44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 19, 2024 10:00AM
- Mar/19/24 12:56:03 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Winnipeg North.
The only thing the Conservatives want to axe is the rebates people are getting. They have no interest in helping to provide for Canadians, especially in their time of need, and we have seen that through various votes. We have seen that through the initiatives that the Leader of the Opposition has taken this week, what he has said and what he has directed his members to do, which I will get to in a second. What they really want to axe is the Canada carbon rebate. That is it.
The Canada carbon rebate currently provides, or will provide, in this fiscal year, on average, to each family, the following: Alberta, $1,800; Manitoba, $1,200; Saskatchewan, $1,500; Nova Scotia, $825; P.E.I., $880; Newfoundland and Labrador, $1,192; New Brunswick, $760; and in my province of Ontario, $1,120. That is an average.
I will give members the raw data as to how people are benefiting and how more people are better off through those rebates they are getting than what they are paying.
I took the opportunity to do the exercise myself. I went back to 2023 and dug up all my gas bills from Enbridge for heating my home. I calculated the federal carbon amount that was added to each bill, and after adding up through 2023, it came to $379.93 that was paid in 2023. I drive an electric car, but I wanted to be as fair as I could, so I looked up how much fuel is needed for a car for the average person. The average is 1,667 litres. I then multiplied that by the federal carbon tax for 2023, and it brought me up to $238.
Let us assume that because I live in a household where we have two cars, we have to multiply that by two. After all is said and done, taking into account what I paid to Enbridge for the carbon tax and what I would have paid through purchasing gas at a gas station, the total amount that I paid in 2023 was $855. In my household, I receive the rebate directly into my bank, and when I looked at my bank statement, the amount I received in 2023 was $885. Before even considering any initiatives that I could have taken, and I have taken some, for example, I am driving an electric car, but before even taking any initiatives—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
Mr. Mark Gerretsen: I hear Conservatives heckling me. I will not name names, because that would not be fair, but I have sat in the House and had Conservative members walk up and say, “Hey, Mark, by the way, just so you know, I drive an electric now, and I absolutely love the car.” Of course, they would never actually get up in the House of Commons and say that, because that would go against their entire narrative. In the interest of protecting the identity of the people who have done that, I will not say who they are, but I get a kick out of how they are heckling me now while I am saying this.
Before I even attempt to do anything to improve my carbon footprint, just from the basic math, I am already ahead. The reality is that 94% of households with incomes below $50,000 a year get rebates that exceed their carbon taxes. I have demonstrated to members that in a household of four with two vehicles, it is already very plausible.
When we start to tap into some of the many initiatives that the federal and many provincial governments have to make one's home more efficient, to install heat pumps, for example, to make conversion away from fossil fuels, we can very quickly see that if I put a heat pump in my home, that $379 I paid in 2023 no long exists, and I will be receiving in excess of $380 a month. If we also add into that the various other initiatives I could take and the choices I could make, I would end up even further ahead. It is very clear that the vast majority of Canadians receive more than they pay.
I was very relieved to hear today, and I have heard on a number of occasions, the House leader, the member for Regina—Qu'Appelle, at least starting to talk about the rebates. Earlier today, I actually heard him concede that, by his information, 40% of households are getting more back. I say that we are at a place where we can work toward educating the member for Regina—Qu'Appelle. I do not think we are that far off before we can get him from that 40% to the real number of 80%. At least Conservatives are starting to come around.
However, make no mistake about it. Conservatives want to axe the Canada carbon rebate, which is money that is being put into the pockets of Canadians, that is helping to deal with the effects of climate change and that is incentivizing them to make more energy efficient choices in their homes or in what they drive. Even if one only moves from a gasoline-only vehicle to a hybrid vehicle, one will start to see savings. One does not even have to go all-electric. Again, that just further increases the excess amount one receives as opposed to what one pays.
