44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 6, 2023 11:00AM
- Nov/6/23 2:15:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we rarely have the opportunity in this House to call attention to good environmental news, but here is some. Washington State, in the United States, wants to join the carbon market between Quebec and California. This will go a long way toward creating the North American market that Quebec dreamed of when it created this ecological tool 10 years ago.
The Canadian provinces should consider following Washington's example. Joining the Quebec and California carbon market is not only the right environmental decision, it is also why Quebec is exempted from the federal carbon tax. If the provinces are fed up with Ottawa's carbon tax, they can ditch it in a heartbeat. Even better, they can ditch it for a system that gives the public more of a break and focuses on the big polluters.
I am extending the invitation once again. Instead of just whining, why not do something?
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- 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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- Nov/6/23 2:56:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, every time a Conservative member rises in the House, I can sense something fishy going on.
They are incapable of telling the truth. They are incapable of taking responsibility for what they did in the past. That is a shame for my colleagues from Quebec. These people supported the carbon exchange. We should be proud of what has been done in Quebec and proud of wanting to protect the environment across the country.
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- Nov/6/23 3:01:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, I must explain once again that there is no federal carbon tax in Quebec. Canadians are concerned about the cost of living and climate change. Any serious government must have a plan for both. These Conservatives are not worth the risk. That is why we on this side of the House have created a system.
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Madam Speaker, it is always a privilege to rise in the House.
Before I really dive into my speech on Bill C-34, I just want to acknowledge Marilyn Bouw, the president of the Springfield Agricultural Society, for hosting my wife and me at their annual banquet. She is a tremendous advocate and supporter of agricultural communities in her riding of Springfield and broader.
I also want to mention Mayor Myron Dyck from Niverville, Manitoba, who also hosted my wife and me this weekend, together with his wife Shari, at the Niverville Heritage Centre annual fundraising banquet. The Niverville Heritage Centre does a tremendous amount of good work in the community, especially supporting our vulnerable seniors.
I thank Niverville Heritage Centre very much.
The interesting thing about what came up this past weekend at both of those events was the issue of the carbon tax. Folks at both venues talked to me about the carbon tax vote that we had here earlier in the House today. They said, “How is it going to go, Mr. Falk? Is this a confidence vote? Will this actually bring us into an election?”
We know that the Liberals want to quadruple the carbon tax and we know that, already, Canadians right across the country are experiencing significant increases to the cost of living and affordability is top of mind for almost all Canadians.
They asked me—
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Madam Speaker, the hon. member for Brandon—Souris does a tremendous job for his constituents in the western part of the province of Manitoba. They are very well represented. He operates with a lot of integrity and gives a lot of insight into all the issues being considered by the House. I want to commend him for the good work he is doing here.
In so far as answering the question goes, I will talk a little more about the negative impacts the carbon tax has had. It affects investment here in Canada, because it increases the cost of everything. It is not like GST, which is only applied to the end-user once. The carbon tax is applied to the producer, the transporter, the manufacturer, the transporter again, the distributor, the transporter again and finally the retail outlet, which then serves the consumer, Canadian constituents. Those are the people who pay quadruple in carbon taxes, and it is wrong.
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Madam Speaker, I agree with my colleague. It is quite incredible to see the Bloc Québécois aligning itself with the government again today to vote against an opposition motion to remove the carbon tax on all types of home heating.
The Bloc Québécois is in an odd position here, because we are proposing an amendment that would keep us—
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Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise and close off debate today on Bill C-34, the amendments to the Investment Canada Act.
I just want to say that, earlier today, I was very disappointed that, when we had our vote on the carbon tax, on taking it off constituents in my riding who have to pay the carbon tax on home heating, as we were asking for the same type of consideration for Manitoba as was given by the Liberal government to those in Atlantic Canada, the government would not extend those considerations to people across the Prairies.
