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Pensions

Question Period exchanges about whether the government plans to use Canadians’ pension funds in relation to its debt. The Conservatives argued that the government’s net debt accounting subtracts over a trillion dollars in Canadian pension assets, asked whether the Prime Minister intends to use pensions to pay down debt, and called on him to stop counting those assets and explain how the debt will be repaid. Liberals replied that the claim is not true, pointed to Canada’s fiscal position and AAA credit rating in the G7, and criticized the Conservative leader’s advice on inflation and Bitcoin and his party’s votes against affordability programs, asking the Conservatives to support national projects.Written by AI from the debate. Updated .

Official text

4 statements

Sandra Cobena

Conservative
“The Prime Minister defends government debt by counting over one trillion dollars of Canadians' pension money against it. I want him to answer yes or no: does he plan to use Canadians' pensions to pay off government debt?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, there is something very dangerous about how the Prime Minister is defending the outrageous amount of debt he has taken on. He says that it is not so bad because of Canada’s net debt position, but what he does not tell Canadians is that that calculation subtracts over $1 trillion of Canadians’ pension assets. I have a very simple question for the Prime Minister: Does he intend to use Canadians’ pensions to pay his Liberal debt, yes or no?

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John Zerucelli

Liberal
“What the member said is not true. The Conservative leader told Canadians to beat inflation by buying Bitcoin, and its value dropped by half. Conservatives also voted against our programs for child care, dental care, and cheaper groceries. They do not really support making life affordable.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, that is not true. Do members want to know what is dangerous? What is dangerous is the Conservative Party leader’s advice to Canadians about how to manage inflation. What did he say to Canadians? He said they can opt out of inflation by buying Bitcoin. After they bought Bitcoin, Bitcoin divided by half its value. Then the Conservatives voted against every affordability measure that this government has put forth, like child care, dental care and the groceries and essentials benefit. They voted against them. They claim they are for affordability, but they are not.

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Sandra Cobena

Conservative
“The government uses Canadians' pension funds to make the national debt look smaller. I want the Prime Minister to stop doing this and explain how he will repay the debt.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, if the Prime Minister has no intention of touching Canadians’ pension funds, then why does his government use those very same pension assets to make Canada’s debt look smaller? He cannot have it both ways. Either he intends to use the pensions to repay his debt, or those savings are not available to repay it. Why is he using Canadians’ retirement savings to assure Canadians about the national debt? When will the Prime Minister stop hiding behind pensions and tell them how he intends to repay the debt?

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John Zerucelli

Liberal
“Canada has the best financial position and credit rating in the G7. This lets us build major projects using Canadian materials and union workers. I want the Conservatives to support these projects.”

  • Government answer in Question Period

    Relevance 37 of 100

    None of this answer addressed the specific question that was asked.

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  • A repeated line

    “Canada has the strongest fiscal position in the G7.”

    Said 14 times by 7 members since May 1.

    Every time it was said
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, is the Conservative Party’s official position on inflation to buy Bitcoin, yes or no? Canada has the best fiscal position in the G7. We have a AAA credit rating. What does that allow us to do? That allows us to invest in this country. It allows us to build projects in the national interest using Canadian lumber, Canadian steel and Canadian unionized workers. We are going to continue to build this country. I hope the Conservatives get on board.

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