TranslatePolitics.ca

Recent debates

8 latest topics

06-18 Spring Economic Update 2026 Implementation Act 57 statements 06-18 Spring Economic Update 2026 Implementation Act 19 statements 06-18 Arab Heritage Month Act 5 statements 06-18 The Economy 15 statements 06-18 Government Priorities 2 statements 06-18 Government Priorities 2 statements 06-18 Housing 12 statements 06-18 The Environment 2 statements

Adjournment Proceedings

2026-04-29 Sitting 113 Showing 1–5 of 5

A debate about high gas prices and taxes. The Conservative member complained about high gas taxes and prices, while the Liberal member blamed global factors and talked up their new spending programs.

Official Hansard ↗

Helena Konanz

Conservative 6:35 p.m.

“Families need to drive. Gas prices are high. The government should cut gas taxes for everyone. Our plan would cut gas prices by 25 cents per liter all year. The Liberal plan only cuts prices until Labour Day. Gas prices are still very high even with the Liberal plan. High gas prices hurt rural communities most. Why won't the government cut gas taxes for longer?”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to address the taxes that residents in my community pay every single day, specifically gas taxes. I have requested this opportunity to speak in light of the Minister of Veteran Affairs' recent response to my question on April 14. Her response to my question on these gas taxes was as follows: British Columbians are happy to hear that...we are making a reduction in fuel costs from now until Labour Day. British Columbians are going to use that to go and enjoy our country as they can this summer. Maybe they will also combine that with the Canada Strong pass as they go and explore this wonderful country. The Liberal minister seems to be suggesting that the purpose of gas tax relief is to encourage more people to take a vacation or to go camping. As fellow British Columbians, she and I agree that our beautiful province certainly is a place families should explore, but it is not the main reason residents in my communities fill up their cars, trucks, vans or SUVs. A family in Hedley does it to get to the grocery store or a hockey practice. A senior in Rock Creek fills up to attend medical appointments or check in with friends. A forestry worker in Christina Lake needs fuel to get to work and then to get home safely. Driving is a fact of life for tens of thousands of residents in my community. That is not to mention the hauling, the transporting or the towing that empties our tanks even faster. Subways, electric buses and public bicycles, which I often hear Liberals talk about, are not available in the communities I serve. A job in the forestry, mining or agriculture sector does not just happen right down the street. It takes a lot of gas to get rural school buses going or to get essentials to rural supermarkets, not just in the spring or summer, but in the autumn and winter. That is why it is now costing a lot more. Higher gas prices truly punish rural communities. That is why Conservatives are offering a full-year gas tax relief plan with zero federal tax on gas and diesel for the rest of 2026, paid for by ending Liberal spending on the gun buyback program, consulting fees and wasteful foreign aid. Our plan would eliminate the fuel excise tax, 10¢ a litre; the clean fuel standard, seven cents; and GST, eight cents, to save every driver 25¢ a litre. This would not just be savings at the gas station as people would also save when they buy an item that has to be shipped to our shelves, where higher transport costs mean bigger receipts. The Liberal plan offers no excise tax on gas until Labour Day. Presumably, that is when Canadians will stop camping. Even now, with the Liberal plan in effect, Castanet reports that “prices at the pumps soared to their highest levels in years” today in the Okanagan, rising roughly 30¢ a litre from just the night earlier. In my home community of Penticton, every gas station today has it above $1.90 a litre. My question to the government is as follows: Given these sudden and shocking increases and the instability in the Middle East, why does the member think Canadians will not need gas tax relief past Labour Day?

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

Ryan Turnbull

Liberal 6:40 p.m.

