Environment Committee on April 18th, 2024

[Branden Leslie, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

I'll use my time to move a motion that was put on notice last Friday.

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Could you just stop for a second? I have to take down the....

Go ahead, Mr. Leslie.

[Branden Leslie, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'm referring to the motion that “The committee report to the House its recommendation that the Liberal Government abolish the consumer carbon levy, more commonly referred to as the carbon tax.”

Premiers and leaders of all political backgrounds have come out opposed to the Prime Minister's 23% carbon tax hike, and there is clearly momentum and a growing groundswell of support to scrap—

[Sophie Chatel, Liberal, Pontiac, QC]

I have a point of order.

It's just on the terminology. I don't think it is a tax, according to the Supreme Court, when the money is put back into the pockets of families.

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Well, I know this is a point of debate.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

Using proper terminology is important.

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Yes, it's important. However, people will debate it until kingdom come.

[Sophie Chatel, Liberal, Pontiac, QC]

The Supreme Court ruled that when you take a levy and it's paid back to people, it's not a tax.

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

I understand.

Go ahead, Mr. Leslie.

[Branden Leslie, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

I will be sure to correct it when Liberal ministers screw up in the House of Commons and accidentally call it a carbon tax instead of a price on pollution. I will call them out on it, absolutely.

[Sophie Chatel, Liberal, Pontiac, QC]

No, you can't. It's a Supreme Court decision.

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Mr. Leslie has the floor.

Go ahead, Mr. Leslie.

[Branden Leslie, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

As I was saying, there is clearly momentum and a groundswell of support to scrap the carbon tax once and for all. From Liberals to NDPers to Conservatives, there is now an emerging consensus that the Prime Minister's 23% carbon tax hike was wrong and is punishing hard-working everyday Canadians across this country.

While the rural member from Milton likes to accuse anyone who disagrees with him of being a climate change denier, I don't think he would say that about the Liberal premier from Newfoundland and Labrador, and I hope he wouldn't accuse the over 130 first nations in Ontario that are taking the government to court over the carbon tax of that. He seems to save that vitriol for Conservative MPs, who are proudly standing up for their constituents and their views.

That's not to say that the Liberal government hasn't attacked the Liberal premier from Newfoundland and Labrador. The premier actually just came out publicly stating that the—

[Leah Taylor Roy, Liberal, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

I have a point of order.

I'm just wondering, given our time constraints, what the relevance of these comments are to the motion he's putting forward. They seem to be very politically motivated, and he was putting forth a motion on the carbon tax—or the price on pollution, rather, as there is no carbon tax.

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Yes, I would agree that it's politically motivated.

[Branden Leslie, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

I'm sorry. You're saying, of course, it's not a carbon tax. Isn't that right?

[Leah Taylor Roy, Liberal, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

No, it's not. It's a price on pollution—

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Order. Colleagues, we have guests today—

[Leah Taylor Roy, Liberal, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Your motion refers to it as such, but you're right. It is not, and I'm glad you acknowledged that.

[Branden Leslie, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Absolutely.

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Colleagues, we have guests, and we want to be on our best behaviour.

That wasn't a point of order.

Go ahead, Mr. Leslie.

[Branden Leslie, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I was just saying that the Premier of Newfoundland just publicly stated that the “prime minister has tried to bait [him] with certain ad hominems and name-calling”. I don't think the Liberal members on this committee would call the NDP Premier of Manitoba names for opposing the carbon tax, nor the Saskatchewan NDP leader.

Therefore, instead of....

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Have you read your motion yet?

[Branden Leslie, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

It was on notice, so I just read the summary of it. I could happily read it into the record, if you'd like, but I just wanted—

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

No, it's all right.