44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 18, 2023 10:00AM
- May/18/23 2:32:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let me sober up the out of touch, orange jumpsuit wearing minister. Yesterday, food banks said that those accessing food charity quadrupled since the Liberal-made inflationary crisis. The Liberals already made rents and mortgages double, and to continue down their woke climate zealot ideology, they will take another $2,000 out of the pockets struggling Canadians, while failing to meet any climate targets.
How much more woke do they need to go? How much more broke do Canadians need to go before the Prime Minister wakes up?
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- May/18/23 2:33:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am told that orange is the new black. To expand on the benefits to the Canadian economy of the clean fuel standard, let me talk about the Tidewater $342-million plant in British columbia. This year, Imperial Oil—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- May/18/23 2:33:44 p.m.
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I am going to have to interrupt. We are starting to get noisy. It started off really well and I was impressed. I just want to make sure that we continue and that everybody is quiet so we can hear the answer.
The hon. minister, from the top, please.
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- May/18/23 2:33:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am told that orange is the new black. I would like to further expand on the examples I wanted to give, like the Tidewater $342-million plant in B.C.; Imperial oil, all privately funded, $720-million plant for cleaner fuels in Alberta; Federated Co-op's $2-billion plant in Saskatchewan; the Braya's plant in Newfoundland, which received an added $300 million of private financing in the last month alone.
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- May/18/23 2:34:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Prime Minister, Canadians' lives have become more unaffordable. They already have one Liberal carbon tax that is costing Canadians 41¢ per litre. Now there is a second carbon tax that will cost Canadians 17¢ per litre. Once tax is added on that tax, it is going to cost Canadians 61¢ per litre, making everything more expensive.
Why do the Liberals continue to force Canadians to pay for their failed policies?
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- May/18/23 2:34:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if the Conservatives are going to oppose the clean fuel regulations, which they supported during the last election campaign, they should explain to Canadian farmers, particularly canola growers in western Canada, why they oppose something that will increase domestic canola demand by over five million metric tonnes and support a strong canola price in our country.
Canadians do not need short-term scare tactics. What they are looking for is long-term affordable solutions to the climate crisis, and that is exactly what we are doing on this side of the House.
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- May/18/23 2:35:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' failed carbon tax has not achieved one environmental target they set. They need to get out of their ideological bubble and talk to real Canadians who drive for a living. They need to talk to truck drivers, delivery drivers, cab drivers and some farmers, who will tell them the real cost of the Liberals' failed policies.
On July 1, the second carbon tax will cost Canadians an average of $573. That is on top of the first carbon tax, which will cost $1,500. Do Liberals really believe that Canadians can afford over $2,000 for carbon tax 1 and carbon tax 2?
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- May/18/23 2:36:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, just this week, the Parliamentary Budget Officer stated that the effects of climate change bit a $20-billion-sized hole out of Canada's economy in 2021 alone. I understand that the Conservative Party of Canada does not believe in climate change, but it pretends to believe in economic responsibility. Why is it that the Conservative Party wants to cancel a market-based mechanism that is putting a price on pollution?
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- May/18/23 2:36:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the new carbon tax will cost the average Quebec household another $436. That will come right out of Quebeckers' pockets.
More and more people are having trouble paying for groceries and putting gas in the tank. They have to make tough choices to get by. For eight years, Canada has been led by a Prime Minister who makes other people foot the bill for his expenses and his vacations. He has not even had to fill his own gas tank for 10 years.
Will he back off and stop making life harder for Quebeckers who are struggling?
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- May/18/23 2:37:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to set the record straight about a question that the Conservatives asked yesterday in the House about a Quebec tax.
The member sent us the report on this here tax. The report talks about something called SPEDE, which is actually Quebec's cap and trade system. That is the system operating in Quebec, not the federal system.
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- May/18/23 2:37:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is 17¢ per litre. The new clean fuel regulations are going to cost Quebeckers $436 more per year. That is the second carbon tax that the minister does not seem to want to repeat.
No one believes this minister when he says that it does not cost Quebeckers more and that we are not subject to the carbon tax. When someone goes to the grocery store and pays for goods that were transported across the country, they see that it does cost more. We are not crazy, we see the impact of the carbon tax.
