Business of Supply  There is $70 billion. How is the opposition going to pay for it? Now we are starting to hear about a carbon tax, as the Liberals call it, a tax on gasoline, a tax on electricity, a tax on home heating fuel, a tax that would have the greatest punitive burden on those with fixed incomes, poor seniors in this country, people receiving minimal pensions, and so on.

Business of Supply  I do note that in the 13 years of Liberal government greenhouse emissions went up 30% and I notice that the member wants to introduce something called a carbon tax. We know what that will do to gasoline prices for Canadians. They will go up dramatically. We know what it will do to home heating fuel. It will go up dramatically. We know what it would do to electricity.

Business of Supply  I bet a lot of people in Peterborough in the riding of the hon. member for Peterborough are trying to watch that hockey game on television and want to have the ability to have electricity in their homes at a reasonable cost, and want to be able to put gasoline in their cars at a reasonable cost. All of that will be made terribly more difficult by the Liberal carbon tax.

Business of Supply  There was a massive deficit in the province of Ontario and we had to work many years to recover from that deficit just as we would have to here in the future with this new massive carbon tax and the big deficit that the Liberals intend to run.

Business of Supply  What is the vision for our country? We know what the vision of the official opposition is: carbon taxes, increasing the tax burden on poor Canadians and Canadians on fixed incomes. This is the vision. It is called Advantage Canada. When we became the Government of Canada it became clear that the previous government did not have an economic plan so we created the economic plan.

Business of Supply  They are outraged in all parts of the country, even in Windsor, Ontario. The Windsor Star wrote today: A carbon tax will penalize low-income earners, rural Canadians and suburban commuters...and it will negatively affect the ability of Canadian businesses, already struggling under the weight of a rising loonie, to compete internationally.

Business of Supply  So put your money where your mouth is. Get rid of the carbon caps. You cut the carbon tax, Jim, 10¢ a litre.

Business of Supply  I know the member from Scarborough wants to change his mind on the carbon tax, but as far as I know, it is still their policy. That is where they want to take our country: higher taxes, higher spending, deficits, accumulated debt. We are going just the opposite way in the interests of our country.

Business of Supply  We have all heard about the Liberal Party and its leader's plan on the regressive and massive carbon tax proposal. I know we are getting a lot of yipping across the way, but would the minister tell us what he has heard on the reaction of the proposed gas tax increase by the Liberal leader.

Business of Supply  Unlike the opposition parties, we do not believe in raising taxes, especially a new, massive, punitive, permanent carbon tax, a new punitive tax on gasoline. We do not believe in doing that and we do not believe in spending recklessly like the Liberals did with their three budgets in their last year in office.

Business of Supply  I will tell the member who has it backward: the party opposite us in the House that thinks it is a good economic stimulus to bring in a carbon tax on poor people with fixed incomes in Canada, on seniors, on the manufacturing sector to drive up its costs. That is who got it backward.

Business of Supply  While he is at it, maybe he could answer one final question, which is, when is he going to eliminate the carbon tax on gasoline in Canada?

House debate  How can the government, which promised that type of cooperation, that promised accountability and transparency but has failed in every sector, get up and ask questions when it does not even know what a carbon tax is, what neutrality is, what income is, what--

Environment committee  Can you please table it for the committee in terms of the options being presented to the minister around the cap-and-trade system he's planning on releasing in the fall, and the carbon tax, which he denies even looking into publicly? The work was dated December 8, 2006. Can you help Canadians understand exactly what work was done by your department?

Environment committee  Thanks very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. McLaughlin, who is doing your analysis on cap and trade, carbon tax, or a hybrid version of those?