Debates of March 21st, 2024

Opposition Motion—Carbon Tax Election

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Madam Speaker, I reflect on the member's comments about the overspending and printing of money. I want to remind him, and everyone here, that in the early months of COVID we were unified as a House, because we had to be. We were facing an emergency created by a pandemic and, because we could not physically gather in this place and vote because of the health rules of the City of Ottawa, $80 billion of spending was approved by unanimous consent. I was so proud of all of us for putting partisanship to the side.

I would ask the hon. member if he now regrets not showing up and saying no, because one Conservative could have stopped $80 billion of spending.

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Madam Speaker, we all know that Canadians needed support during the pandemic. That is why we, in good faith, voted for that support. Little did we know that this money would go to well-connected Liberal insiders in hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts. Little did we know that 40% of the COVID spending would have nothing to do with COVID. Little did we know that there would be boondoggle after boondoggle, and billions of dollars given to Liberal-connected firms and other things, many of which did no work. Little did we know there would be such poor governance that companies that were not entitled to get things like the wage subsidy did get them.

The problem is not that we wanted to help Canadians, because of course we did, but that the government is absolutely uncontrollably incompetent and needs to be replaced. I urge the member, and all members, to vote non-confidence in the government tonight.

[Richard Bragdon, Conservative, Tobique—Mactaquac, NB]

Madam Speaker, I rise in the people's House to address my colleagues here on a subject of great importance that we have discussed many times.

There is a good reason for it being discussed, which is that it is on the minds of Canadians every day when they fill up their cars, every day when they pay their heat bills and every day they go get groceries. They are looking at the soaring cost of living that is affecting their bottom line at the end of every week and every month. The burden that is upon Canadians cannot and must not be overlooked by their representatives who stand in the House.

I cannot help but commence my thoughts by reflecting on an ancient writing that I read recently. There seems to be some resonance with it. There was once a nation that got into some trouble. It was in a period of great difficulty. Its people were suffering under all kinds of different circumstances and surrounded by different foes, and threats were emerging from different places. It said they came to a place called the Valley of Achor, and in the Valley of Achor, there was a promise of a door of hope.

What I like about this is that even in the midst of pain and in the midst of adversity, we still have hope. Hope is that thing that has a way of rising to the top in times of adversity. Canadians, even though they are frustrated, they are weary, they are overtaxed and they are burdened, are looking ahead with hope in this season, saying, “We have an opportunity to change course.” The frustration that remains is that they just cannot take advantage of that opportunity fast enough.

Canadians want to express how they are feeling. They want to have a say in what is happening in their country. They want to be able to have their voices heard as it relates to the level of taxation they are under. They are asking, and I hear it regularly, how soon they can go to the polls, how soon they can get an election so that we can change direction in this country. I think it would behoove the members of this House to respond to that cry by voting in favour of our non-confidence motion and heading to the polls to give Canadians an opportunity to make a choice.

After eight years of the Prime Minister, Canadians are suffering. Seven out of 10 provinces and 70% of Canadians agree, including our nation's finest military, as I just witnessed last week while visiting a local food bank, are stating very clearly that what we are seeing is duress and financial pressure on everyday households as more and more Canadians are struggling to make ends meet as a result of the carbon tax.

The government has led us to record food bank usage. We are seeing tent cities pop up all over our country at levels we have never seen before. Single moms are choosing between heating their homes and feeding their families. Seniors are lying awake at night, worrying about how they can pay the bills that are coming when their expenses continue to rise but their income is fixed.

I see it on the face of parents who wonder how they will ever afford post-secondary education for their children when they cannot even meet the month-to-month needs of their household, let alone put away savings for their children's education.

I see it on the brows of working families and Canadian workers from coast to coast to coast. They are working harder and harder every day and making less and less at the end of the day.

The frustration is mounting, the anger is growing, and they need an outlet. They want to express and have their voices heard. The best way to let them have their voices heard is by allowing them to express the direction they want our country to take as it pertains to this level of taxation at a ballot box. Let us allow them to do that by granting them the election they so desperately want.

Dr. Thomas Sowell, a renowned economist, has stated:

The welfare state is the oldest con game in the world. First you take people’s money away quietly and then you give some of it back to them flamboyantly.

It is amazing how that is reminiscent of what we are facing right now. The Liberals are taking more and more of our money, yet when they give back a portion of what they take, they celebrate it like they are doing some great favour to the Canadian citizen.

