44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 24, 2022 10:00AM
- Nov/24/22 2:24:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's top Newfoundland and Labrador minister said that he is “sick and tired” of people complaining about heating their homes in the cold weather.
It is no wonder that they are complaining. According to the CBC, the Prime Minister's favourite media outlet, the “federal carbon tax could leave seniors out in the cold”. One seniors advocate said that her members are feeling “extreme difficulty” with the cost of living.
Instead of telling Atlantic Canadians to pay up and shut up, why does this government not reverse its costly carbon tax on home heat?
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- Nov/24/22 2:24:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, instead of mischaracterizing what members on this side of the House say, the leader of the official opposition should actually take a look at what, for example, the Parliamentary Budget Officer says in regard to our price on pollution, which actually returns more money to the vast majority of Canadians in areas where it is imposed.
The price on pollution not only fights climate change but also supports hard-working families where they most need it.
We are pleased that families in Atlantic Canada are now going to be getting the carbon incentive rebate regularly. We will continue to fight climate change and support Canadians while we do it.
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- Nov/24/22 2:25:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, well, if the Prime Minister says I should take a look at the Parliamentary Budget Officer's report, I think I just might. I have it right here: “A Distributional Analysis of Federal Carbon Pricing under a Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy”. I will go to page 13.
The net cost to Albertans is $2,282. In Saskatchewan, it is $1,464. In Manitoba, it is $1,145, and in Ontario, it is $1,461. This is the excessive cost above and beyond the rebates that people will get.
That is what the Parliamentary Budget Officer says. The Prime Minister will not believe it.
Would the Speaker send over a page so they can deliver this report so the Prime Minister can believe his own eyes?
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- Nov/24/22 2:26:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, remarkably, buried in that rhetorical attack, was something quite important. For perhaps the first time, the member of the official opposition has finally recognized that there is a rebate associated with the price on pollution, that we give back more money every year than the average family pays, related to the price on pollution.
We are actually there to support Canadians even as we fight climate change.
The leader of the official opposition does not much care for the fight against climate change but he should care about putting more money in people's pockets. That is why he should support our price on pollution.
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- Nov/24/22 2:27:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, no one has ever denied that there is a tiny rebate. What we have said is that the rebate does not come anywhere near paying the cost that people have to pay for higher—
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- Nov/24/22 2:27:39 p.m.
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I am going to interrupt the hon. Leader of the Opposition. When one is reading from something, it is not a problem, but when one is holding it up, it becomes a prop.
I am sure the hon. member knows that. He probably just forgot. I will let him continue.
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- Nov/24/22 2:27:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am sorry that some consider a report from the Parliamentary Budget Officer to be a prop. I consider it to be firm evidence that the size of these rebates is smaller than the cost that people pay in higher taxes. This is definitive proof, and it shows that Canadians will pay more the higher the tax gets, all for a policy that has failed to deliver a single, solitary climate change target.
It has failed. It costs too much. Will the government cancel it?
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- Nov/24/22 2:28:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, maybe to the Leader of the Opposition, hundreds of dollars in Canadians' pocket is a tiny amount, but I know that it matters to Canadians.
Hard-working families receiving support for the carbon price they are paying is making a huge difference, as is the $500 top-up to the Canada rental benefit and delivering on dental care.
All of those things are things the Leader of the Opposition thinks Canadians should not get. He voted against them. Instead, he moves on recommending that they invest in Bitcoin to avoid inflation. Well, that would have destroyed half their savings.
We will continue to deliver support for Canadians while he plays rhetorical games.
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- Nov/24/22 2:29:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, those rebates would not be enough to pay for two hours in the Prime Minister's favourite London hotel, where he pays $6,000 a night. Let me look at the costs of this tax. It is $2,282 for the average Albertan, when fully implemented; $1,464 for the average Saskatchewanian; and similar costs for people right across the country. These are net costs, above and beyond the tiny rebates he has offered.
Now that he has the evidence, now that it is right here in a report from an officer he appointed, will he believe the facts and cancel the tax?
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- Nov/24/22 2:29:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in the very same report the Leader of the Opposition is touting, it spells out that indeed the price on pollution is compensated for by a larger rebate than the average family pays out in a given year. The average family of four, including families in his riding of Carleton, do better off with our carbon price incentive.
