Madam Speaker, climate change is real and is having a major impact across Canada and around the world. We have to face that fact.

We have two options. We can either impose taxes, like this government is doing, or we can take real action with concrete, effective measures. On September 8, in Quebec City, the Leader of the Opposition, member for Carleton and leader of the Conservatives gave an important speech highlighting what our future government would do if we are fortunate enough to have Canadian voters put their faith in us. That is what we all hope for the good of Canada.

The Conservative leader talked about the very real impact of climate change. That is why we believe that we need tangible measures to tackle this reality, which affects Canada and the entire planet.

First, we need tax incentives to reduce pollution using high-tech tools. The Liberals think they need to impose a tax, but we think we need to create tax incentives for the high-tech sector to tackle climate change. We need to give the green light to green technologies and make it easier for Canadians to access green energy sources like hydroelectricity, solar energy, wind energy and any new technologies that we develop. We need to give the green light to green energy and stop conducting studies all the time and creating red tape. We need to take action to green-light green energy.

We also need to promote and develop the know-how and natural resources that we have in Canada so we can export them around the world, but also make use of them here at home. In Canada, we have everything we need to make things like electric cars. I am thinking about lithium, among other things. It is on us to develop it as fast as possible in order to give Canadians and the entire planet access to the Canadian natural resources they need and the Canadian expertise that sets us apart around the world in a positive way.

We, the Conservatives, are proposing concrete action that will deliver real results in the fight against climate change. What is the Liberal government's approach? After eight years of the Liberal government, Canada has never met its targets. The Liberals will say that that is not true, that Canada has met them. Yes, but that was during the pandemic. I am not sure that shutting down the economy is the right thing to do, quite the opposite, in fact.

A study examined 63 countries to see how effectively they are fighting climate change. The study was not done by the Conservatives, but rather by the UN. It found that, after eight years of this Liberal government, Canada ranks 58th out of 63 countries. Why is that? It is because this government is always quick to talk, to moralize and to lecture everyone, to blame everyone else on the planet and, above all, to tax people more. That is the problem we have.

This government's greedy desire to take even more money out of people's pockets is its trademark. What is more, its ally in this matter, the Bloc Québécois, wants the government to radically increase the amount of money it takes out of taxpayers' pockets by radically raising the carbon tax. It is not me saying that. It is the Bloc. That is not the right thing to do.

Let us set the record straight. Canada currently has two carbon taxes. The first is the Liberal carbon tax, which applies from coast to coast to coast. Here are the facts: As we have always said, Quebec and all the other provinces have full jurisdiction in this area. That is why Quebec has had a carbon exchange for over a decade.

For federal Conservatives, it is not about deeming that good or bad. We respect Quebec's desire to have a carbon exchange, and that is fine. From time to time, the exchange is the subject of some debate in Quebec. People have been talking about it over the past few days. That is okay; that is what debate is.

I would like to remind the House of a statement made by a former member of Quebec's National Assembly, a former Quebec government minister and former PQ member and minister. No, I am not talking about the current Bloc Québécois leader, who is and always will be the most polluting environment minister in Quebec's history because he gave the green light to the most polluting project in Quebec's history. I am talking about Sylvain Gaudreault, the former member for Jonquière and former minister, who said that the carbon exchange was based on paying for the right to pollute. He said, “It's a major flight of capital—we're talking hundreds of millions of dollars.” I will not go into the details, but of course Quebec's carbon exchange is up for debate.

What people are forgetting is that the federal Liberal government gave itself the power to set the price of carbon on Quebec's carbon exchange, effective next year. We never heard the Bloc Québécois complain that it made no sense for Ottawa to barge into an area of provincial jurisdiction by setting the price of carbon. Should we be surprised? Not really, since these people support the carbon tax from coast to coast to coast.

That brings me to the other point. Aside from the rain, everything we own has been transported. The last I heard, Quebec is not 100% self-sufficient. Sometimes Quebeckers buy things produced outside Quebec, things produced in Canada. Invariably, these goods are transported, and transportation generally involves combustion engines. In that case, the Liberal carbon tax applies. That means the first Liberal carbon tax has a direct impact on Quebeckers.

Let me turn to the second Liberal carbon tax. I find it comical that they have given it a big honking title rather than calling it a carbon tax. Here are the facts. Even though they refer to it as the “clean fuel regulations”, the reality remains. When the government imposes a price after a good is purchased, they can call it whatever they want, but we call it a tax. That tax, which is 17¢, will apply in Quebec. This is not coming from us; it is coming from the Parliamentary Budget Officer. After conducting an in-depth study, as he always does, he concluded that it would cost an extra 17¢. Add tax on top of that, and oil will cost 20¢ more per litre used.

That means that there are two carbon taxes that were created by the Liberal government and supported by the Bloc Québécois. We offered the Bloc an opportunity to distance itself from all this. On June 5, we tabled a motion to that effect, condemning both taxes and specifically the “clean fuel regulations”, yet the Bloc Québécois voted against it. That just makes no sense.

What especially does not make sense is the greedy attitude of the Bloc Québécois, who want to take even more money out of taxpayers' pockets. The member for Longueuil—Saint-Hubert told the House, in that eloquent way that he has, that we need to drastically increase taxes. I respect everyone's point of view, but that is not an opinion that we share. What an arrogant, irresponsible and completely pretentious attitude toward people who are struggling to get by these days. No big deal, we just need to drastically increase taxes: That is the Bloc Québécois's policy, and it is enthusiastically supported by the Liberals, unless a Liberal plans to rise and say that they disagree. Do they agree with that? Do they agree with the idea of drastically increasing this tax?

They are very quiet. Later, they will have the opportunity to say that this does not make sense, as will the other members of the Bloc Québécois. One might think that the member for Longueuil—Saint-Hubert just got carried away, but such is not the case. He said what he thinks, which is a very good thing. The problem is that this is the worst thing we could do with inflation being the way it is.

As we speak, people in Quebec City are lining up in front of a food bank to be able to eat. That is unacceptable. Quebeckers, like all Canadians, have seen housing prices double in the past eight years. Inflation is the highest it has ever been in the last 50 years.

What do the Bloc Québécois and the Liberals want to do? They want to radically increase the Liberal carbon tax. That is totally unacceptable, disrespectful and despicable, at a time when all Canadians and all Quebeckers are facing very serious problems because of inflation.

We need to join forces. Above all, we must not overtax people. We need to give them some breathing room. Taxing people is not an effective way to fight climate change.

Gérard Deltell

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