Kevin Waugh

[Privilege, October 22nd, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, what have we accomplished in nine years—

[Privilege, October 22nd, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to stand in the House today to speak to this issue.

It was in the spring that I walked here with our shadow minister of innovation, and he said, “Kevin, I'm on the cusp of a big story.” This was in March. We were walking from the Confederation Building over to West Block and he said it was going to shake the country. He did not say much else.

The member for South Shore—St. Margarets told me back in March about this green slush fund, which I did not really know anything about. In fact, I do not think Canadians had heard about the green slush fund until probably June. It is called green for a reason, I can see, as the Liberals have filled their pockets. It is appropriate that we call it the green slush fund.

I was walking over in March when the innovation shadow minister told me to think about this: He said it would rock Canada because it was way bigger than the sponsorship scandal of the Chrétien government, when $42 million was handed off to many advertising agencies and Liberal friends. We all remember the golf balls being presented at the time. The total bill was $42 million.

Today, we are talking about 10 times that amount, $400 million. When the member for South Shore—St. Margarets told me that in March, little did I realize that, wow, it was 10 times the $42 million of the sponsorship scandal, which, by the way, took the Liberals down in defeat. Now this is way bigger.

When I walked over to the House with the member, I said that Saturday was my ninth anniversary as a member of Parliament. I was elected in 2015. It was bittersweet then because the Harper government had lost in 2015, but we retained the seat in Saskatoon—Grasswood.

[Committees of the House, September 23rd, 2024]

Madam Speaker, there are lots of recommendations we can talk about in the House here tonight, but the number one recommendation is to cut the carbon tax. We have seen from coast to coast to coast that the carbon tax has really hurt families in this country. I can go through the list of small communities that have no more food in their food banks because they have seen an increase in use, and I am sure in Quebec it is the same thing. People are in need. The family of—

[Committees of the House, September 23rd, 2024]

Madam Speaker, I used to be a school trustee, and now the Liberals and the NDP are trying to bring out a food program. What do members think the problem has been in the last nine or ten years? It is the carbon tax that has increased the price of food. I know that for a fact. I have kids in the school system. I have kids in York, in Saskatoon. I have another who teaches in Lethbridge. It is the same. The carbon tax has affected each and every household in this country.

When we look at the price of food, it has gone up. That is because of 10 years of the NDP-Liberal government and its insistence on a carbon tax. It has hurt the lower echelon of our economy more than any other. In here, the 338 members can afford the increase. However, in my province of Saskatchewan, over half cannot. They have to supplement their groceries by visiting a food bank. This is not only in Saskatoon but also in Regina, Moose Jaw and every other community in my province.

[Committees of the House, September 23rd, 2024]

Madam Speaker, the professor from Dalhousie University said that food is up 34%. He is the professor saying to get rid of the carbon tax.

We have been saying for years to get rid of the carbon tax. Saskatchewan has led all the other provinces in trying to get rid of the carbon tax. It has a direct effect on every farmer, every producer and every person in my city. Every person in my province of 1.2 million is affected by this carbon tax. It is not good news. If members do not believe that, they should know that the Moose Jaw food bank ran out of food and could not provide services to those who needed to go there.

[Committees of the House, September 23rd, 2024]

Madam Speaker, I will share my time tonight with the member for Battlefords—Lloydminster.

I am pleased to rise on behalf of the people of Saskatoon—Grasswood here tonight to speak about this concurrence in committee report. Canadians have sent a clear message to the government: They are struggling to keep up with the cost of living and are not getting the support they need. In the middle of this historic cost of living crisis, the Prime Minister decided to hike the carbon tax by 23%. This is just one step in his plan to quadruple the carbon tax over the next six years, a tax that will continue to increase the cost of food for all Canadians.

The panicking Liberals are back to resorting to every trick in the book, trying desperately to prevent farmers from getting a carbon tax carve-out for grain drying, barn heating and other farm operations. The amendment would be another blow to the wallets of Canadians. It would reduce fresh produce availability by some fifty per cent, while costing the industry a remarkable $5.6 billion. I want to talk tonight about how the government and the industry can fight back against rising food price volatility.

