Debates of Nov. 23rd, 2022

Carbon Pricing

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the price on pollution returns more money to average families across the country than it costs them. It is a way of fighting climate change and putting more money in the pockets of Canadians.

That is what Canadians in Atlantic Canada and elsewhere across the country are going to be able to benefit from. As we step up in the fight against climate change, we will be putting more money back in the pockets of Canadians who need it.

Conservatives continue to spread misinformation and disinformation on that. We need to continue to be there for Canadians and we will.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, our information comes from the man he appointed as the Parliamentary Budget Officer. That same official calculated that 60% of Canadians will pay more in carbon tax costs than they get back in any rebates. That is even higher in provinces where the federally imposed, but provincially administered, tax does not come with any rebate at all.

The Prime Minister wants to go further in increasing the cost to Canadians to drive, to eat and to heat themselves throughout the very cold winter that is just ahead.

Will he show some common sense and stop attacking the people on the ground like his minister and reverse the tax?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians from coast to coast to coast, but particularly in Atlantic Canada, where they saw the devastating impact of hurricane Fiona, know that we have to continue stepping up in our fight against climate change. What we are doing and what we have been doing for years is ensuring that, while we fight climate change, we support families who actually need it.

That is why the carbon price actually returns more money to average families than they pay. That was something that was confirmed by the Parliamentary Budget Officer. We will continue to be there to support Canadians while we fight climate change, instead of peddling disinformation like the Conservatives.

Democratic Institutions

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when we ask the Prime Minister about China's interference in 2019 election financing, all he does is bluster. He compares us to Donald Trump, who denies the U.S. presidential results. That is nonsense.

There is one person who spoke about the legitimacy of the 2019 federal election and that is the guy who won, the Prime Minister.

Chinese interference is a very serious matter. We need to know in order to prevent it from happening again.

The Prime Minister must stop posturing. He must tell us which candidates received Chinese funding and, above all, how China went about it.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the integrity of our elections has not been compromised.

In January 2019, we established a non-partisan committee to assess potential threats of election interference, and that committee clearly determined that the integrity of our elections was not compromised in 2019 or 2021.

In addition, the Chief Electoral Officer stated yesterday that there was no reason to believe that it was not a free and fair election.

Instead of making Canadians needlessly worry, we can all take comfort in the integrity of our electoral system.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is hard to keep up with the Prime Minister's stance on Chinese interference.

In Parliament, he does not consider the issue important enough to give opposition parties serious answers, but at the G20, he was dashing through the halls to go talk to Chinese President Xi Jinping about it. Here in the House, he is not aware of anything, but at the G20, he was aware and concerned enough to discuss it with the Chinese President.

That raises a simple question.

Does the Prime Minister know all about Chinese interference and is he hiding that information from us, or did he accost Xi Jinping on the basis of a newspaper article alone?

Either the Prime Minister is not being straight with us or he is not very savvy. Which is it?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the member from the Bloc Québécois will say just about anything.

The reality is that we always take seriously the importance of protecting Canadians from existing interference by different countries. Everyone knows that.

However, we can also confirm that in all the security briefings I have had with our intelligence experts and those who monitor our elections, the integrity of our elections has never been an issue.

The Economy

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government and the Bank of Canada continue to attack high wages as a cause of inflation, when in reality real wages have actually fallen. In fact, workers' share of GDP has also fallen. Do members know what has not fallen? The profits of large corporations. In fact, big grocery stores have seen profits increase by 118.3% since 2019.

When will the Prime Minister tackle corporate greed and protect families?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, building an economy that works for all Canadians has always been at the heart of what we have done as a government. That is why we raised taxes on the 1%, so that we could lower them for the middle class. It is why we introduced the Canada child benefit, which stopped sending child benefit cheques to millionaires and instead sent more money to the families who actually need it.

It is also why budget 2022 included a temporary Canada recovery dividend and increased the corporate income tax rate on financial institutions permanently. We are making sure that corporations pay their fair share while we support Canadians.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister cannot even say the word “profit”, let alone take on the corporate greed of rich corporations.

The response of the Bank of Canada so far has been to increase interest rates. That is having a real impact on families, like Lauren Gilbert's family from B.C.. She shares that her mortgage has gone up by $1,000 a month. Many families like hers are hurting. We know the Bank of Canada sets the monetary policy, but the Government of Canada sets the fiscal policy.

When will the government tackle inflation so it does not hurt people?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as a government, we have stepped up to support people who need it the most through the pressures we are facing because of inflation. We doubled the GST credit for six months, which put hundreds of dollars more into the pockets of 11 million households across the country. We are moving forward on a $500 top-up to the Canada housing benefit to make sure that low-income families can pay rent. We are making sure that low-income and middle-income families who cannot afford it can send their kids to the dentist.

These are direct and concrete things that are helping Canadians get through these difficult times.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Before we go on to the next question, it has been great today, but I hear the odd lone voice. I'm sure that lone voice, whoever it is, does not want me to recognize them and embarrass their riding.

The hon. member for Calgary Forest Lawn.

