House Publications

     Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8)(a), I have the honour to table, in both official languages the Government's responses to five petitions. These returns will be tabled in an electronic format.

    While I am on my feet, I move:

    If a member participating in person wishes that the motion be carried or carried on division, or if a member of a recognized party participating in person wishes to request a recorded division, I would invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair.

    Mr. Speaker, I request a recorded division.

    Call in the members.

    I declare the motion carried.

    There are 161 motions in amendment standing on the Notice Paper for the report stage of Bill C-69. Motions Nos. 1 to 161 will be grouped for debate and voted upon according to the voting pattern available at the table.

    I will now put Motions Nos. 1 to 161 to the House.

     moved:

     moved:

     moved:

     moved:

     moved:

     moved:

     moved:

    Madam Speaker, once again I am privileged to rise in the House on behalf of the people I proudly represent in Lévis—Lotbinière. Right from the outset I would just say that back home, when it comes to the word “budget”, we do not have the same definition, nor do we have the same approach to budgeting as this Prime Minister, who does not even know what the words “balance” or “economy” mean.

     Once again, in my 18th year here in the House, I was in attendance when the budget was delivered. Since 2015, it has been truly ridiculous to see the Finance Minister and this Prime Minister stand firm in their conviction that they are introducing a budget that is good for Canadians. We are witnessing a spendthrift government prove for the ninth year in a row that the Liberals are incompetent and irresponsible. This government's particular talent is keeping us in the financial hole we have fallen into, in spite of ourselves.

    We are seeing sky-high interest rates on a debt we will never be free of for as long as we live. The Prime Minister is proud to wear the same rose-coloured glasses as the Finance Minister and the extended Liberal family. They are out of touch with our reality in this country, when the facts and statistics speak for themselves. We are far from being the envy of the G7, the way we once were. The unholy and catastrophic alliance between the Liberals, the NDP and the Bloc has plunged thousands of persons and families into misery and poverty.

     Many of this Prime Minister's words ring false, starting with the words “budget” and “economy”. These investments on credit bring no value added to our GDP. We now have interest to pay down, in amounts that I cannot even visualize; I can only imagine stacks and stacks of cash in giant warehouses. Every one of my grandchildren born in the last seven years will bear this debt for as long as they live. They may never be able to buy a house. That is the case today for thousands of Canadians for whom home ownership is a distant dream.

     As the ultimate spendthrift, our Prime Minister is a prime example of someone who never wanted for money as a child. He never had to earn a single dollar to put in his piggy bank or bank account. This same Prime Minister will be spending $40 billion in new money on his new spending spree, with the unconditional support of the NDP and now the Bloc Québécois.

     The former Liberal governor of the Bank of Canada, David Dodge, said that he thought this budget was the worst since 1982. This year, Canada will spend $54.1 billion to service the debt, in other words, to pay the interest. That is more money than the government sends to the provinces for health care. It is a real scandal. The Bank of Canada and former Liberal finance minister John Manley both told the Prime Minister that he was increasing inflation with his spending, which was driving up interest rates. Obviously this spendthrift Prime Minister did not listen.

     As a result, the Bank of Canada embarked upon the most aggressive campaign to raise interest rates in its history. Millions of Canadians are now realizing this more than ever as they renew their mortgages. This Prime Minister is not going to help them. The Liberal-NDP-Bloc coalition is undermining people’s confidence in Canadian democracy and our institutions. Canadians did not vote for this kind of hypocrisy in the last election. It is not the first time in Canada’s history that a party that will never rise to power resorts to scheming with the Liberals to achieve its goals.

     How many people can no longer make ends meet, even when they tighten their belts, even when they get higher wages? The inflation rate continues to increase the cost of mortgages, the price of housing, the cost of groceries and all basic necessities. Before this Liberal government, it took only 39% of an average salary to cover the monthly payment on the average home. Today this figure has increased to 62%.

     Just last weekend I took part in the Relay for Life in Lotbinière/Lévis, a walk to raise money for cancer. I was worried when people told me they no longer recognized the country we live in and no longer feel safe with the direction the country is headed in. Life is getting dire for millions of Canadians who have exhausted their savings and their credit. They are at the end of their financial resources. Many skip a meal a day, and more and more people have to rely on food banks every week. When is this going to end? It is just so sad.

     Canada has the fewest housing units per 1,000 inhabitants of any G7 country. The number of housing units per 1,000 Canadians has been decreasing since 2016 because of the strong population growth.

     We need more housing units to keep the ratio of housing units to population stable. According to the CMHC, we need 3.5 million more units than planned to restore accessibility. In 2024, this figure will climb to 5.8 million.

     The Prime Minister has stated yet again that he will bring in foreign workers to address the labour shortage when we already have a hard time providing decent housing for the homeless, Canadian families and seniors. No one can tell us when the promised units will be built. Since the Liberals came to power, mortgage and housing costs have almost doubled. Stress and anxiety have become facts of life for millions of Canadians. They are worried parents, children and grandchildren who know opportunities are getting harder to come by in Canada. Not so long ago, many believed they would never find themselves in a precarious situation. They are caught in a nightmare from which they cannot wake. In nine years, the Liberals have brought us to a point from which there may be no return.

     Legalization of marijuana has not helped. Written briefs to the House and the work of committees can attest to that. Countries that legalized marijuana saw an increase in crime. Not surprisingly, Canada is also now experiencing this, with an ever-increasing crime rate. They also reported an increase in mental health problems. We too are seeing an increase in the number of people who are facing mental health challenges. We are also seeing rising addiction and deaths from hard drugs, which the Liberals pushed to legalize at all costs. It is a disgrace. Our big cities now look like places where zombies come to die. There are even neighbourhoods where no one dares go anymore. What can we say about schools and day cares with injection sites as neighbours, keeping parents awake at night?

     As they say in Quebec, you have to be tough to live in this reality. For many, that refers to the chaos and decline they are experiencing under this Prime Minister. Not so long ago, it could be said that any problem could be dealt with through policy. That was before the Liberal–NDP-Bloc Québécois coalition.

     We are powerless to stop these irresponsible budgets, which are populist in the worst sense of the word. They do not correspond to the reality that all responsible, well trained economists recognize. No one in their right mind would deny that Canadians of every social class are paying far too much in taxes because this Liberal government is wasting too much money. Any right-minded individual suffering day after day is looking forward to the upcoming elections to get the country back on track and show this government the door.

     The Liberals think they have a license to print money. Good times or bad, they never stop. Taxpayers pick up the tab in the form of a higher cost of living. They do not even benefit from higher-quality services. On the contrary, these services have greatly deteriorated since 2015.

     The 2024 budget is a continuation of the Liberals' horrendous record. This is a government addicted to tax increases and inflationary deficits. That is why I will vote against this budget, in honour of those who work hard for their money and who know how to count.

     I would like to reassure voters that there is hope. Only one year, at the very most, remains of this Liberal-NDP-Bloc Québécois nightmare. Common-sense Conservatives will axe the carbon tax and lower prices on the staples Canadians need. This is not the sort of budget Canadians need in these difficult times. What they need is elections as soon as possible to axe the taxes, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime.

    Madam Speaker, I always am amazed at the passion the member puts into his oration in the House. Daily in the House, the Conservatives cite food bank lineups as being an issue they care about. However, when it comes to supporting children, when it comes to feeding hungry children, and I note Breakfast Club of Canada is very popular in Quebec and does a great deal of work supporting breakfast programs in that province, could the member opposite speak to why the Conservatives have said they would vote against a budget that would feed 400,000 more kids per year and would commit to $1 billion over five years to lift up kids and ensure they get a healthy start every day? Could he speak to why he would stand in the House and vote against that?

    Madam Speaker, look at what nine years of Liberal policies have brought us: We are at the point where we have to feed kids breakfast at school. Before 2015, when the Conservatives formed the government, we were helping third-world countries feed their children. Now we have to do the same thing in Canada. It is time for an election.

    He is laying it on a bit thick, Madam Speaker. I do not have enough time to go over and correct my colleague's remarks. Everyone is to blame but them. Basically, he is promoting single-party rule, a return to totalitarianism. His conception of democracy is that Canada would be better off if all 338 seats went to the Conservatives.

     I would like to know why my colleague always votes against the Bloc Québécois's proposals aimed at doing away with tax havens. He said that Canadians of every social class are paying too much in taxes. Canada's big banks have tax shelters and make billions in profits each quarter. Why does he vote against that?

     Why does he vote in favour of oil companies continuing to receive tax subsidies despite making billions of dollars a year? Is that his vision of equity across social classes?

    Madam Speaker, I will address the first premise of the question posed by my colleague, whom I thank. Yes, the greater the number of Conservative members, the better off Canada will be.

     I in turn have a question for my colleague: why did the Bloc Québécois vote in favour of $500 billion in budget appropriations to prop up this government and its reckless spending over nine years?

     The Bloc Québécois is part of the problem.

    Madam Speaker, I do like my colleague, but we lived through the Harper regime. More Conservative members means more hardship for all Canadians.

     We have seen the Conservatives block dental care, despite the fact that hundreds of people in Lévis-Lotbinière are already benefiting from the NDP program. The Conservatives also wanted to block pharmacare. Today we have these foolish amendments moved by the Conservatives, who are blocking measures to ensure affordable housing, food for children, student loan forgiveness and the tax credit for volunteer firefighters.

     I have a very simple question: Why are the Conservative members constantly blocking everything that could help Canadians?

    Madam Speaker, let me get back to the question posed by my colleague, who has my thanks. I will talk about real hardship, hardship in which the NDP is complicit because it is supporting the Liberals.

     Thousands of Canadian families are struggling to put food on the table because their mortgage payments are too high. They are paying far too much for everything, including their mortgage, gas and food. We have come to this point because the NDP always supports the government.

     I hope that the NDP will stop supporting this government as soon as possible so that Canadians can have a real choice, that being a new Conservative government.

    Madam Speaker, we know the results are in. After nine years of the Liberal government, it is clear that the Prime Minister is not worth the cost for any generation.

    Food Banks Canada's recent report card said that nearly 50% of Canadians feel financially worse off compared to last year and that 25% of Canadians are currently facing food insecurity, a reality that should be unthinkable in a country like Canada, but, instead, is a growing problem.

     The news from the Salvation Army is equally alarming. Nearly 75% of Canadians feel they are having difficulty managing their limited financial resources and 25% of Canadians continue to be extremely concerned about having enough income to cover their basic needs. That is the Prime Minister's record.

    However, those are more than just figures. It is everyday Canadians who are working hard, doing everything they are supposed to be doing, stretching a dollar where they can and cutting costs where they can. They are struggling just to afford basic necessities. That is because groceries are at record highs and the costs are going up year after year. Families will be paying, on average, $700 more on groceries just this year alone, and it keeps going. Rents have doubled, mortgages have doubled, fuel costs are up, home heating is up, taxes are up, everything is up.

    Canadians who are already struggling to keep their heads above water cannot afford higher taxes and more inflationary spending that drives up the cost of everything and keeps interest rates high. Canadians are desperate for some relief, but the NDP-Liberal government is just not listening. Instead, what Canadians got in the budget was more of the same mismanagement and inflationary spending, which has resulted in this pain and misery that Canadians are feeling. It is a kick in the gut to Canadian families that are desperate for some relief.

    This budget would add nearly $40 billion in new inflationary spending, and it will cost the average Canadian family an extra $3,687. More of the same of what got us into this mess does not help Canadians or address the affordability crisis. The Conservatives had clear demands in advance of this budget, one of which was to get spending under control, that for every new dollar spent, the government should find a dollar in savings. This is a simple, common-sense budgeting concept that Canadians apply to their own budgets on a daily basis.

    Deficit spending is pouring fuel on this inflationary fire, driving up the cost of interest rates, and it is not just the Conservatives saying this. We know that the Governor of the Bank of Canada has been clear that the government's deficit spending is not helpful in bringing inflation down and lowering interest rates. We know that the Prime Minister has admitted that he does not like to think about monetary policy, but Canadians cannot ignore the repercussion of that negligence.

    The Prime Minister's reckless spending and taxes forced the Bank of Canada to slam on the brakes, with the fastest increase in interest rates in Canadian history. Millions of Canadians renewing their mortgages are facing massive hikes in their mortgage payments to come. That is a very real repercussion to millions of Canadians.

