Mr. Speaker, when a parent stands in the checkout aisle of a local grocery store looking at the total that they can barely afford, they are not thinking about macroeconomics or global supply chain logistics. No, that is not what crosses their mind. Instead, they are looking at the price tag of a carton of milk, a loaf of bread or a bag of apples, the things that sustain their families day to day.
They ask the question, “How did life become so expensive, especially in a place like Canada where we have so many resources at our disposal?” The Prime Minister once told the Canadian public that he should be judged by the prices at the grocery store. Let us do that. In fact, Canadians are judging him every single day they tap their card in order to pay for those essentials that they need, and they are watching as those prices continue to go up.
The cost of everyday life is out of control, and Canadians are recognizing that. They do not need me to tell them, they do not need their member of Parliament to tell them and they do not need an economist to tell them. They experience it each and every day. Every single meal on a family's dinner table starts on a farm. That is what needs to be understood in this conversation. It travels down a highway and then eventually makes its way to a grocery store. All of this is done on the back of a transportation truck, which of course requires fuel. That fuel is diesel. When the government drives up the price of diesel, it drives up the cost of living for every single mother, father, senior and young person across this country, no matter where they live or what type of lifestyle they enjoy.
This is why Conservatives are bringing forward a smart, common-sense plan to save Canadians money. This plan is called the emergency fuel relief plan. While this plan might focus on diesel, it is in fact an affordability measure. It is actually a plan that puts the Canadian people squarely at the centre of it.
A local farmer recently called me in order to express his concern over the increasing cost of diesel, which he relies on in order to put his crop in the ground and then take that crop back off. Now, the Liberal government consistently fails to understand the point he wished to make. It was that when the cost of fuel goes up, the cost of food goes up. It is actually that simple. He is right that this is the harsh reality that we face day in and day out. This is the harsh reality that Canadians face when they go to buy that bag of apples, that loaf of bread or that carton of milk.
Many Canadians do not drive diesel trucks, and they do not sit behind the wheel of a large tractor or a combine. However, they understand the price on a grocery bill, and they understand the transportation that it takes in order to make its way to the shelf. Canadians are paying every step of the way because of domestic policy. Let us consider the direct supply chain that brings food and goods to our Canadian homes. Diesel powers the tractors that prepare the soil, plant the crops and harvest our food. Diesel powers the trucks that transport that fresh produce and livestock to our processing facilities and our grocery stores. Diesel powers the trains and the heavy equipment that move raw materials and keep the gears of our entire national economy moving forward.
When the cost of diesel goes up, the cost of doing business also goes up. When the cost of business goes up, businesses cannot help but pass that on to the consumer, the mom, the dad, the young person who is simply going to buy groceries. Diesel prices in Canada are approximately 24¢ more per litre than in the United States of America and 31¢ a litre higher than the world average. That figure should concern every single Canadian. How can a country as rich in resources as ours be placed at such a severe disadvantage? Canada has the fourth-largest oil reserves in the world, yet our people are paying more for diesel than almost anyone else. How can that be?
After 11 years of the Liberal government, the answer is clear. Federal policies such as their antidevelopment bills, Bill C-48 and Bill C-69, have systematically delayed major energy projects while piling on costs through the industrial carbon tax, the GST on fuel and other repeated tax hikes.
When Ottawa penalizes domestic energy, it acts as an invisible tax on every single consumer purchase that takes place. This is why the Conservative motion puts forward a concrete four-point plan to deliver immediate savings for Canadians and guarantees that our energy independence only grows.
Our plan is, firstly, to provide emergency prepermitting and tax relief for critical diesel infrastructure because we must fast-track and support the construction of refineries, pipelines, rail and storage capacity so that Canadian workers can refine Canadian oil right here at home. Secondly, we would eliminate all federal taxes on diesel consumption in order to save folks money at the pump. Thirdly, we would permanently eliminate taxes on diesel production because we must permanently scrap those federal taxes, including the industrial carbon tax, in order to take that burden off producers, truckers, farmers and, ultimately, the consumers at the grocery store. Fourthly, we must boost Canadian fuel production to one million barrels per day because we must take care of our own. I understand that this is an ambitious goal, but we must pursue it.