That is because we know that fighting climate change is important to Canadian families, and making ends meet is as well. That is why we continue to step up on support for families, while he continues to nickel and dime them.
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- Nov/24/22 2:30:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, here in the House, the Prime Minister has not been taking Chinese interference in funding election candidates seriously, to say the least.
However, he thought it was serious enough to ask his intelligence services to get to the bottom of it. He is right about that: China has been increasing its efforts to interfere with democracy. He even talked to the Chinese President about it at the G20.
What the Global News report has revealed is, at the bare minimum, a glaring weakness in the political financing system. There is a very simple way for the Prime Minister to immediately correct this.
Will he bring back public funding of political parties?
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- Nov/24/22 2:31:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our federal political party financing system is one of the most rigorous, robust, accountable and transparent of any level of government.
If the Bloc Québécois has trouble getting money from Canadians, that is its problem, but we will continue to follow the rules and do our fundraising in public. We will continue to trust the existing system instead of trying to create new systems to help the Bloc Québécois.
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- Nov/24/22 2:31:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I cannot believe the answer I just heard. The Prime Minister should be ashamed.
Political parties' dependence on donations creates unhealthy conditions that invite undue influence. This is already a problem when it comes to major donors. The Prime Minister knows this because he spent a whole term in trouble for charging business people $1,500 each to join him at private cocktail parties.
The Global News report revealed that this weakness can be exploited by foreign powers seeking to influence democracy. China is probably already doing it. The Prime Minister should employ the precautionary principle. I realize he may not be familiar with that idea, but he needs to wake up sooner or later.
Will he restore public funding for political parties—
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- Nov/24/22 2:32:33 p.m.
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The right hon. Prime Minister.
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- Nov/24/22 2:32:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, political party financing in Canada is governed by a robust, sound, transparent system.
Perhaps the Bloc Québécois is struggling a little to raise money, but the reality is that all political parties engage with Canadians. The Liberal Party does it in a completely open and transparent way. The media is invited to every one of my fundraisers. I encourage the leaders of the Bloc Québécois and the Conservative Party to do the same.
We will always be open and transparent about our fundraising, because Canadians must be able to have faith in our democracy.
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- Nov/24/22 2:33:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, mothers, grandmothers and leaders of our community wrote a scathing letter indicting the government and the Prime Minister's lack of action in dealing with the health care crisis, particularly as it refers to children.
Children cannot breathe. They are ending up in emergency rooms that are full, waiting hours and hours to get care, and the Prime Minister has not shown up nor shown leadership. For parents, the health of their kids is their number one priority. Why is it not for the Prime Minister?
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- Nov/24/22 2:33:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think it is beneath anyone in this House to suggest that there is any one of us who does not care about the well-being of children in this country. I know we all do. I know we are all working very hard on this.
As a government, we invested over $70 billion more over the past few years into our health care system to support the provinces to deliver during the pandemic. We are sitting down with the provinces right now to create better outcomes and better results from health care which Canadians and, yes, Canadian families, particularly Canadian kids, need and deserve.
We will continue to be there to support health care systems across the country. We will continue to work with all members of this House. All of us care about the children.
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- Nov/24/22 2:34:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the lack of leadership shown by this government and this Prime Minister has opened the door to privatization in the health care sector.
Conservative premiers across the country are attacking our health care system, and the Prime Minister is not showing the leadership needed to address this crisis.
What will it take for the Prime Minister to take action and stand up for our health care system?
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- Nov/24/22 2:35:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows full well, we are actively engaged in discussions with the provinces and territories on health investments, but we are in the process of ensuring that we are delivering concrete results.
We are very concerned about the trend toward privatization that we are seeing in some parts of the country. That is why we remain deeply committed to the principles of the Canada Health Act.
We will be there to help the provinces deliver results, but we will be there to ensure that those results truly help individuals, families, those who need it.
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- Nov/24/22 2:35:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Governor of the Bank of Canada confirmed that getting rid of the carbon tax will reduce inflation. This is the same carbon tax that has driven up the cost of groceries, gas and home heating. This is the same carbon tax that has not helped the Liberals meet a single emission reduction target. The more they keep charging for it, the more emissions keep going up.
Why will the Liberals not stop forcing their failed carbon tax scheme on Canadians?
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