     Let us not forget that while the Prime Minister spends and spends, it is taxpayers who are footing the Prime Minister's bill. They are paying for it today, but they will also be paying it for years and years to come. This year alone, Canadian taxpayers will spend $54.1 billion to service the Prime Minister's debt. That is more money than the federal government is sending to the provinces for health care. It is money that could be better spent, but Canadians are on the hook for it.

     The NDP-Liberal government's tax-and-spend agenda is hitting Canadians from all sides. The carbon tax scheme is adding to the cost of food, fuel, shelter and just about everything they buy. The PBO has already proven that the vast majority of Canadians are worse off under this carbon tax scheme.

    Certainly, in rural communities like mine, the negative impact of the carbon tax is even greater. Rural Canadians are punished for having to drive a couple of hours for a medical appointment, to get to work or even just to go the extra distance that is required for them to get groceries. There are no alternatives. However, the Liberals stand in this place, day after day, and try to spin a different narrative. They try to tell Canadians that they are better off. Canadians are just not buying what they are selling.

    Now we know that the Liberals are knowingly promoting deceptive marketing practices. Their own economic analysis has proven that the carbon tax is hurting Canadians, but their solution is to hide the results. We know the PBO is under a gag order: “we've been told explicitly not to disclose it and reference it.” Those are the words of the PBO at committee, when he was asked about the government's economic analysis. He was clear that his office had seen the Liberal government's own analysis, which confirms the report the PBO had already published. The results do not fit the NDP-Liberal government's narrative, so instead of acknowledging the misery it has caused Canadians, it has simply hidden the results.

    However, Canadians do not actually need to see the analysis; they know the results. They live the results every single day. They feel the carbon tax impact every time they pump fuel at the gas station, open up their energy bill or pick up groceries for dinner. The NDP coalition does not care. Even in the midst of growing poverty and food insecurity, it hiked the carbon tax anyway and is hell-bent on quadrupling it even further. It has proven time and again that it does not care if families are struggling to put food on the table.

    Even though the Liberals have failed to meet every single environmental target they have set for themselves, they are obsessed with checking the carbon tax box. We see that activist-driven agenda with the obsession they have to punish our farmers. The Prime Minister is fighting tooth and nail to keep the carbon tax on farm operations. The carbon tax is increasing the cost of food production and is a huge hit to the bottom line of our farmers. Farmers are paying astronomical carbon tax bills, not to mention the GST that is charged on top of the tax: a tax on a tax. These bills are jeopardizing the viability of their farm operations and food security in our country and also abroad.

    The carbon tax scheme also fails to recognize the valuable contributions that farmers already make to protect the environment. Environmental stewardship is the cornerstone of farming practices. Not only does the carbon tax scheme fail to recognize that, but it limits the ability of our farmers to innovate. Bigger and bigger hits to the bottom line of farm businesses means there is less and less money to reinvest in new technology. Filling up government coffers on the backs of our farmers does nothing to safeguard the environment. It is counterproductive, and it certainly does not help make food affordable. When food is taxed at every point in the supply chain, consumers will pay for it at the checkout, and they are. Only common-sense Conservatives will axe the carbon tax for everyone for good.

    This budget proves that the NDP-Liberal coalition is not taking the affordability crisis in this country seriously. Every time the Prime Minister or the Minister of Finance stands up in this place and tells Canadians how they are better off than they truly are demonstrates how out of touch they truly are with Canadians. Canadians are desperate for some relief. Only common-sense Conservatives will bring down interest rates for good by axing inflationary taxes and placing a cap on government spending.

    Madam Speaker, I would note that there were many statements strung together in the member's speech that seem to be false. I am not sure who constructed that speech, but there are a lot of different things that I could take issue with. We know that Conservatives do not care about climate change. They voted hundreds of times in this House against any action on climate change whatsoever.

    The member's party seems to be against investments in dental care, investments in pharmacare, investments in child care spaces, investments in health care and investments in mental health care. I do not know if members notice a trend here, but basically anything with the word “care” in it, the member's party seems to stand against.

     Our government is investing in services and supports that Canadians need to lift them up, a stronger social safety net. Could the member opposite speak to why and how she can pretend to care about Canadians but not be willing to lift them up in their time of need?

    Madam Speaker, it is unfortunate that the member suggests that the things I have spoken about are false. These are things that I have heard from the constituents I represent in a rural riding in Saskatchewan, where the government has been hell-bent on not respecting provincial jurisdiction and what the premier sees best for his province.

    The member talks about investing. The government is great at increasing taxes; that is what the government does. The Liberals are increasing taxes for every single generation to fund their agenda of spend, spend, spend, under the guise of “We're helping Canadians. We're caring for Canadians”, when the reality is that it goes to pay for high-priced consultants and to cover up their crime and corruption.

    Madam Speaker, I am always a little in awe when I hear the Conservatives speak. Aside from slogans, I do not hear any solutions or any plan. How would a Conservative government address our current problems?

     My colleague spoke briefly about housing. According to the CIBC, all we have to do is build 5.8 million housing units in Canada by 2031. We have never gotten near that number. In fact, we would have to build three times more per year than we have ever built before.

     Apart from chewing out the mayors of major Quebec cities like Montreal and Quebec City, what is the Conservatives' plan for building housing units and getting the country out of this housing crisis?

     Madam Speaker, what we do know with the NDP-Liberal government is that photo ops and announcements do nothing. We know that. At the committee I am on, we have heard quite regularly how taxes on development—

    There is a phone near the mic, and the vibration was being picked up by the mic.

    The honourable member for Battlefords—Lloydminster.

    Madam Speaker, we are hearing at the HUMA committee right now, in a study of housing, that the taxes and the regulatory red tape burden that developers are facing are in the way of getting housing built. At the end of the day, we know that after nine years, the Liberals, propped up by the NDP, have not gotten the job done.

    Madam Speaker, it was a reasonable question that came from my Bloc colleague. He just wanted to hear any ideas to come out of the Conservative bench on policy. However, in fact, the Conservative member did not provide any sort of possible solutions when it comes to housing.

    We know that the Conservatives are trying to block everything: block support for a school lunch program, dental care and pharmacare. Another thing they are blocking is a tax credit for firefighters and search and rescue volunteers, which is absolutely critical for the retention of those volunteers in our country. Maybe my colleague can explain to those volunteer firefighters and search and rescue volunteers why the Conservatives are using every single tool in the tool box to delay help to Canadians.

    Madam Speaker, it has been proven, after nine years, that the Liberal policies are doing nothing but creating more red tape.

    I put forward a PMB, Bill C-318. Where is it? The Liberals stole it.

    If the Liberals are so great with policies, maybe they should put some policies forward that do not create red tape, do not tax the taxpayer to death and actually have homes built. They are failing to do all of the above.

    Madam Speaker, I am glad I caught your eye, and I am glad you also caught the fact that I had mistakenly put my phone a little bit too close to the microphones. It is now far away.

     I want to start by thanking the residents and constituents of my riding for again allowing me the opportunity to represent them in the House. We are now several years into this particular Parliament, but we all know that it is a great honour to be sent here to represent them. We speak on their behalf. We do not just speak for ourselves.

    In preparation for speaking today, I did go through the many emails and phone notes I have written to myself from calls with constituents, people who have told me about the misery they are suffering through with the NDP-Liberal government's policies and Bill C-69 specifically, which is basically an encapsulation of many years of policy-making by the government that has led to the doubling of mortgage down payments and the doubling of rent.

    I speak as a renter. My rent has gone up significantly, and I do not fault my landlord. He has no choice, because interest rates have much more than doubled. When an interest rate goes from 25 basis points or 50 basis points to 4.75%, that is a multifold increase. That is not a doubling; it is not a 4.5% increase. We are talking about a manyfold increase, like an 800% increase in some cases, on the interest people are paying on the total amount of their loan. I do not fault them.

     We have seen the price of homes double since the Liberal government took over. We have seen the price of many goods go up significantly. It is the number one issue in my riding, the cost of living. It hits people in the grocery stores when they see it. It hits them at the pump when they go to refill their trucks or vehicles that they use to get their families around my riding. My riding is one of the bigger ones in Canada. Thankfully, the electoral boundaries commission is drastically shrinking it, by 40%. That will make it much easier for me to get back to everybody on time, those who make phone calls and send emails and those few who still send letters.

    I often get asked the question, “What would Conservatives do?” I have taken the time to summarize a few things that, for me, are the highlights of what Conservatives would do. We have our main points that we make, and all parties do this. I often hear the NDP-Liberals accuse Conservatives throughout Canada of sloganeering. We are just making it simple for people to understand. There are vast amounts of information online, on YouTube, on social media. I trust Canadians to go through those things. If they are interested and curious about what Conservatives are proposing, there is an entire docuseries that, for example, the member for Carleton, the leader of His Majesty's opposition, has made, “Debtonation.” I highly recommend it. Those who are interested should go check it out.

     I will start with “pay as you go”. It is a very simple idea. It has been time-tested. It has worked. In the U.S. Congress, between 1998 and 2002, when it was introduced, it basically said that for every new dollar of government spending, the current government had to find a dollar of cuts in current government programs or propose one dollar of new taxation to cover this cost. In the span of those four years, they were able to balance the budget of the United States government. That is a government that runs trillion-dollar deficits at this point.

     Our national debt is in the trillions, but we do not run trillion-dollar deficits yet. I do not want to suggest anything. I am sure the Liberal government, if given half the opportunity, would reach that level. After all, as I remember it, there was a certain Prime Minister who promised to run small deficits, less than $10 billion for three years, and that never happened. The Prime Minister has run multi-billion dollar deficits ever since he was elected to office, and it has never stopped. In fact, none of the budgets that the Liberals have tabled since then have shown a balanced budget.

    “Pay as you go” is a proposal from the Conservatives to adopt that would ensure that we could fix the federal budget. Fixing the federal budget would lead to lower interest rates. Lower interest rates would lead to lower housing costs and lower rents and, at the very minimum, stop this massive inflationary increase in the costs of everything.

     It would make it easier for small businesses, like those of fishermen, giving them an opportunity to actually be able to afford new equipment. It would give them an opportunity to plan for their retirement and have the certainty that the equipment, goods, boats and everything else they use to run their business would have the same value at the end of the day, so they could retire with dignity.

     The second thing is the building homes not bureaucracy act, which this House voted on. I find it interesting that one of the NDP members who spoke was trying to give a hard time to one of our members, the member for Battlefords—Lloydminster, saying that we had not proposed anything on housing. We proposed legislation on housing, legislation that they voted against, in fact. The NDP members voted with their coalition partners in the Liberal Party.

    There is a proposal, the building homes not bureaucracy act. It went very specifically to the heart of what is going on in our country, which is that we have people at the very local level, in the planning departments of different cities, who are making it more difficult to increase density and, as is is in my community, to build more greenfield housing of single-family detached housing and low-rises. Calgary has generally done a really good job of building housing that is necessary, but so has the city of Edmonton.

    As Calgarians, we do not often praise the city of Edmonton, but I used to live in Edmonton, and if I look at its housing costs over the last nine years, it probably has the smallest increases of any major metropolitan region. That is because, locally, they have decided to prioritize pricing and make sure that pricing stays low and affordable, so people can afford the homes that they want to live in, and there are different types of housing for different people to make sure they have the choices they need at different stages in their lives.

    However, the building homes not bureaucracy act had provisions in it to ensure that we divested ourselves from federal government properties that are no longer necessary, to ensure that we can pass them over to developers to encourage them to build more housing and more development around TUCs, and also to cut CMHC's bonuses. This is the housing agency that is supposed to ensure we build sufficient amounts of housing. I have long been a critic of the CMHC. It does not matter which CEO has been there. It has completely failed in its mandate, so at minimum we should be cutting these bonuses, the performance base or whatever euphemism we want to use for the bonuses and the extra pay they are giving themselves when they are failing. We should not reward failure.

     The government needs to cancel the carbon tax. It is very simple: Axe the tax. The carbon tax is adding on to the misery of all Canadians. We can see it in our grocery stores with the prices, but if we tax the farmer who makes the food, and we tax the shipper who takes the food to the producer who adds second-level value, and then they take it to the grocery store, all of those costs are being passed on through the entire system, and we have higher costs at the end of the day. That is simply how math works, and axing the tax is the solution.

