“Given that the cost of government is driving up inflation, making the price of goods Canadians buy and the interest they pay unaffordable, this House call on the government to commit to no new taxes on gas, groceries, home heating and pay cheques,” says the text of the motion introduced on Sept. 29.
Tory Leader Pierre Poilievre has in previous sittings of the House called on the Liberals to stop hikes in EI and CPP premiums, and criticized government spending for causing increased inflation.
Conservative MP and House Leader Andrew Scheer, who introduced the motion, also blamed the rising prices on the government’s “massive deficits” which he said sparked the current inflationary environment and “weakened” the economy.
“If you look at why prices are rising, it is directly linked to the massive deficits that this prime minister has been racking up pretty much since his first day in office,” Scheer said. “Their first year in power, this government made a conscious decision to spend more money than it received and plunge this country into those deficits.”
Scheer split his time in introducing the motion, allowing MPs from other parties to debate the motion with the Conservatives.
In defending the Liberal government’s fiscal policies, MP Kevin Lamoureux, who is the parliamentary secretary to the leader of the government in the House, said the Liberals’ approach “recognizes the importance of developing and encouraging an economy that works for all Canadians.”
“Let’s talk inflation,” he added. “Canada, in comparison to other countries around the world, is doing exceptionally well—look at the U.S., look at Europe, look at England.”
Scheer said in response that the “Liberal message to Canadians is ’thank your lucky stars it’s not even worse.'”
“It’s a little bit like an arsonist saying to a homeowner, ‘Well, I know I set your house on fire, but look, your neighbour’s house is even more on fire.’”
