Debates of Dec. 9th, 2025

Carbon Pricing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, speaking of trucks, they take steel, unlike what the Prime Minister said when he asked a reporter whether he or anybody uses steel anymore in Canada. Farm equipment takes steel as well, and farming takes fertilizer. All these things are taxed by the industrial carbon tax. I am sorry I have to give this elementary lesson in the supply chain to the Prime Minister, but it is a reality, and with this tax, food prices have gone up so that Canadians now have to spend $17,000 a year on groceries.

Before Christmas, will the Prime Minister get rid of that tax, or will he be the grinch of the grocery store?

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

Mr. Speaker, for a fleeting moment there I thought we were going to get another lecture on wood. We were all bracing ourselves on this side for another one of the Leader of the Opposition's lectures on wood.

I do take his point on steel. Indeed there is steel in farm equipment. Indeed Canadian farmers are the best in the world. Indeed our Minister of Agriculture and the entire government are rallying behind them to support our farmers, support our steel workers, support our economy and build big projects with Alberta and with British Columbia. We are going to keep doing that.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, nonetheless, the Prime Minister is afraid to stand up to debate grocery prices. He says he knows so much about inflation; well, he certainly caused a lot of it in his life. He should, then, be able to stand up to defend the very industrial carbon tax that he says is even more important than a pipeline from Alberta. It is an industrial carbon tax on farm equipment, fertilizer and food processors at a time when Canadians are paying twice what they were a decade ago for groceries.

At Christmas time, will the Prime Minister do the right thing and get rid of this tax so Canadians can eat?

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, let me make it really simple for the member opposite. The industrial—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

We have to be able to hear the minister.

The hon. minister, from the top, please.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, apparently I need to repeat it again and again, so let me do that. I will make it simple for the member opposite: The industrial carbon price does not increase the cost of food. It does not apply to farms.

More than that, if we are going to look at the food price report that the member is referring to, perhaps he wants to refer to the other parts of it, which is that climate change and weather events have become a growing concern for agricultural producers, and increasingly severe and unpredictable weather events are disrupting agricultural production, creating supply challenges that continue to influence food prices across Canada.

The Conservatives should get on board to fight climate change.

Taxation

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, no matter how high the Liberals raise the taxes, they are not going to change the weather. The Prime Minister should be willing to stand up before Christmas and look in the eye the seniors who cannot afford to feed themselves, and the single mothers who cannot afford to feed their children and to buy Christmas gifts this winter, while he puts not only an industrial carbon tax on farmers and fertilizer but also a food packaging tax that will increase grocery prices by a billion dollars across the land.

Will the Prime Minister live up to his promise to be judged by the prices at the grocery store and get rid of those hidden Liberal taxes on food?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition has said he does not want to do anything about climate change and he wants to talk about imaginary taxes, but when we want to do things for Canadians who are really struggling, as he points out, such as, by the way, indexing the Canada child benefit to inflation; ensuring we have a strong school nutrition program; and signing agreements on child care that are saving families in Ontario $10,400 a year on average, the Conservatives vote against those supports.

Which is it? If the Conservatives do not want to fight climate change and do not want to stand up for Canadians, what are they doing here?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, is the member talking about standing up for Canadians? The Prime Minister will not even stand up in the House of Commons to answer a question about groceries. A moment ago he was bragging about his industrial carbon tax, and now his minister says it is imaginary, so apparently the Prime Minister is imagining things again.

How can Canadians keep straight the Prime Minister's story on grocery prices when one day he promises to be judged by the price of food, and the next day he says we need more of a tax on food and his own minister says it is all in his head?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, actually what I said was that it is all in the member's head. There are no taxes on food, and there are no taxes on farms.

Rather than look for solutions, the Conservatives just throw roadblocks in the way of every single Canadian who knows they need supports in difficult times.

By the way, what Canadians are counting on is a government that will stand with them; that will make sure that, when they do not have access to dental care, they can get their teeth fixed; that will make sure that as a senior ages, their income will be geared to inflation; and that will make sure the Canada child benefit will keep up with the cost of living. Time and time again—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

Finance

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, as Canadians walk down grocery aisles week after week, looking at prices rising to the point where they can no longer afford even to buy beef or put meat and potatoes on their dinner table, they see the Prime Minister, who promised he would be judged by the price at the grocery store, unwilling to even stand up to defend his appalling record of increasing grocery bills by $1,000 for the year to come.

It is not just the industrial carbon tax; the Prime Minister has also doubled the deficit Trudeau left behind, which will once again stoke inflation.

Why is the Prime Minister forcing Canadians to feed his morbidly obese deficit rather than feeding their families?

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Secretary of State (Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, while the Conservative leader continues to spin the same old rhetoric, we have been focused on cutting taxes for 22 million Canadians. We cut the tax for first-time homebuyers and continue to lean in on affordability, school food programs and automatic federal benefits, and the list goes on and on.

