Government Orders
Madam Speaker, this is about two things. It is about ensuring that we actually have a plan to build an economy that can be strong and prosperous in a low-carbon future, and it is about ensuring that we have workers who are available and equipped to succeed, to actually ensure that we are able to build the economy of the future. I would say to the hon. member that he just needs to look around him a…
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Madam Speaker, it is incredibly important and needed because we are moving toward a low-carbon future. That is happening around the world. Even if the Conservatives want to deny the reality of climate change, everybody else around the world recognizes that we can have a plan for the economy that does acknowledge moving toward a lower-carbon future. At the end of the day, it is important that voice…
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Madam Speaker, I would have welcomed having Luke and Steve come to the committee if the Conservatives had let any witnesses speak at committee. That would have been very valuable. It would also have been valuable to have stakeholders from across the country having a conversation with MPs at committee, as committees are supposed to do. However, the committee was prevented from having any conversati…
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Madam Speaker, we are having to move closure because the committee has been blocked by a Conservative filibuster, behaviour that Parliament has never seen. For six weeks, 11 meetings, the committee has been stuck on the same meeting. It has been since October 30. Multiple witnesses could have been called to have a robust conversation about this bill. The committee could have focused on trying to e…
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Madam Speaker, I think it is true that, under the current leader of the Conservative Party, it has become a party of tearing everything down. There is not one constructive suggestion coming forward from the Conservative Party of Canada. Certainly, Conservatives have worked to ensure that there is no conversation about this bill. They have done the same thing with respect to the development of offs…
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Madam Speaker, there is a lot of revisionist history in there. The committee has been blocked by the Conservative filibuster for six weeks, which is 11 meetings and about 25 hours. The committee has been stuck on the same meeting since October 30. The committee could have heard from witnesses on both bills, Bill C-49 and Bill C-50, which were in front of the committee, but the Conservatives blocke…
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Madam Speaker, labour and workers across the country are incredibly frustrated with the circus-type antics of the Conservative Party, which are holding up discussion and debate and preventing witnesses from appearing before the committee. The president of the Canadian Labour Congress recently said, “By holding up this bill continuously, the Conservatives are not speaking for workers on this issue.…
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Madam Speaker, my goodness, how should I begin? At the end of the day, this is about creating an economy that would be strong and create jobs going forward. It is not about burying our head in the sand and trying to imagine a future that actually existed 30 years ago. In order to have a relevant plan for the economy, we have to have a relevant plan for the environment, and our plan is working. At …
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Madam Speaker, the purpose of the bill is to better position the government to take more effective measures in areas of federal jurisdiction. It will not interfere in areas under provincial jurisdiction. We will continue to work in partnership with the provinces and territories and that, of course, includes Quebec.
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Madam Speaker, once again, my hon. colleague has clearly not read the bill. The bill is a transparency mechanism that would establish a partnership council of labour, industry, indigenous peoples and youth to provide advice to the government on how we work together to build an economy that is going to create jobs and economic prosperity. There is nothing across jurisdictions in the bill, and I wou…
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Mr. Speaker, it is incredibly ironic to hear a Conservative member of Parliament talk about the lack of an environmental plan. We went through 10 years under Prime Minister Harper when there was no regard for the environment and there was no climate plan. We were seen as the dinosaur in the international community because of the lack of any action. This government has put in place a comprehensive …
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Do you know what is the height of hypocrisy, Mr. Speaker? It is a member of Parliament who was elected on a campaign platform that included a price on pollution and who now disavows that every day in the House. It is an Atlantic Canadian member of Parliament who is actively opposing the development of a major offshore wind and hydrogen project in Nova Scotia in direct opposition to the Conservativ…
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Mr. Speaker, as I have said before in the House, people may be entitled to their opinions but they are not entitled to their own facts. The commissioner this morning actually said that it was effective and it was working, and so do all of the academics. I do not know where that person gets her facts, but at the end of the day, the facts are the facts. The fact is that those folks do not have a pla…
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Mr. Speaker, as is too frequently the case in the House, the member is just factually wrong. At the end of the day, the previous Conservative government got almost nothing built, including zero LNG facilities, because it gutted the environmental assessment process. It paid no heed to environmental impacts and did not have a climate plan. At the end of the day, we have put in place measures to ensu…
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Mr. Speaker, as I have said a number of times, this is a policy that is about addressing affordability for folks who are suffering from the fact that heating oil is a much more expensive way to heat their homes. We will use it in a manner that will enable us to continue the fight against climate change and help folks in the long term with affordability concerns. I would tell the member that we hav…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge the question from my colleague and neighbour. I recognize his ongoing advocacy for the environment and the people of West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country. Canada works best when Canadians work together. We are reaching out, proactively, to every province and territory to discuss participation in this important program to address affordability issues i…
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Mr. Speaker, as I have said, we are moving forward on a program that will ensure long-term affordability for people who utilize heating oil and that they do so in a manner that is consistent with addressing climate change. I have reached out to my counterpart in the Government of Alberta, and we will be having conversations about how Alberta can participate in this project moving forward. However,…