    What would we do to replace the tax? We are Conservatives. Generally, we do not like taxes. We would not replace it with any other tax. There are a lot of technological changes that we could do. There are a lot of things that we could do on the grid side in Canada to make sure we have a national grid, or something closer to a national grid, where there would be a better flow of electrical power between the provinces. We can do that through encouragement. We do not need to mandate things.

    I watched the Minister of Environment mandate things, such as forcing Calgary Co-op, the grocery store of my choice, with 400,000 members in Calgary, almost a third of the city, to abandon its completely compostable bags. They are completely compostable in the city-owned compostable system, and the government is saying that they have single-use plastic in them. It is a compostable bag. Not even the ink is made of plastic. It is also compostable, but an insistence that Ottawa knows best is why we see so much division in this country and so few Liberal provincial governments left. There are so few of them left in existence.

     I know many members wait for this, but I always have a Yiddish proverb. I have a great love for that language, and when a wise man and a fool are debating or arguing, there are two fools debating. That is what I feel while watching the Liberal cabinet when it has these disagreements about whose fault it is that there is a massive increase in mortgages and massive increase in housing prices and rentals. They seem to always point their fingers at somebody else. It is never their fault when things go wrong. It is always someone else's. It is as if they've not been in power for nine years.

    The government members often, during question period especially, say that they will find the person who is responsible for this. They love labelling small business owners as too rich, with too much for their retirements, while the Liberals basically have golden-plated defined benefit plans that are afforded to them by the taxpayer. They should stop accusing those who create richness in our country and who contribute to the hiring in all of our communities. It is often that the government members are always looking for someone else to blame. It is the cabinet. It is just that person. I have not found a wise man among them yet, but I have found those fools who continuously blame Canadians for every single one of their mistakes.

    As such, of course, I am going to be voting against Bill C-69. I have moved several amendments to it as well. It is also a matter of confidence, so I will also remind my constituents back home that on these types of matters, I have zero confidence in the NDP-Liberal government and this coalition, and we must vote this legislation down.

    We have to have a carbon tax election, so let us axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime.

     Mr. Speaker, I note that, when asked for solutions, the member offered a couple of gimmicky slogans. I cannot think of any term for them other than “slogan”. “Pay as you go”, was what the member said. It is interesting that this concept is a way of looking at our fiscal environment and saying that it is what the government needs to do, but the member opposite has not ever pronounced, as is the same for all of his party members, whether the Conservatives are going to support our government's plan to increase the capital gains inclusion rate for people making over $250,000 in capital gains.

     I would note that, when the Governor of the Bank of Canada came to the finance committee, only a couple of weeks ago, he said that our government is sticking to the fiscal guardrails and that this is helpful in fighting inflation. The only way that is possible is that, on the one hand, we have the investments we are making and, on the other hand, we have some additional revenue from the capital gains. The Governor of the Bank of Canada says that is helpful. What is the member opposite's position on the capital gains issue?

    Mr. Speaker, I have sad news for the member. If he carefully reads the piece of legislation, Bill C-69, he will see that the capital gains tax is not in it. In fact, the Minister of Finance said that she would table a separate piece of legislation. It is as if the Liberals were completely unprepared to table a single piece of budgetary legislation that included all of their taxing schemes because they were either too incompetent, too foolish or did not know what they were doing, or this is just a political ploy and a political game, just as so many pundits are now attacking the Liberals over. They even have the Canadian Medical Association disagreeing with them.

    Capital gains tax is not in the legislation. I invite the member to read it.

    Mr. Speaker, the member talked about the Conservatives' so-called housing plan. The Conservatives' plan is to sell off public land to rich developers. They want to make their corporate landlord donors even wealthier. When the Leader of the Opposition was housing minister, he built all of six homes. He let half of the country go, with zero dollars to build more rentals. He lost 800,000 units of affordable housing. He sold them off to corporate landlords. This is the Conservatives' plan: cut and privatize. Canadians are worse off.

     Does the member not think that we should use public land and public money to build more non-market housing, more co-operative housing and more social housing, which would be more housing for people that people can actually afford?

    Mr. Speaker, we were carefully listening, the group of us here, to the member's comments on what I had said and proposed, including the fact that we have legislation that we had proposed before the House. That member voted it down. The NDP-Liberal coalition voted down a piece of legislation that would have addressed the housing crisis created by the massive spending by the Liberal-NDP government. We really spent our way to prosperity, have we not? The massive spending by the government has led to higher interest rates and higher inflation. This has been tried before, and it has failed every single time.

    My message to residents back home in Calgary and in Calgary Shepard, my corner of the city, is to remind residents and ask them if they are better off today than they were nine years ago. That is a very simple thing. Every single one of my residents, I am convinced, will say, no, they are worse off because of the NDP-Liberal government and MPs' decisions on spending.

    Mr. Speaker, I know that the Conservatives are against the budget. However, in this budget, the Liberals are giving tens of billions of dollars to oil companies and the fossil fuel industry in Canada.

     I know that the Conservative Party finds it difficult to acknowledge the existence of climate change and that it is always extolling the virtues of Canada's oil industry. I would think they would be happy to see that in the budget.

     Why are they then voting against it?

    Mr. Speaker, tens of thousands of families in my riding depend on jobs in these energy companies. These are companies that were founded in Alberta. Many of them started as small businesses.

     Thanks to the Government of Alberta, and thanks to the quality of the workers in my riding, we have built companies and wealth worth billions of dollars. The jobs they create pay for the houses, vacations and education of every family in my riding.

     I am proud of these big Albertan companies.

    Mr. Speaker, I rise today to participate in the debate on the budget implementation act, also known as Bill C-69. I will declare from the outset that I will oppose the reckless and incompetent Liberal government and its disastrous economic policy, which is contained in this legislation.

    When the budget was introduced, the Liberal government told Canadians that it was adding another $57 billion in new inflationary spending, but guess what? The Parliamentary Budget Officer later confirmed that that enormous number was even higher, to the tune of $61.2 billion. That is a miscalculation of over $4 billion. This new inflationary spending only adds more financial fuel to the flames of inflation. Sadly for Canadians, as long as the NDP-Liberal government stays in power, it is only going to get worse. Already, it is costing Canadians more. In fact, the new spending in this budget would cost the average Canadian family an extra $3,687. I would ask the Canadians watching at home to pause and think about that for a moment. What could their family do if they had an extra $3,687 in their bank account?

    As the shadow minister for tourism and the proud member of Parliament for the Niagara Falls riding, which includes the city of Niagara Falls and the towns of Niagara-on-the-Lake and Fort Erie, may I be the first to suggest a vacation in Niagara Falls, Canada's top leisure tourism destination? When common-sense Conservatives proposed to rescind the carbon tax and federal taxes for fuel for the summer to allow Canadians an opportunity to enjoy a vacation, the Liberal government instead criticized those same Canadians and then voted down our motion.

    Really, that extra money could go toward anything, especially things that would help improve the quality of life for them and their children. Instead, the Liberal Prime Minister will continue to take their hard-earned money and then immediately throw it at the shocking interest charges that his enormous debt has racked up after nine years. This is simply unsustainable. This is not how we get to a balanced budget either, as the finance minister said she would during her fall fiscal update in 2022.

    According to the Fraser Institute, last year the Liberal government was spending more on paying off its debt than it was spending on child care benefits and employment insurance benefits, but it gets worse. This year, the NDP-Liberal government will spend more taxpayer money on servicing its debt than on health care. I will let that sink in for a moment.

    After nine years of the Liberal Prime Minister, it feels like we are back in the dying days of the Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne Liberal government at Queen's Park, where rampant, wasteful and reckless Liberal spending on green energy programs made Ontario's debt the highest of any sub-sovereign state in the world. What is both troubling and astounding is the fact that some members on the Liberal side are from the very same cast and government of that Ontario period. Have they learned nothing?

     After nine years of the Liberal government, Canadians know prices are up, rent is up, debt is up, taxes are up, and they are fed up. Rent has doubled. Mortgage payments are 150% higher than they were before the current Prime Minister took power. Tent cities exist in almost every major city. Over 50% of Canadians are $200 or less away from going broke. The Liberal government's tax-and-spend inflation is non-discriminatory. It costs Canadians their hard-earned money and savings, and it impacts Canadians of all walks of life, of every demographic and in every region of our great country. Young Canadians have had to put their dreams of buying a home on hold, while hard-working Canadians are working overtime, or two or more jobs, just to get by. Retirees, who have worked hard their whole lives to build our country, are now struggling to hold on to their savings as high inflation and new Liberal taxes drain their bank accounts.

     Demand at local food banks is at an all-time high. In Niagara Falls, Project Share's food bank served more than 13,000 people last year, a total of one in seven residents. Across Ontario, a report from Feed Ontario revealed that more than 800,000 Ontarians used a food bank between April 2022 and March 2023, an increase of 38% province-wide.

    These miserable results are the legacy of nine years of the Liberals' rule, and their disastrous spending and budgetary plans, which have failed at every turn. If Canadians were not already enduring enough financial pain and suffering caused by their federal government, they will take no solace in knowing that the Liberal government is committed to quadrupling the carbon tax, driving up the cost on everything from food, to groceries, to shelter and energy to heat and cool their homes.

     The government's most recent tax increase was a 23% hike on the carbon tax on April 1, but there is hope. There is a solution. In the next federal election, which will be a carbon tax election, Canadians can elect a common-sense Conservative government. Only common-sense Conservatives will axe the tax to bring lower prices for Canadians. We will build the homes Canadians need. We will fix the budgetary finances of this country and we will address the issues of crime, which the government policies have made only worse, not better, in Canada.

    The carbon tax is just one of a series of new tax measures being schemed up by the tax-hungry Liberal government that needs to continuously feed and fund its spending addiction. In the first quarter of this year alone, businesses across Canada saw taxes go up in areas such as CPP and EI premiums, as well as the added burden of the carbon tax. Some also had an alcohol escalator tax hike to worry about, such as the wineries and craft breweries in my riding, and every business is concerned about general costs continuing to go up.

     Canadians in need of a home, desiring to rent or trying to save to buy their first home face stiff headwinds. After nine years of the Liberal government, housing costs have doubled and mortgage costs have doubled. Required down payments have doubled and rent has also doubled. More houses were built in 1972 than were built in Canada in 2022. Because of the government's habitual overspending ways, Canadians are struggling with increased mortgages and interest rates, which threatens their very future.

    Just this morning, Global News reported on an Ipsos poll indicating 63% of respondents would continue to remain on the sidelines of the housing market due to higher interest rates. The poll was conducted between June 7 and June 10. Some 45% of respondents maintained that they would not be able to afford a home no matter how much interest rates declined, and, sadly, six in 10 respondents said they had given up on ever owning a home.

    After nine years of the Liberal government, Canadians are poor while Liberal insiders and friends of the Liberal cabinet get rich. The government has screwed up the housing file so badly that in the 2023 fall economic statement, it trumpeted the creation of a new Canadian mortgage charter to save Canadians from the problems the NDP-Liberal government had created itself. The government should be ashamed.

    Only common-sense Conservatives will axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime so Canadians can focus on getting ahead in their daily life. After nine years, it is clearer than ever that the Liberal Prime Minister is not worth the cost, and budget 2024 would make life worse across the country for Canadians. Prices are up and rent is up. Debt is up; taxes are up, and Canadians are fed up. The Liberal government's time is up.

    I encourage members of all opposition parties to take a stand with Conservatives, vote against the reckless, inflationary federal budget and vote non-confidence in the disastrous Liberal government.

    Mr. Speaker, I have to give the Conservatives some credit finally. I know it is taken me a long time to reach this conclusion, but they are exceptional at stringing together misleading and false statements into speeches.

    The member opposite talked about quality of life. He used that phrase in his speech. Our government's budget and the BIA invest in helping Canadians be able to save or to buy their first home; in ensuring that families can save for their children's education more easily; in ensuring that over 400,000 more kids can get food in school; in life-saving medication, which obviously would cost families if it were not offered through a national pharmacare program; in student loan forgiveness; in research funding to ensure that students and researchers can do their work at a competitive rate; in helping seniors get their teeth fixed; and in more child care spaces. The list goes on.