A person works hard and gets $10 in one hand, and all of a sudden the Prime Minister and his government come along and grab that $10 bill out of that person's hands that they worked so hard for, run it through the bureaucratic spin cycle machine, do grand announcements, proclaim the government is going to roll back the tides, heal the oceans and bring temperatures down, and then, at the end of the day, come back to the person, put a $5 bill in their hand and want them to celebrate what a great favour they did for them. The person has fallen behind; they have spent money, and they have nothing to show for it but a grandiose virtue signal, big announcements and less money in their pocket to take care of their family's needs and family's priorities.

It is time Canadians had the opportunity to express what kind of Canada they want in the future and what direction they want to go in. I think it is time we heard what they are saying.

The carbon tax is the most expensive virtue signal in the history of our planet as it relates to environmentalism. We are spending more and achieving less. We cannot point to results. In fact, recently, not that long ago, we had Canada's environment commissioner give a report to the committee. I had the opportunity to be on that committee that day, and I asked the commissioner a question. I asked the commissioner to please tell Canadians how much carbon had been reduced in Canada's atmosphere as a result of the implementation of the carbon tax, which has been in some jurisdictions in this country now for over 15 years. To that, the commissioner replied that we have no such metric, so the landmark, signature piece of legislation on the environment that this government has produced can show no tangible results to average Canadians as to its effectiveness.

I would challenge this government to reconsider immediately its plan to continue down this road, let alone augment the carbon tax by 23% on April 1. It is a failed strategy and a failed approach, and there is no means by which we can prove its effectiveness. It is time to change course, and the best way for Canadians to have a say in the direction of this country and the course we want to take is to allow them to choose the approach they want the government they choose to take. I think that choice will be very clear for Canadians when that time comes, and hopefully it comes sooner rather than later.

These measures are not working. In fact, if they were, why is it that our ranking among nations on climate change has slipped and fallen from 57th to 63? We are falling behind. It is not working, so it is time to change course. However, rather than listen to the Canadian people, the Prime Minister is doubling, tripling and quadrupling down on this failed policy.

The great Sir Winston Churchill once said, “We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.” It does not work. It is a failed strategy and a failed approach, and we need to get better at doing things that actually work.

What actually works is to continue down the road of better technology, better extraction practices and better energy development, in which Canada has some of the best practices in the world. We need to stand up for our Canadian producers and our Canadian energy providers, get on their side and talk about the news that is Canada's energy, rather than talking it down and punishing our citizens for using the things they need every day. We need to stand on the side of Canadians and say, “No, this is enough.” We are going to change the approach, and we are going to make sure we get to the other side.

Before I wrap up my remarks, I am sharing my time with the member for Lethbridge, and she will be sharing in just a moment.

I will conclude with this. When I visited that food bank just a week ago with the member for Peterborough—Kawartha, and when the food bank directors looked at us and told us that right now up to 50 military families who are current and active members of the military are utilizing the food bank's services, something hit me, and it hit me hard. This is unacceptable in a country like Canada, and it needs to change.

It came back to me what the veterans said to the Prime Minister just a few short years ago. They told the Prime Minister they had given their best for him and to this country, and they had sacrificed so much. This was from a wounded vet, who continued to say that in veterans' time of need, the government has not been there the way they needed it to be. Do members know what the Prime Minister's response was? He said veterans were “asking for more than we are able to give right now”.

Canadians are telling the Prime Minister and the government that they are asking more from them than they can give right now. They want a break. They need relief and they need it now. Let us have this non-confidence vote and—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

Questions and comments, the hon. parliamentary secretary.

[Irek Kusmierczyk, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment]

Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague is a good talker, much like his leader.

He talks about hope, but 10 years ago, his province, New Brunswick, had an unemployment rate of 10%. It was not hope, but hopelessness in New Brunswick under the Conservative Party, under the former Conservative government. In my hometown of Windsor, we had an unemployment rate of 11.2%. He talks about hope, but that was a period of hopelessness under the former Conservative government, 10 years ago. Right now, we have cut the unemployment rate in half in New Brunswick. In my hometown, we have a battery plant being built on the corner of EC Row and Banwell that will provide good jobs for 2,500 Canadians in my community. That is hope.

When my hon. colleague talks about hope, can he explain the hopelessness, the unemployment and the lack of jobs in his province and my hometown when the Conservatives were in power?

[Richard Bragdon, Conservative, Tobique—Mactaquac, NB]

Madam Speaker, I am glad to rise and answer that question.

