Debates of Dec. 13th, 2023

Carbon Pricing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians cannot even afford to feed themselves a couple of bags of McDonald's after eight years of the Prime Minister taxing their food.

Speaking of food, do members know the only problem with his school food framework? It does not fund any food. It funds politicians to talk with bureaucrats who talk with lobbyists about establishing a conversation towards consulting. It funds bureaucracy and not families.

Speaking of one way he can make food more affordable for everyone, including our kids, will he pass Bill C-234, the common-sense Conservative bill to take the tax off?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again, we have seen exactly why, whatever his justifications, they have chosen to vote against initiatives to help Canadians. Whether it was dental supports for the hundreds of thousands of kids that we have already brought in, or more supports for seniors, they chose to vote against them months ago. They are continuing to step up to vote against the programs that matter.

While they seem to not care about climate change, and want to sit back and watch the world burn, they are going to watch Canadians' food sources burn as well.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, it is the Prime Minister who is burning a hole in the pockets of Canadians.

We voted against his plan to quadruple the carbon tax, a tax on heat, gas and groceries.

When I raised the issue of the cost of $100,000 for one farm in my riding, which will rise to $400,000, I asked the Prime Minister if he would call the family and tell them how they are going to pay the tax. He said he would reach out to them and have a conversation about how they are going to pay a $400,000 carbon tax bill.

Can the Prime Minister tell the House what he told that family about how they are going to come up with 400 grand in more taxes?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we recognize that the price on pollution is a key part of actually making things more affordable for the long term for Canadians by pushing and encouraging innovation.

Indeed, our departments reached out to the farm family of the very successful large mushroom farm in the member opposite's riding to talk about the programs we have that can move them off their dependence on fossil fuels.

We know there is work to do and we know there are investments to make, but that is how we fight climate change and build a better future. We have a plan to fight climate change. Conservatives have no plan because they do not even recognize that climate change is real.

Diversity and Inclusion

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday at the UN, Canada voted in favour of a ceasefire in Gaza. I wholeheartedly commend the Canadian government's wisdom in choosing to join a major international movement.

That said, an important nuance needs to be made. This is not a rejection of Israel's right to defend itself. This is not an endorsement of Hamas, but an indignant response to the loss of human life.

To foster peace here at home as well, can the Prime Minister ensure that legislation will be amended to criminalize hate speech and incitement to violence, even under the guise of religion?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the impact of the crisis, the war and the violence in the Middle East is being felt around the world, particularly in Canada, a country whose strength lies in the diversity of its people from different backgrounds, who are now grappling with anguish, anger and fear, all at the same time.

That is why we are working so hard to fight anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. We are doing everything we can to bring people together during these difficult times, so that people remember who we are and our values as Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, my call to the Prime Minister is this: Let us end 2023 with dignity.

If everyone here in the House were to unanimously vote for peace, including peace in our own streets, and if everyone were to eliminate hate speech under the guise of religion, then everyone would win. Our streets would be safer, and we would all have a clearer conscience.

Will the Prime Minister accept my suggestion?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I commend and thank the leader of the Bloc Québécois for his approach and his desire to see less violence and division in our country. That is a desire that we all share and that we will continue to work on.

However, we recognize that this is a delicate and difficult situation, particularly when it raises issues of freedom of speech and freedom of conscience.

Unfortunately, there is no simple solution. The only thing we can do is to work hard and make an effort to bring people together. That is exactly what we are going to do.

Housing

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the number of forced evictions reported in Quebec continues to rise at an alarming rate. Where are these people going to live? Over two million affordable housing units have been lost because of the Liberals and the Conservatives.

Just last week, the Conservatives voted to scrap all funding for social and affordable housing. The government says it wants to draw inspiration from certain measures Canada took in wartime.

Where has this war effort to fight the housing crisis been over the past eight years?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, when we said that we would use every tool at our disposal to make housing more affordable, we meant it.

This week, Minister Fraser announced that we will be bringing back a concept established in wartime and holding consultations to create a home design catalogue that will speed up home construction.

This initiative is one of our bold, innovative ideas to modernize and accelerate home construction in Canada. It is another example of how the federal government can take the lead to ensure that all Canadians have a place to call home.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Before we continue with oral question period, I would like to remind the Prime Minister and members that they must not refer to other members by their family name. They must use their title or the name of their riding.

The hon. member for Vancouver East.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, people in Halifax are having to live in fishing tents this winter because of the lack of affordable homes.

Just last week, the cut-and-gut Conservatives voted no to funding community housing, and the out-of-touch Liberals keep delaying critical funding to build affordable homes. The housing minister says he wants to draw inspiration from what Canada did in wartime to fix the housing crisis. A catalogue is not going to cut it.

Part of the effort involves a national rent control initiative. Will the Prime Minister bring forward rent control to curb sky-high rent?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have shown a consistent willingness and desire to work with the provinces in areas of their jurisdiction, in co-operative ways, and we are going to continue to, including on the issue of rent control.

