Jean-Yves Duclos

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for providing a compelling overview of the many measures the Canadian government is implementing to support families, particularly middle-class families and those who need it most. I would like to invite my relatively new colleague, who is already doing a great job in the House and in his riding, to tell us which of these measures he believes are most important to the people in his riding.

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies. I am fortunate to rise today to speak to an important concern for the good and well-being of my constituents. I am obviously talking about the high cost of living. However, before I do that, I would like to highlight the election of three important MLAs who will play a major role for my constituents in the coming years: Patrick Paquet, Étienne Grandmont and Julie White. These are three members from different provincial parties with whom I very much look forward to working to invest in our community and support middle-class families and those who need it most. I would also like to express my great esteem for two members who have left office, either because they retired from politics or because they were defeated last night: Mario Asselin and Pascal Paradis. Mr. Asselin and Mr. Paradis did a tremendous amount of work for the well-being of their constituents, and I wanted to acknowledge that. Of course, I would also like to acknowledge the work of the volunteers on all the election campaign teams and mention how much is going to change for the riding teams of former members of Parliament. I wish those members and all the teams that supported them all the best, good health, happiness and success in the future. Let us come back to the cost of living. We recognize that many Canadians, including many in my riding, are struggling to make ends meet. Many are struggling to pay for groceries, gas, rent, which is also very expensive, and other expenses. We also understand that the very high price of diesel is causing problems for many Quebeckers and Canadians. This is something that is happening around the world, and we need to understand, as everyone does already, that many factors are beyond the control of Canada and the Canadian government. That said, I want to point out that diesel prices here in Canada remain lower than in most of the other G7 countries. The cost of living remains a significant concern for the Government of Canada. We have already introduced many measures to help Canadians in these hard times, and we will continue to do so. For example, we cut taxes for 22 million middle-class Canadians, and we eliminated the federal consumer carbon tax. The Government of Canada also removed or reduced the GST on eligible new homes for first-time home buyers. Just a few months ago, we introduced the Canada groceries and essentials benefit to provide direct support to households that need it most. I will come back to that in a moment. We also introduced Bill C-38, the Canadian fuel affordability act, to help with the cost of living. Bill C-38 will extend the temporary suspension of the federal fuel excise tax until January 31, 2027. In practical terms, that means that Canadians will continue to save about $5 every time they fill up their gas tank. As members have surely noticed, when this measure was implemented in April, it had an immediate effect. The price at the pump immediately dropped by an average of approximately 11¢ a litre across Canada. By extending this rebate through to January, we will be able to continue to support Canadians and businesses that are suffering because of high fuel prices in general. The excise tax will be gradually reinstated. Following the current temporary suspension, the excise tax will be applied at only 50% of the regular rate for two months, which means savings of approximately five cents a litre on gas and two cents a litre on diesel in February and March 2027. The motion we are debating today focuses mainly on energy prices, but we obviously need to analyze all of this in a broader context, namely, affordability for Canadians. We have already introduced many measures to help Canadians make ends meet. A good example, as mentioned earlier, is the new Canada groceries and essentials benefit. It is a significantly enhanced version of what was previously known as the GST credit. The big difference is that, with this enhancement, Canadians will receive 25% more money this year and over the next four years of benefits. These tax-free payments are helping more than 12 million low- and modest-income Canadians, including tens of thousands of people in my own riding. If we look at the one-time top-up to the benefit that was paid this summer, a family of four will receive up to $1,900 this year and about $1,400 in each of the next four years. Eligible Canadian families received a payment just yesterday, on October 5, and the next payment will be made in three months. I will end with a very quick summary of four very significant affordability measures for people in my riding. First, there is the Canada child benefit, which reduces poverty by 50%, especially in neighbourhoods in my riding where families are struggling to make ends meet. Nine out of 10 families receive this benefit. Second, there is the Canadian dental care plan, where 88% of participants, including tens of thousands of people in my riding, say they are very satisfied. Six million people are enrolled in the Canadian dental care plan, including a very large number in Quebec. It also reduces pressure on Quebec's health care system, which really needs it, and it improves not only oral health, but overall health. Third, there is Canada's national school food program, which helps 100,000 children in Quebec alone go to school on a full stomach. Le Pignon Bleu, in my riding, is doing incredible work partnering with this important program. It is not just any food; it is healthy, locally produced and consumed, and contributes to children's overall development. Fourth is the national child care program. Some 900,000 children in Canada benefit from it. Eight provinces have reduced child care costs to $10 a day across the country, and the remaining provinces and territories have reduced child care costs by more than 50%. In Quebec, that amounts to $2 billion in federal transfers to the provincial government, which is equivalent to funding 150,000 child care spaces in Quebec alone. In closing, I know that there is still much work to be done, but we will always be there to help Canadians, particularly those who need it most.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, who is unfortunately a little further away from me physically than she was before. I have always had excellent conversations with this member, whose experience and expertise inspire many other less experienced members in the House. I would like to say that there are indeed two issues. The first is obviously to protect Canadian workers, including those in the oil and gas sector. The second is to ensure that the profits and control associated with that industry remain in Canada as much as possible. This is part of a broader approach by the Canadian government to ensure sovereignty, not only in terms of energy, but also in terms of the economy, particularly when it comes to controlling large properties and major industries.

Mr. Speaker, I completely agree on the importance and value of pilot projects. That is not always the case, but this is often how lessons are learned locally for well-targeted projects. Then, if it is worthwhile and appropriate, these pilot projects are expanded over time and across the country. My colleague is more of an expert on this issue than I am, but like him, I would like to see how the lessons learned from this pilot project could be used to extend the pilot project in question over time and across the country.

Mr. Speaker, there is a lot to talk about when it comes to affordability measures for Canadians in general. I want to flag one example, which we may be talking too little about in this House. It is the universal child care program that we put in place just a few years ago. I was in Quebec in the late 1990s and early 2000s when it was implemented. For many decades, provinces and Canadians were looking forward to such a program. Many thought it would never be put in place, but it came to Quebec earlier, and then it finally came to children and families across Canada, with 900,000 children benefiting from the program every day.