Liberal Party of Canada  Translation: If people and their families want less money in their pockets and want to pay higher and higher taxes, the Liberal leader is their man. Whether it is touting a carbon tax, GST hikes or job-killing business taxes, the Liberal leader and his party have never met a tax they did not like. He even wants to tax iPods. While Conservatives work to deliver lower taxes for Canadians, the Liberal leader continues to find new ways to increase taxes.

The Economy  However, the global economic recovery remains fragile and our top priority must be to stay the course. What is the Liberals' top priority? It is to kill jobs with a GST hike, a new carbon tax and increase business taxes. In case the Liberals' agenda was unclear, the Liberal finance critic cleared up any confusion when he said, “The era of tax cuts is over”. While the Liberals plot new tax hikes, our Conservative government will continue to lower taxes and create jobs.

Taxation  In fact, the most notable policy resolution that came from the recent Liberal Party convention was a reaffirmation of its tax on everything, job killing carbon tax. That is right. Liberals want a carbon tax. This is the same tax the Liberal leader pushed for in his first leadership race in 2006 and it is the same tax the Liberals had front and centre in their platform in 2008, which was soundly rejected by Canadians.

Taxation  Speaker, at the annual policy convention, the Liberal Party passed a motion reaffirming its support for a job-killing carbon tax. Even during these times of economic uncertainty, we should not be too surprised to see the carbon tax back on the front page of the Liberal platform, considering that overtaxing Canadians regardless of the economic situation is encoded in the Liberal DNA.

Fairness at the Pumps Act  Let us be very clear on the distinction between our two parties. The centrepiece of the last Liberal election campaign was a carbon tax that would have significantly increased gas prices. Over the past year the Liberal leader proposed raising a broad range of taxes, from sales taxes to corporate taxes. On the other hand, this government has lowered taxes across the board and introduced measure after measure to protect the Canadian consumer.

Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada  Also on the Liberal tax hike list is a plan to raise the GST and, of course, no one can forget the Liberal leader's boasts that he was the first to tout a carbon tax on everything. No wonder the Liberal leader calls himself a tax and spend Liberal. The Liberal leader needs to tax more so he can spend more. He is already on the record promising billions of dollars in unaffordable and reckless spending.

Telecommunications  Mr. Speaker, another day, another new tax proposed by the opposition. First it was a carbon tax, then a GST hike, then a job-killing business tax, and now it is a tax on iPods and MP3 players. It is unbelievable. Yesterday the Liberals joined forces with the NDP and the Bloc to support a new tax that would force consumers to pay up to $75 on any new audio recording devices.

Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada  Of course, this is the same Liberal leader who has mused about raising the GST and has bragged that he was the first Liberal to propose a carbon tax on everything. His latest tax hike promise is to raise job-killing business taxes. It seems that no tax hike is off the table for the tax-and-spend Liberal leader. Thankfully, our Conservative government firmly believes that lower taxes fuel job creation and economic growth.

Jobs and Economic Growth Act  However, there is a lot for oil companies, through tax benefits and also the absence of a carbon tax. The Bloc would also have liked to see in the budget a recognition or compensation program for industries that have made efforts to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, including Quebec industries, such as its manufacturing industry which has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 24%.

Agriculture committee  I would just say that the carbon tax does not reward anybody. The carbon tax is a straight tax. Everybody gets taxed, and there's no revenue to be gained in offsetting that tax; it's just a straight tax. And that's why I'm asking about the carbon tax and what that tax would do to your industry.

Business of Supply  Speaker, the hon. member is asking me to make an impossible choice. Understandably, I will not make such a choice. One thing is clear. Whether through a carbon tax or carbon exchange, there is one thing the members must agree on: we need to put a price on carbon as soon as possible. We must be able to tell the businesses that already made an effort that regulations are available to them and they can sell their carbon credits and the reductions they made.

Taxation  On April 14, 2009, the Liberal leader said, “We will have to raise taxes”. Whether it is a GST hike, talking up carbon taxes or proposing job-killing business taxes, the Liberal leader just cannot stop talking about raising taxes. Could the Minister of Transport tell the House how the Liberal leader's high tax proposals differ from that of our Conservative government?

Taxation  He is a self-proclaimed tax-and-spend Liberal. The Liberal leader was among the first Liberals to call for the carbon tax that Canadians rejected in the last election. Let us not forget that to end his spenders' conference, the Liberal leader proposed job-killing business taxes. One year ago the Liberal leader set out to raise Canadian taxes and he has stayed true to his tired message, but Canadians know higher taxes kill jobs.

The Economy  The Liberals only economic talk is about all the ways they plan to raise taxes. They talk about raising the GST. They talk about carbon taxes, and they want to impose job-killing business taxes to pay for big, expensive programs. Even staunch Liberals, like former Paul Martin's former communications director, Scott Reid, are shaking their heads at the Liberal leader's out of touch policies.

The Economy  Compare that to the Liberal plan for the economy: hiking job-killing business taxes, raising the GST and imposing a carbon tax. We will stick to our plan, a plan that is having a positive effect.