Hon. Gudie Hutchings, P.C., M.P., Minister of Rural Economic Development: Thank you, Senator Marshall. It is wonderful to be here today. I am a true and proud Newfoundlander and Labradorian.

I will agree to disagree with the province on the price on pollution, because I saw first-hand the cost of not acting on pollution when we all saw Hurricane Fiona hit Atlantic Canada and Îles de la Madeleine. As you know, my riding is the southern part of the province that was devastated by that.

When you talk to people about the price of not acting on pollution and the carbon footprint, people in my riding will say, “Please, we have to do more.”

The price on pollution that we will put through now will see the average Newfoundlander and Labradorian family of four receive over $1,300, and they will pay in about $700, so they will be better off in the long run.

We have had many other programs, as well: We have increased the Guaranteed Income Supplement, or GIS, and we have the Oil to Heat Pump Affordability Grant for people wanting to transition off of oil heat. We have now come out with $10-a-day daycare. We are doing so much to help people in these challenging times.

I will not sugar-coat it: These are challenging times for folks. We have come out of a pandemic that has been devastating to people, and that has affected supply chains. We’re impacted by the war in Ukraine.

Again, though, people look at their day-to-day lives, and it is having an impact, but I can tell you that Canada’s foundation is strong. We will get through this together.

Hon. Elizabeth Marshall: Minister, welcome to the Senate of Canada.

Minister, on November 22, your government announced its intention to impose an expensive carbon tax on the people of Nova Scotia, P.E.I. and our mutual home province of Newfoundland and Labrador. In Atlantic Canada, more than 300,000 homes’ sole option for heating is oil. Our premier in Newfoundland and Labrador wanted a carbon tax exemption on home heating fuels. He said that a carbon tax would place “undue economic burdens on the people of this province,” and he indicated the impacts it would have, especially on the elderly, rural and low-income residents who rely on burning oil to heat their homes. The increased cost of this tax, on average, means an extra $900 per year per household by 2030.

As minister, you have a responsibility to pursue and advance initiatives that recognize the unique realities and challenges faced by our communities. As a member of Parliament from Newfoundland and Labrador, how can you justify supporting these measures that will hurt our fellow Newfoundlanders and Labradorians?