Debates of Oct. 6th, 2026

Opposition Motion—Diesel Prices

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec Centre, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies.

I am fortunate to rise today to speak to an important concern for the good and well-being of my constituents. I am obviously talking about the high cost of living.

However, before I do that, I would like to highlight the election of three important MLAs who will play a major role for my constituents in the coming years: Patrick Paquet, Étienne Grandmont and Julie White. These are three members from different provincial parties with whom I very much look forward to working to invest in our community and support middle-class families and those who need it most.

I would also like to express my great esteem for two members who have left office, either because they retired from politics or because they were defeated last night: Mario Asselin and Pascal Paradis. Mr. Asselin and Mr. Paradis did a tremendous amount of work for the well-being of their constituents, and I wanted to acknowledge that. Of course, I would also like to acknowledge the work of the volunteers on all the election campaign teams and mention how much is going to change for the riding teams of former members of Parliament. I wish those members and all the teams that supported them all the best, good health, happiness and success in the future.

Let us come back to the cost of living. We recognize that many Canadians, including many in my riding, are struggling to make ends meet. Many are struggling to pay for groceries, gas, rent, which is also very expensive, and other expenses. We also understand that the very high price of diesel is causing problems for many Quebeckers and Canadians. This is something that is happening around the world, and we need to understand, as everyone does already, that many factors are beyond the control of Canada and the Canadian government. That said, I want to point out that diesel prices here in Canada remain lower than in most of the other G7 countries.

The cost of living remains a significant concern for the Government of Canada. We have already introduced many measures to help Canadians in these hard times, and we will continue to do so. For example, we cut taxes for 22 million middle-class Canadians, and we eliminated the federal consumer carbon tax. The Government of Canada also removed or reduced the GST on eligible new homes for first-time home buyers. Just a few months ago, we introduced the Canada groceries and essentials benefit to provide direct support to households that need it most. I will come back to that in a moment.

We also introduced Bill C-38, the Canadian fuel affordability act, to help with the cost of living. Bill C-38 will extend the temporary suspension of the federal fuel excise tax until January 31, 2027. In practical terms, that means that Canadians will continue to save about $5 every time they fill up their gas tank.

As members have surely noticed, when this measure was implemented in April, it had an immediate effect. The price at the pump immediately dropped by an average of approximately 11¢ a litre across Canada. By extending this rebate through to January, we will be able to continue to support Canadians and businesses that are suffering because of high fuel prices in general. The excise tax will be gradually reinstated. Following the current temporary suspension, the excise tax will be applied at only 50% of the regular rate for two months, which means savings of approximately five cents a litre on gas and two cents a litre on diesel in February and March 2027.

The motion we are debating today focuses mainly on energy prices, but we obviously need to analyze all of this in a broader context, namely, affordability for Canadians. We have already introduced many measures to help Canadians make ends meet. A good example, as mentioned earlier, is the new Canada groceries and essentials benefit. It is a significantly enhanced version of what was previously known as the GST credit.

The big difference is that, with this enhancement, Canadians will receive 25% more money this year and over the next four years of benefits. These tax-free payments are helping more than 12 million low- and modest-income Canadians, including tens of thousands of people in my own riding. If we look at the one-time top-up to the benefit that was paid this summer, a family of four will receive up to $1,900 this year and about $1,400 in each of the next four years. Eligible Canadian families received a payment just yesterday, on October 5, and the next payment will be made in three months.

I will end with a very quick summary of four very significant affordability measures for people in my riding.

First, there is the Canada child benefit, which reduces poverty by 50%, especially in neighbourhoods in my riding where families are struggling to make ends meet. Nine out of 10 families receive this benefit.

