Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. During question period, I compared the government to drunken sailors. I regret that comparison because drunken sailors spend their own money. I would like to apologize to drunken sailors everywhere.
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With regard to the government's Debt Management Strategy from 2023 to 2028: what are the financial assumptions used by the government to calculate the debt service cost projections, including (i) the weighted average interest rates used, (ii) the amount of new debt issued, (iii) the yearly rollover, (iv) any other financial assumptions?
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Mr. Speaker, there has been plenty of legislation that Conservatives have agreed with and voted for. There were bills on disabilities, child care and extending COVID support payments. If it is good legislation, we will vote for it. In fact, the Liberals have legislation they still have not brought back to the House, such as Bill C-56, which Conservatives have indicated they would support. Canadian…
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Mr. Speaker, the government's recent announcement is a comedy in the making. The Liberals said they could not deviate from the carbon tax plan. They said that extreme weather, hurricanes, floods and fires demanded that they quadruple the carbon tax. They said anybody who challenged it was a Luddite. They said people get more in rebates than they pay, except last week they said that pausing the tax…
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Mr. Speaker, as inflation continues to remain, Canadians are realizing the Prime Minister is not worth the cost. The Bank of Canada is concerned that the soft landing it once projected is now much narrower. That is because economic uncertainty is increasing while inflation still has not been tamed. Two things the government could do to help the Bank of Canada tame inflation are cancel the carbon t…
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Mr. Speaker, maybe the government has not received the memo. Nobody cares about meaningless G7 comparative statistics. After eight years of prolific spending, the bills are finally coming due. The government borrowing is driving interest rates. This year, the government has to borrow $421 billion. Next year, the government has to borrow over $350 billion. That pushes up mortgage costs for everybod…
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Liberal-NDP government, spending is out of control and inflationary deficits are pushing up mortgage costs. The Parliamentary Budget Officer says that the deficit this year will increase to over $46 billion. Everyone now agrees that spending is driving interest rates. Every month, 70,000 households are renewing their mortgage and they are realizing that the Pr…
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Mr. Speaker, I very much look forward to some of the guidance you have for members when you come out with that later this week. I hope you will also consider how members can hold government ministers accountable for their willingness to show up for question period when you provide your guidance.
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Mr. Speaker, it is nice to welcome back the finance minister. I was beginning to think she had forgotten the address of this location. After eight years, Canadians are realizing that the government is not worth the cost. Canadians are struggling and the government continues to increase its deficits and inflation. Everyone now agrees that deficits increase interest rates. Will the finance minister …
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Mr. Speaker, while households are dealing with higher interest rates, taxpayers are now on a bigger hook. That is because interest on the debt is going up. The government projected just a few months ago that it would spend $44 billion on debt-servicing costs this year, but that assumed that interest rates would go down. Instead, interest rates have gone up. Will the Minister of Finance finally tel…
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Mr. Speaker, former Bank of Canada governor David Dodge said the burden of past debts is catching up with us, and governments cannot spend their way out of problems, except the issue for the current government is that for every problem it sees, the solution is to spend more money. Everybody now knows that when the government spends money, the Bank of Canada raises its interest rates. When the Bank…
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Madam Speaker, John Maynard Keynes said when the facts change, he changed his opinion. What changed in the last few years is that we are now in a cost of living crisis. Someone does not have to be Einstein's cousin to understand if we reduce the carbon tax, we will reduce inflation. Everybody is saying that. Why can this member not exercise some independent thought for once?
