hazylavender/hi huggingface dataset:
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Alistair MacGregor: of course there are many sectors in our society that have to play a role, but what I do not appreciate about the member's preamble to his question is his revisionist history. We are still feeling the effects today from the great axe that Paul Martin wielded as finance minister, and to suggest that all parties were behind that is complete revisionism. The Liberals enjoyed a majority government from 1993 to the mid-2000s. They had full control over policy. They need to wear the responsibility for the mess that we are currently in. While the NDP is around, we will make sure that Canadians do not forget about that sorry history on housing.
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Doug Shipley: the speech tonight included the word "profits" many times. I heard the words "massive profits", and profits were getting bashed around quite bit there. For someone who has been in business for over 25 years and has been involved in businesses that had zero profits, I know that profits are usually a good thing. I would like to ask my colleague how we differentiate and when we differentiate between good profits and, as he keeps saying, massive and bad profits. Where do we draw the line? How do we decide on that?
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Alistair MacGregor: I would throw the question back to the member. I mean, when we see one industrial sector, such as oil and gas, increase its net profits by over 1,000% since 2019, does he not see a problem in that? I have yet to hear a Conservative stand up in this place to talk about that, and talk about how unfair it is. I mean, that is a resource that is owned by the people of Canada, the people of Alberta and the people of Saskatchewan, yet they are just standing by and letting corporate overlords walk away with it, not realizing what that natural bounty could be doing for the people in those respective provinces. I would ask Conservatives to stand up for the people they are representing, take on corporate Canada and realize that an insane increase in profit in three short years is completely unfair, completely out of line and needs to be tackled effectively.
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Gabriel Ste-Marie: I thank my colleague for his speech and especially for the answer he gave the government member who suggested that all sides of the House supported the Liberal austerity of the 1990s. Not only did the Liberals completely disengage from social housing, which devastated all of Quebec and Canada, but they also made cuts to health care funding. Since them, health care systems across the country have been struggling, including in Quebec. The same goes for the financing of social services. Since that time, things have been going badly. I suggest that my colleague read the excellent book Combatting Poverty , which shows that that austerity significantly widened the wealth gap, created huge inequalities and made Canadians much poorer. Quebec picked up the slack for a lot of things, but with half the resources. As a result, there is less poverty and a smaller wealth gap. Here is my question. Can members imagine what would happen if we had all the necessary means at our disposal?
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Alistair MacGregor: I always appreciate my colleague's interventions. I think he and I share very similar thinking on how our taxation system ultimately needs to be reformed. I do want to say that, in Bill C-47 , there are some initial good steps. It is nice to see that the alternative minimum rate is being increased from 15% to 20.5%. That is a step in the right direction, but there is so much more that needs to be done. The member is right. Let us imagine the world we would be in right now if we properly took into account those revenues and applied them to the people who need them.
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux: Volkswagen and the federal government, working with the province of Ontario, made this major announcement that will have such a positive, profound impact on a number of different industries in Ontario, but also beyond Ontario. However, we have the leader of the Conservative Party , who is challenged in coming up with ideas that will make a difference and get Canadians ahead, who has come out and said that this is a bad deal. The member is from Ontario. I think he is somewhat familiar with the automobile industry and the importance of thinking forward in terms of where the future is going to be. Does the member agree with his leader in saying that this is a bad deal for the community of St. Thomas and for Canadians, and that the federal government should not have been getting Volkswagen to agree to come to Canada?
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. John Brassard: I am not sure that anybody on this side is saying that it is a bad deal. We want to know what the deal is. The government has invested $13 billion into Volkswagen, a foreign-owned company. We do not know the details of the arrangements that were made. If we are going to spend $13 billion of Canadian taxpayer money, at a minimum, we should know what that deal entails and what we are getting as a result of it. Members will have to excuse me for being a little cynical because the government made multi-million dollar investments in a vaccine factory that is now gone. There was a very public announcement made. We have to see the details to determine whether it is the right deal for Canadians. More importantly, they have to be open and transparent about it, which they are anything but on this deal.
