44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 2, 2023 10:00AM
- Nov/2/23 11:37:49 a.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, first of all, perhaps the member was not in the chamber when I made my remarks specific to the fact that this program is available across the country. There is a $10,000 federal grant to vulnerable Albertan households that are still using heating oil. He should help his constituents find that program. Maybe he has not; maybe he did not know about it. I am happy to share the information after the remarks here today. This is a national program; when he stands up and says that there is not something for Alberta, it is just simply not the case.
Specific to home heating oil, it is unique, because it is highly carbon intensive. In fact, it is the worst for the environment, but it is also the highest cost for what it actually takes. That is unique. Usually there are higher intensities of carbon in more affordable fuels, and we are trying to put a carbon price to make a change in behaviour. That is not the case here. There is no sense in putting a carbon price on someone who is already vulnerable and paying the highest costs, but under the climate action incentive payments, the rebates that go, every other source of heating actually gets more money back than people pay in, but heating oil was the exception, and that is why we have moved on an exception on the carbon price specific to that.
Yes, it is an Atlantic-acute issue that I am proud to have helped champion, but it matters in his riding too. I am proud to have made a difference for his constituents.
274 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Nov/2/23 11:40:10 a.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, in Nova Scotia people using natural gas would be using a heating source that is probably one of the lowest cost in the province, and my remarks reflect the fact that there is a series of programs. With the Canada greener homes grant there is a $5,000 grant available to people.
I take notice that the member is talking about how we can make sure we front-load more money for people who are vulnerable and not specifically on heating oil. I think that is a valid conversation, but I would direct him to the fact that there is a plethora of federal programs that are available to help people regardless of the heating source they use. Heating oil in particular is a very specific chronic challenge for a vulnerable group of Canadians. That is why the government has tackled it.
We started with coal-fired electricity. We are moving to heating oil, in terms of that being a challenge, but on natural gas, if people want to look at energy efficiency programs, they do exist across the country, and they are available. Can improve them? I am happy to take some of his suggestions.
198 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Nov/2/23 11:42:13 a.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member raises a really important point that, particularly on heating oil, it is the market that is driving the price. It has nothing to do with the carbon price, but it has to do with the cost of the heating oil itself, which is anywhere from two to four times the price of alternatives. That is exactly why the government has been laser-focused on that question with affordability programs to support it.
To answer the hon. member's question on the windfall profits, I recognize that other jurisdictions in the world have considered it and have moved forward. I said to him this week that, because the oil and gas industry is primarily located in western Canada, we have to be careful about the concept of introducing something like that, not only because there could be a capital flight of really important jobs and industries that may not necessarily invest in the country as a result, but also because the money collected under such a program should stay within the regional context. That is the suggestion I gave him. Whether or not the government moves forward on it, I do not know. It is a careful balance because there are a lot of considerations there.
210 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Nov/2/23 12:14:37 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, the best solution is to come up with incentives to transition to a less carbon-intensive heating system, and that is electrification. Right now, instead of taking money and investing it in electrification, the government is funnelling it to the oil companies. They are paying the oil companies $83 billion until 2035 for the pipe dream of low-carbon oil. This is completely unheard of.
The best solution is to come up with what all other countries have, which is the polluter-pays principle, not a polluter-paid principle. Canada is doing the reverse. It is rewarding oil companies with $83 billion and investing nothing in clean energy.
112 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Nov/2/23 12:27:36 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, from my perspective, the way I look at it is that the government has focused on getting and encouraging people to change from oil to heat pumps. Given that oil costs are so much higher compared with other sources, it is a good way to encourage that transition. In the longer run, people will save more money, and the environment will be better for it.
The member highlights the issue of bureaucracy. The program that is there is a coast-to-coast program. Manitoba has thousands of people who heat their homes with oil. Would he not agree that it will be very helpful to move forward and get provincial jurisdictions, in particular, involved in this?
118 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Nov/2/23 1:33:11 p.m.
- Watch
Uqaqtittiji, Nunavut relies completely on diesel for energy for home heating and for everything, basically. All of its oil and gas is from the south; we do not have any that we extract on our own. Therefore, when we get that oil and gas, it is from companies in Canada. Canada's five biggest oil and gas companies made $38.3 billion in combined profits last year alone.