    Does the member opposite oppose every single one of those investments designed to improve the quality of life of countless Canadians?

     Mr. Speaker, the member talked about investments. It is spending. The government is spending enormous amounts, billions of dollars in fact, to fix the problems it in fact has created itself. These programs would not have been needed had the government taken actions earlier on to fix the problems that we now face.

    On the housing file, the government has spent $89 billion on its national housing strategy. Never has so much been spent to accomplish so little. I mentioned in my speech that the government, in 2022, built fewer homes than the former government did in 1972. That is a failure on the part of the current government.

    Mr. Speaker, let me reassure my colleague that the Bloc Québécois will be voting against this budget.

     One of the reasons we will be voting against this budget has to do with the government's commitments toward the oil and gas industry. The budget commits up to $83 billion by 2035 to an industry that is raking in record-breaking profits while contributing to global warming.

     I would simply like to know if this is one of the reasons my colleague will be voting no too: the fact that this government is handing billions of dollars to an industry that does not need the money and that is helping exacerbate climate change.

     Mr. Speaker, again, we are voting against the government, and the budget in particular, because of the government's failures over nine years of being in power. Its actions have caused the affordability crisis we are facing today.

    Our hope is that a non-confidence vote will be held in our favour and that a carbon tax election will be held so a common-sense Conservative is elected to try to fix the problems the government has created.

    Mr. Speaker, one thing the member and I can agree on is that the Liberals have failed to ensure that Canadians across the country have housing. However, I have not heard a single concrete, sound solution being put forward by the Conservatives.

    One such thing that is vital, which we are talking about today, is the rental protection fund. We know that for every one house built, 11 affordable homes are being lost, yet the Conservatives continue to prop up the same corporations that are swooping in and buying up affordable homes, leaving people unable to access the homes they need. Housing is a basic human right.

    Why does the member continue to participate in delay tactics that are keeping Canadians from being able to access the affordable housing they need and deserve?

    Mr. Speaker, why did the opposition party that works in tandem with the government vote against our building homes and not bureaucracy act? We put forward a piece of legislation that would address the housing crisis in Canada, and the New Democrats voted to support their Liberal friends.

    Mr. Speaker, Bill C-69 is an omnibus budget implementation bill that creates or amends 67 different acts. It enacts the consumer-driven banking act, which makes the federal government exclusively responsible for regulating this sector, with the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada serving as the regulator.

     Today we are calling on the government to take this division out and fix its flaws over the summer. We want the government to come back in the fall with a framework that does not give Bay Street an undue advantage over other financial institutions, that respects Quebec's and the provinces' jurisdiction and that delegates the administration of the framework to an appropriate agency.

     Since financial technology or fintech companies are not federally regulated, Ottawa has opted to regulate them indirectly by controlling the manner in which the banks can transact with them. Specifically, Bill C‑69 provides that banks and other federally regulated financial institutions will be covered by the new act. They will be required to co-operate with fintech companies, but they may do so only in accordance with federal rules and standards.

     As for institutions that are not federally regulated, they are ignored. They can opt in voluntarily if they get the approval of their province, which would then have to waive the right to apply its own laws to the portion of their activities that comes under the open banking system. For now, Bill C‑69 does not affect insurers, due to the sensitive nature of the medical data they hold, or to intermediaries like brokers, but the framework is likely to expand to cover them in the future.

     The specific rules and standards that will apply to the sector, particularly in terms of consumer protection and financial liability, will be set out in another bill that is due out in the fall, but the decision to make it exclusively federal is being made now, in Bill C‑69. We urge the government to take out this division, improve it over the summer and present us with a better law this fall. Taking out this division will not delay the bill's coming into force.

    In practical terms, under this section of Bill C-69, the Quebec Consumer Protection Act and the Quebec Act Respecting the Protection of Personal Information could cease to apply to financial institutions for any activities related to open financial services. The impact of an exclusively federal open banking system on the prudential obligations of Quebec financial institutions, as set out by the Autorité des marchés financiers, is unclear at this point.

    In addition to forcing Quebec to transfer legislative power to Ottawa, Bill C-69 puts Quebec's institutions at a disadvantage with respect to federal institutions. While banks will have only one set of regulations to follow, an institution like Desjardins would be caught between two governments: the Government of Quebec, for its general operations, and the federal government, for its technological interactions with customers.

    Being subject to two uncoordinated regulatory bodies could be downright dysfunctional and give banks an egregious advantage over co-ops and trust companies. Bill C-69 gives Bay Street an advantage over other institutions like co-ops and credit unions. As a result—

    The member for Lac-Saint-Jean is rising on a point of order.

    Mr. Speaker, there are people talking. If people want to talk, they should do so in the lobbies.

    That is a good suggestion. Anyone who wants to have a conversation should take it out into the lobbies. That is what they are there for.

    The hon. member for Joliette.

    Mr. Speaker, thank you. I also thank my colleague from Lac-Saint-Jean.

     Bill C-69 places Quebec in a dilemma in which there are no good options.

    If we refuse to join the federal framework, our institutions will stay trapped in the 20th century while their federal competitors step into the technological 21st century. Maybe we could let our financial institutions opt in to the federal framework, but then Quebec would have to waive the right to apply its own laws to their activities that come under the open banking system.

     Then there is the worst-case scenario. In order to survive against its federal competitors, an institution like Desjardins could choose to stop being a Quebec institution within the meaning of Quebec's Cooperatives Act and become a federal institution under Canadian co-operative bank legislation. Trust companies would face the same choice. Since the open banking system could eventually be expanded to cover insurance, all of our insurance companies could switch over to federal regulation.

     If this worst-case scenario comes to pass, the entire financial sector and all of its activities will be completely outside Quebec's jurisdiction. That is a serious threat to Montreal's status as a financial hub. In short, by using its power over banks to regulate all companies that interact with them, Ottawa is trying to force Quebec and the provinces out of the financial sector, which it failed to do when it was trying to regulate securities.

     Rather than taking the unilateral, centralist route, Ottawa should have chosen co-operation. It could have called a federal-provincial finance ministers' working meeting on open banking. It could have encouraged them to release a joint statement at the end of this meeting in which the governments announce their intention of developing a common regulatory approach with a clear deadline, such as 2025, and possibly setting up a federal-provincial office.

     It could have sent a clear message to all financial institutions, not just banks, telling them to agree on a common technology, such as a secure data transfer protocol, because open banking is coming. Lastly, it could have worked on common technical regulations on accreditation rules for fintech companies, security standards, clarification of financial liability, consumer and data protection, and other such matters.

     This is what we are asking the government to do today. We are asking it to take out the division on open banking that centralizes the sector exclusively at the federal level. We are asking it to take a few months to coordinate with the various players and the provinces and then to come back in the fall with a framework that respects jurisdictions and does not put provincially regulated institutions at a disadvantage.

     The government could have chosen another model for the open banking system. There is the Interac approach based on self-regulation, as well as the securities approach. Securities fall mainly under provincial jurisdiction, but Ottawa has laws governing federally incorporated companies. The Supreme Court has also recognized federal jurisdiction over systemic risk in the financial sector. In Quebec, the Autorité des marchés financiers is the regulator.

     To ensure that businesses could raise capital across Canada and that registrations in one province would be recognized everywhere, governments decided to coordinate. That is why Quebec's Business Corporations Act is very similar to the Canada Business Corporations Act and to the corporation laws of all the other provinces. The same is true for all legislation governing the various aspects of securities.

     Quebec retains its legislative powers. The Quebec act may be stricter in some respects. For example, Quebec is the only province that requires a French version for all corporations registered with the Autorité des marchés financiers. However, this version must comply with the common standard adopted by all governments. This is the approach I prefer. This is the approach preferred by the Bloc Québécois.

     There is another concern. In Bill C‑69, the government delegates the administration of the framework to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, an agency that mainly promotes financial literacy and that does not have any of the required expertise. In committee, FCAC representatives acknowledged that they did not have expertise in sharing financial data in a way that minimizes the obvious cybersecurity risks. They also told us they do not currently have a plan for developing the expertise needed to oversee the security aspect of open banking.

     We also asked several questions that the FCAC representatives said they were unable to answer. For example, since fintech companies are not banks, they are not federally regulated. We asked if the government had obtained the consent of the provinces, particularly Quebec, which has its own civil laws, before tabling this bill. They were unable to answer. The answer is no.

     During the briefing on the notice of ways and means preceding Bill C-69, it was my understanding that provincially regulated financial institutions could join the federal framework if they so chose, provided that the province consents and declines to regulate on its own those activities involving the open banking system. Is this in fact the case? I am unable to get an answer.

     Which provincial laws will have to take a back seat to the federal laws? There is no answer.

     Who will be tasked with certifying the technology companies, Ottawa or the Autorité des marchés financiers? I am unable to get an answer.

     Will Quebec's Consumer Protection Act apply to the activities of the open banking system? There is no answer.

     In the case of fraud or damages, will it be possible to launch a class action suit under the Civil Code or the Consumer Protection Act against a fintech company? Again, I am unable to get an answer.

     Will the sharing of financial responsibilities between the financial institution and the technology company necessitate changes to the financial institutions' prudential standards? Will the Autorité des marchés financiers need to change its rules to comply with the federal framework? Here again, I cannot get an answer.

     None of this is surprising. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada is not well positioned to manage this framework. It learned it would be receiving this role just before the budget was tabled. This is ridiculous.

     To avoid a disaster or some risky back-pedalling, let us act today. Let us take this division out of Bill C-69, do our job better and come back with a good bill this fall.

    Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his work at the finance committee. I have enjoyed working with him. I understand that there are interjurisdictional issues that the member has rightfully pointed out in the debate today in relation to the consumer-driven banking framework. He and I have had some good discussions about that, and I look forward to more.

    There are a lot of other things in the budget implementation act. I understand that the Bloc will not be supporting the BIA for the reasons that members on that side have given, but could the member speak to the merits of the BIA in relation to, for example, the Canada carbon rebate for small businesses, the investment tax credits for clean-tech manufacturing and clean hydrogen, the new research infrastructure funding, funding for grads and postgrads, or a national school food program? I believe that the Bloc is in support of all of those things.

    Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. parliamentary secretary for his remarks. I really like working with him too.

     Bill C-69 seeks to amend 67 different statutes. It contains some good things and some that are not so good.

     For example, it contains the global minimum tax aimed at countering tax havens, and that is good. My colleague was talking about credits for what the government calls “clean” hydrogen. In fact, this is an $11-billion subsidy for the oil companies and the hydrocarbon industry to help gas companies with that. We do not support this. However, we do support the measure that earmarks $1 billion for the school food program. This was one of our asks.

     And so it goes. There are things we support and things we do not support. Overall, the cons outweigh the pros, so we will not be voting for this bill.

    Mr. Speaker, I listened attentively to my colleague's remarks.

     I want to pick up on what he said at the end of his speech, when he called this budget ridiculous. Can my colleague elaborate on the ridiculousness of the current government?

    Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for his question and for all his interventions in the House.

     In my speech, I focused on division 16, the open banking system. Clearly, the government did not consult Quebec, the other provinces or any market players. The sector, in other words the business community, has been asking the government to legislate since about 2016. The government finally presented a rough sketch of a bill, but there are major problems with what it is proposing. It really seems like the government does not listen and is slow to act. It does not do much. When it finally does do something, it creates serious problems, as it did in this case. Everything will be decided next fall in a future bill. What is being decided here in this bill is that the federal government is taking control of all jurisdictions that should normally be shared.

     I therefore urge my colleague to talk to his Conservative Party colleagues about voting with us to have this division taken out of the bill.

    Mr. Speaker, one of the items brought up by my colleague is a national school food program, and I want to touch on that.

    We all know of and see the great programs that Quebec put into place for child care and school food programs. I am wondering if the member could speak to the difference those programs have made in the lives of children and students and how important it is that children across Canada have access to school food programs, in contrast to what we are seeing right now, which is the Conservatives blocking, delaying and voting against essential programs that Canadians across the country rely on.

    Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her thoughtful comment.

     I would say to her that, after the Quiet Revolution, Quebec started developing a social model, Quebec's social-democratic model. This model continued to develop while the governments of Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin slashed transfers to the provinces, particularly for social services, in order to balance their budgets.

