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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Feb/1/24 4:06:14 p.m.
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The hon. member for Salaberry—Suroît on a point of order.

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Feb/1/24 4:06:19 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, during question period today, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship misled the House by insinuating that the leader of the Bloc Québécois compared immigrants to heat pumps. That is not what he did. I think we need to listen closely to what the leader of the Bloc Québécois said because he was actually condemning the minister's refusal to reimburse Quebeckers for the costs they have incurred by generously welcoming asylum seekers to Quebec. Serious questions deserve serious answers from the minister, not contempt. Madam Speaker, I would ask that you have a listen and direct the member for Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs to withdraw his remarks and apologize.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Feb/1/24 4:07:30 p.m.
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I will consult Hansard to see what was said. The Chair will ask for an apology if necessary after watching what happened during question period. Questions and comments, the hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons.

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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)

Feb/1/24 4:08:04 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the member asserts to conclude his remarks by again emphasizing the four priorities of the Conservative Party. They could fit them onto bumper stickers. My issue is that just because it fits on a bumper sticker and might sound nice, it does not necessarily mean it is good, sound public policy. Would the member not agree that we see other countries around the world looking at and, in many cases, putting in a price on pollution as a public policy, because it does work and is effective? Why is the Conservative Party, today, the only political party inside the House of Commons that continues to deny climate change?

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Mr. Doug Shipley

Feb/1/24 4:08:56 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I question the member opposite when he says this is not good policy. I am willing to go to a campaign or an election any time and run on these. I can tell members that the people of Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte are very supportive of axing the tax, building the homes, fixing the budget and stopping the crime. Those are the four things I am hearing day in, day out from the residents in Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte. They are very reasonable people, but they are struggling right now. We want to bring common sense back, and I will run on those four themes right there.

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Mr. Gabriel Ste-Marie (Joliette, BQ)

Feb/1/24 4:09:30 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, would my colleague agree that the Conservative motion we are currently debating erroneously suggests that the federal government is generating revenue from carbon pricing? We know that the Alberta government puts $23.7 billion in oil royalties into its coffers every year, the cost of which is passed on entirely to the consumer. However, the federal government does not generate any revenue related to this policy. Ottawa actually pays it back to households and provincial governments where applicable, excluding Quebec.

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Mr. Doug Shipley

Feb/1/24 4:10:07 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, as I am a member from Ontario, I do hear when some colleagues in Alberta are speaking, but I am going to, again, speak about my constituents from Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte in Ontario. They are struggling, and yes, I do believe this carbon tax is taking money out of their pockets, and it is going to the government. It is not just the tax itself; it is the GST on the tax. We are trying to bring it forward to people, but I am sure the members opposite are always trying to hide that. There is a lot of tax going into the government coffers, and I think they are taking advantage of us, especially with the tax on the tax.

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Mr. Brian Masse (Windsor West, NDP)

Feb/1/24 4:10:54 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I think it is really important to highlight the hypocrisy from the Conservatives on this issue, especially with the fact that they were the ones who brought in the GST, some of the most regressive commercial taxation on citizens we have ever seen. Then, under Stephen Harper, they doubled down with the HST. Unbelievably, they had to borrow money to buy off a couple of provinces to implement the HST, which we are now paying interest on because we are in debt. All this debt and all this cost is back on the consumers from the Conservatives. I am wondering if the Conservatives at least have some remorse and regret for Brian Mulroney and Stephen Harper, who brought in some of the worst taxation processes for consumers we have ever seen in this country.

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Mr. Doug Shipley

Feb/1/24 4:11:39 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, again, we cannot live in the past. I am living for today. Some hon. members: Oh, oh! Mr. Doug Shipley: I do not know what is so funny. Madam Speaker, I am trying to help my constituents today and not 10 or 20 years ago. I am not getting calls from 20 years ago. I am getting calls today from residents who need our help. If I was in the House 10 or 20 years ago, perhaps we would look at those things, but I am here today to represent the citizens of my area and to axe the tax today.

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Mr. Martin Shields (Bow River, CPC)

Feb/1/24 4:12:26 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we often hear our colleagues talking about getting more money back, but they took it away first. However, they have not talked about the hundreds of millions of dollars it is costing for this program. That is huge. Maybe my colleague would like to respond in regard to the huge cost of this tax program.

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Mr. Doug Shipley

Feb/1/24 4:12:41 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I wish I had more time, but I agree that any time there is anything put in place by the government, it is bureaucracy growth. We saw that over the last eight years, and I am sure that as this increases, the bureaucracy is going to increase also. We need to cut back some of that and get back to helping our residents in Canada.

