Debates of Dec. 6th, 2024

Carbon Pricing

[Eric Duncan, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

Madam Speaker, the New Democrats will once again sell out Canadians, on Monday, by refusing to stand by their own words.

Here is the deal: The NDP leader gets his pension, the Prime Minister gets the power, and Canadians get the bill. Those bills are ever-increasing, when we look at the carbon tax that is going to be going up again on April 1, 2025, on the Liberals' way to quadrupling it. “Canada's Food Price Report 2025” revealed just yesterday that an average family of four in Canada will pay $800 a year more in groceries next year. Two million people visit a food bank in a month.

Why can the Liberals and the NDP not just allow a carbon tax election to either quadruple it or to allow Conservatives to axe it entirely?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Madam Speaker, a lot of questions have been about what the NDP is doing in terms of supporting parliamentary process. Let me talk about one thing that is very salient for today.

Today is December 6, the anniversary of 35 women being shot down in cold blood at École Polytechnique. What the NDP is doing is supporting a bill on the floor of the chamber that would help tackle the root causes of violence against women. What am I talking about? I am talking about radical misogyny that starts online.

Bill C-63, the online harms act, would help us target misogyny at its core. That is something that every member of Parliament needs to get behind, and we need to do it now because time is wasting on keeping women safe.

[Eric Duncan, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

Madam Speaker, we stand in solidarity with the victims and their families as always, each and every year.

The New Democrats, though, have to answer for what is going on with the NDP motion, because they will not back up their own words, what they have said in recent months. It was the NDP leader who said, “The Liberals are too weak, too selfish and too beholden to corporate interests to fight for people.” He said he ripped up the coalition agreement that has kept the Liberals in power, yet as soon as the stunt was over, he taped it back together and gave it back to the Prime Minister.

Will the Liberals finally work with the NDP and not quadruple the carbon tax but allow Canadians to have their say in a carbon tax election, or are they too scared of what Canadians have to say to them?

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Madam Speaker, the people of Canada had their say on carbon taxes in the last election. In fact the Conservative Party, when it was in power, passed the fixed-date election bill. They keep calling. They want us to break the law. We will not break the law. You can break the law. We are not that kind of people.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Carol Hughes]

I just want to remind the hon. parliamentary secretary that he is to address questions and comments through the Chair and not directly to the members.

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

Madam Speaker, the government cannot be administered without the confidence of the House. The NDP leader once said, “The Liberals are too weak, too selfish and too beholden to corporate interests to fight for Canadians.”

Now the NDP leader says that he is going to vote against his own words and in favour of propping up the Liberal government, a government that has doubled housing costs, has caused two million Canadians to visit a food bank in a single month and plans to quadruple the carbon tax.

Instead, why do the Liberals not call a carbon tax election so Canadians can choose between the costly coalition or our common-sense plan to axe the tax?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Madam Speaker, I will just point out, for Canadians watching today, that there have actually been three elections in a row on pricing pollution, on ensuring that no one in this country gets away with polluting for free: the 2015 election, the 2019 election and the 2021 election. The Conservative Party actually campaigned on pricing pollution itself.

What I would say is that the price on pollution is proving dividends in terms of the Canadian economy. How is it doing so? We are returning more money to eight out of 10 families through the Canada carbon rebate and through the Canada carbon rebate delivered to small businesses.

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

Madam Speaker, that is simply not true, and the Parliamentary Budget Officer has confirmed it.

We know that the NDP-Liberal coalition is planning to hike taxes again next year. Despite the theatrical display of ripping up its supply and confidence agreement, the coalition is still alive and well. Even when Liberal MPs are calling for a new prime minister, the NDP leader is the only person who is keeping the Prime Minister in power.

Once again, instead, why do the Liberals not give Canadians a chance to vote in a carbon tax election?

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Innovation]

Madam Speaker, the Conservatives want to talk about confidence. Canadians can have confidence in our government to deliver programs and services that make their life more affordable and that contribute to their quality of life, like our early learning and child care program. Jim Stanford, a very famous economist in this country, just did a report on the success of the program, which has created 110,000 additional work opportunities for women and has contributed $32 billion in GDP to the Canadian economy while saving Canadians 28%, on average, on their child care costs.

We are proving—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Carol Hughes]

The hon. member for LaSalle—Émard—Verdun.

Infrastructure

[Louis-Philippe Sauvé, Bloc, LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC]

Madam Speaker, in Montreal, people ride their bikes in both summer and winter, at least when the federal government does not get in the way.

The city is offering to clear the snow from the bike path on the south side of the Lachine Canal at its own expense, but Ottawa is refusing. Parks Canada does not have to do anything, but even that is too much to ask. On November 11, the Sud-Ouest borough passed a unanimous resolution calling on Parks Canada to authorize snow removal. I have also been in touch with the Minister of Environment about that. Will the minister ask Parks Canada to get out of the way?

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing]

Madam Speaker, first of all, this falls under municipal jurisdiction. It is a municipal issue.

If there is an opportunity after question period, I would be pleased to speak to my colleague about this. For me, this is obviously a municipal issue.

[Louis-Philippe Sauvé, Bloc, LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC]

Madam Speaker, Parks Canada is federal. The residents of the Sud-Ouest borough are not asking for the moon. They just want their paths to the downtown core to be cleared of snow. The city will do all the work and is even willing to foot the bill. Parks Canada has yet to provide a single well-documented fact or reason to justify its shocking refusal.

The Minister of Environment is himself an active transportation enthusiast. He too must think this is ridiculous. With Montreal already under a blanket of snow, will the Minister of Environment and member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie finally resolve this issue?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Madam Speaker, I would like to highlight all the efforts we are making on this side of the House to promote active transportation, such as jogging, walking and cycling, in Montreal, Toronto and across Canada.

If the member would like to discuss the matter in detail after question period, we would be happy to speak with him to see how we can help the City of Montreal with its responsibilities and see how we can clear the bike paths of snow.

Leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Madam Speaker, “the Liberals are too weak, too selfish and too beholden to corporate interests to fight for people”. Who said that? It was the Twitter-tough, Maserati Marxist, sellout NDP leader. He puffed up his chest and stomped his feet, yet he chooses the Prime Minister over Canadians each and every time. He is the only one propping up the government. He is complicit in every Liberal scandal and every failed policy.

On Monday, will he vote for a carbon tax election, or will he once again put his pension before Canadians?

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Carol Hughes]

That question definitely has no relevance to the administration of the House.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Carol Hughes]

I want to ask members to please not be yelling out when others are speaking.

The hon. member for Cariboo—Prince George has the floor, and it needs to be about the administration of the House, or else I will cut him off and we will go to another question.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Madam Speaker, Liberals are weak, they are desperate and the only reason they are in power is because the NDP leader is too selfish and too beholden to the Prime Minister to support his own motion made up of entirely his own words. NDP members voted 24 times to quadruple the carbon tax. The costly coalition has doubled housing costs, doubled rent and doubled mortgage payments, but on Monday they all have an opportunity.

Will the NDP leader put the people above his pension—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Carol Hughes]

Again, the hon. member is not being relevant to the administration of the House. We are going to move on, and next time, the next question for the members will be cut.

[An hon. member]

Oh, oh!

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Carol Hughes]

He was asking the question.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Carol Hughes]

The hon. member, is it relevant to the administration of the House?

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Asking for a carbon tax election, Madam Speaker, is that not relevant to the administration of the House?