     We saw poverty shoot up and the wealth gap widen significantly in the other provinces. Meanwhile, Quebec used the means at hand to implement various measures with the help of community and social groups, people who believe in the redistribution of wealth and equal opportunity for all. Everyone tightened their belts to implement these measures. That is when the family policy, including child care centres, was rolled out, allowing more women to join the workforce. That is also when we adopted a pharmacare plan that covers people without prior coverage. That is all very limited, but while the federal government was slashing transfers by 40%, we put this in place to preserve the social fabric.

     As expert studies show, at that time, the level of inequality in the other provinces began to look similar to that of the United States, while the conditions in Quebec began to look more like what is found in Scandinavian countries. There are a great many elements, and we always get community groups involved.

    Mr. Speaker, Canadians are poor, a theme that is all too common after nine years under the Liberal-NDP government. Canadians know that they could do all the right things: They could go to school, have a part-time job while they are going to school, make ends meet, get a job, and work and put in as much as they can to save up. However, at the end of the day, the government will do everything in its power to work against all that hard work.

     The Canadian experience, or the Canadian dream, that we used to have in this country used to include things that would seem very basic for any country. If people put in hard work, they could own a home, own a business and send their kids to a good playground or a school where they would not find such things as needles and crack pipes. They would be able to just walk down the street without fear of being mugged or fear of going through tent cities such as those we are seeing across this country. However, after nine years of the Liberal-NDP government, that experience is gone. Nine out of 10 young people say that they have lost the dream of home ownership. They see a Liberal-NDP government with a carbon tax scam, which has been increased once again. Because of this, single moms have to make decisions about skipping meals now.

    There is a woke, ideologically extremist government that will do everything in its power to make sure Canadians will never be successful. This is because we have an out-of-touch Prime Minister who has probably never had to fill his own car with gas or go grocery shopping on his own. I am not even sure if he knows how to open doors anymore. He probably needs to be retrained after next year, when he is not going to be prime minister anymore. The sad part is that the incoming Liberal leader is no different. It is Mark “carbon tax” Carney who is going to be crowned. The pain that the Liberal-NDP government is inflicting on Canadians does nothing to these trust-fund babies or these elitists, but it does everything to harm the middle class and workers.

    We do not have to look very far to see the pain the government has caused after nine years, with nothing but blind support from the NDP. On top of the tent cities, there are food banks with larger and larger lineups at them and with different demographics than there were nine years ago. In fact, people can have a well-paying job and still have to line up at a food bank. They could be a teacher or a nurse but still end up sleeping in their car because, after nine years, the Liberal-NDP government has doubled housing costs. The government spent $89 billion on housing. Rents and mortgages have doubled; in fact, rents are at the highest rate they have ever been in Canadian history.

    However, this is no surprise, because we have an out-of-touch Liberal-NDP government that has no clue. According to them, Canadians have never had it so good. However, none of the Liberal or NDP MPs or the Prime Minister actually talk to Canadians. They would rather rub elbows, as Mark “carbon tax” Carney does, with the elites of the world. They would rather do that than sit at a dinner table with everyday Canadians and workers, such as the ones who cannot afford groceries anymore, who are deciding whether they should get that extra grocery item or who are thinking about whether they can actually afford heat or rent this month. Kids are starving because of the cost of food. That is nine years of the Liberal-NDP government.

     The problem is that productivity in this country has declined once again, for the seventh consecutive quarter. GDP per capita tells us how productive the country is. I spoke on Bill C-69 just weeks ago; at that time, GDP per capita was at the lowest rate since 2016. The week before that, GDP per capita was at the worst rate since 2017. Today GDP per capita is worse than it was in 2014.

    Canadians have been hit with 40-year highs in inflation because of the Liberal-NDP government's out-of-control spending. They got the most rapid interest rate hikes seen in Canadian history. They got slammed by a carbon tax scam that only went up, did nothing for the environment and only made the cost of gas, groceries and home heating even more expensive. Not only did the government do that, but it also made sure that investment in this country fled. More than $200 billion of investment has already fled since 2016. That is the record of the current government; however, again, Canadians have never had it so good according to the Liberals.

     In fact, Canadians have had it so good that they want to leave. More Canadians are leaving each year now because of the high cost of living. The Canadian dream that everyone thought of or came here for, just as my family did, is gone, and the proof is in the numbers: the food bank usage, the people fleeing from here or thinking about leaving here, the number of bankruptcies and the insolvencies.

    I will give an example of a small business owner. Small business owners are the ones the government considers to be tax cheats. I have a friend in the GTA, who left everything back at home and took the big risk of coming to this country. He came at a good time, when taxes were low and rent was half of what it is today. That was under a Stephen Harper government. It was a time when people knew that they could put in hard work and get something back.

    He started his first job as a janitor in this country; now he is a very successful transport owner. What happened in that time, and what has happened to him now? He was able to save up. He was able to send his kids to a good school, and now they are a part of that business as well.

    Now he is being taxed more than ever before by the ideology-driven government. In this country, after nine years, success is vilified. If people make money, the Liberals are going to take it. Now my friend has been hit with higher carbon tax costs; he cannot find workers, because the government has broken the immigration system; and, on top of all that, extortion has happened to him. After nine years of the Liberal-NDP government, he is getting hit with every single bad policy: He is paying higher taxes, he is not getting the labour he needs so he can grow his business, and his success is not only vilified by the government, but now extortion is happening to him because the soft-on-crime policies of the current government have done that to him and his business.

    Now, this person's family lives in fear every single day. The family members live in separate hotel rooms. They have bulletproof windows on their house and cars. On top of that, they are now thinking about leaving. This is a story that is all too common in this country after nine years of the Liberal-NDP government. By every measure, productivity has gone down; that always affects the most vulnerable people and the middle class, the ones whom the Liberal-NDP government is supposedly always standing up for.

     However, hope is on the horizon; it cannot come soon enough. Under a common-sense Conservative government, we would turn this country around. That Canadian dream would be revered once again around the world.

    Under the leadership of the member for Carleton, we would axe the tax. We would get rid of the carbon tax for all and bring down the cost of gas, groceries and home heating. We would make sure business owners can keep that money, so they could invest more in themselves and in workers.

    \We would fix the budget. We would bring in a dollar-for-dollar law, so that a dollar spent needs to have a dollar of savings somewhere, and this would help lower inflation and interest rates. The current government does not understand this, because the Liberals think that budgets balance themselves.

    We would build the homes, not more of the bureaucracy that we have seen under the government, which has doubled the cost of housing in all respects.

    We would stop the crime by bringing back mandatory minimum sentences so that we can have safe streets and safe communities once again.

    Under a common-sense Conservative government led by the member for Carleton, we would bring home that Canadian dream once again. This is something that, after nine years, the out-of-touch Liberal-NDP government has destroyed.

    Mr. Speaker, the member's speech was a bunch of slogans strung together with a lot of falsehoods scattered throughout.

    The main one I would take issue with right now is that the member blames the federal government for global inflation. Members in the Conservative Party do this on a daily basis. This is interesting because every country in the world, postpandemic, has been dealing with an inflationary environment. The member opposite does not acknowledge that and is trying to pin that on the federal government.

    In relation to this, though, we have the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio, the lowest deficit and the strongest projected GDP growth in the G7. We are rated number one for budget balance by the International Monetary Fund. We have 141% postpandemic job recovery, which is higher than that of the United States, and we have maintained our AAA credit rating. We are the first country in the G7 to have experienced a rate cut by our central bank. How does that square with the member opposite's claims?

     Mr. Speaker, it is a little rich, coming from the specific member, to be talking about falsehoods.

     If the Liberals want to talk about falsehoods, they should remember how they sold the carbon tax scam. They said it would be revenue-neutral. Well, that was false. They said it would somehow fix the forest fires and the environment. That was false. In fact, their own environmental department says they do not even track how much this carbon tax scam brings down emissions, and emissions went up. The Liberals know it is just like the Prime Minister: not worth the cost.

    On top of that, the member wants to talk about inflation. The carbon tax scam added to inflation. It is a big chunk of today's overall CPI number that we see. In fact, if the Liberals were to take away the carbon tax scam, as Conservatives would do, it would dramatically bring down inflation, which means we could bring down interest rates.

     This carbon tax scam is nothing but a Ponzi scheme under the Liberal government, supported by the NDP, because all they want to do is protect their leaders' pensions.

    Mr. Speaker, we heard my colleague talk about small business. As the former small business critic for the federal NDP, I know that the Conservatives were literally invisible during COVID-19.

     They did not bring any new ideas to help protect workers or to help small businesses survive. The NDP brought ideas to work with the government and to make sure that we protected jobs. In addition, when it came to credit card merchant fees, we saw the big credit card companies raking over small businesses, but the Conservatives sat silent. It took years of the federal NDP putting pressure on the Liberal government to actually cap merchant fees so that we were in line with Australia and the European Union.

    We are bringing forward ideas to deal with the labour market crisis, such as child care, dental care and pharmacare. We heard from small business that child care is critical to unlocking workers that need to participate in the workforce.

    Why are the Conservatives blocking supports, such as child care, dental care and pharmacare, for small businesses?

    Mr. Speaker, I am sure that if he had been an effective small business critic, he would still be in that role.

    I will tell Canadians why he is not. It is because the NDP has propped up this corrupt, inept, incompetent government. In fact, the member talks about small businesses, but it is because of them that more small businesses are going insolvent and that there are more bankruptcies. The NDP helped jack up the carbon tax scam. That is not just for businesses; it is the workers of those small businesses—

    Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

    Order. I know the hon. House leader for the NDP is way down at the end, but I am having trouble hearing the member for Calgary Forest Lawn.

    The hon. member for Calgary Forest Lawn.

     Mr. Speaker, I am sure that they might be a little farther away after the next election, but that is okay. They can heckle me all they want.

     Canadians know that workers were hurt the most by the Liberal-NDP government's woke, extremist, ideological thinking, which drove them into food banks more than ever before. However, they take pride in saying that they are somehow the saviours of this country. In fact, we just have to look at their record. Ever since the NDP has been propping the Liberals up, there has been more food bank usage, more bankruptcies and more insolvencies. Moreover, the workers they supposedly stand up for are impacted the most by their failed policies.

    Mr. Speaker, it is my sincere pleasure to stand before the House in support of the budget implementation act, 2024, No. 1, which would implement many of our government's key priorities in budget 2024, entitled “Fairness For Every Generation.”

    All children deserve a fair start in life, and I think we can all agree on that, yet nearly one in four kids in Canada lives in a household with too little income to buy enough to eat, impacting their health and their opportunities to learn and grow. That is just not right. Therefore, in budget 2024, we proposed a new national school food program that would help ensure children across Canada get the food they need to thrive, regardless of their family background.

    The children of today are tomorrow's doctors, nurses, electricians, teachers, scientists and small business owners. By supporting them, we lay the groundwork for a brighter tomorrow. Therefore, I urge my hon. colleagues to pass Bill C-69 swiftly so we can get this program up and running and do right by Canada's kids.

    We are proposing to invest $1 billion over five years into the national school food program, which will provide 400,000 more kids across the country every year with food in school. That is 400,000 more kids beyond those currently served by the patchwork of provincial, local and charitable programs that currently exist across Canada. By working together with provincial, territorial and indigenous partners, we will expand access to school food programs across the country as early as the 2024-25 school year, which is incredible.

    For kids, this investment will mean not being hungry at school or missing crucial nutrients from their diet. That is important because studies show that students who consistently consumed a nutritious breakfast and lunch achieved higher grades in reading, math and science compared to their peers.

    Meanwhile, for moms and dads, and caregivers across Canada, this investment will mean peace of mind knowing that their kids are eating healthy meals and are well looked after in school. Healthy and nutritious food for all our kids is an investment into the future. Parents will no longer have to decide on whether they purchase healthy and often more expensive alternatives or pay their rent on time.

    Even with inflation easing significantly over the last year, specifically over the last four months, which has led to Canada to be the first country in the G7 to have its central bank cut rates, affordability pressures are still causing many more Canadian families to face food insecurity, which, frankly, should worry all of us. After all, food insecurity is strongly linked to poorer health outcomes, including higher rates of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure, but also higher rates of mental health issues like depression and anxiety. All of this puts a large burden on our already stressed health care system.

