SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 114 - Oct/20/22

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

Oct/20/22 10:24:08 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to remind the leader of the Conservative Party, today's leader anyway, that it was not that long ago, about a year ago, when 338 Conservative candidates were knocking on doors with an election platform that made it very clear to Canadians that the Conservative Party of Canada supported a price on pollution. I am sure today's leader of the Conservative Party would remember that commitment, the promise Conservatives made to Canadians as part of their election platform. Today we now see the leader of the Conservative Party breaking that promise. He is now telling Canadians that the Conservative Party is going back on that, siding with the climate deniers, and not supporting a price on pollution. Could he explain the flip-flop on this policy? Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Oct/20/22 10:25:11 a.m.
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I can hear other members trying to answer the question, and I would ask them to hold back. I know the hon. leader of the official opposition is well able to respond to the question being asked. The hon. leader of the official opposition has the floor.

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Hon. Pierre Poilievre

Oct/20/22 10:25:26 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, of course the question is based on a totally false premise, but worse than that, it is based on the worst of Liberal elitist snobbery. For them to look down on the little old lady in rural Newfoundland or rural Nova Scotia because she is heating her home in February and call her a polluter, while the Prime Minister has forced that same little old lady to pay, through her taxes, for him to get on a gas-guzzling private jet, fly around the country for photo ops, burn more fuel in a single month than 20 Canadians burn all year, and go to Costa Rica on that same jet, is the worst high-carbon hypocrisy. It is an insult to Canadians.

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Mr. Denis Trudel (Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, BQ)

Oct/20/22 10:26:26 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am always amazed—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Oct/20/22 10:26:30 a.m.
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I have to interrupt the hon. member, because it seems that some other members are under the false impression that it is their turn to speak. I would ask them to stop talking. The hon. member for Longueuil—Saint-Hubert.

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Mr. Denis Trudel

Oct/20/22 10:26:39 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am rather amazed to see how much my Conservative friends are off the mark when it comes to the economy. They are telling us that lowering the carbon tax will help Canadians live better. However, the opposite is true. The carbon tax is meant to fight climate change. It is not a perfect tool, but it is one of the best tools we have right now, according to the experts. I would like to inform the leader of the Conservatives of what the UN says about the carbon tax. According to the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, the number of climate-related natural disasters has more than doubled in the past decade compared with the 1980s. According to the World Meteorological Organization, between 2000 and 2019, 6,700 disasters cost the lives of more than 1 million people and affected 4.2 million more. In addition, they caused almost $3 trillion in global economic losses. That is why the carbon tax exists.

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Hon. Pierre Poilievre

Oct/20/22 10:27:49 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, first, I find it funny that the Bloc Québécois, which is supposed to be separatist, is now in favour of a federal government that is imposing a triple tax on the provinces. It is true. Every day, the Bloc Québécois stands in the House of Commons to ask for a stronger federal government. We are the ones who want to give Quebeckers the opportunity to be masters of their own house. Second, the hon. member says that climate change is important. Yes, that is true, and that is why we need to put an end to policies that are not really working. It is not by increasing the cost of traditional energies that we will fight climate change, it is by reducing the cost of alternative energies. That is what we will do by encouraging hydroelectricity, nuclear power and the production of electric batteries here in Canada.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Oct/20/22 10:28:49 a.m.
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We seem to be having some back and forth. The Bloc Québécois had a chance to ask a question. There was no reason to keep shouting while the hon. Leader of the Opposition was answering. The hon. member for Hamilton Centre.

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Mr. Matthew Green (Hamilton Centre, NDP)

Oct/20/22 10:29:19 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, indeed, 40% of people in Canada are living in energy poverty, yet the oil and gas sector made $147 billion last year. This second quarter alone, profits for the national resources went up by $3.5 billion. Suncor Energy shows the same trend, with another $3.9 billion in the second quarter. Does the leader of the official opposition have the courage to actually tackle the real root causes of this impending recession and the high cost of living? It is impossible for me to speak with those guys continuing to chirp, Madam Speaker. Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Oct/20/22 10:30:01 a.m.
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I do want to again remind the members to please hold off on speaking when someone else has the floor. I would ask the hon. member to please wrap up, because we are out of time.

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Mr. Matthew Green

Oct/20/22 10:30:09 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, does the leader of the official opposition have the courage to tackle big oil and gas profits and support our policy to introduce an excess profit tax to fund the GST rebates on home heating costs?

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Hon. Pierre Poilievre

Oct/20/22 10:30:26 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, if the NDP member is so unhappy with the way things are going in Canada, why is he supporting the Liberal government that is making it so? He and his costly coalition have supported the government greed that has hoovered up the money that Canadians worked so hard to earn. That costly coalition has caused today's inflation. That costly coalition will make it worse by tripling the tax. If he is not happy with how badly his people are suffering, then why does he stay part of that coalition?

