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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 328

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 10, 2024 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 328 - Jun/10/24
Mr. Scot Davidson (York—Simcoe, CPC)
  • Jun/10/24 8:54:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have a story that is going to blow the hats right off our heads. I know we are not allowed to have props in the House of Commons, but let us pretend that we have binoculars. I can see the Deputy Speaker. I can see, way over there, the member for Whitby, who is going to get up shortly. Why does this matter? I cannot see the CN Tower in here. I cannot see the CN Tower in my riding of York—Simcoe, but the Liberal government over here has classified York—Simcoe as part of Toronto when it comes to the carbon tax. Why does that matter to people in my rural riding? We are not eligible for the 20% rural top-up. Think of that. The Chippewas of Georgina Island are 70 miles from Toronto, in the middle of Lake Simcoe, which one has to take a ferry to. It is the only way one can get home. In the middle of winter, one has to use a Scoot to take kids to school. They are not eligible to receive the 20% rural top-up under the carbon tax we have now. Think about that. For people in downtown Toronto, as the Deputy Prime Minister said that she can just go out of her house, walk out and get on the subway. She can get on a streetcar. We, in rural Ontario, where my riding is, have none of those options. We do not have a subway. We do not have a streetcar. The closest hospital is a 45-minute drive, and it is over an hour if one wants to take the ferry from the Chippewas of Georgina Island. When I was coming here tonight, I ran into a gentleman coming up the stairs. He had his hard hat on, and he had his lunch box. He asked me if I worked in Parliament, and I said that I did. He told me that he was just beside himself, making $1,000 a week, $4,000 a month. With his fixed expenses at $3,800 a month, he had $200 to spare. This is the plight of many Canadians now. He said to me that if his fridge breaks or his car breaks down, he would be upside down under water. Again, this is the plight of many Canadians. In my riding, the millions of dollars, since 2017, which people of York—Simcoe are entitled to under the rural top-up is what we have been denied by the government. That is why I am here tonight. I have talked about this for over two years with the Liberal government. At my last adjournment proceeding, my hon. colleague's answer was to get up and ask if I had heard about the 20% rural top-up they are giving Canadians in rural Ontario. The point of the matter is that York—Simcoe does not qualify for that 20% rural top-up. Many communities in rural Canada, right across Canada, do not qualify for that top-up. How does one make the government understand this?
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