Debates of June 14th, 2024

Democratic Institutions

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Edmonton Strathcona.

Housing

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Madam Speaker, in Edmonton, it is becoming increasingly hard to find an affordable place to live. Rents are up 20% since last year and there simply is not enough affordable housing. Conservatives think building luxury condos will fix the problem, which is another example of them wanting to give money to their rich friends.

Canadian families need homes and the Liberals are not acting with the urgency necessary to build below-market, co-op and supportive housing. When will the government get serious about affordable housing so that people in Edmonton can find a place to live?

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

Madam Speaker, I wish the member had attended this week's meeting at the House of Commons committee responsible for housing. An Albertan, Tim Richter, from the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, made it clear that this housing vision put forward by the government is the most ambitious in 40 years. It is substantive. It is justified. There are proof points in everything we have put forward, including the co-op housing that she mentions. In fact, just a few days ago, we saw the largest investment we have seen for co-op housing in the past 30 years. She talks about supportive housing. We have supplemented that in the most recent budget. In her community, she has seen support, with 71,000 people lifted—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Victoria.

Financial Institutions

[Laurel Collins, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Madam Speaker, as Canadians choke on smoke and flee from wildfires, Canada's biggest banks are handing out even more money to oil and gas companies. Under the Liberals, Canadian banks have become some of the biggest financiers of fossil fuels in the world. The Conservatives are happy to let these banks put profits over our planet. Canadians are struggling with the cost of living and the climate emergency while the banks fuel both of these crises to get even richer. Why are the Liberals letting big banks off the hook?

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

Madam Speaker, I would agree with my hon. colleague. We think that bank executives should be doing more when it comes to fighting climate change, and putting money where their mouth is, which is why the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions is putting in place measures to ensure that the officials at banks and other financial institutions disclose their climate risks. We have also committed to and put in place measures to ensure that we have a taxonomy principle in Canada, so we ensure that green investments that are made are actually green.

Carbon Pricing

[Pat Kelly, Conservative, Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB]

Madam Speaker, the Liberals promised to be the most open and transparent government in history and said that data paid for by Canadians belongs to Canadians. Well, that promise is just a sick joke after nine years of secrecy and cover-ups.

Yesterday, common-sense Conservatives forced the NDP-Liberal government to release some of the data that the government has been suppressing. It proves that the carbon tax costs every Canadian family nearly $2,000.

The environment minister has misled Canadians. When will he resign?

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

Madam Speaker, the people who should resign are those who, hundreds of times, have voted against providing Canadians with clean air and clean water and protecting the environment. This is not tens of times but hundreds of times. If anyone should resign in the House, it is those people. Eight out of 10 Canadians are better off because of carbon pricing where the federal program applies. We are helping Canadians, and we are fighting climate change. The Conservatives are doing none of that.

[Pat Kelly, Conservative, Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB]

Madam Speaker, the government only does the right thing when it gets caught. The Liberals only disclosed the information because Conservatives forced them to. The NDP–Liberal government put a gag order on the Parliamentary Budget Officer because it did not want Canadians to know the economic cost of the carbon tax. Per capita GDP is falling and the carbon tax makes life more expensive, proving that this Prime Minister is not worth the cost.

The environment minister has misled Canadians by hiding the truth. When will he resign?

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

Madam Speaker, we have answered that question many times from the sloppy Conservatives. We know where they are going. They are against climate change. They have resigned from acting on behalf of Canadians. They have resigned from taking the best side for Canadians. They have resigned from future generations. Let us think about that. The Conservatives will not stand up to fight for our kids and our grandkids. Climate change is the issue of our time, and they have resigned from this issue, so it is laughable to hear them speak about resigning.

Eight out of 10 Canadians will be better off. We are going to fight for Canadians every step of the way. Canadians know that, and they see the games that the Conservatives are playing this morning.

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Sturgeon River—Parkland, AB]

Madam Speaker, let us test that hypothesis and call an election right now.

After months of fighting the NDP-Liberal government just to get the facts, we finally got some of the documents. The government's own analysis on the carbon tax shows that Canadians will lose nearly $30 billion, costing families $1,800 each year. Clearly, Canadians are not better off with the job-killing carbon tax. Everyone is paying more and getting less. The Liberal government is not worth the cost.

The minister needs to take responsibility for hiding this information from Canadians. When will the Prime Minister be demanding his resignation?

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

Madam Speaker, if the member opposite actually cares about the next generation, as we are looking toward Father's Day, let us think about that. We are talking about taking responsibility today for our actions, to make sure that we are passing over a healthy planet to our next generations. Eight out of 10 Canadians get more back from the climate rebate than they pay in any kind of carbon pricing. More important is that we are making sure we are protecting the planet for our children.

