44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 30, 2023 11:00AM
- Oct/30/23 2:35:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as a member of Parliament from Ontario, I know that Ontario families get over $1,000 a year for fighting pollution. I guess that Ontario MP wants to take that $1,000 right out of their pockets, which is exactly what he is advocating for. Instead, our government is committed to making sure that we help Canadians not just fight pollution, not just fight climate change, but also deal with affordability.
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- Oct/30/23 2:36:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, now we have just been treated to the great carbon tax fable: first, it was revenue neutral; second, we get more money than we pay into it; third, it fights climate change. It does none of those things. What it does, and what the Prime Minister has admitted by pausing the carbon tax, is that it makes it more expensive for everyone. The real tragedy is for Canadians outside Atlantic Canada. Why? It is not being paused, and most people heat their homes in Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, B.C. and Quebec not with heating oil. It does not apply across the country.
Will they stop playing politics, picking winners and losers, dividing Canadians and axe the tax?
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- Oct/30/23 2:37:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to correct the record. When we came into power in 2015, projections in emissions growth in Canada were growing and, in 2030, we would be 80 million tonnes above our 2005 levels. We took that out of the atmosphere and we reduced emissions by another 50 million tonnes. That is the equivalent of removing from our roads more than 20 million vehicles. That is one of the things we have done in the last eight years, and we have done so many more things to fight climate change.
We have the best record of all G7 countries, which is something that never happened, not once, under the Conservative Party for 10 years.
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- Oct/30/23 2:38:01 p.m.
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Before I give the floor to the hon. member, I urge all hon. members to wait their turn before speaking.
The hon. member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles.
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- Oct/30/23 2:38:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, last Thursday, the Prime Minister looked at the polls as our leader arrived in Nova Scotia. He started to panic. What did he do? He temporarily suspended the carbon tax in the Atlantic provinces.
His environment minister said yesterday in an interview that he was not willing to help out Canadians in other provinces, not even back home in the minister's and my home province of Quebec. That is humiliating for Quebeckers, who also bear the brunt of the carbon tax. Quebeckers also have to buy food and fill up their cars.
Will the Prime Minister announce a complete, not just temporary, suspension of the second carbon tax that applies to Quebec?
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- Oct/30/23 2:38:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would invite my hon. colleague to watch that episode of Les coulisses du pouvoir again. I am actually happy that he watches Radio-Canada, because his party wants to slash CBC/Radio-Canada's funding. He should watch that interview again, because what I said was that we are there to help people.
All the measures that we have implemented, from dental care and child care to fighting climate change, are things that the Conservative Party of Canada is opposed to.
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- Oct/30/23 2:39:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as for the tax, I watched the show not once, not twice, but three times, and it was clear what the minister said. He even said that, as long as he is environment minister, there would never, ever be any further changes to the carbon tax elsewhere in Canada. He essentially confirmed that there will be no other pauses as long as he is in that role. It remains to be seen what the Prime Minister will do with that.
For now, I would also like to say that the Bloc Québécois, which supports the carbon tax, says it does not apply to Quebec and wants to drastically increase it.
At the end of the day, what is this government doing?
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- Oct/30/23 2:40:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think that if he watched the show once, twice, or three times, maybe he should have practised his question once, twice, or three times. It is not entirely clear what he was asking. I think he was talking about carbon pricing.
Carbon pricing is in place across the country, from coast to coast. We have made sure there is a fair mechanism for all Canadians. We support Canadians in the fight against climate change as well as on the issue of affordability.
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- Oct/30/23 2:40:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the federal government cannot let 250,000 businesses go bankrupt without trying to save them.
Everyone is asking the government to defer repayment of the CEBA loans for another year without losing the subsidy. All the premiers agree on this, including the premier of Quebec and the premiers of the other provinces, as well as the National Assembly, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and the Association Restauration Québec. The federal government's inaction is leading us to a wave of bankruptcies.
When will the government finally offer SMEs an adequate deferral of repayment?
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- Oct/30/23 2:41:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, nearly 900,000 small businesses had to shut down during the pandemic. What did we do? We created the Canada emergency business account, or CEBA, to help small businesses keep their doors open.
What are we doing? We are providing additional flexibility so that businesses can repay their CEBA loans. What will our government continue to do? We will continue to listen to and support small businesses across the country.
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- Oct/30/23 2:41:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let us talk about the federal government's flexibility. Businesses had until December 31 to repay the loan without losing a subsidy that is saving them from bankruptcy. Are my colleagues aware of how much more time Ottawa has given them? It has given them 18 days.
