So V ote

Context: House Hansard - 312 - May/9/24

May/9/24 8:11:41 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, this way of thinking put forward by the Liberal government is absurd. We have folks across Canada, about 96% of them, who are dependent on natural gas for heating, which is not exactly an option in this country. I come from Alberta, and we need to heat our homes in the winter. I think most other places, if not all other places in this country, need to heat their homes in the middle of winter. I think that is just a basic necessity of human life. Further to that, I come from a riding that is largely rural. Getting on a city bus or transit train is not really an option, so they depend on being able to drive a vehicle in order to provide for themselves or to get from point A to point B. Further to that, the transportation of goods in this nation is reliant on transportation units, such as semis and trains. If we continue to attach a carbon tax to these necessities, these things that are just a part of our way of life, it is not going to bring down carbon emissions; it has been in place for eight years now. It clearly—

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May/9/24 8:10:55 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the hon. member just compared the carbon tax to advertising against cigarettes. In the same way advertising against cigarettes helped bring down the usage rate, I believe the argument she is making is that a carbon tax would also bring down the usage rate of fuels. An hon. member: Oh, oh!

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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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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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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

Context: House Hansard - 291 - Mar/19/24

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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Context: House Hansard - 285 - Feb/26/24

Mar/19/24 2:45:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, last year in my riding, Kolk Farms, a local producer, was forced to pay $62,000 just in carbon tax on its natural gas alone. That is $62,000. What the Liberal-NDP government does not understand, because it is so out of touch, is that when Canadians go to the grocery store, they pick up that bill when they buy groceries for their families. Canadians are already struggling. Now, on April 1, they are going to face another increase of 23%. Will the Prime Minister spike the hike and axe the tax?

95 words

Context: House Hansard - 285 - Feb/26/24

Feb/26/24 2:36:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is shameful that my colleagues across the way would clap for a 23% increase in the carbon tax when Canadians are lining up at food banks in insurmountable numbers. Millions of Canadians cannot afford to put food on their table and these folks over here stand and clap. That is shameful. When will they grow— Some hon. members: Oh, oh! Mrs. Rachael Thomas: Mr. Speaker, you can call them to account.

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Context: House Hansard - 270 - Jan/29/24

Feb/26/24 2:35:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, common-sense Conservatives will axe the tax, build the homes, stop the crime and fix the budget. That is our commitment to Canadians. Meanwhile, the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister cannot help but skyrocket the crime and increase the corruption. Of course, he is just not worth the cost because he is causing it to go through the roof. He is incredibly hypocritical because for him pollution is free. He can jet-set around the world while Canadians continue to pay. On April 1, they will see an increase of 23% on the carbon tax. My question is simple: Will the Liberals finally side with Conservatives and scrap the tax?

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Context: House Hansard - 257 - Nov/28/23

Jan/29/24 2:39:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, never before have we seen ignorance used as a political strategy the way the current Liberal government uses it. It is shameful. At the end of the day, Canadians are struggling, day in and day out, to be able to heat their homes, to be able to put food on their tables and to be able to care for their families. The carbon tax only increases that cost more, and on April 1, the carbon tax is scheduled to go up yet again. The government is going to hike it again on April 1. Would the government choose to put its feet into reality and acknowledge the struggle everyday Canadians face? Will it show a bit of compassion, scrap the tax and stop the increase?

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Context: House Hansard - 257 - Nov/28/23

Nov/28/23 1:58:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is an important question for all of us to understand, because many are without comprehension of how the carbon tax continues to accumulate. The farmer puts the seed in the ground and uses fuel to do so. That seed is then watered and energy is used to bring the water up and apply it to the land. After watching that seed grow, it eventually has to be harvested and there is a carbon tax attached to that process. Then, when drying it, there is a carbon tax attached to the process. Eventually, when that material, that raw good, is transported, there is a carbon tax attached to that. Then when it is processed, there is a carbon tax attached to that. It is then transported again and there is another carbon tax attached to that. Eventually, it will make its way into the grocery store, and there is a carbon tax attached to keeping it there. Then it is purchased, and there is a carbon tax attached to that. Once it is transported home, there is a carbon tax on that. Eventually, once it is cooked and prepared, there is a carbon tax on that as well. There is a whole lot of carbon tax.

