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Mrs. Karen Vecchio (Elgin—Middlesex—London, CPC)

Mar/22/22 11:54:53 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the amendment the member wanted to put forward, but I want to really focus on what we are doing today. In his comments, he mention that seniors do not drive and there are a variety of reasons this does not impact each and every Canadian. I fully disagree with him on that. We recognize that many things coming into stores are GST exempt, but we use fuel and gasoline when we are doing shipments. When a person is being driven to a medical appointment, maybe by a taxi, there is going to be an increase. There is that 5% sitting there in taxes. There are so many ways we can look at this, and although it is not cut and dry because there is not a direct link, we know that overall it will have a bearing. A reduction of 5% will reduce the cost of things for people because gas is being used, or fuel. Will the member be supporting the motion?

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Mr. Daniel Blaikie

Mar/22/22 11:55:47 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I said, we are here to co-operate and negotiate. However, of course it takes two to tango, as I think the phrase goes, and we heard a pretty clear message from the whip that he is not in the mood to dance on behalf of the Conservative Party, so it is difficult. I do not think that precludes us from co-operating in the future on other things, but we were clear that if we were going to go the route of tax relief, we wanted something that would apply more broadly than simply providing tax relief at the pumps. We wanted something that did not principally focus on oil and gas in the future and where there was a better sense of certainty that companies that could raise prices to eat up the price differential of lower taxes would not be able to do so. That is why we felt that home heating was a superior choice, because there are usually public processes for rate increases on public utilities that do not exist for oil and gas companies at the pumps.

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Ms. Lindsay Mathyssen (London—Fanshawe, NDP)

Mar/22/22 11:56:58 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his attempt to make this motion a bit better. Unfortunately, it did not turn out that way. Yesterday in the House, I listened to Conservative members discuss our opposition day motion. They were talking about the needs of big corporations. We insisted that there needed to be increases in tax measures and they said that big corporations needed tax decreases and that their profit margins were not really that large. I know it is difficult for the member to get into a Conservative mindset, but perhaps he could try to explain why the Conservatives are so resolute about not moving toward progressive taxation and so convinced that we cannot tax big corporations for excessive profits.

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Mr. Daniel Blaikie

Mar/22/22 11:57:54 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, indeed, I often struggle to put myself in the mindset of my Conservative colleagues. To be charitable, I might hazard an attempt. Too often the Conservatives have a tendency, and in fact a deep kind of driving need, to blame every problem on the government. Government can certainly sometimes be the problem. I believe that. It is why I bothered to get elected and why we work so hard in this place to change the disposition of government and influence government actions. It certainly has a role to play. However, there are other actors in the world that have real power and also contribute to some of the problems that Canadians are facing. Sometimes the Conservatives, because they are so narrowly focused on the problems of the government and trying to blame every problem on it, become apologists for everybody else. To admit there might be a problem somewhere that is not in the halls of government kind of undermines their entire intellectual political framework. It is a difficult thing for them to focus on, and that is why sometimes they might end up apologizing for large companies that are doing very well and are themselves part of the problems Canadians are facing.

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Mrs. Stephanie Kusie

Mar/22/22 11:59:37 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The member just insulted the Conservatives' constituencies and those who voted for us when he made reference to the intellectual framework of our party. We are all elected to the House, and it is very disappointing to hear any type of reference to the intelligence of either the Conservative members or those who voted for us. I am going to give the member an opportunity to apologize for that, because it was uncalled for.

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Mr. Charlie Angus

Mar/22/22 12:00:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member just answered her own question. We were talking about the intellectual capacity of the Conservative caucus, and they did not hear anything about ordinary voters. We were talking about the Conservatives, particularly their backbench.

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Mr. Daniel Blaikie

Mar/22/22 12:00:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to respond, and I have two things to say. First, I note that a comment about the intellectual framework of a political organization is not a comment about people's intelligence. Those are two separate things. Second, I would say that pointing out the shortcomings of certain elected representatives says nothing of the voters. Voters elect people in good faith. People do not always live up to the expectations of voters. Pointing out that this may be the case is no insult to the voter. It might be an insult, but it is not an insult to the voters.

