44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 14, 2024 02:00PM
- Feb/14/24 2:10:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Liberal-NDP government, Canadians know that the Prime Minister is not worth the cost. In this era of insane inflation, housing crisis and food prices that are through the roof, the Prime Minister is hiking the carbon tax again on April 1. The Liberals want to quadruple it to 61¢ a litre. Canadians are crying out for relief, but the government instead wants to keep digging deeper into our pockets to fund its corrupt overspending. The carbon tax makes food more expensive at every stage. When one taxes the farmer who grows the food and the trucker who transports the food, one taxes the people who buy the food.
The carbon tax does nothing to reduce emissions but forces Canadians into poverty and homelessness. The end result of the Liberals' failed carbon tax experiment is the two million Canadians who are now using food banks. This is unacceptable.
Conservatives will continue to axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime.
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- Feb/14/24 2:14:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years, the NDP-Liberals are not worth the cost. Guess what: The Alberta NDP agrees. NDP leadership contenders are abandoning the sinking carbon tax ship. Sarah Hoffman said they played dirty politics with it and picked winners and losers.
Do people know who else loses? All Canadians do. Twenty-three per cent is the whopping increase to their carbon tax on April 1. Two million Canadians are lined up at food banks across the nation. A family of four is paying $700 more in groceries this year.
The Prime Minister is so radical that even his costly coalition partners in Alberta's NDP cannot defend his carbon tax. Let me be clear to NDP-Liberals inflating each other and the costs on everything: Axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget, stop the crime and restore the promise.
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- Feb/14/24 3:00:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our common-sense plan axes the tax, builds the homes, fixes the budgets and stops the crime.
The Prime Minister cannot defend his policy, so he is changing the name. People hate the carbon tax because 60% pay more into it than they get back in his phony rebates. Today, he announced a costly rebranding of the hated carbon tax.
My questions for him are these: How much did he spend on consultants in order to come up with the new name, and was it GC Strategies that he hired?
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- Feb/14/24 3:00:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition does not even understand the consequences of the cuts he is proposing left, right and centre. He proposes to take away the carbon price rebate, the Canada carbon rebate, from millions of Canadian families across the country. The Canada carbon rebate is going to be there to continue to deliver more money to eight out of 10 Canadian families, in four cheques, over the course of the year. That puts cash in their pockets while we fight climate change. We are seeing a reduction in emissions that Canada is leading on. We are also moving forward on growing the economy and supporting Canadians.
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- Feb/14/24 3:01:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, he could not even get the new name of the carbon tax right. It is only three words. The Prime Minister should learn that we cannot improve life by slogans alone. That is right. That is why we propose the facts. I have here a distributional analysis of the federal fuel charge by the Parliamentary Budget Officer, which shows that 60% of Canadians pay more in taxes than they get back in the Prime Minister's phony rebates.
Why will the Prime Minister not follow the facts and axe the tax?
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Mr. Speaker, Canada's hard-working farmers produce safe and nutritious foods that we depend on to feed our communities. They are vital to our food security. Not only do our farmers feed Canadian families, but also they help feed the world. However, the carbon tax-obsessed Prime Minister and his Liberal government do not value the work our farmers do day in and day out. If the Prime Minister did value their work, the Liberal government would not be hell-bent on imposing a costly and punishing carbon tax on our farmers, threatening the viability of their farm businesses.
My Conservative colleague, the member for Huron—Bruce, introduced what was a common-sense bill to remove the carbon tax from farm operations. The Parliamentary Budget Officer determined that the bill would save farmers $1 billion by 2030. That is $1 billion that the Liberals want to take from the bottom line of our farmers. Without the support of the Liberal government, Bill C-234 did pass through this chamber onto the Senate, but now we find ourselves, in the chamber, considering a gutted bill that would not provide the relief our farmers so desperately need.
