House of Commons Hansard #88 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was energy.
Justin Trudeau Liberal Papineau, QC
Mr. Speaker, we have guaranteed that this price on carbon will be revenue neutral for the federal government, and it will be up to the provinces to determine how they choose to reimburse their citizens for this progress on the environment and the economy.
Denis Lebel Conservative Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
Mr. Speaker, we support the Paris agreement. In fact, we agree that it is a tax, but we do not believe it should be imposed on Canadians.
The very idea of imposing a tax is very Liberal. The Liberals want more money so they can make the government even bigger, and then prove how good they are by giving Canadians their money back.
Why not just leave that money in their pockets in the first place?
Will the Prime Minister guarantee to the House today that the cost of living will not go up as a result of his new carbon tax?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, Canadians know that we are going to create economic growth by creating new jobs in many sectors across the country.
We are going to give the provinces the capacity to help those who need it. The federal government helped those in need by lowering taxes for the middle class, while increasing taxes on the wealthiest 1% of Canadians.
That is the kind of thing Canadians expect of their government. It is unfortunate that, once again, the members of the Conservative Party do not understand how to either grow the economy or protect the environment.
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister accidentally told the truth, that this is a tax. He should listen to the director general of the Windsor mission, who said, “People have actually come in with their hydro bill in one hand and said 'If you can help me with food, then I can pay for some of this hydro bill before it gets cut off.'"
The Liberal Green Energy Act has hammered Ontario's poor with skyrocketing electricity prices. Now the federal Liberal carbon tax will do the same to heating, gas, and grocery bills. Why is the Prime Minister forcing the poor to choose between heating their homes and feeding their families?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, I find that a bit much coming from the party that voted against the lowering of taxes on the middle class by raising them on the wealthiest 1%, a party that continues to think it is better to send child benefit cheques to millionaires than to increase those cheques for the lowest income families.
The fact is this government is focused on helping the middle class and on those working so hard to join the middle class, and we will remain so, despite the fearmongering from the other side.
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON
Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what Kathleen Wynne said about the Liberal Green Energy Act.
Yet while the poor have hit the food bank, Liberals insiders have hit the jackpot, including former Liberal Party president, Mike Crawley, whose company got a half-billion-dollar green energy contract. The federal Liberals have a similar, regressive tax that will raise heat, gas, and grocery bills and give billionaire insiders green hand-outs to pay for it.
Why is the Prime Minister taking from the have-nots to give to the have-yachts?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Again, Mr. Speaker, the members opposite are demonstrating how completely disconnected they are from the reality of Canadians.
Canadians know that the way to build a strong economy and good jobs for the middle class, and those working hard to join it, is by being smart about the environment and by protecting it. The fact is, making sure that we are able to help the most vulnerable, to grow the economy, and to support Canadian families is at the heart of everything this government does and is at the heart of everything that party betrayed when it was in government.
Thomas Mulcair NDP Outremont, QC
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Prime Minister could not deny having broken his promise to present new targets, opting instead to adopt Stephen Harper's targets, which he once described as catastrophic.
Today we are voting to ratify the Paris agreement, but the government's motion is missing a key requirement of the agreement, which is to set economy-wide emissions targets in absolute terms.
Will the Prime Minister agree to add this key component?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, the NDP always likes to talk about targets and goals without ever talking about plans to achieve them or tangible things we need to do in order to protect the environment while creating economic growth.
The NDP likes to talk about the environment, but it does not know how to create jobs for the middle class or help businesses succeed in a new world. That is why we are doing something tangible to show that Canada is serious about reducing emissions and creating economic growth that helps everyone. The members opposite are unable to do that.
Thomas Mulcair NDP Outremont, QC
Mr. Speaker, there is nothing more tangible than targets and goals and that is exactly what is required by the Paris agreement and what is missing from the Liberals' motion.
The government motion to ratify the Paris agreement does not mention anything about working with or consulting with indigenous communities. If it is a mistake, let us fix it together.
Will the Prime Minister accept our amendment to include working with indigenous communities in our efforts to fight climate change?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, from the very beginning of this government's mandate, we have been working hand-in-hand with indigenous communities, understanding the true reconciliation, the nation-to-nation partnership that is necessary with indigenous peoples.
Indeed, when we gathered for the first federal-provincial-territorial meeting in Ottawa, we included indigenous leaders. We did the same again in Vancouver.
We will work together with indigenous leadership on all important files, especially around climate change.
Thomas Mulcair NDP Outremont, QC
Mr. Speaker, I guess that was a yes. The Liberal platform mentions working with provinces 35 times, and that approach was appealing to Canadians after a decade of the antagonistic Stephen Harper form of federalism, but without even sitting down with the provinces, the Liberal government adopted Stephen Harper's cuts to health care transfers.
Before the election, whenever the Prime Minister was specifically asked about Harper's health care cuts, he said he would not make any changes without first talking to the provinces.
What happened to that promise?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Indeed, Mr. Speaker, as the member highlights, for 10 years Mr. Harper did not engage with his provincial leadership, did not work with the provinces, and indeed, the lack of leadership from the federal government on the important issue of health care was alarming for provinces and for Canadians.
