Randeep Sarai

[Supplementary Estimates (B), 2024-25, December 10th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I ask for unanimous consent to have, in the second vote, my nay changed to yea.

[Canadian Athletes, December 4th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, this summer, millions of Canadians cheered on team Canada at the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. Paralympic swimmer Sebastian Massabie smashed the world record and brought the gold home to Surrey.

Canadian athletes give it their all to represent our country, so budget 2024 boosts our support for them with more pay for our athletes as they train to represent team Canada. Unfortunately, for weeks, the Conservatives have blocked these funds and prevented these payments to our athletes.

I ask my Conservative colleagues to be honest with team Canada today. Will they support Canadian athletes by voting for our plan or will they continue to oppose them?

[Federal Funding in Surrey Centre, November 29th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, last week, I was proud to announce funding to two excellent organizations in Surrey that are helping our veterans. BC/Yukon Legion Foundation and the Legion Veterans Village received $9 million to help our veterans who are facing homelessness with access to housing and wraparound services. While the opposition talks about program cuts, our government is there for our veterans and the groups that support them.

Just last month, PacifiCan announced $3.8 million to HealthTech Connex, a bioscience company based in Surrey that has developed NeuroCatch, a brain-imaging device that leads to more accurate diagnoses of concussions and head injuries. Thanks to federal funding, HealthTech Connex will increase its sales and operational capacities to create 40-plus highly skilled jobs. This is a tremendous illustration of our government's commitment to continuing to strengthen Canada's economy at home and around the world.

[Government Business No. 43—Proceedings on Bill C-78, November 28th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, we are giving tax relief to those who need it the most: Canadian workers, Canadian families and Canadian seniors. We will continue to do that.

With respect to more economic growth, I think sales will go up. People will be able to spend a bit more, and we will probably see the government coffers having a little more revenue at the end of the day as well.

[Government Business No. 43—Proceedings on Bill C-78, November 28th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, I think the Liberal government has always had a two-pronged approach to grow the economy and increase the pie. If we grow the economy and increase our GDP growth, then of course we want to give relief to the tax base as much as possible and wherever it is possible. That is why we have targeted relief when it comes to pharmacare, dental care and child care.

We will continue to work to make sure that Canadians get more money in their pockets and get bigger paycheques going forward.

[Government Business No. 43—Proceedings on Bill C-78, November 28th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, I think the member uses very crass language in calling those people, who take their families out for dinner at Christmas, imbeciles. I think that is a very inappropriate word for parents who buy their children books. I think that is a very inappropriate word to call those parents who buy their kids puzzles or children's toys, or who might have a beer or two, or a glass of wine, during the holidays.

I think that is a very derogatory word to call those parents and those folks, who are just trying to enjoy the holidays, give a little cheer to their families and save a few bucks while they are doing it.

[Government Business No. 43—Proceedings on Bill C-78, November 28th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, I think my hon. colleague has not read the bill. The bill is just about a GST tax relief, which would happen from December 14 to February 15. It would immediately give from 5% to 12% relief, depending on the province. That is, consumers will pay less when they go to the till, so the relief would be immediate. It will carry forward into the new year, but there is nothing about the new year itself.

I think the misrepresentations about the carbon rebate have been misleading. The last time the House heard about carbon, gas prices went down. I think they went down to historical lows. Freaking people out about a carbon rebate increase that is going to happen in April is not the way to scare them away from the benefits of this GST relief.

[Government Business No. 43—Proceedings on Bill C-78, November 28th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for London North Centre.

I am thankful for the opportunity today to debate Bill C-78.

The past few years have been challenging. It feels like the price of everything has gone up, thanks to global inflation and the need for central banks all over the world to raise interest rates in response to the after-effects of a once-in-a-generation global pandemic. While inflation has cooled and interest rates are dropping, we know that Canadians are not feeling that in their household budgets quite yet. Our government obviously cannot set prices at the checkout, but we can leave Canadians with more money in their pocket to help them afford the things they need and save for the things they want, which is where the measures in Bill C-78 come into effect.

Starting December 14, we are proposing to give a tax break to all Canadians. With a GST/HST exemption across the country, Canadians would be able to buy things like prepared foods, snacks, kids' clothing, Christmas trees, books, puzzles and other children's toys, all tax-free. Lasting until February 15, 2025, this tax break would essentially make all food GST/HST-free and would deliver meaningful savings for Canadians with real relief at the cash register. This relief is about saying to Canadians: “Yes, things have been hard, but they are going to get better.”

