| Address debate — maximum of six appointed days, pursuant to Standing Order 50(1). |
| Wednesday, December 1, 2021 — second appointed day. |
| Thursday, December 2, 2021 — third appointed day. |
| November 30, 2021 — Resuming debate on the motion of , seconded by , — That the following address be presented to
Her Excellency the Governor General:
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| To
Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary May Simon, Chancellor and Principal
Companion of the Order of Canada, Chancellor and Commander of the Order of
Military Merit, Chancellor and Commander of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of
Canada. |
| MAY IT PLEASE YOUR
EXCELLENCY: |
| We, Her Majesty's most
loyal and dutiful subjects, the House of Commons of Canada, in Parliament
assembled, beg leave to offer our humble thanks to Your Excellency for the
gracious Speech which Your Excellency has addressed to both Houses of Parliament; |
| And on the amendment of , seconded by , — That the motion be amended by adding the following: |
| “, and wish to inform Your Excellency that the Speech from the Throne fails to adequately address critical issues that threaten the prosperity of Canadians, including: |
| (a) a cost of living crisis that is cutting the average Canadian worker’s paycheque by 2.7%, which requires urgent action by the government to (i) table a plan to control spending and apply a laser focus on policies that will create growth, (ii) maintain the Bank of Canada’s 2% inflation target, (iii) increase production of Canadian energy to boost supply and lower gas prices, (iv) take action to improve the resilience of Canadian supply chains;
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| (b) a stagnant economy, with Canada’s real GDP growth now the weakest in the G-7, actually shrinking by 1.1% in the second quarter, which requires urgent action by the government to (i) reduce the burden of taxes and regulation to restore Canada as an attractive place to invest and build a business, (ii) table a plan to create growth in all sectors of the economy and boost real wages, (iii) drive innovation and technology by overhauling Canada’s R&D programs;
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| (c) a housing crisis that has driven home prices up 30% over the past year and priced thousands of young families out of the market, which requires policies that will build an additional one million homes over the next three years by (i) reallocating 15% of the government’s real estate portfolio for housing, (ii) tackling regulatory barriers that raise costs of construction, (iii) linking infrastructure dollars to higher density zoning, (iv) committing to not tax principal residences;
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| (d) an acute labour shortage that is affecting 60% of businesses in Canada and 82% of Canadian manufacturers, which requires the government to (i) improve alignment of immigration criteria with the needs of employers, (ii) streamline the rules of the temporary foreign workers program, (iii) improve skills training and give more powers to provinces; and |
| (e) a national unity crisis, which requires (i) respecting provincial jurisdiction, (ii) supporting and growing all parts of the economy, including the energy sector, (iii) restoring confidence in our national institutions, starting by returning ethics and accountability to the government”; |
| And on the subamendment of , seconded by , — That the amendment be amended as follows:
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| (a) in paragraph (a), by deleting the words “(iii) increase production of Canadian energy to boost supply and lower gas prices,”;
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| (b) in paragraph (e), by deleting the words “including the energy sector,”; and
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| (c) by adding the following:
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| “(f) a public health crisis, caused primarily by a fiscal imbalance that is putting the economic viability of the provinces at risk, which requires (i) a major investment that would cover 35% of health costs in Quebec and in the other provinces by the federal government through the Canada Health Transfer with a subsequent annual indexation of 6%, (ii) abandoning the idea of imposing national health standards, (iii) ensuring that the provinces that do not want conditional assistance in the area of health care from the federal government in Ottawa have the right to opt out with full financial compensation for each of the proposed initiatives, and that it all be negotiated at a summit on health care funding; and
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| (g) the creation of two classes of seniors, which can be addressed by increasing Old Age Security for seniors aged 65 to 74”. |
| Voting on the subamendment — not later than 15 minutes before the end of the time provided for the address debate, pursuant to Standing Order 50(4). |