QUESTION PERIOD — Ministry of Environment and Climate Change
Carbon Tax
November 22, 2023
Thank you for your political commitment. Before you entered politics, you were an internationally recognized expert. It’s not always easy to maintain credibility when you’re a minister. I know all about that, because I’ve been there.
I’d like to talk about the carbon tax, a measure I support. It’s recognized by economists as the best approach. I’ve heard the reasons why you exempted diesel in Bill C-234, but not natural gas and propane.
I’ll think about your answers, but I’d like to come back to the announcement made in Atlantic Canada on October 26, which I found troubling. The focus is on the Atlantic regions, but there are low-income people in Ontario and in Indigenous communities across Canada who could really use the support. Why are these measures limited to Atlantic Canadians? Are low-income households in Atlantic Canada more important than those in the rest of Canada? I’d like you to comment on that.
Thank you very much for your kind words. I’ll make a small correction. I know there’s a perception that the exemption for home heating oil only applies in the Atlantic provinces, but it applies across the country, just as the heat pump program is offered across the country, where the provinces are willing to go the extra mile with us.
Right now, there are three provinces with which we have agreements, but in the next few weeks or months, there will be a lot more provinces that will be part of the program to make heat pumps free for low-income households.
So that means we’re waiting for the provinces to be able to join the program, the same as it was for the Atlantic provinces? That is what I understand from your answer? Thank you, minister.
Do you want to answer the question, minister?
The senator answered his own question.