    The national school food program will be a safety net for the parents who need this support the most, including first nations, Inuit and Métis families, many of which have some of the highest historic rates of food insecurity in Canada. Once up and running, it will save an average participating family with two children as much as $800 per year in grocery costs. That is extra money families can direct toward clothing, toys and books for their kids, as well as groceries and other essential goods.

    Further to that point, evidence shows us that school meal programs do not just reduce health inequities for kids. They also promote sustainable food systems and practices, and create more jobs in both the food service and agriculture sectors, especially for women. This is feminist social policy in action, and it is smart economic policy too.

    Speaking of that, something that should always be mentioned when we are talking about vulnerable kids and youth is that we have done a lot. That is why we have made generational investments into the Canada child benefit, which has helped lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty since its launch in 2016. About $91 million comes into my riding of Whitby on a yearly basis to support 14,000 families just in my riding alone.

    This program provides families with up to nearly $8,000 per child per year to provide the essentials that kids need. That is why we are continuing to deliver an early learning and child care system across all provinces and territories, which has already cut fees for regulated child care to an average of $10 a day or less in eight provinces and territories, and by 50% or more in all others.

     We are also improving access to dental health care for children under the age of 12 through the Canada dental benefit, and soon for children under 18 with the Canadian dental care plan, so that parents do not have to choose between taking care of their kids' teeth and putting food on the table.

    To help younger Canadians get the mental health and addiction support right when and where they need it most, we are also launching a new $500-million youth mental health fund. My youth council was a group of young people who identified this issue a number of years ago and has advocated for more supports for youth mental health. Therefore, it is great to see this in the budget. This new fund will help community mental health organizations across the country provide more access to mental health care for younger Canadians right in their communities, so we can help more kids and youth live healthy, happy, supported and fulfilled lives. Canada's success depends on the success of younger generations.

    The national school food program is at the top of our list. It is a generational investment to help families and make life more affordable across the country. Thanks to this crucial investment, we will be helping families by ensuring that kids do not spend the day at school hungry, and at the same time bringing peace of mind and relief to parents and caregivers. However, we cannot do it alone.

    I hope my honourable colleagues will support Bill C-69 and join us in our vision of a Canada where every child and youth has enough food to eat to focus in school and reach their full potential.

    Mr. Speaker, the member across the way spoke about a lot of the government's programs and the big spending announcements that it has brought forward over the last few years, including in this budget. Unfortunately, it is the government's policies, its spending and programs that have led to the cost-of-living crisis we are seeing after nine years. Instead, could the member speak to when his party will finally listen to common-sense Conservatives and Canadians who are struggling, and listen to our plan to axe the tax and stop inflationary spending so we can help address this cost-of-living crisis that Canadian households are facing right across the country?

    Mr. Speaker, it is clear to me that the Conservatives have only slogans. They produce no solutions or offer any solutions of any kind for any of the issues that Canadians are facing today. Our government is busy putting forward solutions and implementation plans and making investments in Canadians. We know that we have to invest in people to create the kind of prosperity and country that we want.

    Obviously, our country is going through the same inflationary crisis that the entire globe has been going through postpandemic, but we have fared much better than many other countries, and that is clear based on the statistics. We are the first country whose central bank has cut interest rates. We should all be very proud of that.

    We can invest in Canadians and make life more affordable at the same time.

    Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are accusing the Conservatives of not having a plan, but the Liberals' plan is to spend money in jurisdictions that are not its own, that they are not responsible for and that are the sole purview of Quebec and the provinces, by imposing conditions. Quebec has established social programs, child care, dental care, health insurance and housing solutions. The federal government is investing billions of dollars in our areas of jurisdiction. At the same time, it is not spending money on strengthening its own social programs, such as old age security, employment insurance and its immigration policies.

     Does my colleague not think that his government's priority should be to invest in its own areas of jurisdiction?

    Mr. Speaker, I understand that the Bloc Québécois regularly brings up interjurisdictional issues when it comes to the federal government making key investments to support Canadians. Whether they live in Quebec or any other province, all Canadians deserve investments in the kinds of supports they need to solve the affordable housing crisis, to create a stronger social safety net, to increase research and productivity and innovation in our economy. Why would Quebec not want to benefit from those key investments?

    We, as a federal government, would not be carrying out our duties if we were not trying to work with Quebec and ensuring it gets the investments it needs as well.

    Mr. Speaker, we are all hearing from constituents across Canada about the tremendous toll that the cost of living is taking as it continues to skyrocket.

    One group, in particular, I am hearing from in my riding of Nanaimo—Ladysmith are those living with disabilities. It is not enough for people living with disabilities to receive $200 a month. There was a glimmer of hope that people living with disabilities would finally be lifted out of poverty, that they would be consulted by the government in the way they deserve to be.

    When will the Liberals finally consult with those living with disabilities? When will they ensure that people living with disabilities are no longer legislated into poverty?

     Mr. Speaker, since being elected in 2019, I have been an advocate for individuals with disabilities and have advocated for the Canada disability benefit from day one. I have been in touch with my constituents living with disabilities and I feel strongly about the $200 more per month, notwithstanding that provinces and territories have neglected to provide the supports necessary to individuals living with a disability. It is within their jurisdiction to do so, but, we, as a federal government, are stepping up yet again to supplement where provinces and territories happen to be failing Canadians. We are making the investments.

    I do agree with the member that $200 is not going to lift all people living with disabilities out of poverty, but it is certainly a good start and it will bring provinces to the table, when we we can tell them that they should not be cutting back on any of the supports for individuals with disabilities, so in the future we can raise that amount and ensure we lift all people living with a disability out of poverty.

     Mr. Speaker, it is quite obvious that the Conservatives do not believe it is a good idea to invest in children. We are talking about a budget that would help feed young people who need food, fix teeth, invest in mental health and the most very basic form of child care, which is essential for strong families.

    Why does the parliamentary secretary believe that investing in children is one of the best things this government can do?

    Mr. Speaker, children are our future. I have young children. All of us with children certainly understand that they are the future of our country. We could make no better investment in the future generation than investing in children, whether it be food, dental care, pharmacare, child care, all the things that our government is doing to support families, so they can achieve and have a fair chance at success.

     Mr. Speaker, in talking about the last 18 years, it has been the best of times and the worst of times. It is the best of times, as one is well aware, for the billionaires and for profitable corporations in Canada. We saw this under the Harper tax haven treaties, the infamous treaties that cost Canada $30 billion each and every year, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer. It is the best of times for the oil and gas CEOs, who have received massive subsidies over the last 18 years, nine years of the dismal Harper regime and nine years continuing under the Liberal government.

    It has been the best of times for the banks, with $116 billion in liquidity supports under the Harper regime and with $750 billion in liquidity supports under the Liberal government. We have seen that it has been the best of times for the billionaires and the wealthiest among us.

    It has been the worst of times for everyone else. We saw, under the Harper regime, how food bank lineups doubled and how the cost of housing doubled. Since many of those policies were continued under the new Liberal government, of course, because they are bad policies, we saw food bank lineups double and housing prices double. Conservatives, unfortunately, just seem to have amnesia about how dismal the nine years of the Harper regime were. It created the conditions for the situation we see today.

    However, this speech is not about the Conservatives and their lamentable record, with the most appalling government we have ever had in our history. It is not about the Liberal government not stepping up for Canadians. It is about, really, the hope that the NDP engenders because, being the adults in the room, under the leadership of the member for Burnaby South, the NDP got to work in that situation to ensure that Canadians actually had the wherewithal to put food on their tables and to keep roofs over their heads.

    We have talked, in the past months, about many of the NDP initiatives. There was the anti-scab legislation that protects workers, for the first time in the federal regime. It is about workers being protected from replacement workers taking their jobs during strikes or lockouts. We talked about the dental care program. It is important to note that 150,000 seniors, just in the first few weeks of the NDP dental care program, have benefited from getting services. Those are seniors who, many for the first time in their lives or the first time in decades, have access to dental care. That relieves the pressure on our acute health care system because those seniors will no longer have to go to the emergency wards of our hospitals across the country to get emergency dental treatment.

    The pharmacare program that the NDP has brought in, which has passed in the House and which hopefully will pass in the other place shortly, will make a difference for six million Canadians with diabetes, who often pay $1,000 or $1,500 a month for their diabetes medications and devices, and for nine million Canadian women who have to look for contraception. Finally, women's reproductive health freedom will be maintained because it will no longer be a question of whether they can afford access to contraception. There will be nine million Canadians benefiting from those measures, as well, from the NDP.

    I could go on and on about other pieces of legislation the NDP has brought forward. We are ensuring a transition to clean energy to fight back against the climate crisis, and ensuring protection from food price gouging and gas price gouging by the enhancements that the member for Burnaby South offered to the Competition Bureau. All of those things are going to make a difference in people's lives. There is no doubt about that. The budget is part of this drive by the NDP to actually address what were systemic failures of the Harper regime, sadly continued by the Liberal government rather than putting into place the kind of fair tax system that Canadians do want to see and the structured services that actually benefit Canadians.

    Under the Harper regime, we saw how those services were slashed, badly, to allow billionaires to take their money offshore. That was the priority of the dismal, horrible nine years under the Harper regime. It was the worst government in Canadian history and the most unbelievably cruel government in Canadian history.

     The former Harper government forced veterans to travel long distances to access whatever services they deigned to allow veterans to continue to access, forced seniors to work years longer before they could even access a pension and slashed services, including health care services, left and right, indiscriminately, so that Mr. Harper and the group around him could give massive handouts to the banks, the billionaires and offshore tax havens. Unfortunately, Liberals continued those practices until the NDP stepped up in a minority parliament, first under COVID, forcing the government to actually put into place measures that would benefit Canadians in getting through the pandemic and now, over the last year or two, ensuring services that actually benefit Canadians. This budget bill is one of those examples.

    I will note that Conservatives have had absolutely nothing to offer except nuisance amendments, and they will keep us voting for a number of hours just to basically delete portions of the bill, not in any methodical way, not in any thoughtful way and not to benefit any Canadian, but just to delay House time because that is what Conservatives seem to do. They seem to obstruct and to block. Never has a single Conservative MP stepped up for their constituents in order to make sure that there were better services in place. We saw that under the dental care debate, in the pharmacare debate, and we saw that numerous times. We are seeing that today, with respect to the affordable housing provisions that the NDP has forced the government to add.

    In this budget bill, there is funding that includes universal single-payer pharmacare for diabetes, which would help six million Canadians. Just to be clear, we are talking about 18,000 Canadians in each and every Conservative, Liberal, Bloc and NDP riding in the country. Eighteen thousand of our constituents, on average, in each riding in the country, would benefit from the provisions of what the NDP has forced into the budget implementation act. How could a member of Parliament vote against 18,000 of their own constituents? That is something they will have to reconcile with their constituents when they go back home.

    There are also NDP provisions around building more affordable housing. Forty years ago, members will recall that the former Liberal government ended the national housing program. Since then, we have seen a steady deterioration in affordable housing. The cost of housing doubled under the dismal, terrible Harper regime, and it has doubled again under the current government. The NDP has forced provisions to ensure that we are actually building more affordable homes and preserving affordable housing. Affordable housing generally is 30% of income. It is not in assuming that Canadians can pay whatever cost the market gives them.

    This budget bill also would establish a national school food program for children who are going to school hungry. It would reverse cuts in a number of areas, including the cuts to health care that the Harper regime put in place and the cuts to indigenous services that the Liberal government was proposing. It would establish a dedicated youth mental health fund and would double the volunteer firefighters tax credit. I wanted to praise the member for Courtenay—Alberni, just for a moment, for his good work in bringing that to reality. This would make a big difference for volunteer firefighters right across the country, and search and rescue volunteers, who have not benefited from the tax credits that are in place.

     This is not an NDP budget. An NDP budget would actually ensure fair taxation. It would ensure that the billionaires and the wealthy corporations pay their fair share. It does make a number of steps that would make a difference.