Carbon Pricing

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister blew through a balanced budget left by the Conservatives, spending more than every prime minister before him combined. He is the architect of this inflationary mess. He made home heating bills almost double and is responsible for 1.5 million Canadians visiting food banks in a single month. He left billions of dollars of good energy projects in the ground and killed pipelines. He has missed every emissions reduction target and emissions went up. Whatever the Prime Minister touches he breaks.

Will he acknowledge his failed record and stop forcing his failed carbon tax on struggling Canadians?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, by building an economy that works for all Canadians, we see not only millions of jobs created but also millions of Canadians lifted out of poverty over the past years. Because we stepped up to support small businesses, families, communities, workers, seniors and youth during the pandemic with historic supports, our economy actually bounced back faster than those of many of our allies. We recovered full employment six months before the U.S. did following the pandemic.

We are continuing to be able to support families with direct initiatives that the Conservatives are opposing, because that is what we are doing for Canadians.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this is coming from Canada's most notorious high-carbon hypocrite. He calls seniors and people on fixed incomes polluters, while he jet-sets around the world, singing in luxurious hotels and embarrassing Canada on the world stage on the dime of Canadians. There was always a price on pollution. We all pay our gas and electricity bills. What the Prime Minister did was create a scheme to take money from seniors and the most vulnerable to fill up government coffers, all in the name of climate change. Emissions keep going up and the Prime Minister has not hit a single emissions reduction target.

I have a simple question. Why do Canadians have to pay for the Prime Minister to pollute?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Before the Prime Minister answers, I want to remind the hon. members that I know this is a passionate place, but to please use parliamentary language. Calling each other names is not a good practice to have if we want to have a civilized conversation and debate in the chamber.

The right hon. Prime Minister.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, personal attacks seem to be all the Conservative Party can deliver right now, because it has no plan to fight climate change. Conservatives have no plan to reduce emissions. They have no plan to support Canadians who are struggling right now with the high cost of food, fuel and everything. They voted against our support for low-income families on rental. They voted against support for families to get their kids to the dentist.

We will continue to step up for Canadians. We will continue to return more money into their pockets as we fight climate change, because we cannot have a plan for the future of the economy if we do not have a plan to fight climate change.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, they are struggling because of the current Prime Minister's tax hikes.

Canadians are worried about how they are going to heat their home through the Canadian cold winter. The Liberals' response is that they are sick and tired of hearing people complain about the cold. The Minister of Labour said that yesterday. Instead of scrapping the carbon tax, which is making it more expensive for Canadians to eat, to drive and to heat themselves, they are tripling it. They could scrap the tax that has not reduced emissions, but instead they are imposing it on three more provinces that do not want it. Canadians are the ones who are sick and tired.

Will the Prime Minister scrap his plan on the carbon tax?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Conservative politicians seem to be the only people in Canada who do not think it is important to fight climate change. We moved forward with a price on pollution, preventing pollution from being free anywhere in the country. At the same time we are returning more money to the families who need that support in the provinces where the federal backstop applies.

This is an approach that has both fought climate change and supported families. We are pleased to see that positive impact extending to communities in Atlantic Canada as well.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Liberal politicians are the only ones who seem to think that this is working. While the Prime Minister launches into his misleading defence of the punishing tax, Canadians know that the carbon tax these Liberals keep hiking is not an environment plan. He knows that the Parliamentary Budget Officer, who he appointed, told us that 60% of Canadians pay more than they will ever get back. His plan has not reduced emissions. He has not hit a single environmental target.

Instead of punishing Canadians by tripling the carbon tax, why does he not give Canadians a fighting chance this winter and scrap it?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, the Parliamentary Budget Officer confirms that eight out of 10 families receive more money back from this price on pollution than they pay into it.

At the same time, every time the Conservatives talk about removing our price on pollution, what they are talking about is taking money out of the pockets of hard-working Canadian families. The price on pollution puts more money in the pockets of average families across this country. That is how we fight climate change and support families that need it.

Speaking of support for families that need it, why are Conservatives opposed to dental and rental supports for Canadians? Why are they opposed to child care that saves thousands—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Louis-Saint-Laurent.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadian families are all facing the worst inflationary crisis in 40 years. It is directly impacting a basic necessity: food.

Butter is 20% more expensive, pasta is 27% more expensive, and lettuce is 30% more expensive. What is the Liberal government proposing? Believe it or not, it wants to increase, triple the Liberal carbon tax.

Seriously, could the Prime Minister stand up and admit that increasing taxes in a period of inflation is really bad for Canadians?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, our price on pollution is putting more money back into the pockets of families who need it across the country. That is the reality the Conservatives are trying to avoid.

Yes, there are many families who are struggling to make ends meet because of inflation. That is why we are giving a GST/HST credit that has been doubled for six months and gives hundreds of dollars a month to 11 million households. That is also why we are giving families more money for rent and dental care, yet the Conservatives voted against both of those measures.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, what the Prime Minister said is not quite right. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.

Since his return from COP27, the minister in 58th place keeps saying that the carbon tax helps Canadians, but that is not true. The minister in 58th place is forgetting that, under his administration, Canada ranked 58 out of 63 countries on climate change performance. That is the Liberal government's track record over the past seven years. That is how the Liberal carbon tax performed.

Seriously, can the Prime Minister stand up and admit that increasing taxes in a period of inflation is really bad for Canadians?