Debates of May 1st, 2023

Carbon Pricing

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Madam Speaker, last month I asked if the Liberals would freeze their inflation-fuelling plan to hike the carbon tax. The parliamentary secretary responded by talking about dentistry. As the wife of a dentist, I can say with some certainty that our teeth are not causing climate change.

The Liberals are even claiming that carbon is not the real culprit. According to the socialist alliance, the real villain was capitalism all along, and not just capitalism. Apparently, climate change is also caused by individual liberty and too much democracy. In typical Liberal fashion, the government hired far left consultants to hold focus groups with far left public health workers to discuss climate change.

If there were any small-l liberals left in that party, they would have denounced this report as ridiculous and apologize to taxpayers for wasting our money. They might protest that this report they published does not reflect their views, but that is hard to square with the Prime Minister's publicly stated views about admiring authoritarian China.

Every Canadian was given a full display of the Prime Minister's contempt for democracy when he assaulted two members on the floor of the old chamber. At that time, the Prime Minister was impatient with the NDP delaying the votes. The Prime Minister invoked the Emergencies Act when he grew impatient with people protesting his government.

Now that this socialist coalition has deluded itself into believing that climate change is an existential threat requiring emergency action, what extraordinary actions is it willing to take? According to these public health experts, the plan is clear. They would like to replace our Liberal democracy with a socialist technocracy. These self-anointed experts will guide society to a green utopia. Some Liberals might hear that and roll their eyes. That is because they have not read the report, or worse, they share the Prime Minister's ridiculous cliched thinking.

The Prime Minister said he admired the Communists' ability to implement environmental policies on a whim. What the Prime Minister forgets, or what he never bothered to learn, is the environmental track record of socialists and authoritarian nations. The collapse of the Soviet Union resulted in a massive reduction in CO2 emissions. It was Russia's demand to maintain a Soviet-sized carbon quota that killed any chances of reaching an effective international agreement in the 1990s, yet the Prime Minister looks at Communists building a new coal plant every month and decides Canada needs more of that.

I know why the government would rather talk about dentists than carbon taxes. We got the government's answer on April 1. The carbon tax went up, and it will keep going up until this costly coalition is defeated.

[Terry Beech, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Madam Speaker, I think the Standing Orders are quite clear that speeches during late shows are supposed to address specific questions. There was some content that addressed the question, but to be clear, what we are discussing tonight is climate change, affordability and a question with regard to the strike of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, which I am very happy to share has reached a tentative agreement at the bargaining table.

Getting to the topic at hand, climate change is one of the most pressing issues we face today, and I am honestly disappointed that the member for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke and her Conservative caucus still refuse to support meaningful action to address it.

While the economic impacts of climate change are daunting, so is the prospect of missing out on the immense opportunity the net-zero economy will provide. Over the coming decades, countries around the world will demand trillions of dollars' worth of net-zero solutions. We need to make sure that Canada maintains and strengthens our global leadership in this space.

Our pollution pricing system actually incentivizes the creation of new sustainable technologies and services while creating sustainable high-paying jobs, all while decreasing carbon emissions. I will remind the member opposite that she actually ran on a platform that supported pricing pollution. It is interesting to see her completely change her position. It was not because the facts have changed; if anything, the case has become a lot stronger. It changed simply because she wants to please her ideological leader.

Also, I would like to remind my colleague that our pollution pricing system is putting more money back in the pockets of those in Canadian households. The member knows that eight out of 10 households are actually better off with carbon pricing, and the remaining 20% are among our nation's highest-earning individuals.

If my colleague really supported making life more affordable, she would support pricing pollution and our affordability package. Our solutions are in stark contrast to those of the Conservatives, whose best ideas so far are to ignore climate change, raid the pension benefits of seniors and underfund our employment insurance system.

While inflation is global, it has gone down in Canada now for nine straight months. It is 4.3% today and is forecast to reduce further by summer. We know that the best way to fight the effects of inflation on affordability is for Canadians to have good-paying jobs. The good news is that a record number of Canadians are working. In fact, 865,000 new jobs have been created since the start of the pandemic, and Canada continues to enjoy historically low unemployment. At the same time, we have created the best economic growth in the G7 alongside the lowest deficit and net debt-to-GDP ratio. This fiscal advantage is what allows us to invest in making life more affordable.

Prior to budget 2023, our affordability plan provided up to $12.1 billion in new supports to Canadians who needed them the most. We have put forward solutions, such as permanently eliminating interest on federal student loans, introducing dental care, and creating the Canada child benefit and our Canada-wide early learning and child care program. These are meaningful solutions that have helped make life more affordable for Canadians.

I honestly think this place works best when we are coming together and finding solutions, so I would like to conclude by taking the opportunity to thank the member opposite for her support and her caucus's support of the grocery benefit. This particular benefit is a $2.5-billion investment that will help make life more affordable for 11 million Canadians and over 50% of our seniors. I think if we work together, we can come up with even more ideas to make life more affordable and grow an economy that works for everybody.

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Madam Speaker, the Liberal-NDP socialist alliance is spreading misinformation and disinformation. They claim Canadians receive more in climate bribes than they pay in carbon taxes. That is false. They claim a higher carbon tax will stop hurricanes. That is false. They claim the carbon tax is market-based. That is false. They claim billions in subsidies is good for the economy. That is false. They claim they will cut carbon dioxide emissions by 30% by 2030. They claim they will cut nitrogen by 30% by 2030. They claim they will protect 30% of the land by 2030. They claim 30% of cars must be EVs by 2030.

This socialist coalition does not have policies; it has slogans. The latest Liberal talking point is to claim the Conservatives have no plans. That is more disinformation. If they really believed that, they would call an election and let Canadians decide which team has the best plan for a brighter future.

[Terry Beech, Liberal, Burnaby North—Seymour, BC]

Madam Speaker, we had an election, and in that election the member opposite supported pricing carbon pollution. That is exactly what happened. That is a fact that anybody watching at home can look up.

Canadians can count on our government to continue supporting those who need it most while carefully managing our finances and protecting our environment. We have a responsible plan, and we are doing our part to make sure we bring down global inflation in Canada. In fact, inflation has come down every month for the last nine months and is forecast to be back within the target band later this year.

Despite these global challenges, we have continued to deliver for Canadians in the areas of affordability, child care and health care, and in transitioning to a sustainable economy with good, high-paying jobs. We have done this while maintaining our AAA credit rating and the best fiscal framework in the G7. We just came off a year with the best economic growth.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The motion that the House do now adjourn is deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m., pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 7:15 p.m.)