44th Parl. 1st Sess.

December 7, 2023 10:00AM

Mr. Jake Stewart (Miramichi—Grand Lake, CPC)

Dec/7/23 4:50:57 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to be here today and to speak to this. While I will be sharing my views here and sharing my time with the member for Red Deer—Mountain View, I want to tell members something I heard earlier that struck me as funny. Members from the government have said that the Conservatives are taking the country back to the Stone Age. I just ate off a wooden fork. The wooden fork was created by the Byzantine Empire, by the Romans during the Roman period of the fourth century. It may have even been created much earlier, by the Greeks in the ancient world. Do members know how unpleasant that was? The thing that is interesting enough, and I know the member from Manitoba is going to love what I have to say, is that the government is putting Canadians back to the Ice Age, which came before the Stone Age, back when everything was freezing cold. That is what the Liberals have done to Canadians. In this speech today, I will cover the negative impact of the carbon tax on farmers, first nations and families. Let us start with first nations. I am proud to represent four first nations in Miramichi—Grand Lake: Metepenagiag, Eel Ground, Esgenoôpetitj and Elsipogtog. One of the proudest moments of my career was to be named the first-ever stand-alone aboriginal affairs minister for the great province of New Brunswick. It was an honour and a privilege to work with the 15 first nations chiefs, many of whom are here in Ottawa for the election of the new AFN chief. I congratulate Ms. Cindy Woodhouse on her election today. I have gotten to spend time with many indigenous leaders this week, who have told me how frustrated they are after eight years of failed Liberal policies. One of the greatest myths in our country and in our time is that the Liberal Party of Canada is a friend to indigenous peoples. I will explain that mythology to members now and to the people watching. If the Liberals cannot get adequate drinking water for indigenous peoples, then let us not call them their friends; that is a necessity of life, and they have failed at that endeavour in every single element of it. As another example, the Ontario first nations and the Attawapiskat First Nation are taking the Liberal government to court over the unfair carbon tax. They argue that the Liberal government's failed policy unjustly and disproportionately burdens their communities, which already face hardships because of a lack of basic infrastructure and severe poverty. The chiefs of Ontario and Attawapiskat have tried to engage and negotiate with the Liberal government, but to no avail. Now, unnecessarily, they must spend money on lawyers to take the Liberal government to court. These residents do not have the money to install retrofits such as heat pumps. Many first nations are remote and lack basic infrastructure, such as clean drinking water, as aforementioned; moreover, they do not have access to viable alternatives, such as cleaner-burning fuels or public transportation, as is also true of many residents in Miramichi—Grand Lake. The claim that the carbon tax is revenue neutral was always a claim about what the government would take in, not what consumers would actually be paying. The Liberal government members want people to believe they can keep increasing taxes and people will still end up with more money in their pockets; but this is not true for farmers, first nations or the families who are heating their homes in this country. I am blessed to have four children who are very active. We need all hands on deck on the weekends, taking them to events that can occur across the province. My mother assists my wife on most days when I am here; sometimes, my dad assists as well. They are both 66 years old. There was a weekend when my daughter was in Saint John for a gymnastics championship. That is a six-hour round trip from Blackville, where I reside. My son's high school hockey team won a provincial tournament played in Saint-Léonard, New Brunswick, the home of my good friend Senator Percy Mockler. It was an exciting final game, but it took an eight-hour round-trip drive. If someone lives in a rural area, such as Miramichi—Grand Lake, and they need to drive the kids to sporting, arts or cultural events, then they know the painful impact the carbon tax is having. They are paying more every single time they fill up their car or truck. Unfortunately, some children who played sports prior to the carbon tax are now not playing those sports, because the parents cannot keep up with the costs. It is very real. It is happening in my community and in first nations communities. Most people in my area have at least two vehicles; one is usually a truck. Let me be clear: They are not electric, but that is a story for another day. People are struggling. I attended the finance committee's pre-budget consultation in Fredericton not long ago, this fall. The head of the largest food bank in Fredericton told us that they saw a 35.7% increase in use last year. Across Canada, there were nearly two million food bank visits in 2023, the highest food bank use in Canadian history. Canadians are being forced to use food banks because of the Liberal government's out-of-control inflationary spending. It is driving up the cost of everything. On top of this, it is driving up the cost of food even further. Canada's Food Price Report 2023 predicts that food costs for a typical family of four will rise by $700 in 2024. This is on top of an increase of $1,065 in 2023. We can think about that. The typical family of four is going to pay $1,700 or more for groceries in just two years than they were already paying. The carbon price's negative impact on food inflation is real. Meat, vegetables and baked goods are up 5% to 7%. That is why we are calling on the Liberal government to take the tax off farmers, first nations and home heating for families. Farmers are being left out in the cold by the NDP-Liberal coalition, which is desperate to prevent them from getting a carbon tax carve-out for grain drying, barn heating and other farm operations. The Liberal carbon tax will continue to go up every year, increasing the pain felt by farmers, first nations and families. For my Miramichi—Grand Lake constituents, the upcoming choice will be clear. The NDP and Liberals take their money, tax their food, punish their work and double their housing costs. It is a choice between the costly NDP-Liberal coalition and a common-sense Conservative government that will axe the tax. It is the only choice for Canadians, for farmers, for families and for first nations. On the topic of farmers, I spent a lot of time on a file recently with the National Capital Commission. There was a group that had to tear down an old stable, and they replaced it with an $8-million barn. It was laced with the best fibre optics on Planet Earth, an elevator that goes down under the ground and solar panels. It has all these luxury features. It is a barn. Farmers right now need a carve-out on the carbon tax so they can grow us the food that we need to stay healthy in this country, and we have a government that approved a budget for a corporation to build an $8-million barn. I can tell everyone today that there is a choice. Miramichi—Grand Lake constituents have a choice too in the upcoming election, and I am proud to give it to them. The costly NDP-Liberal coalition takes Canadians' money, takes their food, taxes their food, punishes their work and doubles their housing costs. A common-sense Conservative government is the only choice, because we will bring it home and axe the tax.

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