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The Economy

Question period focused on the economy and the cost of living. Conservative members said their constituents cannot afford rent, groceries, child care and housing, cited stories of evictions, parents skipping meals and young people unable to find work, and pressed the government to adopt the Conservative economic plan, which they said would cut taxes and wasteful spending and return money to families. Liberal ministers replied by pointing to government measures, including the groceries and essentials benefit reaching 12 million Canadians, child care savings, the national school food program, dental care, tax cuts and a paused fuel tax, and said rents have fallen for 23 consecutive months, while arguing the Conservatives voted against these programs. Conservatives responded that these programs are not working and that people are still struggling.Written by AI from the debate. Updated .

Official text

18 statements

Shelby Kramp-Neuman

Conservative
“Canadians cannot afford rent, food, or child care, and many are losing their homes. I want the government to pass our Conservative plan to save people money.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are being crushed by the cost of living. Many families cannot afford rent, groceries or child care. I spoke with a woman last night who shared that she is being evicted from her home, and with a gentleman who lost his home and is on a wait-list for low-income housing. Canadians are falling deeper into debt and being forced to put their future plans on hold. They do not need more announcements from a government that says affordability is the best it has been in a decade. They need relief. Will the government pass our Conservative action plan to save Canadians money and help Canadians get back on track?

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Patty Hajdu

Liberal
“Canadians want us to support local businesses, feed kids at school, and train workers for skilled jobs. The Conservatives voted against all of these things. I want to know why they oppose helping people.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the real question is when the Conservative Party is going to get on board with the rest of Canadians, who have said, “Let’s band together. Let’s support each other. Let’s support Canadian businesses. Let’s support each other in our communities. Let’s make sure kids have food when they go to school. Let’s make sure that every person who wants to be a skilled tradesperson can become that person in their own province or territory.” Every one of those things I mentioned, whether it is a hand-up or a bridge to tomorrow, Conservative members have voted against. My question is this: What are the Conservatives looking for? I know what Canadians are saying.

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Shelby Kramp-Neuman

Conservative
“Many Canadians are losing their homes and cannot afford to live. Instead of spending billions on high-speed rail, the government should give that money back to Canadians. Will the government support our economic plan, yes or no?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, under the current government, people are being evicted from their home. In many cases, their credit cards are maxed. Something needs to give. The government often claims that the opposition only criticizes, so here is part of our plan: Instead of wasting billions of dollars on Alto high-speed rail, let us put that in the pockets of hard-working Canadians who are barely surviving from paycheque to paycheque. The Liberals are so out of touch with Canadians’ priorities, and Canadians are out of money, so my question is simple: Will the government support our Conservative economic action plan, yes or no?

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Patty Hajdu

Liberal
“Our programs are helping people in Ontario. Parents are saving up to $10,400 per child on child care. We have funded millions of school meals, and we helped stop over 3,100 layoffs. We are working together to help people through hard times.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, in the member’s province alone, parents are saving up to $10,400 per child per year with early learning and child care. The national school food program in Ontario has already served 130,000 meals, and for indigenous communities alone, 9.8 million meals have been served . Through the work-sharing program with which we have supported provinces, including Ontario, we have managed to prevent over 3,100 layoffs. That is the work Canadians expect: that when things are difficult, we band together. Canadians are doing that every day. They are stepping up to buy Canadian—

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Laila Goodridge

Conservative
“People in my riding are struggling to afford food because of rising prices and Liberal policies. I want the government to adopt the Conservative economic plan so they can afford groceries.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, all summer, my team and I travelled across our riding and heard stories from people right across Fort McMurray—Cold Lake struggling to make ends meet due to a decade of bad Liberal policies and ever-rising inflation. I heard from people such as Wendy, an educational assistant married to an injured veteran, who took a summer layoff but did not qualify for EI. She is now hoping she is going to make her first full pay in October. Will the Liberals adopt our Conservative economic action plan so Wendy can afford her groceries?

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Eleanor Olszewski

Liberal
“We are working to make life cheaper for Canadians. We cut taxes for the middle class and first-time homebuyers. We gave money to millions of people for food and paused the fuel tax to save Canadians $5.3 billion.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, affordability is a top priority of the current government. That is why we have taken concrete action to help Canadians, including cutting middle-class taxes for more than 22 million Canadians, eliminating taxes for first-time homebuyers, delivering the groceries and essentials benefit to support 12 million Canadians, launching a national food strategy to tackle the root causes of higher food prices, and extending the pause on the federal fuel excise tax, which will put $5.3 billion back into Canadians’ pockets. We are working for Canadians every single—

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Laila Goodridge

Conservative
“Life is too expensive, and the government has not helped. People are struggling to buy food and pay rent. I want the government to adopt our plan to cut debt, taxes, and inflation.”

  • A repeated line

    “The Liberals are all talk and no results.”

    Said 13 times by 12 members since September 21.

    Every time it was said
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are all talk, no results. Canadians want the cost of living to come down so they can afford to just live their life. Despite the Prime Minister’s claiming that affordability is the best it has been in a decade, single mothers such as Heather know this just is not true. Heather is struggling to pay her bills and put food on the table, and she is fearing homelessness for her and her two kids. Our Conservative plan would save money for Canadians by lowering debt, taxes and inflation. The question is simple: Will the Liberals adopt our Conservative action plan so Heather can pay her rent and care for her kids?

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Eleanor Olszewski

Liberal
“Our government is helping with costs right now. Next month, 12 million Canadians will get money for groceries and essentials while we work on our long-term plan.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, next month, 12 million Canadians will receive their second quarterly payment through the groceries and essentials benefit. It will deliver hundreds of dollars to 1.3 million Albertans, including more than 44,000 people in my riding of Edmonton Centre. We know that Canadians need some help today as we implement our plan to build a better tomorrow. That is what standing up for Canadians looks like, and that is what we will continue to do.

