Debates of April 18th, 2024

Carbon Pricing

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, these Conservatives can dish it out, but they ran on carbon pricing. They have no integrity for fighting it at this stage.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I asked the hon. parliamentary secretary to withdraw that part of his statement so that we can stay on the right side of being polite.

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I apologize for causing a little bit of disruption. It seems that the Conservatives—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

The member did apologize for causing disruption in the House.

The hon. member for Hastings—Lennox and Addington.

[Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Conservative, Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, before the government came into power, road trips used to be a staple vacation for many Canadian families. However, gas prices in Ontario skyrocketed overnight, pushing $1.80. This is the highest price in two years.

The Liberal-NDP Prime Minister's carbon tax is now at 18¢ a litre for gas, and when he quadruples the carbon tax, it will shoot up even higher. After nine years, Canadians are convinced that the Prime Minister is not worth the cost.

Will the Prime Minister cancel the carbon tax on gas this summer so that Canadians can afford a family vacation?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, let us bring some sanity and facts into this conversation.

According to Dan McTeague, who is the president of the advocacy group Canadians for Affordable Energy, “in past years the switchover to summer fuel typically results in an increase of about six to 10 cents per litre.” He said that in warmer weather, refiners must make this change so that the fuel is more stable.

There is good news. Prices will come down by about five cents by Friday; by September, they will be even lower. This has nothing to do with the price on pollution and everything to do with theatrics by the Conservatives.

[Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Conservative, Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, they are completely out of touch.

There is debt, chaos, hardship and stress hitting Canadians, and the policies of the Liberal-NDP government have directly contributed to the pain they are feeling.

The reality is that the family budget has shrunk, and family vacations are a thing of the past for many. It was $1.80 for gas this morning.

Will the Prime Minister cancel the carbon tax and take a permanent vacation so Canadians can afford a small summer road trip?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, we go through this every year. We change from the winter blend to the summer blend. We are required to do so, so that the fuel stays stable in our vehicles.

Here is what else Dan McTeague had to say: “The most important ingredient is alkylates and alkylates are extremely expensive [right now].” However, Mr. McTeague said that “the good news is there will be a five cents per litre drop at the pumps by [this] Friday.”

We are fighting climate change. This has nothing to do with it. It is pure theatrics from Conservatives to scare people. We have the backs of Canadians from coast to coast to coast.

The Budget

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on page 74 of budget 2024, it says, “Halal Mortgages”.

This is not the first time the federal government has given some thought to sharia-compliant mortgages. The CMHC commissioned a study on this issue in 2009.

The reaction of the Muslim Canadian Congress at the time was clear. Its founder, Tarek Fatah, said that this targets vulnerable and marginalized Muslims, who are told that, if they do business with non-Muslims, they will go to hell.

My question is simple. Who exactly is this measure for?

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

Mr. Speaker, this is a financial tool that exists but that is certainly not being put out there by the government.

What we have said is that we are going to look at this to make sure it is done properly. That is all.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, the Quebec lieutenant taught us a lesson: Canada is a secular country. We are also partial to secularism. We are Quebeckers. They are trying to pick a fight. It is the same old story.

If the Liberals are so in favour of secularism, then why do they want to change the date of the election to accommodate a religious holiday and why do they want to introduce elements of sharia law into the mortgage rules of this so-called secular country?

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

Mr. Speaker, again, this is a financial tool that is absolutely not being proposed by our government. We are interested in the product. We want to know if it is fair, if it complies with the rules.

We are simply going to look at the issue, but our government has no intention of supporting it. We just want to make sure that it is fair.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I will need to have someone explain to me why they put that in the budget. I do not really understand.

In any case, one thing is certain, we are witnessing a clash of values here. While the Minister of Justice intends to use Quebeckers' money to fund the challenge to Quebec's state secularism law, the Liberals are thinking of incorporating more religion into Canadian law.

Again, Tarek Fatah, founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress said that Islamic mortgages are another financial front of the Islamist movement. Those are serious words.

Will the government admit that it is not defending secularism, but rather putting more and more religion into the affairs of state?

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

Mr. Speaker, once again, we are talking about financial tools that are available on the market. This is in no way a product offered by our government.

We want to make sure that this financial product, which is on the market, does not lead to abuses.

