44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 1, 2023 10:00AM
- Jun/1/23 10:08:10 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to table two petitions.
First, I would like to table a petition supporting Motion No. 1, a made-in-Canada green new deal. This is the first initiative before the House of Commons that calls on Canada to take bold and rapid action to adopt socially responsible climate action to tackle the climate emergency and worsening socio-economic and racial inequalities.
In this country, hundreds of Canadians from coast to coast have signed this petition. They outline that we are seeing a global climate emergency and many manifestations of that. They raise the issue of the floods and forest fires we are seeing, rising temperatures, killer heat waves such as the heat bomb that killed 600 people in my region about a year and a half ago, massive storms, sea level rise, and disruption to marine and land ecosystems.
The petitioners say that to avoid further catastrophic climate change, Canada has to meet the obligations we have under international agreements, with the ambition and urgency required. The impacts of the climate emergency are far more severe for those living through the immediate consequences, such as indigenous people, frontline and vulnerable communities and people seeking refugee status or asylum. These are all communities that are profoundly impacted, and as a result, they support my motion, Motion No. 1, a made-in-Canada green new deal, to tackle both social and economic inequalities and to have Canada meet its obligations by transitioning to a clean energy economy.
I also want to table a petition on the just transition, as my colleague from Vancouver East has just done.
The petitioners, again hundreds of Canadians from right across this country, are calling on the Government of Canada to enact just transition legislation that reduces emissions by at least 60% below 2005 levels; ensures the end of the massive fossil fuel subsidies that Canada, the Liberal government and the previous Conservative government have invested in the fossil fuel sector; creates new public economic institutions and expands public ownership of services and utilities; creates good, green jobs and drives inclusive workforce development; protects and strengthens human rights and workers' rights and respects indigenous rights, sovereignty and knowledge by including indigenous peoples in creating and implementing this legislation; expands the social safety net through new income supports; and pays for the transition by increasing taxes on the wealthiest and corporations and financing through a public national bank.
We lose $30 billion a year through overseas tax havens. Closing those loopholes would go a long way to transitioning us and our economy in the right way to ensure that we are achieving climate justice on this planet.
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- Jun/1/23 10:41:36 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, with all due respect to my colleague, there are some fallacies in the objectives of this proposal.
At the same time, we can acknowledge that some people are struggling with inflation. I just finished a visit where I met with seniors. There is definitely cause to ask the federal government to do more for the most vulnerable. However, continuing to rely on oil and hydrocarbons to contribute to socio-economic conditions seems to be exactly the opposite of what we should be doing.
Why is my colleague stuck on the idea of denying climate change and continuing to increase its effects by promoting oil and gas?
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- Jun/1/23 10:42:36 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have said it before and I will say it again: Climate change is real and we need to address it. The member from the Bloc Québécois is very proud of Quebec, I am sure. I am too. However, in the past year, the Quebec nation consumed 18 billion litres of oil. It is not me saying that, it is the Hautes Études Commerciales school of business, or HEC.
That is the reality for Quebec families. Quebeckers still need oil, just like everyone else around the world. If we suddenly no longer needed it, that would be one thing, but that is not the case. Quebec needs 18 billion litres of oil. Does the member really want us to cut Quebec off from all oil? I do not think so.
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- Jun/1/23 10:45:14 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am thankful for the opportunity to contribute to today's debate.
As our allies worldwide are moving forward with measures to make their economies greener and cleaner, it is really unfortunate to see that some of our hon. colleagues still do not understand the benefits of our approach. They like saying that our pollution pricing system is making people poorer, chumming the water with hyperinflated misinformation based on the worst-case scenarios of a future where we do nothing to combat climate change.
The truth is, in fact, that today, right now, pollution pricing is putting more money back in the pockets of Canadian households. In 2022-23, through the climate action incentive payments, an average family of four received $745 in Ontario, $832 in Manitoba, $1,101 in Saskatchewan and $1,079 in Alberta. In addition, those living in rural and small communities received an extra 10%.
Clearly, it appears that my colleagues from the official opposition would prefer that we just wait and take no action to address climate change. They would prefer that Canadian households just keep riding the roller coaster of international oil prices, while the cost to our environment, our health and our communities from climate change just keeps adding up. This is by no means a viable option for our country.