I do not want to leave the impression that Conservatives are interested in any way in helping Canadians. That has been said in the House already. The Leader of the Opposition, on March 14, sent a letter to his MPs saying that Conservatives will stand in the House and will force votes they can oppose on many different items in order to perpetuate and continue the false narrative Conservatives currently have that the vast majority of people are not getting more back more than they are paying.
Let us talk about some of those things. Perhaps Conservatives will be a little smarter this time around when we go through a marathon voting session. Perhaps they will more strategically pick what they might want to vote against, because they are lining themselves up to vote against things that are based on communication from the Leader of the Opposition and that are based on a false narrative; he believes the price on pollution is not actually putting more into the pockets of Canadians.
Conservatives are lining themselves up this week to vote, once again, against three motions that affect Ukraine. These represent over 15 million dollars' worth of equipment to Ukraine, Operation Unifier supports Ukraine with $130 million, and then $285 million goes to Operation Reassurance to assist Ukraine. They are going to vote against RCMP members who have been injured on duty, which is at a cost of $20 million. Over $1 million is for Reaching Home programs to help address homelessness, and $12.5 million is for the collection of banned assault firearms. The very heat pump program I talked about earlier, which provides over $40 million in grants to Canadians, they will be voting against it. There is an anti-racism strategy, a round table on missing and murdered indigenous girls and LGBTQ+ people, which is over $1 million, and of course, there is the Canada housing benefit, which represents over $100 million.
The Leader of the Opposition has set up a false narrative that people do not get back more than they pay into the price on pollution when the vast majority do. He is willing to hedge his bets on that false narrative and, at a cost of doing so, is going to vote against all those items I just listed.
I would strongly encourage the Conservative Party of Canada members to have a good look and self-reflect on where they have come over the last number of years, from Stephen Harper, who spoke in favour of a price on pollution, up to their most recent leader and their most recent election campaign, when they knocked on doors and talked about pricing pollution. It is time to have serious look in the mirror and to reflect on exactly what it is they stand for. The reality is that the only thing they are showing themselves to stand for now is misinformation.
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- Mar/19/24 1:22:22 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, Dan Kelly from the CFIB has recently said he was horrified to see the government's new plan with respect to rebates for small businesses. Small businesses actually bear most of the burden of the carbon tax but get almost nothing back. In fact, the government promised that they would get more than they are actually getting.
Does the member support improving the situation for small businesses or just letting them die on the vine?
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- Mar/19/24 1:26:06 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the member has spoken a lot about the disinformation that the Conservatives have been spreading, and I agree, but the Conservative member asked him a very fair question about small businesses.
We know that the federal government currently owes small businesses and indigenous groups $3.6 billion. Those are rebates that the government has promised small businesses, and they are still waiting. The government has also said it is going to give small businesses less because it has doubled the rebates for rural Canadians. Why would it make small businesses pay for that when we could be making big oil and gas pay for it? The output-based pricing system is unfair. Suncor pays 14 times less than an average Canadian does in carbon pricing. Why not make big oil pay what it owes?
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- Mar/19/24 1:37:28 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, aside from slogans, let me make a plea to the member who just spoke. On April 15, the people in Newfoundland and Labrador, a good many of them his constituents, will have a cheque deposited in their account. A family of four will get $298. When that is added up, it will be well over $1,000 for the year. If the member votes in favour of this motion, what he is really doing is voting against that rebate cheque being deposited in their accounts.
The Parliamentary Budget Officer has made it very clear that 80% of Canadians get more back in their rebates than they actually pay out. That is a fact. I will say that on CTV on a political panel. The member opposite will not do that.
Will the hon. member admit to why he wants to deny his constituents those rebate cheques?
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- Mar/19/24 1:53:42 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, on April 15, there are going to be carbon rebate cheques circulated to Canadians. Conservative Party members are going around saying that they are going to axe the tax, but axing the tax also means getting rid of the carbon rebates. Many Canadians now factor those rebates into their budgets. Four times a year, on a regular basis, Canadians are receiving a rebate, and many of them factor it into their expenses and budgets. As well, a vast majority are receiving more money back from the rebate than they put into the tax. That is the truth and the reality.
