Evidence of meeting #89 for Environment and Sustainable Development in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was federal.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
I have Mr. Leslie on the list here. I do have one very small item of future business that I would like to deal with. It has to do with the minister's appearance. If we can get this over with very quickly, we can go to Mr. Leslie.
The minister said he could come on December 14. On the 14th, the first hour is with Imperial Oil. Do you want to receive the minister for the second hour?
Conservative
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
Okay. This is a proposal that we meet for three hours. We're asking that we meet with the minister and officials for two hours on top of the one hour with Imperial, which would make a three-hour meeting.
Are we in agreement with this?
No, we don't have UC. I think we'll come back to this later. I thought we could deal with it quickly and move on
We'll go to Mr. Leslie.
Conservative
Branden Leslie Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I do hope we can get the minister after such a long time. In my time here in this chamber, I still haven't had the opportunity to question him and I look forward to that.
I appreciate the opportunity today to raise one of the motions we have had on notice. I had the full intention of doing so during committee business prior to our spending an hour to find out, as we knew and indicated early on, how the vote was going to go on what is a laudable motion regarding boots on the ground. I will note that one of the first actions this Liberal government undertook was to cancel the recreational fisheries partnership program, which worked on ecosystem and habitat restoration with this exact sort of mentality of boots on the ground.
I hope folks are watching as we spend an hour on grammatical amendments to a motion that ultimately, with the removal of “report this to the House”, amounts to nothing. It amounts to our urging the department to do something and their sending a letter back to the ether. We know that's not how policy is made. We should recognize that the government will set its own priorities and, in this case, our urging to set a monetary amount aside simply is not how I expect the government to move forward.
However, with that, Mr. Chair, I'd like to move the motion that I have on notice. I move:
Given that:
(a) the Senate is expected to vote on Bill C-234 to remove the carbon tax from grain drying and barn heating:
(b) Canadian farmers have called upon the Senate to pass this important legislation;
(c) Bill C-234 would save farmers one billion dollars, and help lower food prices for Canadians;
the committee call upon senators who are delaying the passage of the legislation to stop playing political games with the livelihoods of Canadian farmers, recognize the decision of the elected House of Commons, and pass Bill C-234 into law without further delay.
Mr. Chair, the reason I wanted to do this during committee business, as requested by our colleagues to not disrupt witness testimony, is again the timeliness of this motion as it relates to an upcoming vote in the Senate. We are all, of course, aware that the governing Liberals, bizarrely with the help of the Bloc Québécois, decided to defeat a motion that was before the House of Commons that would urge the Senate to follow the will of the elected chamber. However, it seems the desire to radically increase taxes is stronger out of the Bloc Québécois of late.
This is now before the Senate once again. Following that vote last week, there was yet another amendment to Bill C-234 put forward at the Senate at third reading. While you might think it is a new amendment meant to aid the bill in some way and to try to improve the legislation, the reality is that it is an amendment that wasn't just voted down at committee; it was voted down by the entirety of the chamber already. This is not about trying to improve the legislation. This is about Liberal-appointed senators trying to delay and, from their perspective, hopefully kill Bill C-234 because of the money it's going to leave in the pockets of our hard-working Canadian farmers and the fact that it's going to cause political headaches.
I don't understand Senate procedural aspects. I have no idea how the retabling of an amendment that was already voted down in the House of Commons is permissible; however, I will leave that to the senators to decide.
Farmers have been clear, as evidenced by the thousands of phone calls, emails and letters they have been sending to senators over the past number of weeks.
Liberal
Sophie Chatel Liberal Pontiac, QC
I apologize for interrupting my colleague, but I didn't receive the motion.
Liberal
Conservative
Conservative
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
I have you, Mr. Mazier, and then Mr. Deltell and Mr. van Koeverden.
Liberal
Adam van Koeverden Liberal Milton, ON
Could you clarify that hands were up before this motion was tabled?
Liberal
Liberal
Adam van Koeverden Liberal Milton, ON
Is the convention now that if your hands were up from the previous—
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
I am told there is no convention. It's my decision. That's what I am told by the clerk.
You can challenge that if you want to.
Go ahead, Mr. Leslie.
Conservative
Branden Leslie Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
As I was saying, farmers have been very clear in their support for Bill C-234 and their opposition—
