SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 160 - Feb/14/23

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Feb/14/23 11:49:41 a.m.
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That is not a point of order. There is a bit of chattering on both sides, including from parliamentary secretaries, who should be leading by example. I would ask all members to please give some respect to the hon. member who has the floor. If others have questions and comments, then they should wait for me to indicate that it is time for that. The hon. member for New Westminster—Burnaby. I am sure everyone wants to hear what he has to say.

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Mr. Peter Julian

Feb/14/23 11:50:15 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, absolutely, we can see the Conservatives and Liberals competing. The Conservatives are saying that they did more for tax havens and the Liberals saying that they did more. We know the banks got a ton, hundreds of billions of dollars both in liquidity support from the Liberals and from the Conservatives as well. This was another by-product of the dismal decade of the Harper government, $160 billion in so-called liquidity support for Canada's big banks to maintain profits. This is something else that Liberals and Conservatives fight over, who did more for the big banks. In this corner of the House, we actually believe that regular people should be the ones who are the focus of the federal government. We have certainly shown this over the course of this Parliament, with dental care and a rental supplement. These are all things that the NDP fought for, the member for Burnaby South and the entire NDP caucus, and now we are fighting for pharmacare. We are fighting for more things that will actually benefit people. I need to get back to the final point of this motion, which talks about cutting spending. As I have already mentioned, the Conservatives sprinkled their largesse to billionaires and banks indiscriminately like there was no tomorrow, but they did cut spending in a few key areas. Appallingly, the Conservatives cut money to health care. The health care crisis that see today is a by-product of that dismal decade of the Harper government but also the refusal of the Liberals to make up for what the Conservatives destroyed in health care. The Conservatives also destroyed the network of veterans centres, to ensure that our nation's veterans, who fought for our country, who put their lives on the line for their country, no longer had access to services. The Liberals have made that up in part, but they still have a long way to go. Our critic, the member for North Island—Powell River, has spoken eloquently about the fact that we have a debt to our nation's veterans and that we need to make up for that. One of the most bizarre aspects of the Harper government and its cuts was the slashing and burning of the crime prevention centres across the country. Crime prevention centres are absolutely fundamental in ensuring that the crime rate goes down, not up. We know that a dollar invested in crime prevention saves us $6 in policing costs, in court costs, in prison costs. It is very cost-effective. What did the Harper government do? Did it cut back on its largesse to the big banks? No. Did it cut back on its largesse to pharmaceutical companies? No. Did it cut back on the indiscriminate opening of doors to overseas tax havens? No. It signed more tax treaties with tax havens to ensure that the ultrarich had more places to hide their money. However, the Conservatives did cut the crime prevention programs across the country. They gutted them, and we see the results today. I will be voting against this motion, as will the NDP caucus, because, quite frankly, this is not the direction in which the country needs to go. We need to ensure that we are focused and that we invest to help regular families, seniors, students and people with disabilities right across our country. That is what the NDP believes in.

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Mr. Clifford Small (Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, CPC)

Feb/14/23 11:53:45 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague used the word “largesse” a number of times in talking about the Conservatives and their support for corporate Canada. I would like to remind the member that the coalition of which he is a part used the same largesse when they dished out money to Loblaws to help it buy some new refrigeration equipment. Just a short time ago, Loblaws announced it was dropping its price freeze. I would like the hon. member to explain to the House his efforts in lobbying Loblaws to bring back the price freeze, given the generous financial contributions that the coalition government gave it over the years.

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Mr. Peter Julian

Feb/14/23 11:54:42 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, that is so incomprehensible I do not even know where to start. First, yesterday, the member for Cowichan—Malahat—Langford actually forced through the agriculture committee the greedflation study that would compel the CEO of Loblaws to come forward to Parliament. The Conservatives did not do that; the NDP did it. Second, we know about the hundreds of billions of dollars, almost a trillion dollars between them, that the Conservatives and the Liberals poured into liquidity support for Canada's big banks. Quite frankly, the Conservatives have no lessons to give anybody. The network of overseas tax havens is absolutely unbelievable, the $30 billion that Conservatives put in place. That has robbed Canadians each and every year. That money is taken from seniors, students, families, people with disabilities and small businesses. The Conservatives should be ashamed of themselves.

