Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member opposite's question although I disagree with many of the premises of her argument, if it could be called an argument. I heard her talk about the importance of jobs. That is exactly what our government is focused on. We did not ask for the trade war that we are in, which is obviously having a negative impact on our economy, but we have stepped up time and time a…
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians know there is no tax on food, but all the food security experts in the country have been saying for generations that the answer to food insecurity is income security. That means jobs, but when the government announced the first round of major nation-building projects in the country, worth tens of thousands of well-paying jobs, the Conservative leader called those jobs “pathe…
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Mr. Speaker, let me be clear from the top: There is no tax on food. Conservatives have obviously forgotten how fixed-income household budgets work. When families save money on their taxes, on gas at the pump, on child care, on school lunches and on dental checkups, they have more money to spend on groceries. All of these savings are Liberal Party and government initiatives, and all of them have be…
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Mr. Speaker, we know that Canada has the lowest effective tariff rate of any country in the world. We have a great, AAA credit rating and the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio. We cannot help it that the opposition and the opposition leader have no vision for the future of the Canadian economy. It is clear that Canadians understand who does have a vision for the Canadian economy. That is why they voted…
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Mr. Speaker, I know that the Conservative leader must be a little insecure about the size of his economic credentials, or lack thereof. I recognize that he will not listen to a former Bank of Canada governor, but maybe he will try listening to the current one. Last week, the Governor of the Bank of Canada said that our government's plan to diversify trade and invest in large-scale infrastructure i…
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Mr. Speaker, all the experts will tell us that the answer to food insecurity is income security. First and foremost, what does that mean? It means good jobs for Canadians, but it also means a stronger social safety net to help support people in their times of need. Both of them require a strong economy in Canada. That is why our government is focused on making generational investments in housing, …
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Mr. Speaker, this past weekend, I was honoured to partner with the Whitby Chamber of Commerce in hosting our second annual Whitby job fair. More than 1,000 job seekers connected with 33 local employers, opening doors and building brighter futures in our community. I thank the Whitby Chamber of Commerce, Karey Anne Large and Gizem Uysal for their help in making this event a success. It was a pleasu…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance have made it abundantly clear that Canada's new government has a renewed focus on fiscal discipline and that budget 2025 will have strong fiscal anchors. Budget 2025, in fact, will refocus government spending on operations while making transformational investments in housing, defence and infrastructure. Those generational investments will…
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Mr. Speaker, unlike the member opposite, we respect the work of the PBO and the independence of the institutions that make our democracy so great in this country. Our government is focused on delivering generational investments in the upcoming federal budget, which the minister announced will be on November 4. This is good news for Canadians. A budget is coming that will ensure Canadians that we h…
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Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize the incredible impact of the Canada summer jobs program in my community of Whitby. This summer, I had the privilege of visiting workplaces and hearing directly from youth about how these opportunities have made a real difference in their lives. Their stories were inspiring and filled with moments of growth, confidence and purpose. Thanks to the program, young…
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Mr. Speaker, I think Canadians are getting tired of the Conservatives' Chicken Little routine. This week we had the great news that inflation is at 1.9%, which is actually within the Bank of Canada's target range. That is good news for Canadians because the Bank of Canada dropped interest rates this week by a quarter of a per cent. That means more money in the pockets of Canadians. That means Cana…
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Mr. Speaker, budget 2025 will be the next step in our plan to catalyze investment and build a new Canadian economy, one that creates higher-paying careers, raises incomes and can withstand future shocks, which are ever increasing with climate change and the many global instabilities we see. We are laser-focused on building the strongest economy in the G7. This fall, we will deliver a comprehensive…
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Mr. Speaker, it is great to be back in the House. I really missed it over the summer. I would like to point out to the members opposite that just last spring, the member who posed the question ran on an election platform whose plan of action for the first 100 days in office did not include tabling a budget. How surprising it is that we have an opposition criticizing us for the things that it does …
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Mr. Speaker, I welcome the opportunity to speak today on the government's efforts to address crime and public safety. The impacts of crime on victims, their families, their friends and their entire community are far-reaching and long-lasting. Canadians deserve communities that are safe. The government is committed to ensuring that the criminal justice system works effectively to keep Canadians saf…
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Mr. Speaker, to be clear, the Government of Canada is committed to ensuring that Canadians live in safe communities, free from the poison of toxic drugs. We are also committed to addressing bail reform issues that will help ensure that individuals are not out on bail. The Government of Canada has already introduced laws to strengthen our borders and address illegal drug activity, and it has commit…
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Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the 2023-24 departmental results reports for Finance Canada, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada and the Office of the Auditor General.
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Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the 2024-25 annual report of the Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson, entitled “Clearing the Path”.
