House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2021, with 50% of the vote.
Business of Supply May 22nd, 2018
Madam Chair, Canadians will keep repeating the question. It is the current government that is implementing this tax. The tax is found in the minister's bill. It is a failure to take responsibility for the minister imposing the tax to say to go and ask some provincial politicians to tell us what the cost is. He is asking this chamber for the power to impose a tax. What will that tax cost the average Canadian family?
Business of Supply May 22nd, 2018
Therefore, Madam Chair, there is a real cost but only a potential refund to the individual taxpayer. Let us break those into the two respective parts. What will be the real original cost that an average Canadian family would pay in carbon taxes when the minister's proposal is fully implemented?
Business of Supply May 22nd, 2018
Madam Chair, the carbon tax that the government wishes to impose on all provinces that do not have their own is $50 per tonne. When fully implemented, what would be the direct cost for the average Canadian family?
Business of Supply May 22nd, 2018
Madam Chair, does that mean the average Canadian family will get back as much in other tax relief as they will have to pay in new carbon taxes, yes or no?
Business of Supply May 22nd, 2018
Madam Chair, how much would the average Canadian family pay in taxes once the current proposal for a carbon tax in the minister's budget is fully implemented?
Business of Supply May 22nd, 2018
Madam Chair, if the price of the carbon tax were implemented at a $50-per-tonne level, as the government's current budget legislation would have it, what then would be the price of gas in Ottawa today?
Business of Supply May 22nd, 2018
Madam Chair, prices do fluctuate, so the minister may or may not have his facts right. As of the most recent check, I have them at $1.31, which is not an insignificant difference.
That said, what would the price be today if the minister's full carbon tax were implemented in the present?
Business of Supply May 22nd, 2018
Madam Chair, many would think inappropriate for a minister to own a pension company while simultaneously introducing pension legislation, but the Ethics Commissioner will decide.
These estimates provide for finance officials to administer a future carbon tax. The government has said that the carbon tax is not for the purpose of raising revenue, but rather for the purpose of raising prices. We can assume that this means the government believes gas prices as they currently are, absent this carbon tax, are too low. If the finance minister believes gas prices are too low, presumably he knows what they are.
What is the gas price for a litre of regular gasoline in the city of Ottawa today, minister?
Business of Supply May 22nd, 2018
Madam Chair, if the Ethics Commissioner finds the finance minister is guilty of a conflict of interest, would he resign from cabinet?
Business of Supply May 22nd, 2018
Madam Chair, I will be using the duration of my time for questioning and I will start with part II in the main estimates, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, an office that regulates about 1,200 pensions across the country.
The finance minister introduced a pension bill while owning about $20 million of shares in a pension company. The minister is now under an Ethics Commissioner investigation for that alleged conflict. Has the finance minister spoken to the Ethics Commissioner and been questioned as a result of that investigation?