Debates of Nov. 2nd, 2023

Carbon Pricing

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad the hon. member raised the Government of British Columbia. I had the opportunity to speak to my counterpart from British Columbia this morning. We will be engaging British Columbia in a codelivery arrangement to ensure that 10,000 British Columbia households that are on heating oil will get a free heat pump to get them off heating oil and reduce their costs on an ongoing basis.

I would also say that affordability is also about the economy and jobs. I would say that what is happening at the natural resources committee with the obfuscation by the opposition is a shame. It is destroying jobs and economic opportunity for Newfoundland and Labrador, and for Nova Scotia. Opposition members should be ashamed of their behaviour there.

[Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Conservative, South Surrey—White Rock, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am never ashamed to help keep home heating costs down for all Canadians.

After eight years, Canadians know that the flailing Prime Minister is not worth the cost. Seniors in Smithers should not be punished for heating their homes, and the B.C. NDP premier agrees. Common-sense Conservatives would axe the tax on home heating for every single Canadian.

Does the NDP member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley have a choice on Monday's vote, or must he vote with his political master? Will the Prime Minister require that NDP member to vote his way, or is the member going to support our Conservative plan to keep the heat on and axe the tax?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague should know that the 10,000 homes in British Columbia that actually utilize heating oil will, yes, have access to free heat pumps, because the Government of British Columbia is stepping up to work with the Government of Canada to ensure that this will be the case. This is addressing affordability concerns not just for the short term but also for the long term, and is doing so in a manner that is consistent with the government's commitment to fight climate change, a commitment shared by governments around the world and by every party in the House except the Conservative Party of Canada.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is not a luxury for seniors, families and single-parent families to heat their homes, regardless of what type of fuel they use or what region of the country they are from. After eight years of the Prime Minister and a year and a half of the NDP-Liberal coalition, Canadians realize they are not worth the cost.

On Monday, NDP members will have a choice to make: support their constituents who are suffering from energy poverty or support a panicking Prime Minister.

Will the Prime Minister force the NDP members to support their coalition agreement, or, with what little dignity they have left, will they support the people they represent, to keep the tax off and the heat on?

[Jenna Sudds, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite mentioned families. Everything we do, at the heart of our actions on this side of the House, is focused on ensuring we are there for families. I look to building a national early learning and child care system as just one way we are looking to support families. Introducing affordable, high-quality and accessible child care across this country saves families hundreds of dollars each and every month. That is just one of the ways we are working to make life more affordable for Canadian families.

[Ted Falk, Conservative, Provencher, MB]

Mr. Speaker, it has been eight long years, but on Monday, the NDP members have a chance to show whom they work for. Is it for the Prime Minister, who is just not worth the cost, or for Canadians, who want the tax off and the heat on? It is cold in Manitoba. It gets down to -40°C. It should not be a luxury for folks to keep the heat on. The member from Churchill and her NDP colleagues will have a chance on Monday to show whom they work for.

On Monday, will the NDP members vote with the Liberals, or will they vote for Canadians, to axe the tax for all forms of home heating?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad the hon. member referred to his home province of Manitoba. The new government in Manitoba has reached out to the federal government to engage in a conversation about codelivery for the thousands of homes in Manitoba that actually use heating oil, to ensure they will be addressed in a thoughtful and affordable way. I congratulate the Government of Manitoba for being proactive on this important issue and for its continuing commitment to fighting climate change.

Small Business

[Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné, Bloc, Terrebonne, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business has been warning us since June that hundreds of thousands of business could go bankrupt. The CFIB's updated numbers are no better. Right now, 220,000 businesses are in danger of going bankrupt if the federal government does not let them defer repayment of Canada emergency business account loans without losing the subsidy. Those 220,000 businesses say they have neither the cash nor the ability to borrow more to repay the loan.

When will the government understand that these businesses may well go bankrupt if they are not given enough time to pay back their loans?

