Debates of June 6th, 2023

The Economy

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, we have the lowest growth out of all developed countries.

When the budget was released, inflation went up. When the carbon tax increased, inflation went up. Former Liberal finance minister, John Manley, said that these fiscal situations had to be managed otherwise taxpayers would run out of money. Well, the time has come, Canadians are out of money.

When will the Prime Minister commit to eliminating inflationary deficits, eliminating inflationary spending and cutting the carbon tax so that Canadians can have lower inflation and lower interest rates?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance said it quite well.

It is shocking, but I guess it is not, because the Conservatives continue to deny climate change. They continue to deny the fact that we need to act when right now, here in Ottawa, we are feeling the impacts of the forest fires. The Conservatives continue to put their heads literally in the sand and typically say, “Let us do nothing”.

We do not do that on this side of the House. We say that we need to act for today but also for future generations.

Taxation

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, as wildfires rage destruction across the country, we are haemorrhaging the volunteer firefighters we need. There are 15,000 firefighter vacancies across Canada, and understandably so. Our volunteers, who make up 70% of our firefighting efforts, are not getting the recognition from the government that they deserve.

I have a private member's bill to support our volunteer firefighters by increasing their tax credit from $3,000 to $10,000. Will the Liberals finally show our volunteer firefighters the respect they deserve by increasing their tax exemption?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member opposite for his advocacy. Those volunteer firefighters in virtually every community across the country provide an extraordinary service. They deserve our support and we are committed to finding the best ways to continue to support them through training, equipment and other supports.

Canada Revenue Agency

[Taylor Bachrach, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, last Friday, I met with a group in New Hazelton that works with adults with developmental disabilities. They told me that about half their clients were receiving letters from the CRA clawing back CERB benefits.

The Liberals know full well that people living with disabilities are struggling to make ends meet, that they are twice as likely to be living in poverty, yet instead of helping them, they are harassing them with these CERB clawback letters.

Will the minister do the right thing, stand today and commit to ending the CERB clawback for people with disabilities?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question. I too am grateful for all the work that was done during the pandemic to help people get through such tough times.

As we have indicated, the Canada Revenue Agency is proceeding on a case-by-case basis. We invite people to contact the CRA and take the necessary steps. We are here to help people.

Climate Change

[Sameer Zuberi, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development members hear that NATO plays a key role in peacekeeping and security on both sides of the Atlantic. Canada is currently in charge of setting up the NATO climate change and security centre of excellence in Montreal.

With the smoke blanketing Canada right now, this is top of mind. Our government is focused on climate. In contrast, the Conservatives are impeding the debate on budget implementation.

Can the Minister of Foreign Affairs explain to us why our climate leadership and our support for the alliance are so important?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague asked an excellent question. I want to thank him for his work.

I just came back from the NATO meeting in Norway. We know that climate change has an impact on our health, but it also has an impact on our security. The situation is just going to keep getting worse over time.

It goes without saying that we need to understand the impact of climate change on defence in the North Atlantic region. That is why Canada is going to lead this new climate change centre. We will help our allies. We are pushing the Conservative Party to—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Foothills.

Carbon Pricing

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the carbon tax is fuelling food inflation as grocery prices are up another 10%, costing Canadian families another $1,000 a year just to put food on the table. Canada's Food Price Report predicts that food prices will go up a stunning 34% over the next two years.

That is not even the bad news. That does not include the implications of the Liberals' second carbon tax, a carbon tax that would add 61¢ a litre to the price of gas, which will increase the cost of food production and transportation.

How much more will Canadians have to pay to feed their families when the Liberals implement a second carbon tax?

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

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague has risen in the House on a number of occasions to speak on behalf of farmers. In front of me, I have a press release from the Canola Council of Canada congratulating our government on the clean fuel regulations. It states, “We’re pleased to see the CFR provides options that would minimize regulatory burden and allow canola to be used to reduce GHG emissions through biofuel production.” It talks about the $2 billion of expanded canola processing capacity that our clean fuel regulations will provide to Canadian canola grocers.

The member and that party are saying no to all of these investments.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, here is the reality of the carbon tax on Canadian farmers. An average 5,000-acre farm would pay $150,000 a year in carbon taxes. Alberta ranchers who use gas co-ops are paying 60% more in federal carbon taxes than they are for the actual natural gas. Forty-four per cent of fruit and vegetable producers are selling at a loss. Food bank use is up a stunning 60%, with more than eight million Canadians using them every single month. This is before the knock-out blow of a second carbon tax.

Again, how much more will Canadians have to pay to feed their families when the Liberals implement a second carbon tax?