Public Services and Procurement

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years of the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister, he is not worth the cost or the corruption of his $60-million arrive scam. The Prime Minister's favourite scamster told the House yesterday that his home had been raided by the RCMP for his role in this latest scandal, but he also told the House that the NDP-Liberal government has not asked for a penny back of the ill-gotten gains.

The House has ordered it. Why has the Prime Minister not enforced it? When will Canadians get their money back?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, as my hon. friend knows, there are internal audits being conducted by the CBSA. The RCMP is looking into this matter. The Auditor General has done a report, and we have accepted the recommendations; my colleague from public services and procurement has changed many of the rules around these types of contracts.

We have also said from the beginning that anybody who abused taxpayers' money will face the consequences, and the government will always seek to recover taxpayers' money that was spent inappropriately.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to hear that the latest candidate to be the next leader of the Liberal party is interested in getting Canadians their money back, because the current Prime Minister has so far refused. That is what we heard from GC Strategies' front man yesterday after he told us that, for playing his role in the Prime Minister's latest scandal, his house has been raided, but the Prime Minister has still failed to get Canadians their money back.

The House has ordered it, and we just want to know when the Prime Minister and the next person auditioning for his job are going to enforce it. When do Canadians get the cash back?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. friend knows that there is a series of internal audits being conducted with respect to this matter. He referred to the RCMP, which is also seized with many of these issues. They took a certain action yesterday, which we heard about in the House as well. The hon. member should have some confidence that those who have abused taxpayers' money will face the consequences; if taxpayers' money has been misplaced or mishandled, of course, the government will seek to recover those funds.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and his Bloc Québécois allies should be ashamed to have voted in favour of allocating millions more dollars to ArriveCAN, a decision that made the owners of GC Strategies multimillionaires.

Yesterday, Kristian Firth, managing partner at GC Strategies, said that the Prime Minister had not taken any steps to recover the money wasted on his ArriveCAN app. ArriveCAN cost $60 million.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister ordered his people not to ask questions and not to ask GC Strategies for a refund.

Time is passing. When will the Prime Minister give Canadians back the money wasted on ArriveCAN?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, as I have told our colleague before, he is well aware that investigations are under way, including an RCMP investigation. Internal audits are also under way. My colleague, the Minister of Public Services and Procurement, changed certain rules in response to the Auditor General's report.

Furthermore, we have always said that anyone who abuses taxpayer money will have to face the consequences. Obviously, the government will undertake the necessary processes to recover these funds.

Oil and Gas Industry

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Ontarians woke up this morning to find out that they got mugged by corporate oil and gas greed today. Gas prices are up 14¢ to $1.80 at the pumps. The Liberal government almost found the courage to tax the profits of the oil and gas corporations but buckled after their lobbyists told them not to.

Both Liberals and Conservatives, we know, will always protect the record profits of the oil and gas corporations. When will the Liberal government finally find the spine to say no to the lobbyists and actually stand up for hard-working Canadians?

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

Mr. Speaker, I usually say that we will take no lessons from the Conservatives, but I will say that of the NDP this time.

Canadians watching at home know that we have been fighting for them every single day. Every member on this side of the House wakes up in the morning to work for Canadians and improve their lives. To make sure we stabilize prices, we introduced the largest reform on competition in this country. This is something we should all be proud of, because that is the most consequential thing to help Canadians, not only for this generation but for generations to come.

[Lisa Marie Barron, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Mr. Speaker, as wildfires devastate Canadian communities, the need for sustainable clean energy is greater than ever, yet the Liberals continue to side with the oil and gas industry and delay on placing a strong emissions cap on big polluters. Conservatives, on the other hand, are happy to sit back and let the planet burn.

New Democrats know that immediate action is needed to tackle the climate crisis. Why do the Liberals keep catering to big oil and refuse to enforce an emissions cap to save the future of our kids?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, I would invite the New Democrats and their leader to find the courage of their own convictions and come back to supporting us on a price on pollution.

We are staying in the lane with a price on pollution each and every day. We are going to make sure that we have a planet that will be here for our kids and grandkids. We will have a price on pollution. Eight out of 10 Canadians will get more money back. That is what we have set out to do. We have run in three elections on it. We are going to keep doing that.

We are going to defend Canadians. We are going to defend the planet. We are going to do it in a way that makes Canadians better off.