provinces and territories and collaborating to increase the amount of federal funding that eligible homeowners can receive for installing a heat pump from $10,000 to $15,000 and adding up to an additional $5,000 in grant funding to match provincial and territorial contributions via co-delivery arrangements. The stringent program also includes upfront payments of $250 for at or below medium-income homeowners who use heating oil and sign up to switch to a heat pump through our joint federal-provincial government program. This would make the average heat pump installation free for low- to medium-income homeowners as we continue to minimize upfront costs and make federal programs even easier to access for all households using home heating oil.

Cleaner, more affordable heating options will save people money on their energy bills for years to come. The reality is that, on average, homeowners who switch from oil to a cold-climate heat pump to heat and cool their homes save up to $2,500 a year on their energy bills.

Climate change is real, and so is its catastrophic impact on Canada. It is important to take concrete action to combat it. That is exactly what we are doing.

All the experts agree that a pollution pricing system is the best way to fight climate change. That is why we are continuing to move in that direction.

Finally, we have been very clear. We are going to continue implementing our pollution pricing system while making sure we keep putting more money back into the pockets of Canadian households.

[Natural Resources, November 3rd, 2023]

Madam Speaker, members of the natural resources committee have had their work brought to a standstill by a reckless and wasteful Conservative filibuster. The Conservatives are deliberately trying to stop workers from getting a seat at the table and trying to end Atlantic Canada's offshore renewable energy opportunities by opposing vital legislation.

Can the parliamentary secretary please share with the House the negative impacts that delaying these important bills, Bill C-49 and Bill C-50, will have on the lives of Canadian workers?

[Business of Supply, November 2nd, 2023]

Madam Speaker, ever since we were first elected in 2015, we have brought into place income tax measures on high-income earners here in Canada. We have also put in place the dividend recovery on banks and financial institutions earning over a certain amount. We have increased resources to the Canada Revenue Agency to make sure we go after Canadian institutions and organizations pursuing measures that try to minimize their taxes in illegal ways and so forth. We know that to have a strong economy, we need a strong social fabric, and we can do that only by ensuring that all Canadians pay their fair share.

I know that the hard-working citizens in my riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge, the residents who go to work every day, play by the rules, save for their kids, go to their soccer tournaments on the weekends and bus their kids around, are working hard. They need to know that all 338 of us are working hard to represent not only the residents of my riding but also all the residents across Canada.

[Business of Supply, November 2nd, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I represent the people of my riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge, and I always listen to them.

I always will stand up for the citizens of my riding, and I have done so ever since I was elected in 2015. They know me quite well. The government has put in place policies that always put the citizens of Canada first, and we have done this again with this measure that we have brought in. The income tax cuts we brought in for 2015; the basic personal expenditure amount; the Canada child benefit; the Canada workers benefit; the dental benefit for kids under 12 and now, going forward, for seniors; and the national early learning and child care program, which, in my riding, is saving residents literally thousands of dollars a year, are measures I am very proud of.

[Business of Supply, November 2nd, 2023]

Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure and a privilege to rise in this most honourable House and to be with many of my esteemed and honourable colleagues to debate important legislation. Today, we are obviously debating an opposition day motion.

As I was one of those MPs who were elected in 2015, I came here to do the good work that my constituents in Vaughan—Woodbridge elected me to do. They sent me here and put their trust and faith in me to bring forth legislation to improve the lives of not just the residents in my riding but residents across the country, to put in place legislation that makes sense but has lasting and tangible benefits for generations, for my children at home and for many of us who are parents here to ensure that we have a bright future for all our children.

I will get to my formal notes in a second, but when I think of some of those measures, we have made life more affordable. We have been able to create a strong economy, an inclusive economy, to lift all boats, as we economists say, to lift all individuals. We have been able to provide confidence for investors, for the private sector, to continue to invest in Canada and Canadians, and confidence in governments, I would say, to invest in their citizens and in their country, exactly as our government has been doing since we came into power in 2015.

I think about things like the Canada child benefit. Some 653,000 children have been lifted out of poverty. Over two million Canadians have been lifted out of poverty since we came into power. I think about the Canada workers benefit, how it is lifting low-income Canadians, hard-working Canadians out of poverty, who need extra dollars at the end of each quarter. We changed it. That is something the Conservatives started, but we strengthened it.

I think of the trade deals we have negotiated and put into place that help our businesses grow. I think of the supports we provided businesses and individuals during COVID. They were so important to keep our economy functioning, to keep Canadians in their homes and allow them to be with their families. I think of the benefits we have provided for seniors, with a 10% boost to old age security. Over three million seniors are receiving another $800 annually. There are so many things. Dental care has helped hundreds of thousands of children already and will help hundreds of thousands of seniors in the coming year.

