Evidence of meeting #113 for Government Operations and Estimates in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was saskatchewan.
A video is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Jenica Atwin Liberal Fredericton, NB
This is repetition again. Literally the same sentences have been reiterated several times now.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Kelly McCauley
Thank you very much. We take your point.
Mr. Lawrence, please continue.
Conservative
Philip Lawrence Conservative Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON
I'll continue from that point.
As of April 1, the carbon tax is set to go up by 23%, and the PBO wrote that it's not just in 2024-25 that there will be a fiscal and economic net loss; they also projected it going forward to 2030-31. This is the train that we're trying to stop.
In Alberta, the average household will lose $2,773—
Liberal
Francis Drouin Liberal Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
I have a point of order, Mr. Chair. I hope the honourable member knows that the OGGO committee does not have the power—
Conservative
Liberal
Francis Drouin Liberal Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
—and I hope he reminds Albertans that the 13-cent premier is going to increase the tax on Albertans.
Liberal
Francis Drouin Liberal Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
It's not a federal policy. It's an Alberta policy.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Kelly McCauley
Mr. Drouin, please, I know it's just a point now, but allow me to recognize you first.
Liberal
Francis Drouin Liberal Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
I just want to ask Mr. Lawrence how long he has.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Kelly McCauley
Allow me to recognize you first on your point of order, sir, just so we can maintain order. Especially with those who are virtual, it's very difficult to maintain any sense of decorum.
Mr. Lawrence, please go ahead.
Conservative
Philip Lawrence Conservative Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON
If you would indulge me, Mr. Chair, I actually didn't catch Mr. Drouin's question. I would honestly like to respond to it, if you would allow him to have the floor to ask the question, if that would be—
Liberal
Francis Drouin Liberal Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
Being cognizant of everybody's time, I'm wondering if Mr. Lawrence is going to talk for 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 40 minutes, an hour, two hours, three hours or four hours. I would just remind him again that we may not deal with this issue today, but we will deal with it tomorrow and that will.... Just because you can sense where the majority of the committee members are, I'm just saying that regardless of what you do, this will be the impact tomorrow.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Kelly McCauley
Before we continue, thanks, Mr. Drouin. I realize that normally we do allow a lot more back-and-forth, but because the meeting is split between in-person and virtual, it's a bit more difficult.
I would remind everyone that I'm happy to recognize you on a point of order, but let me recognize you and give you the floor first before you continue so that whoever is speaking at the time can be interrupted properly and can hear your point of order.
Thanks very much.
Conservative
Philip Lawrence Conservative Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON
As I was saying, from 2030 to 2031, the PBO predicts the following will be the net financial impact. Keep in mind that this is a carbon tax that the government has said numerous times is revenue-neutral and that Canadians get back more there, but the PBO has exposed that as what it is, and I'm going to say it—it's a lie.
Liberal
Ron McKinnon Liberal Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC
First, Mr. Chair, I appreciate your problem in trying to keep all the ducks in a row. Being an occasional chair myself, I recognize that and acknowledge that there are issues.
I take great exception to the member speaking of this policy as a lie. That is completely unparliamentary and out of line.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Kelly McCauley
Thank you, Mr. McKinnon.
I'd urge everyone around our table here to be cognizant of their comments.
Mr. Lawrence, please continue.
Conservative
Philip Lawrence Conservative Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON
Thank you.
When the government is telling us that Canadians are getting more back in rebates than they're paying, and it's untrue, as the Parliamentary Budget Officer has confirmed to us—I have the numbers right in front of me and I'm happy to show them—my advice candidly to the member and to his Liberal Party would be to stop allowing falsehoods to go out that state that the carbon tax is, first, revenue-neutral—it's not true, and it's in the main estimates; second, that Canadians are not worse off with the carbon tax, since we heard testimony multiple times from the Parliamentary Budget Officer; and third, that it's non-inflationary, when we heard from the Governor of the Bank of Canada that it's fully a third of inflation. We saw what happened in Saskatchewan when we saw inflation drop precipitously after the non-collection on home heating.
These three things are facts. They're undisputable. If you say otherwise, I'm sorry, but that's a falsehood. That's not true. I was sent here by the voters of Northumberland—Peterborough South to speak the truth, and that's what I'm going to do.
When we look at the net fiscal and economic impact in 2030 in Saskatchewan, we see that it will be $1,723 per household. In Manitoba, it will be $1,490. In Ontario, it will be $1,820. In Nova Scotia, it will be $1,513. In Prince Edward Island, it will be $1,521. In Newfoundland and Labrador, it will be $1,316.
We can see that this is a real and pressing issue. To help people fully understand—
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Kelly McCauley
Go ahead, Mr. Kusmierczyk.
When we're done with the point of order, I'm going to suspend for a few moments so that our resources here can have a very quick break.
Go ahead, Mr. Kusmierczyk.
