- Member of Parliament
- Member of Parliament
- Independent
- Spadina—Fort York
- Ontario
- Voting Attendance: 62%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $144,966.01
- Government Page
- Nov/1/23 3:25:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, 24 Liberal MPs supposedly represent Toronto. Using the Minister of Rural Economic Development's handbook to get things done, how come none of those 24 MPs are standing up for people sleeping on Toronto streets?
They are also missing in action to get the government to honour its promise to assist Toronto with our COVID budget shortfall. Many Torontonians will struggle to heat and, hopefully, keep their homes this winter. They would like a carbon tax deferral too.
While the two Liberal MPs from Alberta can hold their regional caucus in a phone booth, can the Prime Minister explain how this Toronto 24 have simply disappeared?
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- Jun/1/23 12:58:15 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to read into the record an analysis by the Hon. Dan McTeague. He spent 18 years serving in this place as a Liberal MP, and he now serves as the president of Canadians for Affordable Energy. He states, “The Clean Fuel Standard is simply another tax grab by this government that will raise the cost of everything with no benefit to the environment.” He adds, “It is shocking that this government insists on moving forward with another ineffective tax during a time of soaring household costs”.
What is my colleague's analysis on how this tax is going to drive up household costs?
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- Apr/19/23 3:15:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, most Canadians know that the federal carbon tax is a farce. It siphons 14.3¢ a litre from the pockets of consumers. It increases the cost of living. It contributes to inflation and it causes even higher food prices. Sadly, the carbon tax does little to fight climate change. Equally disturbing, there is tax cascading, where the government levies the GST on all the other gasoline taxes. It is taxing taxes.
If the Prime Minister wants to provide a meaningful, sustained rebate to financially struggling Canadians, why does he not lower his carbon tax cash cow and axe the tax on gasoline taxes?
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- Apr/19/23 3:14:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, most Canadians know that the federal carbon tax is a farce. It siphons 14.3¢ a litre from the pockets of consumers. It increases the cost of living. It contributes to inflation and it causes even higher food prices. Sadly, the carbon tax does little to fight climate change. Equally disturbing, there is—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Nov/1/22 6:21:51 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, what my colleague did not read from the government talking points is direct research that analyzes the impact of the clean fuel standard. This research by Professor Ross McKitrick found that the net international effect of this is likely to be an increase in greenhouse gas emissions.
I want to ask my hon. colleague, who appears to be just as oblivious as the government to the harsh realities facing so many Canadians, if it would be possible to at least delay the implementation of the second carbon tax by six months. This is not a political thing; it is the right thing to do for Canadians who are struggling.
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- Nov/1/22 6:16:06 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I welcome the opportunity to further debate the government's second carbon tax: the clean fuel standard. As I alluded to in my initial question, it would be unconscionable for the government to proceed with introducing a second carbon tax, one with limited efficacy, at a time when Canadians are facing incredible financial hardship. This is no game. It is very real.
I ask the hon. member to pretend for a moment to be a pensioner living in Atlantic Canada where most people use oil to heat their homes. This new tax will further increase the cost during a long, cold winter.
Perhaps my colleague could imagine being part of a family of four in downtown Toronto as they dread the weekly trip to the grocery store. Food inflation is at 11.4%. It is the highest in 40 years. Half of Canadians, me included, have only ever known this to be the highest in their lifetime. People are struggling to put food on the table and some are going without a meal. Canadians also worry about being able to make their rent payment or their monthly mortgage payment.
Can the hon. member please explain why the government would want to proceed with a second carbon tax that will increase household energy costs by up to 6.5%? That is an additional annual cost of $1,277.
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- Oct/21/22 12:08:04 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, a report by economist Ross McKitrick has exposed the true cost of the government's clean fuel standard. This second carbon tax would increase per-household energy costs up to 6.5% a year. That is an extra tax of $1,277 annually. With food inflation at 11.4% and families struggling to afford basic necessities, the government is going to make things worse, a lot worse.
The government says this tax would reduce Canada's carbon intensity footprint. Will the government admit that it would be minimal at best and achieved on the backs of Canadians working in the bleak economy predicted by the finance minister?
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- Jun/22/22 10:22:25 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, my colleague listed a number of things that he says his government is doing. Who is paying for these things? It is Canadians. It is Canadians' hard-earned taxpayer dollars that are being used to fund these things.
However, I did not really hear anything beyond great, grand commitments. How does that help someone who is struggling? It is cold comfort to someone who is sitting at the table at the end of the night, wondering whether they can feed their family next week.
What I hope my hon. colleague could help me to better understand is not a rehashing of things that have already been announced but what Canadians can expect, what my constituents can count on as they struggle to pay their bills.
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- Jun/22/22 10:15:13 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, Canadians are struggling with soaring gas prices and the highest increase in food costs and inflation in 40 years. While Canadians are struggling, the government has refused to provide relief, despite the fact that it is raking in billions off the backs of consumers. Worst of all, the government is filling its massive fuel slush fund by the taxing of taxes. I speak, of course, of the HST being applied to the federal excise tax on fuel, the federal carbon tax on fuel and the provincial tax, never mind the product. My god, I am sure that if the Liberals could get away with it, they would put a tax on a tax on a tax.
This is why I am going to ask the government, for a fifth time now, to please help Canadians.
I know that my colleague will likely have some government talking points. I am going to help him out, so that we can really get to the substance of this debate.
The Liberals are likely going to cite child care. Yes, child care is great. I support child care, but how does $10-a-day child care help Canadians if they cannot afford the gas to take their child to day care? What about those of us who do not have kids or whose kids are adults now?
The Liberals will tell us that inflation is a challenge that multiple countries are facing. They might even list the countries where inflation is worse than in Canada, but our concern should be our constituents and Canadians here. How does the fact that it is worse elsewhere help those of us struggling here at home?
The Liberals might mention that payments are coming from the carbon tax and list the projected amounts that families are supposed to be rebated. When? People need help now. Can people expect payments when they can still afford to make a mortgage or rent payment or when they can still afford to put food on the table?
The Liberals will likely also cite how supply chains and many things are outside of the government's control. Do members know what the federal government has complete control of? It has complete control over how it chooses to use the massive slush fund of at least $2.5 billion. That is $2.5 billion extra that the government had not budgeted for or earmarked, the windfall.
Doing nothing is a choice. If the government wants to choose to continue to tax taxes, that is its prerogative, but I will plead with my hon. colleague to please put himself in the shoes of people who dread the end of the month and who wonder whether or not they will be able to make their bill payments. People are at their breaking point. They need help.
I hope that the fifth time is the charm and that this fifth call on the government will be enough to persuade it to help struggling Canadians.
Therefore, I ask my hon. colleague this: Will the government stop taxing taxes and will it please help Canadians who are struggling?
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- Jun/15/22 3:14:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are facing soaring gas prices. However, most consumers are unaware of the federal government's hidden fleecing. It is called “tax cascading”, and it must stop.
In Ontario, the government applies HST to fuel purchases and then applies it to the excise tax, the carbon tax and the provincial tax. The government is taxing taxes. If it is serious about helping Canadians, the government should take its triple-dipping tax hands out of consumers' pockets.
Will the Prime Minister eliminate tax cascading and provide Canadians with a fuel tax rebate from the massive slush fund that he is raking in?
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