44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 7, 2022 10:00AM
- Jun/7/22 11:18:42 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, earlier, I pointed out to my Conservative colleagues that it was rather shameful to ask the government to lift the GST on gas, particularly since oil companies are making record profits right now. Big oil companies are the ones robbing the middle class of what little wealth it had managed to accumulate.
I am wondering whether my colleague is aware that the government is supporting oil companies. That is another shameful fact. Think of the $2.6 billion the budget allocates to carbon capture strategies. Does my colleague agree that that is shameful, given what the greedy oil companies are up to?
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- Jun/7/22 11:34:08 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, first of all, there is no problem with the part about fertilizer, and I want to make that clear. That is probably one of the things that is having a very big impact on my riding as well.
The member is talking about giving people a break, but this motion would give a break to the oil companies. There is “short term”, and then there is “short term”. It will only take the oil companies a few months to realize that they can raise prices. They will be even happier. We will end up with the same price at the pump, with more money going to the oil companies and less to the government.
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- Jun/7/22 11:35:36 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, my colleague is correct; the Bloc Québécois will be voting against this motion.
I am also happy to see my former colleague from the Standing Committee on International Trade, and I give her my regards.
That said, I am appealing to our government colleagues. The energy transition ball is also in the government's court, and I would encourage them to listen to us. There needs to be a real transition. As my colleague said, the oil companies are making enough and do not deserve any more profit. We urge the government to take action in this area as well.
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- Jun/7/22 11:48:20 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, my colleague is a great person and I thank him for his question.
They have the right idea. They identified a problem and they want to find solutions. However, the Bloc Québécois and I find that these solutions are short term and not a good fit for the situation. These are not the right solutions.
I realize that this is not a Conservative budget, thank God. However, it does give us some indication that, if the Conservatives were in power, oil companies would take precedence over the people of my riding.
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- Jun/7/22 12:22:55 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, what worries me about this Conservative motion is the tax that could benefit oil companies. If we truly want to be free from the rising cost of oil, then we need to be less dependent on oil overall. My colleague from Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot illustrated this quite well. Right now, we need to be talking about investing in a green energy transition and divesting ourselves of oil.
How does my colleague explain his support for a government that, unfortunately, continues to invest in Bay du Nord and in the oil industry?
Also, we have not truly embarked on a transition. How does my colleague feel about the Liberals' failure to take action on the energy transition, which is an important step in distancing ourselves from this industry?
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- Jun/7/22 12:23:49 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, my answer is quite clear. Outside of the confidence and supply agreement, we have complete freedom as New Democrats to oppose the government on things like its failure to respond adequately to the climate crisis.
I would point out that the motion in front of us today really exacerbates the climate crisis by providing a way for big companies to get more profits that they can reinvest in oil in the long term, instead of addressing things like food insecurity and homelessness in this country.
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- Jun/7/22 12:49:38 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is interesting that a number of years ago, the Conservatives were criticizing the government, saying that because of the Government of Canada, the price of oil was too low, when gas was being sold for 88¢ a litre, and now they are criticizing the government because the price of gas is too high, at over $2 a litre. Obviously, the Government of Canada is concerned, but to try to give a false impression that the war that is taking place in Europe today is not influencing the price of oil and gas is dangerously close to misleading.
Does the member believe that the world price of oil has anything to do with what people are paying at the pump?
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- Jun/7/22 12:51:35 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my esteemed colleague for his intervention. Rather than eliminating the taxes on gas, does he not think that we should charge a special tax on the profits of oil companies, which have reached a record high this year?
We could also introduce a special tax on businesses that made more than $1 billion in profit last year in order to help those most affected. We could stop decreasing the guaranteed income supplement for seniors and increase old age security.
We could find solutions other than eliminating a tax, whose only impact will be to make oil companies die of laughter in a few months, when they will have quietly increased their prices to recover those amounts and once again line their pockets, even though they are already handsomely benefiting from the current situation.
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- Jun/7/22 12:52:28 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I just indicated to my colleague from Winnipeg North that these oil companies already pay $20 billion in tax to Canada, and that goes a long way to help us have the health, education and social programs that we have in this country.
I want to say how ironic I find it that both the NDP and the Bloc today are saying they are against lowering the GST and carbon tax. Why are we asking to do that? It is put dollars in people's pockets. They say they do not want to do it that way; they think that we should instead raise the OAS and CPP to put money in people's pockets. It is a difference in view on how to help people in this country. I get where they are coming from, but this is a very quick way of doing it. It could be done with a stroke of a pen. We are in the middle of a crisis right now, at a time when this measure would be most helpful.
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