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House Hansard - 275

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 5, 2024 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 275 - Feb/5/24
Mr. Michael Kram
  • Feb/5/24 4:38:07 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I think we have to start by asking what the carbon tax is doing in the text of this free trade agreement. The hon. member says that we are the ones who are obsessed with the carbon tax, but we are not the ones who put it in there. What is the carbon tax doing in the text of this free trade agreement, if it has no benefit whatsoever to helping Ukrainians win the war? I wish I knew.
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Context: House Hansard - 275 - Feb/5/24
Mr. Richard Cannings
  • Feb/5/24 5:48:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there is a lot in that question. I would first say that there is nothing in this free trade agreement that forces a carbon tax or carbon pricing on Ukraine. Ukraine already has that. However, there is a statement in the agreement that says that nothing in this agreement will force either of the two countries to change their environmental policies or laws. That is just a false argument from the start. Second, we had an amendment about Canada providing more military support and armaments to Ukraine. I voted against that for two reasons. One, it was totally out of the scope of the bill and so we could not really listen to that; we could not hear it. Two, this is a free trade agreement. It is about setting the rules between two countries on how they trade with each other. It is not about sending aid to Ukraine. Ukraine needs armaments. I remember the very first day of the war that President Zelenskyy said, “I need ammunition, not a ride”. However, this is a totally separate question. If we had voted in favour of that amendment, it would have sent the whole agreement back to the negotiating table, and it would have set it back weeks or months, who knows how long. Of course, I voted against that. Ukraine wanted this bill passed as it was, it wanted it passed unanimously, and I am proud to say that is what I am doing.
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