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, what my colleague calls a typical farm is actually the 3% biggest farms in Canada. The projection he is talking about is based on a scenario where farmers would take absolutely no action, would adopt no good practices and would not use any new technologies to improve the agriculture to make it more resilient. This is what my colleague is referring to.

I know that farmers are very committed to reducing emissions to have more sustainable agriculture and to be more resilient in the case of all these extreme weather events.

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government is so out of touch. Many Canadian families are struggling to put food on the table. One in five Canadians are skipping meals, and the use of food banks in my riding has gone up by 30%.

The carbon tax is driving up the costs of farm production and groceries. Canadians cannot afford to pay the extra $1,065 being imposed by the government.

When will the government do away with the carbon tax so that families can once again become food self-sufficient?

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

Mr. Speaker, my colleague spoke about the agricultural industry and the measures that we are putting in place to help that industry, like all industries, reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

I am looking at a news release from the Canadian Canola Growers Association commending the government for its clean-fuel regulation that will make it possible to invest $2 billion in Canada's canola farmers to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the agricultural and transportation industries.

What the Conservatives are doing is saying no to those investments and yes to more climate change.

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am surprised that my colleague opposite is not telling me that Quebec is not affected by the carbon tax, as he tends to do. I would still reply that, yes, Quebec is affected by the carbon tax.

The first carbon tax affects us directly when fruit and vegetables are imported from Ontario, for example. Transportation costs and other inputs play a big part in setting prices.

The second carbon tax also affects us directly, at a cost of $436 per family, as noted by the Parliamentary Budget Officer.

Once again, when is the government going to scrap the carbon tax?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, we see a lot of our Conservative colleagues from Quebec being forced to defend the Leader of the Opposition's cruel macro-economic theories.

How does the Leader of the Opposition explain the cruelty of his comments when he says that global inflation was caused by low-income Canadians needing help from the Canadian government? How does he explain the cruelty of his advice to invest in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as a hedge against inflation, which would have led to people losing half of their savings? Finally, how does he explain to the member for Beauce the 600 households that he claims are not entitled to dental care assistance from the Canadian government?

Natural Resources

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, oil giant BP has complained that it is being accused of oil exploration in the middle of a marine refuge in Newfoundland. It is a little frustrating for BP because, while the company does unfortunately have the right to look for oil, it does not have the right to exploit it.

According to CBC, however, the Minister of Natural Resources has told BP that if it discovers enough oil, the boundaries of the marine refuge could be redrawn.

Will the minister retract that comment immediately and confirm that the boundaries of a marine refuge will never be modified to drill for oil?

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, when we first took office, only 1% of our waters and lands were protected. Now our goal is to protect 30% by 2030, and we are already at 14%. We are doing some good work.

We could also talk about what we did last week with the Atlantic accords. We presented a framework for wind power projects in Newfoundland. This is going to be very important for the economy and for the environment.

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we would not believe it if it were not coming from a government beholden to the oil companies. When BP Oil complains about not being able to drill for oil in a marine refuge, the government's response should be that they look elsewhere.

However, the Minister of Natural Resources said the opposite to BP. He said that if they found oil in a marine refuge, then, poof, it is no longer a marine refuge and the problem is solved.

When will this government stop fuelling climate change?

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, first I will say that these are exploration permits and not production permits. That is important. In the case of a production permit, there is an environmental assessment process that oil companies must go through.

Second, we continue to protect our waters and our land. When we formed government, 1% were protected; we are now at 14% and we are aiming for 30% by 2030.

Finance

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, what should we call a Liberal finance minister with an NDP credit card? We should call them inflationary. However, it is no joke. The Liberal spending spree is fuelling inflation and putting pressure on households right across the country. With all of their deficit spending, they are even making former Liberal finance ministers, such as John Manley and Bill Morneau, blush fire-engine red.

Speaking of fire, do the Liberals and their speNDP backers understand that their reckless spending is torching the economy, or do they simply want to burn it all down?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, right now, the forests of our country are burning. This is a desperately serious moment when we have had forest fires burning in Alberta, in Quebec and across Atlantic Canada. We breathe the smoke when we walk outside this very building. This is a moment for utter seriousness and for climate action.

However, in blocking our BIA, the Conservatives are blocking our clean energy plan, which will help create jobs and—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for York—Simcoe.

Carbon Pricing

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, York—Simcoe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are on the ropes, trying to pay this Liberal carbon tax. It raises gas prices by 41¢ a litre every single time they fill up. However, like a one-two punch, the Prime Minister is now forcing a second carbon tax on Canadians, adding another 17¢ to the cost of fuel. Canadians are already down for the count, having to take on extra jobs and turn to food banks just to get by.

Instead of sucker-punching Canadians, will the Liberals axe the carbon tax?