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Mr. Speaker, while households are struggling with higher mortgage and interest costs, the Canadian taxpayer is going to get side-swiped. That is because this year the government has to borrow over $420 billion just to satisfy its spending and deficits. It also expected to pay almost $44 billion in servicing the debt, except that assumed interest rates were going to come down by the end of this yea…
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Madam Speaker, there may be multiple ways the government can support co-op housing. Why not allow co-op housing to qualify for the GST rebate for rentals? Why can it not get the same rebate? All kinds of different housing can be supported through the GST rebate. I would support an examination of how we could best do that. If the hon. member has an amendment to the bill that could include co-op hou…
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Madam Speaker, the parliamentary secretary has been around a long time, and as a rookie member of Parliament, I am speaking only for myself. I cannot speak for my entire party. I am just saying I am encouraged to see it go to committee when it gets there. Let us talk about rapid housing. Those funds have not been delivered at all rapidly. How about the shared equity mortgage plan that has barely g…
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Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to be here with you today. I happen to rise one more time to talk about this important issue. I had an opportunity to get some questions in. It was nice to hear from the minister how much affection he has for me. Perhaps I will save members the suspense. I can be persuaded to vote for this bill, not to fast track it all the way to the Senate, because maybe we have s…
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the comments from the minister today, but I also listened to the press conference the minister gave with four other ministers last week, where he said that these are some of the most fundamental changes to the Competition Act that are being made. I want to focus on process. Why were these changes not made in budget 2022, when at that time the minister said that these ar…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. I agree with some of what my colleague has said with respect to unchecked capitalism creating market failure. On that, I think we should all listen to the member. He is very well versed in economics when it comes to that issue. I want to ask the member two questions. First, does he think it is a problem when the CFO of Pepsi brags, on national te…
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Madam Speaker, we heard it here first. History was made when someone entered a shrug emoji into the Hansard. I commend the hon. member for that. I want to talk about process for a second. The government tables legislation twice per year as major money bills. For some reason, the government is now touting this bill as a marquis bill that would make a massive difference in the lives of consumers, ex…
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Madam Speaker, build, baby, build. We need to build it all: market-rate, affordable and everything in between, and in all different sizes, shapes and everything else. I would welcome any thoughtful amendments to the legislation that would see us build more homes of all types faster for Canadians.
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Madam Speaker, I will note that a very big difference between the leader of the official opposition's bill and the government bill is that the actual Leader of the Opposition's bill would have required that a certain number of the units in an apartment complex, in order to get the GST rebate, had to be affordable. That might surprise some members in this place, but the Conservative position was th…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise this evening to speak to this very thoughtful motion by my colleague from Edmonton—Wetaskiwin. Before I get started on this speech, I did want to give a special shout-out and acknowledgement to the members of Canada's Special Olympics teams who participated in the 2023 World Games in Germany this year and brought home significant amounts of hardware, includi…
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Mr. Speaker, how about a fact? When one month in 27 months the interest rate goes below 3% the current finance minister declares victory. She said that the government's plan to bring inflation down is working, but that is not what is happening. In fact, it is going up because of rising energy costs, but the current government is determined to make energy more expensive by increasing the carbon tax…
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Mr. Speaker, mortgage costs for Canadians are going up because of the Liberal-NDP government's spending and deficits. Even the current finance minister said that spending and deficits are like pouring fuel on the inflationary fire. John Manley said that it is like pressing on the gas pedal while the Bank of Canada is pressing on the brake with higher interest rates. Canadians are realizing that th…
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With regard to real estate properties leased or owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC): (a) in what cities does the CBC (i) own, (ii) lease, its properties; (b) what is the total estimated or assessed value of properties owned by the CBC; (c) what was the total amount paid for leases by the CBC in the 2022-23 fiscal year; (d) what is the breakdown of (b) by property owned, including,…
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With regard to government expenditures related to the Prime Minister's town hall meetings that have occurred since January 1, 2023: (a) what are the total expenditures to date associated with the meetings; (b) what is the breakdown of expenditures by meeting, including the date and location of each meeting; (c) what is the itemized breakdown of (a) and (b); and (d) for each meeting in (b), which g…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, when we think of Canadian cuisine, we might think of peameal bacon, poutine or ketchup chips, but nothing holds a candle to the butter tart. They are great things, but this is Canada's delicacy. This treasure originated in Simcoe County in the year 1900. Today, if we search online for butter tart recipes, we will find 79 million results. The possibilities are endless. This weekend, in…
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Mr. Speaker, how can Canadians trust a government that is quite happy to talk about an announcement and very unhappy or unwilling to talk about results? We asked the government how many child care spaces in the communities have been created across Canada and how many families have access as a result of this legislation. It said that it is not tracking the data. We do not know if the child care agr…
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Mr. Speaker, I have a question for you. In an Order Paper question, Question No. 1270, I asked the Minister of Families and Social Development how many child care spaces were provided by the government's commitments. In response to that question, the minister said there was no answer. However, the minister today, in response to the same question, said she has the data. I am curious and want to giv…
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Madam Speaker, it is nice to see you again. I would ask for a recorded division.
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Mr. Speaker, Liberal deficits drive inflation and Canadians are paying the price. John Manley said that government fiscal policy is making it harder to contain inflation, and Stephen Poloz said that government deficits last year made the Bank of Canada raise interest rates higher, which means Canadians are paying a higher price for government spending. Just last month, inflation went higher when t…
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Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we are proud of a record that, during the last recession, cut taxes for Canadians. However, let us talk about energy and food costs, which are some of the biggest contributors to inflation. It is puzzling that the government continues to increase taxes on both fuel and food and making them more expensive by continuing to increase the carbon tax. These carbon…
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Mr. Chair, 52% of all of the debt issued in that time frame was for under three years. In fact, only 10% of that debt was issued with 10 years or more maturity. How is it possible that the government says its debt management strategy is fiscally responsible when at the lowest interest rates, it financed most of that debt in the short term, which is all going to roll over in the next two years?