[Rechie Valdez, Liberal, Minister of Small Business]

Mr. Speaker, we did not abandon small businesses during the pandemic, nor did we abandon them after the pandemic.

What did we do then? We created the Canada emergency business account loan to help small businesses keep their doors open. What are we doing now? We are offering more flexibility for them to repay their CEBA loans. What will we continue to do? We will continue to listen to and support small businesses across the country.

[Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné, Bloc, Terrebonne, QC]

Mr. Speaker, 18 days is not what I would call real flexibility. In my riding alone, 72 small and medium-sized businesses are in danger of bankruptcy if the federal government fails to act. These are family businesses that I know, business that these people have invested in for their entire lives. These businesses also employ hundreds of people. If the federal government does not stop taking a hard line with family businesses, hundreds of jobs could be lost in the riding of Terrebonne alone.

Which Liberal minister, the Minister of Small Business or the Minister of Finance, is going to come with me to tell Natacha, Sylvain and Éric that because of so-called fiscal restraint, the government is going to leave them high and dry?

[Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Liberal, Minister of Tourism and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. I would remind her that over 900,000 businesses have been saved by our government. If we had not stepped in, these companies would have been shuttered.

Today, we are offering a second loan repayment extension. We are offering more flexibility to refinance and have the loan forgiven. We will continue to be there for businesses.

Carbon Pricing

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on Monday, all members of the House will be asked to vote on our motion to eliminate the carbon tax on all forms of home heating in a bid to bring financial relief to all Canadians. After eight years, the Liberals are going in the opposite direction and are refusing to press pause on the suffering of Canadians as a whole. Worse yet, the Bloc Québécois wants to step on the gas and drastically increase carbon taxes. Voting for the Bloc Québécois is costly.

During their phone call, did the Prime Minister ask the Bloc Québécois leader to come to his rescue and vote against our motion on Monday?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to correct something that was said in the House earlier this week. The Governor of the Bank of Canada said that, each year, carbon pricing contributes 0.15% to inflation, an effect he describes as “quite small” from one year to the next. This idea that carbon pricing raises the price of everything is a myth, and the Governor of the Bank of Canada says as much.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, he should take a closer look at his briefing book because it is 16% of the inflation rate that is affected by the carbon tax.

I have another question. The NDP has only one member in Quebec, but it will be interesting to see whether he votes for our motion to make the pause on the carbon tax on home heating fair across the country. Will he stand with Canadians, or with the Liberals?

Also, will the Bloc Québécois stand with the 972,000 Quebeckers who rely on food banks every month, or with the Liberals?

After eight years of divisive and inflationary policies, will the Prime Minister allow the NDP and the Bloc Québécois to have a free vote on our motion on Monday?

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, it is surprising to see the Conservatives quoting the Governor of the Bank of Canada when they are campaigning to fire him.

However, this week, the governor confirmed that carbon pricing contributes only 0.15% to inflation and that reducing carbon pricing will have no long-term effect on inflation beyond this initial reduction. That is what the Governor of the Bank of Canada said.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is cold in northern Ontario. It is not a luxury for residents of northern Ontario to heat their homes.

The Prime Minister has created two categories of Canadians: those who got a temporary pause on the carbon tax on home heating and those who did not. The Prime Minister has been clear that he opposes providing relief from his unaffordable carbon tax for all northern residents.

My question is this: Will northern Ontario MPs be free to vote with us on our common-sense Conservative motion to take the tax off and keep the heat on for all Canadians?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said a number of times, the issue around heating oil is that it is two to four times as expensive as natural gas as a heating source. It accelerated by 75% in 2022 alone. It is creating a significant challenge for folks. We have developed a program that will ensure that we are able to address that in a long-term, sustainable way through the implementation of free heat pumps. That program will apply in any province and territory that is willing to step up. It is certainly open to the Government of Ontario, and I look forward to discussions with my counterpart in that regard.