Second, there is the Canadian dental care plan, where 88% of participants, including tens of thousands of people in my riding, say they are very satisfied. Six million people are enrolled in the Canadian dental care plan, including a very large number in Quebec. It also reduces pressure on Quebec's health care system, which really needs it, and it improves not only oral health, but overall health. Third, there is Canada's national school food program, which helps 100,000 children in Quebec alone go to school on a full stomach. Le Pignon Bleu, in my riding, is doing incredible work partnering with this important program. It is not just any food; it is healthy, locally produced and consumed, and contributes to children's overall development. Fourth is the national child care program. Some 900,000 children in Canada benefit from it. Eight provinces have reduced child care costs to $10 a day across the country, and the remaining provinces and territories have reduced child care costs by more than 50%. In Quebec, that amounts to $2 billion in federal transfers to the provincial government, which is equivalent to funding 150,000 child care spaces in Quebec alone.

In closing, I know that there is still much work to be done, but we will always be there to help Canadians, particularly those who need it most.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to put a question to my esteemed colleague, the former minister.

My question relates specifically to the oil industry. I have previously given a speech about the ownership of the fossil fuel sector in Canada, which is largely controlled by American interests.

I would like to ask the former minister whether he agrees with me that we would be better off shifting our energy policy toward Canadian industries.

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec Centre, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, who is unfortunately a little further away from me physically than she was before. I have always had excellent conversations with this member, whose experience and expertise inspire many other less experienced members in the House.

I would like to say that there are indeed two issues. The first is obviously to protect Canadian workers, including those in the oil and gas sector. The second is to ensure that the profits and control associated with that industry remain in Canada as much as possible.

This is part of a broader approach by the Canadian government to ensure sovereignty, not only in terms of energy, but also in terms of the economy, particularly when it comes to controlling large properties and major industries.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate all the work of my colleague.

The Liberals talk about consistency and predictability. What about the next version of the bill? The building Canada really strong act is, I am sure, what the next one will be.

We have had three different iterations of a pilot project on interswitching for grain movement in Canada. We had one in 2014, one in 2018 and one in 2023. Continuing these pilot projects makes it impossible for grain haulers and shippers to make investments in sidings to make sure that interswitching is actually successful.

If predictability is important in the bill, why are the Liberals doing yet another pilot project on interswitching and not making that element permanent?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec Centre, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I completely agree on the importance and value of pilot projects. That is not always the case, but this is often how lessons are learned locally for well-targeted projects. Then, if it is worthwhile and appropriate, these pilot projects are expanded over time and across the country.

My colleague is more of an expert on this issue than I am, but like him, I would like to see how the lessons learned from this pilot project could be used to extend the pilot project in question over time and across the country.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague knows, the idea of the excise tax exemption is in good part to provide affordability for Canadians. It is all part of a bigger package that the government has brought forward.

I am wondering if he could expand on why it is important that we bring in affordability measures such as this to support Canadians.

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec Centre, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there is a lot to talk about when it comes to affordability measures for Canadians in general.

I want to flag one example, which we may be talking too little about in this House. It is the universal child care program that we put in place just a few years ago. I was in Quebec in the late 1990s and early 2000s when it was implemented. For many decades, provinces and Canadians were looking forward to such a program. Many thought it would never be put in place, but it came to Quebec earlier, and then it finally came to children and families across Canada, with 900,000 children benefiting from the program every day.

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am thankful for the opportunity to speak today about diesel prices. It all relates to food costs and high food costs, especially in northern Canada.

I will go back to a promise made by the Prime Minister during the last election. It is funny how people expect us to just forget all those promises the Prime Minister made. That was why he was elected. It was based on those promises. The promise I am going to talk about is the one he made to northern Canadians, that he would be measured by prices at the grocery store.

Why is food so expensive in the north? I think we all know. The reason is two words: transportation costs. Those already high transportation costs just went higher with higher diesel prices, as we all know. It is a reason our leader brought forward the emergency fuel relief plan. The plan would provide for emergency prepermitting and tax relief for the construction of diesel infrastructure such as refineries, pipelines, rail and storage. It would eliminate all taxes on diesel consumption until at least Canada Day. It would permanently eliminate taxes on diesel production and would call on the government to set the goal of boosting Canadian diesel production to one million barrels per day, allowing every Canadian business and consumer access to Canadian diesel.

