The opposition day motion calls for the creation of a sovereign wealth fund. MPs debated the proposal, with Conservatives arguing the government has no surpluses to put into such a fund and is effectively putting debt on a credit card. Liberals defended the concept, comparing it to previous proposals, but acknowledged work remains to be done on climate and spending priorities.
“This Liberal government is just as bad with money as the old NDP government in Saskatchewan. They both lose hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on bad investments. The government always thinks it knows how to invest better than the private sector, but it never does. Now they want a sovereign debt fund to put more of our money at risk. They're even worse with conflicts of interest – this will just be a slush fund for the Prime Minister's corporate buddies. Meanwhile, regular Canadians are struggling to make ends meet.”
“I'm trying to change the subject to something good my government did. Maybe if I talk about those other things it will distract from this current debate.”
“I want to argue with your example. I don't think this fund you're talking about is actually independent or sovereign. It sounds like the government just plans to use it for their own projects.”
“I agree with the Bloc. I want you to know there is no transparency. I don't trust this fund to pick investments. I want the free market to decide instead. I think taxpayers will lose money.”
“I am saying that as a Liberal government, we have to spend a lot of money. There were many bad things that happened in the world, and we had to spend money to fix them. We can't be like the Conservatives who want to cut spending. We need to keep investing in the economy and creating new partnerships with other countries. The sovereign wealth fund we are creating will help us invest in Canadian companies and create wealth and prosperity for all Canadians in the long term.”
“I say the real debt number is higher. He's comparing a misleading number to make our debt look small. I think his number hides the real size of Canada's debt.”
“He's right the number I used only included some debt. Include all debt and assets, then Canada's true debt number is higher. He used a small number to make our debt look small.”
“I'm asking you about a problem. You're from Quebec. You used to work for Quebec. Quebec keeps asking for more health money from Ottawa. Here are some numbers from the budget to make me look smart. Health spending will go up by this much. Debt payments will go up by this much. Debt payments are going up faster than health spending. That's a problem. You should say something about this problem.”
“This issue is boring. I don't want to give a real answer. Let me say some vague words about how the rules can change to make it sound like I'm saying something helpful.”
“I want my party to look good. Let me say kind words about my colleague so it looks like our whole team is smart and in control. I'm filling time by name-dropping the Parliamentary Budget Officer and repeating kind vague words she said.”
“I want the government to own a piece of big projects. It doesn't matter if it takes a long time. I don't care if the project is good or not. The important thing is that the state gets a cut.”
“I'm frustrated that the government has stacked committees in their favor and is blocking real debate. I don't like being told to just agree with their sovereign wealth fund idea without being able to discuss and scrutinize it properly first. How are we supposed to collaborate when they've rigged the process?”
“The finance committee I'm on is working fine. We're talking and finding consensus there, even if other committees aren't. I want to hold us up as the example.”
“I want you to say exactly what you want to change about how health transfers work. I want details. What's your actual plan? What are you really asking for?”