However, there is not just one way to approach the housing crisis; it is something we are doing on many fronts. It is not just the catalogue; indeed, we are building more apartments and co-ops by removing the GST on construction, and we are eliminating barriers to get more homes built faster by working directly with cities. We are helping Canadians save up for a home with the first home savings account.

I know there is more to do, and we are going to continue to work with all governments to take bold action to tackle housing affordability.

Carbon Pricing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister did not answer my question about the Carleton Mushroom Farms, which faces a $400,000 carbon tax bill when the Prime Minister is done quadrupling the tax.

When we spoke about this on November 29, he said that he looked forward to hearing about the sustainable practices that the farm has put in place. I can tell him that I helped the farm actually get natural gas in order to power some of its operations, which is a lower-emitting form of energy. However, they are still going to face a massive tax increase.

How would the Prime Minister advise the farm to pay it: by raising prices on Canadians or by shutting down production and bringing in more foreign food?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, for farms across this country that are shifting towards natural gas and lower-emitting ways of heating and using their various machinery, we have put in place significant programs to help them with that.

That is something we are going to continue to do, because it is part of our plan to both fight climate change and build a net-zero economy of the future. We have a plan. The Conservative Party of Canada has no plan to fight climate change. Indeed, it thinks we should be backing off on all the things we are doing instead of continuing to fight climate change and grow a strong economy.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is backing off the things he is doing. Ironically, he is the one who brought in a temporary pause because his caucus was revolting regarding home heating oil.

However, my question was about the Medeiros's Carleton Mushroom Farms. The Prime Minister claims he has government programs to help farmers use more natural gas, at the same time as he is quadrupling the tax on natural gas, which is perhaps the reason why Canada ranks 58th out of 64 when it comes to climate index performance. The Prime Minister does not have a climate plan; he has a tax plan.

How will the Prime Minister advise the Medeiros farm to pay the $400,000 bill he is sending it?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we recognize that climate change is a reality. We recognize that we need to help families and businesses across this country reduce their emissions and continue to prosper and grow in a world where the cost of inaction on climate change is increasingly exponentially.

That is why we have put in place programs to support farms, programs to support Canadians and, indeed, to get off home heating oil, for example, and transition to heat pumps. These are things that we are doing as part of our plan. The Conservatives have no plan.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, our plan is to bring home production, back to Canadian farms.

The Prime Minister's plan raises the carbon tax on a greenhouse in my riding, which means that its produce is more expensive in the village of Manotick than a Mexican tomato is in the village of Manotick, sending a price signal for consumers to buy the tomato that had to be transported by truck and train, burning fossil fuels, right across the continent.

Why does the Prime Minister not axe the tax so we can bring down the cost of farm production and bring home more clean, green Canadian produce?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the price on pollution is simple: Activities that cause pollution cost a bit more. However, most Canadians get more money back than what they pay, with cheques being sent to Canadians every few months. Big industry pays more than the regular Canadian pays because industry pollutes more, and, as a result, industries have an incentive to reduce their pollution. The ideologically driven MAGA Conservatives are calling for pollution to be free again and for the government to take those regular cheques to Canadians away from them.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, everything the Prime Minister just said is factually wrong. First, industry does not pay the carbon tax; it has a carbon tax carve-out. As for his claim that people get more back in rebates, the Carleton Mushroom Farms owner will pay $100,000 this year, rising to $400,000 over the carbon tax increase the Prime Minister proposes, and he is sending them tiny rebate cheques to their household mailbox.

Is the Prime Minister committing today that he is going to send a $400,000 rebate to this family farm?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are there to support families, but multi-million-dollar farms that are successful will continue to be encouraged to look for ways to use their machinery and to heat their produce in ways that are lower emitting. That is what fighting climate change is all about. It is encouraging successful farms, like the Medeiros family farm, to continue to be successful but to do so in ways that reduce their emissions. We know it cannot ever be free to pollute again, despite what the Conservative Party wants.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, ironically, it is almost free for Mexican producers. They have a tiny little carbon tax that is not even comparable to the $400,000 tax bill that the Prime Minister is proposing.

What he is saying is that there should be a price signal for Canadians to buy more expensive, polluting foreign food while we, with the fifth-biggest supply of arable land on Planet Earth, shut our farmers down. How does that make any sense?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, more than just about anyone else in this country, farmers understand how important it is to protect the land for future generations and to pass on the bounty to their children and grandchildren of a great, important job that feeds the rest of us. That is why farmers are so focused on the future, and that is why we are there to support them with a plan and investments that help them reduce their emissions while they continue to put food on all our tables. We have a plan for that. The Conservatives refuse to even admit that there needs to be work done to reduce emissions. That is not the way to build a future, not in Carleton and not anywhere—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister stated correctly that farmers are working hard to protect the environment, which is why it is so strange that he wants to punish them with a tax that, on one farm alone, costs $100,000 and will rise to $400,000 for the crime of using the only sources of energy that are available to that farm.

I will ask the same question I have asked the Prime Minister now about a half a dozen times: When he finally gets around to talking to Carleton Mushroom Farms' owner, how will he advise them to pay their forthcoming $400,000 carbon tax bill? Will it be by raising prices on Canadians or by cutting back and bringing in more dirty foreign food?