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Mr. Larry Brock

Mar/22/22 12:01:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, I took great offence to the member who now questions the intellectual capacity of the Conservative backbench. I am a proud member of the Conservative backbench. For the member who questioned my intellectual capacity, I have enjoyed a 30-year legal career. I have a BA honours in political science. I have a law degree. I have had a distinguished career as a public servant for the Ontario government. Now I am a proud member of the Conservative Party.

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The Deputy Speaker

Mar/22/22 12:02:00 p.m.
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We are descending a bit into debate. The hon. member for Timmins—James Bay.

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Mr. Charlie Angus

Mar/22/22 12:02:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I was fascinated to see the member read his resumé, but I am not really sure what the point was. It is nice to hear from the member in the backbench once in six months with his resumé, but was there a question pointed at me? I did not hear anything.

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The Deputy Speaker

Mar/22/22 12:02:20 p.m.
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We have descended far too far and I have let this go on far too long. I believe we have gotten into too much debate on this issue. I do not think that is a point of order, but I do give opportunity to the members to rephrase things if they need to. I do not see anyone standing to try to rephrase, so we will move on to the member for Northumberland—Peterborough South.

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Mr. Philip Lawrence (Northumberland—Peterborough South, CPC)

Mar/22/22 12:02:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is my great privilege to split my time with the member for Louis-Saint-Laurent, and I thank him for his work in his constituency. Perhaps people are excited. We should be generous with the other members, and perhaps the member for Timmins—James Bay was just excited about his new cabinet position in the coalition. I look forward to his testimony and discussion of the WE scandal and other things in the coalition. It will be quite riveting testimony from the member. Today, I rise on behalf of the hard-working people of Northumberland—Peterborough South who are struggling every day just to get by. Across our country, we are facing a cost of living crisis from coast to coast. The number of Canadians who are struggling to fill the gas tanks in their cars, who are struggling to finish off this heating season in a cold spring, and who are struggling to put food on their tables is getting larger and larger. More Canadians are struggling and unfortunately, in my beautiful riding of Northumberland—Peterborough South, we are not immune to this crisis. What is the government's suggestion or solution to this? It may very well be, with coalition partners, to foist one of the largest tax increases in history on Canadians. Let me explain. When a government prints money to spend, prices increase. The more that the government has to print money, the more it spends. It just keeps going. It is a cycle. The government keeps spending money and printing money. That drives down the value of money. Everything costs more, from our houses to our cars to buying groceries. It is driving down money. Inflation has a real effect, just as taxes do. That $10 we had in our jeans is now worth $8. It is exactly the same as if taxes were increased by 20% when we have inflation that has increased over the last couple of years to 20%. It is the same impact. This is indeed an inflation tax. We see the evidence everywhere. Not since 1991 have we seen inflation at this rate of 5.7%. Everyone's paycheque is going down 5% per year. People have been given a pay decrease of 5%, and that is shocking. Things were not good before. The last seven years have been tough on Canadians. Just last year, over 53% of Canadians said they were within $200 of insolvency. The government's solution is more inflation, or “Justinflation”. We have, year over year, increasing grocery bills of an additional $1,000. The members of the House can probably all afford that. The many productive, upper-middle-class and wealthy individuals can afford it, but it hurts the single mother in Orono who is working every day to pay for her children's future education and put food on the table. She has gone to work every day on the front line during the pandemic making minimum wage and now is struggling to fill up her car. She would probably love an electric vehicle, as many Canadians would, but increasingly now many more do not have $100,000 for an electric vehicle. We can take the approach of “let them eat cake” and ask why do they not just buy an electric vehicle. It is unreasonable. The modern incarnation of “let them eat cake” is to say, “Go and buy that EV,” to someone who cannot afford $100 to put in their gas tank. When we add the inflation tax to the carbon tax, we get a particularly nefarious combination. I had the opportunity to ask the Governor of the Bank of Canada about the impact of the carbon tax. It was strange to me that the Governor of the Bank of Canada did not know the answer to a relatively simple question when I asked what the inflationary impact was of the carbon tax. He did not have an answer, but he was kind enough to write a response. In that, he ascribed nearly 10% of the inflation we are experiencing to the carbon tax. Once again, the government is tone-deaf to the needs of the people of Northumberland—Peterborough South. Its response is not to maybe pause the carbon tax or even pause the increase on the carbon tax, because the goal of the carbon tax is to make gasoline more expensive so that we look at other solutions. That goal is accomplished, guys. People cannot afford gasoline and they cannot afford an EV, so the government is driving people into poverty. Why not just pause the increase to the carbon tax? The prices of gasoline and diesel have already increased. That goal has been accomplished. At this point it is just punitive. There are many, including those in rural Canada, who just do not have that alternative, including in my riding and elsewhere in rural parts of Canada. I invite those in urban ridings to come to my riding and meet the great folks of Northumberland—Peterborough South. I invite them to come and meet the soccer mom who puts gas in her SUV to take her kids to soccer practice, and tell her “No, you cannot do that.” They could meet the factory workers who are making a reasonable dollar but are still struggling to get by because of the carbon tax and the inflation tax. I invite them to come and tell them that they cannot put gas in their cars and cannot go to work, because that is what the government is saying to them. I want the government to think hard about that and the impact it is having on rural Canada. I want it to think about the farmers out there who are paying tens of thousands of dollars in carbon tax every single year. We will be more reliant on Canadian farmers, not just in this country but around the world, given what is going on in Ukraine. We will be dependent on them, and what are we doing to them? We are making them pay tens of thousands of dollars in carbon tax. It is not because farmers do not want to fight climate change. They do, but there just are not alternatives. We heard testimony in the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food that there just are not alternatives to things such as drying grain and heating barns, so farmers are reliant on fossil fuels. The government is not driving people to fight climate change. In fact, it is driving them away from fighting climate change because they cannot invest in the innovation and the technology they need. The exact opposite of what it wants to happen is happening. Let me talk about what the opposition motion is. The opposition motion starts by acknowledging that we are in an affordability a crisis: We are in a financial challenge as a country and Canadians are struggling to get by. Then it says that Canadians should be given a bit of a break. They are going through a lot with the opioid crisis, the housing crisis and now an affordability crisis. It says that we should reach out our hands and give them a 5% break on the gasoline and diesel they need to put in their cars to drive their kids to school, to go to work and to build our country. To me, this is entirely reasonable and it is a break Canadians need. In conclusion, Canadians have had a tough go over the last two years. It has become increasingly challenging for people to buy a home. There are 20-year-olds and 30-year-olds who have good jobs and did everything they were told to do. They went to school, got a trade and worked hard. They have done everything asked of them, but they still cannot afford a house. The pensioners, the seniors, who gave their lives building this country can now barely afford to buy groceries. Their prosperity and the prosperity of our country is being undermined by this coalition's dedication to the inflation tax and the carbon tax. We need to return to making Canada affordable again. We need to return to prosperity. Right now, we need to give Canadians a break, and that is why I am proud to vote for the opposition motion.

