Debates of Oct. 10th, 2024

Carbon Pricing

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

Mr. Speaker, the member points to indirect costs, so let us talk about indirect costs: loss of revenue of $150 million in 2023 due to flooding in farmlands across this country. Dairy farmers, the Egg Farmers of Canada, grain growers and the Canola Council all support our plan to fight climate change. It is time for the Conservative Party of Canada to come on board.

International Trade

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

Mr. Speaker, for years now, the Bloc Québécois has been calling for the Senate to be abolished. It is an outdated institution and there is nothing democratic about it. We said it was useless, but we were wrong. It is not useless; it is harmful.

To the Senate, the will of elected representatives does not matter. Senators can decide not to respect that will without any problem or consequence. Bill C‑282 has the support of all the parties in the House. However, two unelected Liberal senators are subverting democracy by blocking the bill.

When will the Liberals call them to order?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, once again I was so pleased to be at a rally supporting supply management with my colleagues today on the Hill. It is important to note that supply management was initiated by a Liberal government just over 50 years ago. Then, we supported supply management, and today, we support supply management. Being a dairy farmer in Prince Edward Island, I am fully aware of the value of supply management, and I urge the Senate to pass Bill C-282.

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

Mr. Speaker, supply management is the farming model that ensures a secure future for our dairy, egg and poultry farmers. It is a model that we must protect. Everyone agrees on that except for senators Boehm and Harder, who think they are wiser and smarter than everyone here, than our farmers, than the millions of people that we represent in the House. They are part of the global intellectual elite.

Who in this government is going to bring these two Liberal geniuses back down to earth and get them to stop obstructing democracy?

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, once again, my colleague is well aware that we stand with dairy, poultry and egg farmers. We support the supply management system. We are defending it and will continue to do so. We made a promise and we are committed to not giving up any more market share.

However, imagine what would have happened if it had been a Conservative government negotiating with President Trump. Where would our supply management system be then?

Grocery Industry

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, get this: A new study, recently released, shows that 94% of Canadians are worried about the high cost of groceries. With Thanksgiving coming around the corner, they are worried that greedy CEOs are going to rip them off when they go grocery shopping. I get why the Conservatives voted against our plan to lower grocery prices; their chief strategist is a chief lobbyist for none other than Loblaw.

However, why did the Liberals vote against making sure we lower prices for Canadians? Why do they let greedy CEOs rip off Canadians?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thought the leader of the NDP would stand up and say “thank you” to the Liberal government. We have introduced the most comprehensive reform on competition in Canada's history. I want to congratulate him for his contribution. Now we will have less concentration and more choice, and we will stabilize prices in Canada.

More than that, the member should rejoice that now in Canada we have a grocery code of conduct that is going to help our farmers across Canada and that is going to help our small retailers. The NDP should thank us for fighting for Canadians every day.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, did I just hear Galen Weston speaking?

According to the Bank of Canada, people are increasingly relying on their credit cards to pay for their rent and groceries. Jennifer Smith, a Toronto woman, told CBC, “It's a scary situation to be in, but I'd rather miss a couple of payments and damage my credit, than not have a house, or fed kids.” That is life under a Liberal government.

What will it take for the Liberals to wake up?

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

Mr. Speaker, I think that the leader of the NDP should apologize. The only one who spoke out against Galen Weston in the House is the Liberal government, when we asked all the industry CEOs to come to Ottawa and explain themselves. The leader of the NDP should be happy because we not only improved the competition system in Canada, but we also included what he wanted because we know how hard things are for Canadians. That is why we are going to fight every day to help Canadians with the cost of groceries. We are going to help them and their families with the school food program for children across the country. That is what a responsible government does.

Carbon Pricing

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years, taxes are up, costs are up, crime is up, time is up and Canadians are fed up.

The new PBO report has the same result: Canadians pay more into the carbon tax scam than what they get back in phony rebates. An average Alberta family will pay nearly $2,000 in carbon tax after this radical Liberal-NDP government quadruples the carbon tax. That is why 10 provinces oppose the carbon tax scam. They know it is like the Prime Minister and not worth the cost.

If the Liberals are so sure about this carbon tax scam, why not call a carbon tax election now so Canadians can decide to axe the tax for good?

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

Mr. Speaker, I think everyone in this House and Canadians watching should take everything the finance critic says about the economy with a big grain of salt. It was the finance critic who told us that if we paused federal taxes, people in his province could save $1,000. This is without telling them that they would have to drive from the North Pole to the South Pole to benefit from those wonderful savings.

I think we should all be very careful with what the member says about the economy in this House.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Mr. Speaker, we will not take any lessons from the minister, who let Jasper burn because of his incompetence.

I will send him over a copy of the PBO's report with some diagrams and pictures so that maybe he can understand. He can flip to page 18, table 3, which clearly shows that a majority of Canadians pay more into this scam than what they get back in phony rebates.

