TranslatePolitics.ca

Hon. Kevin Lamoureux

Liberal 4:05 p.m.

“I say good things about the budget and want you to talk about how it spends money in Quebec.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, within the legislation, there are many examples of how Canada is building stronger. Ultimately, a stronger, healthier Canada is there for all, no matter the region of the country. We have a Prime Minister and a government that are focused on building and being there to have the backs of workers and families. Within the budget, we will find that there are a number of initiatives that are there to support. In addition to that, in particular, I am thinking of the beautiful province of Quebec, where we have the expansion of the port of Montreal, and the aerospace industry is benefiting. I am wondering if my friend could talk about the DND component and how Quebec will benefit from it.

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault

Liberal 4:05 p.m.

“There are benefits for everyone. I'm thinking of spending on small ports. That will help many places. We're spending a lot. It's historic.”

Andrew Lawton

Conservative 4:10 p.m.

“I think if we all agree, we should go back and let members present their petitions.”

Patrick Weiler

Liberal 4:10 p.m.

“I'm here to cheer for my government's new bill. It will spend money on many programs. More money will go to housing and training workers. Gas taxes will be lower for a while. Brewers in my riding will be happy. We will keep investing in small harbours and protect whales. We will build greenhouses to grow food in Canada. There will be money for sports too. These are all good things my government is doing.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise in the House on behalf of the people of West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country to speak to Bill C-30, the spring economic update implementation act. At a time of global uncertainty, our government is focused on what we can control here at home: building a stronger, more resilient economy, making life more affordable and creating opportunities for the next generation. This is exactly what Bill C-30 would advance. Canada is already emerging as one of the world's most attractive destinations for investment. Foreign direct investment reached nearly $97 billion last year, which is the highest level in almost two decades. Surveys of global investors are showing that Canada is the most attractive place for infrastructure investment. We will need that investment, as our government understands that Canada cannot be overly dependent on one market. For decades, roughly 70% of our exports have gone to the United States. Bill C-30 is part of a broader effort to strengthen Canada's economic sovereignty by diversifying trade, supporting domestic industry and investing in Canadian productivity. Since last year alone, non-U.S. exports have increased by more than 40%, while exports to Europe continue to grow significantly. Importantly, this legislation recognizes that economic growth matters only if Canadians can actually feel it in their everyday lives. That begins with housing. Across my riding, housing affordability remains one of the defining issues that people raise with me. Young Canadians are wondering whether they will ever be able to buy a house in the communities they grew up in, while families are struggling with rising rents and housing shortages. The spring economic update responds by providing more than $7 billion in low-cost financing through the apartment construction loan program to accelerate the building of thousands of low-cost rental units across the country. Since 2019, this program has already financed over 300 below-market units in the Sea to Sky region alone. I have heard countless stories of how this has changed people's lives, from allowing people to live closer to work to allowing low-income workers to save money for their retirement for the first time. The homes and the infrastructure Canada needs do not build themselves. If Canada wants to build the housing, infrastructure, transportation and clean energy projects we talk about so often, we need skilled workers, and many more of them. This is why one of the most important components of the spring economic update is the investment in skilled trades and apprenticeships. The government is launching a nationwide effort to recruit, train and hire up to 100,000 new Red Seal skilled trades workers by 2031 through the team Canada strong program. This creates a direct pathway for young Canadians into rewarding, well-paying careers while helping address labour shortages that are delaying projects across the country. This will support Canadians through the entire process, from discovering the trades to apprenticeship opportunities, completing the technical training and ultimately achieving Red Seal certification. It is also about reducing barriers by simplifying and accelerating the certification pathway so more Canadians can enter this workforce faster. Bill C-30 would also improve labour mobility for tradespeople by increasing the labour mobility deduction from $4,000 to $10,000, lowering the threshold to access it and making it easier for workers to go where their skills are needed most. For workers who spend weeks away from home helping build critical infrastructure and housing, this matters. This legislation also contains targeted affordability measures that would make a meaningful difference for Canadians. Between mortgage payments, rising living costs and uncertainty about the future, many young Canadians are feeling stretched thin even after reaching the major milestone of buying a new home. Measures in Bill C-30 like extending the repayment grace period under the homebuyers' plan would provide relief to homeowners to ease pressure during those early critical years of home ownership. Bill C-30 would also reduce the CPP contribution rates beginning next year, helping workers and businesses keep more money in their pockets. While individually these changes may seem modest, in combination with recent measures like cutting