44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 25, 2023 10:00AM
- Apr/25/23 3:03:20 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, Alberta families across the income scale will see a net loss of thousands of dollars because of the government's punishing carbon tax, so says the latest Parliamentary Budget Officer's report, but the Liberals would like to bury that one and cover it up.
The ripple effect on the cost of food from farm to truck to store continues to inflate food prices. Albertans know that the carbon tax siphons off their hard-earned money and does not lower emissions. Will this NDP-Liberal government scrap the carbon tax, or will Canadians scrap the government?
98 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Apr/25/23 3:05:54 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, rural Canadians are facing real challenges trying to make ends meet because of the carbon tax. Prices went up again for groceries, fuel and everyday life. When a truck arrives to deliver groceries, it is now more expensive. For Gail and Doug in Creston, taking the children to a volleyball tournament 320 kilometres away is no longer an option.
This NDP-Liberal government's carbon tax is damaging. When will the government start listening to the common people, Canadians, and remove it?
84 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Madam Speaker, my neighbour in the Kootenays spent a lot of time talking about the carbon tax. The Conservatives, and certainly a British Columbian conservative such as he, never mention the fact that the carbon tax in British Columbia is a conservative tax. It was brought in by Gordon Campbell in 2008, 15 years ago. I am sure the member voted for Gordon Campbell several times. Yes, it went up 3¢ a litre on April 1. The price of gas in his riding and my riding has gone up probably a dollar over the last year.
Instead of this fight against the carbon tax, when most people get all of that back, would he join the NDP in the fight for an excessive profits tax on the big oil and gas companies and big grocery retailers that are driving up the price of gas and groceries?
147 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Madam Speaker, here is the issue: People cannot afford the carbon tax today. To say that it is only 3¢ is not the point; the point is that they do not have the money to buy their groceries. They do not have the money to take their children on holidays. They just do not have any money. They cannot buy homes. They cannot rent houses. The taxes we have today are overpowering. When we talk about the carbon tax, let us talk about the farmers and ranchers. They are the ones paying the brunt of the carbon tax because of what they are delivering. I cannot support that.
109 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Madam Speaker, perhaps my friend failed to listen attentively to the last part of my speech, where I identified six key measures the next Conservative government would take to address the affordability issue.
To address the member for Milton specifically on that issue, we will start, number one, by scrapping the carbon tax. How is that for an answer?
59 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, in one of his recent books, Michael Mann, a physicist at the University of Pennsylvania, said that the oil industry's primary strategy to deal with climate change was first to deny reality. Then, as the consequences of climate change became visible, the industry changed its strategy to mislead the public. It is trying to make us believe that there is hope that new technologies will emerge in a few years and that we will be able to defeat climate change easily.
I would like to know whether my colleague is prepared to accept science and recognize that taxpayer-funded carbon capture strategies are a ploy to mislead taxpayers. Those subsidies and tax credits for carbon capture and storage represent a significant amount of public funds. Is my colleague, who is so concerned about a balanced budget, prepared to rise and take a stand against these subsidies?
149 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague brought up the carbon tax a number of times. In my riding, the soup and salad bowl of Canada and home to the Holland Marsh, we are seeing onions come in from Egypt and Morocco. I talked to farmers and they tell me we are losing our competitive edge on pricing now with the carbon tax.
In my riding, we have no choice but to dry our beans and our onions with propane. We cannot even get natural gas lines in with infrastructure spending.
I am wondering if my colleague could comment further on the carbon tax and how it is affecting our agriculture.
109 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Madam Speaker, this budget is interesting in some respects. On the environment, however, I think my colleague and I agree. There are serious shortcomings.
Let us talk about one of the investments being made, specifically in carbon capture facilities, which are currently not at all efficient. They send more GHGs into the atmosphere than they are able to capture.
I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on the effectiveness of these facilities and what other means could be used, such as tree planting and plant filtration, to address these challenges.
92 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
