Debates of Nov. 7th, 2023

Carbon Pricing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the panicking Prime Minister is desperate to save his carbon tax, especially on heat. He started by giving a temporary pause to some people in a region where he was plummeting in the polls and his caucus was revolting. Then he found that the entire country was in revolt and he needed a new coalition partner to save him from my common-sense confidence vote to take the tax off the heat. He got that support from the Bloc Québécois.

We now learn that he has been in discussions with the Bloc to help him stay in power for two years. What did he promise the separatists for them to enter into this costly carbon tax coalition?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, contrary to the divisive rhetoric that the Leader of the Opposition is putting forward, the measures we announced on transitioning people on oil to heat pumps apply right across the country. The doubling of the rural top-up applies right across the country. We are going to continue to work with Canadians to phase out home heating oil, which is dirtier and more expensive.

I want to recognize that we are willing to work with anyone in the House who will step up in the fight against climate change. I thank the leader of the Bloc Québécois for continuing to be firm on building a better future for all our kids, on fighting against climate change on this and in other occasions.

I welcome all parliamentarians to stand up in the fight against climate change.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, now he is thanking the separatists for helping him save his carbon tax and support his plan to quadruple the tax on heat, gas and groceries.

The Prime Minister is playing a very dangerous game. First, he divided Canadians by giving a temporary pause to some people in a region where he was plummeting in the polls and his caucus was revolting. When all Canadians then revolted against this divisive plan, he turned to the separatists, who say that they are going to keep him in power for two years and that the leader of the Bloc has had a call with the Prime Minister to do it.

In the interest of transparency, will the Prime Minister reveal what he promised the separatists for them to join in this costly carbon tax coalition?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the level of divisiveness in the rhetoric of the Leader of the Opposition is truly unfortunate.

The vast majority of Canadians, like the vast majority of members in the House of Commons, recognize that climate change is real. They recognize that we need to continue to step up in the fight against climate change, not just for the well-being of the planet and future generations but for families' bottom lines, for families' jobs and careers as well. We will continue to do that.

As members of the House of Commons know, I exchange regularly with leaders of different political parties. I have not spoken recently with the leader of the Bloc except on the issue of the Middle East, but I am always open to talking to any party leader who wants to talk about fighting climate change.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, he tried to divide and distract from the fact that Canadians, after eight years of his government, cannot eat, heat or house themselves. However, in a strange way, he united all Canadians at the premiers' conference, who all agree.

All 10 of them unanimously disagree with the Prime Minister's approach to take the tax off temporarily for only some. They have said that the federal carbon tax policy treats Canadians differently and they expect a change.

Will the Prime Minister pull together all the premiers in an emergency carbon tax conference, so we can take the tax off and keep the heat on?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the measures we announced a couple of weeks ago help any Canadian everywhere across the country to get off home heating oil and toward using a heat pump, which is cleaner, less expensive and better for our future. These are things we have done right across the country.

Only the Conservatives would think that taking serious action on climate change and supporting Canadians right across the country with affordability measures would be divisive. It is divisive if one thinks that climate change is fake, but everybody else other than the Conservative Party knows that we can come together to fight climate change.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians know that the only thing fake is the Prime Minister.

Today, the NDP members flip-flopped on their flip-flop. First, they voted 16 times in favour of the carbon tax on home heating. Then they voted to quadruple the tax. Then yesterday, they panicked, flip-flopped and voted for my plan to take the tax off home heating, admitting that they were wrong all along. Now today, they said they are in favour of the tax on home heat by refusing my amendment.

Will the Prime Minister tell us, at 2:26 p.m., what the NDP position is on the carbon tax right now?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I am not certain if that question has to do with the administration of the House, but I see the right hon. Prime Minister is rising.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, what is clear is that the Conservatives are all ready to try to divide Canadians, one against the other, in any possible way they can, when the reality is that the only division around climate change is that Conservative politicians still doubt whether it is real or not and certainly do not think we should be doing anything to fight climate change. However, everybody else across the country, in all different parties, knows that it is a real issue that we are going to continue to step up and fight, unlike the Conservatives, who continue to look to divide and hide from the reality of climate change.

Canadian Heritage

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the call that the Leader of the Opposition is talking about never happened, and the only true thing he said is that we are separatists.

Speaking of the opposition leader, he spent $3,300 on 14 Facebook ads between August 1 and November 1. The Conservative Party spent another $80,000, the Liberal Party spent $8,500 and the Prime Minister spent $20,000 on Facebook at a time when social media players are bullying the media in Canada and Quebec.

Why?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, what is very clear is that, regardless of our political stripes and regardless of whether we are federalist or separatist, we are all concerned about the future of our grandchildren and about protecting the environment. We will continue to work with anyone wants to work with us.

With respect to social media and news for Canadians, we continue to stand very strong against Facebook and Google, which are reluctant to pay journalists for their work. We will continue to do whatever it takes to make sure Canadians are informed about this and other issues, but we still have a lot of work to do.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we want the government to take a strong stand. We would support a strong stand from the Canadian government. A few days ago, we learned that over 500 people had lost their jobs at TVA Group. Those 500 people lost their jobs because social media platforms are essentially stealing ad dollars from legitimate media. Meanwhile, the Conservatives and the Liberal government are encouraging them by handing over tens of thousands of dollars every month.

What message does that send to people, and to Meta, which does not respect anyone?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have been extremely clear about our concern over the behaviour of Meta in particular, which indeed refuses to support democracy and allow journalists to do their rigorous work, which is essential to the proper functioning of our institutions and our democracy. We will continue to defend the media against the web giants, whom the Conservatives never miss an opportunity to defend. We will continue to do everything we can to keep Canadians informed at the same time.

