- Member of Parliament
- Member of Parliament
- Conservative
- Calgary Forest Lawn
- Alberta
- Voting Attendance: 64%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $131,041.76
- Government Page
- Nov/6/23 3:03:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister plans on quadrupling the tax on gas, groceries and home heating. He gave 3% of Canadians a pause on the carbon tax for home heating where his poll numbers were tanking and his MPs were revolting. The Liberal rural affairs minister said that if people in the Prairies wanted a pause on the tax, they should elect more Liberals. The MP for Calgary Skyview is a Liberal, but his constituents do not get the pause.
Will the Prime Minister let that member mail in a free vote on our common-sense Conservative motion to take the tax off and keep the heat on and shove this carbon tax where the Prime Minister's poll numbers are, in the gutter?
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Madam Speaker, I am going to be splitting my time with my good friend and colleague, the great member for Foothills, who is from the great province of Alberta.
Before I get started, let me give another shout-out to another fellow Albertan, another colleague in this House who has done incredible work on this unjust legislation, the member for Lakeland. She has been an absolute advocate not only for our province but also for our world-class and world-leading energy sector.
The world needs more clean, responsible low-carbon energy. Not only does the world need Canada's world-class energy, but Canadians need it too. They need it not only to heat their homes, keep the lights on and fuel their vehicles, but for the economic benefit it brings.
After eight years of the incompetent Liberal-NDP government, it is just not worth the cost for Canadians or our resource sector. Canada is last among developed countries for GDP per capita growth. Canadians are suffering with the worst GDP per capita growth rate since the Great Depression, or since the 1930s. GDP per person in Canada today is just under what it was halfway through 2018. That means Canada has had five years' worth of economic productivity wiped out.
According to the OECD, Canada will remain last among developed countries for GDP per capita growth through 2060. The government has been doing one thing really well, which is chasing investment out of our country. As our leader once said, all of our exes are running away to Texas.
The costly Liberal-NDP coalition has not just been chasing investment out of our country, but chasing out jobs, people and talent as well. People do not want to move to this country because they do not see a future here anymore. When my family came here as immigrants, there was a hope in Canada that if one put in hard work, one would be able to see the fruits of that labour. However, after years of the Liberal-NDP Prime Minister, all that hope has been wiped away by bad economic policy that has told the world that Canada is not open for business anymore.
This unjust legislation would further hurt Canada's economy and reputation on the world stage, as if the Prime Minister's reputation has not already damaged Canada enough.
The Coalition of Concerned Manufacturers and Businesses of Canada was formed just a few years ago to advocate against the government's anti-competitive and antiworker policies. Now half of its manufacturer members have already moved or are moving their operations out of Canada.
The green industry in Canada will not even make a dent in the kind of economic development and growth needed for recovery. In 2007, the clean-tech sector was 3% of Canada's GDP. Today, even after billions and billions of tax dollars and government subsidies and billions more in private sector investment, it is still only 3%, and 1.6% of employment.
Despite the anti-energy agenda by the Liberal-NDP government, the unconstitutional “no more pipelines” bill, Bill C-69, the tanker ban bill, Bill C-48, cancelling Energy East, cancelling Keystone XL and not building any of the 18 LNG projects proposed when the Prime Minister took office, Canada's energy sector still represents 10% of our GDP and, with the related manufacturing that comes with it, contributes over $120 billion to our economy. Canada needs its energy sector to be strong to attract businesses, investments and jobs in order to get our economic growth and productivity back on track.
The Liberal-NDP government loves nothing more than to vilify profit or the success of large Canadian industries. When it comes to Canada's energy sector, it is like a sport for the left to see who can hate it the most. There is a big cost to these failed Liberal-NDP policies, these anti-energy and anti-Canada policies. These attacks will throw at least 170,000 people out of work across the country, many of them in my home province of Alberta and many in my riding of Calgary Forest Lawn. They will displace another 450,000 workers and risk the livelihoods of 2.7 million Canadians in all provinces and sectors, regardless of whether they are working class or middle class.