It is absolutely shameful that the Prime Minister would use his appointed senators to delay and to gut Bill C-234. This carbon tax-obsessed Prime Minister and his environment minister browbeat senators to bend to their ideological will. That is not how good public policy is developed. The removal of barns and greenhouses from the carbon tax exemption, and the shortening of the sunset clause, stops well short of what this bill was trying to achieve.
To be clear, there was no outcry for any of these amendments from farmers or farm organizations representing them. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Farmers and farm groups from across the spectrum of commodities have been absolutely unified in their support for the quick passage of this bill in its original form, just as the premiers of Saskatchewan, Alberta and Ontario have also been doing. They all understand how punishing the Liberal carbon tax is on Canadians and on our Canadian farmers.
It is also worth noting that the Senate amendments are not even new proposals. The Senate amendments mirror proposals that were already put forward in the House of Commons agriculture and agri-food committee by Liberal members of Parliament. These amendments were rightly rejected. To reintroduce these rejected ideas through an unelected Senate undermines the will of the elected members in the House. The bill, in its original form, recognized the valuable contributions that farmers across Canada are already making to protect the environment.
Canada's farmers are deeply committed to being good stewards of the land. It has always been a cornerstone of farming practices, not only because their livelihoods depend on this, but also because it is in their DNA to care for the work they do. Canada's farmers are world leaders in sustainability and innovation. They are always looking to improve their productivity and to do more with less. Through technology and innovation, our farmers have already reduced their environmental impact, improved their efficiency, and are conserving water and soil.
There is so much to celebrate in Canadian agriculture. I would even argue the Canadian government should be championing our farmers. Instead, the Liberal government is punishing them. It is punishing Canadian farmers with its costly carbon tax that does nothing to protect the environment.
Saskatchewan grain farmers have calculated that grain farmers in Saskatchewan can expect to lose 8% of their total net income to the carbon tax. That is around $8,000 to $10,000 on a 5,000-acre farm.
The carbon tax bills of our farmers are also not small amounts, and they are certainly not offset by a rebate. They are paying thousands and tens of thousands of dollars to operate. Of course, we cannot forget the Liberal government is not satisfied with the current rate of the carbon tax; it wants to quadruple it, and that includes for our farmers and for all Canadians.
The government's activist-driven agenda ignores all the evidence that the carbon tax is fuelling the affordability crisis in our country and that it is hurting those who can afford it the least the most, all while doing absolutely nothing to bring emissions down.
The April 1 carbon tax hike will squeeze Canadians even tighter, and it will be an even bigger hit to the bottom line for our farmers. When the operating costs of farm businesses outpace their profits, we absolutely cannot expect that our farm businesses will stay operational. That is a threat to food security in Canada, and frankly, no government should take that lightly.
The fact is that millions of Canadians are already going hungry in our country because they cannot afford the basics of groceries. That is shameful in a country like ours, with an abundance of natural resources, but that is the legacy of the Liberal government and its carbon tax.
While farmers do absorb a lot of costs, and we have heard this before in the House, the reality is that when one taxes the farmer who grows the food, one taxes the trucker who ships the food and one taxes the grocer who sells that food, it is only common sense that Canadians who buy that food are stuck with higher bills at the checkout.
It is disgusting that the Liberal government wants to increase the cost of groceries during an affordability crisis. When two million Canadians visited a food bank in a single month, just last year, the Liberal government's solution is to increase the cost of food. Its NDP coalition partners are fully in support of the April 1 tax hike, a carbon tax that disproportionately impacts our farmers and rural Canadians.
Without the passage of Bill C-234 in its original form, it is a carbon tax that will make it impossible for our farmers to adopt innovative practices when they become available.
At the end of the day, if the Liberal government wants to tax our farm businesses to death, there are no funds left for them to invest in new innovative and sustainable practices. The reality is that their farm operations still require the use of natural gas and propane. It does not make sense to punish them for their reliance on those energy sources when there is no practical or appropriate alternative.
Yesterday marked Canada's Agriculture Day. It was an opportunity to celebrate Canadian agriculture and to show our appreciate for our hard-working farmers and producers. Our farmers need more than platitudes and empty words from the Minister of Agriculture and the Liberal government. They need a government that recognizes and values the contributions our farmers make to our Canadian food security, to our global food security, to our economy and to the environment.
