Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mrs. Stephanie Kusie: the Prime Minister 's inflationary spending has caused the cost of food and groceries to skyrocket. One in five Canadians are skipping meals. People are now going to food banks and asking for help to end their lives, not because they are sick, but because they cannot afford to eat. This government's rebate will give $234 for a single adult to cover the rising cost of food, which its inflationary deficits helped to cause. Canada's Food Price Report 2023 predicts that a family of four will spend up to $1,065 more on food this year, which is $598 more than the $467 rebate they will receive. At a $305 increase, the Prime Minister 's grocery rebate just gives money back to Canadians that the government had clawed away from them with its tax increases. It will not solve the cost of living crisis for many struggling Canadians who are already over the edge. Finally, the Liberal government is still raising taxes on restaurants and breweries already struggling to survive by increasing the excise tax on alcohol by 2% of the expected 6.3%. This temporary cap in the increase of the excise tax on alcohol is only for one year, but I am sure we will see that it will continue. If this is such a great time to be in Canada, then why is there a disincentive to work? Why is there a disincentive to start a small business? Why is that so? It is because, just this year, the Prime Minister raised payroll taxes on workers and small businesses, and now a worker making above $60,600 will be forced to pay an extra $255 through the mandatory Canada pension plan, according to the CTF. This worker will also have to pay an extra $50 through employment insurance tax, which is a $305 increase. The grocery rebate, once again, gives back to Canadians what has already been clawed away. In addition to being a difficult time for Canadians, it is also a difficult time for workers to be incentivized and for Canadians to want to start a business. I come from a small business family. I recall my dad saying to me in our store, "Don't give that bag if you don't have to because it cost 10C/." That is how concerned we were about money at the time, and there was tension around the dinner table. This government's legislation is not helping that, and certainly not this budget. If this is a great time, and there is no better place to be than Canada, why are Canadians stressed about getting to work or getting their kids to school? Why are people who just want to be warm called polluters That is what is happening. The Prime Minister 's carbon tax will increase to 14C/ per litre, which it did on April 1, making it more expensive for Canadians to heat their homes and get to work. As well, by 2030, the Prime Minister's two carbon taxes could add up to 50C/ per litre to the price of gasoline. If there is no better place to be than Canada, then why do Canadians have to give so much back to the government to get so little back? The Parliamentary Budget Officer himself showed that the carbon tax will cost the average family between $402 and $847 in 2023, even after the rebates. How can the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance possibly say that there is no better plan to be than Canada? If there is no better place to be than Canada, then why can Canadians not afford a home? The dream of home ownership has died for young and new Canadians under the Prime Minister. Nine out of 10 people who do not own home say that they never will. The down payment needed to buy a house has now doubled, and the minimum down payment on an average housing has gone from $22,000 to $45,000 across Canada. Average mortgage and rent payments have nearly doubled since our recent Prime Minister took office. Then, the average monthly payment on a new house was $1,400, and today it has gone up to over $3,100. In 2015, the average rent in Canada for a one-bedroom apartment was $973, and today it is $1,760. The average rent in Canada for a two-bedroom apartment was $1,172, and today it is $2,153. When the Prime Minister took office, people needed only 39% of an average paycheque to make monthly payments on the average house. That number has risen to 62%. By every objective measure, things are more expensive and Canadians are taking home less, but "there is no better place to be than Canada." In the weeks leading up to the release of budget 2023, the Liberal government signalled an intent to rein in its spending. In fact, the finance minister made this promise to Canadians. She said, "that is one of our primary goals in this year's budget: not to pour fuel on the fire of inflation. So...we will exercise fiscal restraint." The government has done anything but exercise fiscal restraint. When I was young, I was told that a budget worked like this: We bring home this much money. We spend this much money. We have this much money left. We knew, and we know, budgets do not balance themselves. The Prime Minister , the finance minister and government have yet to learn that. In this budget we see that the Prime Minister has added more debt than all other prime ministers combined, and he has no plan to balance the budget and control his inflationary deficits, which are driving up the cost of the goods we buy and the interest we pay. Canada's federal debt for the 2023-24 fiscal year is projected to be $1.22 trillion. That is nearly $81,000 per household in Canada. There is no path to balance the budget in the current government's projections. The deficit for 2022-23 is up to $43 billion, and in 2023-24, the deficit is projected to be $40.1 billion. The fall economic statement projected a $4.5-billion surplus in 2027-28, and budget 2023 now projects a $14-billion deficit in 2027-28, which is as far as the projections go. I started this speech by saying that on March 28, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance said, "there is no better place to be than Canada", but why can Canadians not afford to eat? Why is work disincentivized? Why is gas so expensive? Why must we pay such high taxes? Why can no one afford a home? The government simply cannot manage the books. This does not add up.