Thank you so much, Mr. Chair.
I want to put a couple of things on the record, and I also want to address one comment that Mr. Davies made.
First, I think it is really important that, when you look at this motion, there's confusion between the affordability crisis we have here in Canada and the price on pollution, or the carbon tax. Unfortunately, the Conservatives have not been honest with Canadians.
The carbon tax has not caused the affordability crisis in this country. Food and housing prices have gone up because we have had inflation. It's not just in Canada; it is around the world. There has been a huge increase in inflation. The carbon tax has not contributed to the reasons Canadians are lining up at food banks. It is not at all the case. It is because we have had inflation and it is because we have had a huge increase in food and rental costs.
Second, paragraph 2 of this motion talks about the recent increase in the carbon tax, or the price on pollution. It doesn't mention the rebates that more than cover this and make eight out of 10 Canadians whole.
Finally, as my colleague Yvan very eloquently said about paragraph 3, which reads, “plans for provinces to opt out of the federal carbon tax”, all provinces are invited to come up with their own plans for reducing their emissions, so we don't need a motion to say that. That has been on the table forever.
What I would love to see, and this is a personal thing, is all of the first ministers come together with our Prime Minister to talk about their fully costed and independently analyzed plans for how their provinces are going to reduce emissions to meet the national target. I would love to see that, but that's not what this motion says at all, Mr. Hallan. That would be a very positive development.
Just so you know, we don't need this motion right now. All provincial premiers have already been invited to create their own plans for how they can reduce emissions and meet our national emissions target.
That's it for me. If there is no one else after me, I would suggest we go to a vote, Mr. Chair.