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?

Environment committee  We're counting on Ontario to be honourable with those dollars that have been entrusted to them to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The other point raised by Mr. Scarpaleggia was on the Liberal carbon tax. He was trying to justify a $62-billion tax—a tax on gasoline, a tax on Canadians to heat their homes, a tax to dry their clothes, a tax on food, a tax on people to drive their cars.

Environment committee  So as part of that, we want to look at the best forms of policy instrument design, particularly a carbon tax versus a cap and trade. To get to that, we will have some work done inside by staff, but we will also, of course, use modelling experts in Canada, as well as other academic and policy experts across the country and elsewhere.

Environment committee  Now we can probably add to that helping the Premier of Ontario protect his economy from a massive carbon tax plan from the opposition. Mr. Shugart, you mentioned very briefly the natural areas conservation program, which is a very significant program with respect to habitat preservation.

Taxation  Speaker, we are sure hearing a lot from Canadians about the Liberals' proposed new regressive tax on carbon, along with their plan to hike the GST. We hear a lot about that as well. Carbon tax and GST go after people who are poor, go after people on fixed incomes, go after seniors in Canada, go after the manufacturing sector, and make it more difficult for the manufacturing sector in Canada by driving up its costs.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, I wonder if I could ask the Minister of Finance a serious question about the carbon tax that the Liberals are intending to impose upon Canadians. I am very concerned, and people in my riding are very concerned, that it will never be revenue neutral, especially for seniors and people on fixed incomes, truck drivers, and those folks who are going to face a rapid increase in the price of fuel.

Taxation  Speaker, the Liberals should really be clear with the Canadian public right off the bat about what they intend. Their carbon tax hidden agenda, like their plan to raise the GST, is a big, new, gouging, punitive, and regressive tax. It is a tax on gasoline, a tax on home heating fuel, a tax on natural gas for people to heat their homes, a hot water tax, a tax on electricity, and a punitive tax, especially on our seniors with fixed incomes in Canada and all others with fixed incomes.

Fisheries and Oceans  We have identified new resources. We are helping them reduce their expenses. We will not add a carbon tax to their fuel to put them out of business.

Price of Petroleum Products  My colleague has reminded me that almost all of the Conservative speeches this evening did not talk about the real problems. They talked about the Liberals' possible plan to introduce a carbon tax. They have reached an unprecedented level of incompetence. It is true that this party was inexperienced. It is not at all like the Progressive Conservative Party of a few years ago.

Price of Petroleum Products  Now, outstanding solutions and major ideas are needed to trigger change. This is exactly why we are analyzing the idea of a carbon tax, which will be combined with a lowering of personal and corporate income tax. That is called a tax shift. Therefore, I thank my colleague for his comments. It is now time to see where we will be in 20, 30 or 40 years from now.

Price of Petroleum Products  Speaker, does that sound like a really effective solution to you? As for the Liberals' suggestion to bring in a carbon tax, all that would do is drive up the price at the pump. Although I believe that some members of the House would like the price of gasoline to be lower, we must be very careful that the proposals put forward do not have unforeseen consequences by opening huge sectors of the economy to price regulation by the federal government.

Price of Petroleum Products  I was concerned when I heard him accusing others of fabricating things when it seems apparent that either he does not understand his own party's policies or he has been trying to mislead Canadians. I would like to come back to this whole idea of the Liberals' carbon tax, which he has not talked about over the last 10 minutes because he does not want to, but I can come to that later. I understand he needs a chance to respond so we will talk later about how they are going to raise taxes in so many other areas.

Price of Petroleum Products  However, the leader of the member's party is saying that the Liberals want to increase the taxes. They want to jump up the GST at least to 7% and maybe higher. They want to introduce a carbon tax which is better known as a gas tax.

Price of Petroleum Products  There is a very specific formula on how the price of gasoline is set, but one thing we know for sure, one thing that is a given, is that the Liberal Party of Canada will raise the price of gasoline to historic highs, to $2.25 a litre. The Liberal leader has already announced it. He has floated the idea of a carbon tax. The Liberals are now denying it even though their own members have been walking in the hallways of Parliament grumbling about it for weeks. They need to get a reality check.

Price of Petroleum Products  They are calling out “rubbish”. The leader of the Liberal Party today is calling for a massive carbon tax.