44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 6, 2023 10:00AM
Mr. Speaker, I am grateful that the member for Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo has reminded us that the last election, the one that brought us all to this House, was fought while B.C. was on fire. That may be why the member, and all the Conservative MPs, actually campaigned on a commitment to bring in a price on pollution.
In fact, the Conservative platform 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...increasing to $50/tonne”. It also says, “We will assess progress...[so] carbon prices [can be] on a path to $170/tonne”.
I believe the people of B.C. understand that climate change is real and that climate action is essential. I think they understood that when B.C. was on fire, and that is why the member opposite made that promise to the people who elected him.
I would call on the Conservatives to remember that they made that promise as so much of Canada is burning. Let us work together to fight climate change.
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Madam Speaker, my colleague gave a lot of facts and statistics. Could he expand a bit further on how the cost of living is affecting people, specifically with the carbon tax? We now know there will be a second carbon tax as well. Therefore, with all these extra expenses, an increase in inflation and carbon taxes that make the price of everything go up, could he speak to that?
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Madam Speaker, we know that carbon tax 1 has done nothing to meet emissions targets. The Liberal government has failed to meet any of the targets it has set. Now it is going to impose carbon tax 2. By the time we combine both of these carbon taxes and then the GST, the tax on a tax, Canadians will be looking at spending 61¢ per litre just because of the Liberal-NDP coalition's taxes on carbon. It is again one of those things Canadians need to be made aware of, and I am happy that I can stand to speak about it.
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- Jun/6/23 2:47:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what is appalling is that the government has done absolutely nothing to help struggling Canadians.
We know the Liberals already have one carbon tax in place that will add 41¢ a litre to the price of gas. Now they have carbon tax 2, the terrible sequel that will add another 17¢. Of course, on top of that, they have added the GST. When we add that all up, we have an extra 61¢ a litre that will cost people in Ontario $2,300 more.
The Liberals' plan has failed to do anything but make life more expensive. Therefore, why do they not finally scrap this carbon tax?
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- Jun/6/23 2:54:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the carbon tax is fuelling food inflation as grocery prices are up another 10%, costing Canadian families another $1,000 a year just to put food on the table. Canada's Food Price Report predicts that food prices will go up a stunning 34% over the next two years.
That is not even the bad news. That does not include the implications of the Liberals' second carbon tax, a carbon tax that would add 61¢ a litre to the price of gas, which will increase the cost of food production and transportation.
How much more will Canadians have to pay to feed their families when the Liberals implement a second carbon tax?
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- Jun/6/23 2:57:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government is so out of touch. Many Canadian families are struggling to put food on the table. One in five Canadians are skipping meals, and the use of food banks in my riding has gone up by 30%.
The carbon tax is driving up the costs of farm production and groceries. Canadians cannot afford to pay the extra $1,065 being imposed by the government.
When will the government do away with the carbon tax so that families can once again become food self-sufficient?
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- Jun/6/23 2:58:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am surprised that my colleague opposite is not telling me that Quebec is not affected by the carbon tax, as he tends to do. I would still reply that, yes, Quebec is affected by the carbon tax.
The first carbon tax affects us directly when fruit and vegetables are imported from Ontario, for example. Transportation costs and other inputs play a big part in setting prices.
The second carbon tax also affects us directly, at a cost of $436 per family, as noted by the Parliamentary Budget Officer.
Once again, when is the government going to scrap the carbon tax?
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- Jun/6/23 3:03:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are on the ropes, trying to pay this Liberal carbon tax. It raises gas prices by 41¢ a litre every single time they fill up. However, like a one-two punch, the Prime Minister is now forcing a second carbon tax on Canadians, adding another 17¢ to the cost of fuel. Canadians are already down for the count, having to take on extra jobs and turn to food banks just to get by.
Instead of sucker-punching Canadians, will the Liberals axe the carbon tax?
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- Jun/6/23 3:04:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this government has been in office for eight years now and the only thing that it has done for the environment is impose a carbon tax. Clearly the plan is working. Just look at the wildfires burning outside.
To make matters worse, the Liberals want to add a second tax through the GST. They promised to plant two billion trees, but they are taking the quicker route by imposing a second tax with no results.
When will this government wake up, stop taking money out of Canadians' pockets, give them some breathing room and cancel this tax?
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Mr. Speaker, I have a question that perhaps the member can answer.
Why do the Liberals and the NDP insist on imposing a carbon tax when it clearly is not working?
Emissions continue to rise, so why are they imposing this?
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his important question.
The carbon tax was effectively put in place by the government to get people to change their behaviour. The people who pay this tax were to receive the equivalent amount in the form of a rebate. Obviously, that is not what is happening, because the math does not work.
Furthermore, the government has had environmental targets in place to reduce greenhouse gases for seven and a half years now, and none of those targets have been met, even with the carbon tax.
Now, they want to add carbon tax 2.0, and they want to add the GST on top of that. We are talking about 61¢ a litre. That is going to send the cost of every food item and product in Canada sky-high.
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Mr. Speaker, I find it very troubling, as my colleague from Mirabel said so well earlier, to hear and see the Conservatives manoeuvring to block the business of the House. What fascinates me even more is the misinformation being conveyed by the members of that party. It is still quite fascinating.