Why is the government now targeting Quebec with a second tax?
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- May/18/23 2:38:21 p.m.
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Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, my colleague's statement is false.
What we are doing is ensuring that refineries that made record profits in the past few years pay their fair share. That is a 25¢ increase in the refining margins for every litre of gas between 2019 and 2021. We believe that refineries have the means to collaborate on the fight against climate change.
Quebeckers watching us expect all sectors of society, all political parties and all parliamentarians in the House to work to fight climate change.
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- May/18/23 2:39:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, last year, the federal government rejected 72% of francophone students from Africa who were selected by our universities to study in Quebec. That is according to the Institut du Québec. This is not a new problem. The same thing happened in 2020 and 2021, to the point where the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship had to acknowledge, last October, that there was racism within the organization.
What has changed since then? Absolutely nothing has changed, nothing at all.
When will this government stop discriminating against foreign students from Africa selected by Quebec?
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- May/18/23 2:39:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we understand that prospective students and the schools that accepted them are disappointed when applications are rejected.
I want the House to know that last year I was in Tunisia where, during the Sommet de la Francophonie, I had the chance to meet with several leaders and players in our francophonie to come up with solutions to this problem.
I would also like to point out to the House that the approval rate for francophone students from Africa went from 27% in 2022 to 35% this year.
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- May/18/23 2:40:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, an application refusal rate of 72% is more than triple that in Ontario.
Beyond all of these individuals' shattered dreams, the Institut du Québec is concerned that Quebec's activity is threatened. In other words, the federal government is pushing francophones to go study elsewhere when they could be making an invaluable contribution to Quebec. Those who leave after their studies become the most extraordinary ambassadors in the Francophonie that Quebec could ever imagine. Those who stay become a dynamic force in our labour market.
When will the federal government stop standing in their way?
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- May/18/23 2:40:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with my colleague in the sense that we need these people who come here.
That is why we implemented the student direct stream for Senegal and Morocco to expedite the processing of applications. The approval rate has improved, but we know that there is still work to be done. We recognize the major social, cultural and economic advantages that international students bring to Quebec and Canada.
We are doing everything possible to make it easier for students to come to Canada.
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- May/18/23 2:41:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, how infuriating, especially since the government has spent all week acting like it has something to teach Quebeckers. Meanwhile, people look at what the government is doing, and I guarantee they are struggling mightily to be polite.
This government is breaking the rules, and its only excuse is that these students are from Africa. That is truly appalling. When we prove that its decisions make no sense, even when the government itself admits that biases inform its senseless decisions, years go by and the injustices never end.
When will this government put as much energy into treating people fairly as it does into its fancy speeches?
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- May/18/23 2:42:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I said, international students make an important contribution to Canada. We have heard that loud and clear.
That is why we started extending expired and expiring post-graduate work permits. As a result, nearly 100,000 international graduates have been able to continue working across the country. We also scrapped the 20-hour work week cap, and nearly 500,000 international students have been able to work off campus while studying.
Canada is, and always will be, a destination of choice.
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- May/18/23 2:42:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would to encourage the Minister of Environment to go talk to a farmer, because I have not spoken to a single one who supports the first carbon tax, let alone carbon tax number two.
The agriculture minister admitted yesterday that she has no idea what impact carbon tax 2.0 will have on farmers or the cost of food. Here is what we do know: When the Liberals triple their first carbon tax, fuel goes up 41¢ a litre, diesel goes up 15¢ a litre, and the cost of food goes up 34%. When they implement carbon tax number two, the cost on fuel goes up 61¢ a litre and diesel 25¢ a litre.
Could the Minister of Agriculture confirm that coloured farm fuel would be exempt from carbon tax 2.0?
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- May/18/23 2:43:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, once again, it is important to understand that farmers are the first to feel the impacts of the climate crisis. They have always done a great deal to make agriculture as sustainable as possible.
We are there to help them improve their practices, to be able to acquire new equipment and to conduct research and innovation in that vein. We are there to support our farmers.
While the Conservatives take farmers for granted, we have a vision for their future.
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