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View Francis Scarpaleggia Profile
Lib. (QC)
View Francis Scarpaleggia Profile
2015-04-23 10:36 [p.12910]
Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the member a couple of questions.
The government says it is going to invest in infrastructure, but those investments will not really begin for a few years. It is possible, however, that the economy could recover in a few years, especially if the government changes, and interest rates could go up.
Would my colleague agree that the government's approach lacks some wisdom, given that, with interest rates so low at the moment, now is the time to invest?
It is possible that in the future, as former finance minister Jim Flaherty said, interest rates could go up, especially if there is inflation, since there is a lot of money in the system. The central banks have put a lot of money into the system, so inflation could resume some day.
View Guy Caron Profile
NDP (QC)
Mr. Speaker, I do not necessarily want to respond to hypothetical questions, but the member for Lac-Saint-Louis makes some interesting points.
Inflation is at a record low right now. Regardless of inflation and interest rates, it is recognized that the best investments are investments in infrastructure, because infrastructure gives the best returns in terms of multipliers.
In my opinion, the government is headed in the wrong direction by limiting the municipalities' ability to choose their own projects and limiting necessary investments in public transit, for example. The investments being made are not enough to meet the needs in this area, which is something that has received a lot of criticism from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
The government is also headed in the wrong direction in its relationships with certain provinces, including Quebec, with which it has not yet even signed the building Canada agreement.
Right now, Quebec municipalities have access only to the excise tax on gasoline. They do not yet have access to federal funding for major projects or the community improvement fund. That is extremely harmful to Quebec and the provinces that have not signed the agreement.
We are asking the government to expedite the process and sign the agreements so that the whole country has access to the building Canada program.
View Lois Brown Profile
CPC (ON)
View Lois Brown Profile
2014-09-16 11:54 [p.7398]
Mr. Speaker, an unidentified economist wrote, “rent controls are the best way to destroy a city other than bombing”. In the same way, it is what minimum wages can do to destroy an economy. We know that employers, the people who are the business owners, are going to have to pass these costs on to the goods and services they produce, so we are looking at increased inflation.
Right now we have young people who are looking to get into jobs, and there are a finite number of jobs for these young people to undertake. Could the member give us any information from the work the NDP has done on finding out how this kind of motion, if passed, would influence and impact the number of jobs available for our young people who are so anxious to get into the workforce now?
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