    I do want to address one critical issue that I know the member for Port Moody—Coquitlam has raised repeatedly in the House of Commons, as has the entire NDP caucus, and that is about a disability benefit that only provides a very small measure of support for people with disabilities. Earlier, I mentioned the massive amounts that have been poured into billionaires and offshore tax havens, banks, and oil and gas CEOs. Both Conservatives and Liberals, over the years, have poured hundreds of billions of dollars into the wealthiest and most privileged among us. It is a terrible legacy that the government has refused to put in place an adequate income for people with disabilities. That must change. The NDP will continue to fight for people with disabilities and will continue to fight to put in place an adequate income for people with disabilities.

    Mr. Speaker, one way I like to compare the contrast between the Conservative Party and the progressive budgets that we have brought forward is to look at it from the perspective that the government understands the needs Canadians have. That is why we have been able to develop a budget that deals with issues such as disability benefits, a pharmacare program and a dental care program. The member made reference to anti-scab legislation.

    I am thinking that, when progressive minds come together, in fact, it can make a difference. That is in contrast to what we hear from the Conservatives, where their attitude seems to be to cut, and they spread misinformation through social media. I am wondering if the member could provide his thoughts on that aspect.

    Mr. Speaker, I think the member for Winnipeg North and I would agree that the Harper regime was absolutely the most ruthless, cruel, terribly incompetent government we have ever seen. It was appalling.

     I was in the House during that time. It is unbelievable how cruel Conservatives were to Canadians and how incompetent they were. In terms of financial management, Conservative financial management is an oxymoron. They are terrible when it comes to managing money, terrible at treating Canadians. It was an absolutely abysmal regime. It was nine years of cruelty and nine years of incompetence. It was an appallingly bad government, and it was thrown out because of all those things.

    I know Canadians will remember that the next time they go to the polls. The reality is that anything good the Liberals have done has been because of the NDP forcing them to do it, whether it is dental care, anti-scab legislation, pharmacare or affordable housing. It is all thanks to the NDP.

    Mr. Speaker, this member has been here as long as I have been, and I cannot believe that he can actually come up with this fiction. What he is saying is absolute fiction. The only people who could run the economy worse than the Liberal government would be an NDP government. I can assure Canadians right now that if he is so caught up in the polls and if he believes that people will see what is going on, I would ask him to withdraw their support today from the Liberal government. Let us go to the polls to find out what people really think and see who can actually grow this economy.

    Mr. Speaker, we will be going to the polls. We will have millions of Canadian seniors who would have benefited from the NDP dental care program and hundreds of thousands of Canadians who would have benefited from pharmacare. Conservatives would have to justify, in their ridings, why it is that they want to slash all those programs. They were a terrible government.

     I would caution my colleague, who I have a lot of respect for, that all he has to do is consult the fiscal period returns published by the Ministry of Finance. It is not a hotbed of democratic socialism or social democracy. It has shown, over the last 40 years, that the best governments at managing money in Canada have been NDP governments.

     We are better than Conservatives and better than Liberals. We make sure the priorities are providing supports, providing education, providing health care and providing services to Canadians. We do not give money away. We do not blow the wad on billionaires and banks. That is what Conservatives do, and that is why they were thrown out in 2015.

    Mr. Speaker, it was fascinating to listen to my colleague actually bring a little bit of truth to this troubled place.

     What we have seen from the Conservatives is this endless gaslighting, where they get up and talk about children not being able to eat and talk about how children have to go to food banks. Their leader, who lives in a 19-room mansion paid for by the taxpayers, with his own private chef, ordered all the sock puppets to vote against a program to get food to children.

     We asked the Conservatives why they voted against food for children. They want children suffering so that they can blame our weak Prime Minister for it. It is the same as when Conservatives talked about the mental health crisis, yet they had the gall to vote against a suicide prevention hotline.

     Meanwhile, New Democrats showed up. We got the national suicide prevention action plan because we actually care. We got dental care for seniors because we care. We got diabetes medications for seniors and for people because we care.

    The member for Carleton, who has never had a job and who lives in a 19-room mansion in Stornoway, would get all his sock puppets to cut all those important investments, while they are saying that people are suffering.

    I would like to ask my hon. colleague what he thinks it is about the Conservatives' constant gaslighting of the Canadian people, when they really do not give a damn about those who are suffering.

     Mr. Speaker, the member for Timmins—James Bay does care. That is why he was voted by all parliamentarians just a few years ago the best constituency politician in the country, because he cares about his constituents in Timmins—James Bay. It is true—

    Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The statement that the member for Timmins—James Bay was supported by all parliamentarians is not true. I would ask the member to correct the record and withdraw that remark.

     Mr. Speaker, I do not believe the member was here when the time came to vote, but that is okay. I do not need his vote to still be recognized as a strong, hard-working member—

     I think we are descending into the weeds.

    The hon. member for South Shore—St. Margarets is rising on a point of order.

    Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The member for Timmins—James Bay is breaking his own rules in his own private member's bill when he excessively uses the term “gaslighting”. What is he going to use—

    I think we are just descending into debate.

     The hon. member for Timmins—James Bay is rising on a point of order.

    Mr. Speaker, voila, Conservatives are gaslighting us, so I would ask the member to withdraw—

     The hon. member for New Westminster—Burnaby has a whole 20 seconds.

    Mr. Speaker, I agree with my colleague from Timmins—James Bay, although I think his reference to Conservatives does a disservice to socks. The reality is that Conservatives have not contributed anything to the debates in this House for years, and that is a tragedy. They will have to reckon with their constituents when they go back with their record of not doing anything for them and wanting to cut every benefit that they have.

    Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise in the House today to speak about our Liberal government's plan, through budget 2024, to support Canadians both now and for future generations. It is a budget that I know will help grow our economy, help young Canadians and bring meaningful investments to support so many families in my riding of Brampton East.

    Through budget 2024, our government is taking swift and bold action to ensure that when young Canadians are ready to rent or buy their own homes, they have affordable housing options to choose from. With investments such as the new loan funding program for apartment constructions, we can help to ensure that they get the keys into young Canadians' hands faster.

    By 2031, budget 2024 will help unlock close to four million new homes and alleviate the pressures. Our government is also providing a $400-million top-up to the $4-billion housing accelerator fund, which is fast-tracking the construction of over 750,000 homes across provinces and territories. As well, we have taken the necessary action with programs that support housing infrastructure through the Canada housing infrastructure fund, investing $6 billion over 10 years. This will help communities to have the critical infrastructure necessary to bring more houses online and into housing markets faster than ever before.

    Through budget 2024, our government is delivering on our promise to Canadians of fairness for all generations. First-time homebuyers can turn their dreams of home ownership into reality because we have enhanced the homebuyers plan so that they can use the tax benefits of an RRSP to save up to $25,000 more towards their down payment. We are also increasing the amortization period on mortgages from 25 to 30 years for first-time homebuyers purchasing new builds. With these initiatives, we are sending a strong message that our government is not only taking meaningful strides, but also empowering young Canadians who want to enter the housing market for the first time. Our government is listening, and the proof of that comes through budget 2024. We developed a real plan to help Canadians of every generation with a fair opportunity for a good, middle-class life.

    Increasing the housing supply will alleviate the added pressures buyers and renters are currently facing. Fairness for every generation means unlocking 3.87 million homes by 2031. It means bringing down the cost of homebuilding. It also means helping cities by making it easier to build homes at a faster pace. It means ensuring that we have the workforce and skilled professionals to get the job done. It means building homes that suit the needs of every Canadian, whether that be a student, senior, person with disabilities or a young family.

    In order to reach our housing goals, we will use every tool in our tool box to ensure that we build as efficiently and sustainably as possible. Building homes on vacant and or underutilized public lands is one of these tools, and our federal government will lead a team Canada effort federally, provincially and municipally to unlock public land for housing.

    Over the next three years, budget 2024 is proposing to provide over $5 million, starting in 2024-25, to expand our capacity to build more homes on public lands. This portfolio will include considering Canada Post properties and National Defence lands, and converting underused federal offices into homes for Canadians.

     We also want to make sure that municipalities have the resources to participate in our team Canada housing strategy, which is why, in March 2023, our federal government launched the $4-billion housing accelerator fund. This means that municipalities like Brampton receive a portion of that funding to help fast-track the construction of over 750,000 new homes across Canada. I am proud to note that other Brampton MPs and I advocated for close to $114 million in funding through this new fund to support the building of over 24,000 homes. To keep this momentum going among Canada's fastest-growing cities, budget 2024 has proposed to provide a top-up of an additional $400 million over four years to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, which will help unlock an additional 12,000 new homes.

     With exponential growth, our government recognizes there needs to be the necessary infrastructure that supports our housing goals. This means delivering support to municipalities through the proposed new Canada housing infrastructure fund. This fund would provide $6 billion over 10 years to help accelerate the installation of water and waste infrastructure. Our government not only is acting by building housing, but also is ensuring that our growing communities are built with purpose and created in such a way that promotes active living and more vibrant neighbourhoods.

     I have spoken at length about housing, because Canadians should know that this federal government plans to tackle the housing crisis, and it is a very big priority to us. We are making housing affordable for all Canadians of every generation, because they deserve to have a safe and secure place to call home; a home where they can raise their families, enjoy the company of friends or be able to relax after a hard day's work.

    Housing options allow for Canadians to choose the space and location that are right for them. In a world where the possibilities are endless, there are certain choices Canadians should never have to face, choices such as paying rent, buying food or paying for child care versus putting their career on hold.

    To ensure Canadians are never forced into making a difficult choice because of the cost of living, budget 2024 would deliver initiatives to support young Canadians and families of all sizes. Affordable access to nutritious foods is a vital part of our overall health and well-being. This is especially true for young children who are at critical growth and development stages in life. Paying attention in school is even more difficult on an empty stomach that gets in the way of learning. Almost one in four children do not get enough food, and studies have proven there is a correlation between students who do not receive enough nutritious food and graduation rates.

    That is why, through budget 2024, our government is proposing to launch a new national school food program, which is a necessary step toward eliminating food insecurity among young Canadians. As we work with our provincial and and territorial partners, this new program would provide $1 billion over the next five years and is expected to provide meals for over 400,000 children. Our government is fuelling the next generation of innovators because this is a team Canada approach to giving our kids the best start in life.

    Our government wants Canadians and their families to start and end their day with affordable, nutritious food. We know global factors and the lack of competition among Canada's major grocery chains have contributed to pricing fluctuations. Competition within markets is a good thing, which is why this government has already made it easier for more grocers to launch their businesses to help lower costs for Canadians.

    We are doing this, and so much more, through the grocery task force. Investigations regarding price inflation and stabilization will occur to help monitor best practices in the grocery sector. Additional measures such as maintaining a data hub for food prices, tackling shrinkflation and enhancing competition are all included in our government's plan to fight for fair and affordable food prices.

    Our government has launched the very first national affordable child care program. This is yet another way our government is making the choice easier for younger parents with children seeking to pursue or continue their careers. Our $10-a-day child care initiative is saving families in Brampton and across Canada thousands of dollars. In fact, in my riding alone, there is close to $8,000 in savings for families per year. Residents in my riding are very excited for this program. We also need to create more space for parents who want to enrol their children, and so we are unlocking more space by investing in our budget to create more spaces.

    The cost of child care is no longer the equivalent of a mortgage payment thanks to our federal government's initial $1-billion investment in the child care expansion loan program, with an additional $180 million proposed through budget 2024 to help build more child care spaces. I am also proud to say the labour participation rate of working-age women reached a record high of 85.75%, which proves our feminist economic policy benefits all Canadians.

    We understand raising children can get expensive, which is why our government introduced the Canada child benefit, which has cut child poverty by more than half. Not only did we cut child poverty in Canada by more than half, we also gave seniors the support they needed by strengthening the Canada pension plan and increasing old age security for seniors aged 75 and up.

    During a time when the cost in services has increased, our government is doing more than ever to help Canadians while growing our economy. Growing our economy and investing in programs that work for every generation requires a fiscally responsible approach. The good news is our government has a plan in place to do exactly that.

    With Canada's net debt-to-GDP ratio the best in the G7, declining deficits and AAA credit rating, we are providing real results for Canadians and the economy. We are delivering on our fiscal goals, which we set out in our fall economic statement, setting the deficits and federal debt on a downward track.

    We also factored into our government's plan new investments in sustainable green energy solutions and additional relief measures for new business owners and entrepreneurs. Building Canada's middle class requires a united approach and is fundamental to our focus on helping younger Canadians like millennials and gen Z have the same level of opportunities as their parents and grandparents did.

