44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 22, 2022 10:00AM
- Mar/22/22 10:22:01 a.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the reality is that a huge part of the extreme gas prices we are seeing is the egregious price gouging by the huge oil companies, yet this motion from the Conservative Party would do nothing to address the windfall profits that the big oil companies are making.
Could the member please inform the House why he has entirely missed dealing with the primary source of this affordability issue?
70 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/22/22 10:22:44 a.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, my colleague from British Columbia rolls out this often-articulated trope that somehow extreme prices are due to price gouging by the oil companies and retailers. That is nonsense. There is not a shred of evidence to support that.
He did note that oil companies are making windfall profits right now because of the high prices of oil and gas. He is right, but in reality that money is also taxed. It translates into tax revenue that the federal government receives, which is why we have these windfall revenues at the federal level. We believe those, at least in part, should be applied to lifting the GST on gas and diesel.
113 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/22/22 10:35:59 a.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I am always surprised by this ability to put on blinders. The price of oil definitely includes taxes, but it is also determined by the oil companies themselves.
The price per barrel of Brent crude doubled from March 2021 to March 2022, rising from $64 to $128. Oil companies also make a profit on refining a barrel of oil. The profit margin went from $1.15 in February 2021 to $4.40 in February 2022.
The profits from Brent and oil refining do not go to the government. They go to the oil companies. They are the ones exerting upward pressure on gas prices. I agree that supply and demand is a factor, but greed also has a role to play here.
When will the government take action against the oil companies, which are lining their pockets to benefit their shareholders rather than workers, the government and the people?
154 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/22/22 10:37:08 a.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I have a simple answer for my hon. colleague: yes. My colleague from Abbotsford talked about the increases in oil prices, and I just want to add that they have gone up 30% since we came back to the House after the new year. If she thinks that is due to the gouging, which is the word I heard earlier, from the oil companies, she is definitely wrong.
There are profits to be made in this industry, but the biggest one is the taxes that are on the cost of fuel today, and the increase puts a lot more money in the government's coffers than it did in those of the oil companies. That is why we are reasonably asking today for the GST to be taken off of the price of gas. The government has the full authority and mandate to do that overnight.
148 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/22/22 11:53:08 a.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to comment on your behalf.
I would refer the hon. member to our opposition day motion from yesterday. We proposed a 3% surcharge tax on industries that have done very well in the pandemic, whether it is big banks, box stores or oil and gas companies, which are the beneficiaries of these incredible increases at the pump. That is just one proposal that we managed to table yesterday.
However, there are many things we think the Liberal government ought to be doing on the question of tax fairness. We ran on a wealth tax. I think that is a far more fair way to raise revenue, rather than asking the middle class, which is already struggling, to pay more in taxes to fund these things. That is another way we can fund something like temporary relief from the GST on home heating.
We should be working to close the agreements we have about tax havens given the PBO has said we are losing $25 billion a year in revenue there. Beyond the 3% surcharge tax that was proposed yesterday, we need to be looking at an excess profit tax for the companies that did extraordinarily well during the pandemic on top of their normal healthy earnings and profits.
There are absolutely a lot of ways we could be raising revenue in Canada. There are other jurisdictions that have shown far more leadership on this, both in closing tax loopholes and in ensuring that the wealthy pay their fair share. It is high time we did that, and we will continue to be a voice pressuring the government to do those things in the months and years ahead.
282 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/22/22 12:46:00 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, I am going to ask a question in the same vein as that from the member for Drummond.
The ones really benefiting from the crisis right now are the oil companies, which are lining their pockets. The Conservatives' solution is to cut government revenues, when we need that money to help people.
Why not go get the money where the money is, specifically in the oil companies' profits, to then be able to help ordinary people who are having a hard time right now?
87 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/22/22 1:00:57 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, the oil and gas companies in Canada have increased their already excessive profits, even throughout the pandemic, when others are suffering. The NDP has pushed for many years for the creation of an oil and gas ombudsman to work for and protect consumers against that kind of price gouging. Does the hon. member support this kind of initiative?
60 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/22/22 2:29:51 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, oil and gas companies, as well as big box stores, have made record profits while families are struggling to put food on the table and fill up their tanks. We know that these companies have made record profits. We have a chance to do something about that later on today when we can vote to tax their excess profits and reinvest it into people.
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
71 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/22/22 2:30:33 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, oil and gas companies and big box stores have made record profits while everyday families are struggling to buy their groceries and to fill up their tanks. We have an opportunity to do something about that today when we vote on our opposition day motion: our plan to tax the excess profits of these corporations and reinvest that into helping people. We already know that the Conservatives are going to support the profits of big oil and gas companies.
Where will the Prime Minister stand: with people and families, or with the large corporations that have made excess profits?
101 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/22/22 2:32:55 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, oil and gas companies and big box stores have made record profits while families are struggling to pay for food and gas.
We have a chance to do something about this problem today by taxing big corporations' excess profits and reinvesting that money to help families.
Will the Prime Minister protect the interests of ordinary people or big corporations' profits?
62 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/22/22 3:53:16 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, I very much agree with my hon. colleague that Canadians are experiencing a dramatic hardship due to the high cost of living, whether it is for food, housing, services or, as this motion speaks to, gas at the pumps. As the member said, we are facing record-high gas prices. The problem I see with this motion is that it would do nothing about the excessive profits being made by oil and gas companies. We know that companies such as Suncor just made net profits of $4.1 billion. Someone is profiting enormously from prices of gas at $2 per gallon.
Instead of doing this, would the member agree that we should impose a tax of 3% on profits over $1 billion, as the NDP has suggested, and redirect that revenue to everyday Canadians?
136 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/22/22 3:54:08 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, I appreciate the question from the member, who actually still sounds as if he comes from the NDP. We have an opportunity right now to do something for Canadians. We have an opportunity to lower the costs. I think the conversation about record profits in oil companies is a frivolous one in the context of this debate. The member used to be part of a party that fought for the affordability of Canadians. Where is that member now?
80 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/22/22 4:40:07 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, clearly the rising cost of gas is about inflation. In fact, Marc Lee, a senior economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, recently stated, “industry profits rebounded strongly in 2021 after the COVID-induced slowdown of 2020. For example, Canadian Natural Resources booked a record $7.7 billion profit.... This clearly shows it’s time to bring in a windfall profits tax on the oil and gas sector.” One of the obvious ways to address this cost-of-living crisis would be to tax profiteers like Suncor, which made a net profit of $4.1 billion and paid out $3.9 billion to its shareholders.
On the topic of inflation, affordability and taxation, why do the Liberals continue to protect wealth-accumulating corporations and do no nothing to ease the pressure on average Canadians who are struggling to make ends meet?
147 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/22/22 5:07:50 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, I am trying to understand the Conservatives' position on affordability. I was in the House when the Conservatives voted against raising the minimum wage for Canadians, when the Conservatives voted against raising corporate taxes on the windfall profits of corporations making billions of dollars per year, when Conservatives voted against pharmacare that would save the average family in this country over $600 a year and businesses about $700 a year and when Conservatives voted against a dental care plan that would allow Canadians to fix their teeth and not have to pay out of pocket with their hard-earned dollars.
Can the hon. colleague explain to me how any Canadian can take the Conservatives seriously on affordability when their record of voting stands so starkly against positive, constructive measures that would help average Canadians actually save money in their real lives?
143 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