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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)

Feb/1/24 4:12:59 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to pick up on the words that the member across the way was just saying. He said he wanted to speak about “today”. Maybe I could do a bit of a reflection on today's Conservative Party— Mr. Damien Kurek: There is no one else to talk. I am shocked.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Feb/1/24 4:13:15 p.m.
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Order. I want to remind members if they do not have the floor or if they want to have conversations, to please step out. It was not just one individual, but that member was maybe the loudest. The hon. parliamentary secretary.

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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux

Feb/1/24 4:13:33 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to talk about today's Conservative Party. Today's Conservative Party is not the same political party that was there during the time of Brian Mulroney and Kim Campbell and Joe Clark. It is totally different. In fact, to do a fair comparison of today's Conservative Party, we really need to look south. We need to look at it in terms of the whole MAGA movement that is taking place in the United States and how that movement of sorts is coming into Canada and being ushered in by today's Conservative Party. Canadians need to be aware of that because it is having a real tangible impact on public policy. The best example one can likely talk about is the price on pollution, or the carbon tax versus the carbon rebate. The amount of misinformation that the Conservative Party today is circulating through all forms of communication, in particular through social media, would shame most people, especially leaders of the Progressive Conservative Party from the past. I do not say that lightly at all. If I may, let me read a couple of quotes that I was provided. One is from Joe Clark, former prime minister of Canada and former leader of the Progressive Conservative Party. He is reflecting on today's Conservative Party. He says, “I think it's a party that does not respect the progressive traditions of the Progressive Conservative Party and, consequently, does not reflect the country.... My party is over.” Let us go to Brian Mulroney, again, a former Progressive Conservative prime minister. He said, “I led a Progressive Conservative government. We were very progressive in areas...”. He went on to name a few, and continued, “...we were more conservative” in other areas. He even referenced that he might have at times been more conservative than Stephen Harper. Then he says, “That's the way it should be for a progressive conservative government, but they amputated the progressive part of the name, which is okay, but you shouldn't amputate the part of our heritage and I think that they work better together when both are prominent and Canadians feel more comfortable with it.” He spoke of that progressive side. That is not just hearing it from me as a Liberal. We are talking about former prime ministers of the Progressive Conservative Party who are saying that today's Conservative Party is not a progressive party at all; that the Conservatives have abandoned that aspect of their heritage. The first woman prime minister of Canada was a Progressive Conservative prime minister, Kim Campbell. What does Kim Campbell say about today's Conservative Party? She said, “Well, I've never joined the Conservative Party of Canada. I think Joe Clark expressed it that he didn't leave the party, the party left him. It is not the Progressive Conservative Party, and...our party was the party of the Acid Rain Treaty, the Montreal Protocol.... I'm sorry, I have no time for climate deniers and anybody who is trying to pussyfoot around it.” Today's Conservative Party should not be in any way looked at from the heritage of the Progressive Conservative Party because it has completely gone to the extreme far right. It is, for all intents and purposes, a MAGA Conservative Party here in Canada and that is the style and the approach that the Conservatives are taking. Earlier this week, they came out with their “four priorities”. They have already indicated what their four priorities are going to be in the next election. What is going to be their campaign election platform? It is no surprise that number one is to get rid of the price on pollution. An hon. member: Axe the tax. Mr. Kevin Lamoureux: Madam Speaker, as the member says, to “axe the tax”, as they thump their chest and feel so good about that, the only political party, one of the reasons why they have lost so much respect from Progressive Conservatives. It is a great bumper sticker. They like that bumper sticker. That is the reason why they want to use it. Let me remind people who might be following the debate and the Conservatives who are here listening. They have heard me say, in the past, that in 2021, under the leadership of Erin O'Toole, every one of them campaigned on an election platform that said they favoured a price on pollution. That was only two years ago and they were in favour of a carbon tax, every one of them. How things have changed. There is a special group of 19 Conservatives today who campaigned, as candidates, back in 2008, when Stephen Harper was there. As far as Stephen Harper's campaign literature is concerned, let me read directly from “The True North Strong and Free: Stephen Harper's plan for Canadians”. This is what he says: “A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will implement our Turning the Corner action plan to reduce Canada's greenhouse gas emissions in absolute terms by 20 per cent over 2006”. It goes on. He supported a price on pollution. There are 19 members here today who campaigned on a price on pollution going as far back as 2008. Interestingly enough, the leader of the Conservative Party today was one of those 19 people. It is hard to imagine what Canadians would think. A word that would come to my mind would be “hypocrisy”. A simple answer would be that they have completely abandoned any sense of a progressive nature to their party. That is the reason why, when they talk about their four priorities, every Canadian needs to be aware of, especially, priority number three. Their priority number three is to cut government expenditures. My constituents and, in fact, Canadians from every region of our nation, love our health care system. They love our child care program and the rolling out of the dental care program. These are all programs that Canadians want to see. One cannot trust the Conservatives with regard to them. They will cut, if history has shown. Even, at times, Progressive Conservatives have cut those programs. Can we imagine