Bill C-234 is an opportunity for every member of the House to put their appreciation for Canadian farmers and farm families into practice. This bill, as amended by the Senate, would undermine the entire purpose, and we must reject the harmful Senate amendments put forward by the so-called “independent” senators and stand up for Canadian farmers and farm families.
I want to urge every farmer watching today to contact Liberal MPs and Bloc MPs, and tell them to reject this carbon tax assault on their farm families, farm businesses and farm operations.
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Mr. Speaker, it is really unfortunate that we are here tonight debating what is effectively a gutted Bill C-234.
Just to remind everyone at home, this bill would have provided a billion dollars' worth of relief to farmers in this country by exempting them on the carbon tax. In fact, members may recall that this bill passed through the House with all of the opposition parties voting for it. There were five Liberal members who voted for it, but the rest of the Liberal caucus voted against it, and it is unbelievable that they would actually vote against carbon tax relief for Canadian farmers and farm families who produce and create so much food security in this country. I think it was frankly an embarrassment to see this go on during that time.
However, the worst part about it was that it went through the House, as I mentioned, and it passed, so it went to committee. The Liberal members of that committee tried to move amendments in committee that were rejected by the majority of the opposition parties, and the bill ended up at the Senate. The Senate then, as a result of coercion and what some would say were bullying tactics by the radical, extremist environment minister and the Prime Minister, who by media accounts really strong-armed so-called “independent” senators who had been appointed by the Prime Minister, reintroduced those amendments back into the bill, and this is what we are dealing with today.
A billion dollars' worth of relief has been lost for Canadian farmers. I know members have heard this many times, but when we tax the farmer who grows the food and tax the transporter who transports the food, it is eventually the end consumer who ends up paying the cost, and that is what is happening in this case.
Let me tell members about Barrie—Innisfil. I am so fortunate to represent a riding that is a mix of urban and rural, and I would argue that that split is probably about 60-40, but we have farmers in Innisfil who are some of the best environmentally sustainable farmers, if not just across the country, then around the world.
Horodynsky Farms is the largest onion farmer in the country. Boris Horodynsky, who is of Ukrainian decent, uses the most influential technology we can find, drone technology, to make sure his land is sustainable. Kell Farms is one of the largest privately held farms in all of Ontario. We have Wardlaw's Poultry Farm, Barrie Hill Farms and Hewitt Creek Farm. We have some other producers who are greenhouse producers, such as Lakeview Gardens and Bradford Greenhouses. Every single one of those farms I represent in Barrie—Innisfil would be paying more because of what the Senate has done to this bill, complicit with the government.
It is a shame because one of the things we need to focus on, coming out of COVID, and it should be the number one priority in this country, in addition to energy security, is food security. We need to make sure that our producers are producing enough food so that we are not dependent on other aspects of the world, other despot nations or other big countries, bigger countries than Canada, for food.
This food security is being threatened. Those farms I described before, along with Eisses Poultry Farm, which is a chicken farm in my riding, are multi-generational farms, and the more these costs increase for these farms and farm families, the more at risk they are going to be in providing that food security for our nation.
The risk will come from industrialized farms, the big conglomerates. We have a couple of them here in Canada, but there are those farms globally. What happens when these farms no longer exist in this country? What happens when these farm families are put at risk as the result of an ideological attack by the government with its imposing and implementing the carbon tax? It puts all of our food security at risk. This is not to mention the fact that it increases costs, and I know many of the speakers before me have talked about that.
I will give an example. I was thinking about this as I was preparing for this discussion tonight. Earlier today, I had what every Canadian has had. Many members probably had it for lunch today. I had a clubhouse sandwich, and I looked at the ingredients of that clubhouse sandwich. I looked at the whole wheat bread, as I am trying to eat healthy, the tomatoes and the bacon, which came from pigs in those heated barns and is now going to cost more. I also looked at the lettuce, which is grown in those greenhouses and is now going to cost more as a result of paying to heat those greenhouses.
