“The budget watchdog says cutting fuel taxes helps rich people more than poor people. Oil companies will just keep prices high and take the extra profit. What does my colleague think of this?”

“Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Budget Officer has stated that lowering taxes, such as the excise tax, primarily benefits the wealthiest and much less so the poorest. Furthermore, we know that even if taxes are lowered, oil companies always want to make more profits. What is likely to happen is that they will charge citizens just as much and line their own pockets with more money. What does my colleague think about this?”

“The Conservative leader wants to cut fuel taxes even more. When the Liberals cut them, gas companies just raised their profits, gas prices stayed the same, and the deficit grew by $2.4 billion. Cutting taxes more will only raise the deficit further.”

“Mr. Speaker, the Conservative leader is proposing to lower fuel taxes, but the Liberals already did that more than a month ago by reducing the excise tax by 10¢. We saw that the price at the pump dropped temporarily, but then refinery margins rose by more than 10¢, filling the gap and leaving us with an unchanged price at the pump and a deficit that has grown by $2.4 billion. What the Conservative leader is proposing today is to lower taxes even further. We can expect the same behaviour from the oil companies, which will increase their profit margins, and we will end up with an even larger deficit. This Prime Minister is running deficits twice as big as Justin Trudeau’s. Why would we implement measures that increase the deficit so much?”

“The government paused the fuel tax to save people 10 cents, but oil refineries just raised their prices by more than 10 cents. This wiped out any savings and still added to our deficit. I want to hear what my colleague thinks about this.”

“Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to commend my colleague on her speech, which she gave entirely in impeccable French. It is always very moving to hear that. I will come back to the Liberal government’s announcement to suspend the excise tax until September. That meant a savings of 10¢, but it was quickly offset by an increase of more than 10¢ in refinery margins. The way I see it, refineries saw an opportunity to fill a gap created by the government. This increase in refinery margins cancels out the price reduction, while still leaving us with a deficit. I would like to hear my colleague’s thoughts on that.”

“The member says the Conservative plan helps rich people and adds to the debt. But his government paused the gas tax, which does the exact same thing. Does he agree with his own government's choice?”

“Mr. Speaker, I was listening to the member opposite and I found his speech and his arguments fascinating. Among other things, he criticized the fact that the Conservative proposal would essentially favour the wealthy at the expense of the less fortunate, while increasing the deficit. In this context, I was wondering about something, because it seems to me that the same argument could be made about suspending the excise tax on gas. Why did his government put that in place? Does he agree with his government’s decision? Ultimately, suspending the excise tax on gas is the same principle as suspending the GST. It is calculated the same way, and it benefits the same people.”

“The government gave oil companies $10 billion in subsidies last year and paused environmental laws for them. These companies are making record profits and sending that money to American shareholders. I want to know if my colleague thinks the government is doing too much for the oil industry.”

“Mr. Speaker, does my colleague think that the government is doing too much for the oil industry? The industry got $10 billion in subsidies last year. The government is rolling out the red carpet for oil and gas and suspending environmental regulations and laws. Meanwhile, globally, oil prices are through the roof, yet production costs here have not gone up. As a result, oil companies are generating record profits that are essentially going straight to shareholders, most of whom are in the United States. Does my colleague think that the government is doing the right thing when it comes to oil companies?”