Debates of March 21st, 2024

Carbon Pricing

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Again, I am going to ask members to be very careful about ascribing acronyms or titles to other hon. members.

The hon. member from Regina—Qu'Appelle.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the action they have taken is forcing Canadians to food banks for the first time in their lives. It is forcing Canadians to turn down thermostats and put food back on the shelf because they cannot afford it. Meanwhile, their environment plan has been revealed to be just a tax plan, because they have fallen four spots in the climate change ranking after raising the carbon tax. Their own environment commissioner has said they have stacked failure on top of failure, but they have succeeded in driving up prices.

Will the Liberals do the right thing and let Canadians decide for themselves, and call a carbon tax election?

[Gudie Hutchings, Liberal, Minister of Rural Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, the carbon rebate puts more money in the hands of eight out of 10 Canadians.

Just this morning, I had a call from Keith in my riding. He is retired and has been keeping track of all of his invoices since January 1. He was delighted to tell me that even with adding a little extra, because he might not have known the impact on his morning orange, he is ahead $68 with every single climate action rebate cheque.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, that is just false. Their own budget watchdog, the Parliamentary Budget Officer, whom they appointed, testified at committee, saying that “once you factor in the rebate and also the economic impacts...the majority of households will see a negative impact as a result of the carbon tax.”

In Newfoundland, hard-working middle-income families will be $377 poorer after the carbon tax and the rebate are factored in. Will the Liberals show courage and put their plan to quadruple the tax in front of Canadians so Canadians can have the choice between that and our plan to axe the tax?

[Gudie Hutchings, Liberal, Minister of Rural Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, I love to get up to talk about my province of Newfoundland and Labrador and how the carbon rebate is putting more money back into pockets. With the rural top-up on April 15, the average family of four in my riding all throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, and part of St. John's, will be getting $1,430 a year to offset prices.

We have another benefit. Another lady in my riding, Katie, applied for the oil to heat pump program, which is going to save her $800 a year as well.

Government Priorities

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years, this Prime Minister is not worth the cost of the support he is getting from the Bloc Québécois. How can the Bloc Québécois support a Prime Minister who has doubled our national debt? How can the Bloc Québécois support a Prime Minister who is sending hundreds of thousands of Quebeckers to food banks?

My question is for the Prime Minister. What promise did the Prime Minister make to the Bloc Québécois to save his career and his government?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is clear to the thousands of Canadians watching us on television today that that is the party of inaction. Inaction is the Conservatives' approach to fighting climate change, to economic growth and to creating the jobs of tomorrow.

The thousands of Canadians watching at home believe in climate action. They want action to create the jobs of tomorrow. They want economic growth. That is what we believe, that is what Canadians believe and that is what we are going to do for this country.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the thousands of Quebeckers who are watching at home would have liked to hear an answer to my question.

Here is the question that the members of the Bloc Québécois should be asking themselves today: Will they set their ideology aside for once and vote for the Quebeckers they represent, who cannot take any more of this government's arrogance? This Prime Minister broke our immigration system. He is raising taxes and allowing dangerous criminals to serve their sentences at home. This Prime Minister interferes in all of Quebec's jurisdictions.

I will ask my question again. What did the Prime Minister promise the Bloc Québécois to save his career and his government?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my colleague that, during the last election campaign, the Conservative Party of Canada promised Canadians that it would implement carbon pricing. It promised Canadians that it would implement a pollution pricing system.

I would like to also remind my colleague that all he has to do is turn around and put that question to his colleague seated behind him. She was a minister in a Quebec government that fought against climate change and implemented one of the first carbon pricing systems in North America.

Intergovernmental Affairs

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we are barely one-third of the way through the parliamentary year, and the Liberals are already breaking records for refusing legitimate requests from Quebec.

They have said no to the right to opt out of pharmacare, no to the right to opt out of dental care, no to advance requests for medical assistance in dying, no to full powers in immigration, no to paying back the billion dollars for asylum seekers, and no to Bill 21. It seems like a competition. They have started a “no” pool, but they are in for a shock when the time comes to claim their prize.

Do they not realize that there is only so much disrespect Quebeckers can take?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, we said yes to the child care program. We said yes to the health agreement. We said yes to dental care. We said yes to seniors and to young people. We said yes to everyone.

He must know what a “yes” is. Our friend usually wants to hear “yes”, yet Bloc members have become a chorus of “no”: no to collaboration, no to discussion and no to getting along. They do not like it when things are going well with Quebec. What is good for Quebeckers is bad for the Bloc Québécois.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, their “no” list is so long that it stretches all the way to the north shore. I could go on and on.

Ottawa says no to transferring funds for infrastructure and housing, no to repatriating culture, no to establishing a single tax return, no to abolishing the monarchy. It is always no, no, no, no.

Gilles Vigneault said the following:

When you sow such a strong wind
You will reap the storm that's brewing
Perhaps you don't see your own undoing.

Do these parties realize that, after being told “no” time and time again, Quebeckers will soon be saying “yes”?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, our “yes” includes the Gaspé, the Eastern Townships, Mauricie, Montreal, the south shore and the north shore. Our “yes” is a participatory “yes”. That is what “yes” means. We are working for the Outaouais as well. Our “yes” means that the federal government is working with Quebec to support health, dental care, seniors, families, children and the environment.