Canadian income taxes, cutting the GST on new homes for first-time homebuyers and the groceries and essentials benefit, together they would help lower the pressure on Canadians who are already facing high costs. This legislation would also expand support for volunteer tax clinics that help vulnerable Canadians access the benefits they are entitled to. I want to give a special shout-out to Louis and the volunteers behind the local tax clinic on the Sunshine Coast, whose work helps over 3,000 residents each year access benefits and support they might otherwise miss. Their work is a powerful example of community service in action and demonstrates how local volunteers can make a difference in people's lives. At a time when global instability has contributed to rising fuel prices, Bill C-30 temporarily removes the federal excise tax on gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel until Labour Day. This is already saving Canadian drivers about 10¢ a litre and providing direct relief at the pump for the families and businesses already dealing with many pressures. In places like Sea to Sky and the Sunshine Coast, residents continue to face inexplicably high gas prices. At all times, but especially right now, the Competition Bureau should be keeping a very close eye on anti-competitive behaviour and potential price manipulation in regional fuel markets like this one, because Canadians deserve fairness, transparency and confidence that they are not paying artificially high fuel prices. Bill C-30 would support Canadian brewers by extending the 50% reduction on excise duty rates for the first 15,000 hectolitres of beer brewed in Canada. That is an amount that covers the full production for over 94% of breweries in our country. For small brewers in my riding, like Coast Mountain Brewing, the Persephone Brewing Company and Backcountry Brewing, this provides meaningful savings that can be reinvested into local jobs, equipment, expansion and community events. This legislation recognizes the importance of investing in coastal communities and marine infrastructure. Our government is investing nearly $1 billion in small craft harbours and critical infrastructure that supports fisheries, transportation, tourism and local economies. I have heard first-hand from many harbours, including the Gibsons Landing Harbour Authority, about the growing pressures facing them and the need for upgrades to support increased commercial fish harvesting and future transportation demands. At Gibsons Landing, this includes the planned electric passenger ferry service that could help provide much-needed relief for Sunshine Coast residents. At the same time, economic development must go hand in hand with environmental stewardship. Bill C-30 includes more than $160 million over five years to continue protecting Canada's whales and marine habitats on all three coasts. This would build on Canada's broader $3.8-billion nature strategy and the commitment to protect biodiversity and marine ecosystems for future generations. Last month's announcement of a new marine protected area in British Columbia the size of Prince Edward Island reinforces the importance of stewardship of our oceans while maintaining access to sustainable fish harvesting and tourism opportunities. My constituents understand that protecting marine ecosystems is not separate from economic prosperity, but essential to it, because healthy oceans support fisheries, tourism, recreation and coastal livelihoods. Food security is another key priority addressed in this legislation. As the Prime Minister said in Davos, food security is national security and, “A country that cannot feed itself, fuel itself, or defend itself has few options.” In an increasingly unstable world, shaped by supply chain disruptions, climate pressures and geopolitical instability, Canada must strengthen its domestic food production capacity. Bill C-30 and measures in the spring economic update would support that goal through supporting food production and distribution networks and, importantly, by providing immediate expensing of new greenhouse infrastructure. I have already seen how this is making a difference in my riding. The Líl̓wat Nation broke ground on a greenhouse at one end of it. On the Sunshine Coast, projects like Swiya Farms in Sechelt are focused on building large-scale, sustainable local food systems and supporting community-driven agriculture and long-term food resilience, including a large-scale greenhouse that is being planned. These are measures we are building on with last week's announcement of Canada's national food security strategy, which will increase competition to lower grocery prices, boost domestic production year-round and help local products get onto grocery shelves. I also want to highlight the investment in sports and recreation in the spring economic update. In my riding, we know first-hand the lasting impact sport can have on communities. The 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games left a legacy that extends far beyond infrastructure. They inspired participation, strengthened community pride, supported tourism and created opportunities for young athletes right across the region. We have seen world-class athletes emerge from our communities, including Marielle Thompson and Trinity Ellis, but the true legacy of sports goes beyond medals. It inspires young people to get active, build confidence, develop teamwork and resilience and connect with their communities. That is why the spring economic update has a historic $755-million investment in Canadian sport that would strengthen communities and new sports programs to support national sports organizations and athletes, improve safe sport initiatives and help Canada host major sporting events. I can see my time is running short, so I will say Bill C-30 is ultimately about building a more resilient, affordable and self-reliant Canada. It would invest in housing, workers, infrastructure, affordability, coastal communities, food security and environmental stewardship. Together, we can build confidently, deliberately and together.

