44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 19, 2024 10:00AM
Madam Speaker, especially in British Columbia and the North Okanagan-Shuswap, Canadians are seeing that, after nine years, the Prime Minister and his NDP-Liberal government are simply not worth the cost.
Their April 1 carbon tax increase of 23% has seen gas prices push past $1.75 per litre in the interior and over the $2 mark in other parts of B.C. The carbon tax only adds to the costs for farmers, who have no choice but to pay if they are to produce food for Canadian families. One chicken farmer in the Shuswap paid over $100,000 last year alone, just for his carbon tax bill. Because of the NDP-Liberal government that carbon tax bill will increase another 23% this year, making it even more difficult for Canadian families to afford food.
Will the Prime Minister take the step to axe the tax on farmers and food by immediately passing Bill C-234 in its original form, or will he continue to prove that he and his NDP partners are simply not worth the cost?
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Madam Speaker, speaking of people who are out of touch, they are providing a very clear illustration of that this morning.
I invite the government and the Bloc Québécois to go to Beauce today to tell the farmers that the carbon tax has no impact in Quebec. I have room in my car if they want to get in after question period.
If there is no farming, then there is no food. That is something that the Bloc-Liberal coalition does not understand. The Bloc Québécois wants to radically increase the carbon tax again, proving once more that it is costly to vote for the Bloc Québécois.
Will the government take action and pass Bill C‑234 in its original form?
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Madam Speaker, I do not know why a member from Quebec is asking that question. The carbon tax has no impact on Quebec. I am pleased that a member from Ontario can tell him so.
In the meantime, I hope he will lobby his colleagues who are responsible for introducing Bill C‑234. The Conservatives had the chance to do it when we come back, but they traded two bills and Bill C‑234 was not one of them.
It is not my fault or the government's fault. It is their fault.
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- Apr/19/24 11:29:09 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is very interesting. I have heard the member for a number of years talk about the issues he raised but also about a vision for the environment. I am wondering where exactly the NDP is on these things.
Carbon pricing is vital to this country's future. It really reflects an approach of responsibility from an environmental policy perspective that I thought New Democrats stood for, but they are wavering and flip-flopping. I sympathize, as others do, with them. It is a very difficult time. They have tough decisions to make, but I hope they end up on the right side of history with this issue; I really do.
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- Apr/19/24 11:31:00 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the economists and the experts I listen to are the people in my riding paying $1.80 a litre for gasoline now. The Prime Minister could reduce the price of a litre of gas by 20¢ right now by axing the carbon tax.
The Liberals have out-of-control spending and Canadians are broke. Rent and mortgages are doubling. Inflation is through the roof. We spend more money to service the debt than we do in transfers to the provinces on health care. Canadians are tapped out. They are saying there is no relief from the government.
When will the Prime Minister do the right thing and call a carbon tax election?
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- Apr/19/24 11:31:45 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, let us listen to another expert. The former Conservative prime minister of the U.K., Boris Johnson, came to Canada to teach the Conservative Party a lesson about the dangers of climate change denial nonsense. He said, “voters...continue to care deeply about the environment, and they want solutions that are going to be cost effective.” We agree. Both the PBO and over 350 economists agree that, with the carbon pricing rebates, eight out of 10 will be better off.
The Conservatives' only plan is to let the planet burn. Their chief insult—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Apr/19/24 11:33:07 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is important that we be clear. Under the previous Conservative government, emissions were on the way up with no plan to bring them down. We are on track to meet our 2026 targets. We are on track to meet the Paris targets. We are taking the action needed to reduce emissions.
However, more than that, if we are going to talk about affordability, let us talk about an economist from Calgary, who said, “carbon pricing is definitively not to blame for affordability challenges.” Again, I am going to listen to the economists.
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Madam Speaker, after nine years, the NDP-Liberal government has hit Canadians with another carbon tax increase of 23%. Grocery prices are climbing, making families choose between heating and eating.
Conservatives tried to ease this burden by passing Bill C-234, which axes the tax on farmers. However, this week, the Liberals blocked it. They are hell-bent on making life more expensive. If they are so confident in their costly plan, will they let Canadians decide and call for a carbon tax election?
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- Apr/19/24 11:40:06 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to be clear about the affordability piece to the way the carbon price works. It is a carbon price and a carbon rebate. I believe that the members opposite should be very clear with their constituents about whether they are asking for the carbon rebates to not land in their bank accounts.
Again, going back to what the economists state, an economist reviewed the carbon pricing and rebate system and said that they estimate that the medium annual net cost of carbon taxes for households in Ontario in 2023 was negative, meaning that most households received $300 more in rebates than they paid in carbon taxes.
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Madam Speaker, after the release of the tax-and-spend budget this week, everyone knows that the NDP-Liberal government, after nine long years, and the Prime Minister are just not worth the cost.
Bill C-234 was to provide some desperately needed relief for our farmers who produce food for Canadians. That bill passed this chamber. Then the Prime Minister bullied the senators into gutting that bill and leaving Canadians with higher costs.
When will the Prime Minister call for a vote on the original bill or call a carbon tax election?
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- Apr/19/24 11:54:11 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am so pleased to hear the Bloc Québécois say something that is completely true: The federal carbon tax does not apply in Quebec. The Bloc Québécois should talk to the Conservatives about this, because the Conservatives cannot seem to get that through their heads.
On this side of the House, we agree that all sectors of the economy must reduce their emissions. That includes oil and gas companies. We are doing the work to make sure that happens.
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