SoVote

Mar/22/22 12:30:58 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am also disheartened to see that my NDP colleague has come to conclusion to vote against abolishing a tax. It is too bad, but unfortunately that is what we can come to expect over the next few weeks, the next few months, and, unfortunately, the next few years. Until October 2025, we have a new government, one that was not elected but magically showed up all of a sudden last night, or last evening, or possibly this morning, it is hard to say. According to the announcement made, we have an NDP-Liberal government. This will be interesting to watch, but it will not be good for Canadian taxpayers, since we are already seeing that the NDP is against lowering taxes and the current Liberal-NDP government is also against lowering taxes. Unfortunately, the best way to help Canadians directly is to lower taxes.

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

Mar/22/22 12:31:59 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Davenport. I want to take this opportunity to share some thoughts with members on my basic understanding. I can honestly say that the issue of the price on gas has always been of interest to me, since I was a 12-year-old young man pumping gas at Turbo for 51¢ a gallon. Members can do the math to figure out the cost per litre; it would have been a whole lot cheaper. Ever since then, and this goes back to the 1970s, it has been about supply and demand. I can recall being at the station and there would be lineups of cars because of the fear that the earth was running out of fossil fuels. At least, that was one of the conspiracies that were talked about back then, when I was but a 12-year-old young man. Today we are again talking about the price of fuel. We have seen dramatic increases in fuel prices. It is fair to say that we have to put it in the context of time. With respect to what is happening in Europe and the horrors that are taking place in Ukraine today, and we have to just turn on the news to get a very good sense of some of the horrors I am talking about, this House has unanimously recognized that what is happening in Ukraine is wrong. We have recongnized how offensive the Russian government, in particular President Putin, has been. At the end of the day, there has been a cost. We are starting to see that cost first-hand at our pumps as the world demand for oil is somewhat in turmoil today. We have seen the government, in particular the minister of industry, come forward to talk about the Competition Bureau. The Competition Bureau has been notified in the strongest way to monitor the price of fuel and to act wherever it can on the whole issue of collusion and how oil companies might be jacking up the prices, which would affect all of our constituents. We are very much aware of the issue. The Conservative Party, through an opposition motion, has taken it to another level and another step. The Conservatives are saying, let us reduce the tax on the price of a litre of gasoline. I have a bit of a problem with that. I understand the value of general revenues overall to our national governments and provincial governments. They are what enable us to provide the many different social programs that we have been providing throughout the years. The Conservative Party are saying to do this on a temporary basis. The Conservatives have not given any explanation of what they mean by temporary. However, I posed a question earlier. We have Progressive Conservative or Conservative governments in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario. I asked which one of those Conservative governments has actually reduced the price of a litre of gas by reducing their tax on gasoline. To the best of my knowledge, that has not taken place. It has not taken place because, at the end of the day, I suspect the concern is the overall pricing of gasoline and what we can do to ensure gouging is not taking place at our pumps. The different levels of government do have a role to play. As I pointed out, for us it is through the Competition Bureau, which is monitoring the situation. Inflation is something we take very seriously. If we look at the Liberal Party of Canada's agenda on the issue of inflation, from the 2015 election all the way to today, we will see that from day one we have been very progressive in our thinking and in being there to support Canadians. In yesterday's debate I made reference to the tax breaks for Canada's middle class and pointed out how the Conservative Party voted against those tax breaks. However, for the first number of years, the focus of our government was on Canada's middle class and how we could expand the middle class. The results of the policy measures we had in those first few years had a profoundly positive impact. Canada's economy was doing exceptionally well in comparison to other countries around the word, in particular in comparison with the United States and European Union countries. Then we hit the pandemic, and we saw Canadians come together once again to take on something that was happening around the world. The impact it had on our economy was quite severe. If we look at what we were able to accomplish by working with Canadians and the different types of support programs we brought in to support Canadians, whether it was the CERB or programs for direct support for seniors, people with disabilities, students and just vulnerable people in general, we were there and we had the backs of Canadians through that difficult time. It paid off, just like our first four years of dealing with the middle class did when we generated over a million jobs in those four years up to the pandemic. If we compare Canada to other countries around the world, whether the U.S. or G20 countries, we did exceptionally well in comparison. Well over 100% of the jobs have returned from prepandemic times. I like to believe it had a lot to do with the government programs that were rolled out. Somewhere in the neighbourhood of 80% to 85% of all new money spent on pandemic relief came from Ottawa to again support Canadians. Inflation is something that has come up as a major issue over the last couple of years and the government continues to give more attention to it. With respect to making comparisons, we have to put that into perspective with what else is taking place in the world. The speaker before me said we should compare it to the United States. In Canada, our inflation rate is at 5.7% compared to the U.S., which is 7.5%. Then we were criticized as to why we were only comparing it to the U.S. Let us look at the G20 countries. If we average out the inflation rate of the G20 countries in the world, it is over 6%, which is higher than Canada. For a government, that does not mean there is no room for improvement. There are things we have put in place and have taken action on to ensure we are contributing as much as possible in a positive way to our economy and the growth of our economy. We are trying to minimize some of the negative impacts of inflation. For the Conservative Party to give the impression that there is a huge black cloud over Canada because of inflation is somewhat misleading. At the end of the day, the government policies we have put in place have done exceptionally well, especially if we compare ourselves to other countries in the world. That does not mean there is not more work to be done. There is a lot more work to be done, such as the presentation of the 2022-23 budget, which I know will be a true reflection of what Canadians believe is the right thing for this time and age.

