Senator Gold, the Trudeau government’s carbon tax will increase again to $80 a tonne next week. It will continue to skyrocket to $170 a tonne. In contrast, Ukraine’s carbon tax is apparently tiny, yet the Trudeau government won’t tell us what it is. Three weeks ago, Minister of International Trade Mary Ng testified at the Senate committee about the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement. The minister said she didn’t know what Ukraine’s carbon tax was. None of her senior officials there to testify knew either, including the “Deputy Chief Negotiator of Trade Negotiations.” They said they’d let the committee know. By later that day in third-reading debate, the committee still didn’t have that answer.

Senator Gold, it is now three weeks later. You expect us to vote on this bill in a few hours, yet your government can’t get us a basic answer on this contentious amendment to the Canada‑Ukraine Free Trade Agreement. What’s the answer? How much is Ukraine’s carbon tax?

Senator Gold, the Trudeau government repeatedly states that Ukraine has had a carbon tax for a long time. The government’s frequent rationale is that Ukraine wants to get into the EU, and the EU wants Ukraine to have a carbon tax, but you said Ukraine already has a carbon tax. How does this contentious amendment help them to get into the EU? Why not admit the truth: The Trudeau government is shamefully pushing this for purely domestic wedge politics?