SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 280

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 12, 2024 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 280 - Feb/12/24
Mrs. Cheryl Gallant (Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, CPC)
  • Feb/12/24 6:58:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise on behalf of the living, breathing, flesh and blood women and men of Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke. That Canadians are real is never something I expected to be debating in this place, yet in response to my question about my constituent Edmund's gas bill, the Minister of Natural Resources denied Edmund's existence. He claimed that Edmund was not an objective fact but a Conservative opinion. We have seen these proud socialists engage in inflation denialism. We have seen them resort to balanced budget denialism. They have now reached a new low of Edmund denialism. The only thing they will not deny is giving fentanyl to children. I would like to assure the House that Edmund is not some Conservative opinion. He is real. His gas bill is real. The $72 he paid in carbon taxes in December alone on his gas bill is real. The $9.41 of HST he paid on the carbon tax is very much real. The quarterly climate bribe this NDP-Liberal government loves to brag about works out to be $39 a month, but 72 is bigger than 39. I understand that math denialism is central to the NDP-Liberal coalition's ideology, but most Canadians I know can count past 100. These proud socialists can scream “fake news” all day long, but 72 is larger than 39. The minister is entitled to his opinions, but he is not entitled to invent alternative facts. If the minister would like to come up to the Ottawa Valley, I would be pleased to introduce him to Edmund. The minister could tell Edmund to his face that, according to Statistics Canada's Social Policy Simulation Database and Model, he does not exist. In the minister's response to my question, not only did he claim that Edmund was just my opinion, but he also took the time to mansplain what I already know or, at least, what he thinks I know about the often cited statistic that 80% of Canadians get more in climate bribes than they pay in carbon taxes. It is actually a great illustration of what former extremist Liberal environment minister Catherine McKenna said about repeating a big lie over and over again. These Liberals, along with their media allies at The Canadian Press and the CBC, have repeated the 80-20 claim so often that they forget it is not real. Reality is complex. It is messy, so we make models. Those models inform us about reality, but we must never forget that they are not real. No model can capture the full lives of people like Edmund. When one locks oneself away in a social media bubble, it becomes hard to tell the difference between the real world and simulation. It is time that these Liberals took the red pill or pulled off their Apple goggles and wake up to the reality that Canadians like Edmund are facing. Edmund is not alone. There are millions of Canadians just like him. Like Edmund, they have worked hard all their lives. They follow the rules, yet after eight years of this NDP-Liberal government, they are being left behind. As long as this socialist coalition clings to power, they will fall further behind. The Liberals can deny that these Canadians exist until they are red in the face, but it will not change the facts. Canadians are hurting. The common-sense Conservatives have a plan to turn that hurt into hope. That is why we are going to axe the carbon tax, build new homes, fix the budget and stop the crime. Working together, we will deny this NDP-Liberal coalition another four years in government.
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Context: House Hansard - 280 - Feb/12/24
Mrs. Cheryl Gallant
  • Feb/12/24 7:06:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is disappointing to see the parliamentary secretary continue to deny Canadians the truth. The carbon tax is not a price on carbon. It is a tax on individuals. It is a tax on energy. It is a tax on everything that uses energy. It is no more a price on carbon than income taxes are a price on earnings. The truth is the government does not know what the price on carbon is. They even admit it on their website. They are trying to get farmers to make costly investments to reduce methane emissions by promising to give out carbon credits. Yet, the one question every farmer asked was, “How much is the credit worth?” The government cannot say. It cannot say because it does not know. When it comes to a price on a carbon offset, the government admits that the price of something is determined by the supply and demand for that thing. Only a proud socialist could believe that government could set a price by decree. It did not work for Pierre Trudeau and it will not work for the Prime Minister either. That fact is just undeniable.
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