SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 293 - Mar/21/24

Mar/21/24 1:43:48 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the member accused the Prime Minister of never having a real job. We know the member from Stornoway has never had a real job—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Mar/21/24 1:43:57 p.m.
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We are not going to start that debate. The hon. member for Lethbridge has the floor.

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Mrs. Rachael Thomas

Mar/21/24 1:44:06 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the Prime Minister insists on doubling down on his damaging policies, and of course, the carbon tax is central to them. The carbon tax drives up the cost of everything, from gas to home heating to household goods. Everything is more expensive, not to mention the fact that it affects low-income households disproportionately because they spend a larger percentage of their income on energy, food and transportation. The Prime Minister is not at all for lower- and middle-class Canadians but rather for himself and for those in the upper echelons. That is who the Prime Minister is, but now it gets worse because on April 1, he intends to play a very cruel joke on Canadians, which is to increase the carbon tax by another 23%. It will go up by 23% in just a matter of a couple of weeks. Canadians will be hard hit once again when they are already down. Folks in my riding come into my office and show me their natural gas bills. They point out the line that reveals the carbon tax. They are $40, $60, $130. However, I find it interesting that on many of them, the line that shows the carbon tax is actually more than the cost of the good or the product itself. In other words, they pay more for the tax than they do for the actual natural gas they use. If that does not elicit a bit of compassion in this place, shame on those members. That individuals would be forced to pay a tax that is higher than the natural gas they used in their households is wrong. No wonder Canadians are lining up at food banks in droves. No wonder students are having a hard time being able to make ends meet. No wonder seniors are having to make difficult choices between medication and food. This is the state of our nation. Farmers in my region who produce food for this country and, I dare say, the world, pay carbon tax bills upward of $62,000 or $100,000. That cost then gets transferred to transportation, to the grocery store, and then, ultimately, onto the backs of Canadians who buy the food. The carbon tax is having a huge affect on Canadians and their well-being. The Liberals claim that it is about saving the planet, but they have not actually met a single climate target that has been set. In fact, when we look at the performance index, they have fallen to number 62 in performance. In other words, there is nothing being accomplished for the planet, but everything is being done to punish Canadians. The Liberal government would also like Canadians to believe that somehow they are better off with the carbon tax because it results in a supposed rebate. Let us look at that rebate. The Parliamentary Budget Officer, who functions as an independent entity, looked at it and provided a report. The report by the PBO shows that people pay far more in the tax than they would ever get back. In the province of Alberta, residents are worse off by nearly $1,000 a year. That is a lot of money for Canadians to lose out on. That is a lot of money for Albertans. The Prime Minister reaches into the left pocket of Canadians and takes out a wad of cash, and then, into the right pocket, he deposits a few coins and then expects Canadians to praise him for his charity. That is how the Liberal government functions. That is its policy. It is wrong. In my riding, businesses are closing their doors because the costs are too much. There is a man in his seventies who lives in a vehicle with his dog because he cannot afford his rent. A couple lost their house because they could not afford their mortgage, and now they are living in an RV. A person with a disability came into my office recently. She has to skip meals because the little money she gets per month, as a person with a disability, does not stretch the distance it once did. All of this has to do with the Liberal government's failed policies, and the carbon tax is at the centre of it all. There are 70% of Canadians and 70% of premiers who do not want the tax hike. Overwhelmingly, Canadians reject the Liberal government's policies; they do not want it. Today, Conservatives are standing at the side of hard-working Canadians and are calling for a vote of non-confidence in the Liberal government so that Canadians can vote in a carbon tax election. They would have the opportunity to say what they want. They would have an opportunity to vote for the Canada that they believe it should be. They would have an opportunity to defend their own well-being. That is what we are calling for in this place. We are calling for the restoration of affordability and for a vibrant future for hard-working Canadians because they deserve it. There should be no more punishment from the corrupt Liberal government, but rather a vibrant future for the hard-working, innovative, creative Canadians that we know them to be. With that, I invite all members in this place to consider the well-being of every single Canadian from coast to coast and to spike the hike, axe the tax and give back hope to those who live here in this country.