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Rene Villemure: I thank my colleague for his speech. We have been serving together on the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics for some time now, and I tend to really value his judgment. I would like to ask him the following question. In his opinion, with all the experience he has, is this a good budget or a bad budget?
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. John Brassard: I want to thank my colleague for his question. I tried to lay out, as best I could, the reasons I cannot support the budget. There are many of them, not the least of which is the carbon tax and the disproportionate effect it has on the people and the businesses I represent in Barrie--Innisfil. One of the things that is extremely concerning for me, which was not really in the budget, related to the Canada summer jobs program. We saw that cut by a third this year, yet we see contracts, to companies like McKinsey and others, to the tune of $21 billion in total contracts. Why are we taking away from the future and work experience that young people are getting to apply down the line, yet outsourcing and putting a priority on government contracts for friends and connected insiders of the Liberal Party? I am really disappointed in the Canada summer jobs program and the cut in funding. I know many of those people who would benefit, particular the kids, are really disappointed.
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Daniel Blaikie: I think the hon. member and I agree that the current government bears a lot of responsibility for the state of the current housing market, which is the worst that it has ever been. I think we differ in some of the ways in which we say the government is responsible for that. I hear the Conservative leader talk a lot about how government spending is responsible for inflation in the housing market. As New Democrats, we look at housing and we see the role of massive private investment, corporate landlords that are gobbling up buildings with affordable units, superficially renovating them and jacking up the rent. We see real estate investment trusts doing the same. We see a lot of investor activity that is actually driving up prices in the real estate market. I do not see how government spending is playing a role. We know that, in fact, the government is not building enough non-market housing options, and we need to build more in order to address supply. Can we hear the Conservatives talk about private investment activity in the housing market, the role it is playing and the things the government can do to curtail that as a way of actually getting out of the housing crisis, or are they going to continue to talk about government spending as if that is what is driving the housing crisis when it is not?
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. John Brassard: I think the challenge in the question is we hear a lot of announcements about spending, but see very little in the way of actual builds. I have got a great example of that and it deals with the rapid housing initiative. The member for Barrie--Springwater--Oro-Medonte and I sent a letter to the housing minister . There was a rapid housing initiative, a critical project in Barrie, that was supported by Redwood Park Communities, the City of Barrie, Barrie Police Service and the County of Simcoe, about renovating the Travelodge hotel and making it into affordable housing units. We supported this initiative. We did not even hear back from the Minister of Housing . I think the County of Simcoe heard back to say the application was being rejected. I do not know what the basis was, but that is an example of great announcements, but very bad and poor delivery.
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Gerard Deltell: it is always good when a member of Parliament talks about his riding on the national level and provides concrete examples. On the other hand, we need to recognize this budget that the member will support has no plan to get back to a balanced budget. We need to remember in 2015 this party was elected saying that there would be three small deficits, a $10-billion maximum and then a zero deficit in 2019. This promise was put aside; it was put in the garbage. Is the member concerned about the fact that we have deficits and debts that one day we will need to pay back? When does he think the government will pay it back? We are living beyond the budget that we have now.
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Peter Fragiskatos: I have a great deal of respect for my colleague. However, we disagree on this issue. Canada's fiscal situation is a very important reality for the House and for our country. Canada right now, if we look at the G7 countries, has the lowest deficits, has the lowest debt, if we use the debt-to-GDP ratio as the key metric, which we should. The IMF is clear on that, that this is the key metric to look at. I would look back to previous Conservative governments which, far from balancing budgets, have only run up deficits and added to the debt. It has been a fiscally responsible approach and we will continue with this. We have a very proud record to look at.
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Peter Fragiskatos: I have not had a very good chance to get to know the hon. member, but I know that she is held in very high regard by members throughout every party in the House. I have only heard good things about the committee work that she has contributed. I have to say that every question she has put forward, including this one, have been ones that are thoughtful. If one looks at the overall budget and looks at the BIA as well, they will see a government that continues the effort to advance the reconciliation agenda. We do so by looking at the partnership that exists between the federal government and indigenous communities, who are leading the way in so many different ways. In fact, one of the reasons that Volkswagen, I think, ended up making the decision to invest, as they did in St. Thomas, is the approach that the overall country and certainly this government have taken to reconciliation, one that puts partnership front and centre. Other democracies certainly had the ability to attract the investment, but might not be doing what Canada is doing on the reconciliation side. That is something that bears emphasis. There is so much in this budget that pushes the reconciliation agenda further and we need to continue with that.
