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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 264

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 7, 2023 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 264 - Dec/7/23
Ms. Julie Dabrusin (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Lib.)
  • Dec/7/23 1:04:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I wonder what my colleague might say in response to a recent study by an economist from the University of Calgary that found, if the carbon pricing were to be cancelled today, those who would stand to lose the most would be people with lower incomes and that high-income households stood the most to gain if the tax were axed tomorrow. In fact, the report found that 94% of people who earn $50,000 or less get more through the rebate than they would ever pay in carbon pricing. I wonder what the member might have to say about that.
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Context: House Hansard - 264 - Dec/7/23
Mr. Larry Maguire
  • Dec/7/23 1:34:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I really heard the enthusiasm of the colleague from Halifax sitting behind the member, who just had his carbon tax cut by the Prime Minister, starting in the new year. The member's question is relevant, but it is interesting to see how the Liberals have changed their tune; it used to be that everybody was getting back more than they paid. Then it went to 80%. Let us face it: They would not be getting anything back if it were not for the pressure the Conservatives put on them to have a rebate on the carbon tax in the first place. The difficulty with this whole process is that it is not true. The Parliamentary Budget Officer himself said that it costs the average family more than $1,000 more than they are getting back in the rebate. Some of the points that came out this morning in the food report showed that, in Ontario alone, there is a $2,600 cost, and $800 does not square that.
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Context: House Hansard - 264 - Dec/7/23
Mr. Mark Gerretsen
  • Dec/7/23 2:00:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I just want to know if the Leader of the Opposition cashed his rebate cheque that he would have received. Would he like to table his bank statements to prove to us whether he did?
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Context: House Hansard - 264 - Dec/7/23
Mr. Mark Gerretsen
  • Dec/7/23 3:40:39 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we heard another one of the member's colleagues earlier today say that he had asked the grocery store retailers who would end up paying the carbon tax that farmers and the grocery stores pay. According to one of the member's colleagues, and he can look it up in Hansard, it would be paid by consumers, as the costs would be transferred to them. All I have been trying to say for 20 minutes is that it is the consumer who ends up getting the rebate. The consumer gets the money back because, by the admission of his own colleague, those costs get passed on to the consumer. That is why what I am saying, and it comes from the Parliamentary Budget Officer, is correct; 94% of households get back more back than they put in. Yes, some people are paying directly through a line item on a utility bill. Other people are paying it through the manner in which it is passed on, like the member's colleague said. At the end of the day, we know it is the consumer who pays it and it is the consumer who gets the money back.
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Context: House Hansard - 264 - Dec/7/23
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)
  • Dec/7/23 3:59:45 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we know that the leader of the official opposition, the leader of the Conservative Party, lives in a government-provided house. He is also provided a government-expensed vehicle. I believe that the leader does not actually pay the “carbon tax”, as the Conservatives like to refer to it; yet, from what I understand, he does get a rebate. I am wondering if the member sees some irony there. Does he believe that his designate should be cashing in on the rebate, while at the same time not having to pay a carbon tax because both his home and his vehicle are provided through the government?
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