At the end of March, our government released budget 2023, our made-in-Canada plan for a strong middle class, an affordable economy and a healthy future. It comes at an important moment for our country.
I will be splitting my time with the member for Lac-Saint-Louis. He is a proud Quebecker, who I am sure will share his important perspective.
To go back to my remarks, I will begin by speaking about the state of the Canadian economy today. Last year, Canada delivered the strongest economic growth in the G7, and our economic growth was stronger than expected in the first quarter of this year; I think it was 3% or 4%. There are 900,000 more Canadians working today than there were when COVID first hit. Our unemployment rate is just 5%, and it has remained near a record low for five months in a row. We have recovered 129% of the jobs lost to COVID, compared with just 115% in the United States.
Inflation was 4.4% in April, down from a peak of 8.1% last June, and the Bank of Canada predicts that inflation will drop to just 2.5% by the end of this year. Even with a slowing economy driven by elevated interest rates in Canada and around the world, our deficit is projected to be lower than it was last year, down to just 1.4% of the GDP. Our deficit and our net-to-GDP ratio are the lowest in the G7 and lower than those of other large AAA-rated economies, such as Australia and the Netherlands.
This strong economic foundation underpinned the budget our government released in March. Bill C-47, the budget implementation act, is currently at committee stage. It would implement many of the key measures outlined in our budget, including new targeted investments to make life more affordable for Canadians.
As I mentioned earlier, in Canada, inflation has come down significantly from its peak of 8.1% in June. However, we all know that it is still too high, and it is still making it difficult for many Canadians to make ends meet and put food on the table. Groceries are more expensive today, and for many people, higher prices on other essential goods are causing undue stress. That is why budget 2023 announced new targeted inflation relief to help support the most vulnerable Canadians with the cost of living. This includes the introduction of a one-time grocery rebate, providing $2.5 billion in targeted inflation relief for 11 million low- and modest-income Canadian families.
I am pleased to say that, with royal assent to Bill C-46, the grocery rebate will be delivered to eligible Canadians on July 5, 2023, by direct deposit or cheque through the Canada Revenue Agency. This means that eligible couples with two children will receive an extra $467, single Canadians without children up to an extra $234 and seniors an extra $225 on average. However, the Conservatives voted against every one of these measures. This is much-needed inflation relief that will be in the pockets of Canadians in just over a month. This is just one of example of a suite of measures announced in budget 2023 to help make life more affordable.
As another example, to support hard-working small business owners, budget 2023 outlined the government's efforts to work closely with small businesses and the payment card industry to lower these fees. Another important measure in the budget includes working with regulatory agencies, provinces and territories to reduce junk fees 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 very high interest rates. With budget 2023, our government is taking action by proposing to lower the criminal rate of interest from the equivalent of an annual percentage rate of 47% to 35% and imposing a cap on payday loans.
Budget 2023 announced that the federal government will increase the number of Canadians eligible for File my Return to two million people by 2025, almost triple the current number. Budget 2023 also announced that, starting next year, the CRA will pilot a new automatic filing system. This will help vulnerable Canadians who do not currently file their taxes to receive the benefits to which they are rightly entitled.
The government knows that the higher cost of living means that students still need support to afford an education and pursue their dreams. Budget 2023 also proposed enhanced support for students for the 2023 school year. This included 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.
The members opposite like to make up big-cost numbers for the year 2030 and pull them forward as though they are happening right now, all the while ignoring the real damage that climate change is inflicting in our communities, whether it is through fires, floods, coastal erosion or storm damage. Meanwhile, we are helping people in the here and now in budget 2023, with measures that build on significant investments our government has made since 2015 to support Canadians and make life more affordable. These measures include reducing fees for regulated child care by 50% on average, to deliver regulated child care that costs an average of just $10 a day by 2026; increasing old age security benefits for seniors aged 75 and older by 10%; supporting about 3.5 million families annually through the tax-free Canada child benefit; enhancing the Canada workers benefit for our lowest-paid and often most essential workers to support up to 4.2 million Canadians annually; and permanently eliminating interest on Canada student loans.