The Liberals gave 18 days to businesses that have been fighting for three years to pay off their pandemic debts. Eighteen days is what they call flexibility. The survival of 250,000 businesses is at stake.
When is a real payment deferral coming?
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- Oct/30/23 2:42:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Canada emergency business account was offered during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was an interest-free loan for a term of two years or more, depending on the date, a portion of which can be partially forgivable as long as repayment is made in a timely manner. The loan can also be extended without the need for immediate repayment at the start of next year, and can be extended again until 2026.
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- Oct/30/23 2:43:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is not true that the government is flexible or financially responsible.
If the government were responsible, it would do everything in its power to prevent 250,000 businesses from going bankrupt. If it were responsible, it would understand that businesses pay faster when they are up and running than when they are bankrupt. If the government were responsible, it would know that the employees of these businesses are more profitable when they are working than when they are on employment insurance. If it were responsible, it would again defer the repayments and would assess every business's account to find personalized solutions. That is what it means to be responsible.
Is the government not willing to try?
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- Oct/30/23 2:43:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we will continue to be there for small businesses.
We extended the deadline for small businesses from last year to this year. Since they asked for more assistance, we are giving them more refinancing flexibility. We are giving them more time to access the loan forgiveness and a one-year extension of the CEBA loan repayment deadline.
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- Oct/30/23 2:44:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, an election must be in the air because the Prime Minister has announced his re-election campaign: Vote Liberal, and in three years they are going to quadruple the carbon tax on home heating, gas and groceries. After eight years, the Prime Minister is in a panic mode because he knows his NDP-Liberal government is not worth the cost.
Now we have a Liberal minister from Long Range Mountains in Newfoundland and Labrador admitting that only Canadians who vote Liberal will get an exemption from the carbon tax. What about the Liberal minister from Edmonton Centre or the Liberal MP for Calgary Skyview? Were these MPs so incompetent and so out of touch that they could not secure an exemption to the carbon tax for Albertans?
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- Oct/30/23 2:45:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we know that carbon pricing works. It both reduces emissions and puts more money in the pockets of middle-class families. We made a decision to attack a highly polluting source of fuel, home heating oil, in a different way so we could get rid of it faster. We are doing this by making a record investment in heat pump technology, which is not only going to reduce emissions at a household level, but it is going to save families thousands of dollars every year. This is sensible policy. It is good for the environment, it is good for the economy and it is good for the households not just in my riding but right across the country.
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- Oct/30/23 2:45:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the carbon tax works only if it is politically expedient.
The Prime Minister's carbon tax exemption does not help 97% of Canadians who are already struggling to put food on the table and heat their homes. Now we have a Liberal minister from Newfoundland and Labrador telling Albertans that the only reason they are not getting an exemption is they did not vote Liberal.
Are the Liberal minister from Edmonton Centre and the Liberal MP for Calgary Skyview not defending Alberta families? Are they not defending the 81% of their constituents who rely on natural gas to heat their homes and will not get a carbon tax exemption?
Will those Liberal MPs from Alberta stand in the House, defend their constituents and admit their Prime Minister is not the worth the cost?
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- Oct/30/23 2:46:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I guess that member did not hear the minister earlier when he said that home heating oil was exempted right across the country. Furthermore, his constituents in Alberta are getting over $1,000 a year in a climate rebate to help fight climate change. If that member and any other member from Alberta really wants to stand up for Canadians, why do they not stand up to Premier Danielle Smith, as they are trying to gut the pensions of Albertans?
On this side of the House, we are going to stand for Canadians right across the country when it comes to their pensions, when it comes to affordability and when it comes to climate change. The Conservatives are reckless and not worth the risk.
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- Oct/30/23 2:47:22 p.m.
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Really, I would seek the co-operation of all members to please hold their comments so that the Speaker can hear the questions, but also so that the person who had asked the questions can hear the response.
The hon. member for Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies.
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- Oct/30/23 2:47:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years, that desperate Prime Minister, in total free fall, finally admitted that his carbon tax is punishing Canadians. The Prime Minister also announced in his re-election platform that to vote Liberal in Yukon would mean quadrupling the carbon tax on home heating. This weekend, the minister from Newfoundland admitted the exemption did not apply to all Canadians across the country, including all Yukoners.
My question is for the Liberal member of Parliament for Yukon. Will he step up, stand up to the Prime Minister and demand that the carbon tax be permanently removed for all Yukoners?
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