44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 29, 2022 10:00AM
- Mar/29/22 2:17:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Friday is April Fool's Day, but Canadians across the country are not laughing because the NDP-Liberal carbon tax is going up. That means home-heating bills, electricity bills and already sky-high gas prices are all increasing. Inflation continues to rage out of control. The carbon tax coalition now has an agreement that will continue to trash our world-class energy industry.
While the new NDP Prime Minister ignores the pain of everyday Canadians, other countries and jurisdictions around the world, including 11 U.S. states, are cutting gas taxes, carbon pricing and even income and business taxes, all in an effort to reduce the cost of living. The Alberta government is also doing its part to help hard-working Albertans lower the price of fuel by eliminating the provincial gas tax while prices remain high.
The people in my riding are now looking to Ottawa to do the same, but the government wants to punish them for driving to work. Canadians need relief. The NDP-Liberal government must stop making Canadians' lives miserable and scrap this horrible April Fool's Day carbon tax hike.
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- Mar/29/22 2:18:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is with great sorrow that I inform the House of the passing of my good friend and constituent, George Mejury. The funny thing is that we did not start off as friends. George, otherwise known by his Twitter handle of @TOareaFan, and I first met when he tweeted at me shortly after the 2015 election. George wanted me to know that he did not vote for me and that he was going to hold my feet to the fire to make sure I honoured my position and worked hard to deliver for our riding of Brampton North.
George loved Brampton. We may not have always seen eye to eye, but we both loved our city. George taught me the value of political discourse and that sometimes the voices that challenge us the most become the ones that lift us up, support us and eventually vote for us too, not because we always agree but because we take the time to hear each other out.
George was a proud Canadian who gave back to his community and was one of the biggest TFC fans I knew. He would have been so proud to see Canada's men's team qualify for the FIFA World Cup, especially because seven of the team's players are from the one and only Brampton.
We will miss George.
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- Mar/29/22 2:19:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, all eyes are on Canada for its ethical, essential energy, but today the NDP-Liberal government announced that it is turning its back on its allies in its plan.
Over the past six years, the Liberals have been unable to meet their greenhouse gas emissions reduction target. Worse still, emissions have actually increased. What are the Liberals proposing now? They are proposing even higher targets at the expense of Canada's economy and jobs.
Yesterday, I met with the EU ambassador, and she made it very clear that Canada must play a greater role in making its natural resources available, especially given the war in Ukraine.
How many billions of dollars will this plan cost Canadians, who are already grappling with historic rates of inflation?
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- Mar/29/22 2:20:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the emissions reduction plan announced today is an ambitious achievable sector-by-sector road map for Canada to achieve its climate targets. Canadians have been clear. They want to see clean air, good jobs, a healthy environment and a strong economy. The emissions reduction plan outlines the practical next steps to continue delivering on these priorities from coast to coast to coast.
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- Mar/29/22 2:20:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have been in this seat for quite a few weeks, and there is one thing people talk to me about a lot: the NDP-Liberal government's inability to answer any opposition questions whatsoever.
Yesterday, I asked for measures to help mitigate the disastrous impact of inflation on grocery bills. Their answer was about the GDP. I also asked for scientific evidence pertaining to the vaccine mandate. I was offered all kinds of figures that had nothing to do with it. There are many examples of such responses to our questions.
Today I would like to try asking a very simple question. Is inflation costing Canadians more, yes or no?
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- Mar/29/22 2:21:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government understands that the cost of living is a major concern for Canadian families.
That is why we reduced income taxes for the middle class and raised them for the wealthiest 1%. That is why we created and indexed the Canada child benefit. A single mother of two can collect up to $13,666. Furthermore, all Canadians will have access to $10-a-day child care.
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- Mar/29/22 2:22:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, here is another one. In three days, this NDP-Liberal government is going to raise taxes on Canadians. In three days, it will help to further increase inflation and the price of absolutely everything.
This new democrat government loves three things: big spending, more taxes and endless deficits. The Conservatives are clear. We are against any form of tax increase that will hurt families.
I am offering the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister another chance. Will he suspend the carbon tax to give Canadian families a bit of breathing room?
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- Mar/29/22 2:22:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives keep pushing a false economic narrative.
The reality is that Canada is resilient and our economy is recovering well from the COVID‑19 recession. Our GDP grew 6.5% in the fourth quarter, making us the second strongest economy in the G7. We have recovered 112% of the jobs lost because of the pandemic, compared to only 90% in the United States.
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- Mar/29/22 2:23:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today the Liberals released their 2030 emissions reduction plan, which is their attempt to reduce emissions across the Canadian economy, but last week the PBO showed that the Liberals did not actually account for the cost of something simple, such as the carbon tax, across the Canadian economy.