Again, the Prime Minister promised that he would be measured by prices at the grocery store. I see this every day. I was just responding to a social media post. Prices have always been high in the north. That is true. They have been high but they are even higher, when the Prime Minister promised, just 18 months ago, that he was going to bring those prices down. The promise he made to Canadians did not stop at the northern borders, as far as I am concerned and as far as northerners are concerned.

What are Canadians experiencing at the grocery store because of increased fuel costs? I have an article from Bloomberg. It is from September 29 of this year. It reads, “Diesel prices surge to historic highs, hitting consumers harder than ever.... Experts say elevated fuel costs mean higher price tags on items ranging from food and clothing to construction materials for months to come, with diesel demand poised to go up further as winter approaches.”

The article continues, “The price of a round-trip haul by a semi truck between Montreal and Toronto would have cost roughly $850 on Jan. 1. Now the total would amount to $1,400, said Mike Millian, president of the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada.... 'It’s really dramatic. It’s tough to absorb.'”

Imagine that trip, which is only around 1,000 kilometres. Edmonton is the base from which most of the food in the north comes; it heads north from that point. Imagine the cost increase for food when the round trip is from Edmonton to Tuktoyaktuk, and that trip is 7,000 kilometres. We can only imagine what the math is, seven times as much as that trip from Montreal to Toronto.

I will go back to the article. It reads, “Diesel powers industries ranging from agriculture to mining and manufacturing, and the bigger expenses they face are likely to show up as higher sticker prices on consumer items.”

It continues, “'It hurts everybody. There’s not anybody this doesn’t affect,' said Millian.”

I will go on: “The shippers and retailers who face those transport surcharges often find they have little choice but to raise prices for shoppers. 'If you’re an independent grocer and you’re on an overall margin of 2% and you’re getting fuel surcharges from your suppliers, you’re in a tough spot,' said Gary Sands, a senior vice-president at the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers, which represents about 6,900 stores. 'It becomes very difficult to not pass on those fuel surcharges.'”

That is the reality we are facing. That is why, again, our leader came forward with the emergency plan that we are putting forward, which would reduce the cost of diesel to at least attempt to bring those costs down or keep those costs lower than what they are right now.

I have another article. This one is from CBC: “The price of diesel is skyrocketing. Here's why Canadians may soon feel it at the grocery store”. This is the other thing that we have not really talked about. We have talked about the increase in prices, but why? There is not enough supply.

“The problem is that diesel is in extraordinarily short supply, experts say”. The article continues, “'This is going to be somewhat of a secret killer of the North American economy, if this is not addressed in the next few months,' Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis firm Gas Buddy, told CBC News.”

“Diesel prices historically rise even more in the winter, according to energy analyst Dan McTeague, meaning 'we could be looking at a very, very expensive winter ahead, not just for truck, for transport industry, airlines, trains and whatnot, but also for consumers.'”

“It's a concern for Canadians as any time the price of diesel goes up, it impacts every part of the food supply chain: shipping, storing and producing, according to Evan Fraser at the University of Guelph's Arrell Food Institute.”

Some would say this whole situation in Iran is out of the Prime Minister 's control, but he has things he can do in Canada right now to limit those impacts to consumers and to transporters that transport our food to these remote areas that eventually impact consumers. He can effect that change. Even though he cannot affect what is going on in Iran, per se, he can still help lower those diesel prices in Canada today by having the simple ability to vote for our plan to lower taxes on diesel and to increase the supply of diesel in Canada.

Again, I would just call on the Prime Minister to do the right thing. I did not get the chance to ask Liberals across the way if they are going to support our plan and our emergency fuel relief plan, but they have a choice: They can support it and dramatically lower the impacts of those higher diesel prices on food costs in Canada. I read about the prices and the food costs in northern Canada. I have made the trip there for several years now and watched those food prices sort of grow over the last three years. The Prime Minister promised those northerners when he looked at the camera and said they would be measured by prices at the grocery store and also by energy prices of home heating. That is how he was going to be measured. He made that promise that it would be okay if he was elected as the Prime Minister. Right now we are not seeing that.

