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Adjournment Proceedings

2026-04-30 Sitting 114 Showing 1–2 of 2

A debate about affordability and the government's actions to address it. The Conservative member criticized the government's approach, saying they cannot tax or spend their way out of inflation. The Liberal member mostly discussed government programs to help with affordability.

Official Hansard ↗

Jennifer McKelvie

Liberal 6:35 p.m.

“I want to look like I'm helping with affordability. I'll spend money to lower prices and fees. Gas taxes are suspended for a few months. Businesses and truckers will save money. The government will lower pension contributions. That helps workers and businesses. First-time homebuyers get more time to repay a program. We cut sales tax on some expensive houses. Government is doing a lot!”

Official Hansard

Madam Speaker, in a rapidly changing world, the government is focused on what we can control, which is building a stronger economy to make life more affordable for Canadians. Many Canadians continue to face affordability pressures as the cost of essential goods, housing and everyday expenses remain high. That is why the government has also taken action to help Canadians with daily expenses. For example, starting April 20, the federal fuel excise tax on gasoline and diesel, across Canada, will be suspended until Labour Day. This reduces gas station fill-ups by 10¢ per litre on regular gasoline and four cents on diesel. This will help Canadian drivers and reduce operating costs for truckers and businesses in the food, agriculture, housing, construction and delivery sectors. Now I would like to talk about some of the new measures announced in the April 28 spring economic update that will help make life more affordable for Canadians. For one, the update announced the government's intention to introduce legislative amendments to the Canadian pension plan to reduce the contribution rate in the base CPP from 9.9% to 9.5%, effective next January 1. This would translate into annual savings of about $133 for an employee earning $70,000 a year, with an equivalent savings for their employer for each worker. This change was agreed to by provincial ministers of finance as co-stewards of the plan, and it would maintain a prudent financial buffer to protect the CPP against future economic and demographic risks while providing meaningful contribution relief. For new homebuyers, the update proposes to extend the grace period before starting repayments on the homebuyers' plan withdrawals from RSPs from two years to five years for participants making a first withdrawal between January 1, 2026, and December 31, 2028. This would provide cash flow relief of up to $4,000 per individual per year for the additional three years they are no longer required to start repaying the amount into their RRSP. This follows the recent elimination of the GST for first-time homebuyers on new homes up to $1 million and the reduction of GST for first-time homebuyers on new homes between $1 million and $1.5 million, providing savings of up to $50,000. These are just some of the ways the government is helping to make life more affordable for Canadians.

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Jennifer McKelvie

Liberal 6:40 p.m.

“We're giving people money. It's a lot of money. $1890 for a family this year. $950 for one person. We increased the GST credit by 25% for five years. Plus a one-time 50% top-up. We really care about affordability.”

Official Hansard

Madam Speaker, I should also mention another important affordability measure to support those most affected by the rising price of food. In January, the government announced the new Canada groceries and essentials benefit to help more than 12 million Canadians afford day-to-day essentials. The benefit builds on the existing GST credit and will provide additional support through a one-time top-up payment to be issued on June 5, equal to a 50% increase in the annual 2025-26 value of the GST credit. Combined with a 25% increase in the value of the GST credit for the next five years, this means that a family of four would receive up to an additional $1,890 this year and about $1,400 a year for the next four years, and a single person would receive up to $950 this year and about $700 a year for the next four years. Our government cares about affordability.

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