In conclusion, making life more affordable for Canadians has been a priority for our government since 2015, and it remains a priority. As I have outlined, budget 2023 builds on key investments from our government throughout the years, as we continue to make targeted and responsible investments to build a stronger economic future for all Canadians. As with previous inflation relief, this new support has been carefully designed to have the biggest impact on those that need it most and, at the same time, to avoid exacerbating inflation.
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- Jun/1/23 11:12:08 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I found the speech by my Liberal Party colleague fascinating. He seemed to be suggesting that the Liberal government's record on greenhouse gas emissions is a good one. However, in 2021, greenhouse gas emissions increased by 2%. In fact, greenhouse gas emissions have gone up by 14% in Canada since 1990 despite the climate emergency.
Why is his government not doing better? It is incapable of meeting the Paris Agreement targets.
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- Jun/1/23 11:13:29 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is high praise, coming from the masters of showmanship, to say that one has put on a good show, but it was a very good speech.
We have been talking about the cost of our climate action plan and the rebates, etc. I was just reading a peer-reviewed study, based on science, and it showed that 30% of the total burned forest area in western Canada and the United States between 1986 and 2021 can be traced back to 88 major fossil fuel producers and cement manufacturers.
I am wondering if you can comment on the cost of inaction as well as the price of pollution.
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- Jun/1/23 11:43:32 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, when it comes to climate, the Conservatives are dinosaurs. I think that they like oil so much because it is the remains of dinosaurs. They must feel at home there.
What does my colleague think about the Liberal government, and especially the Minister of the Environment, who make grand speeches at COPs but then sign an order authorizing a project like Bay du Nord?
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- Jun/1/23 12:11:28 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I agree with just about everything my hon. colleague mentioned. While it is frustrating that we keep having this debate, it does give us an opportunity to talk about climate policy.
We know that our province has many successful climate policies, but we know the climate crisis and the biodiversity crises are intertwined. One area where I have been very frustrated to see a lack of change in policy in our province is the continued logging of old-growth trees. I put forward a motion that would ban old-growth logging on federal lands and the export of old-growth logs and their products, while we work with the province to move toward more sustainable forms of forestry, including supporting conservation.
I was wondering what my colleague thinks of this motion, and if he would be willing to support it—
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- Jun/1/23 12:14:18 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would agree with my colleague that attempts to confuse or conflate different issues and different topics is not helpful in the context of such an important debate.
When it comes to the forest industry, we need to ensure that our forest practices are truly renewable. It is an industry that my family has worked in for years and years. If done properly, and if practised sustainably, it can be a renewable resource that actually helps our climate.
We are not there yet. We need to get there.
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- Jun/1/23 12:25:00 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is just bizarre, because the Conservatives want to take a tool off the table that is going to fight climate change and put more money in people's pockets. By the way, the Conservatives campaigned on a clean fuel standard and on a price on pollution, and they are sitting there, straight-faced, and it is just bizarre. They never talk about the cost of climate change. There was a $4-billion impact from hurricane Fiona. Houses were washed into the sea. Lives were lost, and the Conservatives are even mocking our measures to transition away from dirty foreign oil to heat pumps. What have they got against heat pumps?
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- Jun/1/23 12:26:35 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am the member for Thérèse-De Blainville, not for Newfoundland and Labrador. As we know, whether we are in Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec or anywhere else in Canada, the main reason that should motivate us to be here is to help significantly reduce the impact of our carbon footprint on citizens.
What does my colleague think and what does he have to say to his fellow citizens about the costs generated by the failure to act on climate change, which is affecting their living conditions and their health?
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- 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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- Jun/1/23 1:40:54 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the last time the Conservative Party had a costed and modelled climate plan, it included both a price on carbon and a low-carbon fuel standard, two policies they are now saying they would not proceed with. My question to the member is this: When is the Conservative Party going to release a new modelled climate plan that replaces those policies with policies she claims are going to be effective?
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
Mr. Taylor Bachrach: Madam Speaker, I cannot hear if they are—
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- Jun/1/23 3:00:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I quote from the 2021 Conservative Party platform. It says, “Our plan will ensure that all Canadians can do their part to fight climate change, in the way that works best for them, and at a carbon price that is affordable...increasing to $50/tonne”. The document further states, “We will assess progress...[so] carbon prices [can be] on a path to $170/tonne”.
Either the Conservatives believe that climate change is real or they do not, but there is one thing that is for certain: Canadians in this country cannot believe a word that side says.