We are not seeing lower prices. We are not seeing lower prices even in my hometown of Fort St. John. Just a dozen eggs is about eight dollars and a loaf of bread is about seven dollars, depending on the type of bread a person buys. Milk is getting a lot more expensive. An example I talked about yesterday was that a jug of milk in Inuvik this summer was $18. Imagine a family living in Inuvik and having to buy a jug of milk for their family. With two kids at home a family would go through about two jugs of milk a week. That is about what we used to go through. Even the cost of milk is exorbitant, all because of those higher transportation costs.

I started by asking why food is so expensive in the north. I have a two-word answer: transportation costs. The Prime Minister, though, has a choice today. He can vote for our motion to lower diesel prices. In effect, lower heating costs, transportation costs and food costs all the way down the line would benefit Canadian consumers. He can vote for our motion or he can vote against it and cause northern food prices to go even higher. It is his choice.

[Marilyn Gladu, Liberal, Sarnia—Lambton—Bkejwanong, ON]

Mr. Speaker, of course, our government is committed to reducing taxes for Canadians. We brought forward Bill C-38 to take the tax off all fuel. I think, and hope, the member opposite would agree that it is very difficult to predict the situation globally in terms of the Strait of Hormuz and the various wars that are coming.

Would he not agree that the prudent thing is to continue to monitor the situation and introduce responsive affordability measures as we know more about the global situation?

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I think that is a little bit vague. We have already seen sort of a muted response to these high diesel prices from the Liberals. Our plan is just a lot more thorough and a lot more effective: emergency prepermitting and tax relief would eliminate all taxes on diesel consumption until at least Canada Day, permanently eliminate taxes on diesel production and then even boost what we have as a reserve to one million barrels per day.

Our plan would be a much more effective response to not only this diesel crisis, but similar crises in the future.

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

Mr. Speaker, my colleague's speech, specifically the Conservative motion under debate today, is no different from the debates we have come to expect from them. I think almost all of the opposition days in the House have been Conservative opposition days seeking to benefit the oil companies.

However, if we look at the reactions to international tensions in recent months, there has been pressure for a lower gas tax, which the Conservatives achieved because the Liberals gave it to them. There has been a really substantial increase in all possible federal subsidies for oil companies. Last week, the government even made a commitment to buy a new pipeline and build it at taxpayers' expense.

However, none of that has had any impact on prices at the pump. In fact, prices at the pump continue to rise. If we look closely, the only thing increasing is oil companies' profits. Ordinary Canadians continue to pay more, despite the fact that the government is giving more money to oil companies.

Does my colleague really think that his is the right solution?

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies, BC]

Mr. Speaker, that question was a bit out of touch if he is saying that what we are suggesting is just going to put more money in oil and gas companies' pockets. This would land directly in consumers' pockets when they pay less at the grocery store.

I would challenge that member to come with me to the Arctic any time of the year and look at food prices and the associated transportation costs. Our efforts are to bring down those transportation costs to bring down the cost of food for northerners. That is what we are about. I am not sure what he is about.

[Rob Morrison, Conservative, Columbia—Kootenay—Southern Rockies, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it really gets complicated. Where I live, which is in the southern part of B.C., the price of diesel per litre is three dollars. Our logging industry is suffering and our transportation costs are huge because we are small. What I really like about the bill being proposed is the fact that it is more complete. It would not just to lower the price of diesel right now, but also follow up with production, which is so important. We need something more than just a quick fix.

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies, BC]

Mr. Speaker, this shows we have a government that just seems to put out fires as it goes, versus our Conservative potential and future government, what our leader has said and the potential for us to govern. We have a really good plan that would change things not just for the short term, but for the future for Canadians, which would bring down costs and bring more security for loggers and transporters of food to the north, and really for everybody. We have a plan and I trust that the Liberals will support it today.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise to speak to our opposition day motion, which would give some solutions and save Canadians money right across this country.

I am honoured to be splitting my time with the hon. member for Battle River—Crowfoot today as well.

