44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 20, 2023 11:00AM
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my friend and colleague for advancing this legislation. As I have discussed with him, Halton has deep roots in the horse industry.
We have Woodbine Racetrack. The first-ever Liberal MP for Halton, John White, was a horse owner and his horse won the 1860 Queen's Plate.
We have lots of horse advocates and plenty of horses in Milton. I have heard from a lot of my constituents about how important this is. There are so many horse lovers in Milton. I want to send all of my gratitude to them for all of the messages that I have received on this.
I express gratitude to the member for advancing this legislation.
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- Nov/20/23 2:09:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is National Child Day. The theme for 2023 is “#EveryChildEveryRight.”
I am proud to be co-hosting a reception today with the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, or UNICEF, to bring more attention to children's rights, particularly those impacted by war, poverty and disease.
Last week, I hosted 23 highschool students from Milton in my office to voice their concerns. They do not have a vote yet but they do have a voice. It is critical that we elected people listen to youth and take action on their priorities. Every single adult has a moral and ethical obligation to protect every single child.
On this World Children's Day and over the past 44 days, the world has been confronted by the images of murdered and injured Palestinian children in Gaza, and the knowledge that Israeli children were murdered and taken hostage by Hamas. By absolutely no fault of their own, these kids are caught in the crossfire of this decades-long conflict, victims of their surroundings and circumstances.
Children are innocent. They should never be targets of violence or warfare. I continue to call for the immediate release of all hostages and the protection of civilians, especially children and young people.
I continue to amplify the UN resolution for a ceasefire and an end to the violence.
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- Nov/20/23 5:23:56 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to answer this question. To my friend and colleague from Calgary Shepard I say dziękuję bardzo. I know he is a member of Polish heritage. I spent lots of time in Poland and I love the country very much. I used to race over there on Lake Malta. It is nice.
Before I start my speech, I would like to correct the record, if I could. I believe the member opposite has mischaracterized Professor Tombe's position on carbon pricing, because very recently he came out in support of carbon pricing. He has suggested that Alberta produce a similar piece of legislation. A headline on a recent article from Trevor Tombe says, “How Alberta can benefit from a provincial carbon tax”. He believes, “Whatever your priorities, using carbon tax revenues to achieve them requires Alberta [to] take back control.” Alberta could and should take back control because of the opportunity that lies ahead with respect to renewable energies in that province.
We know that the Premier of Alberta has put a moratorium on the approval of new renewable energy projects in Alberta, which is a shame because Alberta is leading the country. It is an energy-rich province. Regardless of whether they come from the sun, underground or ideas above the ground, renewable resources from across the province are available. Unfortunately, the premier does not believe in renewable energy, but Canadians do. Albertans, Miltonians and Ontarians want us to address climate change.
I know that I have repeated this a number of times in the House, but it bears repeating again: All members from the Conservative Party ran on a promise to price carbon. Under Erin O'Toole, the Conservatives ran on a promise to develop a strategy to price carbon. It was a Zellers catalogue of green products that people could choose from. I believe “the more you burn, the more you earn” was the motto. I recognize that Canadians rejected that proposal. Canadians listed climate change and fighting it as one of their top priorities in the last federal election.
I would also note my friend the MP for Wellington—Halton Hills. During his leadership campaign for Conservative Party leader, he said very rightly that there is no way to win a federal election without having a plan to fight climate change. That is why, in his infinite wisdom, MP O'Toole ran on a promise to price carbon. My friend and colleague, the MP for Calgary Shepard, did also.
With the costs of climate change rising dramatically year over year, a climate plan to make life more affordable and fight climate change needs to be the cornerstone of any serious effort to make sure that Canadians can afford to heat their homes and make sure that we transition away from fossil fuels. If we ignore climate change, by 2025 we could see a $25-billion annual slowdown in our economic growth. Being somebody who is very attuned to the economy, my colleague opposite cares about economic growth. Our climate plan is not just about the environment; it is a plan for economic stability as well.
Another thing the Conservatives love to ignore about our climate plan and our carbon pricing mechanism is that it sends more money back to the vast majority of people. It is a choice of the Alberta government, the Ontario government and other governments to use the federal backstop program. Before 2018, Ontario, for example, had a cap and trade program whereby the provincial government traded carbon credits with other jurisdictions. It was able to generate considerable revenue from that. Given that the future of Alberta is a green one, I would urge my colleague and friend opposite to go to his premier and the ministers of energy and natural resources to encourage them to roll back their moratorium on renewable projects and pursue more—
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- Nov/20/23 5:29:00 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am glad the member opposite acknowledged that this plan to change the way we price carbon with respect to home heating oil is specific to the product and not the region, which is what we have been saying. It is a national program.
