Kyoto Protocol  What the Liberals did, which seems like the NDP is applauding, was sign the Kyoto accord, have no plan, say they that were in favour of it, did nothing, and at the last minute, when Michael Ignatieff said they that did not get the job done, they tried to prove that they were getting the job done by imposing a massive tax on Canadians in the form of a carbon tax. Fail, fail and fail again, and that is why they are over there and that is why we are showing leadership in a new direction.

Business of Supply  There was absolutely no discussion on the cost of the Kyoto protocol to our economy or to implementing it. I will talk about the green shift, a carbon tax that would be a tax on everything with no cognizance of our economy's sustainable future. I am so proud to stand here today and say that our country is a leader in environmental stewardship.

Business of Supply  My colleague opposite spoke about a legacy for our children. This weekend, in the NDP leadership debates, the candidates spoke about a carbon tax. Once again, the NDP has brought forth an economic policy that was not costed and not thought through with regard to long-term economic legitimacy or a legacy for our children. One of my colleagues opposite also spoke earlier about clean energy tech investments being a shell game.

The Environment  Under the Liberals, Canada's GHG emissions increased by 27%. Canada's carbon dioxide emissions rose between 1997 and 2005. They proposed a carbon tax, a tax on everything, which was rejected by Canadian voters. The NDP members support a tax scheme which would hike gas prices by 10¢ per litre. They voted against investing hundreds of millions of dollars to support tangible action to address climate change.

Improving Trade Within Canada Act  What is also not helpful in the area of our energy sector, which tends to be driving the Canadian economy and the social programs that we hold so dear here, is parties proposing things like a carbon tax, which the hon. member's colleague from Vancouver Island just recently raised again. It has been part of the election platforms of both the Liberal Party and the NDP in previous elections.

House debate  It is also interesting that the hon. member wants to talk about high prices when he knows that his own party's policies would impose a costly carbon tax on Canadians that would see gas prices skyrocket. Jack Mintz, a respected economist, has stated that the NDP's plan would result in a 10¢ hike in gas prices. In addition, the government has already taken action to protect consumers by recently passing the Fairness at the Pumps Act.

Taxation  Speaker, I found it interesting when the member mentioned raising taxes. Was it not the Liberal Party, in its platform, that wanted to put a carbon tax on everyone--all Canadians, vulnerable or not? That said, let us give the facts and the accurate statistics. Statistics Canada's facts are clear: 650,000 net new jobs have been created since July 2009, 90% of those have been full-time jobs, and 80% of them are in the private sector.

Finance committee  If you were a federal minister, what would you do? If you had sector-by-sector, the B.C. carbon tax, or the Alberta carbon price for large emitters, and you were the minister and you had to choose one of the three, what would you do?

Finance committee  So your industry would reject an increase in corporate taxes. A carbon tax would not be a good thing for your industry, would it?

Business of Supply  The Liberal leader himself has been at the forefront of a tax hike movement. He is a self-described tax and spend Liberal. He was the first Liberal to propose a carbon tax. He has publicly demanded a GST hike. During the worst of the global recession in 2009, he went to southwest Ontario, among the regions most negatively impacted, and publicly boasted that under a future Liberal government federal taxes must go up and we will have to raise taxes.

Gasoline Prices  The NDP says that it cares about keeping gas prices low, but it opposed our GST cut and wanted to impose a carbon tax on Canadians that would see gas prices skyrocket. This is not responsible. We have a strong mandate from Canadians for economic growth, and this is what we will do.

The Budget  One of the reasons that Canadians gave the Conservative government a strong mandate in the election on May 2 was the fact that we are keeping taxes low. This morning one of my colleagues from across the way talked about a carbon tax, which is very disheartening. It is something that Canadians do not believe is effective and will penalize Canadians. Why does my colleague want to increase taxes on Canadians?

The Budget  They intend to raise the GST. They intend to implement an iPod tax. They intend to implement a carbon tax. If the Liberal Party could come up with the $40 million that it stole, I would ask the member to explain if it could commit today to put it toward more poverty issues?

The Budget  We delivered more than 120 tax cuts for Canadian workers, families and job-creating entrepreneurs. We also rejected calls from the opposition to impose a job-killing carbon tax. Most important, when the global recession hit, Canada was able to meet the challenge head on. Through Canada's economic action plan, we delivered further tax cuts to help stimulate our economy.

Business of Supply  We cannot raise the GST by 2%, impose an iPod tax, or raise the corporate tax rate from 16.5% to 18% as the Liberals propose. We cannot afford a carbon tax, as proposed by the Liberal Party. This would damage our families and our economy. I will stand up for families with this next phase of the economic action plan.