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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)

Mar/22/22 12:12:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member talked a great deal about the carbon tax. It is hard to say exactly where the Conservative Party is on the carbon tax. There was a time in which, speech after speech, Conservatives would stand up and say that they would get rid of the carbon tax completely. Then they had a flip-flop in position prior to the last election, where they told Canadians they did not want to get rid of the carbon tax and in fact wanted a new and improved carbon tax. Can the member enlighten Canadians about what his personal position is on a price on pollution? Does he believe there should be a price on pollution?

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Mr. Philip Lawrence

Mar/22/22 12:12:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his lengthy service in the House and have appreciated many times his comments. I will tell him that what I know for sure is that Canadians are struggling, that they are in pain and that now is not the time to increase the carbon tax. I believe climate change is real. I believe it is a fight worth fighting and one that Canada can win, but I do not believe that should come on the backs of Canadians who are struggling every day to work hard to build this country.

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Ms. Andréanne Larouche (Shefford, BQ)

Mar/22/22 12:13:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. He talked about farmers, saying that they want to contribute to the environment, not harm it, but they cannot afford to do that. Instead of continuing to supply them with oil, what does he think about helping our farmers to be part of the solution by promoting good practices and investing in greener measures? Speaking of helping farmers turn to more renewable resources, why not stop investing in pipelines and oil? Why not instead move toward something greener, initiatives like the one on wood put in place by colleagues from the regions, including the member for Jonquière, so that energy sources are much greener and more renewable? Transferring the money to other areas of research and development could help with that transition.

