Jim Bélanger

Mr. Speaker, I heard my colleague talk about fuel relief and the suspension of the taxes on petroleum, gasoline and diesel. He was telling us about those benefits. The other side is always asking us about coming up with ideas and helping. If he agrees with me that the suspension of the tax is good, I would like to suggest that it last longer, up until Canada Day or even longer. We understand the price of fuel has doubled over the last year, and HST is a tax over a tax, so there is a lot of revenue going to the government with the extra costs of the fuel. As such, there is ample opportunity to provide relief for a further period of time.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of our Conservative motion calling on the House to recognize that Canada is in an affordability crisis. This is an issue that comes up time and time again when I speak with my constituents in northern Ontario. I hear of it constantly. The cost of housing, food, fuel and everyday necessities is through the roof, and northerners are living paycheque to paycheque. The affordability crisis Canadians are experiencing today did not happen by accident. For the last decade, the Liberals' economic approach has been driven by higher spending, growing deficits, increasing debt and more taxes, rather than by economic productivity and growth. Instead of creating the conditions for Canadians to get ahead, they have created a country where more and more families are struggling simply to keep up. Canada should be one of the wealthiest countries in the world. We are blessed with abundant natural resources and hard-working people. We have what the world wants, yet we have not been able to efficiently service that demand and live up to our potential. After 10 years of the Liberal government, Canada has experienced weak economic growth, declining purchasing power and countless missed opportunities. Rather than removing barriers to investment, reducing taxes and getting projects built, the Liberal answer is more bureaucracy, more red tape and slower approval processes. The result is a country facing a severe affordability crisis. Habitat for Humanity's recent international report paints worrying numbers. More than half of Canadian non-homeowners now believe they will never own a home. Two-thirds of Canadians have cut back on other expenses simply to keep up with housing costs, while 44% say that one unexpected bill could threaten their ability to remain housed. That is not the sign of a healthy housing market. It is evidence of a country where the dream of home ownership is slipping away, out of reach. Affordable homes have virtually disappeared in my region of northern Ontario. When I was a young man starting a family, my wife and I did not have significant savings, but what we did have were good jobs, modest paycheques and the confidence that if we worked hard and managed our finances responsibly, we would be able to buy a home. We did all that in the same week we got married. That was the reality and the opportunity of the Canada I grew up in. Today, too many young Canadians no longer believe that owning a home is possible. They are doing everything right. They work hard and follow the rules, yet home ownership is further away than ever. Our younger generation is losing faith that they can build a future in Canada. The affordability crisis extends well beyond housing. Statistics and surveys continue to show that Canadians are struggling with the rising cost of essentials. Housing, groceries, energy, transportation and other necessities are consuming a growing portion of a household's income. Lower-income households, renters, young Canadians and single-parent families are among those being hit the hardest. Middle-class Canadians who once felt financially secure are now finding it increasingly difficult to balance their budgets. In northern Ontario, those pressures are often magnified. People in my riding travel long distances for work, medical appointments and essential services. Higher fuel costs, increasing transportation expenses and rising home heating bills place significant strain on household budgets. As winter approaches, many families are once again wondering how they will make ends meet. Unfortunately, nowhere is this pressure felt more clearly than at the grocery store. As families prepare to gather for Thanksgiving this weekend, many are not focused on celebrating with loved ones. Instead, they are worried about whether they can afford the meal on their table. According to researchers at Dalhousie University, the cost of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner continues to rise, with basic staples costing 10% more than they did just a year ago. Thanksgiving should be a time for family and gratitude. It should not be a time when parents are calculating whether they can afford a turkey dinner. Canadians do not need more government affordability programs designed to help them cope with the consequences of bad policy. What they need is a government that addresses the root causes of the crisis. We would not need so many affordability measures if inflationary spending, mounting debt and economic mismanagement had not pushed the cost of living so high in the first place. It is worth examining the data about incomes measured by GDP. Affordability is about the relationship among what households earn, what government leaves them to spend after taxes and transfers, and what that income can actually buy. At the end of 2025, per-person GDP in Canada stood at 3.5% higher than at the end of 2014. For perspective, from the end of 2003 to the end of 2014, per-person GDP grew by 11.7%. The numbers look even worse when compared to those of other industrialized countries. For example, at the end of 2025, per-person GDP in the United States was 21.7% higher than at the end of 2014, so the U.S. economy outperformed our economy by 18% in that same period. Canada's economy has generated remarkably little new income over the past decade. Real GDP per capita has grown by an average of just 0.6% annually, the weakest performance since the Great Depression, while real household disposable income has risen only 0.8% per year. Without stronger income growth, affordability will continue to deteriorate. My constituents are dealing with an affordability crisis, fuelled by a decade of inflationary Liberal policies. While the cost of essentials continues to rise, Canadians' purchasing power remains stagnant. The Canadian dream of homeownership is slipping away for an entire generation. In northern Ontario, the cost of transportation, heating and groceries is weighing more and more heavily on families' budgets. Canadians need hope. They need policies that will revive our economy, make life affordable again and give everyone a chance to improve their lives. The Prime Minister has said that affordability is now better than it has been in a decade. In reality, Canadians face unaffordable housing, higher grocery prices and stagnant incomes. Affordability remains a major problem, and the government should recognize that and vote in favour of our motion.

Mr. Speaker, six people have been charged following a major police operation that led to the seizure of drugs and firearms on Manitoulin Island. Drug trafficking fuels other, more serious crimes in northern communities. It contributes to addiction and overdoses that cost our health care system millions of dollars. The Conservatives have a plan to keep Canadians safe. When will the Liberals follow our example and start taking this issue seriously?