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Oct/20/22 10:31:00 a.m.
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I understand and respect that there are differing views on this. The hon. member had an opportunity to ask a question and if he has other questions, he should get up at the appropriate time and not yell back and forth when someone is trying to answer the question. I also saw members of the official opposition trying to help out. If a member has not been recognized, please do not yell across the way and do not participate in the debate until it is the member's time to do so. Resuming debate, the hon. member for Calgary Forest Lawn.

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Mr. Jasraj Singh Hallan (Calgary Forest Lawn, CPC)

Oct/20/22 10:31:47 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is an honour to rise today to add my voice in support of fighting to exempt all forms of home heating fuel from the carbon tax for all Canadians. This week, we have heard a lot from all sides about the pain Canadians suffer as unjust inflation and the cost-of-living crisis make life absolutely unaffordable in Canada. From a single mother skipping meals just to be able to feed her kids to a tradesman renting an apartment with his parents and still not being able to afford gas for his truck to seniors living on a fixed income and staring down the triple carbon tax, people are not sure if they can heat their homes or even keep them. We hear from the Liberals and the NDP that Canada is in a much better position than the rest of the G7, yet the Bank of Canada is tied with the U.S. for the highest interest rates today. What is worse is that it is widely expected that the bank will raise the key interest rate by another 75 basis points. That means we are looking at the interest rate being 4%. That is a 4% increase Canadians are forced to pay to borrow money or get a mortgage. Why are there higher interest rates? To combat the unjust inflation created by the government's out-of-control spending. After an over $300-billion deficit in the fiscal year 2020-21 and an almost $100-billion deficit last year, the Liberals have been spending non-stop. In 2021, the Conservative leader warned the government that its spending would cause inflation. Instead of heeding his warning, the finance minister claimed that Canada would actually see deflation. When inflation started spiking, she said it would be transitory. Boy, was she wrong. The Toronto Star is now reporting that she has started to see the light. The finance minister told colleagues that in order to fund the Prime Minister's additional spending, cuts to other areas of government spending were needed. Spending is not the only issue though. Yesterday, the finance minister admitted that with more stimulus money in circulation, there would be more demand for a limited supply of goods and services. In short, too many dollars chasing too few goods. In the context of today's motion, the supply of LNG and other heating fuels are very relevant examples. When the government was elected in 2015, there were 15 LNG projects. Now, seven years later, none have been completed. The same can be said for the Teck mine in Fort McMurray, the TMX pipeline, the northern gateway pipeline, energy east pipeline and the Keystone XL pipeline. On this side, we all know the value of Canadian gas. The world needs more Canadian oil and gas. Alberta has some of the most responsibly developed, produced and transported energy products. The oil and gas companies operating in Canada are the most significant contributors and developers of new clean technology to decrease their emissions. Their innovation and use of green technology make Canadian oil and gas far more responsible than the dictator oil that the Liberals would instead bring in. Instead of Canadian energy being produced, refined and consumed in Canada, tankers of dirty Saudi oil are flowing down the St. Lawrence. The government's dependence on foreign oil means that we send our dollars to the very OPEC-plus cartel that colludes with Russia to reduce the production of their energy products to drive down supply. At the same time, demand increases, causing record profits for countries like Libya, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela. It is not like Canada does not have other countries needing our oil and gas. For example, just this summer, when the Prime Minister made excuses for not having a business case to ship Canadian LNG to Germany, the German chancellor asked our country to increase shipments. The Liberals did not even show the chancellor any Canadian LNG projects. Instead, they talked about hydrogen. Hydrogen is a clean and practical option in which Canada needs to continue to invest. However, replacing LNG with hydrogen is years away and currently impossible. Instead of capitalizing on economic opportunities to increase the production of Canadian energy and fight the OPEC-plus cartel, the government sided with the “leave it in the ground” left and backed Canada into a corner. Instead of lowering energy costs for Canadians, we are at the mercy of Liberal-made inflation, reduced supply and foreign dictators dictating oil and gas prices. The cost of groceries, gas and home heating are skyrocketing because the government has created an environment where prices are out of control, supply is lacking and taxes keep climbing. As the current government prepares to triple its carbon tax, Canadians continue to get hit with numbers like 37% inflation on natural gas and 48.7% on other fuels; 11.4% on groceries; 13.2% on gasoline; and an 8.3% increase in mortgage interest costs. In a recent report, RBC is expecting that, “Rising inflation and higher borrowing and debt servicing costs are expected to shave almost $3,000 from average purchasing power in 2023.” Let us suppose families are paying more for utilities, groceries, gas and mortgages. In this case, a $3,000 hit to their pocketbooks is absolutely devastating, especially with almost half of Canadians being $200 away from insolvency. Therefore, as we turn to the winter months when Canadians need to heat their homes, people are starting to make tough choices. Do they pay for gas or electricity bills to get heat, or pay for groceries, or even cover their mortgage payments. The fact that people in our country have to make that decision is a disgrace. That is why the Liberal premier of Newfoundland and Labrador wrote to the government last month, asking for a carbon tax exemption on home heating fuels. Right now, inflated home heating bills are made up of roughly 20% of just carbon tax. After this year of inflation and the tripling of the carbon tax, that portion could increase to almost 60% of home heating costs per month. That is especially scary for Atlantic Canada, as fuel oils in Newfoundland are already up by 52.8%. According to yesterday's inflation numbers, in P.E.I. it is up 37.2%; 52% in Nova Scotia; and 45.4% in New Brunswick. Analysts are predicting that home heating bills could increase this winter from anywhere from 50% to 100%, and in some cases around the country even 300%. The Ontario Energy Board also indicated that Ontario natural gas prices could increase by more than 150% this month. Other Canadian premiers are also calling for the Liberals to cancel their tripling of the carbon tax as provinces fight for a better way to deal with climate change and lower prices for Canadians. This summer, Nova Scotia submitted a provincial plan to get out of the federal carbon tax, but the federal government outright rejected it. In Alberta, the province created the technology innovation and emissions reduction program. It puts a price on carbon for heavy emitters and the collected funds get reinvested in advancing technology and innovation to reduce omissions, such as carbon capture and sequestration. These are the types of advancements that Canada needs to replace the out-of-touch carbon tax. Punishing Canadians for heating their homes, driving to work or just eating is absolutely wrong. While the government continues to ignore its out-of-control spending and fails to address inflation or the need for development investment in Canadian energy projects, the least it can do is exempt hard-working Canadians from paying the carbon tax to heat their homes. Canadian energy production needs to be increased to grow the supply and lower prices. Winter is coming and the pocketbooks of Canadians are in the red. I ask all members to do the right thing and vote for this motion. I call on the government to have some decency, get off the necks of Canadians and cancel its plans to triple its carbon tax.