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Mr. Marty Morantz (Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, CPC)

Mar/22/22 12:42:17 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my fellow Manitoba MP for his thoughtful speech. A quick Google search shows that Maryland and Georgia have cut a 36¢ excise tax on fuel until the end of May. Florida passed a one-month gas tax suspension on a temporary basis. Maine and Washington have introduced similar measures, as have other states. If these states can all take up this great idea, why will the member's government not do the same?

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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux

Mar/22/22 12:42:56 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, one of the comments that I made reference to was the fact that, as my colleague pointed out, we are both from the province of Manitoba with a Progressive Conservative government. We have Progressive Conservative governments in other jurisdictions here in Canada. It is interesting to see that none of them have picked up on this Conservative idea. There is a fundamental difference I have with many of my Conservative friends, and that is that I understand and appreciate the true value of government expenditures to support Canadians at a time of need. What we have seen in policies is a government that continues to support our vulnerable, investing in our seniors, investing in infrastructure and so much more.

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Mr. Martin Champoux (Drummond, BQ)

Mar/22/22 12:44:01 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on his speech. Once again, we see that the Liberal Party can do no wrong. When my colleague is no longer a politician, I recommend that he get a job at an advertising agency, where he will just write ads for the Liberal Party. He would be the best one there. It might surprise members to hear me say this, but my colleague from Jonquière made some good points. When he spoke earlier, he mentioned Oil Change International. It had released numbers that include not only the subsidies themselves, but also all the support that oil companies in Canada get from the federal government. From 2015 to 2017, that was $111 billion and from 2019 to 2020, it was $78 billion. The Conservatives' motion today starts with good intentions, namely to reduce the burden for Quebeckers and Canadians and make their lives easier. However, could the federal government take a quick look at the tens of billions of dollars it hands out in various supports to the oil industry and create a fund from which it can draw to redistribute some of the money to Quebeckers and Canadians in these times of crisis?

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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux

Mar/22/22 12:45:08 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, one of the things that I do not find difficult at all in terms of being a Liberal member of Parliament is being open, honest and transparent. There are a lot of wonderful things we have done as a government, so it is only natural to talk about those policy actions. With respect to the issue of subsidies of fossil fuels, which often comes up as a matter of debate inside the chamber, one of the things that we need to recognize is that some of those subsidies go toward assistance for remote regions. I would like to think that all members would recognize the true value of that, at the very least for the short term.

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Mr. Alexandre Boulerice (Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, NDP)

Mar/22/22 12:46:00 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am going to ask a question in the same vein as that from the member for Drummond. The ones really benefiting from the crisis right now are the oil companies, which are lining their pockets. The Conservatives' solution is to cut government revenues, when we need that money to help people. Why not go get the money where the money is, specifically in the oil companies' profits, to then be able to help ordinary people who are having a hard time right now?

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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux

Mar/22/22 12:46:29 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I suspect that there are some individuals within the Department of Finance who are much more able-minded than I am in terms of taxation policies and how we could ultimately ensure there is a sense of fairness in taxation. There will be additional revenues coming in as a result, no doubt, of the higher oil prices that these corporations will have to pay. The details of it I do not know offhand.

