Mr. Speaker, on February 22 I asked the Prime Minister why it was that the U.S. energy secretary could find 17 things to do to help Americans with respect to the energy crisis but that he could not think of one thing to help Canadians.
The Secretary of State for International Financial Institutions, who is the brother of the former Liberal Premier of Ontario, David Peterson, responded. In his response, as to whether or not the government had any kind of action plan to defend the Canadian economy from the OPEC oil cartel, he was so confused, so uptight and so upset that his brother was beaten by the NDP that he made an error. I will quote from Hansard . He said:
—when the NDP government was in power in Ontario and it raised the Ontario excise tax on fuel twice, taking it from 10.9 cents to 14.3 cents. As well, it increased the provincial excise tax on gasoline twice, taking it from 11.3 cents to 14.7 cents.
That would make the provincial tax on fuel in Ontario 29 cents. It is of course only 14.7 cents in total. Whereas the federal excise tax is 10 cents and the GST is about 4.9 cents right now. There are actually more taxes applied to oil in Ontario than in any other province.
The supplementary question I asked was related to putting forward an action plan to protect Canadians and the economy from soaring energy prices. Rather than getting a response from the secretary of state, I received a response from the Minister of Natural Resources who avoided the question entirely as did the secretary of state. He said:
—to set the record clear...Canada is not a member of OPEC and we do not support that approach in the marketplace.
This had nothing to do with my question.
I wanted to know the government's plan. The U.S.A., the land of free enterprise and capitalism, is establishing a 17 point action plan to defend its economy and its consumers from the OPEC oil cartel price fixing situation with respect to energy. Canada has no such plan and no such action.
I wrote a letter to the Prime Minister asking him if he had a plan. If he did not have a plan, I wanted to suggest one to him. He called the provinces and the major stakeholders in the energy business to an energy summit. At the energy summit he locks the door, caps the energy prices and says, “Let us find a solution before I unlock the door”.
I have some suggestions. Have his officials examine suspending the GST until the price of energy declines. He could look at an emergency fund for low income families who are under pressure with respect to the high costs of home heating fuel. He could look at a low interest loan to help truckers and small business through this high price energy situation. He could examine regulating the industry as has been done in other parts of the world. He could undertake to facilitate an energy conservation component. He could toughen up the Competition Act.
These are suggestions that his energy summit should be undertaking to review. Instead we had the frivolous inane responses from two ministers which had no bearing or relationship to the questions that were asked.
I ask the parliamentary secretary tonight, what is the government's action plan to defend the Canadian consumer and the Canadian economy from the OPEC oil cartel price fixing situation as it applies to energy?