SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

Rick Perkins

  • Member of Parliament
  • Member of Parliament
  • Conservative
  • South Shore—St. Margarets
  • Nova Scotia
  • Voting Attendance: 67%
  • Expenses Last Quarter: $136,927.65

  • Government Page
  • May/27/24 9:50:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I listened intently to the speech by my colleague from Nanaimo—Ladysmith, with whom I serve on the fisheries committee. I know that she has a deep understanding of the region, since she was born in Newfoundland and raised in Newfoundland. I would like to ask her if she is aware of the projects that are going through the IAA process in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia right now, and the fact that most have taken more than seven years and still have no end in sight, and how she thinks applying that process to offshore wind is going to get any offshore wind built in any timely manner in the next decade or two in Atlantic Canada.
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  • May/27/24 1:54:11 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it was very comical to hear that the Liberal government actually listens to provinces; that will be a first for them. Let us talk about Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, P.E.I. and New Brunswick. All four premiers are asking the government to get rid of the carbon tax. It is not listening to them very much when it comes to that. I would ask this member if he knows what the levelized cost of energy is for offshore wind without subsidies. It is 15¢ a kilowatt for offshore wind right now and it is 4.5¢ for coal in Nova Scotia. Who is going to pay that two-thirds difference, ratepayers?
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  • May/21/24 2:52:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Conservatives are calling on the NDP-Liberals to axe the carbon tax and all federal taxes on gas from Victoria Day to Labour Day. For Nova Scotians, this would represent $542 of savings per family this summer. After nine years, we know the Prime Minister will jet off to surf in Tofino this summer at taxpayers' expense while Nova Scotians cannot afford a summer road trip. Will the Prime Minister do a surfing cutback to help Canadians by taking the tax off the summer road trip?
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, Canadians are going hungry. Feed Nova Scotia reports that food bank usage is up 26%, with increased visits as high as 50% in Cape Breton. In Sydney, food banks are experiencing record-breaking increases in the number of new clients, with new visits up 80%. The Souls Harbour Rescue Mission kitchen is up 280%. Instead of providing relief to Canadians, the government has hiked its costly carbon tax on Nova Scotians by 23%. The Liberals do not understand that if we tax the farmer who grows the food, the trucker who trucks the food and the retailer who sells the food, we tax all those who buy the food. The Prime Minister is not worth the cost. The Conservatives have a solution, and that is to axe the tax on farmers and food by immediately passing Bill C-234 in its original form. To be clear, the Conservatives want the entire carbon tax axed, but in the meantime let us at least provide some relief to Canadians by immediately passing Bill C-234.
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  • Mar/21/24 2:56:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that answer is cold comfort for the families in my community that have increased the usage of the St. Margaret's Bay Food Bank by 30%. Why? Because the Parliamentary Budget Officer said that the average Nova Scotia family pays $1,500 in carbon tax and gets back $963 of its own money. That is less. Since she cannot add, that is $537 in more taxes than fake rebates. The Prime Minister is not worth the cost. If the Prime Minister will not spike the hike or axe the tax, will he at least let the people decide and call a carbon tax election?
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  • Mar/21/24 2:54:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, those Liberals think Canadians have never had it so good, but after eight years of the NDP-Liberals, Melody from Nova Scotia is losing hope, because the 23% increase in the carbon tax that is happening on April 1 will put the cost of everything up. Melody had to sell her dream home, because the Liberals forced her to choose between food, heating and having a mortgage. To help Melody, the Liberal leader in Nova Scotia has now joined in the fight against the carbon tax. For the sake of Melody, if the Liberals will not axe the tax, will they at least spike the hike?
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  • Feb/15/24 3:03:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's NDP-Liberal friends got rich turning the arrive scam app into a $60-million grift for an $80,000 app. If hurting taxpayers for the personal gain of Liberals was not enough, now the Prime Minister is going to increase the cost of everything on April 1 when he increases the carbon tax by 23%. Nova Scotians will pay $2,100 more than they get back for this carbon tax. After eight years, the Prime Minister is not worth the cost. When will the Liberals stop hurting Canadians and axe the carbon tax?
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  • Dec/8/23 4:30:56 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, on behalf of all Nova Scotians who want to axe the carbon tax, I ask for a recorded division.
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  • Dec/1/23 11:05:54 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, last weekend I had the honour to take part in a tradition that goes back through generations of Nova Scotians. Steaming out of New Harbour, I joined my good friend Vincent Boutilier on board his vessel for the setting of his lobster traps for this season about 15 miles offshore. All along the southern and western shores of Nova Scotia, the men and women of the lobster fishery set out to sea, in the face of winter weather, to fish their traps for the best quality lobster in the world, in LFA 33 and LFA 34, until the end of May. The dangers involved in the lobster fishery in winter are well known, and the lobstermen accept these challenges to catch food and support their families and communities. However, now they must deal with the challenges to their livelihoods brought on by the Liberal government, with its unwillingness to enforce the law and stop the illegal poaching harming the sustainability of this fishery. To lobster harvesters in LFA 33 and LFA 34, I hope for fair seas and bountiful catches this winter season.
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  • Nov/9/23 2:48:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, eight years times zero targets met is still zero. After eight years of that zero government, Canadians know that its environmental record is nothing but hot air and hypocrisy. The Bay of Fundy can supply green tidal energy to all of Nova Scotia and make us a net exporter of green energy. The only successful project to harness the power of the Bay of Fundy, delivering endless green energy, was killed by those Liberals when they refused to renew the permit. They killed capital investment in tidal power. Why does the Prime Minister claim to support green energy but veto green tidal projects?
