Debates of Nov. 28th, 2022

Democratic Institutions

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we obviously share our colleague's belief that it is important to protect the electoral system and the integrity of our elections. That is why the government took action several years ago by creating a committee chaired by the Clerk of the Privy Council and with intelligence experts to ensure that Canada's elections are free and open. That is exactly what this group confirmed in 2019 and also in 2021, which is good news.

The Economy

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are struggling to keep up with rising food costs. Canada's biggest grocer, Loblaws, made $556 million in profit in three months. While first-time visits to food banks go up by 64%, Loblaws' CEO is just getting richer. The NDP called on the Liberals to make this right and to make companies pay their fair share, but Canadians have yet to see any action.

Will the Liberals stand up for everyday Canadians and make these people pay their fair share?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, our government is absolutely committed to ensuring that everyone pays their fair share. That is why we are taking action by permanently raising the tax on financial institutions and insurers by 1.5%, by introducing a Canada recovery dividend of 15% and by introducing a luxury tax on luxury private planes, yachts and luxury cars.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the demand for food support is on the rise across the country. People back home, children, seniors, low-income families, everyone is going hungry. In the meantime, Loblaw is raking in the profits on the backs of struggling families. CEOs and their shareholders are profiting from a crisis of their own making. The greed of these big grocery chains is callous.

Why are the Liberals refusing to make them pay their share to help people who are hungry?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, our government committed to making everyone pay their fair share and that is what we have done.

We have taken measures such as the permanent 1.5% income tax increase on banks and insurance companies, implementing the 15% Canada recovery dividend and the tax on luxury cars, planes and boats.

Carbon Pricing

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

Mr. Speaker, Canada is the only country in the developed world to increase the carbon tax during affordability crisis. Even Japan got with the program and cancelled its plan to increase the carbon tax.

The Liberals keep raising the tax, yet emissions keep going up, and they have not hit a single emission reduction target. Even the Governor of the Bank of Canada said if the government axed the carbon tax, the Liberal inflation would be reduced.

Why would the Liberals not stop forcing their failed carbon tax scheme on Canadians?

[Terry Duguid, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, last week we heard really good news for Atlantic Canadians. Three Atlantic provinces are going to get access to the climate action rebate that is going to put more money in their pockets.

Even more good news is that hundreds of millions of dollars are going to flow into Atlantic Canada to transition from dirty, expensive fuel oil to cleaner forms of energy. Heat pumps rule. We are making life more affordable and fighting climate change.

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

Mr. Speaker, that is a tax plan and not a climate plan.

The Liberals' failed plan is sending more Canadians to the food banks, and there are more families that have to skip meals. They keep failing on the environment. They have not fixed the economy. They keep charging Canadians even more.

Why will the Liberals not get out of the way, give Canadians a break and axe the tax?

[Terry Duguid, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives never met an environmental program that they did not want to cut.

I mentioned on the last day that they gutted our environmental laws, and they cut $350 million from the climate action budget. For 10 long years, the Conservatives did absolutely nothing on climate change.

We are on track to meet our emissions target. We are doing something about climate change. We are building the economy of tomorrow.

[Leslyn Lewis, Conservative, Haldimand—Norfolk, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal carbon tax has driven up the cost of home heating, fuel and groceries.

Canadians are suffering. People are wearing their winter coats inside of their homes to keep down heating costs. Mothers are diluting their babies' milk to stretch it. However, Canada pitifully ranks 58 out of 63 countries on climate action.

Will the Liberal government stop forcing their failed climate tax on suffering Canadians?

[Gudie Hutchings, Liberal, Minister of Rural Economic Development]

Mr. Speaker, I find that quite rich coming from the party opposite, which promised a climate plan but has not delivered. The people in my riding want action on climate right now.

The impacts of Fiona are still being felt on the ground. Now, in addition to the damages done to personal homes, infrastructure, waste water and municipal infrastructure, we have added four feet of snow to that. My constituents want action on the climate now.

[Leslyn Lewis, Conservative, Haldimand—Norfolk, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I remind the Liberal government that it is in government. It needs to present a plan. The government lacks credibility when it has not met a single climate target.

A tax on the backs of average Canadians does nothing to drive down emissions. It drives up poverty. More Canadians are relying on food banks than ever before. The food banks fear that they are going to run out of food. The carbon tax is not an environmental plan. It is a tax plan.

Will the government cancel its cruel carbon tax on gas, groceries and home heating?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, we are in government, and we are in government in part because we have a credible plan on climate. I think Canadians expect His Majesty's official opposition to have a climate plan, which it clearly does not.

Affordability today is critically important, but so is affordability tomorrow. We cannot leave the kinds of costs to our children that we will if we do not address climate change. The Climate Institute estimates $100 billion a year by 2050 if we do not act to mitigate carbon emissions. We are going to do so in a manner that will promote economic opportunity and address climate change.