I come from the province of Saskatchewan, where people are proud to say that we feed the world. However, times are now changing desperately for producers in the province, as costs have soared under the Liberal-NDP government.

As chair of the Saskatchewan caucus, I can say that we have had extensive talks with SARM, which is the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities. During our talks with president Ray Orb and the entire board at SARM, they brought up the inflationary pressures from the government that are simply killing rural Saskatchewan. The carbon tax, which had increased by 23% as of April 1, led to SARM members' writing letters to every member on the agriculture committee.

The premier of Saskatchewan, Scott Moe, led six other provincial premiers who were opposed to the government's carbon tax increase. Even in the legislature of Saskatchewan, the opposition NDP agreed with the Sask Party on the carbon tax. Saskatchewan has been joined by Alberta, Ontario, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in asking for a carbon tax carve-out for the farmers and to pass Bill C-234 in its original form.

We should talk about Bill C-234 because it would provide relief to Saskatchewan farmers, but let us recall it was the Liberal-controlled Senate that gutted the bill in that place. The Senate amendments would cost Saskatchewan farmers $9 million this year, and by 2030, an added cost of $96 million. That is from one bill, Bill C-234.

Provinces like B.C., where MLAs once actually supported a carbon tax, have turned right around. They have turned their backs on the federal government, although we all know it is flip-flop for Premier Eby, as he knows he will probably be going down in the next 28 days.

The Canadian Federation of Agriculture surveyed the impact of the carbon tax on crop production, livestock and greenhouse farms across this country. It found that the carbon tax accounted for up to 40% of their energy bills. In my province alone, farm efforts to sequester carbon have gone basically unrecognized by the NDP-Liberal government.

The policies by the NDP-Liberals are simply punishing farmers. The government's ideological pursuit to penalize greenhouse gas emitters through the carbon tax, to me, is very short-sighted and inequitable. Farmers have, for years, maybe even decades, demonstrated an ability to deliver meaningful reductions in emissions through the adoption of new technologies, through education and through innovative practices, not through taxes.

In Saskatoon, we hold the crop production show every January at Prairieland Park, which, by the way, is in my riding. Thousands of producers come from all over western Canada and the United States to talk about farming innovation. Then, in July, just a couple of months ago, we had Ag in Motion just outside of Saskatoon, in Langham, bringing tens of thousands of producers together from all over the world to find best practices. One could not get a hotel room within a 100-kilometre radius of Saskatoon; everything was full for that four-day show. I cannot forget about the Canadian Western Agribition show in Regina each November, as it services farmers and ranchers from all over the world, and we are innovative in our thoughts going forward.

Farming groups are on the leading edge of innovation. We have led for years, for decades, trying to find innovative ways to produce food for the entire world. I compliment the innovative companies that have set up in my province, like Bourgault; Agtron; Brandt Industries; Schulte Industries; Bin-Sense, a new company that just started in Saskatchewan; Redekop Industries; and Wilger Industries, which, by the way, sell their product to John Deere and Case worldwide. Many other companies have surfaced in Saskatchewan. All one has to do is go to the small communities in my province. Every little town has set up something on agriculture, and that is what is keeping them alive. Saskatchewan has led the world for decades on zero tillage. It has led on direct seeding, crop rotation and rotational grazing.

With the Bank of Canada confirming that the carbon tax was responsible for at least 16% of inflation last October, it is no wonder that the food professor that we have talked about from Dalhousie University, Dr. Charlebois, recommended a pause on the carbon tax for the entire food industry. We in the Conservative Party also want to axe the tax. We know that it is hurting every citizen in this country. Why? Two million people are visiting food banks today in this country, with 25,000 in my city of Saskatoon, a city of just under 300,000 people. We have 25,000 people per month visiting the Saskatoon Food Bank, in a province that produces food for the entire world.

Yesterday, I had the chance to pop into a grocery store in downtown Ottawa. I was shocked. Three tomatoes cost $5.50, three apples cost $5.00, raspberries were $6.00 and the list goes on and on.

