“I want the Green Party leader to clarify her position on Canada producing and using its own oil and gas. Atlantic Canada has to import oil because there are no pipelines from the Prairies. Does she want us to look at building that infrastructure? Does she support refining more of our own fuel here?”

“Mr. Speaker, I must admit I am a bit surprised by the leader of the Green Party sending possible mixed messages for the first time on the issue, so I would like to get some clarification. When she talks about Canada becoming self-sufficient in terms of oil and gas supply, I am sure she is aware that one of the issues is that Atlantic Canada imports a lot of oil because we do not have the pipeline infrastructure to take the product from the Prairies into Atlantic Canada. Is she trying to imply that maybe that is something we should be considering? How do we resolve the issue that she has highlighted, in terms of Canada becoming more self-sufficient in consuming the gas we actually produce? To that end, does she also support increasing refining capacity in Canada?”

“The NDP government in Manitoba cut gas taxes, but federal NDP members oppose our gas tax cut. I want the member to tell us if he thinks the Manitoba premier was right to cut that tax.”

“Mr. Speaker, it is interesting to listen to my New Democratic friend. Often I find that the national New Democratic Party is offside with New Democratic parties that are actually in government. For example, the provincial Government of Manitoba under Wab Kinew provided a 14¢ tax break on gasoline back in 2024. The NDP in the province of Manitoba seems to be very supportive of that particular initiative. When I look at the NDP nationally, it tends not only to oppose the federal government’s giving the tax break, for the reasons the member claims to be true, but also seems to be going further to the left in regard to the issue of pipelines. Maybe the member could provide the NDP’s current position on whether or not Wab Kinew was right in doing what it is that we are doing—”

“Our government has done a lot to make life more affordable. We cut gas prices by 28 cents a litre, lowered taxes for 22 million people, created 10-dollar-a-day child care, gave families an 1,800-dollar grocery rebate, and cancelled the consumer carbon tax. I want the member to admit that these things help.”

“Mr. Speaker, the member opposite is acting like the government has done nothing on affordability, but I can think of a myriad of things, including reducing costs by 28¢ a litre at the pumps, a tax break for 22 million that the Conservatives supported, the child care benefit, the $10-a-day child care that is saving thousands of dollars for families, a grocery rebate of $1,800 per family and the cancelling of the consumer carbon tax, which I personally had been calling for, for about a decade. Would the member not agree that these measures are helping affordability?”

“Our government cut taxes on gas to lower prices for Canadians. The Conservatives say they care about making life affordable, but they vote against our programs that help people buy food and essentials.”

“Mr. Speaker, I think, as we wind up debate on this issue, it is important to highlight the fact that the Prime Minister was elected just over a year ago, and his first action was to take away the carbon tax. It had a wonderful and positive impact on the price of gas; I believe it was somewhere around 15¢ a litre. We can fast-forward to today, where we had, I believe effective April 1, a 10-cent reduction on the excise tax on gasoline. We have seen a significant drop because of the tax break provided by the government. What I have a tough time with is the hypocrisy that comes from the Conservative benches. They talk about affordability. When we introduce affordability measures like the groceries and essentials benefit, the Conservatives vote against it, and that is not the lone example. Why the hypocrisy from the Conservative Party of Canada when it comes to the issue of affordability?”

“I want us to start private members' hour now if everyone agrees.”

“Mr. Speaker, I suspect that if you were to canvass the House, you would find unanimous consent to begin private members’ hour.”