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Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP)

Mar/21/24 1:50:12 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to set aside the comments on what has dominated in this place, which are carbon pricing and proper solutions to the climate crisis. I wonder if my hon. friend does not agree that the well-being of every single Canadian, as she exhorted in her speech, includes that we face the fact that there is a very worrying fuel load across the country in our forests. The forest fires of summer 2023 continue to burn underground and under the snow and are called zombie fires. The oceans have hit temperature increases we have never seen before. I ask her this: Is she also committed to finding climate solutions that work?

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Mrs. Rachael Thomas

Mar/21/24 1:51:01 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the Liberals and, I suppose, the Green member as well, along with the NDP members, like to tout this line that, somehow, the carbon tax is saving the planet. We just do not have any evidence to that, none, zero. I have in front of me the Climate Change Performance Index. It shows that Canada is performing at number 62. Further to that, the stats show that Canada has not met a single one of its carbon targets, not a single one. Instead, we just have a tax that is punitive in nature and that goes after Canadians for just buying groceries, heating their homes and driving their vehicles. Those are daily necessities in Canadian life. Shame on those members for punishing them just for living.

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Carbon

Mr. Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay (Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, BQ)

Mar/21/24 1:51:54 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, if we are talking about inflation, we are also talking about the price at the pump. Since we are talking about the carbon tax, let us talk about the price ordinary people pay at the pump. As users, they continue to pay high prices while oil and gas companies rake in record profits. Moreover, these companies are receiving a double gift, because taxpayers also continue to support them to the tune of billions of dollars. Does my colleague agree that we should stop supporting the oil and gas companies with taxpayers' money?

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Mrs. Rachael Thomas

Mar/21/24 1:52:30 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, again, the issue at hand here today is the current government and the imposition of a carbon tax. On April 1, it is going up by 23%. There is zero proof to show that the carbon tax is somehow saving the planet. There is zero proof that any carbon emission targets are being met. In fact, to the contrary, there is proof to show that none of them have been. Furthermore, I have a Climate Change Performance Index from 2024 right here in front of me, and it shows that Canada ranks number 62. The carbon tax is not working, but it is punishing Canadians who are working hard, who are heating their homes, who are driving to work and who are just trying to make ends meet. Shame on the Liberal government.

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Mr. Warren Steinley (Regina—Lewvan, CPC)

Mar/21/24 1:53:20 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the one question I would ask of my hon. colleague is this: Do Liberals not understand that the rebate that they are bending over backward trying to explain and that they are giving to Canadians, is Canadians' money already? They would not have to give a rebate to all Canadians if they would not take the money in the first place. I do not understand how the Liberals and their NDP stooges do not understand that. If they would not take the money out of Canadians' pockets, they would not have to bend over backward with this rebate. It is not revenue-neutral, as the Parliamentary Budget Officer has said. They are keeping $2 billion of the carbon taxes they are collecting and are using it on their pet projects. Why can they not just let Canadians keep the money they earned in the first place?

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Mrs. Rachael Thomas

Mar/21/24 1:54:16 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, my colleague brings up a really good point. The government claims that it is somehow doing Canadians a favour by taking a whole lot of their cash and then giving a few pennies back. Then somehow the Liberals come to this conclusion that therefore the carbon tax is a good thing and Canadians want it. In fact, 70% of Canadians say they do not want it and 70% of premiers say they do not want it. The fact of the matter is that in the province of Alberta, the folks in my area are $1,000 a year worse off because of the carbon tax. While they might get a small pittance back, it is nothing in comparison to the amount they are having to cede over to the government. This whole false claim that somehow Liberals are benefiting Canadians is absolutely wrong, and they should be ashamed of themselves.

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Mr. Francis Scarpaleggia (Lac-Saint-Louis, Lib.)