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- Jun/1/23 3:09:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, water is our most precious natural resource. It is crucial to our well-being and our economy. Canada has 20% of the world's fresh water. It is both an asset and a huge responsibility.
Last week, the Prime Minister and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change were in Winnipeg to announce the creation of the new Canada water agency.
Can the Minister of Environment and Climate Change tell us more about this important step toward protecting 30% of Canada's water by 2030?
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- Jun/1/23 3:12:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would remind my hon. colleague that he campaigned during the last election on putting carbon pricing in place.
He is saying no to billions of dollars of investment already happening in Canada, in Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan, Quebec, Alberta and southern Ontario, in the new economy. That is what Conservatives are saying no to.
We are saying yes to fighting climate change. We are saying yes to having a strong economy.
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- Jun/1/23 3:36:10 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I will answer it, and I think I have already answered it to that member and other Conservatives.
The policy changed. It is different now than it was then. Can members see how easy it was for me to directly answer the question? It may have been a position we had at one time, and now the position is different, but we are honest and open with Canadians about that. The question is why that member and other Conservatives will not be honest and open with Canadians about how their position has changed on climate change.
We will note that the member complimented me, in some form I guess, by saying I spoke about nothing. He is a Conservative who comes from a party where 54% of its base says climate change is not real, and he is a Conservative who shares the same side of the aisle as the member for Red Deer—Mountain View, who talked about climate change two days ago as though it were just something that happens every 10,000 years, as though there is nothing to see here. Only a Conservative who shares that space would refer to my dire plea to do something about global warming and climate change as me talking about nothing.
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- Jun/1/23 3:56:50 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I think the member for Edmonton Manning knows there is no second carbon tax.
I want to ask specifically about what he has been talking about, which is the economics of the climate crisis. We used to talk about the future costs of inaction. Right now in this country, we have 179 wildfires in multiple provinces across the country. Does the member know the cost of climate-induced wildfires and floods from just the last year alone?
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- Jun/1/23 4:27:31 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is an honour to rise today to discuss this Conservative opposition day motion. The Conservatives have been quite persistent on talking about the price on pollution, and I just want to point out, as we have many times, that they campaigned on a worse version of the price on pollution. They campaigned on a promise to have some sort of a bank account where people would get deposits. “The more you burn, the more you earn”, is how it was characterized by many. The idea was that we would be able to spend the money on things such as bikes and other non-emitting transport methodologies, or whatever, but they failed in that attempt to convince Canadians they had a real plan for the environment.
They have not proposed any real plan to fight climate change, and this is in the context of events in so many of their constituencies. It does not really matter who is representing a constituency, but right now Canada is experiencing some of the worst wildfires ever. That is a fact that is going to probably be worse in the future due to climate change. Climate change worsens these wildfires. It also makes them more frequent. The dryness in our environment following the winter is influenced by climate change, and it is something the Conservatives refuse to accept.
They refuse to accept that climate change is having an impact on our environment, and these forest fires, as well as severe weather events, continually have really devastating impacts on communities, as well as our economy, so I just want to spend a moment to thank firefighters across the country who are battling these blazes. They are holding them at bay, in many cases. They are saving people from these horrible wildfires, and I thank them for their hard work and their valiant efforts in providing that safety and doing what they can to put out these fires. Canadians might feel helpless, but on this side, we do not feel helpless. We are going to stand up to focus on fighting climate change in the ways we can, with good policies and with better plans for the future.
Notwithstanding that, on this Conservative opposition day motion, there is only one Conservative in the House of Commons who is interested—
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- Jun/1/23 4:38:22 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I think my colleague opposite is doing exactly what the Parliamentary Budget Officer expressed dismay about in an article in the Toronto Sun just recently. My colleague can look it up. It is picking and choosing bits and pieces of the report and not seeing the big picture.
The point is this: There are costs to doing nothing, and there are costs associated with every type of regulation or procedure we put in place in order to combat these types of things. The cost of doing nothing is extraordinary. We would see far more impacts of climate change across this country, and that is what we would like to try to avoid.
I would also like to say that we need to be an example for countries around the world, to demonstrate that, if we build up a clean and green economy, we are protecting the environment and the economy at the same time.
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