Discussion · Government Orders
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Québécois
“The Bloc has a plan to help businesses with high diesel costs. When diesel prices jump, businesses would automatically get their diesel tax refunded. We can pay for this by stopping government subsidies to oil and gas companies. I want to know if the member supports this idea.”
“Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my highly esteemed colleague. The Bloc Québécois proposed a more targeted mechanism in which the excise tax on diesel would be credited for people who use it as an input when the price of diesel in a given quarter exceeds the price from the same quarter of the previous year by a certain number of percentage points. If the rate is set at 20%, for example, a 20% increase in prices compared with the same period in the previous year would automatically result in a refund for businesses and entrepreneurs affected by higher operating costs. This mechanism could be permanent, and it would be extremely easy to fund. In fact, my friend’s leader has always said that he is against corporate welfare. The biggest example of corporate welfare in this country is the oil and gas industry. Hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money are being used to subsidize it. If we got rid of just those subsidies, everyone would be happy, and the Bloc Québécois proposal would lower the price of diesel. Would my friend support such a proposal?”
Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my highly esteemed colleague. The Bloc Québécois proposed a more targeted mechanism in which the excise tax on diesel would be credited for people who use it as an input when the price of diesel in a given quarter exceeds the price from the same quarter of the previous year by a certain number of percentage points. If the rate is set at 20%, for example, a 20% increase in prices compared with the same period in the previous year would automatically result in a refund for businesses and entrepreneurs affected by higher operating costs. This mechanism could be permanent, and it would be extremely easy to fund. In fact, my friend’s leader has always said that he is against corporate welfare. The biggest example of corporate welfare in this country is the oil and gas industry. Hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money are being used to subsidize it. If we got rid of just those subsidies, everyone would be happy, and the Bloc Québécois proposal would lower the price of diesel. Would my friend support such a proposal?