Lisa Raitt

[The Economy, May 9th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, on the topic of investor confidence in Canada, yesterday the Prime Minister said that the reason businesses were not successful at attracting investment to Canada was that they lacked “swagger”. I guess that is a new economic indicator he decided to make up on the fly. What businesses know is that it is the high cost of doing business in Canada, the higher and new taxes, and the unrelenting regulatory processes projects are put through that cause the problems.

Will the Prime Minister admit that he should not have blamed CEOs in the country for failed Liberal policy?

[The Environment, May 8th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I greatly respect that we have wonderful students watching today, but I bet they want to know another thing too, which is how much it is going to cost them. That is what they want to know.

This is more than just a matter of choice. As the Prime Minister almost said in his remarks, it is a behaviour the government wants to correct. The Prime Minister cannot dictate how Canadians behave, but he is going to try to make sure he suffocates them with taxes before they comply.

Will the Prime Minister support our motion and commit in the House today to no new taxes for these young people?

[The Environment, May 8th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the minister speaks of costs, and costs are really on our minds as well, specifically because the Prime Minister has indicated that high fuel costs are going to make Canadians make better choices.

This is what I want to know. I do not have a choice when I am taking my kids to basketball and football. I do not have a choice to walk when I am taking my husband to his specialist appointment 70 kilometres away. Choices cannot be made that easily.

Do the Liberals understand the impact these costs have on Canadians?

[The Environment, May 8th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal reported that a majority of Atlantic Canadians have not received a wage increase in the last few years. It is reported that families have significantly less money to spend, and households are actually worse off now than they were during the great recession. Damaging policies like the carbon tax will only make things worse by increasing the price of nearly everything Canadians pay for.

Will the government show some compassion for Atlantic Canadians and vote with us today and say no to the carbon tax?

[Health, May 3rd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, this question was written by Gord Brown, the member for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, who had anticipated asking it in the House this week:

“Mr. Speaker, after leaving thalidomide survivors to suffer for 18 more months, the government stated in this year's budget that it would finally find help for them. That was two months ago. They are still in agony, waiting for relief. What steps has the Prime Minister taken since the budget was presented, and when will the money flow to those long-suffering Canadians?”

[Taxation, May 3rd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I think the Prime Minister does not get it either, and I will tell him why. The Prime Minister just indicated that raising the price is going to make people make better choices. Imagine my surprise when I read today that the Prime Minister has his food prepared at 24 Sussex and then driven across the street, 700 metres away, to his residence.

Leadership starts at the top. Is it acceptable that while he tells families they have to make better choices, he chooses to have his food driven across the street? Is this just “do as I say not as I do”?

[Taxation, May 3rd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the cost of fuel in British Columbia is now more than $1.60 per litre. It is the highest in North America. This problem is being caused by substantial uncertainty surrounding the future of the industry, but it is being compounded by a carbon tax.

When the Prime Minister was asked in Vancouver on Monday, he lauded the price of fuel, claiming he was demonstrating leadership by having Canadians pay more. Does the Prime Minister actually believe that the already historically high gas prices are not high enough?

[Taxation, May 1st, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister said that he wants to increase the carbon tax. He wants to put it on goods because he believes that Canadians need to be told to make better choices. Basically, he is running on the “no pain, no gain” platform. The reality is that we do not know how much the pain will be, or is this just a real issue of the fact that it is all pain and no gain?

[Taxation, May 1st, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's lead ministers simply do not understand that they are very much out of touch with the reality of what's happening and the gravity of the issue that we are speaking of. I remember the days, and a lot of us do, of being able to put just five bucks in the gas tank in order to get to my work at the Dairy Queen, and there are people like that today in my riding who experience that.

This is a serious matter that is going to affect the affordability of life for many Canadians. His government knows how much it costs. Why will he not tell them?

[Taxation, May 1st, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister was asked a simple question, whether Canadians can expect to pay higher fuel prices with the carbon tax. His response was a bit jarring. He said, yes, and that is what Canadians expect because that is leadership.

What the Prime Minister views as leadership is literally terrifying to widows and single moms across this country. At the very least, they deserve to know one thing: how much will the carbon tax cost them?