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Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson (Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Lib.)

Nov/6/23 2:33:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think it is important to Canadians that people are serious in bringing forward policy prescriptions, not simply tag lines. We have put into place measures that will address a critical affordability issue. Home heating oil is two to four times as expensive as natural gas. It went up 75% during 2022. There is an opportunity to reduce the energy cost for people on an ongoing basis, all while addressing the issue of climate change, something that the Leader of the Opposition clearly does not believe in. It is something that is important for Canada. It is important for the 270,000 Ontario homes that currently heat with heating oil.

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Hon. Andrew Scheer (Regina—Qu'Appelle, CPC)

Nov/6/23 2:33:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, they are in complete carbon tax chaos over there. Their pause on the pain does not apply to 97% of Canadians, and it punishes those who use cleaner Canadian natural gas or propane to heat their homes. What did the Liberal rural affairs minister have to say? She said that, if people in other areas want the pause too, they should elect Liberals. The people in North Bay did elect a Liberal MP. Again, I ask this of the Prime Minister: Will he allow a free vote so the member for North Bay can vote on our motion to take the tax off and keep the heat on?

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Mr. Adam van Koeverden (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Sport and Physical Activity, Lib.)

Nov/6/23 2:34:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I said last week, it would be great if, in the House, we could have debates about how we fight climate change, not whether we fight climate change, because in 2023 it is really not an option. It is an existential threat, and we are living in a climate emergency. Canadians know how important it is to fight climate change, and they know that on this point, the Conservatives have absolutely no plan. When one does not have a plan for the environment, one does not have a plan for the economy. Conservatives continue to be risky and irresponsible, and they are certainly not worth that risk.

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Ms. Melissa Lantsman (Thornhill, CPC)

Nov/6/23 2:35:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Liberal-NDP government, the Prime Minister's carbon tax is making it impossible for Canadians to heat their homes this winter. That is especially true right here in soon-to-be-frigid Ottawa. There are 12 Liberal MPs here, a cabinet minister, three privy councillors and four parliamentary secretaries, but, according to the minister from Newfoundland, all of these MPs were not effective enough to get their communities a pause on the pain of the carbon tax. Will Liberals make things right and stand with us today to axe the tax, or will they vote again with the Prime Minister and leave Ottawa residents in the cold?

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Mr. Adam van Koeverden (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Sport and Physical Activity, Lib.)

Nov/6/23 2:36:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there was a time when Canadian Progressive Conservative voters could rely on members of the Conservative caucus for leadership on fighting climate change. In fact, the member for Wellington—Halton Hills staked his entire Conservative leadership campaign on it. He said, “The right way to do it is to price carbon through a revenue-neutral carbon tax”. He staked his entire Conservative leadership campaign on that. Sadly, he lost. However, I agree with him saying, “If we don’t have a [plan] to reduce emissions, we cannot win the next election.” That was true in 2019. It was true in 2021, and it is true today.

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Ms. Melissa Lantsman (Thornhill, CPC)

Nov/6/23 2:36:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if the Prime Minister can pause the pain for some Canadians, then surely he can do it for all Canadians. The Liberal MPs should be demanding that, but they are missing in action, just like the MIA Liberals from the GTA such as that member. Their communities want relief from this costly coalition, but they have been hiding for a week, so I will give them the chance to show up now. Will the Prime Minister allow the members whose phone numbers start with 905 a free vote to take the tax off so their communities can keep the heat on?

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Hon. Karina Gould (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)

Nov/6/23 2:37:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what my hon. colleagues continue to forget is that this policy applies right across the country. Whether people are in the GTA, northern Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba or anywhere else in this country, the price on pollution has been removed for those who use home heating oil. It would be good if the Conservatives actually focused on the facts and allowed us to debate climate change and how we are going to fight it, not if climate change is real or not.

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Mr. Eric Melillo (Kenora, CPC)

Nov/6/23 2:38:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is planning to quadruple the tax on heat, gas and groceries, but he decided to pause the pain for the 3% of families in areas where he is plummeting in the polls and his MPs are revolting. The Liberal rural affairs minister said that, if others wanted the pause, then they should have voted Liberal. People in Nickel Belt voted for a Liberal MP, yet they are not seeing a pause in this tax. Will the Prime Minister today allow the MP for Nickel Belt a free vote to vote with Conservatives to take the tax off and keep the heat on for people in northern Ontario and right across the country?

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Hon. Patty Hajdu (Minister of Indigenous Services and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario, Lib.)

Nov/6/23 2:39:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am so proud to be a northern Liberal member of Parliament because I work everyday with constituents who are telling me that we need to take faster action on the climate. This is because we are losing acres of forest and seeing droughts, even in northern Ontario, which are making it harder to grow food and to grow our economy. My constituents expect me to advocate for a clean environment, and that is exactly what I will do.

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Mr. Stéphane Bergeron (Montarville, BQ)

Nov/6/23 2:39:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let us talk about immigration targets. I would like to quote a document that reads, “from 2026 onward, pin the annual immigration target to...500,000 immigrants...if Canada's population is around 40 million as currently projected.” Members may think that I am quoting the Liberal plan released last week, but I am not. These are the words of the Century Initiative by McKinsey. The cap on the numbers announced for 2026 is literally McKinsey's plan from the start. When will the federal government adjust the targets to match immigrant integration capacity instead of blindly following the advice of McKinsey, a private company that literally manages immigration to Canada?