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Mr. Chair, it is very clear that the Minister of Finance does not want to stand behind her government's record and its choices in issuing debt. Here is another question. How much more will the government have to pay if inflation does not come down and interest rates do not come down, as it is projecting them to come down in its own budget, when it rolls over its debt in the next two years?
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Mr. Chair, could the hon. minister tell us this? Is it not a fact that between February 2020 and January 2022, the government issued approximately $471 billion of debt?
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Mr. Chair, the minister is obviously not very proud of the government's record. She cannot even answer some very simple questions about how much the government expects to pay on the debt that it issued. Perhaps the government was also misled by the Bank of Canada, which promised Canadians that rates would stay low. The minister says that the government leads the G7 in growth. We are behind a bunch…
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Mr. Chair, it is true. It is a fact. The government issued $471 billion of debt between February 2020 and January 2022. Could the hon. minister tell us how much of that issued debt is maturing in under three years?
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Mr. Chair, it is obviously clear that the minister is ashamed of the government's record in choosing to issue short-term debt when rates were so low. Could the minister tell the House and Canadians what the average interest rate is that the government expects to pay on the debt that is maturing and rolling over in the next two years?
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Mr. Speaker, before tabling the budget, the finance minister said that “by exercising fiscal restraint” and by not pouring fuel on the inflationary fire, the Liberals would ensure they could responsibly invest in Canadians. However, we need to pay attention to what the government does and not what it says, and what the government did was increase spending by $60 billion, or $4,300 for every family…
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Mr. Speaker, it takes a hack to know a hack. Last fall, the finance minister said that new spending needed to be matched with government savings. She said that the government needed to exercise restraint to not pour fuel on the fire. She also said that the debt-to-GDP ratio was the red line. That seems all pretty clear to me, except the government did not take the finance minister's advice. Only o…
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Mr. Chair, has the minister actually talked to the Minister of Natural Resources about the new building code and how much it is going to increase the cost of each house being built in Canada?
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, Canada is in a housing crisis and the government is unwilling to admit it. We are not building homes fast enough and the ones that do get built are more out of reach than they have ever been. It is leaving an entire generation of young people feeling like home ownership is no longer a possibility. Since 2015, mortgage payments have doubled, rent has doubled and the required down payme…
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Mr. Speaker, a year ago, the finance minister said that she had a red line. She said, “our debt-to-GDP ratio must continue to decline...pandemic debt must be paid down.... This is a line we will not cross.” What happened to that red line? The government has increased the debt by $4,200 for each Canadian family. Our debt-to-GDP ratio will increase this year, and deficits now extend as far as the ey…
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Mr. Speaker, the finance minister and the government have quite a bad track record for making predictions. They told us interest rates would remain low, so we must spend. They told us that deflation was more likely than inflation. When inflation came, they said it would be here for just a little while. The minister assured us the economy would continue to grow, and now it has slowed to a halt. The…
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Mr. Chair, can the minister update the House and tell us what the average price of a home to rent or buy is in Mississauga?
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Mr. Chair, can the hon. minister tell us the last time an opposition party voted for a budget?
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Mr. Chair, let us play a game: name that tune. Who, in the House of Commons, said the following: Mr. Speaker, the IMF has issued a warning about the inflated Canadian housing market, cautioning that home prices have jumped more than 60% over the past 15 years. Canadian families with a personal debt burden that the IMF warns is among the highest in the OECD are at risk of $100,000 losses they can i…
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Mr. Chair, I will help the minister. That was the now Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance in 2015. Since that time, it has only gotten more unaffordable for Canadians. In fact, according to the OECD, Canada has the largest gap between home prices and incomes among all other OECD peers. Will the minister finally admit that we are in a crisis and a housing bubble?
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Mr. Chair, will the minister tell the House how much the new national building code will increase the price of each new home built in Canada?
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Mr. Chair, if we are worried about housing affordability, we would think the minister would be talking to his colleagues about government actions that are going to make housing more unaffordable, or in other words, more expensive. The market and participants believe that the new building code is going to cost $30,000 per unit of new housing. Does the minister think that is fair?
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