Taxation

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we all know that the Prime Minister's plan on home heating is cynical and divisive, but the Conservatives are no better. They are more interested in playing games than actually helping people. If they were genuine about helping people, they would support our plan to take GST off home heating for all Canadians, to help people access clean and affordable ways to heat their home and to make the big oil and gas companies pay for it.

We know that the corporate Conservatives will never stand up to big oil and gas. Will the Prime Minister support our plan to help all Canadians?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we know that one of the things that help Canadians is fighting climate change and supporting them in that fight against climate change.

I know the New Democrats used to support phasing out coal. It is surprising to me that they are not supportive of phasing out heating oil, because that is exactly what we are doing. We are phasing out home heating oil because it is dirtier and more expensive for homes right across the country. We are facilitating the delivery of heat pumps, including for free for low-income Canadians in provinces that choose to step up and participate.

We are going to continue to fight climate change. I really wish the NDP were as unequivocal as that.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the question we will have to answer tomorrow is whether we want to offer a rebate to all Canadians while continuing to fight the climate crisis. The Conservatives do nothing but recite slogans, and we will see tomorrow if their CEO friends will allow them to vote to help Canadians. The Liberals just want to pit regions against each other.

Will the Prime Minister acknowledge his mistake and offer all Canadians a break on home heating?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are offering more than just a rebate. We are offering millions of Canadians across the country the chance to abandon heating oil, because it is dirtier and more expensive and there are too many low-income Canadians who rely on it. Helping them get heat pumps is a good policy for Canadians and a good policy for fighting climate change.

We will continue to be there to help Canadians, and we hope that all parliamentarians will join us.

Carbon Pricing

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister paused the pain of his carbon tax for 3% of families in a region where he is plummeting in the polls. The Liberal minister from Newfoundland said that if people in other regions wanted the same pause, they should have elected Liberals. People in York Region elected Liberal MPs, in fact seven of them, yet their constituents are not getting the pause.

Yesterday, these MPs could have voted to take the tax off for the residents of York Region, but they voted with the Prime Minister. Can anybody from York Region stand up and explain their choice to leave their constituents in the cold?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I have said a number of times in this House, we have taken action that addresses affordability for particularly vulnerable Canadians. Heating oil costs two to four times that of natural gas. It accelerated by 75% in 2022.

We have done this in a manner that addresses the climate crisis at the same time, and ensures affordability for people going forward. They will save $2,500 a year. It applies to people who live in every province and territory in this country, so long as provinces and territories step up.

The shame in this chamber is that the Conservative Party has no plan to address the climate crisis. I do not even know if the Conservatives believe in it, but they certainly do not act as though they think it is important.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it certainly has not helped the people in Newmarket, Aurora, Richmond Hill, Woodbridge, Markham, Stouffville or North York. All of these communities were sold out by their Liberal MPs, and they cannot even tell people why. They had a choice to stand with their communities, and instead they stood with the Prime Minister. Now they are hiding and hoping that everybody forgets.

If these MPs will not listen to their constituents, will not advocate for them in the House of Commons and will not even stand to defend their vote, then what are they even doing here?

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

Mr. Speaker, this policy choice is about both affordability and ensuring that we are addressing the climate crisis. I call on all provinces and territories to join us. Certainly the Government of Ontario has indicated an interest in moving forward with co-delivering this project, which will be enormously important going forward.

Yesterday, the Leader of the Opposition essentially said that he will walk away from Canada's climate targets, eroding Canada's credibility in the international community and eroding the ability of the world to address the climate crisis. This is enormously reckless. It is an enormous risk for the future of our children. Shame on him.

[Scott Aitchison, Conservative, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister paused the pain of his carbon tax for 3% of Canadians in regions where he was plummeting in the polls. Then the Liberal rural affairs minister said that if people in other regions wanted the same pause, well, they should elect Liberals. The people of Sudbury did elect a Liberal MP, yet her constituents are not getting a break.

Yesterday, she could have voted to pause the carbon tax on all forms of home heating for the residents of Sudbury, but she voted no. Why is the government so committed to quadrupling its carbon tax that it forced the member for Sudbury to leave her constituents out in the cold?

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

Mr. Speaker, we have a serious plan, a real policy, that addresses affordability and addresses the climate crisis. The leader of official opposition has no plan. He mouths tag lines like “technology, not taxes”. This is coming from a guy who has zero background in technology and zero background in business. This is coming from somebody who has been opposing the deployment of offshore wind technology through the passage of Bill C-49, which is supported by the Conservative Premier of Nova Scotia and the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Shame on them for having no plan for climate change and having no plan for the economy of the future.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Colleagues, I am having some difficulty hearing members ask questions and answer them. I would ask members to please not engage in conversations across the aisle until they have the floor.

The hon. member for Parry Sound—Muskoka.

[Scott Aitchison, Conservative, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

Mr. Speaker, just this morning the environment commissioner confirmed that the government's so-called climate plan is nothing more than a punishing tax on heat, gas and groceries. After yesterday's vote, it is crystal clear that the NDP-Liberal government has no plan to make life more affordable either.

Yesterday, the member for Sault Ste. Marie could have voted to pause the carbon tax on home heating for all the residents in the Sault and all of northern Ontario, but he voted no. Why is the government so committed to quadrupling the carbon tax that it forced the member for Sault Ste. Marie to leave his constituents out in the cold?