Routine Proceedings
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 the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB): (a) what was the actual cost to the fiscal framework of the CIB, broken down by year since the bank's inception; and (b) what are the projected allocated costs for the CIB's fiscal framework for each of the next 10 years?
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Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to ask my friend across the way a question. It gives me a little bit of hope that there are some atoms bouncing around in the heads over there to see a member like him get promoted. However, if we want to reduce the rhetoric, we should be focused on facts. How many criminals would the bill actually impact? It looks like very few people will be caught by the bill. Th…
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Mr. Speaker, it was a little puzzling last week that, on the same day the Bank of Canada raised interest rates, the finance minister said, “We are very close to the end of this difficult time, and to a return to low, stable inflation and strong, steady growth.” Now, experts are saying the risk is that inflation will not come down, which means interest rates and mortgage rates will be higher. Is it…
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With regard to claims made by the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development in the House related to child care: (a) what specific data and information was used to make the claim on November 16, 2022, that "Ontario has had 92 percent of licensed child care providers sign on"; (b) what specific data and information was used to make the claim on January 30, 2023, that "almost all of them …
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Mr. Speaker, it was a previous Bank of Canada governor who said that government deficits made interest rates go higher this year. However, let us talk about the government's predictions. It said interest rates would remain low forever. They have not. It said inflation would not come. It has. It said once inflation came, it would be here just a short time. It is still here. Now the government is te…
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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…
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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, 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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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, 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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Madam Speaker, it is nice to see you again. I would ask for a recorded division.
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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, 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 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. 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, 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, 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. 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. 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. Chair, the minister is not interested in talking his colleagues out of making housing more unaffordable. Let us talk about this one: The banks are unilaterally increasing amortization rates over 40 years in many cases, and 75% of Canadians with a variable rate mortgage have hit their trigger rate. Does the minister think it is fair that existing homeowners can have amortization rates well over…
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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. 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, 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, 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?
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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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Mr. Chair, can the hon. minister tell us the last time an opposition party voted for a budget?
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Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise, and it is always a pleasure to see you in the chair. I will ask for the Chair's indulgence for a brief 30 seconds, before I start my remarks on the substance at hand, to recognize the Ramara Chamber of Commerce, which held its annual AGM tonight, and to recognize some wonderful businesses and organizations in the community. Lagoon City Pier One Resor…
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Mr. Speaker, I think the member for Huron—Bruce makes an excellent point. This is exactly why the question of privilege was raised. This also affects every other member in the House. That is why we need a further thoughtful study at committee. I look forward to the results of that study and whatever comes from it. Tomorrow is another day, and we are sure to learn new information.
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Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. member is quite right. We need to thoughtfully think about allegations of foreign interference, and we need to examine them very closely. Do members know where we would be able to do that? It is in a public inquiry, for which the government seems very reticent to admit. Now, this hon. member, whom I respect greatly, says that we learned at committee that there was no …
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague. My hon. colleague has another thoughtful question. Is it a mistake, or is it an error? Could it be negligence? It could be all of the above. We cannot set up a system where we insulate ourselves from very important issues and then try to use that as a shield to say, “I did not know, and I cannot be held accountable for that.” Westminster parliamentary democracy h…
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Mr. Speaker, that was a very thoughtful question. I share the member's concern about the future of democracy. I would also just reiterate that the briefing note alleges there were multiple members of Parliament. We actually only know of one that has been public. It is possible that there are other members in this chamber who have actually experienced a similar thing. It should concern all members.…
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My apology, Madam Speaker. I will paraphrase appropriately. On Friday, the Prime Minister got in on the gaslighting action. He said, “I was reassured to see that [the member for Wellington—Halton Hills] had received multiple briefings following the information collected by CSIS to ensure that he and his family were kept safe or would at least know what was going on in the extent that they needed t…
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Madam Speaker, it seems rather unfair for a government to impose a penalty on somebody for filing their taxes late when they are unable to get simple questions answered by CRA. We said to extend the tax filing deadline, and it did not like that for a bunch of reasons. That is fine, but how about they just not impose penalties or waive penalties for those people who owe money but who file late beca…
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Madam Speaker, we should be engaging with indigenous communities on how we could better serve them. Some of them, as I understand, still use paper forms, and it is actually very difficult for them to deal with the government. Let us be also clear that all regulations are not bad regulations. It is like saying unchecked capitalism is not necessarily the best thing. If we look at the 1930s, we had t…
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Madam Speaker, let us bring it home.
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Madam Speaker, I really appreciate the opportunity provided by my hon. colleague to expand on the reasons for which the government believed it was elected in the first place. “Sunny ways” was the refrain we heard. We also heard “better is always possible”. Those things sound really great, but then eight years later, things get a little tired. It is not so sunny anymore, and there is a bit of a clo…
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Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise here this evening and share my thoughts on Bill S-6. Before that, however, I just want to acknowledge that I heard the intervention from the hon. colleague from New Westminster—Burnaby about the point of privilege that was raised earlier. I want to say that I welcome his comments and thoughts on that matter. It is an important issue. I will turn to Bill S-6 …
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Mr. Speaker, a cloud hangs over the “Sunshine City” as we mourn the passing of the legendary Gordon Lightfoot. Gordon Lightfoot was born in Orillia in 1938. He sang choir at St. Paul's United Church and performed on numerous occasions at the ODCVI high school. It was his connection to the Canadian atmosphere and the environment around him that made him special. He is to Canadian music what the Gro…
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Mr. Speaker, I feel a little sorry for the minister, who now has to stand up in the House and defend an indefensible position. The finance committee already agreed with the government that it would prestudy the bill. The purpose of time allocation is usually to move a bill through the House so a committee can start to study it, but all parties agreed to prestudy this very large bill to make sure t…
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Mr. Speaker, do you know what day it is today? It is tax-filing deadline, and yet thousands of CRA workers are still on strike. For almost two weeks, Canadians have been trying to get through on the phone to have their questions answered and they have been unable to do so. The government knew when the contract was up and it also knew when the tax-filing deadline was. Therefore, will the government…
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Mr. Speaker, how can the government expect Canadians to file their taxes by the deadline if they cannot even get their questions answered? The government knew when the contract was up. It knows when the tax-filing deadline is. How much money will it cost taxpayers for the government to end the strike?
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Mr. Speaker, this is the largest public sector union strike in 40 years. Revenue Canada workers are off the job, and vital services have been halted. The tax-filing deadline is this week, and Canadians cannot even get their phone calls answered. What will the government do to ensure continuity of service so that Canadians can get their most basic questions answered?
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Mr. Speaker, that is a great question. First, on child care, as far as I understand there is not one child care provider in my riding who is offering $10-a-day day care. Second, let us talk about what we would do differently. Do members know what the biggest waste of $500 million a year is? It is interest-free loans for students. Why? It is because it costs $500 million a year and we could give th…
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Mr. Speaker, the Bloc has put forward some interesting solutions. We work very well together at committee with the member of that party. I do not find anything simplistic or disingenuous about reducing the carbon tax on an energy bill. I have people emailing my office and sending energy bills that have $50 or $60 of carbon tax per month. They are on a fixed income. It is not unreasonable to recomm…
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