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Mr. Mark Gerretsen (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Senate), Lib.)

Feb/14/23 11:55:50 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I wish the the NDP and that member, our partners in this supply-and-confidence agreement, a happy Valentine's Day. It is certainly one of the more challenging relationships I have ever been in, but, nonetheless, happy Valentine's Day to them. The member brought up the agriculture committee. I could not help but reflect on a comment that was given last night at the agriculture committee by Dr. Jim Stanford from the Centre for Future Work. He said that clearly inflation was not due to the Prime Minister either, that our inflation and our food inflation were both below average for industrial countries. Would my colleague like to comment on how inflation is a global problem? While it does not bring a lot of comfort to those who are experiencing it in Canada, we are experiencing these problems throughout the world.

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Mr. Peter Julian

Feb/14/23 11:56:46 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the member for Kingston and the Islands is right. It is a challenging relationship. In some respects, the NDP has forced through real things that will have a real impact on people, dental care being one of them, as well as the rental supplement and the additional affordable housing, which the Liberals gutted 30 years ago. Finally we are starting to see investments that will lead to more Canadians having a roof over their head. However, the Liberals need to follow our advice in a whole range of areas. That includes the greedflation about which the member spoke. The reality is that the Competition Bureau needs to have enhanced powers to cut back on what we have seen, which is the most egregious gouging of Canadians. Both the Liberals and Conservatives seem to think that is okay. For the windfall taxes, the Liberals only have put in place 2% of what is needed. We are losing over $30 billion a year and the Liberals need to ensure that those who are winning these amazing excess profits actually pay their fair share to Canadians.

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Mr. Sébastien Lemire (Abitibi—Témiscamingue, BQ)

Feb/14/23 11:57:55 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from New Westminster—Burnaby for his speech and his humanism. We are talking about the cost of living and inflation. In my opinion, the most vulnerable people are seniors who do not necessarily have the means to re-enter the workforce and earn a higher income. Would my colleague agree that OAS should be increased by at least 110% for seniors aged 65 and over?

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Mr. Peter Julian

Feb/14/23 11:58:24 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the NDP believes that a guaranteed annual income is absolutely essential for persons living with disabilities and seniors. There are seniors across the country, including in my riding, who spend the night sleeping on the ground outside or in their car. It is incomprehensible that the major banks are making billions of dollars in profits and that there is a lack of investment in seniors.

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Ms. Niki Ashton (Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, NDP)