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Mr. Speaker, as I have been saying, we have a plan to ensure long-term affordability for particularly vulnerable Canadians. The cost of heating oil is two to four times that of natural gas, depending on which province one lives in. It has accelerated over 75% in 2022. It is a plan that actually addresses that in a way that will give savings to people over the long term. It will do it in a manner t…
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. friend across the way used the word “revolting”. What is revolting are the tactics and the circus act that are going on in the natural resources committee, blocking the passage of Bill C-49. It is endangering the health and safety of the translators in that committee. It is an enormous waste of taxpayer money. It is opposing the Conservative Premier of Nova Scotia and the Prem…
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Mr. Speaker, I think every party in this House is concerned about affordability issues, but the only party in this House that does not care about the climate crisis is the Conservative Party of Canada. It is the only party that actually has no plan to address it and does not even believe that climate change is real. Yesterday, the Leader of the Opposition essentially said he would walk away from C…
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Mr. Speaker, as I have said a number of times, it is important to actually have a plan to address critical affordability issues in a long-term way, but also to continue to address the climate crisis. Those are the measures that we have put into place. I have to say again that I find it the height of hypocrisy that my hon. colleague across the way, who ran on a platform that included putting a pric…
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Mr. Speaker, I do want to thank my colleague from Yukon for his tireless advocacy for his constituents. Heat pumps have been well-tested and adopted in northern climates for years. That is why we are working to deploy more cold climate heat pumps across the territory to reduce ongoing energy bills and to reduce emissions. In fact, heating oil actually serves over 50% of the population in Yukon, ma…
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Mr. Speaker, as I have said a number of times, it is shameful that the party opposite has no plan to address a crisis that is facing all of humanity. I would tell colleagues that, in the modern age, having recognition and acceptance of the realities of climate change is critical to having an economic plan that can be relevant for the future. What we hear is that the Leader of the Opposition will c…
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Mr. Speaker, as I have said before, we put forward a plan that addresses affordability in the long term for vulnerable Canadians who are suffering from high costs associated with home heating oil, which have accelerated significantly in the last two years. We have done it in a manner that is consistent with the fight against climate change, a fight that is not just Canadian but is also happening i…
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Mr. Speaker, we have a serious plan, a real policy, that addresses affordability and addresses the climate crisis. The leader of official opposition has no plan. He mouths tag lines like “technology, not taxes”. This is coming from a guy who has zero background in technology and zero background in business. This is coming from somebody who has been opposing the deployment of offshore wind technolo…
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Mr. Speaker, this policy choice is about both affordability and ensuring that we are addressing the climate crisis. I call on all provinces and territories to join us. Certainly the Government of Ontario has indicated an interest in moving forward with co-delivering this project, which will be enormously important going forward. Yesterday, the Leader of the Opposition essentially said that he will…
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Mr. Speaker, as I have said a number of times in this House, we have taken action that addresses affordability for particularly vulnerable Canadians. Heating oil costs two to four times that of natural gas. It accelerated by 75% in 2022. We have done this in a manner that addresses the climate crisis at the same time, and ensures affordability for people going forward. They will save $2,500 a year…
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservative Party, as is often the case, is leaving out many important facts. Eight out of 10 Canadian families get more money back in the rebate than they pay for the price on pollution. It is an important part of having a robust plan to address climate change in a thoughtful way. With respect to home heating, it is a particular issue that we can invest in to ensure we are savin…
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Mr. Speaker, I think it is important to Canadians that people are serious in bringing forward policy prescriptions, not simply tag lines. We have put into place measures that will address a critical affordability issue. Home heating oil is two to four times as expensive as natural gas. It went up 75% during 2022. There is an opportunity to reduce the energy cost for people on an ongoing basis, all…
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Mr. Speaker, it is important to have thoughtful public policy prescriptions that address issues around affordability in a long-term way, but that also address the issue of climate change. I would say the only person hiding in this chamber is the leader of the official opposition, who is hiding the fact that either he does not believe in climate change or he does not think it is very important. He …
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Mr. Speaker, as I have explained to the Leader of the Opposition through many different question periods over the past number of days, home heating oil is two to four times as expensive as natural gas. It accelerated by 75% in 2022. We have put in place a plan that will enable people to get off heating oil and have free heat pumps. It will save them up to $2,500 a year. It will make things more af…
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Mr. Speaker, as I have said a number of times, the issue around heating oil is that it is two to four times as expensive as natural gas as a heating source. It accelerated by 75% in 2022 alone. It is creating a significant challenge for folks. We have developed a program that will ensure that we are able to address that in a long-term, sustainable way through the implementation of free heat pumps.…
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Mr. Speaker, I am glad the hon. member referred to his home province of Manitoba. The new government in Manitoba has reached out to the federal government to engage in a conversation about codelivery for the thousands of homes in Manitoba that actually use heating oil, to ensure they will be addressed in a thoughtful and affordable way. I congratulate the Government of Manitoba for being proactive…
