Business of Supply  So put your money where your mouth is. Get rid of the carbon caps. You cut the carbon tax, Jim, 10¢ a litre.

Business of Supply  I know the member from Scarborough wants to change his mind on the carbon tax, but as far as I know, it is still their policy. That is where they want to take our country: higher taxes, higher spending, deficits, accumulated debt. We are going just the opposite way in the interests of our country.

Business of Supply  We have all heard about the Liberal Party and its leader's plan on the regressive and massive carbon tax proposal. I know we are getting a lot of yipping across the way, but would the minister tell us what he has heard on the reaction of the proposed gas tax increase by the Liberal leader.

Business of Supply  Unlike the opposition parties, we do not believe in raising taxes, especially a new, massive, punitive, permanent carbon tax, a new punitive tax on gasoline. We do not believe in doing that and we do not believe in spending recklessly like the Liberals did with their three budgets in their last year in office.

Business of Supply  I will tell the member who has it backward: the party opposite us in the House that thinks it is a good economic stimulus to bring in a carbon tax on poor people with fixed incomes in Canada, on seniors, on the manufacturing sector to drive up its costs. That is who got it backward.

Business of Supply  While he is at it, maybe he could answer one final question, which is, when is he going to eliminate the carbon tax on gasoline in Canada?

House debate  How can the government, which promised that type of cooperation, that promised accountability and transparency but has failed in every sector, get up and ask questions when it does not even know what a carbon tax is, what neutrality is, what income is, what--

Environment committee  Can you please table it for the committee in terms of the options being presented to the minister around the cap-and-trade system he's planning on releasing in the fall, and the carbon tax, which he denies even looking into publicly? The work was dated December 8, 2006. Can you help Canadians understand exactly what work was done by your department?

Environment committee  Thanks very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. McLaughlin, who is doing your analysis on cap and trade, carbon tax, or a hybrid version of those?

Environment committee  We're counting on Ontario to be honourable with those dollars that have been entrusted to them to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The other point raised by Mr. Scarpaleggia was on the Liberal carbon tax. He was trying to justify a $62-billion tax—a tax on gasoline, a tax on Canadians to heat their homes, a tax to dry their clothes, a tax on food, a tax on people to drive their cars.

Environment committee  So as part of that, we want to look at the best forms of policy instrument design, particularly a carbon tax versus a cap and trade. To get to that, we will have some work done inside by staff, but we will also, of course, use modelling experts in Canada, as well as other academic and policy experts across the country and elsewhere.

Environment committee  Now we can probably add to that helping the Premier of Ontario protect his economy from a massive carbon tax plan from the opposition. Mr. Shugart, you mentioned very briefly the natural areas conservation program, which is a very significant program with respect to habitat preservation.

Taxation  Speaker, we are sure hearing a lot from Canadians about the Liberals' proposed new regressive tax on carbon, along with their plan to hike the GST. We hear a lot about that as well. Carbon tax and GST go after people who are poor, go after people on fixed incomes, go after seniors in Canada, go after the manufacturing sector, and make it more difficult for the manufacturing sector in Canada by driving up its costs.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, I wonder if I could ask the Minister of Finance a serious question about the carbon tax that the Liberals are intending to impose upon Canadians. I am very concerned, and people in my riding are very concerned, that it will never be revenue neutral, especially for seniors and people on fixed incomes, truck drivers, and those folks who are going to face a rapid increase in the price of fuel.

Taxation  Speaker, the Liberals should really be clear with the Canadian public right off the bat about what they intend. Their carbon tax hidden agenda, like their plan to raise the GST, is a big, new, gouging, punitive, and regressive tax. It is a tax on gasoline, a tax on home heating fuel, a tax on natural gas for people to heat their homes, a hot water tax, a tax on electricity, and a punitive tax, especially on our seniors with fixed incomes in Canada and all others with fixed incomes.