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Sturgeon River—Parkland, AB]

Madam Speaker, if that were true, why is the NDP-Liberal government working so hard to cover up the documents that prove it wrong? It was only common-sense Conservatives who forced the NDP-Liberal government to reveal the truth. The Liberals tried to discredit our own budget watchdog, but it was revealed that they were hiding the true cost of their carbon tax with secret documents and gag orders. The Liberals can run, but they cannot hide from the true cost of their inflationary carbon tax. Canadians will lose nearly $30 billion a year. That is $1,800 for each Canadian family.

The minister needs to face the consequences for the cover-up. When will the Prime Minister demand the minister's resignation?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Madam Speaker, the current environment minister is the first in history to put forward a credible plan to meet our net zero 2050 objectives and our Paris commitments.

What should the member do? What would he have preferred remain secret? The premier of his province, who scoured the universe, looked on the Internet, got out his calculator and did all of the analysis that Scott Moe does, said the price on pollution is the cheapest way to go about fighting change and putting money in people's—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Regina—Wascana has the floor.

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

Madam Speaker, after nine years of the Liberal-NDP government, the Prime Minister is not worth the cost or the cover-ups. The environment minister has been saying all along that the carbon tax would not cost us any money or that it would even make money, but now we know that the economy will lose $30.5 billion per year, or $1,800 per family, because of the carbon tax.

When will the environment minister resign?

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

Madam Speaker, it is clear that this question has been answered numerous times, but it is no surprise that Conservatives do not want to talk about their embarrassing vote against tax fairness. Conservatives believe that, if someone is flipping burgers, they should pay more tax than if they are flipping stocks or houses. With our plan, we are standing up for tax fairness, and let us just be clear that if someone does not profit by over $250,000 from an investment or the sale of an asset in a single year, they will not pay a cent more. If someone makes their hard-earned money on a paycheque, they will not pay a cent more. The Conservatives think hard-working Canadians pay tax on—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Regina—Wascana has the floor.

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

Madam Speaker, when the Parliamentary Budget Officer asked the minister's department to provide its internal economic analysis of the carbon tax, the response included the following sentence: “I request you to ensure that this information is used for your office's internal purposes only and is not published or further distributed.”

This is the gag order that the extremist environment minister placed on the Parliamentary Budget Officer, and this is why the environment minister must resign. When will he do it?

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

Madam Speaker, it is clear the Conservatives do not care about the future of the planet. They do not care about tax fairness. They do not care about investments that Canadians need and rely on. They believe that, if someone is flipping burgers, they should pay more tax than if they are flipping homes or flipping stocks to make a living. Under our plan for tax fairness, if someone does not profit over by $250,000 from an investment or the sale of a property, they will not pay a cent more. If someone makes their hard-earned income on a paycheque, they will not pay a cent more. That is 99.87% of the population who will not pay a cent more. We think that the wealthiest should—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Repentigny has the floor.

Financial Institutions

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Madam Speaker, yesterday in committee, we heard from the heads of Canada's five big banks, specifically BMO, Scotiabank, CIBC, the Royal Bank of Canada and TD Bank. They all rank in the top third of the world's oil financiers.

It is hard to get an accurate picture of their investments because the other three parties in the House refuse to make them disclose those investments. They all voted against a Bloc Québécois amendment to Bill C-69 requiring the mandatory disclosure of banks' investments in fossil fuels.

Why does the government not want to force banks to be honest with the public about their oil agenda?

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

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. She should know that the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions is already implementing measures to ensure that all financial institutions in Canada, not just the big banks, disclose their investments in fossil fuels and their exposure to climate change risks.

That is already being done, thanks to our government.

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Madam Speaker, I would like to know whether it is optional or not, but anyway.

These three parties are deliberately turning a blind eye to fossil fuel funding. Just last year, Canada's five big banks invested $142 billion in the industry. The CEO of Scotiabank spoke for all five when he said, “We should move away from emission reductions at all costs”.

Bankers speak the same language and share the same goal as the oil companies; they want to profit as much as possible from pollution.

We want to force the banks to disclose their dirty oil assets. The other three parties want them to invest in secrecy. Why?

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

Madam Speaker, with all due respect, I must correct my colleague. This is not optional. It is an obligation that Canada's Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions is going to impose on all financial institutions.

My colleague is speaking only about the big banks. I am not talking only about the big banks, I am talking about all financial institutions.

The two of us agree on one thing, however. We agree that the big banks should be doing more to fight climate change, and we are going to work to make sure that happens.