I have often said in this House, “No farms, no food.” It is very important that we add to that: “No affordable farms, no affordable food.” It is critical that Canadians understand the connection between what happens on the farm in food production and the impact of those input costs on the farm on the cost of groceries on the grocery store shelves. I will get to that later today.

I want to start my speech by thanking all of the farmers in my riding of Foothills who are finishing up the harvest. Many of them have worked 24 hours a day, religiously, to get that crop in the bin. Many of them have just finished up, and it looks like a good harvest throughout southern Alberta. We are very happy and proud of all the work they have done over this seeding, through the summer and the harvest. Because we know the pride that farmers take in their work, we know the anxiety they have felt as they watched their input prices increase exponentially from last year to this year.

I want to highlight some of the stories I have heard from farmers not only in my riding but certainly right across Canada.

I spoke to one of them as I was driving to the airport on Sunday. Roy was telling me they were finishing up the harvest on Monday and now he has to have a very difficult conversation with his family. Normally, he budgets about $50,000 for his fuel bill for harvest. This year, his bill was over $130,000. He is having to have that discussion with his family about where they are going to find the money to pay that fuel bill. He is being honest with his family. He does not know know how they are going to pay that bill, and that is a story that I have heard from farmers right across this country. Unfortunately, it is a story that has become all too common.

Another farmer in my riding has a small farm. He has about a 2,000-acre farm, and the fuel bill is another $20,000 this year above what he is used to, and it was almost 18,000 litres of fuel.

On Kate's family farm in Saskatchewan, they will pay an additional $90,000 on their fuel bill for harvest this year.

A potato farmer in P.E.I., Aike, said that when fuel gets more expensive, everything in P.E.I. gets more expensive. To put things in perspective, he said, he is looking at a 70% jump in the fuel costs this year from the same time last year. That is from one farmer.

Another P.E.I. farmer, Nathan, said the high diesel prices are “putting a squeeze on our bottom line”. Last year, his total diesel cost for the entire harvest was about $7,000. This year, he is only halfway through the harvest, and it has already gone over $14,000. He said, “Every year I'm saying this is the most expensive crop we're putting in, [and] I'm getting kinda tired of saying that”.

A grain farmer in southern Alberta said diesel is costing him another $5,000 a day just through harvest. That is costing him another $100,000 on his fuel bill, and that is just one farm.

Now, we are talking about farmers, but our fishers are facing much the same costs. In fact, I saw some comments from Carl, who is out in B.C. He said some are wondering if they will even be able to survive, and some question if the boats will even leave the harbour. Bob says this is taking the profit right out of fishing. He said, “Some of us aren't even going to take our boats out.”

Again, that correlation between the costs of producing the food and the costs at the grocery store shelves is very real. The Liberals like to say every day that the impact of their policies, like an industrial carbon tax and the Liberal fuel standard, do not impact the cost of groceries. One of Canada's pre-eminent experts, Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, said the other day, “The correlation between diesel prices and food prices that you see at the grocery store [shelves] is one of the highest of all factors”. One of the pre-eminent experts on food prices in the country has said there is a direct correlation between the costs of fuel prices and the costs on the grocery store shelves.

These costs that our farmers and our fishers are facing are not abstract. These are very real costs that are being carried by our farm families right across this country and by our small business owners, our fishers and the workers who are trying to manufacture and process those foods to get them to our grocery store shelves. These are costs being borne by the shippers, the truckers and the manufacturers.

Every time we add those costs, at every link in that supply chain, that cost just grows exponentially until we get to the case where we are, at the grocery store shelves, where more than a third of Canadians now say that the cost of food is their biggest budget anxiety, where we have record numbers of Canadians lined up at food banks and where we among the countries with the highest food inflation in the G7. There are very real consequences of the bad policies and bad decisions of the Liberal government.

How do we absorb these costs? How do we ask our fishermen and our farmers to absorb these costs? Many of them are asking themselves right now, as the harvest has just been completed, and they do not know. They cannot pass all of those costs on to their customers. In many cases, they have to absorb those costs, and that is the difference between them being economically viable and us losing, once again, more of those family farms, which our rural communities so desperately rely on.