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Mr. Philip Lawrence

Mar/22/22 12:14:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with respect to farmers and the investment in our agriculture, I think often the best solution the government can offer is to get the heck out of the way. Farmers want to invest in climate change. The reality is that, with the inflation tax, the carbon tax, the income tax, the sales tax and the property tax, farmers simply do not have the money to do it because it is all coming to Ottawa. If we return that money to the farmers and allow them to keep it, they will make the investment because they are the stewards of the land. They will protect our land. They will protect our environment. They will fight climate change. We just need to get the heck out of the way.

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Mr. Taylor Bachrach (Skeena—Bulkley Valley, NDP)

Mar/22/22 12:15:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I certainly agree with the member that there are so many people in our country who are struggling with the cost of living. The Conservative motion really focuses on people who use diesel and gasoline, who admittedly are a large portion of the population, but many of the people who are struggling the most with affordability are people who do not drive. They are people who are living in poverty, people working minimum-wage jobs or seniors who are not able to drive for a whole host of different reasons. Those people are also struggling with the cost of living, in many ways more than the rest of the population. Why did my hon. colleague's party not put forward or craft a mechanism that would more broadly help people who are struggling with the cost of living?

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Mr. Philip Lawrence

Mar/22/22 12:16:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there are two responses I would have to that. One is that energy grounds all of us and it affects all of us, so when we reduce the cost of energy in gasoline and diesel, it reduces the costs throughout. One of the greatest achievements of mankind is bringing people out of poverty. One of the keys to bringing people out of poverty, and this is just economics, is cheap energy. When we reduce the cost of energy, we give everyone a better chance. However, if the NDP wants to sit down and talk about tax relief, my office is open any time and any place. I am more than willing to have that conversation. We can reduce income tax, sales tax or whatever they want. We are in the business of reducing taxes and the burden on Canadians.

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Mr. Gérard Deltell (Louis-Saint-Laurent, CPC)