All of those costs are going to be added on. It will be an extra $910 million cost to the farmers as a result of the Senate amendments that have come back to this place. It is going to cost every Canadian family more, at a time when food insecurity is at its greatest. We are hearing that two million people are going to the food bank every month in this country because they cannot afford the cost of groceries, and seniors are walking into the Stroud I.G.A. or the Zehrs at Big Bay Point, looking at the food and at the price, and then putting the food back because they cannot afford it.
The government and its complicit senators are putting at risk that food security. They are putting at risk the ability of Canadians to be able to afford food.
As I said at the outset, this is not a controversial bill. In Atlantic Canada, we have seen a carve-out, because it was politically expedient for the Liberal government to carve out the carbon tax and allow an exemption because they were feeling the political heat of the cost of the carbon tax in Atlantic Canada.
What the member for Huron—Bruce did by proposing this bill was to provide that relief for those farmers who are producing our food and are producing food security. I do not think it is too much to ask. This is why we are here tonight, to talk to the government and the other opposition parties, and to tell them to support the bill in its original form, particularly the opposition parties, because they did, when it was brought to this place. When it went to committee, they voted against those amendments. That is all we are asking for, to be able to provide that relief to Canadian farmers and Canadian farm families.
The other aspect of this is really concerning. I have a restaurant in my riding and I recently spoke to the owner. I was sent their gas bill, and the federal carbon charge was noted on that gas bill. Without giving the name, they sell chickens, they sell a lot of chickens. The federal carbon charge on that bill was $1,413 for one month. Let us assume they work off 10% margins. They would have to sell another $14,000 worth of chicken, plus HST, as I am reminded by our agricultural critic, just to pay the carbon tax.
Now, as I mentioned before, we have Eisses Farm, chicken farms, a large chicken operation, in southwestern Ontario. Every single one of those producers will be paying the carbon tax as a result of the fact that this bill has been gutted in the Senate.
That is going to increase costs, not just for those restaurants, but for every single family in this country who is thinking about buying chicken, fruit, vegetables or anything grown or heated in this country. That is all the member for Huron—Bruce was trying to avoid in this bill. It was to give some relief to the farmers so that the consumers could get some relief at a time when we need relief.
This is not going to stop. This is a radical, ideologically left-leaning, activist government that believes that the carbon tax is the solution to fighting climate change. It is going to go up four times by the time it is done. People are going to be paying four times more. Producers are going to be paying four times more.
I stand here tonight, not just for those farms and farm families, but for every single person that I represent in Barrie—Innisfil, to fight to make life more affordable for them.
Before I stop, I do want to wish my wife, Liane a very happy Valentine's Day.
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- Feb/14/24 7:44:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the environment minister stated that the Liberal government does not measure the annual emissions directly reduced by the carbon tax. Then the minister said that the government does measure this. It cannot be both. How many emissions were directly reduced by the carbon tax in 2023? That is, not the projection, not the estimate, but just the result.
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- Feb/14/24 7:44:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians know that climate change is an urgent threat that requires significant, decisive action. In recent years, climate change has had unprecedented effects on Canadians and people globally. Impacts from climate change are wide-ranging, affecting our homes, cost of living, infrastructure, health and safety, and economic activity in communities across Canada and around the world.
The federal approach to carbon pricing is designed with affordability in mind. We know it is not enough to create a cleaner economy; we have to make sure Canadians can afford it. Where federal fuel charge proceeds are returned directly to households, eight out of 10 families actually get more back through the Canada carbon rebate than they pay, meaning that this system is helping with the cost of living for a majority of Canadian families.
Let us not be nearsighted. Climate change is a global challenge, and the costs of inaction are high. As the IPCC made clear last year, climate change is an urgent threat that requires significant, decisive actions. Canadians want climate action, and the government owes it to them to be responsible and use policies that we know are the most efficient and cost-effective. Our approach ensures that Canadians are well placed to benefit from the opportunities created by the global transition under way.