It is quite something for the current federal Liberal government to take credit for the hard sacrifices and tough choices that provincial governments are making right now to make ends meet, like in my home province, where Premier Higgs is making the sacrifices and the necessary decisions to balance the budget and get us in a place where we can actually turn the corner and move toward investing in things like health care and better infrastructure. It would never happen if we did not have a fiscally responsible provincial government making the tough choices to position us to prosper. That is what we need at the federal level, not just the provincial level.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Madam Speaker, there have been some discussions this morning about the Dairy Queen, because we know that the Conservative leader did claim at some point to have worked in the summer at a Dairy Queen. It must be very clear that people who work at Dairy Queen work hard, but we do not know if the member who lives at Stornoway ever did work hard or whether he got fired. He has never had a job.

I raise this because he has this bad habit of huffing and puffing, threatening and demanding, and then not showing up. There were nine confidence votes on Monday night when his party could have said they were going to bring the government down, but there was not a peep. Right now, he has his backbenchers all jumping up. They are all punching their chests and saying they are going to bring the government down.

My simple question is this: Will the leader who lives in Stornoway actually show up to cause this $630-million election, or will he be with Jenni Byrne, the Loblaw's lobbyist, having canapés and mojitos tonight at Stornoway? He never shows up, and he leaves the poor schleps on the backbench to stand and do the voting, night after night.

[Richard Bragdon, Conservative, Tobique—Mactaquac, NB]

Madam Speaker, I never cease to be amazed by the grand eloquence of speech from the hon. member across the way, but I will say this. What we need to recognize is that this party and this leader have stood on the side of hard-working taxpayers, Canadians, from day one, while the member's party have abandoned their principles, walked over and formed a coalition that has only heightened the cost of living for Canadians and shut down places of opportunity for employment in the resource sector and in his very riding.

I think the people of his area, as well as across this country, are going to choose a prime minister who stands on the side of everyday Canadians and wants them to get ahead and have more money to make choices with, as they have worked hard for.

[Warren Steinley, Conservative, Regina—Lewvan, SK]

Madam Speaker, my colleague has a way with words that just makes me want to go to church. He is very, very good.

My question for him is this. The Liberals continuously twist themselves into a pretzel trying to tell Canadians that the rebates match the carbon tax they have paid, which we know is not true. How is it that the Liberal members from the Maritimes had to fight to get an exemption on home heating oil from the carbon tax if Canadians got as much back in rebates, as the Prime Minister continuously and falsely says in question period?

[Richard Bragdon, Conservative, Tobique—Mactaquac, NB]

Madam Speaker, as my hon. colleagues and friends across the way, and in particular the great member for Avalon, would recognize this expression. What is good for the goose is good for the gander. What is good for Gander, Newfoundland, is good for all of Canada, and we need a carbon tax relief for all of Canada.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Madam Speaker, I was born and raised in southern Alberta on a small farm by two hard-working, common-sense Conservative parents. I was the middle of five children. My dad is a tradesman. He works hard with his hands. He helps build homes, unlike the Liberal government. He works long hours. Most days, he was up before the sun was, and he came home after the sun was already gone.

My mom was a horse enthusiast. She also was an entrepreneur and had a few side hustles. She also worked long hours. She loved her family, and she loved to be involved in the community. From a young age, it was modelled for me that we have to make a positive difference and that we have an opportunity to contribute in a positive way to the world around us. I can remember weekends being spent either going to the soup kitchen and supporting those who did not have access to a meal, helping to clean garbage from ditches in order to clean our community or supporting a neighbour by painting fences or helping to build various things on their property. My family raised me to know that it was good to give back, that it was good to make a difference and that it was good to be invested in one's community.

Things were not always easy in our home, growing up. I can recall my parents having numerous conversations around finances and making ends meet. I remember them talking about whether they would be able to afford the entire mortgage payment some months. I remember them talking about the types of groceries we would have to choose, and those were hard choices. I remember them talking about whether they had enough money to be able to send us with a little extra cash for a hot lunch at school.

There was tension, there was instability, and there was definitely hardship—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

I am sorry to interrupt the hon. member. Can we keep it down please, so we can actually listen to what our colleague is saying?

The hon. member for Lethbridge has the floor.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Madam Speaker, when I speak to the people of Lethbridge, the area I represent, they express many of those same challenges I saw in my household as a child, but there is a significant difference: how prolonged it is and how severe it is. It is worse than it has been in this country for at least 50 years. Canadians are struggling, and we cannot argue that point. To do so would make one look silly, which is what the Liberal government, unfortunately, is trying to do.

After eight years of the Prime Minister, Canada is broken, and it is the workers, the seniors and those who live with a disability who are the most hard hit. There are lineups at food banks longer than they have ever been before. There are more mortgage defaults than we have seen in a very long time. Seniors are faced with having to choose between affording their medication or paying for food on the table. Moms are watering down baby formula in order to stretch it a little further, and students are renting literal closets.

