Official Hansard
Mr. Speaker, as the representative for Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, I want to take this moment to congratulate the Ancaster Lions Volleyball Club. The 18U rep team won a gold medal at nationals this past weekend in Calgary. The adage in sports is that we want to win the last game we play, and for many of these players, this was their last game of competitive volleyball. It was just amazing to go out on such a tremendous victory. I want to thank the coaches: Ed Bosveld; Coach Smitty, Jeff Smith; Caleb Joosse; and Brenden Vanderkruk. As I reflect on this amazing achievement, I realize the importance of competitive sports, especially on the development of young men in their lives. It gives them a competitive outlet. There is the commitment, the training, the practice and the work on self-improvement. There is the personal responsibility that comes when the team relies on its players, and learning that their actions have consequences. Players learn that sometimes life is not fair and that, even when they do everything right, sometimes they do not win, and they have to learn how to deal with those losses. They have to train for success, learn the value of hard work, eat healthy and have healthy habits. Above all, there is leadership and what it is to be part of a team working together towards a common goal. We are so proud of all the years of hard work by the athletes, coaches and the parents who supported these athletes all the way along. I say, “Way to go, boys.” On that note, I will reflect on the spring economic statement. There is a $775-million investment in sports infrastructure and programming, from house leagues to the Olympics. Having been through competitive volleyball for a number of years, I can see first-hand the need for that investment on the ground in communities, in particular in the Golden Horseshoe area for court sports, such as basketball and volleyball, and for racquet sports. I am committed to advocating for those investments in our community. I also want to take a moment to say happy birthday to my wife. It was her 50th birthday this past week when we were in our ridings. Members might ask how we celebrated her birthday. Well, it was a riding week, so we went to the Legion for Catch the Ace. We had a great evening. Everyone was very welcoming, but I do owe her a little bit more of a special evening event. As we move on to the spring economic statement, I want to reflect that, just over a year ago, Canadians elected a serious, pragmatic government. Over the past year, our focus federally has really been on three major priorities: our economic and national security, responding to major global uncertainty and maintaining Canada’s economy in constant in the face of that uncertainty. We are focused on affordability, lowering costs, supporting families, cutting taxes, and economic investments. In my personal role in advocating for federal investments in Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, my focus is on infrastructure spending, housing, and investments in the skilled trades and the next generation of workers. I am really optimistic about Hamilton, Ancaster and Dundas’s future. We have seen positive momentum in Canada over the past year, and Hamilton, Ancaster and Dundas are very well positioned for future growth. Our industrial base continues to power Canada’s economy. We have one of the most diverse economies in all of Canada, led by steel and manufacturing and by health care and life sciences, which are actually Hamilton’s largest employers. We are also leaders in research and innovation, with three post-secondary institutions in my riding, McMaster, Mohawk and Redeemer, leading in research and innovation and the skilled trades. Hamilton is a place that is known for labour for the skilled trades, and it will continue to lead in those sectors. Of course, it goes without saying that there are challenges. The illegal American tariffs are an ongoing economic pressure for local industry. This is with an ongoing, unprecedented uncertainty in the world as we are dealing with a now hostile neighbour to the south. There are issues in Ukraine, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, Taiwan and China, and a U.S. administration that has caused the single largest increase ever in the price of oil. While the U.S. has caused this problem and is risking a global recession because of it, it is the rest of the world that is left mitigating the impacts. I also want to reflect on some of the successes of the past Trudeau government. There are three areas that come to mind as being particularly high points for the Trudeau government. The first is environment and climate change, making key commitments to take action on climate change, beginning Canada’s transition to an electric future and taking action on mitigation of climate impacts. The second is the protection of minority rights, in particular the rights of women. We have seen, in the U.S., systematic and deliberate erosion of the rights of women. MAGA-style politics is the basis for a lot of the current conservative approach. When I was watching The Handmaid’s Tale with my wife, some of the flashbacks they showed hit a little too close to home, where we could see that kind of Christian nationalism taking form in the United States at this very moment. I want to talk about my Bloc colleagues as well. They are leaders on the separation of church and state, and I would like to work with them more collaboratively on how to make sure we continue that fundamental differentiation in Canada. Last, the Trudeau government had an amazing response to the COVID pandemic. In hindsight, of course, our vision is 20/20. At the time, I was with the City of Hamilton, and we were dealing with the most profound public health crisis of the past century. From vaccines to taking concrete steps and leadership around the world in the face of a crisis, I think this will stand the test of time as being one of the shining moments for Canada. That brings me to the need for true leadership in a time of crisis. There has been economic momentum in Canada, with Canada having the strongest fiscal position in the G7, among the highest employment growth, the second-highest GDP, inflation within the Bank of Canada’s target range and wage growth exceeding inflation. We are the most tax-competitive jurisdiction for new business in the G7, and we have the lowest marginal tax rate. We have the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7, and not just by a little bit. It is five times lower than Germany’s and 10 times lower than the United States’. We have the best credit rating; record-high oil and gas production; record-high global investment, the highest in the G7, double that of the U.S.; and a 40% increase in non-U.S. trade in the last few months. We are making investments to maintain this momentum. Locally in Hamilton, we are supporting workers with a regional tariff response plan, buy Canadian procurement policies and protections against unfair foreign steel dumping, and we are making major investments in Canada’s economy, not for the next year or the next election cycle but for the next century. We have invested $115 billion in infrastructure, including the $51-billion build Canada strong fund; $25 billion in housing, including $13 billion on build Canada homes, modernizing modular construction and supporting the housing industry; $30 billion toward defence and industrial strategy, currently at 2% of GDP, with a goal to be at 5% within five years; and $115 billion of investment in productivity, innovation and trade diversification. We are taking fiscal responsibility for Canada’s finances. We are balancing the operating budget within three years, a $60-billion savings target, and we are already $11 billion lower than targets. On top of all of this is diversifying Canada’s trade, making real investments to diversify our reliance on one single trading partner, the United States. That work is already showing dividends right now, because Canada is not broken. Our challenges exist, but we are defining our own path. With respect to federal affordability measures, we have also cut income tax. We have provided relief on gas prices by removing the consumer carbon tax, saving consumers 18¢ a litre, and by suspending the federal fuel excise tax, saving consumers 10¢ a litre. All of this is, as I said, in the context of ongoing global conflicts. Canada is facing real challenges, such as global instability, tariffs and economic uncertainty, but Canada also has enormous strengths, which our government is leveraging: strong institutions, skilled workers, natural resources, industrial capacity, and innovation and research. The spring economic update focuses on protecting Canadians while preparing for the future, because we are optimistic about Canada’s future, we are optimistic about Hamilton’s future and we believe in Canada and Canadians.