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- Feb/14/24 7:46:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government did not answer my question. I am not asking about projections. I did not mention anything about percentages. I am not asking about estimates. The parliamentary secretary totally did not even answer my question. I am asking about results. My question is very simple: How many emissions were reduced directly from the carbon tax in 2023?
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- Feb/14/24 7:46:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, carbon pricing is an effective and essential part of any serious response to the global challenge of climate change. Carbon pricing works by putting a cost on the thing we do not want, which is greenhouse gas emissions, and adding value to the things we do want: clean air; reliable, affordable, clean energy; and sustainable jobs.
The federal approach to pricing carbon pollution is designed with a focus on affordability. Its goal is to reduce pollution, not raise revenues. Our approach puts money back in the pockets of Canadians. In fact, eight out of 10 households get back more in the Canada carbon rebate payments than they pay as a result of the federal carbon pricing system. This has been confirmed repeatedly in independent studies, including by the Parliamentary Budget Officer.
Evidence confirms that putting a price on carbon works. It spurs clean growth, supports jobs and cuts the pollution causing climate change.
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- Feb/14/24 7:47:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when I asked the question of the Prime Minister in November, it was very specific to the impact the carbon tax is having on the price of food.
The parliamentary secretary just let something slip that runs completely contrary to the narrative the Liberals propagate on a daily basis and even the announcement they made today with their so-called carbon tax rebrand, which is this: She said that it is a feature of the carbon tax to raise prices on the things the government does not want. What does that translate to? It translates to higher costs for Canadians to be able to afford such things as groceries and other essentials at the grocery store. This relates to higher costs on the transportation of the goods we need, which are essential to our economy. It translates to higher costs for farmers and producers. The problem with the Liberal narrative on the carbon tax is that it is doing what it was designed to do, which is to raise prices; however, it does not lower emissions. That has been proven very clearly.
Earlier today, I referred to a tragic example I had heard of a food bank in Flagstaff County. Lynn sent me an email. I know Lynn, and I appreciate her community volunteerism and activism. She talked about how food bank clients are lying about where they live and how many people are in their home. Why would this happen? One would think that lying is a bad thing, but they are lying out of desperation, because they are hungry. In this small-town food bank in a rural county in Alberta, because of the price of food, there are Canadians who are forced into a position where they are lying. They know that it could mean that they would be banned from the very food bank they need. It is a tragic consequence of the policies of the member, the ministers and the Prime Minister. Of course, we should not leave out of the conversation the lackeys in the NDP who are propping up the corruption, the high prices, the inflation and the carbon tax.
There is a part of this conversation in addition to higher prices being a feature, not a flaw, of the carbon tax: the fact that emissions are not a part of the conversation, even though they claim, time and time again, it is, when their own numbers say that it is not. It is this: How high is it going to go?
In 2015, the Liberals, the Prime Minister and many of those who were elected, ran on a platform promising that the price of the carbon tax would never be more than $50 a tonne. They said that was the maximum; it would never be any higher, and we could take that to the bank. That ended up to be the furthest thing from the truth. It was revealed not four years later that their actual plan was $170 a tonne, and they covered it up. They were not honest with Canadians.
Here is the very clear question I would ask in a follow-up to the cost of living crisis that so many Canadians are facing. For more than half of Canadians, the indirect and direct costs of the carbon tax are leaving them with less money in their pockets, because the government is taking it away from them. I hope the parliamentary secretary listens and responds directly: Will the government follow the direction of certain international entities and activists that are calling on it to raise the carbon tax even higher? We hear that it could be as high as $1,000 a tonne.
Do the Liberals plan for that carbon tax to go higher, which will raise the cost on everything? I would like a clear answer, please.
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- Feb/14/24 7:54:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is interesting that I gave the member the opportunity to deny, very clearly, that their plan was to raise the carbon tax to $1,000 a tonne. She refused to do so.
The Minister of the Environment, the criminal socialist activist who serves as environment minister of this country, has made it very clear that it is—
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