Rachael Thomas

Mr. Speaker, when a parent stands in the checkout aisle of a local grocery store looking at the total that they can barely afford, they are not thinking about macroeconomics or global supply chain logistics. No, that is not what crosses their mind. Instead, they are looking at the price tag of a carton of milk, a loaf of bread or a bag of apples, the things that sustain their families day to day. They ask the question, “How did life become so expensive, especially in a place like Canada where we have so many resources at our disposal?” The Prime Minister once told the Canadian public that he should be judged by the prices at the grocery store. Let us do that. In fact, Canadians are judging him every single day they tap their card in order to pay for those essentials that they need, and they are watching as those prices continue to go up. The cost of everyday life is out of control, and Canadians are recognizing that. They do not need me to tell them, they do not need their member of Parliament to tell them and they do not need an economist to tell them. They experience it each and every day. Every single meal on a family's dinner table starts on a farm. That is what needs to be understood in this conversation. It travels down a highway and then eventually makes its way to a grocery store. All of this is done on the back of a transportation truck, which of course requires fuel. That fuel is diesel. When the government drives up the price of diesel, it drives up the cost of living for every single mother, father, senior and young person across this country, no matter where they live or what type of lifestyle they enjoy. This is why Conservatives are bringing forward a smart, common-sense plan to save Canadians money. This plan is called the emergency fuel relief plan. While this plan might focus on diesel, it is in fact an affordability measure. It is actually a plan that puts the Canadian people squarely at the centre of it. A local farmer recently called me in order to express his concern over the increasing cost of diesel, which he relies on in order to put his crop in the ground and then take that crop back off. Now, the Liberal government consistently fails to understand the point he wished to make. It was that when the cost of fuel goes up, the cost of food goes up. It is actually that simple. He is right that this is the harsh reality that we face day in and day out. This is the harsh reality that Canadians face when they go to buy that bag of apples, that loaf of bread or that carton of milk. Many Canadians do not drive diesel trucks, and they do not sit behind the wheel of a large tractor or a combine. However, they understand the price on a grocery bill, and they understand the transportation that it takes in order to make its way to the shelf. Canadians are paying every step of the way because of domestic policy. Let us consider the direct supply chain that brings food and goods to our Canadian homes. Diesel powers the tractors that prepare the soil, plant the crops and harvest our food. Diesel powers the trucks that transport that fresh produce and livestock to our processing facilities and our grocery stores. Diesel powers the trains and the heavy equipment that move raw materials and keep the gears of our entire national economy moving forward. When the cost of diesel goes up, the cost of doing business also goes up. When the cost of business goes up, businesses cannot help but pass that on to the consumer, the mom, the dad, the young person who is simply going to buy groceries. Diesel prices in Canada are approximately 24¢ more per litre than in the United States of America and 31¢ a litre higher than the world average. That figure should concern every single Canadian. How can a country as rich in resources as ours be placed at such a severe disadvantage? Canada has the fourth-largest oil reserves in the world, yet our people are paying more for diesel than almost anyone else. How can that be? After 11 years of the Liberal government, the answer is clear. Federal policies such as their antidevelopment bills, Bill C-48 and Bill C-69, have systematically delayed major energy projects while piling on costs through the industrial carbon tax, the GST on fuel and other repeated tax hikes. When Ottawa penalizes domestic energy, it acts as an invisible tax on every single consumer purchase that takes place. This is why the Conservative motion puts forward a concrete four-point plan to deliver immediate savings for Canadians and guarantees that our energy independence only grows. Our plan is, firstly, to provide emergency prepermitting and tax relief for critical diesel infrastructure because we must fast-track and support the construction of refineries, pipelines, rail and storage capacity so that Canadian workers can refine Canadian oil right here at home. Secondly, we would eliminate all federal taxes on diesel consumption in order to save folks money at the pump. Thirdly, we would permanently eliminate taxes on diesel production because we must permanently scrap those federal taxes, including the industrial carbon tax, in order to take that burden off producers, truckers, farmers and, ultimately, the consumers at the grocery store. Fourthly, we must boost Canadian fuel production to one million barrels per day because we must take care of our own. I understand that this is an ambitious goal, but we must pursue it.