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

Mr. Speaker, inflation is squeezing the wallets of all Canadian families. Unfortunately, the simple fact is that everything costs more. Meanwhile, the government is still planning to increase the Liberal carbon tax.

I want to make one thing clear. Mathematically speaking, when the government raises taxes in a time of inflation, it is very profitable for the government, but it is not at all profitable for Canadian taxpayers.

When will the government finally do the right thing and not increase the Liberal carbon tax?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, we need to consider the issue of affordability while continuing to tackle the threat of climate change. We also need to take into account the future cost of climate change inaction, which will be $25 billion by 2025.

Part of the solution to the affordability problem in Canada involves tackling climate change.

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

Mr. Speaker, pillaging Canadian taxpayers' wallets is not going to solve the climate problem.

This Prime Minister has advanced some ludicrous economic theories. According to him, a budget balances itself and SMEs are a tax shelter for cheaters. These theories are completely ridiculous.

This is the first time a head of government has said that it is a good idea to raise taxes in times of inflation.

Honestly, could someone in this government stand up and tell us when they are going to scrap the Liberal carbon tax increase, which is a terrible idea given the inflation rates?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I find it interesting that my hon. colleague raises the issue of absurd ideas coming from Canadian politicians.

The most absurd of those ideas is the Conservative leader's proposal that Canadians can avoid inflation by investing in cryptoassets. That is a really absurd idea, a dangerous idea.

It is time for all Conservatives to apologize to Canadians.

Public Safety

[Rhéal Fortin, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government is still not being transparent about its decision to invoke the Emergencies Act.

CSIS told us that the convoy was not a threat to national security. We know the convoy did not fit the definition of a national emergency in the act.

The government claims to have based its decision on one single document, an obscure legal opinion that the Minister of Justice is hiding. As a lawyer, the minister might be bound by solicitor-client privilege, but his client, the government, is not.

Are we honestly supposed to believe the government would hide a legal opinion that provided ample justification for invoking the act?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, let me just remind everyone that what happened last winter was unprecedented. The impact on workers, families, and everyone was unprecedented. After extensive consultation with law enforcement and other levels of government, we made a necessary decision.

Last week, a number of ministers, including the Prime Minister, testified. Justice Rouleau says he now has all the evidence he needs to submit a final report. We will continue to be transparent about this very important decision.

[Rhéal Fortin, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, if the legal opinion fully vindicated the Liberals, they would have printed out hundreds of copies and distributed them to the media.

The Liberals saw those legal opinions. They read the act, they saw that they did not meet the threshold to invoke the act, but they invoked it anyway.

It was precisely to prevent this kind of thing that there was a shift from the old War Measures Act to the Emergencies Act. It was supposed to prevent any government from saying, “Just watch me”, and arbitrarily suspending individual freedoms.

Does the government realize that, in doing so, it has set a dangerous precedent?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I will describe the precedent we have set. It is a precedent of transparency, a precedent of rigour, a precedent that protected Canadians' lives and the Canadian economy during a difficult time.

Yes, we invoked the Emergencies Act in a focused, balanced manner for nine days. It addressed a situation involving a national emergency that threatened Canadians from coast to coast to coast, and we are proud of the decision we made as a government.

Official Languages

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I will quote what the Prime Minister said last Thursday about the Rouleau commission. He said, “I think it’s a shame that there wasn’t enough French.... Obviously, I will try to use it as much as possible so that everyone can understand me in both official languages.”

We were looking forward to the Prime Minister setting an example and addressing the situation on Friday. We got 12 short minutes. For the Liberal government, does using French as much as possible boil down to 12 minutes out of five and a half hours? I say to him, great job.

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I testified. As I know that my colleague was very interested, I testified before the commission along with the Minister of Public Safety on Tuesday. I spoke in French. I answered in French to questions asked in English.

The government was there. We answered the lawyers' and Justice Rouleau's questions, and we are proud of the testimony and the evidence that we provided on behalf of the government. We look forward to Justice Rouleau's report.

Carbon Pricing

[Tim Uppal, Conservative, Edmonton Mill Woods, AB]

Mr. Speaker, my parents, like most other immigrants, came to this country for the economic opportunities available to them and for the idea that if one works hard, they can make a decent living and provide for a family. However, because of the Liberals' inflation crisis caused by mismanagement and the overspending of Canadian taxpayer dollars, too many Canadians are struggling. Now the Liberals are going to triple the carbon tax and make everything more expensive.

When will they cancel their plan to triple the carbon tax?

[Kamal Khera, Liberal, Minister of Seniors]

Mr. Speaker, we recognize the challenges that seniors are facing, and our government has been there for them. Unlike the party opposite, which has opposed every single measure we have put forward to support seniors, we are delivering for them by doubling the GST credit, which will help 11 million people. We are providing rental and dental support. We have permanently increased old age security by 10% for those 75 and over. We are going to continue to be there for seniors.