This is the state of our nation right now under the current government. Canadians are literally losing control of their lives, and they are desperate for hope.

At the centre of this problem, there is the Liberal government, and at the centre of the Liberal government, there is a Prime Minister who is incredibly out of touch and concerned with only himself. He is someone who has not worked a real job in his life. He is someone who was born into wealth and prosperity. He is someone who does not understand what everyday Canadians face as the challenges they do—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Timmins—James Bay is rising on a point of order.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Madam Speaker, the member accused the Prime Minister of never having a real job. We know the member from Stornoway has never had a real job—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

We are not going to start that debate.

The hon. member for Lethbridge has the floor.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Madam Speaker, the Prime Minister insists on doubling down on his damaging policies, and of course, the carbon tax is central to them. The carbon tax drives up the cost of everything, from gas to home heating to household goods. Everything is more expensive, not to mention the fact that it affects low-income households disproportionately because they spend a larger percentage of their income on energy, food and transportation. The Prime Minister is not at all for lower- and middle-class Canadians but rather for himself and for those in the upper echelons.

That is who the Prime Minister is, but now it gets worse because on April 1, he intends to play a very cruel joke on Canadians, which is to increase the carbon tax by another 23%. It will go up by 23% in just a matter of a couple of weeks. Canadians will be hard hit once again when they are already down.

Folks in my riding come into my office and show me their natural gas bills. They point out the line that reveals the carbon tax. They are $40, $60, $130. However, I find it interesting that on many of them, the line that shows the carbon tax is actually more than the cost of the good or the product itself. In other words, they pay more for the tax than they do for the actual natural gas they use.

If that does not elicit a bit of compassion in this place, shame on those members. That individuals would be forced to pay a tax that is higher than the natural gas they used in their households is wrong. No wonder Canadians are lining up at food banks in droves. No wonder students are having a hard time being able to make ends meet. No wonder seniors are having to make difficult choices between medication and food. This is the state of our nation.

Farmers in my region who produce food for this country and, I dare say, the world, pay carbon tax bills upward of $62,000 or $100,000. That cost then gets transferred to transportation, to the grocery store, and then, ultimately, onto the backs of Canadians who buy the food.

The carbon tax is having a huge affect on Canadians and their well-being. The Liberals claim that it is about saving the planet, but they have not actually met a single climate target that has been set. In fact, when we look at the performance index, they have fallen to number 62 in performance. In other words, there is nothing being accomplished for the planet, but everything is being done to punish Canadians.

The Liberal government would also like Canadians to believe that somehow they are better off with the carbon tax because it results in a supposed rebate. Let us look at that rebate. The Parliamentary Budget Officer, who functions as an independent entity, looked at it and provided a report. The report by the PBO shows that people pay far more in the tax than they would ever get back.

In the province of Alberta, residents are worse off by nearly $1,000 a year. That is a lot of money for Canadians to lose out on. That is a lot of money for Albertans. The Prime Minister reaches into the left pocket of Canadians and takes out a wad of cash, and then, into the right pocket, he deposits a few coins and then expects Canadians to praise him for his charity. That is how the Liberal government functions. That is its policy. It is wrong.

In my riding, businesses are closing their doors because the costs are too much. There is a man in his seventies who lives in a vehicle with his dog because he cannot afford his rent. A couple lost their house because they could not afford their mortgage, and now they are living in an RV. A person with a disability came into my office recently. She has to skip meals because the little money she gets per month, as a person with a disability, does not stretch the distance it once did.

All of this has to do with the Liberal government's failed policies, and the carbon tax is at the centre of it all. There are 70% of Canadians and 70% of premiers who do not want the tax hike. Overwhelmingly, Canadians reject the Liberal government's policies; they do not want it.

Today, Conservatives are standing at the side of hard-working Canadians and are calling for a vote of non-confidence in the Liberal government so that Canadians can vote in a carbon tax election. They would have the opportunity to say what they want. They would have an opportunity to vote for the Canada that they believe it should be. They would have an opportunity to defend their own well-being. That is what we are calling for in this place. We are calling for the restoration of affordability and for a vibrant future for hard-working Canadians because they deserve it.

There should be no more punishment from the corrupt Liberal government, but rather a vibrant future for the hard-working, innovative, creative Canadians that we know them to be.

With that, I invite all members in this place to consider the well-being of every single Canadian from coast to coast and to spike the hike, axe the tax and give back hope to those who live here in this country.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Madam Speaker, I want to set aside the comments on what has dominated in this place, which are carbon pricing and proper solutions to the climate crisis. I wonder if my hon. friend does not agree that the well-being of every single Canadian, as she exhorted in her speech, includes that we face the fact that there is a very worrying fuel load across the country in our forests. The forest fires of summer 2023 continue to burn underground and under the snow and are called zombie fires. The oceans have hit temperature increases we have never seen before.

