Mr. Speaker, I would be honoured to share my time with the member for London—Fanshawe.
Today residents in Edmonton Northwest are feeling the increasing pressure of unaffordability. Yes, there is global uncertainty, but global uncertainty is not an excuse to delay implementing the necessary relief Canadians need today. As the PM rhetorically says, “We need to focus on what we can control,” and what his government controls is taxes.
For Canadian families, high gas and food prices are not a new reality exacerbated by global conflict. For many, this comes after a decade of rising costs, higher taxes and inflationary spending from a government that recklessly tries to convince Canadians that the government is not the problem.
Canadians know better. Families in Edmonton Northwest tell me that rising costs at the gas pump are forcing impossible choices. They are deciding between filling their tanks and paying for essentials like groceries or rent. For many families, driving is not a luxury. It is not optional. It is how they get to work, take their children to school activities, attend appointments and remain connected to their communities.
Just last week, I spent some time with seniors in Edmonton Northwest, and they shared with me how much their lives have changed. They told me they are seeing their loved ones less often because their already stretched pensions simply do not go far enough. Something as simple as driving across the city to spend time with family is becoming harder to afford.
Think about that: Canadians who have worked their entire lives and contributed to their communities are now being forced to think twice before driving to visit the people they love the most. This is not just a financial issue. It is a quality of life issue. The same applies to accessing health services and social activities.
These rising fuel costs do not just affect families. Businesses in Edmonton Northwest, like K-Bro Linen, face growing operating costs. Organizations such as Chrysalis, which serves persons with disabilities, the YMCA, Play On!, Special Olympics Alberta, the Westend Seniors Activity Centre, Islamic Family and the Beulah Alliance Church, all depend on transportation to deliver services and support their communities.
When fuel costs rise, this impacts everyone. It affects volunteers driving to programs, parents taking their children to activities, workers commuting to their jobs and organizations trying to meet the needs of the people they serve. When people cannot afford to fill up their tanks, families, businesses and communities suffer. These are the people who need relief from Liberal fuel taxes the most.
Edmonton has the most refinery capacity in our country and is proud to supply everyone as much as possible with essential fuel and energy to sustain their lives. We should not feel the stress of high prices caused by government taxes for our own resources, but the impact does not stop there. Rising fuel prices increase the cost of transporting goods across our country. Groceries do not appear on store shelves on their own. Materials do not arrive at construction sites without transportation. Small businesses do not receive their supplies without trucks on the road. Every increase at the gas pump creates a chain reaction throughout the economy. Businesses face higher transportation costs. Those costs are passed along to consumers, and Canadians end up paying more for the necessities they need every day.
Higher gas prices also impact public services. K-Bro Linen in Edmonton Northwest faces higher costs to deliver uniforms and other items to health care providers and other service providers across Edmonton. This impact is felt in indigenous communities and local governments as well. Communities such as Ermineskin Cree Nation face increasing costs to operate essential services like water delivery and utilities. Communities such as James Smith Cree Nation feel additional strain in operating community safety, policing services, security services and administration. Rising fuel costs place greater pressure on services that people rely on every day.
For many rural and indigenous communities, transportation costs carry an even greater burden. Distances are longer, options are fewer and services are often spread out. Rising fuel costs can mean even higher operating expenses for communities already working hard to deliver services and support their members. The community members often most affected are children, seniors and women, many of whom already face limited and expensive transportation.
Canada should be in one of the strongest positions in the world. We are a country rich in natural resources, especially oil and gas, with the potential to strengthen our economy and contribute to global energy needs. For years, our resource sector has raised concerns about the regulatory barriers, permit delays and uncertainty that have slowed development and investment. More than a decade ago, global oil prices were at similar levels, yet Canadians paid 50¢ less at the pump. Canadians are asking a reasonable question: Why are they paying more today?
When governments burden our resource sector with additional bureaucracy and taxes, every person feels the impact. Investment slows, opportunities are delayed and costs continue to rise for Canadian families. In a time when Canadian families are already facing economic challenges, we should be doing everything in our power to help them get ahead, yet many professionals in Edmonton Northwest are struggling to keep up with the pressures they face.
The motion before us highlights another reality. Gas prices in Canada are 13% higher than in the United States, 22¢ per litre more here in Canada. For families filling up their tanks every week, these differences matter. Canadians do not want excuses. They do not want to hear that enough has already been done while they continue to struggle with the rising cost of living. A half attempt to a temporary measure is not relief. Canadians want action that lowers costs and restores confidence. They want to know that the government understands the challenges that they are facing.
Conservatives are asking the government to put an end to all federal taxes on gas and diesel for the rest of the year, including the GST, and to permanently scrap the clean fuel standard. These are measures intended to provide relief that Canadians would see directly at the gas pumps.
Canadians do not want to hear that the Brookfield class is being used as an excuse to not help the majority of Canadians who need this relief the most today. Canadians are working hard. They should not feel punished for driving to work, taking their children to activities, visiting loved ones or keeping essential services running. They are not asking for a government to take care of them through subsidies or socialist programs that lead to being taxed more. Canadians are asking for a government to finally get out of the way.
Canadians deserve answers as to why the current government has created a system where gas prices are 13% higher in Canada than in the United States and they are spending 22¢ on the dollar more per litre than the Americans. Canadians are right to question how the current Liberal government justifies gas costing 50¢ more per litre today than when global prices were at the same level in 2014. Canadians deserve policies that make life more affordable, opportunities that allow them to get ahead and a government that recognizes the reality they face every day.