That is why we are so pleased to have our Health minister work closely with her counterparts in the provinces to make sure that we have a health system that respects the Canada Health Act and responds to the needs of Canadians, now and in the future.
Thomas Mulcair NDP Outremont, QC
Mr. Speaker, he did not say it, but he does not have to imitate it.
The provinces and territories were surprised to learn that the Prime Minister refused to even respond to their request to meet and discuss the health transfers. They are now making a simple request: delay the Harper cuts by one year and retain the 6% increase for one more year.
Will the Prime Minister agree, yes or no? The question is simple, and we want a straight answer for once.
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, health ministers across the country will be meeting in a few weeks to discuss how we can improve and protect our health system everywhere in Canada. It is important that the ministers be able to do their job. We believe in government by cabinet, and I have great confidence in my Minister of Health.
Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister falsely promised the Canadian middle class a family tax cut. Earlier this week, he dropped a bombshell on Canadians by imposing a massive carbon tax on them. This tax grab has not only completely wiped out the Prime Minister's so-called middle-class tax cut, it will seriously impact low- and middle-income Canadians through higher gas, heating, and electricity bills.
My question is for the Prime Minister. Why the attack on working Canadians, and why the betrayal of his promise to lower taxes for Canadian families?
Catherine McKenna LiberalMinister of Environment and Climate Change
Mr. Speaker, it was great to be negotiating the Paris agreement with the member opposite. I am very excited to see how he is going to vote on it today.
In an interview with CP yesterday, the Conservative environment critic lauded the B.C. Liberal government for using a price on carbon pollution to cut income taxes and other taxes. Then he said the problem is that other provinces are not committed to acting responsibly. I am delighted that he has endorsed the B.C. Liberal government's approach. Given that B.C., Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec already have a price on carbon pollution, could he let us know what province he does not trust?
Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals do not trust any of the provinces or territories.
The Prime Minister has no idea how badly this carbon tax will impact hard-working Canadians. Northerners, farmers, the unemployed, and seniors on fixed incomes just cannot afford this, yet he still believes the only way to protect the environment is to increase taxes on these Canadians, the most vulnerable.
Does the Prime Minister not realize that misguided tax increases actually hurt Canadian families who struggle to pay their bills every single month?
Jean-Yves Duclos LiberalMinister of Families
Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to take this opportunity to repeat some of our commitments, as the hon. member kindly made an allusion to seniors' issues.
We have signalled in the past few months how important seniors' issues are to our government. For instance, we have increased the guaranteed income supplement by up to $950 dollars per year, which is going to take 13,000 seniors out of poverty. We have also cancelled the change in the age of eligibility for old age security, which will prevent 100,000 seniors from falling into poverty.
Gérard Deltell Conservative Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC
Mr. Speaker, the worst thing for Canadians, our seniors, and all Canadian workers is the invention and introduction of a new tax. That is exactly what the Prime Minister announced last Monday in the House of Commons, even though he should have been working with the provinces and even though three environment ministers walked out of the meeting.
Can the Prime Minister rise and acknowledge that inventing and imposing a new tax is the worst thing for Canadians? Why is he taking money out of taxpayers' pockets?
Catherine McKenna LiberalMinister of Environment and Climate Change
Mr. Speaker, our government is determined to create a cleaner and more innovative economy, one that reduces emissions and protects our environment while creating well-paid jobs for the middle class and for those who work hard to join it.
After decades of inaction and years of wasted opportunities, we are finally taking the action needed to protect our planet for our children and grandchildren.
Gérard Deltell Conservative Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC
Mr. Speaker, once again, those are fine words, but the reality is quite different. The government is taking the wrong path.
A new tax is the worst thing that can happen to our job creators, our SMEs, and others who know what it means to create real jobs, and yet that is precisely the wrong path that this government is taking.
Will the government acknowledge one thing? Imposing a tax is definitely not the way to go about creating jobs. Have you ever seen any jobs created because of a tax? We have not.
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
I think the hon. member knows that the Speaker does not answer questions during question period. I assume he was asking the minister that question.
The hon. Minister of Environment.
Catherine McKenna LiberalMinister of Environment and Climate Change
Mr. Speaker, carbon pricing uses the market to drive clean investment decisions. It encourages innovation and helps reduce emissions.
As to the specifics of the member's question, we are listening to job creators, such as Loblaws, Canadian Tire, the big banks, Suncor, Enbridge, and Shell, who all support our decision to put a price on carbon.
Lisa Raitt Conservative Milton, ON
Mr. Speaker, my friend Susan lives in Guelph, Ontario. She is a divorced mom. She has two kids, both in university, and she has noticed that hydro has gone up. She admits to me that she is a bit cash-strapped right now. She knows she has to get through the next four years while the girls are in university. She wants to keep the house, because they need it in order for them to go to school, but now she hears about some new taxes. She is concerned and does not understand why the government does not realize what her situation is, because if it did, it would never raise her taxes.
What does the minister have to say to my friend Susan?