National Framework for a School Food Program Act  Madam Speaker, they say that public education is the great social leveller, yet we know that kids cannot access the promise of education if they are hungry. Today, millions of kids across our country are going to school without food in their bellies. This is something we can change.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I have appreciated the work that the hon. parliamentary secretary has done on sustainable finance. I know he is sincere about the need to act on climate change. I wonder, around carbon pricing, if the parliamentary secretary can riddle me this: There are viable affordable alternatives to home heating oil, yet his government put in place a carve-out for the price on carbon.

Climate Change  Mr. Speaker, after a summer of record wildfires and drought, Canadians want a federal government that is serious about fighting climate change with the urgency that it demands, yet we see climate pollution from the oil and gas sector going up year after year, while its CEOs rake in record profits.

Canada Labour Code  Mr. Speaker, I am indeed proud that it was the government in British Columbia that brought in the provincial version of this legislation. I very much look forward to the member's province following suit in short order. We obviously have the opportunity, should this bill pass at second reading, to strengthen it at committee.

Canada Labour Code  Mr. Speaker, I heard my friend, in his speech, decry the fact that the Conservatives voted repeatedly for back-to-work legislation, yet, if memory serves, the Liberal Party was right there with the Conservatives when the Port of Montreal was out on strike and when Canada Post was out on strike.

Canada Labour Code  Mr. Speaker, I know my friend from Mégantic—L'Érable is an honourable member, so I was rather confused when neither he nor the speaker before him addressed any of the content of the bill and seemed to not understand the definition of “replacement workers”. I wondered why, as an honourable member, he would try to conflate these two ideas and distract from the matter at hand.

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, the window to address runaway climate change is rapidly closing, and as the environment commissioner clearly laid out, far too many of the Liberal government's climate strategies are falling far short of what is required. Now we have learned that the greener homes program, the federal fund that allows homeowners to retrofit their homes and install heat pumps, is already running out of money.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, the living wage reflects what people need to earn to afford the basic necessities of life. In the village of Daajing Giids on Haida Gwaii, working parents need to each earn $26.25 per hour to afford those necessities. That is the second highest of any B.C. community, and we know many families are struggling to make ends meet.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I tried to follow that stream of consciousness, and I was struggling. At one point, I believe the parliamentary secretary was trying to make the case that somehow the GST is a progressive tax, yet nothing could be further from the truth. The GST, as a consumption tax, imposes a higher burden on low-income people as a percentage of their income.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, the answer is yes. It would be taken off all forms of home heating, including electricity. This would make a substantial difference. It would add up to at least what the government has done for people in Atlantic Canada and provide cost savings for people right across the country.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I have enjoyed my time working with my Conservative colleague in this place. We have put forward a motion today that would make life more affordable for Canadians right across the country and that would have a measurable impact in Canada's fight against climate change.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, it is a fair question. The answer is that we would take the GST off all forms of home heating. Of course, for electricity, people receive only one bill. There is only one power meter on their house, and, essentially, the measure would take the GST off all electricity used domestically.

Business of Supply  moved: That, given that, (i) 2023 saw a record fire season due to climate change, in which the area burned was double that of the historic record, and hundreds of thousands of Canadians were evacuated from their homes, (ii) Canadians continue to struggle with dramatic increases to the cost of living while Canada’s biggest corporations, including oil and gas corporations, post record profits, (iii) federal government programs aimed at supporting energy efficient retrofits such as heat pumps are hard to access, especially for low-income Canadians, (iv) effective climate action must also address the very real affordability concerns of ordinary Canadians, the House call on the government to: (a) remove the GST from all forms of home heating; (b) make eco-energy retrofits and heat pumps free and easy to access for low-income and middle-class Canadians, regardless of their initial home heating energy source; and (c) finance these changes by putting in place a tax on the excess profits of big oil and gas corporations.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, the Liberal member for Kings—Hants said we should do our homework when it comes to heat pumps. Who did do his homework? Perry from Smithers, B.C. He is a teacher, after all. For a year and a half now he has been trying to jump through all these government hoops to get a $5,000 heat pump rebate.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, it seems that my hon. colleague wants to split hairs. If there was an amendment, it was an amendment that his party rejected, which means that Conservatives do not support it. The idea of taking the GST off all forms of home heat has been around since Jack Layton's time.