MPs grill Liberal middle-class prosperity minister over $90 a year tax cut

Last night, the federal tax cut equal to $1.73 a week, was questioned by Commons finance committee members.

Middle-Class Prosperity Minister Mona Fortier said, “It is incumbent on us to be more familiar with Canadians’ needs … A lot of people are feeling the squeeze at the end of the month and need a little help to make ends meet … We still have our work cut out for us in order to strengthen the middle class.”

According to Blacklock’s, Bill C-2 was passed by Parliament last December proposing gradual hikes in personal tax exemption. The cut comes out to $90 this year which is only $1.73 per week.

Fortier told the Commons that the cut “means more money that can be used to do things like buy healthy food.”

Conservative MP Pat Kelly said, “It’s about $1.70 a week. Will that pay for groceries?”

Minister Fortier responded, “We know we still have work to do.”

New Democrat MP Peter Julian called the tax cut baffling and said, “It’s perplexing to me because it seems so out of touch with the reality so many Canadian families are facing.”

“Half of Canadian families are $200 away from insolvency at the end of every month,” he said, “People are saying $1.73 is not going to make a huge difference. That’s the figure the Parliamentary Budget Office did say was the impact this year.”

Fortier said the cut puts “more money in their pockets” and added, “It is incumbent on us to be more familiar with Canadians’ needs.”

“You know, I am looking at the middle class and we know Canadians want to have access to a good home, they want to be able to pay for education for their kids, they want a dignified and secure retirement, and they want a good job,” noted Fortier, “They have costs of living, and the middle class – it’s important to say the middle class has the reality of wanting that good place, education, and retirement. So, we can look at it that way.”

When asked what the median Canadian income is by Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre, Fortier’s reply was, “Excuse me?”

“What is the median income of Canadians today?” She said, “When we talk about Canadians and middle-class Canadians, we know that depending on where they live and depending on their realities they will have different incomes.”

Blacklock’s Reporter noted that $48,000 per year is the median income for single-parent homes in Canada while it is $68,600 for couples with children.