Feb/14/23 11:59:08 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I rise today to discuss the Conservative Party's opposition day motion, a deeply unserious solution to a deeply serious problem. Life in our country is becoming increasingly unaffordable for many, for working people, for people on fixed incomes, for people who live here in northern Manitoba and in so many parts of our country. It is clear from the speeches we have heard so far in the House that both the Conservatives and the Liberals are more concerned with the theatrics of being seen to take the issue of the cost of living crisis seriously, but are not prepared to do what it takes and what is necessary to build an economy that works for everyone. We are all familiar with the statistics. More than half of Canadians are $200 away from insolvency. One and a half million Canadians are relying on food banks. One out of every four kids is living in poverty. One third of Canadians live in inadequate, unaffordable and unsuitable homes. First nations children living on reserve are over four times more likely to live in poverty than non-indigenous children. Almost half of all first nations children live in poverty, a number that is in contrast to 12% of non-indigenous, non-racialized, non-newcomer children who live in poverty. In a lot of ways this reality is becoming worse. The median hourly wage for Canadian employees was $26 in 2021, down from $26.36 in 2020. This is a reality fuelled by corporate greed, where prices have increased and Canadians are falling further and further behind, unable to afford groceries, rent and the basic necessities. Nineteen per cent of low-income Canadians in 2022 were forced to borrow from friends or relatives or to take on more debt to survive. The greedflation crisis is increasing the divisions in our country, and those at the bottom are being asked to take on more while the richest in our country thrive. We still live in a country where the six biggest banks can pay out more than $19 billion in bonuses. The median CEO bonus came in at $1.95 million, up nearly 38% from 2020. The typical CEO gets a bonus equal to 170% of their salary, but this is the way our system was designed. A couple of years ago, the NDP looked into the 100 richest Canadians, all billionaires, and to whom they donated. Fifty-six of them donated to the Liberals and 61 to the Conservatives, and are they getting their money's worth. Both the Liberals and Conservatives refused to close down tax havens on which these billionaires rely. They both refuse to bring in a wealth tax. When corporate Canada got out of paying $30 billion using tax avoidance schemes in one year, we in the NDP immediately proposed solutions to end these tax scams, but the Liberals and Conservatives shut that proposal down, as is tradition. This is the Canada where successive Liberal and Conservative governments helped build the system, but we know that it should not have to be this way. Both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Conservative Party have a long record of coddling the ultra-wealthy. Neither the Prime Minister nor the Leader of the Conservative Party are willing to admit it, but I will let Canadians in on an open secret. Both the Liberals and Conservatives largely agree on the majority of issues that affect Canadians day-to-day lives. There may be some degrees of difference. When the Leader of the Opposition was in government, our corporate tax rate was 15%. The current rate, under a Liberal government, is also 15%. When the Conservatives were in power, they gave billions of dollars to big oil. The Liberal government is doing the same. They both have blocked every effort we have made to have a same tax policy, a fair tax policy that ensures the rich pay its fair share. This what they have built, a system that allowed 123 corporations to deprive the Canadian people of $30 billion in taxes in 2021 alone. We are seeing increased corporate consolidation. Shaw and Rogers are about to merge, which would only make things more expensive for Canadians. I say this coming from a province where Bell bought out MTS, and we were promised more competitive cellphone and Internet prices. All we have seen is prices go up. We know that the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry is going to sit idly by while life gets more unaffordable. This is a type of, dare I call it, “champagne socialism” where risk and loss are the responsibility of the taxpayer but profits and price gouging are just business as usual. That is their record. When we in the NDP saw the corporate greedflation driving food costs, we took action. The cost of food recently hit a 41-year high. People in my generation have never seen inflation this high. We knew action was needed, and we called on the Competition Bureau to investigate grocery chain profits. It may not surprise Canadians that grocery stores that had been caught fixing the price of bread in the past could also rip off Canadians trying to feed their families. This apparently shocked Liberals and Conservatives. However, we knew it needed to be done. We knew that there needed to be justice, and we need to make a difference in people's lives. Let us not pretend that this motion is anything other than the type of faux populism we have learned to expect from today's Conservatives. They identify some parts of the problem, such as spiralling grocery costs and unaffordable housing, but then turn around and propose the most harmful of solutions. These solutions, once again, place the burden on Canadians rather than on those driving up costs. Capping spending on services that Canadians rely on will not allow struggling Canadians to afford groceries. Cutting taxes for the wealthiest people in this country will not mean that people are finally able to buy a house. It will just mean that those with the most are still being asked to help the least. This sort of upside-down politics is at the root of what is wrong with our political system. We must imagine a better way. Imagine a government that did not make it as easy as possible for the richest corporations in our country to park their money in tax havens. Under the Prime Minister's watch, Canadian assets in the top 16 tax haven jurisdictions have gone from $126 billion to a whopping $400 billion. The ultrawealthy have never had it so good. Imagine we had a windfall tax, something this government has refused to implement. A recent report by the Parliamentary Budget Officer found that the NDP's proposal for a windfall tax on big oil and gas and big box stores, which includes big grocery chains, would generate $4.3 billion over five years. Imagine what we could do with that money to help Canadians. Instead, we see the CRA targeting Canadians who tried to stay afloat during the pandemic, demanding CERB repayments, rather than targeting corporations that used the Canada emergency wage benefit to fund stock dividends and buybacks. These misplaced priorities punish already struggling Canadians while robbing those same Canadians of the services they could get if we actually took corporate crime seriously in this country. However, we do not. We do not even have real fines for when corporations engage in tax avoidance schemes. They get caught, but there is no fine; they just have to pay the taxes they should have paid in the first place. These general antiavoidance rule violations mean that there is no reason for corporations to keep from trying to cheat the system. The worst-case scenario is that they owe what they should have paid in the first place. We in the NDP have consistently presented a vision where billionaires pay their fair share; Liberals and Conservatives have worked to block it. We have called on the government to bring in a wealth tax, raise the corporate tax rate to 18% and beyond, bring in a windfall tax, close the capital gains loophole and stop the billion-dollar giveaways to big oil. This could raise billions of dollars in revenue taken directly from the ultrarich, which could be spent on the services that Canadians desperately need. I will not be voting for this motion. I am proud that we in the NDP are speaking out against this, calling out both Conservatives and Liberals for their hypocrisy. I will continue to stand up for the people here in my home, including working people and people on fixed incomes who need help now. I will continue to take on the rich and powerful and the two political parties that enable them.