what a true Conservative far-right party would actually do? They talk about common sense. Common sense to them is cut, cut, cut. Be aware of a hidden Conservative agenda. That is what I would suggest. The misinformation that they provide to Canadians continues to grow. Again, let us talk about the price on pollution. They will stand up and say, “Do we know what? We are concerned about the impact it is having on the price of inflation on groceries.” They howl from their seats on that issue. They try to give the false impression that it is 6% or 7% or more. Earlier today, there was one member who said 20%, as a direct result on inflation. I do not know where the member gets her math from. At the end of the day, they are trying to create this impression to Canadians that the price on pollution is causing inflation. That is just not true, and the sad thing is that they know it, but it does not prevent them from saying it. It is not just me saying this. The Bank of Canada is recognized around the world as a politically independent agency that has monetary control in good part in terms of the things that are taking place here in Canada. What does the Bank of Canada say in regards to the carbon tax and the impact it has on inflation? Well, the Governor of the Bank of Canada, the man who runs it, says that the “contribution that's making to inflation one year to the next is relatively small. If you want me to put a number on it, it's in the range of 0.15 per cent, so quite small.” Well, we know that the leader of the Conservative Party was saying that he did not like the Governor of the Bank of Canada and that he was going to fire him. At least at one point he was saying that, but I think he might have reversed, and the member for Abbotsford is paying the price for saying that it was a stupid thing for the leader to say that, because now he sits in the far back. However, if members do not want to believe the Bank of Canada, Statistics Canada does a lot of work. We all look at Stats Canada results. Private industry, governments, non-profits rely very heavily on Stats Canada. Stats Canada suggests that “carbon taxes increased the average cost of food by about 0.33 per cent relative to what they would be in the absence of carbon taxes.” That is the entire effect. “Other necessities such as clothing and footwear are approximately 0.2 per cent more expensive due to the carbon tax.” Members do not have to believe me. Look at what the Bank of Canada is saying. Look at what Stats Canada is saying. Contrast that to the disinformation, the intentional misleading information that is funnelled out of the Conservative Party of Canada today. It is disgraceful. That is what I mean by the far right. However, it does not end there. We get member after member stand up and clearly mislead not only their constituents but Canadians as a whole when they say that they are going to axe the carbon tax. However, what they do not mention is the carbon rebate. Over 80% of the constituents I represent, when we take a look at the carbon tax and what they pay into it and compare that to the carbon rebate, or the money they get back, actually get more money in their pocket than is taken out. Again, members do not have to believe me. The Parliamentary Budget Officer, an independent office, is the one who is saying that. Yet, we get the Conservative Party time and time again saying that they are going to cut the carbon tax, that it is more costly for Canadians, and it is just absolutely misleading information. It does not matter to them, because they have their agenda, and we had a sample of that earlier this week when they talked about those four priorities. They want a bumper sticker that says “axe the tax”, and that is what it is all about. They do not care about good, solid public policy. They tell us to look at other countries. I can talk about France, England, Portugal, Norway, Sweden, Mexico and many states in the United States, which all have a price on pollution. Even Ukraine has a price on pollution. Canada is a trading nation— An hon. member: No, it doesn't. Mr. Kevin Lamoureux: Yes, it does have a price on pollution. An hon. member: At 80¢ a tonne? Mr. Kevin Lamoureux: Madam Speaker, this is the problem. Maybe there are those in the Conservative Party who do not really look at the notes provided to them by their party. When they do some independent research, they will find that a lot of the stuff they are given is misinformation. However, they purport it to be true. Let us look at Ukraine. The Conservative Party today, for the first time, is going to be voting against a trade agreement on the floor of the House of Commons. Why is that? Even the New Democrats are voting in favour of the Canada-Ukraine trade agreement. I believe the Green Party and the Bloc Party are also doing so. It is only the Conservative Party. They come up with this red herring that they are voting against it because it has the words “carbon tax”, or it is dealing with a price on pollution, and they do not want that in a trade agreement. Well, duh. Ukraine has had a price on pollution since 2011. Can we imagine this? The President of Ukraine came to Canada, at a time of war in Europe, to sign off on an agreement that is beneficial to Ukraine, Canada and, ultimately, many others, and the Conservatives have chosen to vote against it. It brings us back to the question of why. I believe the price on pollution is a bit of a red herring for them on this, and it has a lot more to do with their current leader wanting to imitate Donald Trump. The Conservative leader and his MAGA politics are very real. As we get closer to an election, Canadians are going to become much more aware of the Conservative agenda, even the hidden aspects of it. We recognize the importance of trade. Earlier, when making comments, a Conservative member talked about how foreign investment is down. How can Conservatives justify giving false information on foreign investment? If we look at last year, with respect to dollars of investment on a per capita basis, no other country in the world received more foreign investment than Canada did. However, Conservatives go around giving a false impression and have no problem doing it. I can provide proof of the comments I have made on the record in the last 19 or so minutes, but Conservative members will still stand up and say the absolute opposite. For me, it creates a number of ethical issues that I will not necessarily get to talk about. What blew my mind earlier today in question period was when the Minister of Housing said that Jenni Byrne, who is the campaign manager and former girlfriend of the Leader of the Conservative Party, is now an active lobbyist for Loblaws. I hope Conservatives will ask me a question on that. I would be happy to expand on the bizarreness of that issue.

