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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 134

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 24, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 134 - Nov/24/22
Mr. Greg McLean (Calgary Centre, CPC)
  • Nov/24/22 5:45:17 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is an honour to be here in the House today to ask a question that I initially asked back in June about inflation. Members will notice that inflation has not abated as much as the government thought it would. In June we were at 7.7% and the latest number is 6.9%, so if people think we are moving down, we are still sticking around that 7%. One thing about inflation in Canada is this. When the government trumpets that it is less here than in the rest of the world, it is because of how we measure inflation in Canada versus the rest of the world. If I ask Canadians and my colleagues outside of the House if they believe inflation is lesser here than elsewhere and why they think that would be, the answer is because we measure it differently. We do not count as much for housing in Canada. We use a thing called owners' equivalent rent, which has consistently, over 30 years, underestimated what the inflationary effects of housing are in Canada. However, in June it was at 7.7% and it continues to go up. It is 6.9% now. The minister wants to increase taxes on fuel. We hope the minister would drop the taxes on fuel. I know a lot of the members in the House say that the issue around petroleum is that the companies that produce petroleum are earning excess profits. They are earning profits for the first time in seven years because the commodity has gone up in price. However, the last time the commodity cost this much on the world market, gas in my province was worth $1.40 a litre. Now it is worth $2.10 a litre, so there is a disconnect here. Where is that extra 70¢ per litre, that extra 50% uptick, in gas? I will tell members right now that it is in the extra taxes and the extra regulatory costs that the current government has imposed upon Canadians to get the fuel they need to get to work, fuel their homes and get things done, because energy is essential to getting everything done in Canada, especially with respect to our food. Seven years ago was a long time, but Canadians need to ask why things are getting so much more expensive when the actual cost on the world market is the same as it was seven years ago. Again, it is taxes. These are inflationary effects. I know the current government has a number of taxation measures that are built into gasoline now, which includes the clean fuel standard. The new clean electricity standard is going to add more costs for Canadians. However, the big one here of course is the carbon tax. Seven years ago there was no carbon tax. It was zero. Then it went to $20 a tonne. In the election in 2019, the Prime Minister said that it would remain at $20 a tonne and then immediately moved it to $50 a tonne. Now it is going to move up to $170 a tonne, but this will not be inflationary of course. Let me give members a quick education here. Inflationary taxes are designed to be inflationary. They raise the cost of everything. That means that things are going to go up in price and consumers are going to feel it, no matter what the current government says. I know the Liberals will say that they give a whole bunch of it back to Canadians anyway. They give a bit of it back. Yes, there are some Canadians who get some of the money they spent back. Let us think about that, the churn and burn the government goes through with respect to this. Let me ask it to actually think about it. I am going to pre-empt my respondent here to get past the doublethink that will be part of his notes when he says that we can have our cake and eat it too, because I heard the minister say again in the House the other day that the government is going to raise taxes on all the things Canadians consume and that it will not make it financially punitive to Canadians. That is absolute hogwash. When the government increases taxes on Canadians, it is going to make things inflationary. Things are going to go up in price and, therefore, it is causing a problem where we are going to pay more for everything we have to buy in Canada. That is a fact. We cannot get over it. I have a lot more to say on inflation, but I know my time is up. I also know that my colleague across the way has some kind of response for me on this.
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Context: House Hansard - 134 - Nov/24/22
Mr. Terry Beech (Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Lib.)
Madam Speaker, I take a lot of time writing my notes, but to get off that for a second, at the request of my colleague, there was in fact a carbon price seven years ago, just not in his home province of Alberta. In my home province of B.C., there absolutely was a price on carbon, and guess what. During that period, British Columbia had the fastest-growing economy in the country at the same time as we had a carbon price. That is just some food for thought before I get into my extensive notes. Our government understands that many Canadians are worried about our country's economy and that we are facing a global slowdown due to global challenges of high inflation and higher interest rates. However, it is important to remember that inflation is in fact a global phenomenon. Indeed, it is a lingering result of the COVID pandemic, Putin's illegal war on Ukraine and the snarled supply chains that are affecting so many people and businesses right around the world. The good news, though, is that no country is better placed than Canada to weather the coming global economic slowdown and thrive in the years ahead. Canada's inflation rate is less severe, at 6.9%, than those of our peers, like the United States, at 7.7%, the United Kingdom, at 11.1% and Germany, at 10.4%. We rely on Stats Canada to do those calculations. Also, our country has a AAA credit rating and has had the strongest economic growth in the G7 so far this year. That is alongside the lowest deficit- and net debt-to-GDP ratios in the G7. In fact, we have strengthened that advantage over the course of the pandemic. Our unemployment rate is also near its record low, and 500,000 more Canadians are working today than before the pandemic. We do appreciate, though, that this is a difficult time for families, friends and of course our neighbours. That is why we are now moving forward with targeted measures, including new ones introduced in the fall economic statement. For example, Bill C-32 would make the federal portion of all Canada student loans and Canada apprentice loans permanently interest-free, including those currently being repaid. We are also continuing to implement our government's affordability plan, which includes targeted measures worth $12.1 billion. For example, with Bill C-31 having recently received royal assent, we are moving forward with the creation of the Canada dental benefit for children under 12 in families with annual incomes of less than $90,000 who do not have access to a private dental plan. Also, individuals and families receiving the GST credit started receiving an additional $2.5 billion in support earlier this month, and I thank my friend opposite for supporting that measure. These are targeted measures that help make life more affordable for Canadians who need it the most, while being careful not to add fuel to the inflationary fire. When it comes to pollution pricing, we know that a national price on pollution is the most effective and least costly way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions while putting more money back into the pockets of most Canadians. Climate action is no longer a theoretical political debate; it is an economic necessity. Earlier this month, the Parliamentary Budget Officer published an analysis showing climate change has negatively impacted and will continue to negatively impact the Canadian economy. The Conservatives regularly conflate the increased cost in global commodity prices with a price on pollution, but this is a fundamental error in practice. In B.C., for example, the carbon price has increased by only two cents per litre over the last three years while the price of gas has increased by over a dollar. That means the Conservatives are regularly ignoring 98% of the real problem. They also ignore the fact that the federal carbon price is revenue-neutral and that it actually makes life more affordable for eight out of 10 Canadian families through the climate action rebate.
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