Lisa Raitt

[Carbon Pricing, June 14th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, what I am asking this minister is for her to tell us what her department officials told her is the cost to Canadian families for their carbon tax. She knows what the answer is.

Breaking news, today we understand why Ontarians actually voted for Doug Ford in the election in Ontario. They said that voters feel that costs are out of control, and they view carbon taxes as nothing more than a cash grab. Why will these MPs not at least tell voters in Canada how much of their cash they intend on grabbing?

[Carbon Pricing, June 14th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, for weeks, the Liberals have refused to tell Canadians how much their carbon tax is going to cost them. To use the Prime Minister's own words, this is very “insulting” to Canadians. They have been completely straightforward with the fact that they intend to proceed with the carbon tax, but when it comes to telling us exactly how much it is going to cost, they are eerily silent. Voters in Ontario have spoken, and what they said at the ballot box was that they do not want to have a carbon tax.

The Liberals have a chance today. Will they at least tell us how much it is going to cost families?

[Fisheries and Oceans, June 14th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, right now, fishermen are assembling a blockade of lobster traps outside the office of the member of Parliament for Acadie—Bathurst. They are doing this because of the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans' extreme decision to close the lobster fishery in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Now, the minister knows that a decision like this is going to have a serious financial impact on the families there, especially after his rule change that happened at the end of April.

Why does it have to come to a blockade to get this minister's attention?

[Natural Resources, June 13th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, private sector investment fled this project, and the Minister of Finance indicated that he asked pension plans whether or not they would be interested. He asked the Canada pension plan board if it was interested, which is a clear conflict. When that did not work, he actually hired a U.S. bank to come in and lobby the Canada pension plan board, an arm's-length organization.

Money from the federal reserve, money from the Canada pension plan, money from the Canada Infrastructure Bank, is all workers' money. Can he guarantee, as the Prime Minister, that not a single taxpayer dollar is going to be left on the hook because of their failure?

[Natural Resources, June 13th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, by law, is appointed by the Minister of Finance, and it is deliberately kept independent of political interference. There is a good reason. The board manages workers' money, and it has to make sure that there is no undue risk in its investments, because it has to make sure there is money available for our retirement.

I was very interested to see that the minister and the Prime Minister said that the private sector was not interested in the Trans Mountain pipeline because it was risky. Will the Prime Minister tell the Minister of Finance to back off the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and tell him that it is going to go to private sector investments?

[International Trade, June 12th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I am going to take that as a “yes”. Unfortunately, without the Prime Minister indicating to the Canadian people whether or not this was removed from the table, we have to understand that the answer is “yes”.

A protracted trade war with respect to this issue has a significant impact on Canadian families. Whirlpool, a company in my riding of Milton, Ontario, has indicated that it is going to increase the costs, not only in terms of household appliances but also to its own bottom line, putting jobs in my community in jeopardy.

There is an easy way for the government to deal with this, and that is recognizing the importance of affordability, shelving its carbon tax, and making sure payroll taxes are reduced. Will the government do that?

[International Trade, June 12th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, we understand Canada's position that it is very difficult to sign a trade deal that sunsets after five years, but the crux of the question is this: Did the President of the United States remove this demand from the negotiating table, yes or no?

[International Trade, June 12th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, there are reports that President Trump withdrew the five-year sunset clause negotiating tool within NAFTA negotiations. Can the Prime Minister indicate whether this is true?

[International Trade, June 6th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians really are watching what is going on because they are quite concerned. They see an economy that is going to be put at risk and they are looking for answers from the Prime Minister. Unfortunately, today we have not received any answers from the Prime Minister. He was asked four times about how much a carbon tax would cost a Canadian family. He did not tell us the answer. He was asked how much more deficit was going to be accumulated because of the trade war we are in. He did not give us an answer. These are things that Canadians care about.

He did give us one answer. He told us that he is going to introduce legislation to affirm the CPTPP, the free-trade deal that we negotiated. Will he guarantee that it is going to pass?

[International Trade, June 6th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, in March, the President of the United States announced that he would be introducing tariffs on steel and aluminum. After that, he announced there would be an exemption for Canada and Mexico until May 1. He then announced a further extension of that exemption until June 1. Most recently, he indicated that, of course, the exemption was going to be lifted. All through that time, the Prime Minister had an opportunity to consult on the tariffs that he is now proposing to counter the steel and aluminum tariffs. My question is simple. Why did he wait so long and put us in a position where we cannot react right away?