We had a chance to visit Yorkton Grain Millers about a year, a year and a half ago. It supplies oats. It has one production facility in Canada and several others in the United States. The day that we arrived at the mill was fantastic. There were trucks lined up 24-7. These trucks transport oats from as far as 200 kilometres away.

The carbon tax we have talked about is affecting the trucking industry deeply. It is hard to compete against other jurisdictions that do not have a carbon tax. We saw it first-hand in Yorkton and how the producers around the Yorkton, Manitoba and Saskatchewan area are feeding off grain millers.

My dad was the head miller at Robin Hood in Ontario, Moose Jaw and Saskatoon. If he were alive today, he would be shocked, because it is the cost of production that is going through the roof that has hurt every Canadian coast to coast to coast.

[Committees of the House, June 19th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, in fact, I do have a dissenting report, in both official languages, on behalf of the Conservative members of the committee. The fact that this report is being tabled more than two years after the original Hockey Canada scandal broke shows that the current Liberal government does not take this issue seriously at all. We think Sport Canada has failed to hold the national sporting organizations to account.

I want to wish everyone on both sides of the aisle a happy summer.

[Taxation, June 5th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, on Tuesday, the Auditor General of Canada released a damning report on the taxpayer-funded contracts that the Prime Minister awarded his well-connected friends at McKinsey. Over the last number of years, the Auditor General has discovered that McKinsey had been awarded $209 million in contracts. Now, 90% of the contracts that the Liberal government awarded McKinsey were given without following the appropriate guidelines. In many cases, it was actually unclear what the purpose of the contract was or if the desired outcome was even achieved. It is a damning report from the AG today. What will this government not do to feed its friends at McKinsey?

[Taxation, June 5th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, as we enter the first week of June, with the school year coming to an end, Canadians are very much looking forward to a well-deserved summer holiday break. Our common-sense Conservative motion last week would have given Canadians a break at the pumps so that many families could afford a modest road trip over the summer, but no, it was voted down by the NDP-Liberal government.

A 23% increase in the carbon tax by the government has driven Canadians to the food bank in record numbers across this country. A jet-set international holiday is certainly not in the budget for most Canadians, but the government would limit those same Canadians from the ability to take what I call a modest Canadiana road trip.

The health minister proclaimed that a reasonable Canadian family road trip would end the planet. As I mentioned last week, we all have fond memories of these road trips, such as “are we there yet?” and playing I spy with my little eye. This is what Canadians remember the most on a family road trip. It is the time spent together playing games, laughing, talking and sharing experiences; it is quality family togetherness time.

However, it is not just during holidays. Every day, Canadians face higher costs because of the carbon tax. Businesses in my province reach out to me daily, telling me that the carbon tax and the GST on the carbon tax are putting a huge burden on their ability to do business. Some, in fact, have had to pack it in. Restaurants, in particular, are really feeling the pressure. Some have closed. Others are scrambling to stay afloat because their operating costs are too high and people's disposable income is too low.

This is a recipe for failure for many restaurants. A local restaurant, which I take my family to quite often, is feeling the pinch, with 37% of its total energy bill being carbon tax. That has to be passed on to us customers. How are Canadians getting that money back?

I will give another example. A concrete and gravel operation in Saskatchewan is spending about $700,000 in carbon tax per year. This represents an increase of about $3.50 per unit. That is passed on directly to the customer.

The cost goes up for the customer, and the government tells Canadians that the gas tax rebate will make it all even. However, the math simply does not add up. The government will tell us all day long that Canadians are doing fine, but Canadians know the truth. They are struggling in these tough financial times, and they see a government with no compassion for the hardship it is creating day in, day out.

[Public Complaints and Review Commission Act, June 4th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, we have heard some great comments tonight from the Conservative side. I have brought mine from my constituents in Saskatoon. The member for Saskatoon West brought up another issue. On this side, we have issues from all over this country that need to be debated. I know the debate is being shut down, and we have had five hours here, but these are good points that we brought out tonight.