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Ms. Julie Dzerowicz (Davenport, Lib.)

Mar/22/22 12:47:16 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is a true pleasure for me to rise in the House on behalf of the residents of my riding of Davenport to speak on the opposition day motion put forward by the Conservatives that calls on our government to introduce a temporary 5% reduction on gasoline and diesel, whether collected under GST, HST or QST, which would reduce the average price by approximately eight cents per litre. The federal government is acutely aware that many Canadians are being squeezed by higher prices for gasoline and by elevated inflation in general, but I believe that this motion will not help Canadians. A tax holiday on oil and gas could result in energy companies pocketing the difference in cost. There is no guarantee that savings will pass on to Canadian consumers at the pumps. Increases in prices for a variety of goods is a global phenomenon, driven by the unprecedented challenge of restarting the world's economy, as well as the instability of global markets as a result of Russia's attack on Ukraine, which has jolted commodity markets with a surge in prices, particularly for oil, natural gas and wheat. Obviously, the most direct impact of the war is on the people of Ukraine. As we have repeatedly said, we remain steadfast in our support for Ukraine and will continue to put pressure on Russia and choke President Putin's ability to fund his unprovoked and illegal act of aggression. As we know, and as do the members of this venerable House, the federal government has been swift and decisive in its actions, along with Europe, the United States and the United Kingdom, to put in place aggressive sanctions on Russia. Indeed, they are the toughest sanctions ever imposed on a major economy. However, in order to really be effective and in order to really have an impact, we have to be prepared for there to be some adverse consequences for our own economy, which could also affect Canadians' cost of living temporarily. Along with higher prices for a broad range of commodities, the Russian invasion threatens renewed global supply disruptions, all of which are expected to add upward pressures on prices. The OECD recently estimated, in a special report on the economic and social impacts and policy implications of the war in Ukraine, that global growth could be reduced by over one percentage point over the next year, while global inflation could be 2.5 percentage points higher. While Canada's natural resource sectors will benefit from higher commodity prices, higher prices will additionally disrupt supply chains and will have significant further impacts on inflation in Canada, including what we are currently seeing at the gas pumps. The pandemic also remains a threat to global supply chains and inflation with the recent surge in cases in China and another wave beginning in Europe. As global economies have unwound COVID-19-related restrictions and reopened their economies, the price of goods has gone up around the world. Indeed, the Bank of Canada and private sector economists anticipate that inflation may stay higher for somewhat longer than initially expected, but they expect it to ease back toward the 2% target over the next two years as pandemic-related forces fade. As we have always said, restarting the economy is a complex process, and the Canadian and global economies are still feeling the impact of the pandemic. That said, Canadians should rest assured that when it comes to government benefits and concerns over inflation, the federal government indexes the Canada child benefit to inflation, as well as the Canada pension plan, old age security, the guaranteed income supplement, the goods and services tax credit and other benefits for the most vulnerable people. I am very proud that the key government supports for those most vulnerable in our society are indexed to inflation, so that while inflation will have a huge impact on our society, our most vulnerable are protected. This is not the case in many other countries. Other measures we have implemented to support Canadians include the cutting of taxes for the middle class while raising them on the top 1%. We are also working very hard to address housing affordability. In addition, we are also working with provinces and territories to implement a Canada-wide, $10-a-day, community-based early learning and child care system that will make life more affordable for families, create new jobs, get parents back into the workforce and grow the middle class, while giving every child a real and fair chance at success. All provinces and territories have signed on to this national plan except for Ontario, and I know Ontarians, especially the residents of my riding of Davenport, are hopeful that they will sign on to this plan very soon. A strong monetary policy framework is also an excellent weapon in our arsenal to keep prices stable and keep inflationary pressures in check. The federal government and the Bank of Canada believe that monetary policy can best serve Canadians by continuing to focus on price stability. That is why, last December, we announced with the Bank of Canada the renewal of the 2% inflation target for another five-year period. This renewed framework will keep the bank focused on delivering low, stable and predictable inflation in Canada. Since Canada adopted an inflation-targeting framework 30 years ago, inflation has averaged close to 2%, which has contributed to our country's strong labour market performance. It has also contributed to our economic growth, as well as to our prosperity. Maintaining a stable environment for the prices that Canadians pay is the paramount objective of Canada's monetary policy. That has been the case for the past 30 years and will remain the case for the next five years as well. Doing so supports a strong and inclusive labour market that provides every Canadian with opportunities for a good quality of life. That is why the review and renewal of Canada's monetary policy framework every five years is such an important moment. This renewal of Canada's monetary policy framework is fundamental to Canada's economic success. It is about continuity and about continuing to do what we know works. As colleagues can see, the federal government is already working hard to address the cost of living and to make life more affordable for Canadians. Thankfully, by delivering significant fiscal policy support to Canadians during the pandemic and avoiding harmful austerity policies, we have seen a rapid and resilient recovery so far. The vast majority of the government's recovery plan is targeted toward growth-enhancing and job-creating initiatives, initiatives such as the investment to support child care and the adoption of new technologies that will help boost supply, increasing space for the economy to grow without the risk of higher inflation. The federal government has moved from very broad-based support to far more targeted measures that will provide help where it is needed the most, when it is needed. I am pleased to say that our plan is working. Canada has exceeded its goal of creating a million jobs well ahead of expectations and has the strongest jobs recovery in the G7. In fact, as of February, despite the temporary effect of omicron on Canada's labour market, 112% of the jobs lost since the peak of the pandemic have been recouped in Canada, significantly outpacing the U.S., where just 90% of lost jobs have been recovered so far. Canada's GDP has now returned to prepandemic levels with the economic recovery well on track and the focus now shifting to sustaining and enhancing Canada's growth potential. However, we know that more can be done, especially as we emerge from COVID-19. Despite impressive economic performance in certain parts of the economy, as I stated earlier, the government is mindful of the global phenomenon of elevated inflation and its impact on the cost of living, including higher prices at the pumps. The federal government has and will continue to focus on actions that will create jobs and growth and make life more affordable for Canadians, not through a temporary 5% reduction on gasoline and diesel but through meaningful and concrete actions that will grow our economy, provide good-paying jobs to the middle class and create prosperity for Canadians now and into the future. This will be a core priority that will form the foundation of the upcoming budget.