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Mr. Bob Zimmer (Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies, CPC)

Feb/14/23 12:09:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we could certainly imagine what an NDP government would look like in Canada. Frankly, we do not need to imagine it: We are seeing a coalition between the NDP and the Liberals that forms a very NDP government. Even in my home province of British Columbia, we have an NDP government. I hear its members proudly saying “Go, go”, but we just had two mills close. One in Prince George lost 300 employees and another in Chetwynd lost 200 employees, all because of policy from the NDP policy and this Liberal federal government that destroyed those mills and the allocation. I guess the mystery to me, and I think what a lot of Canadians are asking, is that if the Liberal government is so bad, why does the NDP keep propping this corrupt Prime Minister up?

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Ms. Niki Ashton

Feb/14/23 12:10:06 p.m.
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First, Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge the challenging times that people in northern B.C. are facing. I have family in Prince George and heard the news of the closures. I certainly hope that support is there. Let me tell this member what his Conservative government did to my home community of Thompson. It approved the buyout of Inco, a profitable Canadian company, by Vale, a Brazilian multinational. Vale received supports from Export Development Canada and others, but it went on to slash half the jobs in my home community. There are no more processing jobs here in Thompson, Manitoba, thanks to what the Harper government did in selling off our resources and selling off well-paying Canadian jobs. Therefore, I will not take any lessons from Conservatives when it comes to standing up for good, working-class jobs in the resource sector. I am proud of the work the NDP is doing nationally to call on corporations, including those that are shutting down jobs in our communities, to pay what they owe. We are particularly calling on those that have seen excessive profits, including in mining, oil and gas, and other resource areas. I hope they will join us.

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

Feb/14/23 12:11:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member went on an attack and wanted to point out hypocrisy from the Conservatives and the Liberals in terms of corporate taxes. She pointed out that we have not increased or reduced corporate taxes, and in particular, we have not increased them. I want to remind the member that the only government that I have witnessed offhand decreasing corporate taxes was the NDP provincial government in Manitoba. Not once but several times, the NDP, who have never been in office here in Ottawa but have been in my province, decreased corporate taxes. Does the member feel that there might be a bit of hypocrisy if we put this into the context of what she was saying?

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Ms. Niki Ashton

Feb/14/23 12:12:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as might be expected, I would remind the member that the NDP has not been in power in Manitoba for many years, going back to 2015. Therefore, in 2023, when we are seeing corporate profits through the roof and an inflation crisis we have not seen in over 40 years, I would ask the member and his party, the governing party of Canada, to get with the program. I would certainly ask them to learn from like-minded countries that have imposed a windfall tax and increased the corporate tax rate, including our neighbours to the south. I ask them to take on real measures at the national level that seek to redistribute wealth in our country, stop giving favours to their wealthy friends and support Canadians in their time of need through bold initiatives on tax fairness. Let them support our plan.

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Mr. Sébastien Lemire (Abitibi—Témiscamingue, BQ)

Feb/14/23 12:13:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when inflation and the cost of living go up, housing becomes a key issue. Does my colleague see boosting funding to buy properties and support affordable and community housing as a solution? If the number of units goes up, would that not bring prices down because of supply and demand?

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Ms. Niki Ashton

Feb/14/23 12:13:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member is right. The current housing crisis is a huge part of the cost of living crisis our constituents are experiencing right now. Investments in co-operative housing, affordable housing and housing in indigenous communities are crucial. That would be part of the solution.

