Bill C-234

An Act to amend the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act

This enactment amends the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act to expand the definition of eligible farming machinery and extend the exemption for qualifying farming fuel to marketable natural gas and propane.

Carbon Tax

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years, the NDP-Liberal government simply is not worth the cost. On April 1, it raised the carbon tax by 23%. This hits farmers and our food industry particularly hard. Canadians understand that when farmers, truckers and processors pay thousands of dollars in carbon tax, this makes the food we buy more expensive. Canadians are paying way too much at the grocery store for their food.

Another two million Canadians are visiting food banks each month just to feed their families because they can no longer afford groceries. Conservatives are fighting against the NDP-Liberal government every day to lower the price of groceries and to bring tax relief for Canadians. That is why Conservatives brought in Bill C-234 to remove the carbon tax on Canadian farmers. However, the Prime Minister’s hand-picked senators have gutted this bill, and NDP and Liberal MPs have worked very hard to keep the carbon tax on food.

It is time to axe the tax on farmers and food by immediately passing Bill C-234 in its original form. Let us axe the tax and bring it home.

Carbon Pricing

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years, the NDP-Liberal government is not worth the cost, but let us hear from some rural residents. Judy from Arkona writes, “The carbon tax is killing us”, and Scott from Tupperville says, “As a senior, I am finding it hard to cope.” Walter from Alvinston writes, “I have not even received a carbon rebate.”

In his broken-promise budget, set to be delivered at 4 p.m. today, will the Prime Minister finally axe the tax on farmers, make food cheaper for Canadians and pass Bill C-234 in its original form?

Government Priorities

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, today, the NDP-Liberal government will table another inflammatory budget that will be inflationary, that will punish working Canadians by increasing taxes and that will drive the cost of living even higher.

Exemplary community leaders like Jackie Murray, who was a proud Canadian and who knew the importance of being a responsible steward of the tax dollar, would write me consistently to axe the carbon tax, restore Canadian principles and defend our nation's interests.

Today, the common-sense Conservatives have three ideas that we need to do. Instead of hiking the carbon tax again, they should axe the carbon tax on farmers and food, which can be done by passing Bill C-234 in its original form. Instead of announcing more failed programs, they should build homes, not bureaucracy, get the shovels in the ground and get structures in the air.

Canadians have had enough. The government must stop the hurt until the Conservatives can fix the Liberal-NDP's costly calamity.

Foreign Affairs

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Grande Prairie—Mackenzie, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I ask for unanimous consent to immediately adopt Bill C-234, as concurred in at third reading in the House.

Carbon Pricing

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to suggest to my colleague that he visit Beauce on Friday. Farmers will be protesting.

After eight years, this Liberal-Bloc Prime Minister is not worth the cost of the carbon tax. The next generation dreams of getting started in business, but it is suffocating under all the paperwork that keeps piling up, not to mention the skyrocketing interest rates and risk management programs that no longer meet today's challenges.

The Bloc-Liberal coalition is blocking the passage of Bill C‑234, proving that these people are out of touch.

I will repeat my earlier question: Will the Prime Minister commit to passing Bill C‑234 in its original, unamended form in tomorrow's budget?

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years, this Liberal-Bloc Prime Minister is not worth the cost of the carbon tax.

Quebec farmers are in revolt against the Prime Minister because they are facing mountains of paperwork, a blatant lack of financial support and the carbon tax, which is crushing the agricultural industry across Canada.

Axing this tax on farmers is the fastest way to make food more affordable and to keep our farmers in business. However, the Bloc Québécois wants to drastically increase the carbon tax.

Will the Prime Minister commit to passing Bill C-234 in its original, unamended form in tomorrow's budget?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member may have missed my earlier answer, but I could repeat it if she would like. The bill in question, Bill C-234, is a bill the Conservatives could call anytime and we could deal with and debate in the House.

