Debates of June 14th, 2018

Carbon Pricing

[Catherine McKenna, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, let us start by noting that we are all in this together, that climate change is real, and that no one knows this more than farmers. When I talk to farmers, they are worried about droughts, they are worried about floods, and they are worried about extreme weather.

Once again, it is up to provinces to determine what they are going to do. Provinces can decide that they are going to exempt fuels used by farmers. It is up to them to design a system that makes sense in their province. It is up to them to decide what they are going to do with the revenues.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Agriculture's claims that farmers support a carbon tax are ridiculous.

APAS and Grain Growers of Canada are speaking out against it. The Province of Saskatchewan has even taken the Liberals to court over the tax. Saskatchewan farmers are well aware that the cost of the carbon tax will have an impact on their livelihood.

The Liberals refuse to tell us how much it will cost. When will the Liberals come clean on this carbon tax?

[Catherine McKenna, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said, farmers and ranchers understand that we need to protect our environment, that we need to take action on climate change.

As we have said, it is up to provinces, like Saskatchewan, to determine how they are going to implement pricing, and they can give the revenues right back. They can give revenues back to the farmers. They can decide to cut the provincial sales tax. That is their own decision. That is the right way.

We believe we are all in this together, and I really wish the opposition would not make this a partisan issue. We have kids, we have grandkids, and they are owed a clean future. They also are—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order, order. This is a good way to lose a question. Order.

[Alice Wong, Conservative, Richmond Centre, BC]

Mr. Speaker, one of the largest challenges seniors are facing is being able to afford the basic necessities of life.

We all know that when the Liberals impose a new tax grab, it hikes the cost of living and seniors are disproportionately affected.

Why will the Liberals not finally reveal what their carbon tax will cost seniors?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to talk about the well-being and welfare of our seniors. Unfortunately, I am less happy to talk about the fact that Conservatives voted against every measure we put forward in favour of seniors.

We have brought the age of eligibility for old age security back to 65 years old, which is going to prevent 100,000 seniors from entering severe poverty. Unfortunately, the Harper Conservatives voted against that. We raised the guaranteed income supplement to help 900,000 seniors. Unfortunately, again our Conservative friends voted against that.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, these Liberals attack small businesses time and time again.

They are forcing job creators to pay a carbon tax that will increase input costs, and the Prime Minister refuses to tell them how much it will cost. Small businesses know that the misguided tax will impact the way they do business and how many employees they can hire. Some will be forced to shut down.

Why will the Prime Minister not tell small businesses, the lifeblood of our economy, how much more they will be paying with his national carbon tax?

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about the government's support of small businesses.

This is the government that lowered the small business tax rate to 9% by 2019. What did the Conservatives do? The Conservatives voted against it.

We just brought forward the first-ever women's entrepreneurship strategy, almost $2 billion in support for women entrepreneurs. What did the Conservatives do? Voted against it.

[Some hon. members]

Voted against it.

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Waterloo, ON]

This government will continue supporting small businesses. They are the backbone of the economy. We will not just say, we will support them. What will the Conservatives continue to do? Vote against them.

[Some hon. members]

Vote against them.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. We do not need any chanting. Thank you very much.

International Trade

[Scott Duvall, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after the Trump administration imposed devastating 25% tariffs on steel and 10% on aluminum, workers are worried about how they are going to take care of their families. Just the steel industry alone has at least 22,000 direct jobs and supports another 100,000 indirect jobs, especially in Ontario and in my community of Hamilton.

Yesterday the Prime Minister avoided this very simple question, which I will ask again. When will the government announce a support package for steel and aluminum workers, like it did for softwood lumber workers last year?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, we will always defend our steel and aluminum workers. We have done so in the past and we will continue to do so, going forward. As the member opposite knows full well, the tariffs that have been imposed by the Americans are completely unacceptable. They are unwarranted. That is why we are working with industry and we are working with workers to determine the best path forward. Again, make no mistake about it: we will always defend our workers in the aluminum and steel sectors.

[Karine Trudel, NDP, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, fine speeches here in the House are all well and good, but thousands of workers and SMEs across the country are mired in uncertainty due to these unacceptable tariffs on steel and aluminum.

Given the risks and the difficult months ahead, the government needs to act quickly. These workers and businesses deserve meaningful action, not just words. They need support right now.

Will the government follow Quebec's lead and quickly announce a plan to protect our jobs, our SMEs, and most of all, our workers?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, the tariffs imposed by the United States are unacceptable. That is why we are going to continue to defend our workers and our steel and aluminum industry.

I have met with the producers association. All options are on the table.

[Shaun Chen, Liberal, Scarborough North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure everyone here in the House would agree that there has never been a better time to diversify our markets.

Last year, new trade agreements with the European Union and Ukraine came into effect, reducing tariffs and giving Canadian exporters access to a new combined market of over half a billion consumers.

CPTPP will do exactly the same. Can the minister please update this House on Canada's efforts to bring this important agreement into force?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Scarborough North for his excellent work. Canadians understand there has never been a better time to diversify. That is why with CPTPP we will improve market access and we will improve new industries for Canadians. That means that workers, small and medium-sized businesses, and their families and their communities will have a better chance to succeed. We will continue to work for Canadians. Canadians know one thing: they know they can trust us when it comes to international trade.

Carbon Pricing

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Toronto Liberals have been charging a hidden carbon tax since 2009. It has doubled the price of electricity in Ontario. It has cost tens of thousands of jobs as companies move to the United States. It has forced seniors on fixed incomes to choose whether to eat or heat. Now, the Ottawa Liberals want to charge another carbon tax. When will they stop the cover-up and tell Canadians how much that carbon tax is going to cost?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, indeed I did not have enough time in my earlier response to detail other measures that we put in, in favour of seniors, and unfortunately the Harper Conservatives voted against them. We enhanced the Canada pension plan six months after we came into office to increase the generosity, the flexibility, and the care with which our seniors will be able to retire when they do retire. Unfortunately, our Conservative friends voted against that.

We also launched the first-ever historic national housing strategy, which will have a direct impact on seniors—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order.

The hon. member for Durham.

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Durham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in Ontario, the auto industry competes with the U.S. for investment. In Michigan, there is no carbon tax, but in Ontario the Liberals are imposing a carbon tax scheme that is putting our auto sector at a disadvantage. Now the auto sector also faces the risks of tariffs. Will the Liberals reveal the cost of the carbon tax on the auto industry, and will they agree to exempt the auto industry from their carbon tax so we can keep these jobs in Canada?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, we have a thriving and vibrant automotive sector in Ontario and across the country. Do members know why? It is because it has a government that backs it up and supports it all the way. Since 2015, we have been working very closely with the automotive sector, building partnerships. What that has resulted in is a $5.6-billion total investment in the automotive sector. This has helped create and preserve thousands of jobs. This is what we are focused on. We are focused on growth and jobs and we will continue to support the automotive sector and build the car of the future as well.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, enough of the carbon tax cover-up. Canadians are fed up with the Prime Minister's refusal to tell them how much this harmful carbon tax will cost them. In B.C., drivers are now paying a whopping $1.60 a litre to tank up their cars. The Liberal carbon tax is going to add 11¢ to that. The price of everything, from groceries to home heating, is going to go up under the Liberal government.

When will the Prime Minister finally tell us how much his carbon tax will cost the average Canadian family, and what is he hiding?