Robert Gordon Kitchen

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, March 22nd, 2024]

Madam Speaker, maybe someone will try to answer a question for a change.

Seeding is fast approaching. Farmers are busy preparing equipment, seeders and trucks; purchasing fuel, fertilizer and seed; and arranging families, workers and their financing. Their situation has never been more desperate.

The carbon tax has escalated their fears, and now with a 23% increase coming as of April 1, it has only made their stress greater. With his inflationary spending, the Prime Minister and his NDP-Liberal government are not worth the cost. Will the government spike the hike and axe the tax?

[Carbon Tax, February 13th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have had it with the NDP-Liberal government that continues to bankrupt this country with each passing day. After eight years of irresponsible leadership, the Prime Minister, who wasted over $60 billion on his arrive scam app, is now asking Canadians for even more of their hard-earned money through the carbon tax, which is set to increase a whopping 23% this coming April.

This quadrupling of the carbon tax will increase prices on everything from food to fuel to home heating, and Canadians are tired of being left out in the cold. Due to the current cost of living crisis, many Canadians have been left wondering how they are going to put food on the table, especially given that the average family of four will pay $700 more for groceries in 2024 than they did last year. It is simple: when we tax the farmer who grows the food and we tax the trucker who ships the food, we are taxing the Canadian who buys the food.

The Liberals need to pass Bill C-234 in its original form, and support the farmers and families who deserve better than a Prime Minister who is simply not worth the cost.

[Petitions, February 8th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, a petition calling for an increase in the amount of tax credits for volunteer firefighters, in particular, for the great volunteer firefighters from Redvers, Saskatchewan, as well as the search and rescue volunteer service.

These first responders provide valuable and essential services to all Canadians, and we deeply appreciate the role they play in keeping us all safe.

[Carbon Tax, February 2nd, 2024]

Madam Speaker, after eight years of the Liberal-NDP government, Canadians can no longer afford to pay the price of the Prime Minister's incompetence. His carbon tax is set to increase yet again on April 1, and guess who is going to have to pay for it? It will be the farmer who works tirelessly from sun-up to sundown to put food on our tables; it will be the parents who have to choose between keeping the heat on or feeding their children; it will be the small business owner who has to lay off staff to pay the bills, and it will be the local community centre that has to cut programming because the carbon tax has doubled its monthly expenditures. Meanwhile, the Liberals are raking in almost half a billion dollars of revenue in GST on this carbon tax alone while Canadians struggle to pay for the most basic of life's necessities.

With his reckless spending and unwillingness to help those in need, it is clear that this Prime Minister is simply not worth the cost. It is time for a new government that works for those who do the work and will axe the tax for everyone, for good.

[Business of Supply, February 1st, 2024]

Madam Speaker, my colleague pointed out a very important fact that a lot of Canadians do not hear about, and that is the reality that there is GST on the carbon tax.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer has clearly stated, as the member pointed out, that over half a billion dollars has been collected on the GST on that carbon tax to date, this year alone. Where does that money go? The government continues to say it is given back, but it is not given back.

We have service clubs for seniors that are paying $200 to heat their service club, but when they look at the bill, it is actually $100 of carbon tax. They, too, do not get that tax back. Would the member comment on that?

[Carbon Tax, December 14th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, farmers work tirelessly to feed Canada and the world with some of the highest quality produce available, yet the NDP-Liberal government continues to punish them at every turn.

Instead of giving them a much-needed break on the carbon tax through common-sense measures like Bill C-234, the Prime Minister is quadrupling the carbon tax, hurting the livelihoods of the very farmers who are putting food on the tables of Canadians. One farmer in the regional municipality of Estevan is paying over $150,000 in carbon taxes a year. Once quadrupled, this will go up to over $600,000 annually for his 15,000-acre farm. How does the Prime Minister expect him to cover this cost: by raising prices on Canadians, cutting back his acreage or bringing in more costly food from polluting foreign farms?

Conservatives know that if we tax the farmer who grows the food and tax the trucker who ships the food, Canadians have to pay more to buy the food. After eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, Canadians know that the Prime Minister is simply not worth the cost.

[Committees of the House, December 13th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, throughout the conversation, we have taken a look at our farmers and the huge operating cost increases we have seen. They have increased 21.2% in just 2022 alone, which is a huge increase, and that cost gets filtered down to people. I would be interested to hear from the member.

I have heard from many people in my farming community, particularly now at Christmas. We are sitting here at Christmas time and families are creating Christmas goodies for their families. Over the years, people used to put butter in their Christmas goodies. Now they are using margarine. Part of that was the cost. Part of it was also with respect to possible issues with the product. Ultimately, the costs have continued. Now we see with margarine, a lot of it made with canola oil, the price has increased. I talked with a constituent just yesterday on the aspect of increased costs.

I am interested to know how the member sees where that cost continually gets increased when moved from different products. The product being produced for our consumers is being belittled such that there is a huge impact on Canadians, and the huge taxes are being put upon them.

[Committees of the House, December 13th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague's speech and his comments recognizing the huge impact this has had on the agriculture industry, which is the backbone of my riding. So many of my agriculture producers are being challenged, whether because of a port strike in Vancouver, the restrictions, the worries about a possible port strike in Montreal and the huge costs that are being put on our farmers, which increase their costs.

As the member knows, increasing their costs and transportation costs is going to eventually increase costs to consumers. Ultimately, that is going to put more people into food banks. I wonder if the member would expand on that.

[Business of Supply, December 7th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, showers sometimes do not hang high enough.

I have talked with the member in the past about her being from a farm in Saskatchewan, and it is great to see that. Ultimately, the government said that it called in the producers and the business to come, and look what has happened—

[Business of Supply, December 7th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the member's very reasonable question.

While I might respond that, a lot of times, I see the Bloc making issues that deal strictly with Quebec as opposed to all of Canada, his comment about Bill C-234 is very appropriate. I recognize that Bloc members voted for the bill when it was here in the House, where the people we represent are the common people of this country. Everybody voted for that. We supported it, and it was passed unanimously here in the House of Commons. It was then sent to the Senate, where it is being stalled and delayed. Therefore, I appreciate the member's comment and the support that the Bloc gave to Bill C-234. I look forward to the changes being made to Bill C-234 such that it is passed and helps our farmers.