We know that people would lose jobs with the unjust transition the left is proposing. We already saw it in Ontario under Kathleen Wynne with the green energy program, which killed off nearly 100,000 jobs directly. The 50,000 green jobs those Liberals promised to create never materialized. In Alberta, the Rachel Notley NDP, in 2015, implemented a just transition, and in small mining towns like Hanna, just north of Calgary, workers were promised new green jobs once their coal mining jobs were wiped out. Just as in Ontario, over 1,000 workers left town because the jobs that had been promised were not there. This was in a town of just under 3,000 people, and 1,000 were driven out of work and out of town.
The sheer number of job losses we are talking about on a national scale is devastating, especially at a time when Canadians face a cost of living crisis. Sixty per cent of Canadians are choosing cheaper, less nutritious food because they cannot afford healthy options. Millions of Canadians are visiting food banks as families choose between keeping a roof over their head and keeping food on the table. Nearly a third of mortgage holders are concerned they will not be able to afford their mortgage, as interest rates could increase monthly payments by 40% or higher.
It is not just the jobs, livelihoods and communities that suffer when the Liberal-NDP government attacks our energy industry. It is also hurting Canadian pensions. The Canadian pension plan and Ontario pension plan invest billions in Canada's oil and gas sector because they know it is a good return on investment. In fact, seven of the largest pension funds in Canada remain invested in Canadian oil and gas. By firing energy workers and attacking our world-class energy sector, the Liberal-NDP coalition is attacking the retirement security of Canadian seniors and workers.
There is a huge impact of this unjust transition on communities and Canadians. There is nothing fair, equitable or remotely just in this blatant anti-energy attack. The Liberal-NDP government, with its war on Canadian jobs and paycheques, is not worth the cost. Canadian energy companies provide good-paying jobs, even good union jobs, for Canadians.
As an example, the Keystone XL pipeline project was to employ 1,400 direct and 5,400 indirect jobs in Alberta alone. The province and TC Energy partnered with Natural Law Energy, an indigenous-led and indigenous-run company. Many of the Canadians who worked on the project were indigenous. The economic benefit for Albertans in surrounding rural communities kept people employed and businesses running.
Canadian energy companies are also leaders in the investment and development of clean technology. Seventy-five per cent of private sector investment in clean technology comes from the oil and gas sector.
Canada's energy sector contributes $48 billion in taxes and royalties to all levels of government. These continuous attacks on our energy sector drive up the cost of gas, groceries and home heating. We do not need to go very far to ask a Canadian about that. We have talked to Canadians all across this country who just last winter were hit with the failed policies of the Liberal-NDP government when we saw the cost of heating homes double and saw gas prices at record levels. All of these things are contributing to the cost of living crisis we see today with the failed carbon tax scam that the Liberal-NDP government continues to introduce.
It was not like this before the Liberal-NDP government and it will not be like that after the Liberal-NDP government, because when the member for Carleton becomes prime minister of this country, we are going to bring it home. Conservatives will bring home energy production to Canada to produce energy here and create jobs to get Canadians good paycheques instead of giving dollars to dictators. We will green-light green projects like tidal water, hydro, hydrogen and LNG. We are going to make sure that we support our seniors by axing the failed carbon tax to bring down the cost of gas, groceries and home heating and bring home lower prices. We are going to bring it home for Canadians.
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- Feb/14/23 10:31:31 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is too bad the NDP does not talk about government greed, the greed that actually is hurting Canadians. That is the tough part. New Democrats actually team up with the Liberal government to make sure home heating is more expensive, gas is more expensive and groceries are more expensive. Conservatives will make sure we axe the tax and make sure Canadians can keep the heat on.
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- Feb/7/23 2:33:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, maybe they should start taxing the hot air coming out of the minister's mouth.
Canadians are watching the hypocrisy of the Liberal government taking more under its failed carbon tax scam while emissions go up because it has missed every climate change target it has set. Liberal inflation is driving up food prices and this failed carbon tax is contributing to one in five Canadians skipping meals.
Will the Liberals finally show some humility and take off the tax so that Canadians can keep the heat on, or do they think there is no business case for struggling Canadians to eat and heat their homes?
