Mike Morrice

[Sport, February 9th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, with five former world junior players now formally charged with sexual assault, a dark cloud hangs over the sports so many of us love. One solution is anti-sexual violence training like that which the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region has delivered to athletes since 2015.

Last year I, and others, advocated to reallocate the millions to Hockey Canada to fund this training, without success. This year, this government has another chance to step up and help root out the toxicity in hockey by funding this critical training and pushing Hockey Canada to do the same.

Will it do it?

[National Council for Reconciliation Act, February 9th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I noticed in my friend from Parry Sound—Muskoka's speech that he could not resist talking about the carbon tax. He of course did not mention the rebates that go with the carbon tax, the extra two cents a litre in the last year.

What he also did not mention is the exorbitant gouging by oil and gas companies of 18¢ a litre. Is he concerned that there are no rebates whatsoever for the gouging by oil and gas companies across the country?

[Oil and Gas Industry, February 8th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the fact remains that when it comes to investing in a sustainable future, we cannot do it by buying and expanding a pipeline. That is exactly what the government has been in the midst of doing since 2018. As recently as November of last year, it continued to double down on that investment to the tune of $2 billion more in a new subsidy to continue with this failed investment. This is at a time when Canadians across the country are calling out for something as simple as investing in home energy retrofits, expanding public transit and ending legislated poverty for people with disabilities.

Will the parliamentary secretary use the influence he has inside his caucus to shift these kinds of investments toward the priorities of his community and mine?

[Oil and Gas Industry, February 8th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise tonight to follow up on a question I asked of the Prime Minister just before the holidays, which feels particularly relevant now, in advance of the 2024 budget.

At the time I had asked why the Prime Minister and the federal government had not yet funded the Canada disability benefit when they seemed to have tens of billions of dollars to throw at expanding a leaky pipeline. At the time, rather than answering my question, the Prime Minister read back a stock answer.

I would like to get into more detail tonight and hopefully have a more meaningful conversation. Here is the reality: budgets are about priorities, and there are many pressing priorities in my community that require significant investment.

I will offer just a few this evening. Of course we need to end legislated poverty for our neighbours living with disabilities. If we did so, we could cut poverty by 40%, because 40% of people living in poverty across the country are people with disabilities.

Priorities include building the affordable housing we need at the scale and the pace that we need to do so. Even if we doubled the social housing stock in this country, we would still just be middle of the pack in the G7 as a result of 30 years of underinvestment in housing.

Other priorities include incentivizing homeowners to retrofit their homes to be more energy efficient, with things like insulating attics and improving building envelopes. We could do it by replenishing and expanding the greener homes grant program to even fund deep energy retrofits when that program, right now, is no longer even accepting applications in Ontario.

We could do it by investing in public transit to avoid more fare hikes and reduced service, by accelerating and expanding the permanent public transit fund.

To pay for these items, myself and others in the past have suggested new revenue tools, like the Canada recovery dividend to be applied to the oil and gas industry, the way it has been applied to banks and life insurance companies. Even just a 15% windfall tax on their profits over $1 billion could generate $4.2 billion to fund these kinds of solutions.

Another option, and the one I focused on in this question, is to stop wasting our money on projects like the TMX pipeline. Projects like these, new fossil fuel infrastructure, in the midst of a climate crisis, are what UN Secretary-General António Guterres calls “moral and economic madness”.

As recently as November 30 of last year, though, the Liberal government quietly guaranteed a new $1.75 billion to $2 billion in commercial loans for the Trans Mountain Corporation for expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline. If that money is borrowed, the project's total costs are going to grow to $35 billion. That is well in excess of $1,200 for every Canadian taxpayer in the country.

To close, budgets are about priorities. This budget is an important moment for this government to align its priorities with those of folks in my community and across the country. The parliamentary secretary is a reasonable person. I wonder if he would agree that it is past time we stop throwing Canadians' money at expanding a leaky pipeline, and use those funds to invest in Canadians who need it most, like Canadians with disabilities?

[Business of Supply, February 8th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, an NDP amendment to the motion was put forward today that I want to read a part of. It looks to add the following to the motion:

e) call on the government to table in the House, within 100 days, a plan to ensure adequate resources are provided to Quebec, Provinces and Territories to support the successful resettlement of newcomers.