208 words

Context: House Hansard - 221 - Sep/20/23

Nov/28/23 1:54:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for the sake of the farmers who pay into that union, I would ask the member to table the document that professes what he says it professes, because I am doubtful that it exists. Living in a farming community, I have not had one single person come to me to say they want the carbon tax to stay. My request is simple. I would ask the member to table the document. Then I would be happy to concede.

80 words

Context: House Hansard - 221 - Sep/20/23

Sep/20/23 3:10:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am glad to hear the hon. member concede that, despite the carbon tax, nothing is being accomplished in taking care of the environment and getting us to a better place. Canadians are certainly worse off. They are struggling to afford the basic necessities of life. They are going to the grocery store, literally spending hundreds of dollars and walking out with nothing more than a couple bags of groceries. That is not okay, and after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, Canadians are fed up. They cannot afford the cost anymore. When will the government finally make the right decision, axe the tax and give Canadians hope?

111 words

Context: House Hansard - 162 - Feb/16/23

Sep/20/23 3:09:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, somehow life is less affordable than it has ever been because there is this punitive thing called the carbon tax, which the Liberals have applied to every single heating bill of Canadians, every single grocery bill of Canadians and every single fuel cost that Canadians incur at the pump. Canadians are struggling to make ends meet, and the government does not care. There is a very tangible action that could be taken on behalf of Canadians, and that is to scrap the tax. When will the government find itself on side with the Canadian public and finally get rid of the punitive carbon tax?

106 words

Context: House Hansard - 159 - Feb/13/23

Feb/16/23 2:36:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what I find interesting is that the members opposite continuously, when they are asked about the carbon tax, talk about the incentives that are being given out in a monetary fashion from the government, but they are not able to talk about any difference that is being made with regard to the environment. After eight years of the Liberal Prime Minister, Canadians can no longer afford to eat, or heat or house themselves. Life is expensive. Canadians are feeling the pain. A Conservative government would keep the heat on and take the tax off. Will the Prime Minister do the same?

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Context: House Hansard - 144 - Dec/8/22

Feb/13/23 2:16:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years under the current Prime Minister, we live in a country where parents are actually watering down their baby formula in order to make ends meet and seniors are turning down their thermostats or choosing to skip meals in order to be able to pay their bills. The Liberals continue to shrug their shoulders and say they are not responsible. When asked about the carbon tax, a Liberal MP quipped, “There needs to be a bit of pain there. That's the point”. I guess the Liberals are achieving their goal. Canadians are definitely feeling the pain. A young mother recently came into my office and shared with me that when she opens her home heating bill, it feels like a gut punch. She has to choose between properly feeding her family and paying the bill. Canadians are out of money and cannot afford to eat, heat or house themselves. They are without hope and living in a broken Canada. Canadians deserve a brand new government that will put control back in their hands. Conservatives will keep the heat on and take the tax off.

191 words

Context: House Hansard - 141 - Dec/5/22

Dec/8/22 4:13:12 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, indeed, the member is an honourable one, so we can call him that. The member is asking a very good question and is making my point exactly. It seems rather ridiculous to be applying a carbon tax to something that people must use. In Canada, we do not really have a choice as to whether to heat our homes, so we do, but we get penalized with a carbon tax. Many of us do not really have a choice in this vast country as to whether we need a car to get to work. Why are those individuals being penalized for making a living? The member opposite is a member of Parliament. He takes a plane here to represent his constituents. Why is that being penalized? These are very good questions, and I encourage him to ask his government.

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Context: House Hansard - 141 - Dec/5/22

Dec/5/22 5:13:33 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-32

Mr. Speaker, honestly, we have such an honest answer in the one the member across the way just gave, that the carbon tax is bad. I agree with him wholeheartedly: It is really bad. It is doing absolutely nothing to save the planet, but it is doing a whole lot to punish Canadians.

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