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Jun/1/23 12:40:47 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we have stood for exactly the same thing the entire time. When Prime Minister Harper was in office, he did not implement a carbon tax. He thoroughly and forcefully rejected the carbon tax the Liberal Party has proposed. Instead what he did was incentivize technology. That is why we reduced greenhouse gas emissions while growing the economy in this country. For example, we worked with the Province of Alberta and its tier system, which encourages large industrial energy companies to reinvest in reducing the intensity of their emissions. They succeeded, reducing emissions per barrel by approximately 30%. This approach works. By using market forces and competitive technology, our free enterprise system can reduce emissions and build a cleaner, greener future that brings powerful paycheques home to Canadians.

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Mr. Yves Perron (Berthier—Maskinongé, BQ)

Jun/1/23 12:41:47 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, according to what the Leader of the Opposition said at the beginning of his speech, nine out of 10 young people believe they will have difficulty buying a house and becoming homeowners. That is certainly true. We need to take action on that and develop social housing, among other things. However, that is not today's topic. We are talking about the carbon tax and the fact that the Conservative Party is constantly calling for all environmental measures to be completely abolished. He talks as if everyone else in the House of Commons is completely unreasonable and out of touch, when, in my opinion, it is quite the opposite. My question for the Leader of the Opposition is this. Does he recognize that members of the House are capable of taking reasonable action, by voting in favour of Bill C-234, for example? I asked the question this morning and did not get an answer. Does he agree that we were reasonable in voting for Bill C‑234? What is he going to do for the 10 out of 10 young people who are asking us to take action on climate change?

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Hon. Pierre Poilievre

Jun/1/23 12:42:40 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, are the members of the Bloc Québécois capable of being reasonable? Perhaps they are, but they certainly are not acting like it. We do not know why they are hardly ever reasonable. The members of the Bloc Québécois agree with the Liberals and the New Democrats on almost every political issue, except the location of the nation's capital. That is the only issue they disagree on. The member mentioned that I said that nine out of 10 young people cannot buy a home. He says that has nothing to do with the carbon tax. I am sorry, but houses need to be heated, and heating requires energy. The carbon tax increases the cost of home heating, which means that many young people cannot afford a home. That is one of the reasons we want to eliminate this carbon tax.

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Mr. Alexandre Boulerice (Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, NDP)

Jun/1/23 12:43:40 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to quote a document, which reads as follows: “We’ll finalize and improve the Clean Fuel Regulations to reduce carbon emissions from every litre of gasoline...we burn, turning them into a true Low Carbon Fuel Standard. Our improvements will include: Basing our Low Carbon Fuel Standard on British Columbia's policy to achieve a 20% reduction in carbon intensity for transport fuels”. That comes from the Conservative Party election platform, so it is rather strange for the leader of the official opposition to be rising in the House today to contradict his own political platform. I would like him to explain how he thinks he can lower greenhouse gas emissions by increasing the fossil fuel production.

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Hon. Pierre Poilievre

Jun/1/23 12:44:25 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we are still against the carbon tax. The member will never be able to quote any statement made by me at any point in my political career that supports a tax on carbon. I have always been against it and I still am. The New Democrats want to raise taxes and income tax on the backs of the working class. The New Democrats are for the ultra rich, whom the government makes richer. We stand for ordinary folk, the people who work.

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Mrs. Rechie Valdez (Mississauga—Streetsville, Lib.)

Jun/1/23 12:45:04 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Winnipeg North. Since I am speaking today on June 1, I would be remiss if I did not say happy National Indigenous History Month— Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Jun/1/23 12:45:17 p.m.
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Order. Can we show the hon. member the respect she is owed and listen to her while she gives her speech? The hon. member for Mississauga—Streetsville.