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Chad Collins: I am happy that my hon. colleague raised the green investor revolution. I think those were the words he used. The example he provided was the investment that was recently made into the Volkswagen plant and what will happen in St. Thomas, which is very similar to the investments our government has made in Hamilton as it relates to ArcelorMittal Dofasco and the $400-million investment we have made to get them off coal and begin their process of making green steel. I know what that means to my community in terms of employment, tax assessment, all of the spin-offs that come with it, and, of course, there is the environmental benefit. I am wondering if he could comment on the same in terms of what that investment in St. Thomas means for his community.
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Peter Fragiskatos: I appreciate the question from someone who understands his community very well. He served as a city councillor and knows what it means when an investment comes to a community and the spinoff effects that it can have. He mentioned the Dofasco case. I expect nothing but good things to come from this investment for local businesses in London that already have relied on automotive, as we see transitions from the current situation in terms of the combustion engine toward electric vehicles. Certainly, there will be new businesses that sprout up and existing ones that are able to tap in and be part of that supply chain, not to mention, of course, the workers, who will be able to work at Volkswagen. So many and London will benefit directly. I am so excited for what is ahead.
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Chad Collins: I was very impressed with the recent announcement that we made for funding for the Great Lakes action plan. It was $420 million to assist with cleaning up the Great Lakes. As a member whose riding borders the shoreline of Lake Ontario, I know how important that investment is in terms of cleaning the environment and cleaning the lakes. That is in large part due to my friend and colleague from Niagara Centre who worked very hard over many years to make that investment happen. I certainly took into consideration some of the constructive criticism the member provided as it relates to the budget, but can I ask his opinion in terms of what would be considered a historic announcement? He is from the vicinity there, the region of Niagara. I know his constituents enjoy Lake Ontario and probably some of the other Great Lakes. What are his thoughts on that investment? Could he support something like that?
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Tony Baldinelli: I appreciate my hon. colleague's questions about the work that the colleague from Niagara Centre has been doing. However, the member for Niagara Centre has been working on that for eight years. Only now, and after pressure from the United States that it was going to stop funding certain aspects of that money that is included in that $420 million, has this government finally realized it needed to act. In fact, the government and its bureaucrats are still fighting with regard to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission in effectively transferring it over from the Department of Fisheries to the Department of Global Affairs. Why is it taking two years for that to happen? That needs to be rectified, and rectified now.
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Charlie Angus: the Liberals believe the budget will balance itself, and the Conservatives believe they can pump out so much oil into the atmosphere that the climate will balance itself. I want to ask my hon. colleague about the huge subsidies going into the TMX pipeline. Joe Biden has said that within nine years, 67% of all vehicles in the United States will be electric. That is going to have a huge impact on creating stranded assets. TMX costs over $30 billion right now, but here is the kicker: In order to be viable, the money gets paid back in toll charges for each barrel of oil shipped, and the Liberals have limited the cost to any oil company to 22% of the cost. That means for every barrel of oil shipped, 78% of the cost will be subsidized by the Canadian taxpayer. Given the massive profits big oil is making, why are Canadians being told they will pay 78% of every barrel of raw bitumen shipped through that pipeline?
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Tony Baldinelli: my colleague mentioned U.S. President Biden. The largest thing the government had to respond to was the Inflation Reduction Act tabled in the United States. We are talking $390 billion over 10 years. Let me note some of the comments we received when I was at the international trade committee on what it takes to respond to that. Catherine Cobden, the president and CEO of the Canadian Steel Producers Association, and Meg Gingrich, with the United Steelworkers union, said the IRA was a game-changer. In fact, it provided a double advantage to those in the United States because it did not have a carbon tax attached to it that companies in Canada now have to pay. The actions the government has taken are still insufficient because those industries still have to pay that tax. In fact, Meg Gingrich, with the United Steelworkers union, was advocating that the carbon tax not be increased.