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Mr. Stephen Ellis (Cumberland—Colchester, CPC)

Mar/22/22 12:57:00 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, that was more of the repetitive discourse, the government narrative, they want to bring forward, this NDP-Liberal coalition. The question I have is this. I spoke to Bev this morning. Bev is having a very difficult time. She lives in rural Nova Scotia. As a lot of our members have pointed out, she does not have access to transportation and a mass transit system. She relies on her vehicle to get to doctor's appointments, to buy her groceries and to attend the events she needs to get to and the appointments she needs to have. The government talks about targeted opportunities. What more targeted and time-limited opportunity could this NDP-Liberal coalition have than to reduce the GST portion of the tax on fuel for Canadians suffering today?

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Ms. Julie Dzerowicz

Mar/22/22 12:58:03 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question, and it is a really good one. I want to remind everyone that since we were first elected in late 2015, we have been very focused on trying to support Canadians in terms of costs. To support seniors, we have increased the guaranteed income supplement. To support families, we have introduced the Canada child benefit and now the national child care system. There have been a number of items that we have introduced to support Canadians and reduce income inequality, and we will continue to provide additional supports for Canadians as we move forward.

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Ms. Louise Chabot (Thérèse-De Blainville, BQ)

Mar/22/22 12:58:53 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, in her speech, my colleague talked about the war in Ukraine, day care programs, and the guaranteed income supplement for seniors. We agree on one thing: We disagree with the Conservatives' proposal. We, too, disagree with it because it is a false solution. What is not clear to me or to my constituents is the inflation piece, which affects the price of food, supply chains, the labour shortage, the housing shortage, and a bunch of other factors. Inflation seems to be here to stay. What meaningful steps will the federal government take to address all these problems and offer people some reassurance?

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Ms. Julie Dzerowicz

Mar/22/22 12:59:55 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I mentioned the old age security, the Canada pension plan and the child benefit in my speech because I wanted to remind everyone that all of these supports are actually indexed to inflation, which will help the most vulnerable in our society. This is not the case in many other countries. In terms of what additional supports we will be providing to Canadians, we have and continue to implement the national child care plan and we continue to provide support for our seniors. As I mentioned, we increased the guaranteed income supplement and we plan on supporting and increasing old age security for those seniors 75 and older. We are also looking at the housing affordability issue and we are looking to take urgent, concrete steps to help resolve this issue moving forward.