Mar/21/24 1:55:23 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is true that inflation poses a challenge to Canadians. Food inflation poses a challenge to Canadians. However, study after study, rigorous analysis after rigorous analysis, by competent economists has shown that the contribution of the price of carbon pollution to food inflation is negligible. One figure that I read was that it contributes 0.15% to food inflation; that is to the increase in the price of food. In fact, an interesting point was brought up at the environment committee the other day by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment, the member for Milton. He said that many food bank operators were quite worried about what would happen if the price on carbon were repealed, because the impact would be such that those who would go to the food banks would lose the Canada carbon rebate. They are quite worried. I have not heard of any food bank operator, quite frankly, calling for the repeal of the price on carbon. What is impacting food inflation? It is something called the war in Ukraine. The war in Ukraine caused the international energy crisis to spike. It caused grain prices to spike. What is Ukraine called? It is called the bread basket of Europe. The war has constrained its supply of grain, putting upward pressure on food prices. Why do the Conservatives never talk about that? I will tell members why. They are very sheepish when it comes to Ukraine because they are ashamed. They are ashamed that they did not support the Canada-Ukraine free trade act, an act that would permit Ukraine to enter into the European Union, the economic union. What the Conservatives also—

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Mr. Kyle Seeback

Mar/21/24 1:57:58 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. That statement is patently false. A free trade agreement with Canada cannot be used to enter the European Union. Those two things—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Mar/21/24 1:58:09 p.m.
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That is debate. I will let the hon. member continue.

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Continue
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Mr. Francis Scarpaleggia

Mar/21/24 1:58:13 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, let me rephrase that. The Conservatives voted against the free trade agreement because it mentioned that Canada and Ukraine would work together to promote carbon pricing around the world. Ukraine has a carbon price. It needs a carbon price to get into the European economic union. I should have phrased that better. In fact, our own country needs a carbon price to trade internationally into the future, because there is something called carbon border adjustments and Europe is in the process of implementing carbon border adjustments. I am sharing my time with the member for Elmwood—Transcona, Madam Speaker. Carbon border price adjustments are adjustments that are put on the imports of goods coming from countries that do not price carbon. That means that if Canada would not have an output-based carbon pricing system for example, like the one that exists in Alberta, Canadian companies would be penalized when they try to trade with the European economic union. By talking about removing output-based pricing, by talking about removing the price on carbon, the Conservatives really are talking about penalizing Canadian companies in international markets, as carbon border pricing adjustments start to take effect. Canadians should understand that what the Conservatives are proposing will hurt the Canadian economy in the long run.

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Alberta

Ms. Lena Metlege Diab (Halifax West, Lib.)

Mar/21/24 1:59:55 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, epilepsy affects over 300,000 Canadians. Today, I want to applaud advocates like Cassidy Megan, who at age seven was diagnosed and at age 8, in 2008, created the idea of Purple Day, a day that has grown to be internationally recognized to increase epilepsy awareness, dispel myths and let those who have seizures know that they are not alone. I applaud my predecessor, the Hon. Geoff Regan, who in 2012 put forward an act in Parliament recognizing March 26 as Purple Day for Epilepsy; and families and caregivers, like Zana Fares-Choueiri, Halifax's Purple Day Gala's honorary chair, who continues to share the experience of her daughter Brooklyn, who turned 13 this month and has struggled with epilepsy since she was nine months old. I encourage everyone to wear purple on March 26, to learn first aid for seizures, to help destigmatize epilepsy and to support efforts to find a cure.

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Mr. Ted Falk (Provencher, CPC)

Mar/21/24 2:01:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, soon, Christians around the world will gather to celebrate Easter, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Two thousand years ago, Jesus died on the cross, crucified for the sins of humanity, for our sins. Then, on the third day, he rose from the dead, defeating sin and death, and bringing the gift of eternal life to all who believe. Historical evidence of eyewitness accounts, transmitted over thousands of years, proves the resurrection. For Christians, it is the most pivotal moment of our faith, because the Bible says that without the resurrection our faith is in vain. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ offers forgiveness and healing from sin to all who believe. It is the only pathway to true reconciliation between God and humanity, between God and us. However, it is up to each of us, by faith, to claim and accept this gift. It is the miracle of the empty tomb that prompts the Easter greeting “Christ is risen” and the response of Christians everywhere “He is risen indeed”. I wish you, Mr. Speaker, and all Canadians a happy and blessed Easter.