This exactly reflects what I have heard from settlement agencies in my community. They are calling to ensure that, whether it comes to housing, health care or employment, those resources are there for newcomers, as they require them when they come to Canada. If this is not put in place, then our immigration goals will actually counterproductively feed anti-immigration sentiment. I wonder if the member for Scarborough Centre could comment on the extent to which she supports that part of the amendment to the motion.

[Petitions, February 8th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, the second petition notes that volunteer firefighters account for 71% of Canada's total firefighting essential first responders. They note that the tax code in Canada currently allows volunteer firefighters and search and rescue volunteers to claim a $3,000 tax credit if 200 hours of volunteer services were completed in a calendar year. It works out to a mere $450 a year. If they volunteer more than 200 hours, which many of them do, then the tax credit becomes even less.

They go on to note various reasons this tax credit is insufficient. They also go on to call for the Government of Canada to support Bill C-310 and to enact amendments to subsection 118.06(2) and 118.07(2) of the Income Tax Act in order to increase the amount of the tax credits for volunteer firefighting and for search and rescue volunteer services from $3,000 to $10,000.

[Petitions, February 8th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, I rise to present two petitions.

The first is on behalf of over 3,200 people from across the country, who note that people with disabilities often face barriers to employment along with higher costs associated with health care and housing. They note that the Canada disability benefit was delayed for over two years, as the first attempt to pass the law known as Bill C-35 was postponed due to the 2021 election. They note that the Canada disability benefit would provide much needed financial support for people with disabilities and that 40% of those living in poverty are those with disabilities.

They note that the minister responsible told Canadians that implementing the Canada disability benefit is expected to take at least 18 months following the passage of Bill C-22 in June 2023. In fact, that has been pushed back further still. They note that insufficient supports in current disability programs, both federally and provincially, present a significant risk of life and health for people with disabilities across the country living in legislative poverty.

They go on to note that the federal government has refused to provide an interim disability emergency response benefit similar to the CERB that was provided in the pandemic. They also note that back payments are provided to eligible recipients for other disability benefits, like the disability tax credit, and they note that the federal government has yet to budget the necessary funds for the Canada disability benefit.

As a result, they have two calls in their petition to the Government of Canada. The first is to provide back payments to eligible Canada disability benefit recipients covering the time from when the Canada Disability Benefit Act received royal assent in June 2023. The second is to budget the necessary funds for the Canada disability benefit into budget 2023 to show that the government is committed to providing the Canada disability benefit to the disability community as soon as possible.

[Business of Supply, February 1st, 2024]

Madam Speaker, I share the concerns of the member for Kootenay—Columbia with respect to food bank lines. The fact is, though, in my community, the lowest income folks get more back in rebates than they pay in a carbon tax, because they do not have multiple homes and multiple cars.

The carbon tax went up 2¢ a litre last year. Do members know what does not have a rebate attached to it? The gouging of oil and gas companies across the country, and the reason why gas prices have gone up 18¢ a litre. What does the member think should be done about the gouging of the oil and gas industry, if he claims to care about affordability?

[Petitions, February 1st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise and present this petition on behalf of folks who note that a guaranteed livable income would, first of all, establish an income floor below which no Canadian could fall and reflect regional differences in the cost of living.

The petitioners go on to note that it could replace the current patchwork of federal and provincial income assistance programs with a single, universal cash benefit. They note that it could be administered through the existing tax system and require no means testing, thereby dramatically reducing federal and provincial administrative costs.

The petitioners go on to note that it could reduce poverty, thereby reducing the demand on social services, law enforcement and health care, resulting in additional cost savings for government and taxpayers. Most importantly, it would provide a financial safety net for all Canadians, especially through major economic shifts, pandemics, natural disasters and industry automation.

As a result, the petitioners call on the Government of Canada to implement a guaranteed livable income for all Canadians.

[Petitions, January 31st, 2024]

Madam Speaker, I rise to present a petition on behalf of folks who note that housing unaffordability and homelessness are twin national crises. They also note that the financialization of housing inflates Canadian real estate prices. They go on to note that corporations, a number of companies, pension funds and real estate investment trusts are rapidly buying up existing units and flipping them to market rate, renovicting folks. They call on the government to act to address these crises.

They have a number of recommendations. I will share just a few: prioritizing funding for non-profit and co-operative housing, redefining affordable housing using a formula that better reflects the economic reality of Canadians across the country, better regulating and controlling excess profiteering by corporate investors and REITs, and creating national standards to establish rent and vacancy controls.