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Ms. Lindsay Mathyssen (London—Fanshawe, NDP)

Mar/22/22 1:00:57 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the oil and gas companies in Canada have increased their already excessive profits, even throughout the pandemic, when others are suffering. The NDP has pushed for many years for the creation of an oil and gas ombudsman to work for and protect consumers against that kind of price gouging. Does the hon. member support this kind of initiative?

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Ms. Julie Dzerowicz

Mar/22/22 1:01:27 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I support any type of effort that is going to ensure that our oil and gas sector decarbonizes and works with all other Canadian sectors to move to a low-carbon economy, any effort that works to transition their workers into decarbonized areas and anything that will support Canada in achieving our net-zero targets by 2050.

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Mr. Dan Albas (Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, CPC)

Mar/22/22 1:02:10 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am happy to be here today. It is always an honour to rise on behalf of the good people of Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola on an issue that is so incredibly important. Kelowna has seen high gas prices of about $1.84 a litre. In Merritt, an area that often has protests for high gas prices, it is at $1.93. These are challenging times, and these prices aggravate many problems we have in our country right now. Before I go any further, I will say that I will be be splitting my time with the wonderful member for Hastings—Lennox and Addington. I hear from pensioners who say the cost of groceries is going up all the time. Those high costs are going to be aggravated by increased transportation costs because of the high cost of both gasoline and diesel. Commuters need to be able to get to work, and because of rising house prices in this country, people are now living farther and farther away from where they work. There is a price to be paid for that, and these record highs in gas prices are making life less and less affordable. In fact, the Conservative Party of Canada was talking about these issues in the 2019 election, when my friend from Winnipeg joined us. We talked about it being time for people to get ahead. As a party, we have been speaking to the very real pressures Canadians have been feeling, but the Liberal government has simply been adding to the pain. Liberal members may say they added an inflationary clause on this program or that program, but the rank and file, the working poor and those low-income families who do not have children are paying higher Canada pension plan contributions. As of April 1, they are going to be paying higher carbon taxes, whether in my home province of British Columbia as it goes to $50 a tonne or in any of the other regimes we have in Canada, including the backstop. The government continues to add and add and add. It is incredibly important for us to be proposing things that will help make it better. Someone told me once that sometimes life cannot be easy, but it can always be made easier, so this common-sense plan for a 5% reduction in GST or its harmonized equivalent across this country to give every Canadian a break when they fill up at the pumps will be incredibly important for many reasons. The first reason is that obviously we are seeing large increases in gas prices. Contrary to some of the rhetoric we hear from the NDP and others, who suddenly say it is big oil that is causing this, we know there is international instability that has to do with the situation in Ukraine. Again, my heart goes to those people who are suffering in Ukraine right now and fighting for their very freedom and their very sovereignty. This has caused international prices to go up, and therefore that variable, when we are adding up the bill, goes up as well. Then we have fixed gas taxes, such as the excise tax that goes toward municipalities. Then we have the carbon tax on top of that. What sits at the very top and multiplies and compounds all the pain is the GST. The GST on gasoline and diesel is multiplying and compounding that pain, making it absolutely intolerable and worse. Inflation hurts people, especially the most vulnerable. It affects rural and remote communities that are totally dependent on food and basic goods that have to be trucked in. The Liberal government has not yet responded to our calls for action to make the cost of living more affordable. Because of the high cost of crude oil, the GST on gas and diesel is one way for the government to boost its revenue. I have to stress this. This is windfall revenue that the government is receiving. Usually it gets between $3.5 billion and $5 billion depending on the year, but that is under regular conditions and not what we see today. As I said earlier, on April 1, the carbon tax will increase in British Columbia and in all provinces that have their own systems or are subject to the federal carbon tax. The GST will be added to that. In other words, it is a tax on the tax. This will add to the pain caused by high gas prices and the increase in the carbon tax. That is why we want a 5% decrease. That way, every Canadian will have more money to deal with the highest inflation rate in 30 years. Those are 30-year highs, the highest I have seen in my lifetime, and the government just seems unmoved. Some may say it is a stoic quality; I would say it is just indifferent. More needs to be done. Again, this is a common-sense measure that would deal with the escalation of gas prices caused by the costs of crude. Also, while I am on my feet, I will point out the issues we have in our country with pipelines. In British Columbia we actually have a net deficit every day, a structural deficit of gas that is not refined in British Columbia, and that raises the price there. Having pipelines and having a proper system would help with that. Unfortunately, the government has been relatively indifferent to this problem. It may say that it has bought a pipeline, but again, it is billions upon billions of dollars. I think the original estimates were $5.5 billion for the original and around $12 billion for building the expanded TMX, but guess what? It is now over $21.5 billion and counting, and the government still will not say when it is going to get finished. All those costs get incorporated and magnified by the GST. If we want to see how truckers could get foods to stores as cheaply as possible so that pensioners and families could buy affordable, nutritious food, they need to see a break. In previous years when we have said the government should defer or cut the carbon tax, it has been completely opposed. I hope that the government will. When I first came here in 2011, the first thing I noticed was that often it is not whether an idea is good or not; the merit of an idea is often based on who proposes it. I do hope that members opposite in the government and in other opposition parties, including the Bloc, recognize that ultimately a good idea is a good idea. I cannot say what the NDP is anymore; maybe NDP members could clarify their position for me. Across this great country, people in all our ridings, not just mine, are feeling the pinch. If we want to get them to continue to support other measures that are important to members, they need to feel that we are taking care of them, that we are thinking of them as we walk and chew gum, that we are trying to support them as we have supported people internationally, and trying to make sure that our children and our pensioners have affordable access to nutritious food. Do not even get me started on our northern communities. Again, rural and remote areas always pay through the nose. I am not sure how much time I have left, so let me just sum up. Please, to all members in this place, take a look at the proposal. It is for a 5% reduction at a time when government is getting so much windfall. Whether it be through inflationary means or a higher carbon tax or higher crude prices, the government is loading up and receiving a ton of revenue, so let us just say, “Stop. Pause. Give a temporary reduction. Zero-base the 5% and let Canadians keep a little more of their money when they go to fill up with gasoline at the pumps.” It is a simple suggestion, and I look forward to questions and comments. I always love hearing what my colleagues have to say.

