Agriculture committee  Chair, I would propose that we amend the motion to say that the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food study the effects of a carbon tax or any broad-based environmental tax on Canadian farmers and ensure they are not saddled with a carbon tax which would increase their input costs and hurt their competitiveness.

Carbon Tax Proposal  Even the Liberal environment critic cannot convince his own brother, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, that this plan is a good one. Canadians know that with the Liberal leader's new carbon tax, they will be forced to reach deeper in their pockets for everything. The good folks in my riding and across the country will not be tricked.

Environment committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. We got into the topic of carbon tax a little already, and there has been a fair bit of talk about the issue of carbon tax. We are not sure where the Liberals stand on the issue of carbon taxes. One day their deputy leader supports a carbon tax; the next day Stéphane Dion does not.

Carbon Tax  Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Liberal Party is determined to impose his famous carbon tax on Canadians, plunging them into a spiral of reckless spending. We will not let the Liberals do this, because they are hiding what they really have planned for Canadians, which is to create a new permanent tax to fund reckless spending.

The Environment  Speaker, that is a very good question, because we first heard from the leader of the Liberal Party that he was opposed to a carbon tax. Now he is in favour of a carbon tax. Some members of his caucus say there will be no tax. Others say there is a carbon tax. Some call it a green shift. Others call it a carbon shift.

Committees of the House  While I am on that, I should mention from an agriculture point of view how even the thought of a carbon tax for agriculture producers has them shaking. For agriculture and rural Canada, the extra costs of production from a carbon tax are going to be just horrendous. However, let us go back to tobacco instead of talking about what could be wrong with a solution that includes a carbon tax.

The Environment  Speaker, it is not even Halloween, but the Liberal leader is offering Canadians a major trick, a big, fat, permanent carbon tax. Never mind he vehemently opposed a carbon tax when running for leader. Never mind he recently called it bad public policy. Never mind he said “there will be no carbon tax”. He has now given it a green disguise.

Budget Implementation Act, 2008  Mr. Speaker, I could not resist. I believe I heard the hon. member defend the carbon tax. I would like some clarification. As he mentioned, the hon. member is on the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food along with my other hon. colleague. If the hon. member can stand there and hear the carbon tax is going to devastate agriculture and the hon. member is suggesting that he believes in the carbon tax--

Automotive Industry  We are actually working to partner with General Motors to see if we can get a new car mandate, a new investment into Oshawa. One of the things we will not do though is to put on a carbon tax. I would like the member to stand and let us know if he supports his leader's carbon tax which it is said will be the nail in the coffin for the auto industry. Is he supporting his leader's carbon tax, yes or no?

Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada  At its recent convention, the Liberal Party reaffirmed its commitment to imposing a job-killing carbon tax. The Liberal leader said he would raise the GST and the Liberal Party said it would eliminate the universal child care benefit. Based on his statements, we now believe him when he calls himself a “tax-and-spend Liberal”.

The Economy  This is in stark contrast to Liberal plans to deal with the recession. The Liberal Party recently reaffirmed its commitment to a job-killing carbon tax. We also know that the Liberals want to increase the GST and end the universal child care benefit. As if that was not enough, the Liberal leader recently shocked Canadians by saying, “We will have to raise taxes”.

Environment committee  Well, there's cap and trade, there's cap and dividends, there are carbon taxes, there are lots of mechanisms, and I myself am actually not wedded to any particular one. I really am not. The second one is regulation. Sometimes regulations are appropriate--car regulations, emission regulations, that kind of thing.

Petitions  Speaker, my final petition is from residents of Ontario, calling on the Government of Canada to institute and support a carbon tax.

Fisheries and Oceans  We have increased funding to science, enforcement and aquaculture. In contrast, the Liberal Party's main platform policy is to introduce a carbon tax which would kill the fishing industry. Our Conservative government has defended the seal hunt with a strong and united caucus and will continue to do so, while a Liberal senator works to ban the hunt.

Climate Change Accountability Act  I especially want to thank him for keeping an open mind. I know he came out strongly against the notion of a carbon tax shift at first, but yesterday he came some way back in recognizing that a carbon tax shift would be considered an invaluable tool as we took on the challenge of bringing greenhouse gas emissions back down our country.