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Connie Cody

Conservative
“Young people cannot find good jobs in Canada and are planning to leave. The government has made life too expensive. I want the Liberals to adopt our Conservative economic plan so Canadians can find work.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, a family stopped by my office to share their story. Twenty-five years ago, they came to Canada to build a new home and a better future for their children. Their son graduated as an engineer, and their daughter is about to graduate. Both are struggling to find a good job that pays the bills. Now, they are planning to leave Canada. They worked hard, followed the rules and loved this country. That used to be enough. The Liberals have broken every promise of having an affordable life. Will the Liberals adopt our Conservative economic action plan so Canadians can find jobs and have hope that tomorrow will be better?

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Gregor Robertson

Liberal
“Our housing plan is working. Average rents have dropped for 23 months in a row, and people can save money when buying a home. The Conservatives oppose these options, but we are moving forward.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, we have a plan to deliver affordable housing. We are seeing it work, with 23 consecutive months of average rents going down across Canada, so families like the member opposite mentioned are saving money on their rent. They are also able to save money on the purchase of a new home. In Ontario alone, up to $200,000 can be saved on the purchase of a new home. Whether it is renting or buying, we are putting options on the table. These options have been opposed by the Conservatives. We are moving forward.

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Connie Cody

Conservative
“Liberal policies are failing Canadian families. Young people are being forced to leave home because they cannot find jobs or afford to build a life here. The Liberals should adopt the Conservative plan to cut wasteful spending and lower taxes so young people can afford to stay.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, with all the Liberal talk, where are the results? According to Liberals, Canadians never had it so good. Families came to Canada believing that hard work would allow their children to build a future here. For the family I mentioned, that promise is broken. Liberal inaction should not mean watching your children leave because they cannot find a job or build a life close to home. Our Conservative economic action plan is about saving Canadians money, cutting wasteful spending and lowering taxes, so again I ask this question: Will the Liberals adopt our plan so our future generations such as this family can afford to build their future here at home?

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Gregor Robertson

Liberal
“Our housing plan is working. Rents have dropped for 23 months in a row. I want all members of the House to support our work to build more affordable homes.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the actions are clear. We are seeing the results. We have been seeing rents go down for 23 straight months. That does not happen by accident. That does not happen based on a plan that nobody has seen, nobody believes in and nobody voted for. We have an opportunity to build affordable housing on an unprecedented scale. We need every member of the House on board with that. We need to scale up and build Canada homes and affordable housing. We need to continue to see rents go down and see affordability for Canadians. That is what we are delivering.

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Dominique Vien

Conservative
“People in Quebec cannot afford their basic living costs. I want the government to adopt the Conservative economic plan to help families pay for rent, food, and baby supplies.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have lost touch with reality. Quebeckers’ pockets are empty. In Bellechasse, a young mother without child care services is forced to stay home, living on a fraction of her income, and leaving her partner to pay all the bills. Paying $1,200 in rent along with groceries, gas and baby care essentials is becoming a major headache for them. Will the Liberals adopt our Conservative economic action plan so that this young mother can finally afford to meet her family’s needs?

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Anna Gainey

Liberal
“Our government is helping families. We give parents up to $8,000 a year for young children and $6,800 for older kids. We also pay for dental care for 6.5 million Canadians, including over 800,000 children, which saves them $900.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, our government is investing in families and family supports. That includes the Canada child benefit, which represents more than $8,000 annually for children six years of age and under and $6,800 for children up to age 17. Investments in dental care now provide 6.5 million Canadians with access to dental care. That number includes over 800,000 children, and represents a $900 savings.

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Dominique Vien

Conservative

Linked statement

“Government taxes and spending are driving up the cost of living, and parents are skipping meals to feed their kids. We can save $150 billion by cutting red tape and return nearly $10,000 to every family. I want the government to adopt our economic plan so families can afford food.”
Official Hansard

Sadly, Mr. Speaker, that is not working. Families are stretched to the limit. Parents are now skipping meals so their kids can eat. This all because of the government’s taxes and out-of-control spending, which are driving up the cost of living. We have identified $150 billion that could be saved by cutting red tape. This could give nearly $10,000 back to every family. Once again, will the Liberals adopt our Conservative economic action plan so that these parents can finally afford to put food on the table for their families?

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Anna Gainey

Liberal
“Our school food program is feeding students in Quebec and making life more affordable. The Conservatives voted against it.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about food security. Thanks to funding from the Canadian government for the national school food program, Moisson Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean will now deliver 200 meals a day to students in the region, and up to 1,000 meals a day by 2029. That is one of the concrete measures we have taken to make life more affordable for Canadians, and the members opposite voted against it. That is shameful.

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Joël Godin

Conservative
“The government's programs are not working. People in my community still cannot afford food and rent. The government should adopt our plans so Canadians can keep more of their money.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, what is unfortunate is that the Liberals are accusing us of voting against programs that they put in place. They put them in place anyway because they have a majority. However, the fact is that it is not working. Sophie, a mother of three in my community, is desperate for food assistance and rental assistance. She is thinking of declaring bankruptcy. My colleagues heard that right: She is thinking of declaring bankruptcy. This is serious. Will the Liberals adopt our proposals so that Canadians like Sophie can keep more money in their pockets?

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Anna Gainey

Liberal
“We created a new benefit this year to help with the cost of living. It helps 12 million Canadians, giving a family of four more than $1,900. We will keep supporting families across Canada.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I also want to highlight the Canada groceries and essentials benefit that we created this year, which will help 12 million Canadians, giving a family of four more than $1,900 to help with the cost of living. We will continue to be there for families across Canada, including those in my colleague’s riding.

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