The Economy

During question period on the economy, the Conservative leader said Canadians are running out of money, citing a report that many people are close to being unable to pay their bills, and said high diesel and fuel costs are raising food prices; he asked the Prime Minister to support the Conservative plan to remove taxes from diesel, produce more fuel in Canada, and build an oil reserve. Liberal ministers replied with measures they said help with costs, including an extended child care agreement with Ontario keeping fees at an average of $19 a day, coordinated action with allies they said lowered diesel prices by 6% in three days, rising Canadian diesel production, and energy projects creating jobs; one minister said the Conservative leader had voted against dental care and child benefits for people in his riding.Written by AI from the debate. Updated .

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4 statements

Pierre Poilievre, Leader of the Opposition

Conservative
“Canadians are running out of money. A new report shows that over two in five people are just 200 dollars away from going broke. Most people do not have enough savings to handle losing their job. I want the Prime Minister to stand up and answer if he still thinks life in Canada is affordable.”
  • A repeated line

    “He is out of touch and Canadians are out of money.”

    Said 4 times by 2 members since September 21.

    Every time it was said
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, if the Prime Minister cared about it, he would stand up and answer the question himself. Instead, he is worried that he might accidentally say affordability is the best it has been in over a decade. He is totally out of touch, while Canadians are out of money. As the MNP report that was released today said, more than two in five Canadians report being $200 or less away from insolvency, more than half say they do not have enough savings to support themselves if they are unemployed for six months and a third believe they would not be able to cope financially for three months if they had an unexpected event. Will the Prime Minister look them in the eye and say affordability is the best it has been in over a decade?

Pierre Poilievre, Leader of the Opposition

Conservative
“High fuel costs for farmers make food more expensive for everyone. Canadians pay more for gas than Americans and the rest of the world. I want the Prime Minister to vote for our plan to lower costs.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, an article in Le Journal de Montréal entitled “The rising price of diesel costs him an extra $2,000 a day to run his machines” reports that one Quebec farmer is expecting to pay $200,000. Consumers who buy food will be paying that cost as well. No one is blaming the Prime Minister for global oil prices, but here in Canada, we pay 24¢ a litre more than in the United States and 32¢ more than the global price. Is the Prime Minister going to vote for our Conservative plan to lower costs today and become more self-sufficient in the future?

Pierre Poilievre, Leader of the Opposition

Conservative
“Canadians are running out of money, and diesel prices are too high. Diesel costs much more here than in the U.S. or the rest of the world, and that is the Prime Minister's fault. I want him to vote for our plan this Wednesday to lower fuel costs and make us self-sufficient.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are as totally out of touch as Canadians are totally out of money. That is why the Prime Minister cannot answer questions from the Canadian people. For example, diesel prices have hit record highs. Nobody blames the Prime Minister for the war in Iran or the war between Ukraine and Russia. However, what we blame him for is the fact that diesel is 24¢ a litre more expensive in Canada than in the U.S. and 32¢ more expensive than the worldwide average. Will the Prime Minister vote for our plan this Wednesday to save Canadians on fuel and make us self-sufficient at home?

Pierre Poilievre, Leader of the Opposition

Conservative
“The government did nothing to lower fuel prices, and Canada has no oil reserve. I want the government to adopt our plan. We want to remove all taxes from diesel, make more of it in Canada, and build an oil reserve.”
  • A repeated line

    “Will the Liberals adopt our plan?”

    Said 5 times by 4 members since September 22.

    Every time it was said
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, he says there is coordinated action to bring down global energy prices. It turns out that he has not been able to take any action at all, despite wrongly telling the media he would release 24 million barrels of oil. It turns out he does not have 24 billion barrels of oil. He does not have one barrel of oil, because Canada is the only G7 country without an above-ground strategic oil reserve. We have a plan, though, to take all tax off diesel, to produce more of it here at home and to store up a strategic reserve so that we can actually profit from reducing prices around the world. Will the government adopt our plan?

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