Debates of Dec. 14th, 2023

Carbon Pricing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, we already knew that the Prime Minister is not worth the price of food after eight years of inflation, but yesterday he could not answer how a mushroom farm in my riding is supposed to pay its $100,000 carbon tax bill.

He did send the farm a Christmas present: a new bill. This is the November 9 to December 6 bill: federal carbon tax, $16,050. That is for one month, and it is not even winter yet.

How would the Prime Minister like this farm to pay this $16,000 monthly bill? Should it raise food prices?

[The Deputy Speaker, Chris d'Entremont]

I have to warn people about using props in the House.

The hon. Minister of Environment.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to be—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Deputy Speaker, Chris d'Entremont]

I am going to allow the hon. minister to start from scratch.

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I was in Dubai at COP28, in good company with the Premier of Alberta, Danielle Smith; with the Premier of Saskatchewan, Scott Moe; with representatives from almost all the Canadian provinces; and with business leaders from all across the country, working to ensure that our kids and grandkids have a future, which is something that, unfortunately, the Conservatives fail to understand.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, this is more high-flying, high-cost, high-tax hypocrisy from the minister of carbon taxes.

We learned that he spent $150,000 on one weekend of travel and charged it to taxpayers. Is it not interesting that it is exactly how much the government is charging the Carleton Mushroom Farms in carbon taxes for a year?

Can the minister please tell us this: The Carleton Mushroom Farms is going to spend this year, now, about $150,000 on carbon taxes; will that just pay for one of his junkets?

[The Deputy Speaker, Chris d'Entremont]

I remind members to use the proper names of ministers.

The hon. minister has the floor.

[Seamus O'Regan, Liberal, Minister of Labour and Seniors]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to hypocrisy, I refer back to Neville Chamberlain when he referred to Czechoslovakia's invasion by Nazi Germany. He referred to Czechoslovakia as a “faraway” land. In reply to that, Sir Winston Churchill gave one of his greatest speeches, a speech of impunity that Roy Jenkins said was one of his greatest, in which he called Chamberlain an absolute coward, a capitulator. We should learn from such great men, not just about hypocrisy but also about keeping our solemn oaths to freedom and democracy in this world.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, for the Prime Minister to pass himself off as Winston Churchill after he gave detonators for mines to the Russian military so it could use them against Ukrainians, and after he allowed the Iranian-linked IRGC to operate legally in Canada, 700 of its agents, by the way, who are also linked to Russia, operating in our country and terrorizing our people, is not Churchillian.

This is hypocritical, political grandstanding by a Prime Minister trying to distract from his failed carbon tax.

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, there is another great Englishman who would say to the Leader of the Opposition, “Thou dost protest too much, I believe.” I would ask whether any of the Conservative members have the courage of their conviction to stand up to the bullying the Leader of the Opposition is imposing on them.

In fact, there is one. The member for Lethbridge is the only Conservative MP who voted in favour of the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement on Tuesday. I would ask whether there any other Conservative members who have the courage of their conviction to stand up for freedom and democracy, and against the bullying of the Conservative—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

Health

[Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc, Salaberry—Suroît, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Quebec has made its stance on dental insurance very clear.

Quebec's minister responsible for Canadian relations said, “Quebec is prepared to negotiate an agreement with the federal government to improve the plan in a way that respects jurisdictional considerations”.

In other words, Ottawa can transfer the money, and Quebec will use it pay for its dental care priorities. Unfortunately, Ottawa would rather give the money to a private company than to Quebec's public health care plan, the RAMQ, which has the expertise.

Why choose Sun Life over Quebec? Why go private in health care at the expense of the public system?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, our choice is clear. Our choice is to provide dental care for everyone everywhere in Canada, in every province and in every territory.

We have nine million people without access to dental care. Our dental care system will give every person in every part of our country access to dental care. That is the important thing here.

[Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc, Salaberry—Suroît, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we expect this government to improve employment insurance, yet it twiddles its thumbs. We expect it to fix the Phoenix fiasco once and for all, but once again, paying or insuring its own workers is asking too much. We expect this government to foot the bill for asylum seekers, but no, they will not budge.

However, when it comes to interfering in Quebec's jurisdictions, it is always first in line.

Instead of creating a private dental care plan, is the government going to reach an agreement with Quebec and transfer the funds that Quebec needs to enhance its own public plan?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, of course we are going to work with Quebec. We are going to work with each province and territory to ensure that everyone gets the dental care they need to stay healthy. That is our goal, and we are going to work with every province across the country to achieve it.

Grocery Industry

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

Mr. Speaker, families are having to take turkey off their Christmas dinner menu because of sky-high food costs. What are the Liberals doing? They are letting their grocery CEO friends off the hook, while the corporate Conservatives just want to block a national school food program to feed our kids. Both have lost the holiday spirit.

What does the minister have to say to Canadians who are cutting back this Christmas because he will not stand up to CEOs?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, I wish the member had been in the meeting. She would have said that we were the first government in history to stand up to the CEOs of the grocery sector in this country.

For the first time in history—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Mr. Speaker, they can yell as much as they want.

One thing we have done is that we called them to Ottawa and expressed the frustration of millions of Canadians. We asked them to do their part. We talked to the large manufacturers. With the reform of competition, with the grocery code of conduct and with more information for the consumer, we are going to help stabilize prices in this country.

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister would have a starring role in Oliver Twist: “Please, sir, I want some more.”

With holidays around the corner, parents are being forced to choose between family dinner and gifts for their kids. Do people know who is not worried? Canada's grocery CEOs, who are gifting themselves Christmas bonuses, are not. The Liberals continue to let corporate greed go unchecked. Meanwhile, the Conservatives play the part of Scrooge, as they just voted against a national school food program.

Will the minister start cracking down on corporate price gouging, or will he let the CEOs continue going unchecked?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for suggesting another career I could pursue.

One thing I will do is always fight for Canadians. It is always a good day to fight for Canadians. That is what I have done with the CEOs. That is what we will continue.

If the member wants to do something to help Canadians, he could help us to apply pressure to have a grocery code of conduct in this country. In talking to the independent grocers in this country, we know that this is one of the best ways to stabilize prices, have more transparency and make sure the small and medium-sized producers would have more equity in the negotiations with the larger grocers.

Finance

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the media is reporting that requests for food at a Quebec City food bank, La Bouchée généreuse, have doubled in the past two years. After eight years in power, this Liberal government's legacy is going to be a Canada where people go hungry.

The leader of the Bloc Québécois calls himself the adult in the room, but he likes to insult the other party leaders. On top of that, he is calling for a radical tax increase. This adds insult to injury. Will the Prime Minister follow our common-sense plan and eliminate the inflationary taxes and deficits so that Quebeckers can put food on the table?

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

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are well aware that it is our Liberal government that is taking action to support Canadians.

I think Canadians can see right through the Conservatives' empty rhetoric. Just a few days ago, the Conservatives voted against the national food policy. If they really had the interests of Canadians at heart, they would not have voted against them.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, what Canadians and Quebeckers know is that Christmas is coming next week. They also know that they do not have enough money to buy groceries, so does the government really think that they have enough money to buy their children presents? That is what Canadians and Quebeckers have come to realize after eight years under this Liberal government.

What is more, on the other side of the House, our Bloc Québécois friends are asking the government to drastically increase the tax on groceries. Is there anyone in the House who can see clearly and who understands that there comes a time when enough is enough with the taxes? Will the government commit to cancelling its inflationary taxes so that people can put food on the table and have a good Christmas?