We are laser-focused on this side on affordability. The Conservative leader and his party continue to spin the same old tired rhetoric time and time again.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad the member got that off his chest, but the reality is that the question was for the Prime Minister. He is the one who promised to spend less, yet he doubled the deficit that Justin Trudeau left behind. His deficit is $16 billion bigger than he promised, and he has added about $90 billion of net new spending, most of it on governmental operations. All this will contribute to the inflation Canadians are paying at the grocery store.

Why will the Prime Minister not stand up and take account for the food price inflation he has caused, while Canadians struggle to put Christmas dinner on the table?

[Tim Hodgson, Liberal, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, I have a news flash: We are in a trade war. We need to work together.

The Government of Alberta supports the MOU in its entirety. The citizens of Alberta gave our Prime Minister two standing ovations in Calgary for the MOU. The only people divided on this are the Conservatives. They should get on board and build Canada.

Natural Resources

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, maybe the minister should tell that to the Liberal member for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, the Liberal member for Vancouver Granville, the Liberal member for Beaches—East York and the Liberal members for Victoria, Vancouver Quadra, South Surrey—White Rock, Honoré-Mercier, Fleetwood—Port Kells, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam and North Vancouver—Capilano. These are all the 11 Liberal MPs who have spoken out against the Prime Minister's deal.

Instead of standing up to them, instead of standing up to the “leave it in the ground” Liberal caucus, the Prime Minister has backed down, put them back in charge and blocked his own pipeline.

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

Mr. Speaker, every one of those 11 people and, indeed, every one of the 170 people on this side of the House were elected to put Canadians to work building major projects, building them with Canadian steel, Canadian lumber and Canadian aluminum, protecting our workers, protecting those most vulnerable and coming to the aid of families. The 170 Liberal members on this side of the House support a strong Canada, a compassionate Canada, and we are completely united on all of that.

Transportation

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we wondered why the Liberals were protecting Driver Inc. truckers by shifting their responsibilities to the provinces. Imagine this: One of the Prime Minister's closest organizers, Tej Dulat, works for the companies that hire these truckers. This generous Liberal donor was even seated right next to the Prime Minister during his swearing-in ceremony. There is no risk of mistaking him for a lobbyist, as he is not listed in the registry. He is using his privileged relationship with the Prime Minister to defend Driver Inc. truckers, even if it means putting lives at risk.

Is that why the Liberals are doing nothing about this situation?

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

Mr. Speaker, this Prime Minister is the one who called on the Canada Revenue Agency to crack down on Driver Inc. truckers. He is the one who ordered more inspections to ensure compliance with the Canada Labour Code and he is the one who is making sure that legitimate trucking companies can operate in Canada.

This was acknowledged at a meeting I had this morning with the Association du camionnage du Québec, which congratulated the government on all of its actions on the—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. member for Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Association du camionnage du Québec also says that there are still things the government can do to resolve this situation.

When it comes to Driver Inc., the Liberals once again seem to be protecting the interests of their friends, or possibly the interests of their own pocketbooks. In addition to the organizer close to the Prime Minister who is lobbying unofficially, the Liberals received $85,000 in donations from people linked to Driver Inc. It is extremely worrying to see the Liberals' inaction when accidents have increased by 35% in Quebec in just one year.

If the Liberals really care about road safety, why have they not implemented the Bloc's 10 demands?

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

Mr. Speaker, amidst all the action taken by the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Jobs and the Minister of Transport to crack down on Driver Inc., a system created by Mr. Harper, incidentally, the Bloc Québécois is forgetting one thing. I think the member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel—Alnôbak will be chastising his party because the Bloc Québécois is asking the federal government to interfere in an area under Quebec's jurisdiction to resolve this problem. We will not do that.

Natural Resources

[Mark Strahl, Conservative, Chilliwack—Hope, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister cannot be trusted on pipelines. He endorsed Justin Trudeau's cancellation of the approved northern gateway pipeline and stopped the shipment of Canadian oil through northern B.C. He now claims that he might allow a new pipeline but his Liberal MPs insist that it will never get built. Instead of playing both sides, the Prime Minister should definitively endorse a new pipeline to Canada's west coast and cancel the Liberal ban on shipping oil from northern B.C.

Will the Prime Minister finally stop the doublespeak, stop obstructing the pipeline and vote for the Conservative motion today?

[Tim Hodgson, Liberal, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, a future pipeline means diversifying our trade and greater competitiveness on a global scale. We need to put cards in our hand to fight this trade war, but there are things we need to do to get there, things in the memorandum of understanding that we can get united behind, like the carbon price. The Conservative motion conveniently ignores strengthening industrial carbon pricing. The leader opposes something that the Premier of Alberta agrees with. We support the entire MOU. We hope they will.