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  • Nov/3/23 11:12:07 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, Nova Scotia Liberal MPs got an earful this summer on how the carbon tax was making life more unaffordable in that people were having to choose between eating, heating and housing. Last week, on the day of the massive rally for the leader of the Conservatives in Nova Scotia, the panicking Liberal Prime Minister, who is plummeting in the polls, made an emergency announcement. What was the big announcement? Was it to remove the cause of the problem of the cost of living crisis and axe the carbon tax? No. Was it to permanently take the carbon tax off home heating at least? No. It was to pause the tax on oil heating temporarily but quadruple it after the next election, and the Liberal minister from Newfoundland said the pause only applies to places that vote Liberal. Atlantic Canadians want fairness, not divisive politics. I challenge the Atlantic Liberals to vote for the Conservative motion to remove the Prime Minister's costly carbon tax from all forms of home heating so that Canadians can keep the heat on.
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  • Oct/30/23 3:08:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, heat pumps increased the coal demanded for electricity in Nova Scotia, but the NDP-Liberals have brought back rum bottle politics: Vote Liberal and get a free quart of rum or vote and get a free heat pump. However, here is the catch. The Liberals promised to quadruple the carbon tax after the next election. Nova Scotians are not fooled by this bait and switch. The Prime Minister is not worth the cost. When will the Prime Minister stop with his band-aids, cure the problem he caused, which is the carbon tax, and axe it?
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  • Oct/27/23 11:31:18 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the announcement he referenced is from a panicking, plummeting Prime Minister. After eight years, even the Prime Minister now admits his carbon tax is not working. However, the NDP-Liberal government continues to punish Canadians with a carbon tax on everything. The Prime Minister is not worth the cost. Last night in Nova Scotia, 1,000 people demanded the Liberals axe the tax. When will the Prime Minister do his job and axe the entire carbon tax?
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  • Oct/27/23 11:12:40 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to a great Nova Scotian and true friend to me and many others, John Carroll of Chester. John owned and operated automobile dealerships in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Ontario. From the time he was a young boy, he was passionate about the automobile industry. More importantly to John, he was a proud Nova Scotian. His pride was particularly evident in his beloved home of Chester. John believed in giving back to his community in small ways and large. He quietly supported many local causes, more than we will ever know. John loved his family deeply, starting with his wife Gail, whom he named his boat after. He beamed with pride whenever he talked about his grown children, Scott and Julia, their successes and their families. Once one was a friend of John's, one was a friend for life. I had lunch with him only two weeks ago in Lunenburg. John died yesterday at home. On behalf of this House, I wish to extend our condolences to Gail and their entire family. Rest in peace, John.
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  • Oct/26/23 3:11:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals may think they do that, but they voted 24 times to increase the price of everything on everyone. The Liberal-NDP government's plan to triple the carbon taxes on Nova Scotians apparently is not hurting enough. After eight years, it now plans to quadruple carbon taxes on Nova Scotians. It is an NDP-Liberal quadruple whammy. The destruction of powerful paycheques and carbon taxes have destroyed the dreams of home ownership. The Prime Minister is not worth the cost. Will the Liberals admit that their carbon taxes are making Canadians choose between heating, eating and owning a home?
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  • Oct/24/23 3:12:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, Nova Scotians are having to choose between heating and eating. A senior on a fixed income in my community told me that last year at the beginning of winter, it cost $850 to fill his home heating tank. This year, with the new Nova Scotia carbon tax put on by the government, it cost him an astounding $1,800. The Prime Minister is not worth the cost. It is time to keep the heat on and take the taxes off. When will the Liberals axe the carbon tax so Nova Scotians can afford to heat their homes?
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  • Oct/23/23 3:01:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years, the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia has stated that homelessness has gone up by 400% in Halifax since 2019 because the cost of everything has gone up, which has been caused by the current NDP-Liberal government. Even Atlantic Canada Liberal MPs agree that the cost-of-living crisis is caused by the carbon tax. This Prime Minister is just not worth the cost, and Canadians are suffering. When will the NDP-Liberal government axe the carbon tax so Canadians can keep their homes?
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  • Oct/3/23 4:07:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years, mortgages have doubled and rents have doubled, yet the NDP-Liberal government is quadrupling carbon taxes. A report for Parliament on carbon taxes by the Parliamentary Budget Officer states that Nova Scotians will pay $1,500 more in taxes, thanks to the Atlantic Liberals who voted 23 times for those taxes. The Prime Minister is just not worth the cost. As Atlantic Canadians are getting their oil tanks filled for the fall, will the Prime Minister axe the tax so that they can afford to eat, heat their homes and house themselves?
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  • Sep/18/23 2:52:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years, Nova Scotians are hurting because of the NDP-Liberal carbon tax. It increases the cost to produce food, to process the food and to transport the food. One example is that the price of cabbage has gone up 70% because of the actions of the Liberals. The Prime Minister and his Liberal-NDP government are not worth the cost. Will the Prime Minister's big meeting with grocery CEOs reverse this 70% price hike by Thanksgiving, yes or no?
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  • Jun/5/23 11:24:55 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, when we have no-burn rules that have come from our provincial governments, saying that people should not burn, or should be very cautious when we have dry seasons like we have, people should not think they can control the fire because they are someone special. That seems to still happen in Nova Scotia during all of this. These are ridings that rely on their own water, their own wells and septic systems. When people go back, they cannot drink the water; they have to have it tested. The provincial government of Nova Scotia is going to be providing, starting tomorrow, free water testing to make sure that, when people go back, that gets done. Primarily, people need to think about what they do on their own property. They need to make sure it is clean so there is not material there to catch fire. Most important, I ask people, when we are in this type of situation, to please not be lighting even local campfires or local bonfires at night just because they think they can control them.
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