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

Tamara Jansen

Conservative 4:10 p.m.

“You've been spending more and more for 10 years. Housing and food are less affordable now. Debt is high. Our economy is the only one in recession. When will you admit that your spending is making things worse?”

Patrick Weiler

Liberal 4:10 p.m.

“You say our spending is making things worse. I say our spending is making things better. Look at our housing program. It's making things more affordable. The real problem is trade, not us.”

Martin Champoux

Bloc Québécois 4:10 p.m.

“You talk a lot about fighting climate change. But your government keeps subsidizing oil and making it easier to use pesticides. That's not helping the environment. Do you agree with those measures? How do they help the environment?”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate my colleague from West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country. The name of his riding brings to mind landscapes, nature and beauty, and I cannot help but believe that my colleague is worried about the environment and climate change. In fact, he mentioned it in his speech, talking specifically about greenhouse gases and the fight against greenhouse gases. The Bloc Québécois called for an end to the oil subsidies, which would have generated approximately $27 billion in revenue for the government over five years. Instead, the government is maintaining the oil subsidies and, on top of that, it is relaxing the pesticide regulations. These are two measures that actually run counter to what my colleague mentioned earlier. They run counter to the fight against climate change. I would like my colleague to tell me whether he agrees with these measures and how they help the environment.

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

Patrick Weiler

Liberal 4:10 p.m.

“I said nice things about nature in my speech. My riding is pretty. The government is spending money on whales and nature. I won't answer your specific points about oil subsidies and pesticides. Maybe someone will look at that later in committee.”

Hon. Kevin Lamoureux

Liberal 4:10 p.m.

“I want the member to cheer for our party's program. We want people to think we are helping with the cost of living.”

Patrick Weiler

Liberal 4:10 p.m.

“I want people to cheer for our program. It spends a lot of money for families. I want Canadians to think we are doing something about high prices. We will spend more money in the future.”

Gord Johns

NDP 4:10 p.m.

“I want more subsidies for BC Ferries. Atlantic Canada gets more money. That's not fair! Government should spend more money on my riding.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague well knows, in Atlantic Canada, they receive about $125 per person in ongoing ferry subsidies for operating costs. In British Columbia, it is about $6 per person. In fact, BC Ferries receives only 3% of overall expenditures in funding from the federal government for operating costs, versus Atlantic Canada's 43%. My colleague will cite that the Liberals provided funding for COVID relief, which they did for Atlantic Canada, too, or loans that have to be repaid by ferry users that accumulate to about $26 million in savings over 25 years. It is nothing compared to the hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies to Atlantic Canada. Does my colleague believe the current agreements are outdated and need to be modernized? He talked about increases in fuel. BC Ferries, just last week, added a 5% surcharge because of fuel. Is my colleague going to stand up for our coastal communities today?

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

Patrick Weiler

Liberal 4:25 p.m.

“I want voters to see me calling for more ferry funding for my riding too! But BC ferries are a provincial responsibility, not federal like Atlantic Canada's. I'm counting the money we gave BC differently to make it sound larger than the money we gave to Atlantic Canada.”

Jasraj Hallan

Conservative 4:25 p.m.