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Mrs. Rechie Valdez

Jun/1/23 12:45:26 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would be remiss on June 1 if I did not say Happy National Indigenous History Month, Deafblind Awareness Month, Filipino Heritage Month, Italian Heritage Month, Portuguese Heritage Month and Pride Month. To go back to the topic at hand, I am very pleased to have the opportunity to discuss this important subject today. The Canadian economy is doing well in the face of global economic challenges, with more than 900,000 Canadians working today than before the pandemic and an unemployment rate close to a record low. However, we are well aware that many Canadians continue to struggle with the cost of living. Since 2015, the government has been making important investments to grow the economy, strengthen Canada's social safety net and make life more affordable for Canadians. These investments have included the tax-free child benefit to support about 3.5 million families annually, an enhanced Canada workers benefit and a 10% increase in old age security payments to seniors aged 75 and over, among others. In budget 2023, we outlined how our government will provide new targeted inflation relief to Canadians, including the grocery rebate, to support the many individuals and families who are struggling to put food on the table because of the rising cost of groceries. The new one-time grocery rebate will deliver targeted inflation relief for 11 million low- and modest-income Canadians and families who need it most, with up to $467 for eligible couples with two children, up to an extra $234 for single Canadians without children and an extra $225 for seniors, on average. The grocery rebate will be delivered to eligible Canadians on July 5, 2023, by direct deposit or cheque, through the Canada Revenue Agency. By targeting the grocery rebate to Canadians who need it the most, the government will be able to provide relief without making inflation worse. We all know that inflation is still too high, and the steep increase in interest rates has caused economic pain for many Canadians, including small businesses, which need to pay more for their lines of credit. We saw the pandemic lead to an increase in people using credit cards when they shop. Canadian small businesses pay fees to process these credit card transactions, with the largest component being the interchange paid to credit card issuers. However, I am pleased to be able to say that the Government of Canada recently announced that, in budget 2023, it will be delivering a commitment to lower credit card transaction fees for small businesses by finalizing new agreements with Visa and Mastercard, while also protecting reward points offered by Canada's large banks for Canadian consumers. For qualifying small businesses, Visa and Mastercard have agreed to reduce interchange fees for in-store transactions, to an annual weighted average of 0.95%, and to reduce interchange fees for online transactions by 10 basis points, resulting in reductions of up to 7%. As a previous small business entrepreneur myself, I am happy to say that these new agreements will help most small businesses in Canada. More than 90% of credit card-accepting businesses in Canada will qualify for the new lower rates and see their interchange fees reduced by up to 27% from the existing weighted average rate. These reductions are expected to save Canadian small businesses about $1 billion over five years. Small businesses will also have free access to online fraud and cybersecurity resources to help them grow their online sales while preventing fraud and charge-backs. In concrete terms, a small store with $300,000 in annual credit card sales should see interchange savings of $1,080 per year. The new rates will come into effect in the fall of 2024 to allow time for systems to be updated. Another important measure in the budget includes working with regulatory agencies in provinces and territories to reduce junk fees for Canadians, including higher telecom roaming charges, event and concert fees, excessive baggage fees and unjustified shipping and freight fees. These costs can add up very quickly. It is important to ensure that businesses are transparent and fair with prices for Canadians. The budget also takes action to crack down on predatory lending. Predatory lenders can take advantage of some of the most vulnerable people in our communities, including low-income Canadians, newcomers and seniors, often by extending loans with very high interest rates. With budget 2023, our government is taking action by proposing to lower the criminal rate of interest by reducing the annual percentage rate from 47% to 35% and imposing a cap on payday loans. Another way the government is taking steps to support low-income Canadians is through automatic tax filing. Having hosted a free tax clinic in my office during tax season, I know first-hand that this will go a long way for all our constituents. We want to ensure that Canadians can easily file their tax returns in order to receive the benefits to which they are entitled. Since 2018, the Canada Revenue Agency has delivered a free and simple File my Return service, which allows eligible Canadians to auto-file their tax returns over the phone after answering a series of short questions. Budget 2023 announced that the federal government would increase the number of Canadians eligible for File my Return—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Jun/1/23 12:50:52 p.m.
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The hon. member for North Okanagan—Shuswap has a point of order.

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Mr. Mel Arnold

Jun/1/23 12:50:59 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would ask the hon. member about the relevance of her speech. All she has spoken about here is budget 2023; she has said nothing in relation to the order of the day, the—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Jun/1/23 12:51:13 p.m.
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She is making references to some of the issues. As the hon. member knows, we have a lot of leeway in what members can discuss in their speeches. The hon. parliamentary secretary.

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Mr. Mark Gerretsen

Jun/1/23 12:51:26 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, on that point of order, maybe the Conservative member does not know what his opposition motion says, but the fourth point says, “making life more expensive for Canadians [is] a cost of living crisis”. The member is speaking directly to the cost of living.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Jun/1/23 12:51:38 p.m.
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We are not going to enter a debate on the issue. I have already said that the hon. member has some leeway, and I am sure she will round it out to the motion in question. The hon. member for Mississauga—Streetsville.

