“People need help, but big oil companies should pay for it instead of adding to our public debt. We also need to talk about tariffs, which are hurting small businesses that get no government support. How are these tariffs affecting small businesses in the member's community?”

“Mr. Speaker, it is rare when New Democrats and Conservatives agree on something, and we certainly agree that it is critical that we provide relief to people who are struggling right now. However, we believe that big corporations and big oil and gas should be paying for it, not creating more debt to taxpayers. One more thing we agree on is, as my colleague talked about, the lack of debate on the greatest threat to the Canadian economy with the tariffs and the countertariffs that are happening right now. I think about small businesses in my riding that have sales less than $1 million. There is no relief for them right now from the government. There is no debate happening to talk about those issues taking place right now, and it did not happen this summer, like my colleague talked about. Could the member talk about how this is impacting small businesses in her community, which are not getting any help during the greatest threat to our Canadian economy right now in our history?”

“Affordability is about whether people can pay their bills, not tax cuts. Seniors are struggling the most, and many are becoming homeless. I want to know if the Conservatives will support more money for seniors so they can afford groceries and match the real cost of living.”

“Madam Speaker, the leader of the official opposition talks a lot about affordability. For millions of Canadians, affordability is not about tax cuts or corporate profits. It is about whether they can actually pay their bills, of course. This is particularly challenging for seniors. I think about Bev, a senior in my constituency who is very worried about becoming unhoused. Seniors are the population fastest becoming unhoused in the country right now. My question is simple. Will the Conservative Party commit to specific measures to help seniors afford groceries, such as increasing income supports, strengthening the guaranteed income supplement and indexing benefits to the real cost of living? Will the member commit to that now?”

“We want to lower gas prices for people, but this bill adds 5.3 billion dollars to our debt. Big oil and gas companies are making record profits. I want to know if the member agrees that those companies should pay for this relief instead of everyday Canadians.”

“Madam Speaker, first, I want to thank my colleague for talking about our children. This bill would create a debt of $5.3 billion. As New Democrats, we support the relief to consumers from the gas tax savings. What we do not support is putting this on the backs of future generations. We believe that big oil and gas, which is making record profits, should be shouldering and sharing some of this. We are seeing excess profits like we have never seen, obscene profits in the tens of billions of dollars. Does my colleague not agree and believe that the big oil and gas companies that are profiting from a war and showing record profits should cover the costs of what Liberals are putting in this bill, taking the pressure off everyday Canadians?”

“Norway saved money from oil and gas to help its people and now has a huge fund. In Canada, oil and gas companies are making record profits, but the government lets them off the hook. We should put those profits into a public fund to help Canadians and pay for clean energy.”

“Madam Speaker, we know that Norway, where they created a sovereign wealth fund, has $2 trillion U.S. In fact, in royalties alone, the Norwegians generated over $300 billion last year because they took resources from a finite resource, from oil and gas, and they invested them. They have taken those royalties to do exactly the kinds of things that the government is talking about today, taking pressure off citizens when times are difficult. Instead, what did the current government do? It created a sovereign wealth fund that took the big oil and gas companies and let them off the hook. Right now, we have record profits with big oil and gas. Does my colleague not agree that when big oil and gas are profiting with record profits because of a war, the generational wealth should be invested in a sovereign wealth fund that can be invested in programs that can help take the pressure off Canadians and pivot to investing in renewable energy? This is a generational opportunity that is being lost right now.”

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“Canadians need lower fuel costs, but this bill adds over $5 billion to our debt for future generations to pay. Oil and gas companies are making record profits right now. They should pay an extra profits tax to help cover these costs instead.”

“Madam Speaker, again, we all agree in this House that we need to take pressure off everyday Canadians. People are struggling to make ends meet. This bill, in its intention, is a good idea, which is to remove taxes so people pay less at a time when they need help. Where I have a problem, and I am surprised the Conservatives do not join me, is that all we are doing is taking this debt of over $5 billion and punting it down the road for future generations to pick up the tab. They are the ones who are going to end up paying this, because this is going on our debt. Meanwhile, big oil and gas are posting obscene profits. We have never seen profits like this. This war is creating extreme wealth for big oil and gas and investors. I would like to know if my colleague has talked to his constituents. He should ask them if they believe that big oil and gas companies should chip in a bit more while they have these winning profits. I know from my experience in talking to my constituents that every single one of them I talk to, every one of them, thinks that the big oil and gas companies should pay an excess profit tax.”