“I want voters to see me opposing this motion because it shuts down debate and transparency. The Liberals are spending recklessly and driving up costs for Canadians. Business investment is down, food insecurity is up, and the economy is weak. I proposed amendments to extend the pause on the excise tax and save Canadians money, but the Liberals voted them down. The Conservatives want the government to get out of the way and bring back affordability and investment.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, before I begin, I want to inform you that I am splitting my time with my good friend from Saskatoon West, who brought me to his riding. I remember it was -40°C. He promised me he would show me an ice rink. I did not know he was talking about the roads in Saskatoon, not an actual ice rink. The Liberals should call this motion we currently have in front of us “the guillotine”, because they are taking the guillotine to transparency and accountability. They are trying to end all debate at the finance committee because the numbers are catching up to them. After 10 years of reckless spending, deficits and higher taxes for Canadians, all of those numbers are adding up. In fact, the Prime Minister, who said he would be more responsible, has doubled Justin Trudeau's deficit. It is rising to $72 billion. The Liberals are adding another $68 billion in new spending. The PBO came out with a scathing report just two weeks ago, saying the Liberal government has a “less than 1 per cent” chance of meeting one of its own fiscal anchors, and debunking the other fiscal anchors the government had put in place. What are all of these numbers going to do? The PBO might say there is a less than 1% chance of the Liberals meeting their fiscal anchor. I would argue there is also a less than 1% chance of a Liberal answering a question in this place and a less than 1% chance that we will get answers at the finance committee on this very expensive spring economic statement. Of course, whenever the numbers are bad, the Liberal government does what it always does, which is shut down debate and shut down accountability. The opposition's job, which Canadians sent us to this place to do, is to expose the endless, reckless spending by the Prime Minister and the Liberal government. It is not just us saying things are bad right now. In fact, the Bank of Canada said “the economy is soft”, the PBO said growth will “remain subdued”, TD said the economy is operating “well below capacity” and BMO said there is “no sense sugar-coating this sour result”. Everyone feels it. The fact is that the Prime Minister, who said we would have the fastest‑growing economy in the G7, ended up delivering the fastest‑shrinking economy in the entire G20. This plays out in the real world for Canadians. This reckless spending and the money that goes to Liberal insiders all adds up. In fact, Canadians are poorer now than they have ever been. We see two million Canadians going to a food bank every single month. We have one in five Canadians who are food insecure. A third of the people who are going to food banks now are children. Members would think I am talking about some third‑world statistic, but this is what Liberal Canada looks like today because of the reckless spending, taxes and overburdening our industries. All of these have driven out so much of our investment that Canadians now have to suffer the results. We have fewer options and less competition. Costs are going up because of Liberal taxes. At the end of the day, that is why our food inflation is one of the fastest‑growing in the entire G7. We have the highest household debt, the highest housing costs in the G7 and the second‑highest unemployment in the entire G7. This is not to mention that ours is the only country in the entire G20 to be in a recession. The Conservatives are wholeheartedly against shutting down this motion. I sit on the finance committee. The Liberals cannot stand that we are asking the questions that Canadians are telling us to ask about this incompetent bill they put forward, which would not do anything but make the lives of Canadians more expensive, whether it be through taxes or the inflation the Liberal government is so well known for creating for Canadians. In fact, we put forward amendment after amendment to make this bill better. That is our role as His Majesty's loyal opposition. For example, the pause on the excise tax the government is bringing forward is a third of the tax for a third of the year. I put an amendment forward to extend it to the rest of the year. The Liberals are ideologically obsessed with the carbon tax. There's the clean fuel standard. We do not want to include the GST on top of that, which would have saved Canadians 25¢ per litre, or $1,200 for a family. I tried putting a common-sense amendment forward at committee that would have extended the pause on the excise tax until the end of the year. That would have made more savings for Canadians. Once again, the Liberals filibustered that until they decided to vote it down, as they always do. It was a very common-sense solution. This was just one of many amendments and subamendments we were putting forward. There were officials there, but unfortunately the Liberals are so unorganized on this committee that they did not have the right officials there, and sometimes they were not answering the questions properly. We are putting forward the questions that Canadians deserve answers to, but once again the Liberals, with this motion specifically, are trying to end debate, transparency and any type of accountability for which we are trying to get answers. This is just another tactic for them to delay, which is what we are always against as Conservatives. Speaking of the inevitable, we are the only G20 country in a recession. The statistics are not looking good for Canada. No matter who is forecasting them, things are not going well right now. In fact, if we look at business investment, we see that in the last five consecutive quarters, business investment has gone down. That is the track record of the government. In fact, it has driven out $1 trillion of good Canadian investment, to the Americans. Those are our jobs and factories or growth that could have happened here, but high Liberal taxes and regulation have driven them away. The Liberal Prime Minister has driven out, as a net loss, $20 billion of investment outside Canada. He is the guy who said he would fix everything. He is the guy who would deal with President Donald Trump. He still cannot get a deal, and he is driving more investment away and spending more of Canadians' money. He is jet-setting around the world on the taxpayer dime. While he is pushing more Canadians into food bank lines, at the same time, he is making them pay for his extravagant meals on flights. In fact, over the last year, he spent $1 million on inflight catering. On three flights, he spent more on salmon than what a family will spend on groceries for the entire year. In fact, after rising grocery prices, now Canadian families will pay $1,000 more for groceries just this year. That is the track record of the government. Instead of helping Canadians, it will push them into food bank lines, make them food-insecure and, at the same time, make them pay for lofty meals on the Prime Minister's flights that end up with fake handshakes wherever the Liberals go, fake MOUs and contracts they sign. They cheer themselves on with announcements that never end up materializing to the benefit of Canadians. That is why our economy is as bad and as weak as it is right now. There was a scathing report by the PBO, but there was also a scathing report by United Way. These are stats that, again, make it seem as though we are in a third world country. Of the Canadians who responded, 38% reported experiencing at least one form of food insecurity in the past six months, and 27% were worried their food would run out before they had money to buy more. There is a solution to all this. Conservatives are just asking for the Liberal government to get out of the way. Let us bring affordability and safety back to Canada, which the Liberals have driven out since they took over. We can get rid of the industrial carbon tax to bring down the cost of food and fuel for Canadians. Let us put more money back into their pockets. Let us extend the pause on the excise tax to the end of the year and also include the GST and the clean fuel standard. Let us save families $1,200 this year. Let us bring back investment by removing barriers such as the “no new pipelines” bill, Bill C-69, and Bill C-48, the tanker ban. By doing that, we could signal to the world that we are open for business once again. Let us have more pipelines, mines and dams. Let us get everything going. Let us have more infrastructure built so we can have more jobs and get our economy back on track. We can do these things only once the Liberals get out of the way.