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague should know that the 10,000 homes in British Columbia that actually utilize heating oil will, yes, have access to free heat pumps, because the Government of British Columbia is stepping up to work with the Government of Canada to ensure that this will be the case. This is addressing affordability concerns not just for the short term but also for the long term, and is…
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Mr. Speaker, I am glad the hon. member raised the Government of British Columbia. I had the opportunity to speak to my counterpart from British Columbia this morning. We will be engaging British Columbia in a codelivery arrangement to ensure that 10,000 British Columbia households that are on heating oil will get a free heat pump to get them off heating oil and reduce their costs on an ongoing bas…
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Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we work each and every day for all Canadians, Canadians who live in every province and territory in this country. We do so in a manner that ensures that we are addressing critical issues in a thoughtful way and making good public policy decisions. We are not playing the partisan games that are played by the members opposite. At the end of the day, we are foc…
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. friend across the aisle is forgetting some facts. One is that the price on pollution works in such a way that there is a rebate, where 80% of Canadians get more money back. In fact, an Alberta family of four gets $386 per quarter. It is more than what people pay in terms of the price on pollution. The pause for three years for home heating oil is based on the specific issue ar…
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Mr. Speaker, the only folks in this chamber who are dividing Canadians are from the Conservative Party of Canada. We are focused on addressing a significant affordability challenge. Heating oil costs two to four times what natural gas does, and it appreciated by 75% in 2022. It is time that the Conservatives stop playing partisan games and focus on good public policy that addresses the critical is…
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Mr. Speaker, do we know what she will do? She will stand with the folks who are having an affordability challenge related to heating oil. It will apply in every province and territory in this country where provinces step up to co-deliver with the federal government. It is a plan that will address the short-term issues for those folks who are most pressed, but it will do so in a manner that will sa…
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Mr. Speaker, I noted the phrase, “a lucky 3%”. These are people who pay two to four times the cost of natural gas. These are folks whose costs went up by 75% during 2022. These are not the lucky 3%. We have focused on people who actually have a strong affordability challenge because of the inordinate cost of heating oil. We have put in place a measure that would ensure affordability, but will do s…
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Mr. Speaker, as I have said a couple of times, heating oil is up to four times as expensive as natural gas. It creates affordability challenges. We have put into place measures that will ensure affordability and save families up to $2,500 a year going forward, but in a manner that also addresses the climate crisis. I would say to the hon. member, she also may want to do her homework on the program…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for her hard work for her community and for workers across Canada. The Atlantic accords act and the Canadian sustainable jobs act are key to unlocking generational economic opportunities for Canada. The Atlantic accords act would allow for the development of an offshore wind industry, which would create thousands of jobs in Atlantic Canada. The sustaina…
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Mr. Speaker, as I have said a number of times, and perhaps the hon. Leader of the Opposition has not heard me, home heating oil is up to four times as expensive as natural gas. It creates challenges with respect to affordability for Canadians. We have come forward with a plan that applies in every province and territory in this country. It will address that particular issue in a manner that will b…
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Mr. Speaker, once again, I would encourage the hon. leader of the New Democratic Party to do his homework. In terms of an onerous program, people who actually are going to be in receipt of a heat pump go in and sign up online; three days later, they get a cheque to ensure that they can do the installation. There is no onerous program. At the end of the day, we have developed a plan to address a ke…
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Mr. Speaker, those of us on this side of the House prefer to do good public policy rather than simply playing politics. I know that is an idea that seems to be foreign to the Leader of the Opposition. Heating oil is two to four times more expensive than natural gas. It is a particularly acute issue for people in a number of provinces, not just in Atlantic Canada. The program that we are putting in…
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. Leader of the Opposition seems to be too busy patting himself on the back to do his homework. At the end of the day, heating oil costs anywhere between two and four times the price of natural gas. It is a particular driver of energy poverty in this country. We have taken steps forward to improve affordability by enabling the implementation of heat pumps, which will save peopl…
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Mr. Speaker, the program we are talking about today applies across Canada and it is very important. We introduced a program to ensure affordability, but also to make sure that we could fight climate change. It is a good policy that is very important for all Canadians.
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Mr. Speaker, perhaps the hon. member does not understand this: Heating oil is two to four times as expensive as natural gas. It is a particularly acute issue with respect to heating and affordability. He should also be aware that the exemption is for three years, during which time, people are expected to implement heat pumps to ensure that they actually have an affordable way to address this issue…
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Mr. Speaker, other than trying to find ways to do indirectly what he is not actually allowed to do directly, the one thing that is consistent about the Leader of the Opposition is that he loves to pat himself on the back continuously. At the end of the day, what we are interested in on this side of the House is good public policy. We have put into place a plan that will assure affordability for Ca…
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Mr. Speaker, I am not sure whether the hon. member is actually listening to the responses, but at the end of the day, heating oil is two to four times as expensive as natural gas. It is a particularly acute issue with respect to affordability. We have come up with a program that will enable folks to put in place something that will save them significant money while being consistent with the fight …
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