44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 14, 2023 10:00AM
- Feb/14/23 10:58:40 a.m.
- Watch
Uqaqtittiji, I want to ask a question about this statement. The Conservatives have quoted Tiff Macklem saying, “inflation in Canada increasingly reflects what's happening in Canada”. To me that shows that Loblaws, which had a 38% increase in its third-quarter profits in 2022, is not being taxed enough.
Does the member agree that there needs to be a windfall profit tax on corporations like Loblaws?
69 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/14/23 11:42:04 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, we had a total of 1,462,795 visits to food banks across Canada last year, 31% of whom were children and 8.9% were seniors. Meanwhile, Loblaws is making record profits.
Does the hon. member agree that we should extend the profit windfall tax, which has been applied to banks and insurance companies, to grocery chains such as Loblaws to double the GST and allow Canadians to be able to feed their families?
76 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/14/23 11:56:46 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, the member for Kingston and the Islands is right. It is a challenging relationship. In some respects, the NDP has forced through real things that will have a real impact on people, dental care being one of them, as well as the rental supplement and the additional affordable housing, which the Liberals gutted 30 years ago. Finally we are starting to see investments that will lead to more Canadians having a roof over their head.
However, the Liberals need to follow our advice in a whole range of areas. That includes the greedflation about which the member spoke. The reality is that the Competition Bureau needs to have enhanced powers to cut back on what we have seen, which is the most egregious gouging of Canadians. Both the Liberals and Conservatives seem to think that is okay.
For the windfall taxes, the Liberals only have put in place 2% of what is needed. We are losing over $30 billion a year and the Liberals need to ensure that those who are winning these amazing excess profits actually pay their fair share to Canadians.
185 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/14/23 12:28:32 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, once again we are getting a lesson that does not follow economics 101. There is no doubt that profits for oil and gas have gone up, but that is because the policy of the government, with its NDP coalition, has been to restrict supply and ensure that demand is ahead of supply. We need to bring more hydrocarbons to market to bring down prices at the same time as we cut the carbon tax to give consumers and families a break. That is how we break the vice grip of inflation. It is not by contraction and pain. It is by growth, hope and opportunity.
107 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/14/23 12:44:15 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I rather enjoy the hon. member for South Shore—St. Margarets. We get along famously. We have ongoing conversations in this House. He talked about the poor Liberal mathematics. I will find some common ground first. I would agree, and I will put this on the table, that we cannot tax ourselves out of climate change and that is a fact.
However, his math is not math. He talked about the good people in Nova Scotia who cannot afford to pay their bills and cannot afford to heat their homes, but not once did he talk about corporate profits. I am here to say today that if we were to abolish carbon pricing, the 1,000% profits that the oil and gas sector has had over this last year, in 2022, would continue to make it unaffordable for his residents.
The hon. member is a pragmatic man. Could he at least not agree that the corporate gouging, this ridiculous out-of-control profiteering, is the economic driver that is keeping the cost of heating the homes in his home province unaffordable for working-class people?
188 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/14/23 12:45:21 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the member for Hamilton Centre and I do have some spirited conversations, which I enjoy.
I will say that the cost of our energy in Atlantic Canada is driven by the fact that we have to buy Saudi Arabian oil. However, I am always curious that the members of the NDP, part of the NDP-Liberal costly coalition, seem to hate any type of profit. Without profit, the member would not have the Apple iPhone that he carries around with him, because it creates innovation and jobs. I would like to hear NDP members once in a while get up and say it is great that we are able to move forward and produce better medicines, produce better technology and produce a better lifestyle for Canadians and for the world through profits and innovation.
136 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/14/23 1:46:31 p.m.
- Watch
Uqaqtittiji, I would like to thank the member for discussing the increased usage of food banks.
While this increase has been happening, at the same time Loblaws' gross profits were up by 30.8% in the third quarter of 2022. Corporate greed as such needs to be taxed so families can stop going to food banks. Does the member agree?
60 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/14/23 2:48:35 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals said they would defend public health care, and now they are not.
Another example of Liberals putting the interests of corporate profits over people is the flailing Canada Infrastructure Bank. The bank has failed to deliver the climate-resilient infrastructure needed by communities, and Liberals do not want people to know this. The government is keeping that information secret and out of the hands of Canadians.
Why are the Liberals protecting a bank that is not delivering for Canadians?
83 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/14/23 3:27:51 p.m.
- Watch
Uqaqtittiji, the Liberals have voted against an excess profits tax on oil and gas that would make them pay what they owe. Despite their promises to end fossil fuel subsidies, they have increased them even though big oil is showing record profits.
When will the government extend the Canada revenue dividend to big oil so those profits could be used to help families?
63 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/14/23 3:44:24 p.m.
- Watch
Uqaqtittiji, allowing big polluters off the hook needs to stop. Does the member agree that as a way to do this there needs to be taxation on big oil, which keeps having record profits? Does the member agree that in order to make sure we are coming up with better solutions, more revenue needs to be put into the Canada revenue?
61 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/14/23 3:59:07 p.m.
- Watch
Uqaqtittiji, I extend my congratulations to the member and his wife for their anniversary.
What I think is broken is oil and gas companies seeing a 1,011% change in their net annual incomes since 2019. That is a $38-billion change, according to Statistics Canada.
I would like to ask this member what he tells his constituents as Conservatives continue to protect these profits from taxation, which could go toward helping families who are struggling to pay for groceries.
80 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/14/23 3:59:47 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, one needs to look through the whole equation. Yes, they have had huge profits, but they are also paying out huge dividends that go to pension funds, and to communities in the surrounding areas and right across Canada. They pay for health care, roads and bridges. That revenue is coming into Canada and being distributed among Canadians, so that is good for Canada.
65 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/14/23 4:16:22 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, what she is sharing is really important. We have seen, during the pandemic, some large corporations making humongous profits, and that conversation needs to be had. We need to find ways to ensure that these corporations are sharing their wealth with Canadians.
Our government has focused on the most vulnerable, and we will continue to focus on the most vulnerable. However, to be honest, I agree we need to do more work in this area.
77 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/14/23 4:43:38 p.m.
- Watch
Uqaqtittiji, I have been in this debate all day, and I have heard similar responses to this question that I have asked, which is about the disparity between major for-profit corporations raking in billions in profits and people like those he described in his constituency, people struggling to pay for groceries.
How does the member explain the disparity between those major corporation profiting in the billions and people struggling to pay for groceries?
74 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