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Mrs. Rechie Valdez

Jun/1/23 12:51:49 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, as I said, budget 2023 announced that the federal government would increase the number of Canadians eligible for File my Return to two million people by 2025, which is almost triple the current number. My son Kyle is about to graduate from elementary school, and I am thinking forward to when he enters university and what he is going to be paying for his education. We know that the higher cost of living means that students still need support to afford an education and pursue their dreams. Budget 2023 proposed enhanced support for students for the 2023 school year. This includes increasing Canada student grants by 40%, providing up to $4,200 for full-time students; raising the interest-free Canada student loan limit from $210 to $300 per week of study; and waiving the requirement for mature students, aged 22 years or older, to undergo credit screening in order to qualify for federal student grants and loans for the first time. This would allow post-secondary students to access up to $14,400 in enhanced Canada student financial assistance for the upcoming school year. Students with disabilities and dependents would also receive an increase in Canada student grants. Post-secondary education is expensive, and the government is committed to ensuring that education remains accessible and more affordable for Canadians, so that future generations can seek higher education. That is why we will be working with students in the year ahead to develop a long-term approach to student financial assistance in time for budget 2024. Unfortunately, for too many Canadians, including young people and new Canadians, the dream of owning a new home is increasingly out of reach. In budget 2022, the government committed to introducing a tax-free personal savings account, a new registered plan to give prospective first-time homebuyers the ability to save $40,000 on a tax-free basis. In budget 2023, the government delivered on this commitment by allowing financial institutions to start offering this plan to Canadians on April 21, 2023, a few months ago. These are just a few examples of how we are making targeted and responsible investments to build a stronger economic future for all Canadians.

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Mr. Warren Steinley (Regina—Lewvan, CPC)

Jun/1/23 12:54:21 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I join with my colleague, whom I work with on the agriculture committee, in wishing everyone a happy Filipino Heritage Month. We have a large Filipino community in Regina, and I say hi to all my friends back home. I have a simple question for my hon. colleague. Could she tell me how much carbon taxes 1 and 2 will reduce emissions in Canada? Is there a number that the Liberals have? They have not met many emissions reduction targets yet, so what will carbon taxes 1 and 2 do? What is the number in terms of how much emissions will be reduced?

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Mrs. Rechie Valdez

Jun/1/23 12:54:55 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I enjoy working with the hon. member on the agriculture committee. I just want to state that, from the national inventory report that was recently published, Canada's climate policies are starting to bend the curve on greenhouse gas emissions. Canada is leading the G7 emissions reduction since 2019 and produced 53 million tonnes less of carbon in 2021 than in 2019. That is the equivalent of taking 11 million cars off Canada's roads. Our plan is working. We are taking action to ensure that we push toward our 2030 emissions reduction target.

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Mr. Denis Trudel (Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, BQ)

Jun/1/23 12:55:42 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have a question for my colleague, who seems awfully pleased with her government's program to help the least fortunate. Yesterday, along with other members of the House, I sponsored a Food Banks Canada event. The people in that organization do not think things are going very well at all. Let us look at some of the numbers. Requests for food assistance have gone up by 20% since 2021 to 2.2 million per month. In Quebec, 671,000 people used the food bank network every month in 2022, a 9% increase. There has been a 43% increase in food hamper services since 2019, and 60% of requests for food hamper services come from households whose main source of income is social assistance, old age security or employment insurance. There has been a 25% increase in requests for food hampers from households whose main source of income is an old age pension. Does my colleague think there are some pretty serious poverty issues we need to get to work on right now?

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Mrs. Rechie Valdez

Jun/1/23 12:56:34 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to give a shout-out to the Mississauga Food Bank for its amazing work in giving back to the community and providing our communities with food. As I mentioned, or outlined, earlier in my speech, today, we have designed budget 2023 to have the biggest impact on those who need it most. We have made so many different options available to constituents to assist them in this time of need while avoiding exacerbating inflation. Again, we are committed to providing a brighter future for Canadians through these different measures.

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Mr. Brian Masse (Windsor West, NDP)

Jun/1/23 12:57:19 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, with regard to green energy and the Stellantis battery plant, the decision is still pending. The auto industry stretches from all the way from Windsor, Ontario, here into Quebec. Can my colleague outline more specific supports that will be available for not only the OEMs, being the original manufacturers, but also the supply chain?

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Mrs. Rechie Valdez

Jun/1/23 12:57:41 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, as a part of the auto caucus, I hear all the different concerns that we get from the auto industry. I am looking forward to continuing to work with different members in this House to continue to put policies and legislation in place that can help, especially, with enhancing electric battery plants that are coming into Canada. They can also help with different investments, such as those from Stellantis and Volkswagen.

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