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- Feb/7/23 2:31:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the current Liberal Prime Minister, Canadians are suffering more than ever. His out-of-control spending fuelled a 40-year high in inflation. Rents have doubled. Home heating has doubled. Even food inflation has gone up. He pile-drove Canadians further by taking more off their paycheques and is going to take even more and cause even more suffering when he triple, triple, triples his failed carbon tax scam.
Will the Prime Minister show some humility and take the tax off so that Canadians can keep the heat on?
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- Dec/13/22 2:35:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our hearts and prayers are also with Jim Carr's family and friends.
Liberal insiders are the only ones benefiting from reckless Liberal spending. The Liberal trade minister's friend is the perfect example. She just got caught breaking ethics laws for giving her friend a lucrative contract.
This kind of wasteful spending is driving more and more Canadians into food banks. For every hard-earned dollar Canadians make, they owe $1.83. Failed Liberal policies have driven up the cost of home heating and made them double.
Why will this Liberal government not do the right thing, stop its reckless spending, rein in its spending and cancel the carbon tax so Canadians can keep the heat on this winter?
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- Nov/21/22 2:34:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, instead of selling green fairy tales and telling Canadians to cancel their Disney+, the government should stop its inflationary spending and stop the plan to triple the taxes. Billions of dollars of cancelled projects, because of the costly coalition's climate zealot ideology, has made home heating unaffordable while not hitting a single emissions reduction target.
Why will the Liberal government not stop day dreaming, do the right thing and cancel its carbon tax on home heating?
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- Nov/21/22 2:32:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today's reannouncement of more government spending does not address the real issue of inflation and unaffordability. The Liberal government has demonized and kicked down Canada's energy industry for years. Instead of building energy projects in Canada that would have helped make home heating more affordable, the Liberals cancelled projects, killing good energy jobs while helping China build pipelines instead. As the government keeps spending, it drives up inflation, making gas, groceries and home heating more and more expensive.
Why will the Liberal government not do the right thing and cancel the carbon tax on all home heating?
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- Nov/15/22 2:32:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, while the finance minister cancels her Disney+ subscription to miraculously save Canadians from going to food banks, her government continues to tax Canadians to infinity and beyond.
Proving how out of touch she really is, she goes on the Liberal-friendly CBC to say the carbon tax is helping Canadians. The reality is that emissions are up and the carbon tax is only helping her government's greed while the cost of heating homes is doubling.
Why will the costly coalition not axe the tax on home heating and give Canadians a break?
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- Nov/4/22 11:33:19 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the Liberals are also hiding the fact that they are going to hit workers with a second carbon tax by the end of this winter that is going to cost them an extra $1,300. Inflationary spending, the Liberal inflation tax and the carbon tax are increasing the cost of essentials while sending more Canadians to food banks. While the costly coalition attacks Canada’s energy sector, our workers, seniors and families are paying the price.
Why will the Liberals not give Canadians relief and cancel their plan to triple taxes on home heating?
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- Nov/4/22 11:32:18 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, yesterday’s fall economic statement continues the inflationary spending of the costly coalition and fails to stop tax increases. Temperatures in Alberta have dropped below zero as the province gets blanketed in snow. Albertans are firing up their furnaces and are seeing their gas bills soar as the carbon and inflation taxes eat up their paycheques.
Why will the Liberals not give Canadians some relief and cancel their plan to triple tax on home heating?
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- Nov/1/22 10:32:32 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, did the member walk here, or did he get here on a plane? The reality is that Canada has the most responsible energy sector in the entire world. The world needs more Canadian energy.
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- Oct/20/22 10:45:28 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, that is simply not true. About 80% of first nations along the route wanted the project to take place.
I am proud to stand with our new leader, who actually wants to see real reconciliation by partnering with first nation communities and giving them the sovereignty they deserve: economic sovereignty. This is what true reconciliation in this country looks like. I am proud to stand beside a leader who believes in that too.
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- Oct/20/22 10:43:11 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I respect the hon. member and have enjoyed working with him on the immigration committee.
It is one thing to keep attacking our energy producers, but where was the government, or anyone else, when they were not making profits? What about when there was a downfall, when Canadian energy was suffering, when it was being replaced by dirty dictator oil? What about all those job losses for the hard-working Canadians who worked in that energy industry, including newcomers to this country, people from the LGBT community and people from BIPOC communities? What about those people? Who was standing up for them? It was the Conservatives and the Conservatives only. That is what we will continue to do.