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

Hon. Kevin Lamoureux

Liberal 4:35 p.m.

“I want to accuse the Conservatives of creating a false impression about the government. They use words like "corrupt" and "Liberal friends" when it's not true. The Prime Minister and the government are trying to build a strong economy by getting Canadians involved. There are contracts for everyone. Canada is doing great compared to other countries.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I find unfortunate the general way in which the Conservatives want to approach the government. They seem to want to be focused on the issue of trying to give a false impression, and they love using words such as “corrupt”, “Liberal friends” and so forth, when nothing could be farther from the truth. The Prime Minister and the government recognize, at the end of the day, that building a stronger and healthier economy means getting Canadians engaged and involved. There are contracts that go out to all political entities inside the chamber, I am sure. There are business opportunities, growth in investments and record amounts of growth coming to Canada. Canada is doing an excellent job in comparison to the rest of the G7. Would the member provide his thoughts on that?

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

Jasraj Hallan

Conservative 4:35 p.m.

“You claim there's no corruption with the Liberals? Wrong. No government has had more scandals and ethics violations than you. The prime minister's friends all got rich while everyone else paid for it.”

Mario Beaulieu

Bloc Québécois 4:35 p.m.

“I think you're a hypocrite for not supporting every subsidy. What about oil subsidies? Do you want to cut those too, or just the ones I like?”

Jasraj Hallan

Conservative 4:35 p.m.

“I want to get rid of these Liberal bills and carbon taxes. The government is in the way. We need to signal that Canada is open for business and get people back to work.”

Tamara Jansen

Conservative 4:35 p.m.

“These announcements don't work. The government keeps spending money and announcing programs. Canadians are still facing higher costs. I want an explanation.”

Jasraj Hallan

Conservative 4:35 p.m.

“The Liberals are good at announcing things. They're bad at actually delivering what they announce. The finance minister said he would lower grocery prices. Instead, prices went up a lot. Canadians are paying for this failure.”

Hon. Kevin Lamoureux

Liberal 4:35 p.m.

“The Liberals won an election last year. Since then, we have signed trade and defense deals. We announced many expensive projects. More foreign money is coming in. The economy looks good. Our opponents should stop saying bad things about us.”

What they said. What they meant.

Recent debates

Government Business No. 12—Proceedings on Bill C-30

Hon. Kevin Lamoureux

Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault

Andrew Lawton

Patrick Weiler

Tamara Jansen

Patrick Weiler

Martin Champoux

Patrick Weiler

Hon. Kevin Lamoureux

Patrick Weiler

Gord Johns

Patrick Weiler

Jasraj Hallan

Hon. Kevin Lamoureux

Jasraj Hallan

Mario Beaulieu

Jasraj Hallan

Tamara Jansen

Jasraj Hallan

Hon. Kevin Lamoureux