While I am on my feet, once again I would like to add, and perhaps correct something I said a little earlier to the other hon. member: This member could help a lot of Albertans out if she would just get out of the way of the fall economic statement legislation, which doubles the top-up on the rural rebate, 20% instead of 10%, making it the—

Mr. Chris Warkentin: Let's do it right now. We are calling it right now.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, no matter what the government does to try to distract, the facts remain the same. Canadians are struggling. They cannot make ends meet. Of course, it starts with groceries, fuel at the pumps and being able to heat their homes.

After eight years, the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister just is not worth the cost, certainly not the cost of the punitive carbon tax. Conservatives put forward a very common-sense bill, Bill C-234, which would axe the tax from farmers and save Canadians a whole lot of money. The Prime Minister and the environment minister put pressure on senators, bullying them into gutting the bill.

Will the Prime Minister agree today to allow the bill to go forward in its unamended, original form?

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, on April 1, the Prime Minister hiked the carbon tax by 23%. Every single week, I hear from dozens of constituents in my area who tell me they are struggling to be able just to buy food, groceries and other necessities. Use of a food bank in my area has more than doubled in recent months. After eight years of the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister, he is just not worth the cost; that is clear to Canadians.

Conservatives have put forward a common-sense solution called Bill C-234. The government decided to gut it by bullying senators. Will the Prime Minister choose to rescind, and allow the bill to go forward in order to save Canadians a whole lot of money by scrapping the tax on farmers?

[Damien Kurek, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, on April 1, the Prime Minister hiked the already crippling carbon tax by 23%. Jake from Vermeer's Dairy near Camrose calculated that by 2030 he will be paying nearly $1,500 a month in additional carbon tax for the daily milk pickup alone. That is higher costs that consumers are forced to pay because of those Liberal policies.

After eight years, the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister is simply not worth the cost.

My question for the Liberals is this: Will they pass Bill C-234 in its unamended original form so that Canadians can afford to eat?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I would respond to the hon. member that he should just advance a couple of rows up here. I could introduce him, if he would like to speak to the opposition House leader. Bill C-234 is completely in their hands. If they would like to bring it to the floor for a vote, we could deal with it.

While I am on my feet and we are talking about doubling, Bill C-59 is something he could also do something about. It would bring the carbon rebate to double what it is today. Let us pass that today, have a positive impact for the constituents he serves and bring a better carbon rebate to rural Canada.

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it was clear from the PBO that six out of 10 Canadian families are worse off. They are worse off, because of that carbon tax and so-called rebate. It is clear that the Liberals will not lift a finger to provide farmers and Canadians with relief from their cruel carbon tax.

If the Prime Minister will not commit to passing Bill C-234 or having a carbon tax election, what does he have to say to the families of Otonabee-South Monaghan, who have doubled their use of the food banks in the last six months?

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years, the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister is not worth the cost. Farmers have reached a breaking point. The carbon tax has driven costs sky-high. They are drowning in a sea of red tape, and worst of all they are constantly derided and demonized by the Liberal government.

Will the Prime Minister finally give farmers a break and axe the tax to make food cheaper for everyone by passing Bill C-234 in its original form?

Carbon Tax

[Rick Perkins, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, Canadians are going hungry.

Feed Nova Scotia reports that food bank usage is up 26%, with increased visits as high as 50% in Cape Breton. In Sydney, food banks are experiencing record-breaking increases in the number of new clients, with new visits up 80%. The Souls Harbour Rescue Mission kitchen is up 280%.

Instead of providing relief to Canadians, the government has hiked its costly carbon tax on Nova Scotians by 23%. The Liberals do not understand that if we tax the farmer who grows the food, the trucker who trucks the food and the retailer who sells the food, we tax all those who buy the food. The Prime Minister is not worth the cost.

The Conservatives have a solution, and that is to axe the tax on farmers and food by immediately passing Bill C-234 in its original form. To be clear, the Conservatives want the entire carbon tax axed, but in the meantime let us at least provide some relief to Canadians by immediately passing Bill C-234.

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Mr. Chair, before we wrap up, I'd like to move a motion, notice of which has already been given.

