Subcommittee on Oil and Gas and Other Energy Prices committee  It's the cost to locate and get crude oil out of the ground, which I believe takes a lot of energy; the cost to change the crude oil into gasoline, the refining margin; the cost to operate the local station, the transportation charges; and the taxes of the provincial, federal, and municipal governments. In your opinion, what would a carbon tax do to the price of gas? If we put a tax on carbon, would people want to keep the price of gasoline down?

Subcommittee on Oil and Gas and Other Energy Prices committee  Presumably a carbon tax would increase the price of gasoline at the pump. I'm certainly not going to comment here on whether that would be a favourable or unfavourable thing to do.

Canadian Heritage committee  His leader has already outlined $62 billion in deficit that he'd spend immediately, a massive new carbon tax. I'd love to know how he's going to fund every single program that's ever existed. If we're not going to reallocate funds to make sure we are making the proper investments in areas where we will get results, where we can support artists, where we can support Canadian arts and culture and move that entire industry forward, continue to expand the Canadian footprint on the global map....

Agriculture committee  Chair, I'd submit that the only reason we're here today is that we have the Liberal Party trying to flog a dead horse with a carbon tax that no farmer I've met has been supportive of.

Agriculture committee  Okay, I don't see a problem with that, since it's on our work schedule anyway. The committee will be studying the carbon tax in the fall session, so it falls in line with the work schedule that we've already committed to. Are there any comments? Mr. Storseth.

Agriculture committee  It's always good to be back here in Ottawa to discuss things of importance to agriculture in Canada, and hopefully we'll get to the truth here when the CFIA officials come in, and what have you. Things must be really hot in Malpeque over the carbon tax this summer to bring us down here. But that's okay. As I said, we're willing to talk about that anytime. Just going back to some of the comments that Mr. Dewar made about the public being surprised, they absolutely were when they found out that a government employee in a place of trust could take documents and release them.

Agriculture committee  Chair, I think we know what this particular meeting is about. It's about changing the channel on the infamous carbon tax.

Bill C-30 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) committee  But these are basically energy taxes, not carbon taxes, and that is an important element to have in mind. Where we are going for carbon taxes is on the use of—

Bill C-30 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) committee  Indeed, if you look specifically at proposed subparagraph 63.1(2)(f)(i) and at subsection (3), that is a carbon tax and somebody has to administer the carbon tax. I would suggest it would be the government. You can call it anything you want, but it's a carbon tax of a carbon tax. So I would object on that basis.

Business of Supply  Speaker, that is a very difficult question to answer in the little time I have because everything about it is founded on the lack of understanding of, first, what my colleague, the member for Etobicoke—Lakeshore, said, and secondly, I think the member is very confused about the notion of a carbon tax. What we have now witnessed is that only carbon tax that has surfaced in Canada to deal with climate change is the $100 to $200 per tonne charge that his colleague, the Minister of the Environment, blurted out after getting off a plane in Vancouver, as the charge that would be levied on Canadian large industrial emitters that do not comply with its regulated levels under the plan.

The Environment  No, Mr. Speaker. The leader of the Liberal Party said that he was against a carbon tax. The deputy leader of the Liberal Party said that he was in favour of a carbon tax. Then the leader of the Liberal Party said that he was rejecting a carbon tax. Now we learn that a big battle is taking place right within the Liberal Party caucus to bring in a big tax whack called a carbon tax on Canadian families.

Business of Supply  Of course, then there is the deputy Liberal leader who, during the leadership debate, called for a form of carbon tax that would push up the price of gasoline. Just a couple of months ago, the Liberals were praising a $100 billion carbon tax, which again would have increased the price of gasoline.

Business of Supply  We will continue to move ahead, even in the situation where the minister wants us to go with $195 a tonne carbon tax. In Bill C-30, the carbon tax is $30 and 50% will be returned to the companies if they make the effort to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and 50% will go into retrofits for people in homes and businesses across the country.

Bill C-30 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) committee  No, not at all. I should clarify. I certainly didn't mean to portray a carbon tax as a one-size-fits-all or say that all we need is a carbon tax and we're away to the races. A carbon tax is a powerful tool, but it needs to be part of a suite of programs and policies that Canada puts in place in the short term to begin driving our emissions down.

Bill C-30 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) committee  I also think it's absolutely fundamental to the public acceptance of a carbon tax that it be not a revenue-raising tax but a revenue-neutral tax.