Our farmers are tough. We know they are resilient. They will find a way to make it through and get that crop off this year. However, I would say to my Liberal colleagues that we cannot keep asking our farmers to be tough and resilient. Tough and resilient does not pay the bills. Tough and resilient does not get that crop off into the bin, get it trucked to the terminal, get it trucked to the processor or get it trucked to the grocery store. Being tough and resilient does not pay the bills, and it does not put affordable food on the table.

Ultimately, this is about what impacts each and every one of us, and that is Canada's food security. The farmer is not the end of the story; he is just the beginning. He is a very integral part of that story, but he is not all of it. We know that energy, and diesel especially, drives our country. The anti-energy Liberals have put this at their feet. For this diesel crisis, this cost crisis we are facing, they like to blame global factors, but this crisis lies in the decisions they have made, and it lies squarely within their responsibility.

I found it interesting yesterday during question period, when our leader was asking some questions about the buy Canadian policy the Liberals keep talking about when in fact they are investing in American companies, that the Prime Minister got up and said the government is committed to building the Pacific link pipeline, and the Liberal members were cheering. I could not help but kind of laugh at that because for the past 11 years, those same members, that same Liberal cabinet, were doing everything they possibly could to crush Canada's energy sector.

They scared investors away from energy east. As a result, eastern Canada is importing 130,000 barrels of oil and gas every single day to power eastern Canada when we could be doing that from western Canadian resources through the energy east pipeline. The northern gateway pipeline was approved by the Harper government, but the Liberal government came in and cancelled the northern gateway pipeline. Northern gateway would have been built at this time, moving Canadian energy and ensuring that we were more self-sufficient.

As a result of that, last year, diesel was about $1.53 a litre. As of September 21, it is $2.74 a litre. According to Grain Growers of Canada, that is adding another $1,100 worth of diesel per day per combine per farm, which is another $5,000 a day. This is what it is costing Canadian farmers every single day. This is why I am encouraging the Liberals to support our Conservative motion, which not only provides a break on diesel prices and tax relief for Canadian farmers but ensures that we put the mechanisms in place to increase production and refining capacity here in Canada, which is critical and would not only solve this problem today but solve it for the future.

I would encourage my Liberal colleagues to support our Conservative motion today to ensure that we save Canadians money today and tomorrow and, most importantly, that we show our Canadian farmers we are standing with them and we understand the anxiety they are facing. We want to make sure they can afford to put affordable food on Canadian tables every single day.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, shortly, I will get the opportunity to provide more detail on the specifics of the Conservative motion, but I want to take up the member's comments. The Conservatives seem to have this fixation on going back to Justin Trudeau. I will provide some further comment on that also, but I think it is important to recognize that there was a change in government when our new Prime Minister was elected.

Since the last federal election, we have seen significant movements, whether in tax relief or commitments to build. We are talking about Pacific link. We are talking about LNG Canada phase two. These are significant ways we are supporting the economy while at the same time dealing with the issue of affordability.

Would the member not recognize that?

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, what I do recognize are commitments to do something at some point. I will go back to Bill C-5, which Conservatives helped the Liberals pass, the Building Canada Act, because we wanted to be there to support building Canadian projects, nation-building projects, at speeds not seen in generations. Nothing happened.

We now have the building Canada strong act because the first one was not enough. I am expecting that about a year from now, we will have another bill from the Liberal government. It will be called the building Canada really, really strong act, because we could not get it right the first two times. That is what I am expecting from the Liberal government.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his great speech. A lot of his speech was about farmers. Farmers are generally bound by the price they can sell their products for, because of the market. The cost of doing business is something that we, as the Canadian government, can control.

Can my colleague explain a bit about what has happened over the last 20 years in the beef industry that now causes beef prices to be so high?

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from northern Alberta for the question. He has been such a great champion for the honey and bee industry. I always appreciate working with him.