Mar/22/22 12:17:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today after a two-week adjournment, which my colleagues and I spent in our respective ridings. As the saying goes, just because we are in our ridings does not mean we are not working. Some people think we are off duty, but nothing could be further from the truth. It is in our ridings that we have the pleasure, the opportunity, the privilege and the duty to meet the people we represent here in the House of Commons and to speak directly with them. We are first and foremost the representatives of our constituents, no matter who they voted for. Over the past two weeks, I met and talked with hundreds of Louis-Saint-Laurent residents at charity and community events, restaurants, cafés and gas stations. One issue that affects them directly, along with people in all ridings in Canada, is inflation. Here we are with inflation at a 30-year high of 5.7%. Some members of the House were not even born the last time the inflation rate was this high. Inflation affects everyone. It affects people who have to buy groceries and realize that putting food on the table costs a lot more, around $1,000 more per year for a family. Buying fruits, vegetables and meats can cost 10% to 15% more than last year. Inflation is hitting housing even harder because of the housing bubble our country is currently contending with and prices that have gone up over 29% in the past year. Inflation affects everyone, but it comes as no surprise. It did not show up on the weekend or two weeks ago while we were in our ridings. Inflation reared its ugly head many months ago and is not going away anytime soon. It is actually gaining momentum, not losing it. This is not the first time we are addressing this issue here in the House of Commons. A few weeks ago, I asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance what she planned to do to help Canadian families struggling with inflation. If there is someone powerful in cabinet right now, it is the Deputy Prime Minister. We will see how things go, but, today, she is especially powerful in her capacity as Minister of Finance, since she has full control over the economic levers that can help and not harm Canadian families. The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance answered that, according to the IMF, Canada has the second-highest growth rate among the G7 countries. That will certainly not help people who are having a hard time buying groceries today. The IMF says that things are going well: That is great for the IMF, but not so great for people buying their groceries. What did she say next? She said that Canada was doing well, since its real GDP has grown by 0.6%. That is outstanding, and it will certainly put more food in Canadians’ grocery baskets, right? I do not know where she found that concept of the real GDP, but I did not find anything like it at the supermarket this weekend. The people I meet never talk about the real GDP, except the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance. She is totally disconnected, but she is still very influential right now. We will see how things play out. What did she say next? She said that we should not worry, that other countries are also facing inflation, and that the situation is worse in the United States. It is unbelievable that she would compare us with the worst case. The Conservatives and all Canadians worth their salt want to compare themselves with the best, not the worst. Telling Mrs. Tremblay that she should not worry and that there is no problem because the situation is worse in the United States will certainly not help her do her shopping. It will not add any food to Canadians’ grocery basket. However, that is what the Liberal government has to say about inflation. That is why we propose temporarily eliminating the GST in the fuel sector. I will explain why we chose this approach. First of all, who benefits the most from high inflation? Unfortunately, the government does. I say “unfortunately” because it is unfortunate that the government benefits when inflation goes up. Indeed, when prices go up, revenues also go up. Of course, the tax is still 5%, but when people pay $20 for something today that cost $15 last year, that generates more tax. The one who benefits is the government, because the government increases its revenues with inflation. That is exactly what is happening right now. That is why our motion uses the word “temporary”. At a time when we are in an inflationary spiral and the government is receiving millions in tax dollars because inflation is high, prices are high and more money is being collected, our temporary measure is meant to give Canadian families a little breathing room. We want to reduce the gas tax to zero, essentially eliminating it temporarily. Why are we targeting that sector? First, it is important to know that the gas tax brings in $3.5 billion for the government, generally speaking. That is the amount of money that will stay in the pockets of Canadian families. Let me be clear. Canadians know best how to manage their money. It is up to them to keep that money in their pockets and make the choices that are right for them, rather than paying a tax and giving that money to the government. Indeed, the tax increases when inflation rises. Some people live in an area where they do not need to use their car. They do not need to drive anywhere. We can understand that. However, not everyone is in that situation. I will paraphrase my friend from Louis-Hébert, who made an extraordinary statement a month ago about how we must be aware of the fact that not all Canadians are at the same level, but that everyone must be heard, listened to and, above all, respected. As he said so well, not everyone can earn a living on a MacBook at a cottage. That is the reality. He sharply criticized his own government in an extraordinary statement in which he repeated almost word for word what the Conservatives were saying. Unfortunately, two weeks later, he voted with his government. He will live with his decisions. That is why we believe that temporarily removing the GST on gas is the right thing to do. Yes, that directly affects families and workers who must travel. However, we must stop thinking that the gas tax pertains only to the gas that we put in our vehicles. This gas tax has a much greater impact. Do we think that the fruits and vegetables we buy at the grocery store just fall from the sky? Of course not. Food is not processed and transported from one place to another just by blinking as Jeannie did. Likely it is transported by gas-powered vehicles. That is why the impact of the GST on gas does not just affect those who fill up their big pickup with gas. It affects all Canadian families, especially the poorest among us, who we must respect. In our view, this is the best measure. Now, what does the government plan on doing? First, which government are we talking about? Are we talking about the government that was duly elected about six months ago or the new NDP-Liberal government, which was just put into our Constitution? If that is the case, watch out dude, it is not going to be pretty. What we have learned this morning is that now we have a brand new government in this country. Did you vote, Mr. Speaker? I did not either. Canadians did not go to the polls, yet we learned this morning about a new NDP-Liberal government. Who would have thought? Certainly not some of the current government ministers I saw this morning who did not seem to be in a good mood. Maybe they woke up on the wrong side of the bed or forgot to put sugar in their coffee. What I can say is that it is not party time for everyone on the other side. I say that, but we will see. Things are just getting started. I am being sarcastic here, but I should not be. This is very bad news for Canadians, because although 80% of them did not vote for the NDP, both the NDP and the Liberals now have their hands on the wheel, or, at least, there is one big NDP hand on the wheel. This will unfortunately mean more taxes, more spending, more debt and more deficits. The Conservatives are thinking about Canadian families. We are thinking about Canadians' wallets. We want to help Canadians directly, which is why we are proposing that the government temporarily stop collecting GST on gas.

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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)

Mar/22/22 12:26:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I wonder if my friend could provide his thoughts regarding the impact of the motion with respect to the province of Quebec. Is the Conservative Party trying, through this motion, to instruct the province of Quebec to reduce a tax? I would be very much interested in his thoughts.

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