Environment Committee on Oct. 31st, 2023

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

Okay.

Has the headquarters been finalized, or is that still in the works?

[Daniel Wolfish]

It's being finalized in the sense that it's being worked into our plans, our priority settings, our funding and our discussions with Treasury Board, but the final decision will rest with Parliament when the legislation to create the agency is tabled.

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

Last week, you mentioned that there was $21 million allocated to support the creation of the water agency. Are the new offices being created out of that $21 million?

[Daniel Wolfish]

We're going to be using the offices of Environment and Climate Change Canada for the short term until we build our presence over the next few years, but that money will be used for supporting the mandate of the agency, the partnerships, the collaboration and the coordination, including the engagement of indigenous partners in the work we talked about on co-development.

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

On the website, it says there will also be “regional offices” across the country. Any idea of how many and where...?

[Daniel Wolfish]

Yes. We'll have an office in Dartmouth. We have an office in Quebec, and I'm going there tonight, actually. We'll have an office, a small presence, in Gatineau. We'll have an office in Toronto and in Burlington, an office in Winnipeg—a regional office and a headquarters office—and an office in Vancouver.

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

Last week, you said you were waiting on legislation that will fully establish the Canada water agency as a stand-alone agency. Do you have any idea of what the legislation will look like?

[Daniel Wolfish]

It will be an administrative act to create the agency, noting that the agency is created and reports to the minister, and it'll talk about the status of the staff, but of course Parliament will have the decisions to make about the final content of the legislation.

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

What happens to the $21 million to set up the agency if the legislation doesn't pass?

[Daniel Wolfish]

If the agency doesn't pass Parliament, we'll work with Treasury Board and with the department around what pieces of that funding can be used in different ways or not used.

More importantly, the work of the agency right now is under way as a branch within Environment and Climate Change Canada, and for that work to engage indigenous peoples on our mandate and the review of the Canada Water Act, those are important pieces that we're continuing to push ahead as a branch within Environment and Climate Change Canada.

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

Okay. That's very good.

Mr. Chair, I would like to hand my remaining time over to my colleague Dan Mazier.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

Mr. Chair, I'd like to move the following motion:

That the committee report to the House of Commons that:

(a) the Prime Minister's public opinion is plummeting because of his inflationary policies and carbon taxes that are driving up the cost of living for Canadians, and as the Prime Minister, he is only concerned about his re-election;

(b) the Prime Minister has announced a measure that will not provide tax relief to 97% of Canadians;

(c) Canadians are still paying his carbon tax on gas, heat and groceries;

(d) The carbon tax will continue to go up every year;

(e) the Prime Minister has doubled-down on his plan to quadruple the carbon tax to 61cents a litre;

(f) the Liberals, NDP and Bloc, voted to keep the carbon tax—

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

I have a point of order, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Just a second, please.

Mr. van Koeverden has a point of order..

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

My point of order is to express to the witnesses that I'm sorry we're doing this again.

The reason you're back, the reason you had to come back and take time out of your precious workdays, is that we had a delay in the previous meeting. It seems like the Conservative members would just like to do that again.

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

That's not really a point of order.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

It shows an absolute disregard for other people's time, absolutely no respect for people and their willingness to come to committee—

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Mr. van Koeverden, it's not—

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

—and I'm extremely disappointed that for some reason they want to play political games during this important meeting. I'm disgusted.

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Thank you.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

I had the floor, Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Yes. Just a moment.

I'm going to come back to you. I'm pausing just for a second.

Go ahead, Mr. Mazier.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

Mr. Chair, I'll take it back to paragraph (f):

(f) the Liberals, the NDP and Bloc, voted to keep the carbon tax on home heating just one year ago.

The committee recognize that the carbon tax is a tax plan, not an environmental plan, and call on the Liberal Government to immediately abolish Carbon Tax I and Carbon Tax II, and that the committee report its opinion to the House.

[Leah Taylor Roy, Liberal, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Chair, I have a point of order.

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

We have a point of order by Ms. Taylor Roy.