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Mr. John Williamson (New Brunswick Southwest, CPC)

Feb/14/23 12:14:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for South Shore—St. Margarets. I am always honoured to rise in the House of Commons on behalf of my constituents to speak for individuals, families and communities in New Brunswick Southwest. New Brunswick is a place where people work hard, play by the rules and sacrifice for their kids and grandchildren. In this way, the Maritimes are really just like any other part of this great country. Today, working hard is just not paying off like it once did. This is because the current federal Liberal government is not upholding its end of the bargain. It is not delivering on its promise to Canadians. Canada is at a difficult crossroads. The economic skies are very dark, and times are hard for Canadians. I remind the members opposite, the MPs who represent the Liberals and the NDP, that federal tax increases, sky-high deficits and out-of-control inflation are all results of deliberate policy choices made by the government, which they have supported for the last eight years. What are the consequences of botched federal policies? After eight years of the current Liberal Prime Minister, inflation is at a 40-year high. Since last year, the cost of groceries is up 11%. Half of Canadians are cutting back on groceries. Twenty per cent of Canadians, or one in five, are reducing or skipping meals to control costs and help make ends meet. After eight years, the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment across Canada's 10 largest cities has doubled to over $2,200 a month, compared with less than $1,200 per month in 2015. Nearly half of variable-rate mortgage holders are saying that rising interest rates could force them to sell or vacate their homes by the end of this year. Average monthly mortgage payments have more than doubled; they now cost typical Canadian family households over $3,000 per month. Canadians are being squeezed by a vice grip of inflation and Bank of Canada mismanagement. Liberal monetary policy has been a disaster, but this should not be a surprise. The Liberal leader informed Canadians in 2021 that he did not think about monetary policy. I actually thought the PM was boasting about not thinking, but look at the mess Canada is in. Liberal budgets are also moving in the wrong direction. The central philosophy is tax, spend and regulate. When that does not work, the Liberals hit repeat. They tax, spend and regulate. Reckless Liberal spending, fuelled by easy debt, is the root cause of Canada's soaring inflation. The Government of Canada ballooned our national debt. It has doubled in the last eight years. The government has accumulated more debt than all previous prime ministers combined going back to 1867. This debt binge was encouraged by the Bank of Canada's policy of quantitative easing, and today, Canadians are paying for this entirely predictable effect of policy carelessness. The federal tax bite has worsened over the past eight years. Today, taxes on consumption and everyday living increase every year, while Canadians are falling further behind. For the past eight years, the federal government has pursued a plan to make our affordable and abundant energy more expensive through regulation and ever-rising taxes. Home heating fuels, electricity and prices at the pump are all more heavily taxed, and the Liberals keep raising those taxes. Canada can do better. If we look back to eight years ago, taxes for families, businesses and individuals were lower in this country. If one earned a low income, one actually paid no federal income tax. The GST was cut to help low-income Canadians. Our manufacturing and natural resources sectors were growing because Canada had a federal government that understood what fuels our economy and shared prosperity. Budgets were in surplus and taxes were cut. This allowed more households to save for the future, because federal government spending was focused on improving services and better outcomes for Canadians. Home ownership was growing, and people were able to afford the basics and save for tomorrow. Canadians, in short, were getting ahead. Today, it is a completely different story. Inflation is at a 40-year high. Half of households earning less than $40,000 a year are worse off, because we know, should know or have learned that inflation is the price Canadians pay for all the government benefits the Liberals and their NDP coalition partners said would be free. We know that is just not true. Meanwhile, our allies across the globe are making desperate energy deals with dictators to buy oil and gas as Canada ignores requests for help. This is true in Asia and is true in Europe. None of this happened by accident. It is the result of policy choices supported by the Liberal-NDP coalition. That is why today's motion is so important. It is a motion introduced by the Conservatives to get Canada back on track. It is a necessary course correction. We are calling on the Liberals to cap spending, cut waste, fire high-priced consultants who do not do much and eliminate inflationary deficits and taxes that have caused a cost of living crisis. Unfortunately, I do not think members opposite will take advantage of this opportunity to fix their mistakes. They are committed to their belief that the federal government's primary role is wealth redistribution. In fact, the previous speaker said the government is about wealth redistribution, instead of what Conservatives believe in, which is expanding opportunity and creating wealth so we have the resources to fund our social programs and ensure Canadians get ahead. The Liberals are also preparing the next blow to our economy with a plan for a so-called just transition away from hydrocarbons. I am a member of the public accounts committee, and we recently studied the government plan that seeks to shut down natural resource sectors to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The government's planned transition will be so painful that it is being compared to the collapse of the northern cod fishery in Atlantic Canada in the 1990s, which was devastating. I note that the labour minister recently said Canada needs more oil and gas workers, not fewer, and cursed the misleading term “just transition”. That is because the member represents Newfoundland and Labrador and understands the danger the just transition poses to his economy and provincial economies across the country. The members opposite are so desperate to hide this reality from the public that they are testing new buzzwords. How do they sell job losses? It is by mentioning “a fair economy, a green economy, a progressive economy, an economy that works for all Canadians, and an inclusive economy.” That is nonsense. What is so fair or inclusive about a federal government determined to put Canadians in the unemployment line? When someone is working two jobs just to make ends meet, pay their rent and buy food, as some of my constituents are, how can they possibly save enough to get ahead? For years, the Conservatives said the carbon tax was a tax on everything. Members opposite scoffed, but today nobody is laughing as families struggle under punishing energy and consumer prices. The Liberals and NDP like to blame the Russians, but in my part of the world, over in the state of Maine next to New Brunswick, a litre of gasoline is 50¢ less after exchange than it is in New Brunswick. The Russians have nothing to do with it. That is tax policy and regulation policy driven by the Canadian government. Members of the Liberal Party and the NDP are committed to a set of policies that are going to continue to push Canada down the wrong track. Government is about protecting and advancing the interests of Canadian families. The NDP-Liberal coalition has failed to do this. That is why it needs to be replaced so Canadians will not just get by but get ahead.