Given that:

(a) the Liberal Newfoundland and Labrador premier has called on the federal government to spike its 23% carbon tax hike in a letter to the Prime Minister, saying, “I am now asking Ottawa to pause its planned increase to the carbon tax, set for April 1st, as the high cost of living is enough of a burden on families”; and

(b) according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, the Prime Minister's carbon tax will cost Newfoundland and Labrador families over $1,300 per year now that the carbon tax has quadrupled, while nearly one third of Newfoundland and Labrador currently lives in energy poverty;

the committee report to the House that it calls on the Liberal government to immediately withdraw the 23% carbon tax increase that it imposed on Canadians on April 1, 2024.

Mr. Chair, I think it's an important issue to bring forward at this time. I commend Mrs. Stubbs for putting this notice of motion on the books here last week.

Like many Canadian families, residents in Newfoundland and Labrador are struggling to make ends meet, as everything is more expensive. Indeed, instead of delivering relief, the Prime Minister hiked the carbon tax by 23% on April 1. Now, the Liberal Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador has asked the Prime Minister to pause the carbon tax increase, because the cost of living challenges are already burdening these families.

Gas prices are high in Newfoundland, the highest in the country. Food bank usage visits have skyrocketed across the province, and I note a similar issue in Manitoba, my home province. People are having to choose between filling up their cars, heating their homes and feeding their families and putting food on the table.

Even to the recognition of some of the members across the way and their own counterparts, last year—I think it was in October—the Newfoundland and Labrador Liberal MP, Mr. McDonald, from Avalon, admitted that the carbon tax is hurting his constituents, saying that it is “putting a bigger burden on people who are now struggling with an affordability crisis”. I know Mr. McDonald personally. I think that's a pretty strong statement for him to make, and I would certainly agree with it, because it's happening not just in Newfoundland but across Canada. Despite that reality, though, he turned around and voted to keep that tax on Newfoundlanders and save the Prime Minister as community is paying the price.

I think it's important, Mr. Chair, that increasing the carbon tax has real-world consequences on real people, so it should come as no surprise that 70% of Canadians and 70% of the provinces' premiers have opposed the April 1 carbon tax increase that the Prime Minister has forced, through his environment minister, on all the people of Canada.

Even with that 70% reality, the Prime Minister pressed on, and now he's refusing to meet the premiers of Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan, who wrote to him asking to discuss alternatives to his punishing carbon tax. That's why the House passed a Conservative motion calling on the Prime Minister to convene a televised emergency carbon tax meeting with all of Canada's 14 first ministers within five weeks. I think that's the least we can do to try to come to some solutions to attack the affordability crisis that's hitting families across the country today, but particularly in Newfoundland.

It's the Prime Minister's responsibility to listen to Canada's premiers about the impact of his carbon tax and the way it is affecting Canadians. He must allow provinces and territories to opt out of the federal carbon tax and pursue other responsible ideas for lowering emissions without taxes.

Mr. Chair, Canadians need relief, not more taxes. That's why I'm encouraging the members of this committee to support this motion and support the struggling families by calling on the Liberal government to withdraw the 23% tax hike that took place on April 1, just 10 days ago.

Let's bring home lower prices for residents in Newfoundland and Labrador, and indeed all of Canada. I think it's imperative that we do so. We know that many of us are getting emails. I'm sure the Liberal members of the House are getting emails every day as well. The carbon tax is a continuing stress upon the food prices in Canada. We've seen the impacts of Bill C-234 and the cost increases on food by not taking the carbon tax off the heating of barns and drying grain. The amendment that came back from Parliament needs to be put back in place to make sure that all of those are implemented, not just half of them.

We have a situation where we need to be heartened by the calls we're getting from people across the country, particularly in Newfoundland, on the high cost of living. I can't stress enough that the Prime Minister's own watchdog, the Parliamentary Budget Officer, has indicated that it's going to cost families in Newfoundland $1,300 a year now that the carbon tax has quadrupled.

I'm very pleased to be able to put this motion, brought by my colleague Mrs. Stubbs, on the floor for a vote, or for my colleagues to discuss, at least.