My colleague is exactly right. We have seen cattle numbers in Canada continue to decline, which is driving up cattle prices, but there are also those input costs with having to truck these products from one end of the country to the other. The Liberals like to think this does not impact the cost of doing business.

We are adding costs to every link in the supply chain: growing the food, processing the food, transporting the food and putting it on grocery store shelves. What happens when we tax every single part of a supply chain? Of course, the cost of that product on the grocery store shelf is going to go up. That is what Canadian consumers are having to face right now.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. friend from Foothills mentioned that the east-west pipeline was cancelled, but part of the problem there relates to this debate today, which is the ability of Canadian refineries to process bitumen. None of the refineries in Atlantic Canada could have done that. The Irving Oil refinery in Saint John had no plans then, nor does it have plans now, to add an upgrader.

On our capacity to process Canadian raw resources here, would the member not agree with me that there is no point in shipping diluted bitumen to the east coast of Canada only to put it in tankers to go to the United States?

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague is exactly right, which is why I think it is so important that one of the elements of our opposition day motion is not only to take the tax off diesel today but also to put in elements to fast-track permitting to increase that refining capacity not only in western Canada but also in eastern Canada.

In western Canada, we export diesel. We have more than we can supply because we do not have a pipeline to eastern Canada. However, if we were able to put policies in place to fast-track that permitting, to increase refining in eastern Canada so it could be self-sufficient, I think that would be a great step forward.

That is why I am hoping my colleague will support our opposition day motion.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the member could give a clear indication of whether the Conservatives recognize that suspending the excise fuel tax will, in fact, not only help farmers but also help all Canadians. Do the Conservatives support that?

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I think what our producers and our farmers want is predictability. While the Liberals continue to put these taxes on and take them off, there is unpredictability. We are asking the Liberals today to take all taxes off fuel from now until Canada Day to have that predictability and to save Canadians money now.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, let me begin by congratulating the new Premier of Quebec, Paul St‑Pierre Plamondon, all the candidates who won their races, and my old friend of 25 years, Éric Duhaime, who has been fighting for Quebeckers for so long and has made historic gains.

Obviously, the Conservatives do not want a referendum on sovereignty, neither in Alberta, nor in Quebec, nor anywhere else. Ten years ago, under a Conservative government, there was no referendum on sovereignty. In fact, there was not even a sovereignty movement in Alberta. The Bloc Québécois had all but disappeared, and the Parti Québécois was defeated. Ten years later, there is a referendum looming in Alberta, and the new government in Quebec is threatening to hold another one. National unity is a prime minister's primary responsibility, and as the future government, the Conservatives aim to unite Canadians through hope and the core principles of our country. We want to bring all Canadians together to create a truly united country.

One way of doing this is to make life more affordable and help Canadians save money. Diesel is expensive at the moment. Even people who do not own a car or truck that runs on diesel are feeling the pinch, because every item they buy—whether it is groceries, clothing, furniture or anything else for their home—is transported in a truck or on a train that uses diesel fuel. Diesel prices have hit record highs over the last three weeks.

Obviously, we are not going to blame the Prime Minister for the war in Iran or for the war between Russia and Ukraine. That is beyond his control. However, the price of diesel here in Canada is between 24¢ and 30¢ per litre higher than in the United States, and it is about 32¢ per litre higher than the world average. Every other country is grappling with the same wars in Iran and between Russia and Ukraine, yet they are not paying as much as we are here in Canada. Why is Canada paying more under this Liberal government?

First, many hidden taxes are still embedded in the prices we see here in Canada. There are the clean fuel regulations, which add between six and seven cents per litre, according to government documents. Other experts say that the figure is more like 10¢ per litre. There is also the industrial carbon tax. The Liberals love to say that there is no consumer carbon tax, but when they tax the production of something, that obviously increases the cost to consumers, because those refineries have to add that to the price. The GST also still applies to diesel fuel, so that adds another 12¢ or so per litre. All of that feeds into the costs paid by our farmers, our truckers and other businesses that provide us with essentials, and that is one of the reasons prices are higher.