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Mr. Ken McDonald (Avalon, Lib.)

Oct/20/22 10:40:44 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, both speakers from the Conservative Party have referenced the letter from the Liberal premier of Newfoundland and Labrador. I do not have a perfect memory, but it is a pretty good one. I remember when a Conservative premier in Newfoundland flew the Canadian flag upside down because of the way the province was being treated by a Conservative government in Ottawa. What makes this leader any different?

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Mr. Jasraj Singh Hallan

Oct/20/22 10:41:28 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, let me tell the member the difference between the two leaders today. We have one leader, the Prime Minister, who continues to divide and blame Canadians for his failed policies, cancels energy projects that could provide the world with clean, responsible energy, and punishes Canadians because he keeps missing his own targets and fails to keep his own promises. Then we have a new Conservative leader who will stand up for hard-working Canadians, who will cancel the job-killing, crippling carbon tax and get clean Canadian energy to the rest of the world, which it deserves, lowering emissions and ensuring everyone has a job in our country.

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Mr. Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe (Lac-Saint-Jean, BQ)

Oct/20/22 10:42:24 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, let me start by saying that I truly appreciate my colleague from Calgary Forest Lawn. I really enjoy working with him. Now I have an idea for today's opposition day. I think I will ask the same question all day, and since I do not think I will ever get an answer, I will make a little video afterwards and post it on social media. I will therefore ask a very simple question. I have a feeling I will not get an answer, but you never know, I might luck out. When will the Conservatives speak out against the excess profits being made by oil and gas multinationals?

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Oct/20/22 10:42:57 a.m.
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Again, I have people who are trying to answer questions and it is not their position to do that at this point. If they are not recognized, I would ask them to hold off on their comments and keep them to themselves. The hon. member for Calgary Forest Lawn.

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Mr. Jasraj Singh Hallan

Oct/20/22 10:43:11 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I respect the hon. member and have enjoyed working with him on the immigration committee. It is one thing to keep attacking our energy producers, but where was the government, or anyone else, when they were not making profits? What about when there was a downfall, when Canadian energy was suffering, when it was being replaced by dirty dictator oil? What about all those job losses for the hard-working Canadians who worked in that energy industry, including newcomers to this country, people from the LGBT community and people from BIPOC communities? What about those people? Who was standing up for them? It was the Conservatives and the Conservatives only. That is what we will continue to do.

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

Oct/20/22 10:44:08 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, my colleague from Calgary Forest Lawn mentioned the northern gateway pipeline, a proposed project that was widely opposed by first nations and municipalities. People from all walks of life— Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

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