- Member of Parliament
- Member of Parliament
- Conservative
- Hastings—Lennox and Addington
- Ontario
- Voting Attendance: 66%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $121,555.68
- Government Page
Mr. Speaker, after eight years of this Liberal-NDP government, Canadians are financially spent. Instead of common-sense tax cuts to help struggling families, in his fall economic statement, the Prime Minister doubled down on his massive increase to the carbon tax, which is driving up the cost of groceries, heating and gas.
When the wallets of Canadian families were raided bare by this government's carbon tax, it was the Conservatives who heard the calls for help. It was the Conservatives who introduced Bill C-234 to deliver carbon relief on farmers and the people they feed.
The legislation was duly passed in the House with the support of every party except the government. Then, right before Christmas, the Prime Minister called in favours from his functionaries in the other place and lobbied his Liberal-appointed and anointed senators to cut the legislation.
Now that it is back in the House, our Prime Minister needs to put his zeal for carbon tax aside; listen to Canadians who feel troubled, broken and betrayed this Christmas season; rein in his ideologues in cabinet; and pass Bill C-234.
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Mr. Speaker, my suggestion remains. Canadian farmers, growers and ranchers are growing our economy. Bill C-234 is a vote for Canadian farmers, for rural communities, for sustaining farm practices and for food security. I think that answers the question.
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Mr. Speaker, a few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to rise in this place and speak in favour of our opposition day motion to expand the pause on home heating to all forms of heating. The goal was to lower costs for Canadians as they prepare to heat their homes for the cold Canadian winter ahead.
Unfortunately, and unsurprisingly, the government continued in its staunch refusal to accept common-sense solutions being brought forward by opposition parties that would result in much-needed financial relief for struggling Canadians. However, today, we have another opposition day motion, and the House has another opportunity to do the right thing and vote in favour of our motion to help our farmers. The very straightforward motion reads as follows: “That the House call on the unelected Senate to immediately pass Bill C-234, An Act to amend the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, to remove the carbon tax on the farmers that feed Canadians, as passed by the democratically elected House.”
Allow me to give a bit of background. The private member's bill, sponsored by the member for Huron—Bruce, was sent over to the Senate in March of this year, with all parties in support of the legislation except the Liberals. Every single opposition party with status, in addition to the two Greens and two of the three independents, support the legislation. There is support from across the political spectrum, save for the one party that seems hell-bent on staking its political future on a deeply unpopular and deeply flawed carbon pricing scheme.
I would also like to point out that the legislation's support transcends jurisdiction too. Several premiers have taken the unusual step of throwing their support behind the legislation. Premier Ford said, “This legislation would help farmers in Ontario and across Canada by lowering their costs, which would help lower the grocery bills of hardworking families in need of extra support right now.” Farther down, he states, “While the federal government has finally admitted that the carbon tax is hurting families by pausing its tax on home heating oil, all Canadians deserve a break right now. This includes removing the carbon tax from all forms of home heating and passing Bill C-234 as soon as possible.”
One farmer in my riding wrote, “Grain drying and heating for livestock barns (for young livestock) has come a long ways in efficiency, but we have no alternatives. Heat pumps cannot be built large enough to be effective. Hopefully the Senate can move C-234 forward without further delaying a bill in which the Liberal government has used multiple unusual procedural tactics to stall.” I hear the same sentiments repeatedly, whether at a hockey game, a local event or in a grocery store in the riding of Hastings—Lennox and Addington.
Given the unique nature of this opposition day motion, this speech is as much for our friends in the upper house as it is for Canadians at home. Recent media reports have indicated that flaring tempers and procedural games have reared their heads in the red chamber, and it has attracted the attention of the provinces. Premier Scott Moe of Saskatchewan touched on this unfortunate development. He writes:
The House of Commons recently took an important step in this direction by passing Bill C-234, which would exempt agricultural producers from paying the carbon tax on natural gas and propane used to dry grain and to heat and cool farm buildings like barns and greenhouses. This would reduce the cost of food production, which in turn would reduce the cost of groceries for Canadian families. I commend all MPs who voted for this bill for taking this important step to reduce the cost of living for the people they represent.
It is extremely concerning that the Senate now appears to be blocking the passage of this bill, which was passed by our elected MPs. While Senators are not elected, you are appointed to represent the residents of your province who are struggling with high grocery costs. It is unacceptable that the Senate would stand in the way of providing Canadians with a break on grocery costs by blocking this carbon tax exemption, which has been approved by the House of Commons.
Similarly, Premier Higgs of New Brunswick wrote, “I urge you to support passage of Bill C-234, An Act To Amend the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, which is now before the Senate. This legislation would remove the carbon tax from fuels used by farmers in the production of their crops, which would have a beneficial impact on the price of food.”
The neighbouring premier, in Nova Scotia, Tim Houston, also wrote in support of Bill C-234:
The carbon tax has a significant impact on the Nova Scotian agricultural sector. For example, it will cost an average poultry producer an estimated $400 in propane and $1,300 for heating in 2023 (pre-exemption) and $2,900 in 2030.
Farmers across our country are struggling to deal with the impact of the carbon tax on their activities. The pain is also being felt by ordinary Nova Scotians and Canadians with out-of-control food inflation forcing citizens to skip meals or choose between rent or groceries. Food is not a luxury; it is a necessity. Bill C-234 will save farmers close to $1 billion by 2030 and bring desperately needed relief both to farmers and consumers.
There is another point I would like to touch on, which was raised by the member for Carleton earlier today: the capacity of Parliament, more specifically, the House of Commons, to raise monies. The long struggle that this legislature and its predecessors have gone through is to secure our ultimate and most basic function: to oversee the expenditure of public monies. This was not achieved without the shedding of blood. Lord Durham, sent to investigate the rebellions taking place in Upper Canada and Lower Canada, wrote:
The Assembly, after it had obtained entire control over the public revenues, still found itself deprived of all voice in the choice or even designation of the persons in whose administration of affairs it could feel confidence.
It is difficult to conceive what could have been their theory of government who imagined that in any colony of England a body invested with the name and character of a representative Assembly, could be deprived of any of those powers which, in the opinion of Englishmen, are inherent in a popular legislature.
In short, only the House of Commons may propose the expenditure of public funds. The House has been extremely clear in our intention: We want the legislation passed. I urge the senators who are opposed to the legislation to take phone calls from their constituents, to listen to small businesses in their provinces and to listen with empathy to what struggling Canadians have to say. If they are truly willing to stand against a piece of legislation that received support from across the political aisle, except for the party that appointed most of them, they are going to have to explain their reasoning, and it is not a very good look. They are going to have to justify the actions of an institution that is supposed to be a chamber of sober second thought, not of blind political ideology. We already know the government is fanatically devoted to its carbon tax. I hope its political appointees in the Senate can come to some common sense.
It is imperative that all parliamentarians, elected or not, respect the will and the voice of Canadians, and about Bill C-234, Canadians and their elected representatives have been exceedingly clear. They want the legislation and need this legislation, and they needed it yesterday. It has been sitting on the dockets of both houses for nearly two years. Thankfully, it is in the final stage of the process. I look forward to seeing the legislation come into force so the wallets of our farmers and of Canadians at large can finally get some relief.
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