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Mr. John Brassard (Barrie—Innisfil, CPC)

Feb/1/24 4:33:21 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for taking away 20 minutes of my life, which I will never get back. I often laugh at this comical narrative the Liberals are trying to build of comparing the Conservative Party to Donald Trump because it wants to stand up for working families across this country by making life less expensive for them. I see my good friend from Saint John—Rothesay, whom I deem a reasonable and practical Canadian. I recall in 2015, when the Liberals talked about taxes, debt and deficit. Because of these comparisons, I often hear from people that this is not the party of Chrétien-Martin, but a radical, ideological, leftist cult led by a two-bit actor, who memorizes lines given to him by much smarter socialists. What happened to the Liberal Party of Chrétien-Martin?

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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux

Feb/1/24 4:34:34 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, this is a political party that has not abandoned its heritage. It has built additional supports in health care, supported Canada's middle class by providing tax breaks and supported seniors by dramatically increasing the guaranteed income supplement. It has invested more in housing than any other political party in the last 60-plus years. It has driven an economy that has generated close to 2.5 million additional jobs since 2015, and it has built Canada's infrastructure. The list goes on. It is a proud Liberal heritage. However, there is a lot more work to do. I believe that the more Canadians get to know the member's leader, the more people will be coming back and wanting to see us continue on.

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Seniors

Mr. Jean-Denis Garon (Mirabel, BQ)

Feb/1/24 4:35:40 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the member for Barrie—Innisfil got up and said it was one of the worst 20 minutes of his life, yet on every Conservative opposition day, debates drag on for so long that they feel like several lifetimes. That said, we are in a parliamentary setting. Words matter. Tone matters. We have to be careful about our comparisons. The parliamentary secretary said that the leader of the official opposition was behaving like Donald Trump. That is wrong. I think that Mr. Trump could learn a lot from the Conservative leader's methods. I would like the parliamentary secretary to tell us what Mr. Trump could learn from the Conservative leader's methods.

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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux

Feb/1/24 4:36:19 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am somewhat convinced that there have to be some ties there. We had a commercial go out that compared the type of language being used by the MAGA far right in the United States, and it is actually quite surprising how much the current leader of the Conservative Party has adopted that. For example, the way he talks about Ukraine as being a faraway land, the way he talks about budget-related matters and so forth. It is a great comparison, and I wish I could flash the link on the screen. It is a wonderful comparison between Donald Trump and the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. I would encourage people to watch it.

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Mr. Brian Masse (Windsor West, NDP)

Feb/1/24 4:37:26 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, earlier in the debate, the Conservatives raised the issue of the GST and HST, which is something they created through Brian Mulroney and then Stephen Harper. Then they dished it off by saying that we cannot go back 15 years or 20 years, but every bill we pay still has the GST and HST on it. In fact, the history of this country is bringing in the GST with the Conservatives and the Liberals to actually reduce corporate taxes for the oil and gas industries, the telcos and the pharmaceutical companies and shift that tax burden to the general public, the consumers, with prices at the pump, at the grocery store and other places. The reality is that we have actually reduced the GST at certain points in time and taken it off feminine products and other things. In the Liberals' past behaviours and practices, they so-called fought among themselves with cutting the corporate taxes a lot faster and deeper. Will they amend these behaviours, reduce the GST and the HST, take the burden off consumers and put it where it belongs, on the richest corporations that abuse Canadians?

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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux

Feb/1/24 4:38:28 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, there are different ways in which we can support Canada's working class, especially at the low end, through the credit system. We see basic income increases and even cuts, as I pointed out earlier, to the middle class. We have seen dramatic increases to supports for children through the Canada child program and, more recently, the enactment of a child care program that will see $10-a-day day care. I believe most provinces are now providing that. We are talking about literally hundreds of millions of dollars of investment. The dental program has been helping children and will be helping seniors this year. We continue to work at expanding that. There are all sorts of investments a progressive government can actually make, and that we have made, in order to ensure that there is higher equity among the population. That includes, by the way, getting tougher on—

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