This view breaks the statement into its steps and names what each one does.
Mr. Speaker, Positioning · 96 wordsthe poor Conservative Party has been outmanoeuvred by the Liberals on its own turf, not on some minor detail or side issue, but on a central priority. The Liberals are rolling out the red carpet for the fossil fuel industry as if it were a gala. They are telling the industry to step right in, make itself at home, and take everything. They want more oil, more gas, and more pipelines. We can talk about the climate later, when it is too late. From subsidies to suspended laws, anything goes, and they are not even embarrassed.Positioning Claims · 28 wordsThings got so bad that the former environment minister quit cabinet.1 He has been clear that what his government is doing today goes further than what Harper did.2Off point Procedure · 4 wordsThat is saying something.Procedure Reasoning · 19 wordsWhen a former Liberal minister says the government has gone too far, then things are really not looking good. Claims · 22 wordsAnalysts are watching this unfold and they are all saying the same thing: Today’s Liberals are more pro-oil than the Conservatives are. Positioning · 8 wordsThat used to be the Conservative Party’s turf.Positioning Claims · 22 wordsWhat is more, there are actually about 15 Liberal MPs who think this makes no sense, 3but they are protesting in silence. Aside · 11 wordsThey are hiding in a corner, probably whispering over their coffee.AsideOff point Procedure · 4 wordsThe result is clear: ProcedurePositioning · 10 wordsThe Conservative Party has been outmanoeuvred on its home turf.Positioning Procedure · 9 wordsIt is the same old story with today’s motion.Procedure Claims · 11 wordsThe government already suspended the excise tax over a month ago.4 Procedure · 5 wordsIt is a done deal.Procedure Positioning · 50 wordsThe Conservatives show up after the fact, out of breath, and say that they too want to suspend it, but that they want more than that. They throw in some other taxes to be scrapped to make it look like they are innovating, but everyone has seen through their ploy.PositioningUnearned certainty Procedure · 10 wordsWe have also seen the real effect of this measure.Procedure Claims · 22 wordsPrices fall slightly and refinery margins rise.5 The result is that the consumer gains nothing. The deficit, meanwhile, takes a $2.4-billion hit.6 Procedure · 5 wordsThe trade-off is quite clear.Procedure Reasoning · 16 wordsThere is no tangible benefit for regular folks, yet there is a hefty bill for everyone. Claims · 15 wordsNow the Conservatives are coming along and saying we should keep going and do more. Positioning · 19 wordsWhen something is not working, the solution, of course, is to do more of the same. How very logical.Positioning Claims · 69 wordsWhile people are paying more at the pumps, the oil companies are unaffected. They are pocketing the entire price increase. Gas is being sold here at global prices, even though what is happening in the Strait of Hormuz is having no impact whatsoever on our supply. The gas we use here comes from the west and the United States, but prices are still keeping pace with the global panic. Positioning · 2 wordsHow convenient.Positioning Claims · 51 wordsWhile the price goes up, oil and gas companies are making record profits. These are not just good profits; they are record profits. That money does not even stay here. Most of it goes directly to the United States because most of the western oil companies are owned by American investors.7 Reasoning · 8 wordsWe are paying more to make foreigners rich. Procedure · 12 wordsI want to quote from a Canadian Press article published last month: ProcedureClaims · 53 wordsIn an interview with The Canadian Press, former federal environment minister Catherine McKenna described the leaders of Canada’s oil industry as “fat cats” close to Donald Trump who are “taking us for fools” and making “huge profits” from the war while “feeding the climate crisis”, “putting the economy at risk” and “demanding subsidies”.8 Aside · 1 wordsWow.Aside Claims · 40 wordsThe Conservatives keep telling us that gas prices are 50¢ higher than they were in 2014. In 2014, the Canadian dollar was worth almost one U.S. dollar.9 Today, that is no longer the case. Oil is sold in U.S. dollars. Reasoning · 9 wordsThat means that we are comparing apples to oranges. Positioning · 35 wordsHowever, that is the kind of detail that gets in the way of a good story and they like telling stories. Meanwhile, oil companies are raking in money as though it were an Olympic sport.Positioning Claims · 9 wordsRegardless of what happens elsewhere, we continue to pay. Positioning · 12 wordsIt is a convenient system, especially for those who can cash in.Positioning Reasoning · 26 wordsWhen even gas stations start offering discounts on gas, it might be because the price hikes are not as inevitable as some would have us believe. Claims · 8 wordsThe Conservatives also say that deficits are dangerous. Positioning · 57 wordsTheir solution is to make it even bigger. There comes a point where it is not a contradiction; it is part of the game. They want to cut taxes and lose out on billions of dollars, while refusing to say where they would cut, because that would upset people. They prefer