Inflation was at 2% in October, which means that inflation has been within the Bank of Canada's target range all year long. The bank has cut interest rates four times now this year. Our economy looks like it is having a soft landing from a COVID recession. We are providing this new support for Canadians who have really gotten our country through a tough time. We are counting on powering a very strong recovery at the end of this year and the beginning of next year.

This new support is about making life a little bit easier at this time of year when costs are highest, because we have the space now to do it. With good economic news, and I just mentioned inflation cooling and interest rates dropping, we are able to do so in a way that is not going to stimulate inflation, but rather is going to help make ends meet and continue our economic growth.

Canada has one of the strongest balance sheets in the world, and the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7. We have a strong fiscal position, and we are putting it to work to support Canadians with our temporary GST/HST relief. This can also help sustain the pace of our economic recovery. For example, consumer spending per capita has remained somewhat subdued, reflecting a lowering of household purchasing power due to higher inflation, elevated shelter costs and the impact of high interest rates over the past two years. Thankfully, inflation has cooled, interest rates are coming down and our government is delivering a plan to make housing more affordable. However, with some heightened global economic uncertainty, we have witnessed consumers and businesses adopting a more cautious approach when it comes to spending. We all know that the effects of lower interest rates can take time to be felt throughout the economy and make their way to impacting the pocketbooks of everyday Canadians.

Really, the Canadian economy has been operating below its potential capacity for over a year. This has largely been by design, as excess supply has put downward pressure on inflation, and as the monetary policy decisions from the Bank of Canada and other central banks around the world have done their job to stabilize inflation. Rather than reignite inflation, this time the GST relief would simply help Canadians to bridge that gap. It would build on actions that are already saving families and individuals thousands of dollars a year, like the Canada-wide $10-a-day child care system, which has already cut fees for regulated child care to an average of $10 a day or less in over half of all provinces and territories and by 50% or more in all the others. The Canadian dental care plan and the national school food program are saving Canadians hundreds of dollars a year, especially for those Canadians who are least able to carry the costs associated with those expenses. The Canada child benefit continues to lift children out of poverty, and then the Canada workers benefit provides a meaningful boost to our lowest-paid and often most essential workers. These are just a few of the ways that our government is already supporting Canadians, making everyday items cost less and putting more money back into middle-class pockets.

With Bill C-78, we want to deliver new tax relief on groceries and seasonal expenses. This is about helping Canadians celebrate with family and friends and starting 2025 with a little extra money in their pockets. With Bill C-78, we can make life a bit easier, so Canadians have more money for the things they want.

Please join me in calling for all parties to quickly and unanimously pass this legislation.

[U.S. Tariffs on Canadian Products, November 26th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, that is the approach the government has been taking. The Prime Minister is meeting with all the premiers of the country to find a proper strategy. My speech did not actually target anybody from the opposition in that regard. I answered a question just before from my colleague as to the approach that the Conservative Party took versus the Liberal government of this tenure.

We need an all-Canada approach. Canada should not freak out; the member is absolutely right. I think the U.S. has more to lose. However, this emergency debate demonstrates that we need a team Canada approach. We need to talk to all the provinces, all the territories and all members of Parliament.

There were some great opposition members at that time who helped. I recall Rona Ambrose helped with the team Canada approach, even though she was from the Conservative Party. She was tasked with it. Brian Mulroney, another great leader of the Conservative Party, jumped in. They acted not in a manner that was detrimental to Canada but in a manner that was supportive. I think those days of Conservative leadership are long gone. The new leadership is more about themselves, as we have seen with other matters.

I thank the member and their party for continuing to show the support for Canada to be strong in this. The Americans would have to capitulate to their own tariffs at the end of the day.

[U.S. Tariffs on Canadian Products, November 26th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, I recall that very vividly. It was no small failure. Capitulating after winning victory after victory in the softwood lumber industry has set a very bad precedent since then. I commend our trade ministers for holding their feet to the Americans, winning case after case and not capitulating.

What the member said is no different from what Prime Minister Harper said when we were renegotiating NAFTA. He said we should take any trade deal the Americans give. The Conservative leader of the opposition at the time, Erin O'Toole, said not to put in countervailing tariffs. He was scared to put in any tariffs. However, it was due to those tariffs and strong negotiations that we were able to make an even stronger free trade deal with the United States.