I know that there are many Albertans and many folks who live in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and British Columbia who still use home heating oil to heat their homes. Home heating oil is not just the most expensive way to heat one's home, it is also the most carbon intensive. It is a dirty product, and it is outdated. It is the way people used to heat their homes in the late 1800s. It is basically more similar to diesel and kerosene fuel than other products, which are far cleaner.
Saskatchewan is greening its grid. Alberta is greening its grid, and Manitoba already has one of the greenest grids. It is far more economic and sustainable to heat one's home with electric technology, such as a cold air heat pump, which is one that they would employ in Alberta. However, there are still many Albertans who are using home heating oil, and that is sort of the low-hanging fruit.
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- Nov/20/23 5:33:50 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I will not for a second apologize for stating the facts and the truth in the House of Commons, which are fully ratified by Canadian media sources. I have them all in front of me here. One does not have to go very far to find the conspiracy theories that the member has been peddling for over two decades in the House of Commons. I have one here where she did backflips to attempt to apologize for an anti-gay remark she made in the House. There was another time when the MP compared abortion to an Iraq beheading. The list goes on of when the member peddled deranged conspiracy theories about the Liberals.
I will read from this article in which the Conservative member was promoting deranged conspiracy theories akin to those promulgated by supporters of former U.S. president Donald Trump. In the video, the member said that Liberals have become radicals who want to make all illicit drugs legal and to normalize sexual activity with children. This is not something I am making up. This is in, as the member would describe it, the mainstream media, which I guess, as she said, is her enemy. In fact, media is so important to the discourse of the Canadian dialogue and making sure that Canadians have access to good information.
When the member compared Liberals to cultural Marxists that have taken over every university administration and said we are trying to silence free speech on campuses, it could not be further from the truth. She also said there has been this great reset. She has propagated false narratives, conspiracy theories and misinformation on her much-beloved YouTube channel about the elites trying to pursue a great reset through a green new deal. This green new deal has become a code for conspiracy theorists, who see it as a plot by some global elite group to replace capitalism with a new socialist world order.
For two decades, the member has been going to the lowest common denominator possible to try to earn support from fringe people in our country. It does a disservice to the discourse of the House. I will not apologize for a second for pointing it out, when it has been derogatory, homophobic and, frankly, completely unbecoming of anybody who pursues democracy and collaboration in this place.
To the question, low- and middle-income households in Canada are struggling financially right now. We are here to support them, as we have been since we were elected. The poverty rate in Canada was upward of 14% or 15% in this country in 2015, and Canadians were struggling as they never had before, with rising inequality and stagnant growth under 10 years of Stephen Harper. Since then, we have been there every step of the way through programs such as enhanced old age security, the Canada child benefit, child care and dental care for low- and middle-income Canadians. We believe in meeting the moment and making sure that low- and middle-income Canadians have the services and supports they need in order to succeed.
Recently, we announced new funding to help Canadians move away from home heating oil. Many of my colleague's neighbours in Renfrew still use home heating oil. It continues to be the most expensive, the dirtiest and the most emissions-intensive way to heat families' homes, and we want to help them get a free heat pump. We want to support them in getting heat pumps, so they can heat their homes with electricity. In Ontario, our grid is almost 85% clean. This means that the energy being provided to our grid is mostly from renewables, whether from hydroelectric, nuclear, wind or solar energy. I know that the member's neighbours in Renfrew are grateful for that program.
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- Nov/20/23 5:38:55 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, this Trump-style, Republican brand of politics that the member is bringing to this House is unwelcomed by members from almost all parties. It is a shame that there are still remnants of the Canadian Alliance Party in this House. There is absolutely no space in this House for this kind of overblown conspiracy theory. This is the third time in as many weeks that I have heard a member from the Conservative Party refer to programs, which are there to support our neighbours, as “Soviet-style”.
My mother escaped Soviet Hungary to come to this country to find freedom, and now she builds non-profit community housing, co-ops, for Canadians. She has been working in that sector for 30 years. The number of times the Conservatives have used the term “Soviet” to describe anything in terms of social welfare and making sure lower- and middle-income families have what they need is absolutely repulsive.
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