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Mr. Michael McLeod (Northwest Territories, Lib.)

Mar/21/24 2:02:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the 2024 Arctic Winter Games just wrapped up in the Mat-Su Valley in south central Alaska this past weekend. These games, held every two years in the Arctic region, include 21 indoor and outdoor sports, from hockey and biathlon to volleyball and table tennis, as well as traditional Arctic sports and Dene games. This year, for the first time, the Dene games included an open women's category, a long overdue change and one that will encourage women and girls to keep up their traditional practices. I offer special congratulations to one of the gold medal winners in the Dene games, my daughter Shawna. With the games being held in Alaska, for many athletes it meant international travel for the very first time. A big thanks to the Minister of Citizens’ Services and Service Canada staff for going above and beyond in ensuring everyone had their last-minute passports. I congratulate all the medal winners and all those who qualified and attended. It was an incredible experience for young athletes who train very hard to make their teams and represent their territories. Mahsi cho.

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Mrs. Élisabeth Brière (Sherbrooke, Lib.)

Mar/21/24 2:03:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for more than 50 years, the Quebec Games have given young people from all regions of Quebec the opportunity to compete in a wide range of sports. From hockey to speed skating to cross-country skiing, the 18 sports events at the winter games offer something for everyone. This year was very special for me because the 58th Quebec Winter Games were held in my riding, Sherbrooke. The athletes from the Eastern Townships did our region proud by winning 36 medals. I would like to congratulate them all on their accomplishments and encourage them to persevere and have fun playing their sport. I want to congratulate Jérémy Bouchard, who won four gold medals and one bronze in short-track speed skating, and Alexandra Perreault, who won three silver medals in gymnastics. I would also like to thank the organizing committee and the hundreds of volunteers who made this event possible. Their commitment gave 2,500 young athletes an experience they will never forget.

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The Speaker

Mar/21/24 2:04:35 p.m.
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I want to apologize to the member for Repentigny for skipping her name. The hon. member for Repentigny.

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Ms. Monique Pauzé (Repentigny, BQ)

Mar/21/24 2:04:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, World Water Day has been held every March 22 since 1992. Canada's geographical area contains 20% of the world's freshwater reserves, while 2.2 billion people live without clean drinking water. We have a collective responsibility to show solidarity in confronting this reality, but Canada's governance of this life-giving natural resource is questionable for a number of reasons. It is refusing to intervene at Chalk River, where radioactivity poses a risk to the drinking water of millions of people. It has not always provided safe, clean drinking water to all indigenous nations. It approves requests by private industrial interests to limit regulation and consultation. It turns a blind eye when toxic spills from the oil sands enter rivers that play a vital role in the daily lives of many indigenous communities, which are now struggling with incurable forms of cancer. It is high time that Canada woke up.

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Mr. John Brassard (Barrie—Innisfil, CPC)

Mar/21/24 2:05:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Helen Horodynsky, who passed away March 13 at the age of 100. Helen was born in the Sumy area of eastern Ukraine. She lived through the Holodomor and the Second World War as forced farm labour in Austria. Helen met her husband, Walter, when they were in the Red Cross DP camps near Salzburg, Austria, and immigrated to Canada in 1949 with Walter and a daughter. She would later have five more children in Canada. Like all Ukrainians, Helen had a strong work ethic that she passed on to her children. She worked well into her nineties on her son Boris's farms in Barrie and Innisfil. In her late eighties, she would weed the onion fields well into the the evening and would only leave after she was told to. Helen came to Canada from Ukraine with nothing but determination and the hope of a better life for her family. She was loyal and proud of her hard-working family, loyal and proud to be Canadian, and loyal and proud of her beloved Ukraine. Canada is a better nation because of Helen's contribution to it and the contributions of all Canadians of Ukrainian descent.

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