44th Parl. 1st Sess.
September 22, 2022 10:00AM
Mr. Speaker, my colleague spoke about the cost of living and the government's approach to that. It is great to see the Liberals finally supporting our long efforts on dental care. What she did not address is anything to tackle the massive profits being made by oil and gas corporations, grocery giants and these other companies that are benefiting from this crisis that Canadians are facing right now.
The U.K. government, a Conservative government, saw this opportunity and put in place a 25% excess profit tax on the oil and gas companies in that country. That would go a long way toward providing the revenue to put back into Canadians' pockets and provide the kind of support Canadians need. Would she support that kind of initiative here in Canada?
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Mr. Speaker, not once did my colleague talk about the greedflation that has taken hold in this country. We know in Canada we have the lowest corporate tax rate in the G7. How is that playing out? We have homeless people and people who cannot get dental care. We see big corporations like grocery stores, the big banks, big oil and big telecom all having record profits. Meanwhile, grocery store prices are going up, as are bank fees, fuel prices and telecom fees.
The member said that these are hard times and that it does not need to be this way. I agree. The Conservatives in Britain had the courage to charge their big oil companies a 25% excess tax on oil and gas profits. Where is the courage for these Conservatives? Where is the consciousness, because it is unconscionable that people cannot get dental care yet we have greedflation. The gatekeepers are truly the Conservatives standing up for these big corporations. It is 1% of the families in this country who hold 25% of the wealth. Meanwhile, 40% of families only hold 1.1% of the wealth. This is unacceptable, and it does not need to be this way.
When will the member deal with the greedflation that has taken a grip on this country?
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Mr. Speaker, on that point of order, what is truly criminal is that these big corporations are hoarding all the profits while people—
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- Sep/22/22 2:48:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, while Canadians are struggling, oil companies are making record profits. Last quarter alone, Imperial Oil made $2.4 billion. New Democrats have been calling for a tax on these excess profits to help put more money back in people's pockets, but the Liberals have refused.
Now, the UN Secretary General is calling on countries to implement a windfall tax on big polluters. Will the Prime Minister finally do the right thing and make big oil pay their fair share?
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- Sep/22/22 2:48:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government has been and continues to be committed to being sure everyone in Canada pays their fair share. That is why we are permanently raising the corporate income tax by 1.5% on the largest, most-profitable banks and insurance companies. That is why we introduced a recovery dividend of 15% on the excess profits of these institutions during COVID. We have implemented, effective September 1, a 10% luxury tax on private jets, luxury cars, boats and yachts.
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- Sep/22/22 3:10:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are in a climate catastrophe while oil and gas companies make record profits on the backs of regular people. As raised earlier, the UN Secretary-General is now calling for a windfall tax on these profits, yet the federal government continues to do the opposite, giving more public funds to the very companies responsible for the crisis.
When will the government listen to the UN and apply to oil and gas the same windfall tax it has to banks and life insurers?
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Mr. Speaker, it is a very good moment for New Democrats when we can finally talk about the issues that most Canadians are already experiencing at the pumps or in the grocery stores, and that is corporate greed.
I heard the member speak a bit about that, which I would like him to elaborate on, but I will give some facts. Pasta has increased 30%, coffee 20%, oranges 16% and bread 16%, and there has been $3.5 billion in profits by big grocery stores. The NDP is the only party talking about the real cost of inflation, which is corporate greed.
Would the member please elaborate on how this cost of corporate greed is affecting Canadians in his riding?
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciated the member's focus on the excess profits of the oil and gas sector.
I do not like using the term “excess profit” and I do not like using “windfall profit”. Let us be clear about what we are talking about: We are talking about immoral war profiteering. That is what we are seeing right now. If hon. members across the way want to laugh, let me refer to the business columnist in The Globe and Mail, Eric Reguly, who called this out in his August 8 column. He pointed out that the profits of oil and gas right now have nothing to do with business acumen and everything to do with war.
I would ask my hon. colleague if he agrees with the Parliamentary Budget Officer that by doubling from 15% to 30%, the additional $8 billion coming into the Canadian economy and the government coffers could help us take care of the poorest of the poor.
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Mr. Speaker, the member for Kingston and the Islands is right to give credit to the NDP for having pushed, prodded and pulled the government to put into place a series of measures that help Canadians. The GST credit, that rebate, is on average about $500 that will go to about 12 million Canadians. As well, there is dental care, which is reflected in the other NDP bill and would be put in place to help thousands of Canadian families. Of course, the rental supplement will help nearly two million Canadians.
These are all measures the NDP and the member for Burnaby South fought for, and it is to the credit of the government that it allowed itself to be pushed, prodded and pulled in the right direction to do things that will actually benefit Canadians.
My question is about other measures the NDP has talked about. For example, “greedflation”, which is the intense profiteering we have seen as inflation has risen, means we are of course seeing the cost of food go up, but profits for companies like Loblaws and Sobeys have increased far beyond the increase in the cost of food. Will the government take measures to cut back on this profiteering, which is hurting so many Canadians at this dire time?
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