    Fairness for every generation and these initiatives solidify our government's approach to Canadians and prove we are listening. Budget 2024 is the plan that builds our middle class, builds more homes and builds more support for small businesses and entrepreneurs while building a strong economy.

    All in all, our government is building on its promises, is delivering actual results and has created a good plan where no Canadian is left behind. A team Canada approach lifts everyone up and takes bold action to alleviate the rising cost of living and social pressures Canadians feel. I know the constituents of Brampton East look forward to initiatives like increased child care spaces, more homes and more initiatives to attract industry and job growth. This is a budget that gives every Canadian a fair chance at success.

    Mr. Speaker, my colleague mentioned affordable food prices in his speech. As we know, the government is constantly deciding to introduce bad policy that is hurting our farmers and will increase the cost of food. The carbon tax is an example. Another example is the P2 plastics ban on plastic packaging for fresh fruits and vegetables. We have heard that this policy alone will increase the price of fresh fruits and vegetables by up to 34%, create 50% more greenhouse gases and create 50% more food waste, resulting in less availability of products as other countries may not ship their products to this country.

    Therefore I am wondering whether the member opposite can comment on whether the Liberals will abandon their plan of the P2 plastics ban for fresh produce or at least delay it to have a proper consultation with industry where we can look at science-backed solutions to the issue.

     Mr. Speaker, that is a very important question. Of course we want to continue supporting our farmers. The Indo-Pacific strategy is a $2.3–billion investment, and part of that investment includes a new agriculture office that has now been opened in Manila, Philippines, to give farmers access to new and growing markets around the world. The Canada brand is very strong around the world, and farmers are now shipping to new markets around the world because of our government's policies and our Indo-Pacific strategy.

     Coming back to the Canada carbon rebate, I know that families in Brampton and across Ontario really appreciate the $1,120 they are receiving per year to support them in the cost of living.

    Mr. Speaker, my colleague spoke at length about housing. It is indeed a major problem.

     The housing crisis in Quebec and Canada is really two crises in one. There is the problem of availability, meaning the ability to find a home, and the problem of affordability, which is a very serious issue.

     Let me give an example. Right now, most federal programs result in the construction of housing units at 80% of market cost. As a result, we are collectively paying taxes to build one-bedroom units in Longueuil that cost $1,300 to rent and two-bedroom units in Montreal that cost $2,000 to rent. That is absolutely unacceptable. We are paying too much for housing units that are too expensive. We do not know who can afford to live in them.

     I recently spoke with the Minister of Housing. He is open to the idea of reviewing the concept of affordability in the federal programs to stop funding $1,300 or $2,000 units. What does my colleague think of that?

     Does he not think that it is about time we really started funding social housing for the most disadvantaged Canadians, single mothers, victims of domestic violence, all of those people living in tent cities across the country?

     We need to fund housing so that they can have somewhere to live.

    Mr. Speaker, I hope to reply in French one day; I am still learning French.

     In response to the member's very important question, of course there have to be many different options for housing, including co-op housing. I am sure members have seen that we have recently announced more funding for co-op housing initiatives.

    With respect to growing and giving more options to municipalities across Canada through our housing accelerator fund, which I spoke about in my speech, for Brampton alone there is $114 million to the housing accelerator fund to give municipalities the support they need to build more housing, build more infrastructure to build that housing, and reduce red tape.

    Mr. Speaker, we just passed the 80th anniversary of the landings on D-Day. Having been in Normandy for the 75th anniversary, I know it is incredibly emotional remembering the struggle to free Europe.

     We are very concerned with the rise of the extreme right in Europe and what that will mean for the defence of Ukraine against the aggressions of Putin. There have been multiple votes in the House where the Conservatives have voted against support for Ukraine. We know that this is a pattern of the rising right and feeding to extremist fringe groups. I want to ask my hon. colleague whether the government is willing to commit to being there for Ukraine militarily, culturally and in the rebuilding in the long run, to stop Putin's aggression.

    Mr. Speaker, that is a very important question. Of course Ukraine is a very important ally and partner, and Canada has committed to always being there for Ukraine through many different ways, including humanitarian support, military support, resources and, of course, trade support. The member spoke about a recent vote for the modernized Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement, which the party opposite, the Conservatives, has voted against.

     I am not sure why the Conservatives voted against it, when President Zelenskyy came to Canada and asked for it because it will help Ukraine rebuild. It will grow both of our economies because this is what businesses want. I have sat down with Ukrainian community leaders across Canada, from Kelowna to Calgary and Halifax, and they have all asked for this, so I am not sure why anybody would vote against this crucial support for Ukraine. I can assure members that Canada remains committed to Ukraine.

    Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague comes from a riding in the GTA in Ontario, like I do. Can he possibly speak to how the investments in infrastructure in our communities are helping to support Canadians across this country, and in particular in his riding as well?

    Mr. Speaker, infrastructure helps enable building communities, and infrastructure helps enable building transit capacity, so Brampton MPs have come together and advocated for many different projects, like the Riverwalk project in the downtown Brampton core that will help unlock flood lands that are prone to flooding, in order to enable the building of more housing on that land.

    We have unlocked more infrastructure in transit spending as well. Brampton is one of the fastest-growing cities in Canada, so we want to make sure that our constituents have transit options available. Just Friday we made an announcement of $5 million for additional buses for our residents. We will continue advocating for our residents.

    Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is repeating the same promise he made nine years ago, when he said he could spend uncontrollably and there would be a rich guy on a hill somewhere who would pay the bill. Such was his promise of a more prosperous life for the middle class. Before we debate this repeated promise, let us first take a look at how things are going. As the Prime Minister himself admitted in a video on taxes a few weeks ago, the gap between the rich and everyone else has only grown. According to a chart created by Statistics Canada, the rich have grown twice as rich since the promise was made in 2015.

    How are things going for the middle class? Nine out of 10 are paying more taxes than they were before this Prime Minister took office. Middle-class young people can no longer own a home, and 76% of them believe they never will. In addition, more people are using food banks than ever before in our history. Canada has had the worst GDP growth of the G7 since 2015, and the decline continues even now. The OECD has calculated that Canada's economic growth will be the worst of nearly 40 advanced economies for this decade and for three decades to come, which means that the quality of life of Canadian youth will drop compared to youth in other countries. In addition, Canada has lost $460 billion in investments to the United States, or $11,500 per person.

    The Prime Minister's solution is to keep repeating the same election promises he made nine years ago and has since broken. Now he is proposing a new tax that will apply to health care, housing, farmers, and small and medium-sized businesses. A tax on doctors means even fewer doctors when there is already a doctor shortage. A tax on farmers means more expensive food. A tax on small businesses means fewer jobs and fewer opportunities for our young people. A tax on our economy will send more money to the United States and elsewhere.

     Billionaires will not pay the tax, because the Prime Minister gave them two months' notice so they could get their money out of the country before this tax comes into effect. Who will pay it, then? First, it will be people who are selling or transferring long-term assets on a one-time basis, like a grandmother trying to sell or gift part of her farm to her children so that they can have a home. Next, it will be the 300,000 businesses or, indirectly, their workers. It will simply lead to higher food costs and smaller paycheques, and it will make it harder to find a doctor. Raising taxes will not solve the problem. That is why the Conservatives will be voting against this tax on health care, food and housing.

     In my first 60 days as prime minister, I will name a task force of entrepreneurs, inventors, farmers and workers, but no lobbyists. This task force will design a tax reform for lower taxes that would, one, bring home hiring and more powerful paycheques to Canada; two, bring home fairness by reducing the share of the tax burden paid by the poor and working class while cracking down on overseas tax havens and tackling government-funded corporate welfare; and, three, bring home 20% less paperwork by simplifying the tax rules. Lower, simpler, fairer.

    We will make this a country where hard work is rewarded with a bigger paycheque and a bigger pension to buy affordable food, gas and homes in safe communities. That is just plain common sense.

    Nine years ago, the Prime Minister promised that he would spend like a drunken sailor, but that there would be a rich guy on a hill somewhere who would pay the price and the middle class would prosper. How is that promise playing out? According to his own video two weeks ago, the rich are twice as rich. Their net worth has gone from $6 trillion to $11 trillion.

    How is the famous middle class, which we do not hear so much about anymore? Well, 76% of people who do not own a home believe they never will. Young people who do not have help from their parents cannot own homes almost anywhere in the country today. One in five Canadians is skipping meals. In Toronto, one in 10 is going to a food bank, a city that now has 256 homeless encampments, 50 of them added in the last six weeks alone. This is the help for middle-class people and those working hard to join it. The rich have gotten richer nine years after the Prime Minister promised that higher taxes, spending and debt would make things fair. Let us look around the country today. The Prime Minister admits life sucks, in his own words. How is that fair?

    Now his solution is to bring in a giant job-killing tax on health care, homes, farms and small businesses. He wants to tax away doctors when we have a doctor shortage. He wants to tax home builders when we have a housing shortage. He wants to tax farmers when we have a food price crisis, and he wants to tax small businesses when our economy is already shrinking. The results of this approach have already been shown.

     Our economy is shrinking, and has been shrinking for two years. We have had the worst economic growth in the G7 per capita since the Prime Minister took office, and since 2019, our economy has shrunk 2% while the American economy has grown by 8%. Meanwhile, we have the worst housing price inflation in all of the G7, the second worst in the entire OECD, after the Prime Minister doubled housing costs. This is exactly the opposite of what the Prime Minister promised would happen if he brought in more taxes.

    Who will pay this new tax? The good news is that billionaires will not pay it. The Prime Minister has given them two full months to sell their assets and get their money out of Canada to build a business south of the border or in some faraway place. Who will be left behind to pay the bills? It will be people selling long-term assets, such as the wonderful grandmother who tried to divide up her farmland so her kids could have a small property to live on and is getting hit with a $40,000 tax bill, or the 300,000 businesses, most of them small businesses, and, indirectly, all of their workers, that will see long-term pay cuts or stalled wages as a result of their owners' inability to invest. Those people, like taxi drivers and others, who have saved up in a company, will pay higher taxes on every single new dollar they invest in our economy.

    Raising taxes and punishing our health care providers, home builders, small businesses and farmers will only drive wages down and the cost of living up. That is why common-sense Conservatives will do exactly the opposite. Within 60 days of becoming prime minister, my government would name a tax reform task force of entrepreneurs, inventors, farmers and workers, but no lobbyists, to design a bring-it-home tax cut that would, one, bring home production and paycheques with lower taxes on work, hiring and making stuff; two, bring home fairness by reducing the share of the tax burden paid by the poor and working class while cutting back on tax-funded corporate welfare and cracking down on overseas tax havens; and, three, bring home less paperwork by simplifying the tax rules.

    Conservatives will make this a country where hard work is again rewarded, where those who spend sleepless nights mortgaging their homes and wondering how they will pay the bills will be richly rewarded for their sacrifice in building the economy. It will be a country based on meritocracy not aristocracy, where people get ahead by working hard, not through having a family trust fund, like the Prime Minister. It would be a country where, if one works hard, they would earn a powerful paycheque that would buy affordable food, gas and homes in safe neighbourhoods.

    That future is for the common sense of the common people, united for our common home, their home, my home, our home. Let us bring it home.

    Mr. Speaker, we just found out moments ago that Conservatives have now decided that they will not be voting in favour of fairness for Canadians, but will, in fact, be voting today against the ways and means motion to set fairness for everybody.

    Can the Leader of the Opposition take the opportunity now to explain his position because he has been absolutely mute on this for the last number of weeks?

    Mr. Speaker, I think the member has a problem with his earpiece because I just finished explaining my position.

    My position is that a job-killing tax on health care, homes, farms and small businesses is the last thing we need in this cost of living crisis, which the Prime Minister has caused. He wants to tax doctors away when we have a doctor shortage. He wants to tax farmers when we have a food price crisis. He wants to tax home builders when we do not have enough homes. He wants to tax small business when our economy is already falling off the cliff and having the worst growth in the G7. That is insanity.

    Common-sense Conservatives would bring in taxes that are lower, fairer and simpler, so that hard work would pay off with a powerful paycheque that would buy affordable food, gas and homes in safe neighbourhoods.