Does the member agree that there needs to be a windfall profits tax on oil and gas so those funds can then be diverted to renewable energy that needs to be supported, such as Hydro-Québec's fibre-optic link project?
111 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Nov/2/23 1:34:11 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, it has been very disturbing to see that our oil and gas companies over the last few years, particularly during the years of the pandemic, have accumulated record profits, much of which went back to the U.S., and then have come back to Canada to ask for subsidies to decarbonize their production.
What I would say to the member is that I agree this is something we should look at. I am very disappointed with our oil and gas companies for not stepping up and doing their share.
91 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Nov/2/23 2:26:39 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, home heating oil is dirtier, more expensive and more relied on by lower-income Canadians across the country. Across the country, 1.3 million households rely on home heating oil. That is why we are working with the provinces that want it to replace them for free with heat pumps. That is what this is about.
The Leader of the Opposition is making a serious mistake if he thinks Canadians are not concerned about the environment or that Canadians do not know that protecting the environment does go hand in hand with creating good jobs and prosperity for them across the country. That is a conversation I look forward to continuing to have over the next two years with Canadians.
122 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Nov/2/23 2:35:26 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, do we know what she will do? She will stand with the folks who are having an affordability challenge related to heating oil. It will apply in every province and territory in this country where provinces step up to co-deliver with the federal government. It is a plan that will address the short-term issues for those folks who are most pressed, but it will do so in a manner that will save significant dollars in the long term. It will address it in a manner consistent with fighting the existential threat of climate change.
I say this again in the House: It is a shameful thing that, in this country, we still have a political party that does not believe in the reality of climate change and has no plan to address it.
137 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Nov/2/23 2:59:49 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I am glad the hon. member referred to his home province of Manitoba. The new government in Manitoba has reached out to the federal government to engage in a conversation about codelivery for the thousands of homes in Manitoba that actually use heating oil, to ensure they will be addressed in a thoughtful and affordable way. I congratulate the Government of Manitoba for being proactive on this important issue and for its continuing commitment to fighting climate change.
80 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Nov/2/23 3:06:09 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, as I have said a number of times, the issue around heating oil is that it is two to four times as expensive as natural gas as a heating source. It accelerated by 75% in 2022 alone. It is creating a significant challenge for folks. We have developed a program that will ensure that we are able to address that in a long-term, sustainable way through the implementation of free heat pumps. That program will apply in any province and territory that is willing to step up. It is certainly open to the Government of Ontario, and I look forward to discussions with my counterpart in that regard.
111 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Nov/2/23 4:07:25 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, if only I had more time. I could go on about this for a while.
What I will say is this. When we look at the rising costs at the pumps right now, 2¢ a litre over the last year is attributed to a price on pollution and 18¢ a litre is attributed to the wholesale margins, in other words, the profits for the wholesalers. Conservatives should be nine times as outraged by the profits being made by oil companies right now as opposed to the price on pollution, but where are they? They are absolutely silent, never once getting up to talk about the extreme price gouging that is going on. I think it is shameful because they are making an intentional, deliberate attempt to look for political ammunition.
The member said something very good at the beginning of his question, which was that Conservatives like to talk. I would say, yes, they do like to talk, and that is where it ends.
168 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Nov/2/23 4:09:05 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, I am not sure if I can help the member understand, because she thinks that EV batteries will spontaneously explode and does not think that electric cars work in the winter. If that is where I am starting from when trying to help somebody understand something about environmental impact, I do not think I am in a good place, and I probably will not be successful.
What I will say is this. When we talk about why we are doing this specifically, despite the fact she probably will not understand, it is because we know that oil is the dirtiest form of energy and we need to get off of it. What we are trying to do is give relief to Canadians so they have the ability to move toward a heat pump, which is astronomically cleaner than oil. That is the objective here.
Conservatives always like to talk about half of the equation. They like to completely leave out the other half, and the other half is helping people transition to heat pumps.
176 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Nov/2/23 4:51:01 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, when we think of oil heating and compare that to the impact on the environment of natural gas, or home heat pumps, I think we would probably agree that the oil heating system does hurt the environment a whole lot more, and it is a lot more costly.
Does the Conservative Party have any policy, direction or thoughts regarding that, or do they feel they should leave it out there and let it evolve in society in a way Conservatives would be happy to see with regards to climate change in general.
94 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