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- Oct/20/22 10:31:47 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is an honour to rise today to add my voice in support of fighting to exempt all forms of home heating fuel from the carbon tax for all Canadians.
This week, we have heard a lot from all sides about the pain Canadians suffer as unjust inflation and the cost-of-living crisis make life absolutely unaffordable in Canada.
From a single mother skipping meals just to be able to feed her kids to a tradesman renting an apartment with his parents and still not being able to afford gas for his truck to seniors living on a fixed income and staring down the triple carbon tax, people are not sure if they can heat their homes or even keep them.
We hear from the Liberals and the NDP that Canada is in a much better position than the rest of the G7, yet the Bank of Canada is tied with the U.S. for the highest interest rates today.
What is worse is that it is widely expected that the bank will raise the key interest rate by another 75 basis points. That means we are looking at the interest rate being 4%. That is a 4% increase Canadians are forced to pay to borrow money or get a mortgage.
Why are there higher interest rates? To combat the unjust inflation created by the government's out-of-control spending. After an over $300-billion deficit in the fiscal year 2020-21 and an almost $100-billion deficit last year, the Liberals have been spending non-stop.
In 2021, the Conservative leader warned the government that its spending would cause inflation. Instead of heeding his warning, the finance minister claimed that Canada would actually see deflation. When inflation started spiking, she said it would be transitory. Boy, was she wrong.
The Toronto Star is now reporting that she has started to see the light. The finance minister told colleagues that in order to fund the Prime Minister's additional spending, cuts to other areas of government spending were needed.
Spending is not the only issue though. Yesterday, the finance minister admitted that with more stimulus money in circulation, there would be more demand for a limited supply of goods and services. In short, too many dollars chasing too few goods.
In the context of today's motion, the supply of LNG and other heating fuels are very relevant examples. When the government was elected in 2015, there were 15 LNG projects. Now, seven years later, none have been completed.
The same can be said for the Teck mine in Fort McMurray, the TMX pipeline, the northern gateway pipeline, energy east pipeline and the Keystone XL pipeline.
On this side, we all know the value of Canadian gas. The world needs more Canadian oil and gas. Alberta has some of the most responsibly developed, produced and transported energy products. The oil and gas companies operating in Canada are the most significant contributors and developers of new clean technology to decrease their emissions.
Their innovation and use of green technology make Canadian oil and gas far more responsible than the dictator oil that the Liberals would instead bring in. Instead of Canadian energy being produced, refined and consumed in Canada, tankers of dirty Saudi oil are flowing down the St. Lawrence.
The government's dependence on foreign oil means that we send our dollars to the very OPEC-plus cartel that colludes with Russia to reduce the production of their energy products to drive down supply. At the same time, demand increases, causing record profits for countries like Libya, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela.
It is not like Canada does not have other countries needing our oil and gas. For example, just this summer, when the Prime Minister made excuses for not having a business case to ship Canadian LNG to Germany, the German chancellor asked our country to increase shipments.
The Liberals did not even show the chancellor any Canadian LNG projects. Instead, they talked about hydrogen.
Hydrogen is a clean and practical option in which Canada needs to continue to invest. However, replacing LNG with hydrogen is years away and currently impossible.
Instead of capitalizing on economic opportunities to increase the production of Canadian energy and fight the OPEC-plus cartel, the government sided with the “leave it in the ground” left and backed Canada into a corner.
Instead of lowering energy costs for Canadians, we are at the mercy of Liberal-made inflation, reduced supply and foreign dictators dictating oil and gas prices. The cost of groceries, gas and home heating are skyrocketing because the government has created an environment where prices are out of control, supply is lacking and taxes keep climbing.
As the current government prepares to triple its carbon tax, Canadians continue to get hit with numbers like 37% inflation on natural gas and 48.7% on other fuels; 11.4% on groceries; 13.2% on gasoline; and an 8.3% increase in mortgage interest costs.