After eight long years of this government, Canadians from coast to coast to coast have had enough of this Prime Minister and his punitive carbon tax that continues to penalize Canadians, especially those low-income Canadians who are seeing everything up go in value. The cost of inflation is eating away at their paycheques. Their buying power in the grocery store, as well as in the housing market, continues to erode.
I do have some concerns with Bill C-34, which I had hoped would have been addressed through amendments that were brought forward by the Conservatives.
I just have to thank my colleague, the shadow minister of investment and industry, for the work that he has done on Bill C-34 in trying to strengthen it and make it better. It has been 14 long years since this bill was updated, eight of them under this Liberal government.
I think all of us have concerns that the government has not taken issues around foreign investment and how it impacts things like national security very seriously. We know that it has not protected our critical infrastructure, which is at risk here if it falls under the control of foreign entities, especially those that are owned and controlled by their states.
What we witnessed, right across this country, is that critical minerals continue to get bought by foreign entities and that those state-controlled operations, first and foremost, are beholden to the despots and dictators who control their countries, rather than produce those critical minerals for our supply chains here.
Speaking of supply chains, this foreign investment act fails to address our economic sovereignty and how that relates to our overall national defence.
If one looks at making sure that supply chains are protected, although Canada is a smaller economy compared to our allies, we still need to make sure that we are getting critical supplies to build everything within our—
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- Nov/6/23 7:08:30 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, as always, it is an honour to stand and represent the people of Battle River—Crowfoot, especially on such an important issue like what I asked last week in question period about the common-sense Conservative plan to axe the carbon tax on all home heating.
Let me take things back to what happened here a number of weeks ago. The Prime Minister, instead of providing leadership and acknowledging that his carbon tax has failed to meet any of its objectives, decided to carve out a small portion of those who are disproportionately affected, there is no question, but exempt a few and leave 97% of Canadians to suffer his carbon tax pain.
Home-heating oil and the dynamics associated with it is not a new conversation. Conservatives have consistently brought up the realities for so many Canadians, whether it has to do with home-heating oil, that small 3% of Canadians benefiting from the carbon tax exemption, propane, natural gas and other carbon-based fuels that heat so many homes across Canada during our cold winters.
However, what we have seen over the last number of weeks is carbon tax chaos. The Liberals admitted that their plan is failing, that it drives costs up and that it has become unaffordable for Canadians, yet instead of taking the opportunity to vote in favour of the motion Conservatives brought forward last week, they continue to divide Canadians for their personal political gain. It is driving Canadians into energy poverty. In a country that is so richly blessed with natural resources, no Canadian should have to worry about turning the heat down so they can afford food at the grocery store, but that is the reality that the Prime Minister, the members of the government and the Liberal-NDP coalition have brought our country to.
Last week, I asked a simple question of the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages. I asked why he would suggest that he had not heard about whether or not the carbon tax was impacting Canadians' ability to pay their bills. I have learned since that question that people have reached out, including from the minister's own constituency, saying they have shared their concerns and pain with him, yet he refuses to respond or acknowledge it, as is the case with so many Liberals and their coalition partners in the NDP.
The Liberal minister from Edmonton had his “let them eat cake” moment, saying it does not concern him. We cannot make this stuff up. The Liberal minister from Edmonton said that he is not concerned at all, I believe is the exact quote, about the costs that the crippling carbon tax is placing upon his constituents and Albertans. The Liberal member from Calgary has consistently run offence for the Prime Minister's failed policies in Calgary, as well as a host of other rural Liberal members of Parliament.
What is interesting is that some areas of the country have traditionally had safe Liberal seats that are now in open revolt against their own Liberal members of Parliament because they are not able to afford the necessities due to the carbon tax pain that is being inflicted upon them by the Prime Minister and his Liberal leftist ideology and coalition partners in the NDP. They are in the constituencies of Sault Ste. Marie, Nickel Belt, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, Thunder Bay—Superior North, Sudbury and Saint Boniface—Saint Vital. Time and time again, we see Liberals who refuse to acknowledge the reality—
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