Would the member make it very clear whether the Conservative Party is prepared to take away those rebates that will be deposited on April 15?
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- Mar/19/24 2:17:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is exciting news that tax season is here.
When Canadians file their taxes, they will receive the Canada carbon rebate. In the provinces where it applies, such as my home province of Ontario, the Canada carbon rebate will put even more money back in the pockets of most Canadians than they pay into the carbon pricing system.
Affordability is top of mind in everything our federal government does. With the Canada carbon rebate, we are directly putting money into the bank accounts of Canadian families. Families are counting on these cheques, especially low- and middle-income Canadians, who need it the most.
Unfortunately, Conservative MPs want to cut these rebates, which low- and middle-income Canadians rely on, but we will not let them. Canadian families can count on that.
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- Mar/19/24 2:18:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have a common‑sense plan to cut taxes, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime. Meanwhile, after eight years, the Prime Minister is not worth the cost.
The Prime Minister and his carbon tax are not worth the cost after eight long years. The Parliamentary Budget Officer confirms that in every single province, Canadians pay far more in taxes than they get back in rebates on a tax that will go up 23%.
Today, common-sense Conservatives are calling for the Prime Minister to grant his caucus a free vote on our motion to spike the hike.
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- Mar/19/24 2:35:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives want to peddle false information to trick Canadians into voting for them. The reality proven not by projections, but by real-world data, is that people who live in my province receive more money every year from the rebates that they receive than the fuel charge that they pay. Everything the Conservatives do—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Mar/19/24 2:36:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the question was for the silent member for Kings—Hants. He was asked to explain how he is voting for a carbon tax of $1,500 per family that only pays back $963 in rebates. I asked him specifically to stand and answer, but he has been shut down and shut up by his masters in the PMO.
Once again, will the chair of the agriculture committee, the member for Kings—Hants, stand today and tell us whether he will vote to spike the hike or raise the tax?
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- Mar/19/24 3:06:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is not just small businesses that have been betrayed by the government on the carbon tax. First nations and Métis communities are owed over a billion dollars in promised rebates. In what seems like a sick April Fool's Day joke, remote and rural communities will see the cost of the carbon tax increase by 23% on April 1. This means higher costs to operate schools, band offices and businesses.
I will ask again: When will the government spike the hike, axe the tax and give remote, rural, indigenous and Métis communities their money back?
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- Mar/19/24 4:45:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am glad my colleague across the way was so adamant for the need to make the carbon tax revenue-neutral because it goes against a comment made by someone else who stated, twice in the House, that the government made a decision to make it revenue-neutral.
This member then stood up another time and said that it is revenue-neutral at the federal level. Guess who that other member was? It was the exact same member.
Finance Canada told public accounts that, last year, $670 million was not given back in rebates. It was kept by the government. Going back as far as 2019, it started at $100 million, which was kept, per the public accounts, for government programming, not returned in rebates.
What is it? Is it revenue-neutral, as the member has stated twice, or is it not revenue-neutral, as public accounts has stated, and as he stated earlier today?
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- Mar/19/24 5:03:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member for Calgary Nose Hill knows that I certainly agree with the need to address affordability issues for folks across the country, in her community and in mine. I believe that she is sincere in her interest in doing so. I know she would not feel that the rebates are sufficient when it comes to the price on pollution.
I would like to hear from her, though, about this. When it comes to addressing affordability, she knows, as do I, that the profits of the oil and gas industry have gone up astronomically over the last year. In fact, it was 18¢ a litre, an increase in profits from 24¢ to some 40-odd cents last year. There are no rebates attached to that gouging at the pump.
Would she not agree that more needs to be done to address affordability by looking at those excess profits and redirecting those to help Canadians afford day-to-day life?
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