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Mr. Mark Gerretsen (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Senate), Lib.)

Feb/14/23 12:24:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if we look at inflation throughout the globe and do not look at it just domestically, as the Conservatives like to do, we will recognize that Canada's inflation rate is among the lowest in the G7. Japan has an inflationary rate of 4%, France is at 5.8%, Canada is at 6.3%, the U.S. is at 6.4%, Germany is at 8.5%, the U.K. is at 9.2% and Italy is at 10.1%. When we look at energy specifically, both the U.S. and Canada have a 7.3% inflation rate. The rest of the G7 is anywhere between 15% and 64%. These are January 2023 numbers. How is it that Conservatives can continually get up in this House and say it is the sole responsibility of the Prime Minister of Canada that we are experiencing the inflation we have? One of two things is happening. One, they are just not paying attention to what is going on in the rest of the world, or two, they think the Prime Minister of Canada is incredibly capable of influencing inflation throughout the world. Which one is it?

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Mr. John Williamson

Feb/14/23 12:25:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is obviously not the latter, because the Prime Minister has told us he does not think about monetary policy. We are not asking the Liberal government to be held accountable for inflation policies around the world. We are talking about this country. The Liberal government flooded our country with $400 billion in deficit spending, and we all know, or should know, that inflation is a monetary policy. The government devalued the value of Canadian currency and our savings, and we are paying for it now because of higher prices.

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Ms. Monique Pauzé (Repentigny, BQ)

Feb/14/23 12:26:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the preamble to the opposition motion contains many truths. I will refer once again to the text of the motion. We agree with the part that says, “fire...consultants”. McKinsey, for example, recommended investing in carbon capture and storage when we know it is too costly and ineffective. The motion also says, “cut waste”. We agree with that too, especially when it comes to oil subsidies. That $3.6 billion could be rapidly redirected to carbon capture and sequestration. I am sure the opposition would vote in favour of that. Oil companies have been raking in mind-boggling profits thanks to high gas prices. Does anyone really think they need money? Why are the Conservatives not talking about that?

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Mr. John Williamson

Feb/14/23 12:27:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are talking about several different things. Today we are talking about taxes and the government's massive spending that does not make much sense. We think that energy sources should not be subsidized, full stop.

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