In a recent report, RBC is expecting that, “Rising inflation and higher borrowing and debt servicing costs are expected to shave almost $3,000 from average purchasing power in 2023.”
Let us suppose families are paying more for utilities, groceries, gas and mortgages. In this case, a $3,000 hit to their pocketbooks is absolutely devastating, especially with almost half of Canadians being $200 away from insolvency. Therefore, as we turn to the winter months when Canadians need to heat their homes, people are starting to make tough choices. Do they pay for gas or electricity bills to get heat, or pay for groceries, or even cover their mortgage payments. The fact that people in our country have to make that decision is a disgrace. That is why the Liberal premier of Newfoundland and Labrador wrote to the government last month, asking for a carbon tax exemption on home heating fuels.
Right now, inflated home heating bills are made up of roughly 20% of just carbon tax. After this year of inflation and the tripling of the carbon tax, that portion could increase to almost 60% of home heating costs per month. That is especially scary for Atlantic Canada, as fuel oils in Newfoundland are already up by 52.8%. According to yesterday's inflation numbers, in P.E.I. it is up 37.2%; 52% in Nova Scotia; and 45.4% in New Brunswick.
Analysts are predicting that home heating bills could increase this winter from anywhere from 50% to 100%, and in some cases around the country even 300%. The Ontario Energy Board also indicated that Ontario natural gas prices could increase by more than 150% this month.
Other Canadian premiers are also calling for the Liberals to cancel their tripling of the carbon tax as provinces fight for a better way to deal with climate change and lower prices for Canadians.
This summer, Nova Scotia submitted a provincial plan to get out of the federal carbon tax, but the federal government outright rejected it.
In Alberta, the province created the technology innovation and emissions reduction program. It puts a price on carbon for heavy emitters and the collected funds get reinvested in advancing technology and innovation to reduce omissions, such as carbon capture and sequestration.
These are the types of advancements that Canada needs to replace the out-of-touch carbon tax. Punishing Canadians for heating their homes, driving to work or just eating is absolutely wrong.
While the government continues to ignore its out-of-control spending and fails to address inflation or the need for development investment in Canadian energy projects, the least it can do is exempt hard-working Canadians from paying the carbon tax to heat their homes.
Canadian energy production needs to be increased to grow the supply and lower prices.
Winter is coming and the pocketbooks of Canadians are in the red. I ask all members to do the right thing and vote for this motion. I call on the government to have some decency, get off the necks of Canadians and cancel its plans to triple its carbon tax.
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- Sep/21/22 2:19:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the new Conservative leader is putting people, their retirement, their paycheques, their homes and their country first. Right now, Canadians lose wages because we import 130,000 barrels of oil every single day, mostly from dictators, even though Canada has the third-largest supply right here at home. The Liberal government prefers dictator oil over clean, responsible Canadian energy.
Conservatives will repeal the Liberal anti-energy laws and replace them with ones that protect our environment. We will consult first nations and get things built.
We support Newfoundland and Labrador's plan to increase oil production to replace imported oil. Within five years, our goal is to kick dictator oil out of Canada altogether. Europe needs Canadian energy. Instead of helping Putin sell his gas to Europe to finance his illegal war, a strong Conservative government will support projects like GNL Quebec.
Here is a choice: Give dollars to dictators, or get paycheques into the pockets of Canadians. As a proud Albertan and Canadian, the choice is very clear to me.
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- Mar/4/22 11:32:00 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if the government did not cancel the northern gateway and energy east pipelines, and had stood up for the Keystone XL to be built, Canada would be oil self-sufficient. Regulatory delays, excessive taxes and costs have LNG projects struggling and partners selling out. Canada could be entirely natural gas self-sufficient if the government would just get out of the way. With the completion of these projects, Canada would be in a position to supply the world with clean, ethically produced energy.
How is the government going to fix its regulatory systems to help the world reduce its dependence on Russian energy?
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- Dec/7/21 6:41:02 p.m.
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Madam Chair, in my home province of Alberta, the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline extension is devastating to thousands of oil and gas workers. The KXL project was going to employ thousands of indigenous and union workers, and now other pipelines are at the mercy of President Biden.
What is the government doing to stand up to the Democrats and protect our vital energy projects?
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