Anything that is good for Quebec is bad for the Bloc Québécois.

Housing

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about real issues.

People in Montreal are seeing horrendous rent increases, the highest in 30 years. Families simply cannot find affordable housing.

Under the Liberals, rents have doubled across the board. They lost 11 affordable units for every one built. Worse still, the Conservatives lost 800,000 affordable housing units. We have a crisis today because of them. Tenants need a fund to protect them and keep rents affordable. The Liberals need to listen. It needs to be in the budget.

Are they going to do it?

[Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Liberal, Minister of Tourism and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

He knows as well as I do that our government has done more for housing than any government in recent decades. For the first time, we have reinvested in co-operative housing, which is one thing Montreal is known for. We will continue to enter into agreements like the one we just made with Quebec, where we announced $1.9 billion for affordable housing throughout the regions of Quebec.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the median rent in Vancouver is now over $3,000. Finding a place in B.C. is a full-time job for renters, as greedy landlords evict tenants to hike rent even higher. The Liberal government continues to let corporate landlords and greedy housing profiteers off the hook. Meanwhile, the Conservative leader would rather let his real estate executive buddies and developer friends maximize profits on the backs of Canadians.

The NDP is proposing a fund to protect renters by keeping affordable homes available. Will the Liberals include this measure in budget 2024 to make rent affordable for Canadians?

[Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Liberal, Minister of Tourism and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague knows, before being a minister I was the parliamentary secretary for housing. I have worked with her on many issues on the housing front, and I know that she, like I do, wants to make sure that every Canadian has a home. That is what we are doing as a government. We have the accelerator fund, are working on the right to have a home, and are working on homelessness to make sure people have a roof over their head. We will continue to make every day worthwhile so Canadians can have a home.

Carbon Pricing

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Liberal-NDP government, Canadians know that the Prime Minister and his carbon tax are not worth the cost. The average Ontario family pays $1,674 every year in Liberal carbon taxes. It gets back $1,047. I know that it is very difficult for the Liberals to understand, but $1,674 is bigger than $1,047, and the tax goes up by 23% on April 1.

If he will not spike the hike or axe the tax, why will he not let the people decide, and call a carbon tax election?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives need to stop spreading falsehoods. The PBO has been very clear that eight out of 10 Canadian families get more money back. It is true now; it will be true in 2030. The only thing that these folks are going to do by taking away the rebate is make those people on modest incomes poorer. Shame on you for that.

While his climate plan is essentially to let the planet burn, the Conservatives essentially have a policy that is both reckless on the environment and reckless on affordability.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I would like to remind all members to direct their comments through the Chair.

The hon. member for Thornhill.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, just because the minister repeats something over and over again, that does not make it true. That Liberal math might make sense in fantasyland, but the math that Canadians are doing is painfully real as they try to put food on their table. The Liberals have the audacity to believe that Canadians want to pay more in taxes, not less. The Conservatives are giving the government the chance to test that audacity and call a carbon tax election.

If the Liberal government believes that everyone loves the carbon tax, why will it not agree to go to the polls? What is it scared of?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, once again I would say that the Conservatives need to stop spouting falsehoods. The average net benefit to Canadians in Ontario is $255 a year. In Manitoba it is $365 a year. In Alberta it is $723 a year, and in Saskatchewan it is $349 a year.

What these folks are going to do is make poor people poorer, and they are going to essentially sacrifice the future of our children going forward. Shame on them.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, no matter what the minister yells and flails about, it is clear that the NDP-Liberals are not worth the cost, because after eight years, Canadians can hardly afford to eat, to heat, and to house themselves.

Near Lakeland, the Cold Lake Food Bank said that last year was its busiest ever, that it gave out over 6,000 hampers throughout the year, and that so far, this year has not slowed down. By the way, 6,000 is 40% of the town's population. A million more Canadians than last year will be forced to go to food banks this year, but the Prime Minister plans to quadruple the carbon tax anyway.

When will the Prime Minister cancel his April cruel day, and spike the hike and axe the tax?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, I will share with you what is cruel. What is cruel is that the Conservatives would cut the carbon rebate, which is on a price on pollution. Eight out of 10 Albertans receive more money from the Canada carbon rebate than they pay at the end of the year. There is $700 more in the pockets of Albertans.

What do the Conservatives want to do? They want to cut. What will we do as Liberals? We will defend the planet. We will make sure there are good jobs, and we will make sure that life is more affordable for Albertans and all Canadians.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' schemes and spin jobs cannot cover up the cruel fact that the cost of everything is up and so are emissions, because the carbon tax is a cash grab and not an environmental plan.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer tells the truth, unlike the Liberals. As most Canadians will, Albertans will pay almost $1,000 more this year than they get back in fake rebates. Today, Conservatives will vote non-confidence in the costly coalition to axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime.

Will the Prime Minister finally listen to the majority of Canadians and premiers and spike the hike today or call a carbon tax election so Canadians can decide and axe it themselves?