QUESTION PERIOD — Environment and Climate Change
Carbon Tax
April 10, 2024
Senator Gold, after eight-plus years of the Trudeau government, life has become unaffordable for Canadians. Instead of providing Canadians with some relief, and despite 70% of premiers asking Justin Trudeau to spike the hike, he continues to make things worse by hiking the carbon tax yet again on April 1 by a whopping 23%. This is just one step in Justin Trudeau’s plan to make everything more expensive by quadrupling the carbon tax over the next six years.
Pierre Poilievre has written to Justin Trudeau asking him to call an emergency meeting of all first ministers to discuss alternatives to this cruel carbon tax. The premiers of Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta have also written to Trudeau asking him to call an emergency meeting.
Senator Gold, why won’t Justin Trudeau meet with the premiers? What is he afraid of?
Thank you for your question. The government does not accept many of the premises of your question, but I will address the heart of your question.
It is a joint responsibility not only of all governments — federal, provincial and territorial — but of all citizens to do their part to fight climate change. We heard just recently the importance of a study that one of our committees will be doing on wildfires and their impact. We all live in communities where the ravages of climate change — like flooding — are devastating to our economy, to our well-being and, indeed, to the lives of our citizens.
It is a joint responsibility that some provinces are simply neglecting and other politicians are simply exploiting. This government is willing to work with each and every province and territory in a good faith effort to find consensual solutions to this existential crisis.
Senator Gold, the last time Justin Trudeau met with the premiers to discuss carbon tax was several years ago. Can you name one of those premiers who is still in office today? Name me one. You can’t because there are none. That’s okay because common sense Conservatives will work with premiers to lower the cost of living for Canadians.
My question is the following: Why is it that the Prime Minister thinks that he knows better than all Canadians and all premiers? If you really want to work in good faith, how could you work in good faith if you don’t sit down with the premiers to have a good faith discussion?
It is simply untrue to characterize that the Prime Minister thinks he’s smarter than everyone else. He doesn’t think he’s smarter than the 200 economists who have underlined the importance of — and none of us would claim to be smarter than the 200 economists from all stripes, ideological and otherwise, who see the carbon price on pollution as the central, most important — Conservative-supported, back in the day — measure to fight climate change.