I ask her this: Is she also committed to finding climate solutions that work?

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Madam Speaker, the Liberals and, I suppose, the Green member as well, along with the NDP members, like to tout this line that, somehow, the carbon tax is saving the planet. We just do not have any evidence to that, none, zero. I have in front of me the Climate Change Performance Index. It shows that Canada is performing at number 62. Further to that, the stats show that Canada has not met a single one of its carbon targets, not a single one.

Instead, we just have a tax that is punitive in nature and that goes after Canadians for just buying groceries, heating their homes and driving their vehicles. Those are daily necessities in Canadian life. Shame on those members for punishing them just for living.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Madam Speaker, if we are talking about inflation, we are also talking about the price at the pump. Since we are talking about the carbon tax, let us talk about the price ordinary people pay at the pump. As users, they continue to pay high prices while oil and gas companies rake in record profits. Moreover, these companies are receiving a double gift, because taxpayers also continue to support them to the tune of billions of dollars.

Does my colleague agree that we should stop supporting the oil and gas companies with taxpayers' money?

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Madam Speaker, again, the issue at hand here today is the current government and the imposition of a carbon tax. On April 1, it is going up by 23%. There is zero proof to show that the carbon tax is somehow saving the planet. There is zero proof that any carbon emission targets are being met. In fact, to the contrary, there is proof to show that none of them have been.

Furthermore, I have a Climate Change Performance Index from 2024 right here in front of me, and it shows that Canada ranks number 62. The carbon tax is not working, but it is punishing Canadians who are working hard, who are heating their homes, who are driving to work and who are just trying to make ends meet. Shame on the Liberal government.

[Warren Steinley, Conservative, Regina—Lewvan, SK]

Madam Speaker, the one question I would ask of my hon. colleague is this: Do Liberals not understand that the rebate that they are bending over backward trying to explain and that they are giving to Canadians, is Canadians' money already?

They would not have to give a rebate to all Canadians if they would not take the money in the first place. I do not understand how the Liberals and their NDP stooges do not understand that. If they would not take the money out of Canadians' pockets, they would not have to bend over backward with this rebate. It is not revenue-neutral, as the Parliamentary Budget Officer has said. They are keeping $2 billion of the carbon taxes they are collecting and are using it on their pet projects.

Why can they not just let Canadians keep the money they earned in the first place?

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Madam Speaker, my colleague brings up a really good point. The government claims that it is somehow doing Canadians a favour by taking a whole lot of their cash and then giving a few pennies back. Then somehow the Liberals come to this conclusion that therefore the carbon tax is a good thing and Canadians want it. In fact, 70% of Canadians say they do not want it and 70% of premiers say they do not want it.

The fact of the matter is that in the province of Alberta, the folks in my area are $1,000 a year worse off because of the carbon tax. While they might get a small pittance back, it is nothing in comparison to the amount they are having to cede over to the government. This whole false claim that somehow Liberals are benefiting Canadians is absolutely wrong, and they should be ashamed of themselves.

[Francis Scarpaleggia, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Madam Speaker, it is true that inflation poses a challenge to Canadians. Food inflation poses a challenge to Canadians. However, study after study, rigorous analysis after rigorous analysis, by competent economists has shown that the contribution of the price of carbon pollution to food inflation is negligible. One figure that I read was that it contributes 0.15% to food inflation; that is to the increase in the price of food.

In fact, an interesting point was brought up at the environment committee the other day by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment, the member for Milton. He said that many food bank operators were quite worried about what would happen if the price on carbon were repealed, because the impact would be such that those who would go to the food banks would lose the Canada carbon rebate. They are quite worried. I have not heard of any food bank operator, quite frankly, calling for the repeal of the price on carbon.

What is impacting food inflation? It is something called the war in Ukraine. The war in Ukraine caused the international energy crisis to spike. It caused grain prices to spike. What is Ukraine called? It is called the bread basket of Europe. The war has constrained its supply of grain, putting upward pressure on food prices.

Why do the Conservatives never talk about that? I will tell members why. They are very sheepish when it comes to Ukraine because they are ashamed. They are ashamed that they did not support the Canada-Ukraine free trade act, an act that would permit Ukraine to enter into the European Union, the economic union. What the Conservatives also—

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. That statement is patently false. A free trade agreement with Canada cannot be used to enter the European Union. Those two things—