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Mr. Speaker, when we exploit people's hardship and vulnerability for political gain, when we base our political hopes on the failure of the economy and when we dismiss the potential of Canadian innovation to solve the challenges that we face, as Conservatives do every day in this House, we are not just betting against our government; we are betting against Canadians. On this side of the House, we …
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart to honour the life of former Whitby mayor Des Newman, who passed away last week. On behalf of the people of Whitby, I want to pay tribute to a man whose love for his community was evident in everything he did. Des was a builder, not just of roads and rec centres but of relationships, trust and community spirit. He helped bring people together, helped br…
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Mr. Speaker, at a time when Canadians are struggling and when we are fighting a trade war with one of our greatest allies traditionally, we have offered 22 million Canadians an income tax cut that is going to put more money in their pockets. What did the Conservatives do? We are glad that for once they voted for a tax cut, which is fantastic. We know they have a history of complaining in this Hous…
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Mr. Speaker, Canadian steel and aluminum are going to help build the strongest economy in the G7. While we continue to aim for a negotiated agreement with the United States, we are taking strong action to respond to the illegal and unjustified American tariffs to protect the integrity of our sectors. Yesterday we announced targeted measures, including adjusted countertariffs, new tariff rate quota…
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Mr. Speaker, our government received a strong mandate from the Canadian people to build Canada strong. What have we done? In just four weeks, we have cut taxes for 22 million Canadians, we have helped secure our borders, we are breaking down internal trade barriers, we are fast-tracking major nation-building projects and we have strengthened our ability to defend ourselves. That, to me, is strong …
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Mr. Speaker, I think we all know who brought it home in the last election; it was every member on this side of the House. Why did Canadians vote for this Liberal government? It is because they know we are compassionate and we care about the affordability challenges that they are facing. We have a plan to create good jobs, build a stronger economy and make life more affordable. What do Conservative…
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Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise and participate in today's debate, and hopefully make some contributions to the discussion this afternoon. I think we can all agree that on the tail of the last election, where our government presented a fully costed platform to Canadians, we were returned to this side of the House, under new leadership, granted, but it is not as if Canadians had no …
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Mr. Speaker, I wish my French-language speaking skills were a bit better, and I am working on that to answer in French in the future. I do want to say that Parliament is in session. We are debating key pieces of legislation that would enhance our economy and make life more affordable. We have advanced, in just 11 sitting days, three or four major pieces of legislation and the ways and means motion…
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Mr. Speaker, as usual, my colleague poses excellent questions in this House. I very much appreciate his pointing to the fact that we need a dual-pronged strategy to address the housing challenges in this country. Obviously, we can do things to help young families and new homeowners get into the housing market. If that is all we do, I think that our strategy would be lacking. In fact, we need to in…
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Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for the question. It gives me the opportunity to point out that if there is any disingenuousness felt, it is on this side of the House with having witnessed time and again the Conservatives stand up and vote against affordability measures that will save Canadians literally thousands of dollars. In this case, we encourage them to support our income tax cut and waiving GST…
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Mr. Speaker, our government will stack up and compare our record to the Conservatives' and run on that any day of the week and twice on Sundays—
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Mr. Speaker, we know the only thing the Conservatives are serving up for Christmas dinner is stale slogans. They have been trying to change the channel. The Bank of Canada governor said at a Senate committee recently that government spending is not pushing against us getting inflation down. The Parliamentary Budget Officer recently said the current fiscal policy in Canada is sustainable. He also s…
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Mr. Speaker, our government has stuck to our fiscal guardrails and that is exactly why inflation has come down for 11 months in a row. It has been within the Bank of Canada's target range for 11 months in a row. We were the first in the G7 to cut interest rates and we have had four consecutive rate cuts. We are looking forward to this Wednesday when the Bank of Canada will have another meeting. We…
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives want to talk about tax tricks, but what I think is interesting is tricking Canadians into thinking the Conservatives are actually serious about cutting taxes for Canadians. At the first opportunity they get to stand up in the House and support Canadians who they well know have been struggling through an inflationary period, the Conservatives will not. They stand up a…
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Mr. Speaker, I have been here for five years, thank God, for the people of Whitby. I have never seen the level of obstruction in the House that I have seen over the last 40-something days, when the Conservatives have continued to filibuster and block every aspect of parliamentary functioning and work. Are they standing up complaining that the fall economic statement is just a bit too late for them…
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Mr. Speaker, our government will stack up and run on our record, our fiscal and economic record, against the Conservatives' any day of the week and twice on Sundays. I am happy—
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Mr. Speaker, it is great to learn today that our government will announce the fall economic statement. It will be tabled on December 16, which is good news. What is interesting is that when the Conservatives say, “fix the budget”, what they really mean to say, and what Canadians should hear as translated, is “cut programs and services Canadians rely on”. Whether it is dental care, pharmacare or ea…
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Mr. Speaker, we have an AAA credit rating, the lowest deficit and the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio. We have seen that Stats Canada has revised the forecast for Canada for the last three years up, which is significant. We are also rated by the IMF to have the strongest GDP growth in the G7. I think that economic record stands for itself.
