QUESTION PERIOD — Privy Council Office
Awarding of Contracts
October 9, 2024
Government leader, just when I think that your incompetent and wasteful NDP-Liberal government has hit rock bottom, they manage to make themselves look even more ridiculous. On Monday, leader, it was reported that the Prime Minister’s very own department, the Privy Council, spent taxpayer dollars to test focus groups about renaming the word “inflation” — and they didn’t like “JustinFlation” either. They decided to name it “heat‑flation.” As Canadians have a lot more common sense than the NDP-Liberal government, they rejected this.
Leader, instead of trying to make up a new slogan to explain why Canadians can’t afford groceries, will your government give them a carbon tax election?
Thank you for the question. You haven’t lost your nerve if you are asking me a question about slogans in this chamber, so I say the following:
It is entirely to your credit, colleague.
This government has put forward a credible plan to address an existential climate change. An important piece, though not the only one, is a price on pollution.
Those of us who live in this country have friends and neighbours who are affected by climate change. As you all know, one side of my family comes from Florida, and, as we speak, my cousin has battened up his house in St. Petersburg, Florida, for the second time within far too —
This government will continue to govern and do what it can to protect Canadians from the ravages of climate change.
And does calling something “heat-flation” help that? The focus group testing was done this past March through a contract given to the Strategic Counsel in 2022, worth over $814,000, to study the word “inflation.”
Is this the only time your government has spent tax dollars to test drive the slogan “heat-flation” or has more money been wasted on this?
Again, senator, thank you for your question and your focus on slogans, but, for my part, I am pleased that the government that I have the honour to represent is focusing on concrete actions, serious policy discussions and, frankly, trying to use our time together in this chamber to advance work on behalf of Canadians, not simply a partisan political agenda.
