Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to thank the people of my riding, Beauport—Limoilou. I want to mention that I will be sharing my time with my colleague, the member for Rivière-des-Mille-Îles.

I am pleased to take part in today's debate and to reiterate the immediate priorities of our government to make life more affordable for all Canadians, including Quebeckers. The Canada carbon rebate was implemented to return the majority of direct proceeds from the federal fuel charge to residents of provinces where it applied. It did not apply in Quebec.

The emissions reduction plan contains a complete suite of mitigation measures, strategies and investments, including policies that complement carbon pricing. A price on pollution for major emitters will continue to be a pillar of Canada's plan to build a prosperous net-zero economy and make progress on climate objectives.

The government intends to refocus federal carbon pollution pricing standards on ensuring that carbon pricing systems are in place across the country on a broad range of greenhouse gas emissions from industry. It will reinforce Canada's approach to carbon pricing for industry to ensure its continued effectiveness.

The federal government intends to work with the provinces, including Quebec, the territories, indigenous peoples and stakeholders on changes to the minimum national stringency standards for carbon pollution pricing, known as the federal “benchmark” criteria.

The changes would ensure that industrial pricing systems continue to maximize emissions reductions and encourage the transition to low-carbon technology, while protecting industry against competitiveness and carbon leakage impacts. By improving its emissions performance, Canadian industry will become more efficient and maintain its competitive edge as Canada works to diversify its trade relationships and deepen its market access, particularly in jurisdictions that, like the European Union, increasingly value low-emissions goods. The goal of the benchmark criteria would continue to be that systems are similarly stringent, fair and effective.

The review will look at opportunities to strengthen industrial carbon markets to provide the necessary incentives for major industry-wide decarbonization projects, while creating jobs and spurring investments in the technologies that will shape the clean economies of tomorrow.

Thanks to the elimination of the federal fuel charge effective April 1, 2025, eligible Canadians received a final Canada carbon rebate payment on April 22. The government decided to make this final carbon rebate payment to eligible households in April since Canadian families in the provinces subject to the federal fuel charge, especially low-income families, were counting on the April rebate.

Last week, we introduced Bill C‑4, which would officially remove consumer carbon pricing from Canadian law once it is repealed. This bill would also reduce the cost of living so that Canadians, including Quebeckers, can keep more of their paycheques to spend on what matters most to them. It includes a middle-class tax cut effective July 1, tax relief for close to 22 million individuals in Canada and $840 in savings per year for two-income families. As we have also clearly stated, this cut will primarily benefit the hard-working Canadians who need it the most.

The bulk of the relief would go to people in the two lowest tax brackets, those earning less than $114,750 in 2025. Within this group of working Canadians, nearly half of the tax savings would go to those in the lowest tax bracket, those earning $57,375 or less in 2025. We can deliver these tax savings quickly to Canadians because, when our middle-class tax cut was announced, the Canada Revenue Agency updated its source deduction tables for the July to December 2025 period so that employers and payroll administrators can reduce tax withholdings starting July 1.

We will also eliminate the GST for first-time homebuyers on new homes up to $1 million, which will save them up to $50,000. We will cut the GST for first-time homebuyers on new homes between $1 million and $1.5 million. This will result in a significant increase in the already substantial federal tax support available to first-time homebuyers through programs such as the tax-free first home savings account, the home buyers' plan, the registered retirement savings plan and the first-time homebuyers' tax credit.

This will help more young people and families achieve their dream of home ownership. Thanks to these measures, we are making changes to lower taxes, we are lowering costs and we are putting more money in the pockets of Canadians and Quebeckers. Those are just some of the ways the government is making life more affordable. The government will also maintain the programs that are already helping families save thousands of dollars every year.

As His Majesty said in the Speech from the Throne, in all of our actions, the government will be guided by a new fiscal discipline: spend less so people can invest more. We will balance the government's operating budget over the next three years by cutting waste, capping the public service, ending duplication and deploying technology to improve public sector productivity. That is why we are committed to presenting the details of our plan in the fall in a comprehensive, effective, ambitious and prudent federal budget.

One of the key priorities that we have discussed and focused on since the start of our mandate is to improve the efficiency of government spending. We are looking for areas where we can cut costs and improve public service productivity.

Day-to-day government spending, that is, the government's operating budget, has been growing by 9% each year. The government will introduce measures to bring that growth below 2%. In parallel, the government will take a series of measures to catalyze new investment to create better jobs and higher incomes for Canadians.

As we have already mentioned, the government's overarching goal and core mission is to build the strongest economy in the G7. That starts with creating one Canadian economy out of 13. Internal barriers to trade and labour mobility cost Canadians as much as $200 billion each year. That is why we have introduced legislation to remove all remaining federal barriers to internal trade and labour mobility.

Our government is working hard right now to meet Canadians' needs, and that includes making life more affordable across the country, including in Quebec, so that Canadians can keep more of their hard-earned paycheques.

Steeve Lavoie

Transcript

Government Orders

Discussions (0)