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Madam Speaker, 15¢ on a $100 bill is how small the impact of carbon pricing truly is. However, when we offered Canadians a GST tax cut over the holidays that is 100 times greater than that, the Conservatives opposed it. Conservatives demonstrate in the House every single day how they are not supporting Canadians, but this is truly a new height to the Conservatives' hypocrisy.
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Madam Speaker, we will put our record up against the Conservatives' any day of the week and twice on Sundays. Let me quote from a former governor of the Bank of Canada, David Dodge. He said, “because it was obsessively focused on reducing the federal deficit over fiscal years 2011-12 through 2015-16, the Harper government unnecessarily contributed to a slower, rather more muted recovery”. While Co…
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Madam Speaker, let us review the Conservative track record on affordability. They will not support feeding hungry kids healthy meals at school. To 400,000 more kids, they said, “No, we do not want to feed you.” They will not support a GST break over the holidays on food, toys and other essentials. They said, “No, we will not support a GST cut for Canadians.” They also will not lift a finger to fig…
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Madam Speaker, it is great to see the NDP getting behind a tax break for Canadians over the holidays on essential goods at the grocery store, kids' toys, Christmas trees and everything that will make this holiday season a bit more merry and bright for Canadians. It is too bad the Conservatives will not stand up to do the same, especially given the fact that they campaigned on this in the last elec…
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Madam Speaker, a GST break on essentials for Canadians over the holidays is going to make life more affordable for them for the next two months. That is good news for Canadians. It is great to see the NDP behind that proposal from the government. It is a shame that the Conservatives, who have harped on in the House about cutting taxes, for months and months, for as long as I can remember, would ac…
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Madam Speaker, the Conservatives want to talk about confidence. Canadians can have confidence in our government to deliver programs and services that make their life more affordable and that contribute to their quality of life, like our early learning and child care program. Jim Stanford, a very famous economist in this country, just did a report on the success of the program, which has created 11…
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Madam Speaker, it is clear that the Liberal Party of Canada and our government believe in giving Canadians a break over the holidays. This relief will certainly save families money over the holidays; this is much-needed relief after the struggles many workers and Canadians have gone through with the inflationary pressures they have felt over many months. It is too bad the Conservative Party of Can…
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Madam Speaker, the hypocrisy of the Conservative leader is absolutely shocking. During the last election campaign, all Conservative candidates campaigned on a promise to lift the GST during the holiday season. What did the Conservatives do last week, when presented with the opportunity to follow through on that promise? They broke their promise to Canadians by voting against a GST break over the h…
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Mr. Speaker, we know where the puck is going in the world economy, which is toward the clean economy of the future. Our government has been working hard to attract billions of dollars of investment to secure good-paying jobs for generations to come. That is precisely the work we have been doing. We know that Lion Electric is a leader in electric buses and electric trucks in this country, and we wi…
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Mr. Speaker, let us get serious. The very report that the member opposite cites says that climate change is the greatest driver of food price inflation. It is the same thing Sylvain Charlebois said when he came to committee recently. The Conservatives have no plan to fight climate change. In addition, we stepped up over the holidays to offer Canadians a GST tax cut. What did the Conservatives do? …
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Mr. Speaker, last week, I was thrilled to welcome over 700 change-makers from across Canada and around the world to the third annual Sustainable Finance Forum in Ottawa. Innovators, industry leaders, investors, academics and non-profits spoke on building a clean and prosperous economy for the 21st century. We shared innovative strategies to align our financial system with sustainability goals, dis…
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Madam Speaker, I hear no holiday spirit from the other side of the House. That is for certain. All I hear is the ringing of that petty little heart of the Conservative leader who cannot find it in himself to give his members of Parliament the freedom to do their job. It is too bad for the House and for Canadians. What is interesting is the member opposite talks about the Canada carbon rebate, whic…
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Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to be here in the House this evening to discuss a government bill, Bill C-78, and to finally be moving forward on behalf of Canadians. This is important legislation that will deliver meaningful savings for Canadians with a GST/HST exemption across the country. Canadians will be able to buy essentials, such as groceries, snacks and kids' clothing, all tax-free. It i…
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Madam Speaker, I would note that we serve together on the same industry committee and I value the member's input greatly in the proceedings of that committee. However, I am not sure this member has read this particular bill because he is referring to another measure our government announced. Granted, we did announce it at the same time as the GST tax break, but what he is referring to is not withi…
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Madam Speaker, the member opposite and I have had many conversations and very productive working relationships, and I respect his point of view. Our government, quite contrary to what the member has just implied, cares deeply about individuals living with a disability. I know the member opposite cares about those individuals in his community, as well, and has advocated for that. I think we share t…
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