Mr. Speaker, energy policy is not an abstract debate for academic journals or Ottawa boardrooms. In fact, it directly dictates whether a working family can afford their monthly bills. The Liberal government treats domestic energy developments as something to penalize, suppress or hold back. This is, at least, in action, because we know that with talk, it likes to promise a good game. Nevertheless, energy is the lifeblood of our supply chain, and penalizing energy does not reduce consumption. In fact, it simply drives up costs for the people who can least afford it, who are working families in this country. Our emergency fuel relief plan is designed to address this exact bottleneck. This is what we have put forward in the House today. By offering immediate tax relief on diesel and removing red tape for domestic energy infrastructure, we would directly attack the root cause of transportation costs and food inflation. We would take the burden off the back of Canadian producers, Canadian transporters and Canadian consumers, who ultimately end up paying that additional amount. This motion is about restoring economic common sense to our federal policies. It is about recognizing that we cannot tax the producer without punishing the consumer. We cannot drive up the cost of transportation without also driving up the price of bread, meat and potatoes at the supermarket. At its core, the motion the Conservatives have brought forward today has to do with everyday working people here in this great country. It is about the local farmer who reached out to my office because he sees the writing on the wall and the link between the cost of the fuel he is using to produce his crop, take it off the field and send it to market and the cost of food. There is a strong link. It is about the truck driver working gruelling hours to deliver essentials to our communities. It is about every single Canadian household struggling to make ends meet under 11 years of compounding Liberal policies that have mis-served this country. This includes the millions of Canadians, many of them working Canadians, who have had to line up at food banks in order to feed their families because the government has put policies in place that are punitive in nature. Canadians were told to judge the government by the prices at the grocery store. This is what the Prime Minister invited them to do when he was running for election. The judgment is in. The current system is failing working families. The cost at grocery stores is only going up, not down. It is time to bring down fuel prices. It is time to lower the cost of doing business. It is time to give Canadian families the relief they so desperately need and deserve. The Conservatives have put forward a legitimate, common-sense plan that will serve Canada well by tackling the root problems Canadians face. I urge every member in the House to vote yes to the motion that has been presented to them today. Stand on the side of Canadians. Vote with us.

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are very concerned about affordability. They are very concerned about the cost of goods at the grocery store. They are not asking for a government program that would dole out cash in order to assist them for a short period of time. What Canadians are asking for is systemic. It is in that very structure that holds up our economy where they want to see change brought, because it is those types of policy changes that would help get infrastructure built. It is those types of changes that would help create jobs and increase people's paycheques. When people are able to exist in that type of space, they are able to afford a life for themselves. They do not want another government program. They do not want to struggle to pay their mortgage while the government feeds their kids at school. That is not what they are asking for. They are asking for the government to put policies in place that allow them to stand on their own two feet and take care of their family.

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is correct. Right now, we know that in Canada, we are paying approximately 24¢ more per litre than people are paying in the United States of America. We know it is 31¢ more than the world average. That being the case, it is a proof point that would suggest that this is not due to world economic factors, but rather domestic policy. Those domestic policies can be impacted and should be impacted by the government. It is its responsibility to act in the interest of the Canadian people and greater affordability. To that end, it would be like taking off the industrial carbon tax, the fuel surcharge tax and the so-called clean standard tax that is applied to fuel, and making sure that we have reserves. There is so much that can be done domestically to assist.

Mr. Speaker, if I may, let me reframe that for the Canadians who may not be following along with the names of each and every one of these handouts the hon. member is outlining. Essentially, what he is saying is the government doled out this cash, this cash and this cash, and should therefore be thanked. In fact, he is saying the government failed. That is why Canadians are struggling. That is why the government feels the need to step up and dole out that cash.