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Hon. Marc Miller (Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Lib.)

Nov/6/23 2:40:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I find that comment strange. It keeps cropping up among Bloc Québécois members. They are so far out in left field that maybe they should take the weekend to go speak with some farmers and see if they need workers, because they do. These workers come from other countries. They should talk to Quebec businesses that need foreign workers. These workers come from other places. The Bloc should be working with us. We are working with Quebec, and sooner or later the Bloc Québécois needs to get it.

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Mr. Stéphane Bergeron (Montarville, BQ)

Nov/6/23 2:40:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, not only is Ottawa following McKinsey's lead, but it is doing so completely blindly. McKinsey officials themselves have confirmed that their immigration target did not take integration capacity into account. I would like to quote the former CEO, Dominic Barton, who said in committee last year that “the focus...was just on economics. It wasn't thinking about the social context. It was on productivity.” Capping immigration targets at 500,000 means blithely taking advice that ignores integration capacity. Last week, the government promised to respect that capacity. Will the government review its targets?

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Hon. Marc Miller (Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Lib.)

Nov/6/23 2:41:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have never spoken to McKinsey. However, I have spoken to Canadians who want more people from abroad, who want more immigrants to come here to work in factories, to work in the fields, in areas represented by the Bloc Québécois. Clearly, we need immigration. Five hundred thousand is a reasonable target. That is for three years. It has nothing to do with what McKinsey says.

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Mr. Stéphane Bergeron (Montarville, BQ)

Nov/6/23 2:41:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the only difference between Ottawa and McKinsey is that Ottawa goes faster. McKinsey predicted that the population would reach 40 million in 2026. It did so this past June. According to Statistics Canada, if the trend seen from 2022 to 2023 holds, the population will double in 25 years. It will exceed 80 million people in 2048 regardless of our integration capacity for housing, health care, education, French language training and so forth. When will this government finally understand that successful immigration is achieved by respecting integration capacity?

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Hon. Marc Miller (Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Lib.)

Nov/6/23 2:42:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is clear that over the past year, Canadians have asked us to do more when it comes to integration capacity. I am also hearing that we need immigration to grow our businesses. We know that there is still a labour shortage. We need to take a more surgical approach to our targets. Let us look at what we tabled this week. I think that the Bloc Québécois will be comforted by that, unless it does not like immigration. If it does not, then it should say so loud and clear.

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Mr. Scott Aitchison (Parry Sound—Muskoka, CPC)

Nov/6/23 2:43:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister plans to quadruple the carbon tax on heat, gas and groceries. Now he has decided to pause the pain for the 3% of families where his poll numbers were plummeting and his MPs were revolting. The Liberal rural affairs minister said that, if people in the Prairies want a carbon tax break, they should elect Liberals. Well, the people in Sault Ste. Marie did elect a Liberal MP, yet the majority of his constituents are not getting the break. Will the Prime Minister allow the MP from Sault Ste. Marie to freely vote, take the tax off and keep the heat on for the people of the Soo?

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Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson (Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Lib.)

Nov/6/23 2:43:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservative Party, as is often the case, is leaving out many important facts. Eight out of 10 Canadian families get more money back in the rebate than they pay for the price on pollution. It is an important part of having a robust plan to address climate change in a thoughtful way. With respect to home heating, it is a particular issue that we can invest in to ensure we are saving money for people, as we move forward, while continuing to address climate change. The Conservative Party is hiding. It is hiding from science. It is hiding from evidence. It needs to have a plan to fight climate change. Canadians expect more.

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Mr. Eric Duncan (Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, CPC)

Nov/6/23 2:44:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are watching for today's vote on our common-sense Conservative motion to take the tax off all forms of home heating for all Canadians. The Liberal rural economic development minister said that if people want a pause on the tax, they should have elected more Liberals in the region. Thunder Bay did elect two Liberal MPs, and yet folks there are not getting any pause. Instead, the Prime Minister plans to quadruple the tax on heat, gas and groceries, rather than treating them fairly. The question is, will the Prime Minister allow these two Liberal MPs from Thunder Bay to vote freely to take the tax off so people can keep the heat on?

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Hon. Karina Gould (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)

Nov/6/23 2:45:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, again, the Conservatives continue to spread misinformation in this chamber. This pause on the price on pollution on home heating oil applies right across the country, despite what the Conservatives keep saying. What is particularly concerning, and I think I speak on behalf of every Ontario member of Parliament and many Ontario residents, is every time they say “common sense” it brings up terrible memories of the Mike Harris years, when not only did they slash public services but they slashed them in such incredible ways that it led to things like Walkerton. Ontarians remember, and they are not going to elect common-sense Conservatives again.

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Mr. Eric Duncan (Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, CPC)

Nov/6/23 2:45:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, here is just how out of touch and tone-deaf the Liberals are. When asked if she would support giving the same pause on home heating back home, their own minister, right from Thunder Bay—Superior North, said that they do not have the same challenges in northern Ontario that we see in Atlantic Canada. I visited Thunder Bay last week, and let me say that it gets very cold there, too, just like in Atlantic Canada. After eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, the cost of living crisis there is so bad that the regional food bank cannot keep up with the surging demand, now at 12,000 people. Will the Prime Minister let his Thunder Bay MPs vote to give residents fair treatment and take the tax off, so they can keep the heat on?

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