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“Wildfires and climate change are making life more expensive, including for insurance. People need help with these costs. Oil and gas companies are making record profits. Does my colleague agree that these companies should chip in to help Canadians and invest in clean energy?”

“Madam Speaker, this summer we had another catastrophic wildfire season right across the country. Last year, it was in my riding. Three years ago, it was in my riding as well. We know the climate crisis is real. It is costing Canadians every day, not just when their communities get hit, but through their home insurance and business insurance. We are seeing costs skyrocketing. We know people need help. They need relief. Where do we go for that relief? Big oil and gas is posting record profits. It is an opportunity for them to chip in and help give relief to Canadians. That could be at the pump right now through a bill like this, but it could also be through helping to take pressure off people when they are trying to access home and business insurance. Does my colleague not agree that big oil and gas should be chipping in while it is winning, while it is posting record profits, so it can support Canadians, invest in clean energy and invest in supporting people?”

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“Seniors are cutting pills in half because medicine costs too much. A year ago, the Prime Minister promised to sign pharmacare deals with the provinces, but he has not signed one. Will the member push him to get those deals done?”

“Madam Speaker, my colleague talked about the challenges people are facing. One thing I will give her credit for is that she has been an incredible champion for calling for universal pharmacare. We know that in her home province, seniors are cutting pills in half because they cannot get the medicine they need when they need it. It was just last September that the Prime Minister assured the Canadian public that he was going to sign pharmacare agreements with all of the provinces and territories that had not gotten on board. Here we are, a year later, and not a single agreement has been signed in the last 12 months, including in her home province. Is my colleague going to be the champion to get those deals done? Is she still committed to universal pharmacare to ensure that people are not cutting pills in the country and are using their health card, not their credit card, to access the medicines they need?”

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“The government spent over $23 billion hiring outside companies, while people struggle to get their pensions, EI, and tax help. Now the government is cutting jobs, which will lead to even more costly outside hiring. I want the member to explain how these cuts and outside contracts are hurting people who are already struggling with high costs.”

“Madam Speaker, I enjoyed sitting on the government operations committee with the member for a long time. He does great work there. We got to work together. We got to examine the government’s outsourcing. When we looked at the outsourcing for professional services, the Liberal government’s spending skyrocketed to over $23 billion for professional services alone. Meanwhile, people are struggling to get their pensions, to get their EI or to get support from CRA. Our offices are being inundated at a time when people are struggling with a cost of living crisis. Now the government is cutting more jobs and this austerity is going to lead to more outsourcing, because the work still has to get done. However, it is going to get done by for-profit companies. Could my colleague speak about what he has seen at his office? Could he connect the dots between the impact of austerity and how that impacts people on the cost of living crisis? Maybe the member could speak about the outsourcing that is out of control, which the government promised to rein in.”

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“Big oil and gas companies made huge extra profits, and half of that money went to the richest 1%. Canada should put a tax on those extra profits, like we did during World War II. That tax would easily pay for fuel relief for regular people. I want to know why the government is protecting the richest people instead.”

“Madam Speaker, in 2022, when we had a huge spike in oil prices with the global shock from oil and gas, we saw a huge windfall in profits. A study came out that said 50% of the profits through that spike went to the top 1%. That is insane. Right now, we are dealing with something very similar. If we look back in our history, during World War II, we implemented a 75% excess profit tax on oil and gas. We could apply that today. That would generate over $46 billion. Even if we scaled that back to 20%, it would generate enough money to cover what the Liberals are proposing today, and we could do that fivefold to take the pressure off people. Why is the government not bringing in an excess profit tax? Why is the government protecting the top 1%? In the United States, 50% of profits in 2022, for example, and it is here in Canada too, went to the top 1%.”