Foreign Affairs

[Yvan Baker, Liberal, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we have worked very hard to ensure that Canada's unwavering support for Ukraine is shared by all parties in the House. Unfortunately, that support for Ukraine is not unanimous in the House. Conservatives are delaying Bill C-57, the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement. Their MPs are calling the legislation “woke”.

Most concerning is the Leader of the Conservative Party's silence on support for Ukraine. He has not called for military, humanitarian or financial support for Ukraine. He has refused to criticize Russia's war crimes. His silence speaks volumes.

Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs reassure Canadians that, despite the Conservative leader's lack of support, the government will stand with the Ukrainian people until they win?

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Consular Affairs)]

Mr. Speaker, our support for Ukraine as it defends its freedoms, independence and democracy is unwavering. Since Russia began its unprovoked aggression, we have supported Ukraine with almost $10 billion in assistance.

My colleague is a steadfast advocate for Ukraine, and what he raises is troubling. This is not the time for unnecessary delays of this important legislation. This is not the time for doublespeak from Conservatives and their leader. I ask the Leader of the Opposition to stop with the political games and stand with us to show Ukraine and Ukrainian Canadians that we are all united.

Carbon Pricing

[Rob Moore, Conservative, Fundy Royal, NB]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years, the out-of-touch NDP-Liberal government does not even know what a rural community is.

In a totally transparent effort to save seats in Atlantic Canada, Liberals will be giving a rural rebate to downtown residents of the city of Fredericton, but not to someone who commutes 100 kilometres a day for work from the actual rural community of St. Martins, which has a population of under 300.

The Prime Minister is not worth the cost. Will the Liberals quadruple the tax on Atlantic Canadians, or will they vote with us to axe the tax on all forms of home heating?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, it is hard to imagine a political party more opposed to the interests of my region of Atlantic Canada than the federal Conservative Party. It is painting a measure that has a national application as only benefiting one region just weeks after it signalled that it will not support the development of offshore renewable energy in my region.

We are moving forward with a policy that is going to reduce the cost of home heating for many people across the country. We are going to put more money into the pockets of rural residents across this country as well. It is the right path forward. We are going to protect the environment and save households money at the same time.

[Rick Perkins, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Mr. Speaker, what is hard to imagine is that, after eight years, the plummeting Prime Minister panicked last week with his carbon tax announcement. However, Nova Scotians who made the decision to convert to cleaner propane have been exempted from that announcement and will have to pay 61¢ a litre more on their home heating.

The flip-flopping Prime Minister has finally admitted that he is not worth the cost. Will the Liberals admit that they are going to quadruple the carbon tax on Atlantic Canadians after the next election, or will they join the Conservatives on Monday and vote to axe the carbon tax on all home heating?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, what I find fascinating is that I am unable to discern from the Conservative Party's rhetoric on this issue whether or not it supports our decision to invest in measures that are going to reduce pollution across Canada and put more money into the pockets of households by getting heat pumps to them.

For awareness, this is the kind of measure that would save my neighbours thousands of dollars every year in reduced energy costs by creating a more efficient solution. It is going to have the same impact for people who use home heating oil right across the country.

Therefore, I respond with this question for my hon. colleague: Does he support the measure that would save money for our residents?

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, eight years of this utterly out-of-touch government conspiring with the NDP and the Bloc Québécois has made voting for the Bloc costly. Last week's announcement is a slap in Quebec's face. All Canadians need help, not just those in Atlantic Canada where the Liberals' polling numbers are taking a nosedive. Once again, dividing Canadians is what the Prime Minister does best.

Will the Prime Minister ignore the Bloc members next Monday and vote in favour of our common-sense Conservative motion that will help all Canadians?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, what exactly does common sense mean when several members of the opposition party are former members of the governments of Quebec, British Columbia and New Brunswick? Back then, those members spoke in favour of carbon pricing. Back then, they believed in climate change. They believed climate change was an important issue.

About 200,000 families in Quebec use oil to heat their homes. Oil prices have gone up three times faster than natural gas prices. Oil is two to four times more expensive. We will work with every Canadian province to help them eliminate oil heating in the coming years.