Two million Canadians are going to food banks in a single month. One in four Canadians is skipping meals because of the Liberals' carbon tax scam. If they are so sure about this carbon tax scam, let us go to a carbon tax election now so Canadians can kick this costly carbon tax coalition to the curb for good.

[Jenna Sudds, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, we all suffer when we see folks in our communities who are struggling. There is more work to be done, which is exactly why, on this side of the House, we continue to fight for Canadians, to fight for high-quality child care, to fight for the Canada child benefit and to fight for the environment and the carbon rebate. However, let us not kid ourselves. We know that the programs Canadians rely on would be in danger if the Conservatives had their way.

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today, the Parliamentary Budget Officer confirmed again that the carbon tax costs Canadians more than they get back in rebates. When the NDP-Liberals quadruple the carbon tax, families in Ontario will be paying more than $1,400 a year in carbon taxes. This makes everything more expensive: gas, groceries and home heating.

The NDP-Liberal government and its carbon tax are not worth the cost. In fact, all 10 provinces are opposed to this costly coalition's carbon tax.

Will the Prime Minister give Canadians what they want and call a carbon tax election?

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

Mr. Speaker, if we read the Parliamentary Budget Officer's report from today, we will see that he further confirmed once again that eight out of 10 Canadian families get more in the carbon rebate than they pay in the price on pollution. It was also clear from today's report that the economic cost of pollution is not being factored in. That cost is $34 billion per year, and it does not include the billions of dollars that disaster mitigation costs.

Every time there is a disaster in this country, it costs Canadian taxpayers. We are there to take climate action.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I invite the honourable member for Edmonton West to please keep his own counsel until he has the floor to speak before the House.

The hon. member for Lambton—Kent—Middlesex.

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, once again, Liberal logic is on display and the math does not add up. It seems the Liberals have a hard time with basic concepts like reality or how money works, so let me make this really simple. Table 3 on page 18 of the PBO report shows what the cost of the carbon tax is. I can send the minister a copy. The PBO says that Canadians are paying more in carbon tax and GST on top of the carbon tax than they get back in rebates.

The reality is that people have less money to pay for food, fuel and home heating. Enough is enough. Will the Prime Minister call a carbon tax election?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, enough is enough, and 300 economists have said it. The rich pay more and middle-class Canadians pay less. Everyone gets the same rebate.

The rich pay more than they receive. Middle-class Canadians receive more than they pay. It is that simple.

Innovation, Science and Industry

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is making a mockery of your authority and that of the House.

More than $400 million of taxpayers' money was given to Liberal cronies, and the Prime Minister still refuses to hand over documentary evidence to the RCMP, obstructing justice. Canadians know full well that a person with nothing to hide willingly co-operates with law enforcement.

Who has the courage to stand up in the House and tell us why?

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

Mr. Speaker, what the member is saying is wrong.

The government has already handed over thousands of pages of documents in response to this motion. Your ruling was clear, Mr. Speaker. Because it was unprecedented, you said that it was an abuse of the House's power and that we must send this motion to committee for study.

Mr. Speaker, we respect police independence. We would like to know why the Conservatives do not.

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

Mr. Speaker, if I understood correctly, the government House leader just said that both you and my party are abusing our authority. Right now, however, I think your ruling is quite clear, and that is what is currently blocking the work of Parliament.

The Prime Minister and his government are refusing to provide documents that would shed light on a scandal involving $400 million of taxpayers' money, when Canada has so many other problems that need to be solved right now. People are struggling. They need our help. Parliament, however, is unable to do its job because this government refuses to obey your order and the order of members of this House.

Why?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, the member asks why. It is because we are not a banana republic. In Canada, politicians do not tell the RCMP what to do. Politicians have to listen to the RCMP. The RCMP has already spoken. It does not want those documents because of the risk it would run if it used them. In fact, its essential investigative work could be undermined if the banana republic politicians in the Conservative Party insisted on forwarding these data and this information to the RCMP.

International Trade

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, farmers from all over were in Ottawa this morning. They came from Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan, the Northwest Territories, everywhere. They came to show their support for Bill C‑282. Representatives from all parties were there, too: the Greens, the NDP, the Conservatives and the Liberals. Everyone was there to support the Bloc Québécois bill, which has become a bill everyone can get behind.

Everyone, that is, except Mr. Boehm and Mr. Harder, two unelected senators crusading against our farmers.

Who is going to bring them into line?

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, once again, we completely agree with our Bloc Québécois colleague. We support the supply management system.

We are asking senators to move swiftly.

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, some senators even came here this morning to apologize for the Senate's conduct, and rightly so.

Two senators, Mr. Harder and Mr. Boehm, who were appointed by the Prime Minister—not elected—are undermining the democratic process. These two senators are more easily swayed by the arguments of big lobbyists than by the will of the people's elected representatives. To do nothing is to allow democracy to be flouted.

What does the government intend to do to get Bill C‑282 on supply management, which was passed by a majority vote, out of the Senate?