SoVote

Apr/4/22 1:10:01 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-8

Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague for Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke has a very fair question. Back 100 years ago, in the Fraser Valley, we had electric rail that went from Vancouver to Chilliwack, yet we moved away from that. We need to get back to rail infrastructure to ease the congestion and get people to where they need to go faster. People want it. It is good for the economy, and it is good for people's well-being. We need to make investments in rail infrastructure. Back in 2015, the Liberals promised they were going to get SkyTrain built, and it still has not been built out to Langley. We need to move faster on critical rail infrastructure in this country to move people and our goods faster. It is good for the economy, and it is good for everyone.

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Context: House Hansard - 52 - Apr/4/22

Mr. Brad Vis (Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, CPC)

Apr/4/22 2:52:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, hearing the commentary today, I think there is one thing all British Columbians can agree on, irrespective of party, and that is that the Government of Canada has a role to play in helping to rebuild British Columbia. In this week's budget, can the government let us know whether there would be additional funds on top of the $5 billion for dike infrastructure, road repair, and first nations emergency management and supplies? British Columbia needs it. Will the government be there to help rebuild my province?

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Context: House Hansard - 52 - Apr/4/22

Ms. Rachel Blaney (North Island—Powell River, NDP)

Apr/4/22 5:08:46 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I agree, especially regarding the issues of climate change. We know that the impacts are being felt profoundly. I am from British Columbia, and last year we saw a heat dome that took many lives because we simply do not have the infrastructure we need to deal with that kind of heat. We saw extreme flooding and forest fires and lost whole communities. Farmers lost everything. We know the impacts of climate change are real, but they are also extremely expensive, and I am very concerned because we do not see the government taking the next steps it needs to take to address this issue in a serious way. I am wondering if the member could talk about what she is seeing and how urgent and expensive climate change is.

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Context: House Hansard - 52 - Apr/4/22

Mr. Dan Albas (Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, CPC)

Apr/4/22 6:05:49 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am glad the member talked about and actually read the report by the Standing Committee on Finance. Some of the other speakers obviously spoke for 20 minutes without any reference to what was in the report. On recommendation 191, the member and I will maybe debate a bit and disagree on that recommendation, which is for infrastructure for electric vehicles. I have spoken with the industry, which has said there is a problem in the Weights and Measures Act that makes it difficult for the market itself to function. Right now, when people plug in their electric vehicles, if it is fast charger that draws more out, they have to charge the same amount that they would for someone who has a regular charger and charges by the minute. The problem is that we cannot see private investment and markets begin to appear, so the government has to continue to pay for this infrastructure. Elon Musk has said publicly that there is enough adoption of electric vehicles that the infrastructure can pay for itself. Does the member believe that, rather than borrowing those scarce tax dollars to pay for something, because we are borrowing the money right now, why does the government not actually fix it and let the market function and provide that infrastructure, like it does with regular vehicles?

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Context: House Hansard - 52 - Apr/4/22

Mr. Mark Gerretsen

Apr/4/22 6:07:22 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, what a great policy debate. Why did the Conservative Party not put that in its dissenting report? What an incredible point. That is something we could actually debate and discuss. I want to thank the member for bringing that forward, because he might very well be right. Why did the Conservatives not talk about it in the dissenting report? All they did in the dissenting report was whine and complain about everything the government is doing. We are having this debate and he finally brings up a quite germane point. I would argue that, as the technology develops further and further, we are not really going to need that infrastructure, other than between extremely long commutes. Right now, the average electric vehicle gets about 400 kilometres, maybe about 320 kilometres in the winter in our climate, but as the technology develops further and further, that range is going to increase more and more. I would argue that the infrastructure will not even be needed as greatly as it appears to be needed right now, but I want to thank him for that very good point that he just brought up.

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