Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, ministers, for coming today.
There is an affordability crisis in the Northwest Territories. Here's a bill from Chris, a local resident in Yellowknife. One bill in January was $823.35. There's another bill he also received to top up that tank again in January for another $1128.88. That's a total of $1952.23 for one month, Minister, of which $199 is the carbon tax. That is set to go up on April 1, as you know.
The next person from Yellowknife is a person named Adam. He had to fill up his heating oil tank three times in January: once for $499, once for $1500 and once for $730 for a total of $3203.09. Again, that was just in January. The carbon tax alone was $319.47.
This is from Eric, also from Yellowknife. This is addressed to me: “Sir, in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, I truly thank you for your efforts in the House to enlighten members to the challenges all northerners”—
These are your constituents as well; I live in northern B.C.
—“have in heating our homes and businesses. As you know, there are many regions that simply do not have heating alternatives. Fossil fuels, at least until new technologies offer cost-acceptable alternatives, are the only options we have at the moment. In addition to the add-ons of the carbon tax and the transportation of fuels to northern communities, the tax itself—along with the GST on top of that tax—is driving northern living costs well beyond reasonable financial tolerances, as I just laid out. I know you all know this, but as northerners it's difficult to understand how the current Liberal government is so out of touch with the realities of northern living costs. To suggest heat pumps are the answer, as the Liberals have suggested—fine for parts of eastern Canada, as they work in some parts of Canada—is beyond comprehension.
“Keep up the good work on behalf of all northerners, and Canadians, for that matter.
“Best regards, Eric”
Now we see that the new premier of the Northwest Territories is asking for an exemption because of these high costs to citizens of the Northwest Territories: “'I mean, ideally a complete exemption for the territory is what we would hope for,' said R.J. Simpson, chosen...premier of the Northwest Territories” just a few months ago, as you probably have heard.
As you know, the Northwest Territories previously gave its residents rebates, but your Ottawa-knows-best government stepped in and would no longer allow the Northwest Territories to offer rebates to its citizens.
Deputy Premier Wawzonek said, “When the federal government recently made the changes to exempt home heating oil, that didn’t automatically apply because what they’ve done is they’ve changed the goal post on us.”
When others were granted the temporary carbon tax exemption on home heating oil and other provinces wanted exemptions, your colleague Environment Minister Guilbeault said that there would be “no more exemptions” on his watch. This is from the CBC: “Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said...he will not stand for any further adjustments to Canada's carbon-pricing system”. The article goes on to say, “'As long as I’m the environment minister, there will be no more exemptions to carbon pricing,' Guilbeault told The Canadian Press in an interview.”
My question to you, Minister, is quite simple: Will you support the people of the Northwest Territories and their government and exempt them from the carbon tax, or will you support your colleague Minister Guilbeault in his promise that “As long as I'm the environment minister, there will be no more exemptions to carbon pricing”?