Then we need to sell our oil to the United States to buy back the diesel they refine. The U.S. benefits while we pay the price. Obviously, we produce a lot of diesel here in Canada, but the problem is that the diesel produced in Canada is not available to all Canadians. We are paying foreigners a refining margin instead of keeping that money here at home. Lastly, we do not have a reserve of refined petroleum products. Today, the Conservatives are presenting a positive plan to save Canadians money, make our country more self-reliant and increase affordability.

First, we are proposing eliminating all taxes on diesel until at least July 1. We are proposing eliminating some taxes permanently, like the industrial carbon tax and the clean fuel regulations. That would allow us to produce and supply diesel for Canadians more cheaply.

Second, we are proposing emergency permitting, emergency pre-permitting and tax relief for businesses that invest in diesel infrastructure, refineries, storage and transportation here at home. That would allow businesses to invest that money now to build. In the United States, I found at least five examples of refineries that were built in less than three years. Some people say that it takes 15 or 20 years to build a refinery or to make small improvements to our energy infrastructure, but that is not true. It is a self-imposed limit.

For example, British Columbia has to import diesel from the United States, even though we have the fourth-biggest reserves of diesel here at home. By lowering costs today and becoming more self-sufficient in the medium term, we will be able to protect our consumers and make groceries, clothing, furniture and other products more affordable here in Canada.

We will also be able to safeguard our self-sufficiency. Our aim is to produce one million barrels a day within five years, to supply every Canadian market with Canadian diesel and to build up a strategic reserve. We would build up this reserve during periods when prices are at their lowest. That way, we would have it at our disposal when prices are higher. That is how we will ensure Canada remains affordable and secure, and that is how we will become masters in our own house.

Before I begin, I would be remiss if I did not offer congratulations to the newly elected Premier of Quebec, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, and the PQ. I also congratulate all others who were elected. In particular, I congratulate my friend of 25 years, Éric Duhaime, who made major gains in this election and has been fighting for Quebeckers his entire life. We wish him much success in the National Assembly.

Obviously, we, as Conservatives, do not want a referendum on national unity in any province. We do not want one in Alberta or in Quebec. We want the country to be united. Unfortunately, we see that there is now a referendum in Alberta and there is a referendum threatened for the future in Quebec.

About 10 years ago, there were no referendums to separate in any part of the country. There was no separatist movement in Alberta whatsoever. The PQ was defeated. The Bloc did not even have party status. Here we are, 10 years later, with one for sure and another possible referendum. These are in two of our most cherished provinces.

The measure of the Prime Minister is how he can keep our country united. As a future prime minister, my mission will be to truly unite the country and to make all those who have lost faith in the country regain hope that they can have a great life, their hard work will pay off, young people will be able to afford homes and that every single province and its industries will be fully respected. That is the hope we offer to truly unite our country from coast to coast. One way to do it is to make our country affordable, independent and safe here at home.

Our plan today is the diesel relief plan. It proposes to tackle the fact that we have diesel prices that are 24¢ to 30¢ a litre higher in Canada versus in the U.S. and the rest of the world. Our mission is to eliminate that gap, produce the equivalent of a million barrels of diesel every single day and supply every Canadian market with Canadian-made diesel.

We have a plan to eliminate all federal taxes on the production and consumption of diesel to incentivize the fast construction of refineries, transportation and storage of diesel through 100% one-year expensing of investments and emergency permits, and to create a strategic petroleum reserve that would prepare us for moments just like this. This approach would bring down the cost of not just the diesel, but also everything that comes in a truck, such as food, groceries, appliances and clothes. Everything would be more affordable in a more autonomous country.

Let us make Canada the most affordable, richest and most secure country anywhere on earth.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, whether it was during the week prior to the break week or even today, Conservative members who stand seem to give the impression that they would like to see all forms of taxation taken off the price of diesel. The leader of the Conservative Party applauds that.

Canadians need to know very clearly from the Conservative Party of Canada if its position is to permanently get rid of all forms of taxation on gasoline.