to stay vague than be transparent.Positioning Claims · 77 wordsAnother problem is that the measure is not targeted and does not focus on helping those who need it most, those who are struggling to pay for groceries and rent. These are folks who earn very little and spend less on gas than the wealthy. The Liberal measure suspending the excise tax until September will save the lowest-income 20% of households $59, 10while the wealthiest 20% will save $211.11 That is three and a half times more. Reasoning · 25 wordsThat is a lot of money that could have been used to provide more help those who need it most if it had been targeted. Claims · 11 wordsUnder the Conservative plan, those with more money get more help. Procedure · 4 wordsIt is not complicated.Procedure Reasoning · 5 wordsIt is simply not fair. Procedure · 18 wordsLet me remind the House of something simple that everyone knows, except those who pretend not to understand.ProcedureUnearned certainty Claims · 18 wordsExperts like Luc Godbout have said it clearly: 12Lowering the gas tax, even temporarily, is a bad idea. Procedure · 5 wordsThis is not rocket science: ProcedureReasoning · 35 wordsIt is a bad idea. It is bad for balancing the budget because the money disappears, and it is bad for the environment because, strangely enough, when gas is cheaper, people use more of it. Claims · 32 wordsHe says we have to resist temptation. We cannot try half measures to see what happens or do something just because it sounds good at a press conference. We must resist temptation. Reasoning · 81 wordsIn politics, however, resisting temptation is not always easy. Price reductions are an easy sell. The problem comes later, because the tax will have to be reinstated eventually, and that will not be easy. People get used to paying less, and then the cost goes up. It is like offering a permanent but temporary discount. People do not buy it. In the end, the government is left with lower revenues and a decision that it cannot see through to the end. Positioning · 9 wordsThat is not policy; it is passing the buck.Positioning Reasoning · 53 wordsIt is going to take targeted measures, not unilateral cuts, to help those who really need it. We should not just throw money at everyone and hope it lands in the right place. However, implementing targeted measures is more complicated. Simplicity still seems to be very popular, even when it does not work. Positioning · 11 wordsComing up with targeted measures is not our friends’ strong suit, PositioningClaims · 7 wordsand besides, gas consumption will go up. Reasoning · 28 wordsThat does not help those who are struggling the most, it does not help the environment, and it costs a fortune. It is a bad idea all around. Claims · 24 wordsWhat is more, they want to extend this measure until the end of the year without knowing how long the international situation will last. Positioning · 10 wordsThis is not a plan. It is a knee-jerk reaction.Positioning Procedure · 11 wordsI have said it before and I will say it again: ProcedureClaims · 5 wordsThese measures are not targeted. The ask · 21 wordsWhy not propose a targeted measure for people with lower incomes and for those living in rural areas, starting with farmers? Positioning · 9 wordsI know why they did not go that route.Positioning Claims · 9 wordsThe Liberals did not announce any targeted measures either. Positioning · 10 wordsOnce again, the more someone has, the more they get.Positioning Claims · 34 wordsIt is even worse in Quebec. Some of the measures the Conservatives want to scrap do not even exist in Quebec, yet we are still going to foot the bill for their massive deficit. Positioning · 11 wordsWe always end up paying; that is just how it works.Positioning Claims · 21 wordsNo, this measure is not for everyone. On top of all that, this is an administrative headache for the other provinces. Positioning · 6 wordsIt is obviously not thought through.Positioning Claims · 57 wordsIt brings up fond memories of the cheques that the Prime Minister sent to the rest of the country last year in the middle of the election campaign. That $814 million was paid for by Quebeckers, 13but they did not receive a cheque. When the Bloc Québécois demanded a refund, the Conservatives and Liberals voted against it.14 Positioning · 21 wordsWhen it matters, they are far more alike than they let on.Off point This motion is not a solution. It is posturing, PositioningPromise · 7 wordsand we do not vote for posturing. Claims · 27 wordsThe poor Conservatives come up with ideas, only to see that the Liberals have already stolen them and even gotten them passed, not in a watered‑down version, Positioning · 103 wordsbut as a full course meal, including dessert. The Conservatives look at this and wonder what they should do. What do they do? They ratchet it up even more. It is one‑upmanship. It is like two people saying the same thing, but one speaks louder than the other, hoping that this makes their idea sound better. That is not how things work. It simply creates more noise for no reason. When push comes to shove, they have the same agenda, the same instincts and the same solutions. They are two parties with one idea. This is no longer opposition; it is an echo.Positioning
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