If they were that lazy and sloppy in their examination of the carbon tax, how can Canadians have any faith that a multi-sector approach will not be a disaster for Canadian jobs and pocketbooks?
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- Mar/29/22 2:24:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, once again, the Parliamentary Budget Officer confirmed that the majority of households will receive more in climate action rebates than they pay. That is eight out of 10 families. Like the Minister of Health—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Mar/29/22 2:24:25 p.m.
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Order, order.
I will ask the parliamentary secretary to start again to answer the question.
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- Mar/29/22 2:24:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I was going to say, our friendly Minister of Health loves numbers and so do I, so let me quote a few for the hon. member.
A family of four will receive up to $745 in Ontario in rebate. In my home province of Manitoba, that will be $830. In Saskatchewan and Alberta, it will be $1,100. We are fighting climate change and we are supporting affordability.
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- Mar/29/22 2:25:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is not when the cost to the Canadian economy is factored in though, right? They cannot even do that simple math. Eight minus four is all they can do.
Let us talk about some other Liberal math. The Minister of Environment and Climate Change said at committee that they have spent $60 billion to reduce greenhouse gas emissions since 2016. Guess what. Emissions have gone up. If the Liberals are going to spend $60 billion to increase carbon emissions, how many trillions are they going to spend to ruin the financial security of Canadians with this plan?
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- Mar/29/22 2:25:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we know that, if the Conservatives were in power, our emissions would be up 12%. We have flattened the curve. We know that pollution pricing works not only to reduce pollution but also to drive innovation and help the clean growth economy, which is exploding around the world. We know the world is headed to lower carbon energy. While the Conservatives are stuck in the past, we are looking to the future.
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- Mar/29/22 2:26:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, 5,000 Ukrainian refugees are applying to come here every day.
La Presse asked the minister about this, and his office replied that an upward trend has been noticed in recent days, without offering an explanation. Seriously? Ukraine has been at war for 34 days, and 5,000 people are asking for help every day. Where do we stand now? Canada has welcomed only 6,000 people, including its permanent residents, since the war began. This is a failure.
When will the government charter flights to help these people?
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- Mar/29/22 2:27:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with respect, the work that we have done over the last number of weeks has been extraordinary. We have now seen, since the beginning of the year, more than 12,000 Ukrainians arrive in Canada. They are here now.
We have also introduced new programs just in the last couple of weeks that have seen tens of thousands of applications come into the system. We have seen people arrive as recently as yesterday in the province of Alberta. We are going to continue to work, not just to get people here, but also to make sure they are supported when they arrive. I look forward to continuing the spirit of collaboration I have enjoyed with the Bloc Québécois over the past number of weeks to welcome as many people as possible here as quickly as possible.
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- Mar/29/22 2:27:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the number of refugees that have come to Canada since the war began is not 12,000; it is 6,000. The minister is wrong.
Once again, Air Transat has stepped up, saying it was just waiting for a request from the government to help, as it did in Syria in 2015. Air Canada is also in discussions with the government. We do not understand why, on day 34, Canada is still not there for the women, children and seniors who are asking for help. Even the airlines want to contribute, and they are quicker to respond than the government.
What is the government waiting for to take action?
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- Mar/29/22 2:28:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, to a certain degree, the hon. member's argument is self-defeating. On the one hand, he says we are not working with the airlines, but he acknowledged in his question that we are having discussions with the airlines.
We continue to work not just with the airlines but with members in Canada who want to make generous donations. There was a flight that arrived literally last night in Edmonton, Alberta, carrying Ukrainians who have fled to Canada. We are going to continue to do what we can, not just to get them here, but to also work with generous private donations such as this. We will also work on behalf of the federal government to facilitate the entry of as many people as possible to Canada as quickly as possible. A crisis like this demands we take action, and I am proud of what our government has done today.
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- Mar/29/22 2:28:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the plan to reduce emissions proposed by the Liberal government today is quite disappointing. It does not include fossil fuel subsidy elimination. It does not include a clear plan for workers to know that they will have a good job today and for the future.
It is a plan that continues to do the same thing, which is providing more money for fossil fuel sectors and a free pass. When will the Liberal government respond to the crisis of the climate crisis with the urgency that it deserves?
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- Mar/29/22 2:29:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to emphasize that our government is advancing on many fronts to address oil and gas emissions. On top of the cap to reduce oil and gas emissions, we are implementing the clean fuel standard to accelerate the adoption of cleaner fuel. We are putting a price on carbon pollution through to 2030, and we are phasing out fossil fuel subsidies two years in advance. We are seized on the just transition.
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