Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise on behalf of the farm-filled riding of Algonquin—Renfrew—Pembroke to address the absence of an answer from the Liberal government when asked if the Liberals would support our Conservative emergency fuel relief plan.
Soaring diesel costs are putting even more pressure on the cost of food. Diesel prices have risen by nearly 80% over the last year. Diesel powers the tractors that grow our food. Diesel powers the trucks and trains that move it. When those costs rise, farmers, businesses and families pay more. That is why the Conservatives put forward the emergency fuel relief plan to cut diesel costs, produce more Canadian fuel and save Canadians money. Sadly, the Liberal MPs voted it down. Lower costs for farmers who grow our food and the businesses that ship it mean lower costs throughout the supply chain.
Our plan to save Canadians money stands in stark contrast to the Liberals' official policy of higher prices. The Liberal plan to ban 90% of plastic in grocery stores will increase the price of food. The Liberal plan to increase ethanol and gasoline has increased, and will continue to increase, the prices at the pump. The Prime Minister's promise to impose carbon tariffs will increase the cost of imports from countries without a carbon tax. The Liberal plan to impose costly new electricity regulations will push up the price of Canadians' power bills. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister claims this is all fake news. He waves his hand and tells us, “These are not the Liberal policies you're looking for.”
Instead, the Liberals reach for the Trump playbook, specifically the page on meaningless symbolic renamings. Just as the U.S. president renamed Lake Ontario, the Liberals renamed the GST credit, but the Liberal gaslighting starts when they claim their renamed GST credit is somehow proof that they care about affordability. The truth is that this is evidence of their guilt. Gaslighting is the only way to describe a party led by an economist who makes the claim that giving people back their own money lowers prices. Liberal policies such as the plastic packaging ban, as well as electricity and fuel regulations, increase costs. The Prime Minister's out of control spending is fuelling inflation.
The latest PBO report highlights just how much more reckless this Liberal government is compared to the previous Trudeau government. The report reveals that, before any new spending has been announced in the upcoming budget, total borrowing over the next five years will reach three quarters of a trillion dollars. Every Canadian should know that the first $1,500 they send the government in taxes is going to pay the interest on the Liberal debt. Interest payments are the fastest-growing expense. By the end of the government's term in office, the federal government will be spending $83 billion on interest payments, and that same year the federal government is budgeted to spend $64 billion on health care. We have an aging population, but prime minister Brookfield wants to spend more on corporate welfare than Canadians' health care.
Out of control spending pushes up demand in the economy and stokes inflation. Liberal regulations push up the cost of fuel and electricity. They will deny this reality as long as they can, but Canadians paying higher prices can see the truth. Higher prices are the official policy of the Liberal Party.