“Global events caused high prices. We cut some taxes. That saves families money. Conservatives don't support our spending programs. They didn't vote to feed kids. Conservatives pretend to care about food prices but won't help kids. Conservatives won't accept the truth.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, it is shocking to me to hear the hon. member talk as if somehow she believes we operate in a vacuum and apart from global forces beyond the government's control. Certainly, we do not control oil price shocks that are the direct result of the Strait of Hormuz being blocked. We did not start the war in Iran. It is not a conflict, unfortunately, that we can stop or control. What we have done, and the members opposite know this very well, is suspend the excise tax on fuel. We cut the consumer carbon tax. Those combined are 28¢ per litre. That is saving families money. What is concerning to me is that Conservatives do not stand up to support the very measures that we put in place to help families out with the cost of living challenges that the member rightly points out. It is not as if the government is somehow blind to the fact that Canadians are experiencing challenges due to shocks in the economy and that the prices of almost all goods have been rising for quite some time, since the aftershocks of the global pandemic. There has been one shock after another. Again, we have offered the groceries and essentials benefit, which the members opposite did not support. They do not seem to want to put more money back in people's pockets. We offered a middle-class tax cut for 22 million Canadians. We also offered the Conservatives the opportunity, multiple times in the House, to support a national school food program, which feeds 400,000 kids per year. When the member opposite is talking about food prices and is concerned about the cost of living, she has actually chosen not to support feeding 400,000 kids and not to take those kids out of food bank lineups. What is strange to me is that the hon. member can stand in the House and lecture Liberals. It seems a little bit hypocritical for the hon. member to say that she cares about people's expenses and their cost of living challenges when she would not take 400,000 kids out of poverty. We offered a package of supports with the groceries and essentials benefit— An hon. member: You do realize how ridiculous you sound. Ryan Turnbull: Mr. Speaker, I do not mind the crosstalk. It actually encourages me quite a bit to keep telling the truth in the House. I know it is hard for the Conservatives to accept the truth sometimes. We announced a package of supports, including the groceries and essentials benefit— Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

Ryan Turnbull

Liberal 6:40 p.m.

“I want praise for making people dependent on my government. I'll try to buy votes by listing off as many spending goodies as I can think of, like $1900 per family and a food security strategy. Never mind if any of these programs actually work well or are a good use of taxpayer money. Hey, I even threw in 'greenhouses' to sound like I care about the environment. Oh, and I'll quickly mention the $11 billion drop in the deficit like that makes up for all the spending. I won't mention the overall debt or long-term impact. Please just focus on the goodies.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the groceries and essentials benefit that we announced will put almost $1,900 into families' pockets this year, which is significant support. I would offer that this is significant direct support to 12 million Canadians. We also offered immediate expensing for greenhouses and an injection of funds to the local food infrastructure fund, as well as $500 million more in support through the strategic response fund geared toward supply chains in Canada. We are also developing a food security strategy. I have long advocated for the fact that the Government of Canada needs to have not only a national food policy, which we developed back in 2018, but an actual food security strategy for the country. It is great to see us having made that commitment. Consultations are under way. I know that this plan will provide benefits to Canadians in the future, so that is exciting. With all that said, we are also doing it well, managing the resources of the country in a responsible way. We have seen that the deficit, just in the spring economic update, is down by $11 billion. That is significant. We have brought operational spending back into check, with reducing day-to-day operational spending over the time horizon.

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

Helena Konanz

Conservative 6:45 p.m.

“The government's gas tax cut will end too soon. I want longer relief at the pump. Look at how other countries cut their gas taxes more than we did. I want Canada to copy them. The government should adopt my party's plan to cut gas taxes for longer.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, we agree that recent gas price hikes were helped by the war in Iran, but will that be over by Labour Day, as the Liberals' policy suggests? Even if the U.S. and Iran ended the war tomorrow, the Pentagon has said it would take up to six months to fully clear sea mines from the Strait of Hormuz to restore shipping. That is not to mention the damage to oil and gas infrastructure hammered by missile attacks. Conservatives believe it is more prudent to provide Canadians with higher, longer-lasting relief at the pump, given the uncertainty abroad. Nations like Australia, Spain and Ireland all cut their taxes more than Canada has in response. On average, Americans currently pay less at the pump. Will the government take note of our Conservative plan and other plans abroad and cut the tax on gas for longer than just the summer?

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

Ryan Turnbull

Liberal 6:45 p.m.

“The opposition complains but they vote against our ideas. We created many programs! I like one that spends a lot every month to cut child care costs. The opposition voted against it. We paused one fuel tax. We will look at it again later.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, it is great to have the member ask the question again. What I have pointed out in my response is that, every time the Conservatives say they want to do more for Canadians, we actually propose to do more, and they vote against it, so I do not know how to take the comments of the member opposite in the House at face value. We offer opportunities, such as the groceries and essentials benefit, the national school food program and the Canada child benefit. There are so many supports the government has stepped up with. One that I am particularly fond of is the reductions in the cost of child care for families, which is saving families in my riding at least $1,200 a month. That is significant support, and the Conservatives voted against that. Here we are. We are at a moment where we have suspended the excise tax on fuel temporarily. We will evaluate at the end of Labour Day—

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

What they said. What they meant.

Recent debates