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Dan Albas: it is wonderful to see a member of Parliament who knows his riding well and who makes everything about his riding, which is really about wine and tourism. From what I can see, he is right. The carbon tax raises the cost for people to drive to Niagara and visit the wineries. In this particular BIA, the government is raising the cost of security at airports, so the average airport ticket will be higher. There is a lack of investment because the government is pulling out from the wine sector, and there is the extra excise tax. If there is no more investment in wineries, there is less tourism and fewer places for people to go. Can the member bring this home and talk about exactly why this particular budget fails on so many of those fronts?
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Tony Baldinelli: the government, through the excise tax, placed a new tax on our Canadian grape and wine sector. In fact, it showed in last year's budget that it would be generating $390 million because of this new tax. What happened? Because of its escalator clause, we were forced to pay this tax. It promised a compensation program, a replacement program, but that replacement program of two years and $166 million has now ended. Where are the funds going that it is collecting? They should be going to our grape and wine sector.
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux: I totally disagree with the member across the way. She can say, "spending more, getting less" and try to make a tune out of it all she wants. The reality is quite the opposite. We are spending more, yes, billions and billions more, but we are also getting results. She gives the impression that spending the billions of dollars on dental care, and seeing that for 250,000 children under the age of 12, is not a result. Those are results. When we spent billions of dollars in child care, and we got all provinces and territories signing on and supporting the program, and therefore providing $10-a-day day care, reducing the costs for parents and ensuring that there are higher wages for child care workers, those are results. When we talk about investing the billions of dollars of additional money into health care, one is seeing tangible results. Premiers are going to be able to provide better health care services as a direct result of spending more. I think she has got the wrong tune. We are spending more and getting real results, something that Stephen Harper was never able to do.
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Hon. Michelle Rempel Garner: this government has spent a lot on climate. Our greenhouse gas emissions are going up. We do not have substitute goods for high-carbon products and practices. We are not meeting our climate targets. They are not even measuring results of the program. On housing, we do not have affordable housing stock. On health care, people are waiting in emergency rooms. Everybody feels that tune, and they have got to stop trying to deceive Canadians.
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Alistair MacGregor: well, yes, there is spending more and getting less. There is spending more and getting less at the gas pump. That is Imperial Oil. That is Shell. There is spending more and getting less at the grocery store. That is Loblaws. That is Empire. That is Metro. There is spending more and getting less with one's mortgage payment. That is CIBC, RBC and TD. I appreciate the member's concern on this issue. I just think that her arguments are misplaced. It is capitalism. It is corporate greed. If we start taking that on, we will get results for people.
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Hon. Michelle Rempel Garner: I have questions about Canada's grocery oligopoly. I do. However, the government has racked up so much debt. That money has caused an inflationary crisis, including food increases. With regard to energy, of course we need to address climate change. While we do that, why are we lining the pockets of autocratic countries? Why are we not investing in our own energy security? It is just that mindset that deflects away from the decisions that those parties have made in a supply and confidence agreement and how that affects real Canadians. It is just pinning it on striking labour workers, somebody's vaccination status, what their gender is, or corporate or whatever. The buck stops with them. They are in a coalition agreement, and they have a plan that spends more and gets less. It has got to stop.
Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_27
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Charlie Angus: I certainly enjoyed the member's technique of punching her fist in her palm to keep time with her frustration. I often do that with the sound of my head banging on my desk as I listen to conspiracies, slogans and MPs who get up to read something for the first time because one of their staffers wrote it and they do not get the words right. I congratulate the member for being able to speak on her feet and think independently at times, although I do not always agree with her. I would like to go to her question about the Treasury Board president. There is the Nick Cave song that starts: Where is Mona? She's long gone The Treasury Board president said she released a public letter. That is not how one negotiates a financial agreement. She seems to think that this public letter would work. We have to get people back to work. These are workers who are getting hammered by inflation. I would like to ask my hon. colleague what she thinks we need to do to get the Treasury Board president to do her job.