I also think of the two major middle-class income tax cuts we brought in. We raised the basic personal amount to $15,000, again taking people off the tax rolls, helping seniors, helping students and helping those folks entering the workforce, and asking the wealthiest to pay a little bit more. There are a lot of good things.

We brought in pricing pollution. We know we have made commitments to be at net zero by 2050. As an economist, I know there are many ways to get there, and this is one of the ways that is really the most effective for individuals and businesses to adopt technology, yes, to change their behaviour, yes, but also to put in place measures, at the end of the day, that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We know that in prior platforms from the party opposite and from members opposite who have also sat in provincial legislatures, they have supported this kind of measure.

Those are just a few of my thoughts. Now I will comment on the motion at hand.

Our government clearly understands that it has become difficult for many Canadian families to make ends meet. That is why we will continue to put forward measures to help them. The reality is that since 2015, our government has spared no effort to make life more affordable for Canadians from coast to coast to coast.

For example, we lightened the financial load on Canadians through the Canada child benefit, the middle-class tax cut, the grocery rebate, the new dental care plan, and affordable early childhood education and child care services across the country, with our goal being $10-a-day child care.

We have also helped millions of low- and modest-income Canadians by introducing and enhancing the Canada workers benefit. Our government has also supported the financial security of seniors by enhancing old age security and the guaranteed income supplement.

However, the reality is that, at present, there are still people across the country who are having a hard time paying their bills and who are under tremendous financial pressure. It is important to us that we help them. That is why we decided to temporarily pause the fuel charge on heating oil for three years.

As we saw this summer across the country, the effects of climate change on Canada are very real and very serious. Our country was hit with floods, forest fires and unprecedented storms. Just as we know that climate change is real, the path to follow is clear. To protect our planet and build a stronger economy, we must make a concerted effort to do even more on climate action. That is what we are doing with the historic investments announced in budget 2023 to build the green economy of tomorrow. Our pollution pricing system is an essential measure in our fight against climate change.

Economists like me and experts around the world have known for a long time that putting a price on carbon emissions is the best way to reduce the emissions at the root of climate change. It is the least costly, most effective and most impactful approach, and it works. The scales are beginning to tip. We are leading the way among the G7 nations with our system that encourages people to choose ways to be pollute less at home and at work, while putting money back in the pockets of eight out of 10 households where the federal system applies.

In fact, thanks to the climate action incentive payment, a family of four in Ontario will get $244 on a quarterly basis this year. The amount is $264 in Manitoba, $340 in Saskatchewan, $386 in Alberta, $328 in Newfoundland and Labrador, $240 in Prince Edward Island, $248 in Nova Scotia and $184 in New Brunswick.

Moreover, residents of rural areas and small communities currently get an extra 10%. Last week, the Prime Minister announced that we are going to double the rural top-up for pollution pricing rebates from 10% to 20% of the baseline amount starting in April 2024. Our government is well aware that people who live in rural communities face unique realities, and this measure will help put even more money back in the pockets of families dealing with higher energy costs because they live outside a large city.

We want to do even more to fight climate change by helping Canadians install more energy-efficient heating systems. An upfront $250 payment will be available to low- and median-income households that heat their homes with oil and sign up for a federal-provincial program to install a heat pump. Our goal is really to help Canadians make the transition.

What is more, we are working with the provinces and territories to strengthen the oil to heat pump affordability program. The amount of federal funding that eligible homeowners can receive for installing a heat pump will increase from $10,000 to $15,000, adding up to an additional $5,000 in grant funding to match provincial and territorial contributions via co-delivery arrangements. This would make the average heat pump free for low- and modest-income households as we continue to minimize upfront costs and make federal programs even easier to access for all households.

[Public Safety, November 1st, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, making sure Canadians are safe and feel safe in their community is a priority for our federal government. It is not optional; it is not political.

In my riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge, public safety is at the centre of many conversations. We know the federal government has a leading role to play. Vaughan residents support the co-operation and collaboration seen from all levels of government, law enforcement and victim advocates working together to crack down on crime, keep guns away from our streets and protect Canadians.

Canadians asked that we strengthen the justice system to keep repeat offenders behind bars. As a response, our government introduced Bill C-48 on bail reform, which would amend the Criminal Code and reinforce public confidence in Canada's justice system.

We also introduced a national freeze on handguns, supported the Province of Ontario with $120 million to combat guns and gangs, and provided over $500 million to CBSA to protect our borders. By providing the funding, working with all levels of government and passing impactful bail reform legislation, we are doing everything it takes to keep Canadians safe.