Jonathan Wilkinson

[Taxation, October 20th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, it is very important to say to hon. members across the House that climate change is real and is an existential threat to the future of the human race. The Conservatives are proposing to make pollution free again, and now they are proposing to pick the pockets of the vast majority of Canadian families by taking away their quarterly rebate cheques. This will make the climate crisis worse. It will drive away investment and will make everything more expensive. Our government will oppose Conservative political efforts to rob Canadians of this important financial support.

[Taxation, October 20th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, last week, every Canadian household between Grande Prairie, Alberta, and Cornwall, Ontario, received a cheque from the Government of Canada. This cheque was the climate action incentive. Thanks to that program, 80% of households have more money in their pockets. Now every Conservative politician in this House wants the government to go back and pick the pockets of every single one of those households. With the affordability challenges that Canadians are facing today, that is something we simply will not do.

[Climate Change, October 20th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, our government is determined to tackle the global energy security crisis and climate change. That is why we are investing in good projects across the country. These projects will have to comply with our climate and environmental ambitions and respect the rights of first nations.

[Labour, October 18th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I will underline the fact that I was in Calgary just a couple of weeks ago meeting with the Alberta federation and a number of the unions in Alberta talking about exactly these issues. I would say there was an enormous amount of agreement about the need to develop an economy that is going to be strong and that will create jobs and economic opportunities.

We are working very directly with labour in Alberta. We are working very directly with some of the member's colleagues, whom she may want to talk to about that, to ensure that we are moving forward in the right way.

[Taxation, October 18th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, as I said previously, I think we can all agree that the affordability challenges facing Canadians are very important. That is why we are moving forward with the GST tax credit. That is why we are moving forward with dental care for children in this country.

It is important for the hon. member to understand that the direct rebates to families paying the carbon tax are greater for 80% of the families than what they actually pay. This works to help with affordability.

I would also say that we have to take into account the future costs of inaction on climate change. Absent urgent action, those costs will be $25 billion by 2025 and $100 billion a year by 2050. For the sake of our children, we need to take action on climate change.

[Climate Change, October 18th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, certainly, I agree with the hon. member that we do need to have a proactive economic strategy that ensures Canada seizes the opportunities that will be created through a low-carbon transition. That is why we brought forward a critical minerals strategy, a hydrogen strategy. That is why we are working on regional energy and resource tables with most of the provinces and territories, and eventually all of them.

Certainly, those are the conversations the hon. member and I have been having, as we have actually talked about a number of these issues. I certainly look forward to continuing that work going forward.

[Natural Resources, October 18th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, let me just say that a fact is a fact. The projects that he is talking about were assessed under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act 2012, in which Stephen Harper took out all of the environmental protections. One of the big reasons why these projects did not proceed is because they completely gutted the environmental assessment process.

We have put in place better rules to ensure that good projects are going to get built in this country, and we are certainly moving in that direction.

[Natural Resources, October 18th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, certainly, Canada has worked very hard with our allies around the world to augment the production of oil and natural gas. We committed to increasing production by 300,000 barrels by the end of the day to help our allies in Europe.

With respect to domestic energy security, here are the facts. When the Conservatives were in government, foreign oil imports were double what they are today. In fact, they have declined 80% from when Stephen Harper was the prime minister of Canada.

The facts speak for themselves. Under this government, more Canadians are using Canadian and North American energy. The leader opposite may not like it, but a fact is a fact.

[Natural Resources, October 18th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, our government is determined to address the global energy security crisis and the climate change crisis. To do that, we are investing in good energy projects across the country. We are working directly with the developers to ensure that they advance as quickly as possible and we are working on harmonizing the regulatory process with the provinces and territories. That said, these projects will have to comply with our climate and environmental ambitions and respect the rights of first nations.

[Taxation, October 18th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, certainly one thing we can agree on is that it is important to address the affordability issue, and that is exactly what we have been doing through doubling the GST tax credit and introducing dental care for children in this country.

With respect to the price on pollution, and it is a price on pollution, the hon. member knows that, with the average rebate, 80% of families get more money back in this country than they pay. Therefore, this is not an issue around affordability.

Let me be clear that, if we want to ensure affordability in the long term, we have to address the climate crisis. The leader of the opposition has been campaigning for over six months and the words “climate change” have almost never crossed his lips. Where is his climate plan?