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Mr. Gary Anandasangaree (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Lib.)

Mar/22/22 1:12:05 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to get a sense from my friend opposite about the following point. There are a number of provincial Conservative governments in Canada. Could he identify any provincial government that has reduced its taxes with respect to gasoline at this time?

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Mr. Dan Albas

Mar/22/22 1:12:28 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the member asks a very good question. Right now all provinces are feeling the strain of their health care system from the pandemic. They have all asked for an increase in transfers, which the federal Liberal government has refused to listen to for such a long time. Alberta is also receiving a windfall right now because of its resource revenue, and it said that at $90 a barrel, it would then forgive a certain tax. Other provinces do not have the same ability. In my home province of British Columbia, the premier has actually said publicly that it should be the federal government taking action on this. That is why I am so happy to be from British Columbia, to be standing up and actually saying, “Here is the common-sense solution.” A 5% reduction at the pumps would help people in Merritt, Kelowna and right across this great country.

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Mr. Martin Champoux (Drummond, BQ)

Mar/22/22 1:13:20 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. I still have the same big question mark over my head. I understand the desire and intention to reduce the burden on Canadians and Quebeckers in these times of crisis, but what I do not understand is that this effort is always going to be directed at the government and the taxpayer. Oil companies are raking in huge profits, and they are receiving huge government subsidies and support. Why would the Conservatives' proposal not go directly in that direction? Why not force the oil companies to reduce the price at the pump, reducing their profits, so that they too can make their own war effort in times of crisis?

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Mr. Dan Albas

Mar/22/22 1:14:03 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is really simple. This member, being from Quebec, knows that the province does get some of its gas and energy from outside of Canada. There is going to be a different approach in every different province. For example, if the international price of gas goes up, we are going to be paying more. Again, the issue we ultimately end up with is that whatever that price is gets magnified by the GST. In my home province, the government has been saying for years that it is going to come down on those gouging gas companies. The government has not, because oftentimes it is a competitive marketplace, so what ends up happening is that it finds its natural level. International instability has led to skyrocketing crude prices, which magnify the GST and increase the windfall revenues the current government is having. Let us just let Canadians keep a bit more of their money, whether they are in British Columbia or la belle province.

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