I was just doing some research on my phone. I did not find the price, but I gather that the member has not gone grocery shopping for a long time, since he said that bread cost $1.30 four years ago.
What is really extraordinary is that when the Conservatives come to power they are going to fix everything. They have magic solutions for the labour shortage and inflation. It is as though they could fix everything by waving a magic wand. I would like to know their abracadabra formula.
Lastly, it is funny, but in Quebec seniors do not talk to me about the carbon tax. They talk about real support that the government could provide, such as an increase in old age security or a review of the guaranteed income supplement. I do not see a lot of seniors in Quebec stopping me on the street to talk about about the carbon tax.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague's party has said that, instead of carbon pricing, it is going to focus on technology, yet every single economist out there, including my friend from Mirabel, will tell us that directly subsidizing technology is a far more expensive approach than carbon pricing, which relies on the market.
I am wondering why the Conservatives are insisting on a more expensive approach to addressing climate change.
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Mr. Speaker, we believe in the science of technology. It is actually surprising that the NDP and Bloc Québécois members do not want to believe in new technologies. It is as if we were going back in time. We only have to look at communications technologies, for example. We hold those in our hands every day. We did not have that 25 years ago. We were still sending letters by mail, as my colleague pointed out earlier.
Obviously, things evolve, including in the world of oil and gas. It is a lot less polluting than it was before. In fact, I really applaud the people of western Canada who have made huge efforts to reduce their carbon footprint over the years with the help of new technologies.
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Madam Speaker, the Conservatives keep repeating themselves. It is always more or less the same speech. They talk about the carbon tax being tripled.
Since the beginning of the session, the Conservative opposition days, the budget, it is always the same thing. We have to get rid of this and eliminate that. They just sidestep the major issue of our time, which is the fight against climate change.
The earth is burning right now and that is not just a figure of speech. Quebec is literally on fire. This is certainly related to climate change.
I would like to know the plan. If we get rid of the carbon tax, what would be the Conservatives' plan? We know that in this country, there is a back and forth between the reds and the blues. Sooner or later, the blues are going to return to power.
What are they going to do to address the major challenge of our time, the fight against climate change?
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Madam Speaker, we have to address inflation. The problem with the carbon tax is that it impacts everything. We are a big country, and we move goods all over the place. Quebec is somewhat insulated from this because there is no backstop program, but there are six other provinces out there that are charged this directly and paying a disproportionate portion. Ontario is one of them, and in Manitoba, where I live, we are paying a carbon tax that the Quebec people are not. That is a bigger problem in itself. This is how the government is very much dividing our country instead of trying to pull it together.
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Madam Speaker, the member says “scrap the carbon tax”, but she also talked about the importance of the free market.
It seems to me there are numerous groups that believe in the free market and support the carbon tax and carbon pricing. For example, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the Mining Association of Canada, the Business Council of Canada and the Fraser Institute, which is hardly a Liberal institution.
What would the member say in response to the Chamber of Commerce, which said that carbon pricing is generally the best way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to lower costs? Does the member not believe in climate change?
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Madam Speaker, I am sorry that you had to reprimand me before for interjecting into the member's speech, but he is always so engaging, and I was overcome with a desire to respond. The parliamentary secretary, if nothing else, is always very entertaining.
The Liberals and the NDP would like to give Canadians the impression that the carbon tax they are paying is what they can see on their fuel bills, either at the gas pump or on their energy bills at home. However, that does not completely address the increased cost and the inflation that Canadians are actually experiencing as a result of the carbon tax, because the carbon tax is being applied to every single process of getting something to the consumer, whether it is the manufacturing, the harvesting or the moving of goods to the market. Everything is incurring the carbon tax, and that increases the price of goods and services, which is making it very difficult for Canadians to live, because that inflation is overwhelming.
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Mr. Speaker, I enjoyed the scholarly history lesson. I have enjoyed a lot of the speeches tonight. They have been quite wide-ranging. I heard a bootstrap argument about the agency to make more decisions about one's own economic future. I agree with that. However, I would note that it came from a member who would like for women to have fewer choices about their own reproductive futures. I also heard a comparison saying that $467 in support would never do anything to help a Canadian family but $330 was an extraordinary burden. There has been some difficulty on math.
I know that the member did not touch on carbon pricing tonight, but he did mention taxation. He said there is too much tax in Canada. I observed that in the last election, he, like all 338 MPs and candidates, ran on a carbon pricing scheme in one form or another. Oftentimes, people point to Brian Mulroney's ability to abate acid rain. I would point out that the Conservatives did that with cap and trade and a ban on burning certain types of coal. These are the types of advancements that come from really good government programs.
I will ask a question directly about the member's previous commitment to run on a carbon price. Where does he stand now on carbon pricing?
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Mr. Speaker, I, of course, came intending to talk about the Royal Style and Titles Act, and I was hoping for a question that would relate to that, but let me try answering this question, seeing as it was raised.
Speaking of having promised one thing and then going in a different direction, I cannot help but note that one of the most effective ways of capturing carbon is through reforestation. Of course, trees are composed largely of carbon. Wood is carbon. I cannot remember if it was in the last election or the one before, but the Prime Minister promised to plant two billion trees. He has produced less than one-tenth of 1% of that promise, despite the fact that a number of years have gone by.
If we are looking for concrete action to make this planet a greener place, a less carbon-intensive place, he is not setting a very good example.
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