Warren Steinley

“I want an honest answer about high grocery prices. People are struggling to afford food, and the minister did not answer my question about it before. Have prices gone up or down over the last three years?”

“Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to join in adjournment debates this evening. I asked a question in May, before we adjourned for the summer, about microlooting and said the most popular talk show in Regina and across Saskatchewan, The Evan Bray Show, talked about whether it is okay to steal groceries or microloot at grocery stores because grocery prices are so high. I asked the minister that question. The answer I got back was not sufficient, in my opinion. She actually talked about day care when I was talking about the price of groceries. I think it is an important conversation because we are talking about the price of groceries and basically the affordability crisis that we are seeing right now across the country. I think the hon. member for Whitby is going to answer this question, so I am going to make it short and sweet. I know he has a family. I have three kids, and my wife and I go grocery shopping. Have the member and his wife seen grocery prices go down over the last three years or go up?”

In response to a question from Jeremy Patzer

“Fuel costs for farmers have doubled this year. That drives up the price of food at the grocery store.”

“Madam Speaker, I just got off the phone with a friend of mine who lives in Regina—Lewvan and has a farm. We talked about fuel costs. He said that he paid $10 an acre for fuel costs last year, and this year he is paying $20 an acre for fuel costs. His fuel bill on his farm this year is going to be $400,000. I would love for a Liberal to try to explain to me how the price of fuel, when it is being doubled for our farmers across the country, does not affect the price of food at the grocery store.”

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In response to a question from Kevin Lamoureux

“The Prime Minister is not new. He helped create the bad economic policies of the last government. The Liberals are copying Conservative ideas, but they only do half the job. They should remove the sales tax on all homes, not just new ones. They should also cut the fuel tax for longer to save people more money.”

“Madam Speaker, the Prime Minister is definitely not new, because he was the economic adviser to Justin Trudeau, who started the downfall of the economy in the first place. For the Liberals to say that they are taking good ideas, that would be a novel idea. I would like them to steal more of our ideas. I would like the Liberal government to steal more good Conservative policies and just implement them properly. They always do half measures. The GST rebate is on new houses, but why not on all houses? On the rebate on diesel that they are talking about with Bill C-38, why not do it for longer and save people more money? There is nothing new about the Prime Minister. He is following the terrible policies of Justin Trudeau that he helped implement, and he is making life less affordable for all Canadians each and every day.”

“I want the House to pass our plan to cut diesel taxes and build more fuel projects. When you tax the fuel used by farmers and trucks, you make groceries cost more for everyone. The government spent years driving up food prices with fuel taxes, and now too many Canadians need food banks to eat.”

“Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with my hon. colleague from Tobique—Mactaquac. It is a pleasure to share my time with him. He always gives great speeches, so I hope to live up to one of his good speeches as well. It is so interesting that we are talking about this motion. I am going to read out the motion so that all of the viewers around Canada know what we are talking about. It is our Conservative opposition motion that: the House, in the interest of saving Canadians money and fuelling our country at home, call on the government to adopt the Emergency Fuel Relief Plan that: (a) provides for emergency pre-permitting and tax relief for the construction of diesel infrastructure, such as refineries, pipelines, rail and storage; (b) eliminates all taxes on diesel consumption until at least Canada Day; and (c) permanently eliminates taxes on diesel production; and call on the government to set the goal of boosting Canadian diesel production to one million barrels per day, allowing every Canadian business and consumer access to Canadian diesel. I am not sure how everyone in the House could not get behind a motion like this. We know affordability is an issue from coast to coast. I believe there are not any Liberal members of Parliament, or Conservative or Bloc members of Parliament, who do not hear about affordability every day, because I hear about it in my riding in Regina—Lewvan. We all know that if we tax the farmer who plants the food, the truck that delivers the food and the grocery stores that sell the food, we tax the consumer who buys the food. We have said this many times in the House, and the Liberals are slowly dragging their feet to get to where we have been for years and years in trying to save Canadians money. First of all, the previous member, who is a new member, just got up and said they got rid of the consumer carbon tax. We have been talking about that on this side for a decade, and now the Liberals want to take credit for getting rid of the consumer carbon tax. It was their flagship program. Justin Trudeau could not say enough good things about how if we taxed people, the climate would change. How idiotic is it that? Are they kidding me? If people pay more in taxes, we are going to have better weather. Now, each and every one of those Liberals gets up, beats their chest and pretends getting rid of the consumer carbon tax is their idea. It is hogwash. They got dragged, kicking and screaming, and got rid of that consumer carbon tax. It was unpopular, it never worked in the first place and it was taking Canadians’ money out of their pockets each and every day. The Liberals said they were going to rebate it back, and we proved through the PBO that the rebates never covered how much Canadians were paying in the first place, so I will take no lessons from a Liberal saying they scrapped the carbon tax, when we fought for that in this very chamber for 10 years. I remember the former health minister, Mark Holland, in one of his epic rants during question period, talking about a family holiday in a car. He went over the top and said, “let the planet burn.” Mark Holland was very good at being over the top in question period. He thought they needed that carbon tax so badly or the world would burn. Now the member for Winnipeg North jumps up like Skippy and says they got rid of the carbon tax. He voted in favour of the carbon tax dozens and dozens of times and went back to the good people in Winnipeg. I am not a Blue Bombers fan, but there are some good people in Winnipeg. The member said they needed to pay the carbon tax to make sure that the climate gets better, and now, with the flip of a switch, he goes back and says to the good people of Winnipeg he got rid of the carbon tax for them, they never needed it and it was costing them way too much money. How does he go back and flip that fast on a policy that was the flagship for Justin Trudeau and all of his climate crusaders? I remember all of the climate crusaders, and there are still a bunch in the front row, saying we needed this carbon tax. Now we are having the exact same debate on the industrial carbon tax, the GST and all of the taxes on diesel fuel. They want to scrap them. They want to get credit now. We said to scrap the tax on diesel fuel months ago and years ago, and now they want to once again jump up and beat their chests, saying they are going to scrap the tax on diesel fuel until January 2027 like it is a novel idea. They are going to say they are heroes. This is not to mention that they are the ones who put the taxes in in the first place. They want to be heroes. The Liberals are going to go to their ridings and say they are going to scrap this tax until January 2027, and Canadians should thank them. Never mind that they were the ones to put the tax on them in the first place. Never mind that they were the ones who drove up the cost of food and everything farmers need to grow food. That was all them, but now Canadians should think they are heroes because they are going to scrap the tax they implemented in the first place. How hypocritical. They have literally taken good idea after good idea. The housing minister jumps up in question period and says they are going to take the GST off new homes. Where do the Liberals think they got that idea? It was from the Conservative platform in 2025, except that, once again, they have not gone far enough. They did a half measure, just as they are doing with the tax rebate on diesel. They are going halfway again because they just do not have, I would say, the ability to tell Canadians the truth and say they made a mistake. They should have done that with the carbon tax. Instead of beating their chests, they should have told Canadians they were sorry, they got it wrong and the carbon tax is a stupid policy, and apologized for foisting it upon the Canadian population for 10 years. If they had any credibility with their constituents, they would go back to their ridings this Thanksgiving and say they got it wrong and they never should have put taxes on diesel fuel, because it costs Canadians more money to purchase what gets trucked in this country, which is almost everything. The people in northern Saskatchewan should be the maddest at their members of Parliament, because everything in northern Saskatchewan gets trucked there. They truck in food and milk. Why does milk cost so much more in northern Saskatchewan? It is because it gets trucked so far, and the people there are paying the price of the Liberal government’s taxes on diesel fuel each and every day. They know that. I think those members are going to get a bit of a surprise when they go home for Thanksgiving. Speaking about Thanksgiving, the member for Whitby gave an average speech. It was from 2024, I believe. He talked about lowering grocery prices. This is the exact same thing the Minister of Finance, then the minister of industry, committed to in 2024. He said grocery prices were going to drop by 2024. He brought in all of the CEOs of the big grocery companies, made a big to-do, had a wonderful photo op, which is the thing the government can do best, and said he was going to make sure that grocery prices drop. I asked the member for Whitby how much lower grocery prices are now after that photo op, and he never answered the question. He never said a word about grocery prices in Canada being the highest in the G7 again, because the Liberals did not fulfill any of those commitments. The most frustrating thing as I sit here each and every day is listening to outrageous Liberal speeches. They beat their chests and say they will take no lessons from the Conservatives. I am not going to take lessons from a government that put 2.2 million people in the food bank line. They never talk about that. I am not going to take lessons from a Liberal government that says it is going to help parents feed their kids. Why can parents not feed their kids? It is because the Liberals have taxed them to death. That is why they cannot afford groceries. The Liberals taxed the diesel that gets the groceries to the grocery stores. That is why parents cannot feed their kids. The Liberals jump up each and every day, talking about a school food program and a groceries benefit. The Liberal government is proud that it makes 12 million people use food stamps because they do not have good jobs. They cannot afford groceries because of the policies the Liberal government has put in place for the last 10 years. The Liberals should be ashamed that they have to give food stamps to Canadians, not brag about it each and every question period. If that was my record in government, I would be embarrassed to stand up and talk about a program because Canadians cannot afford food under my watch. Those are the policies each and every one of these Liberals put in place, and now they are bragging about Canadians needing to use food stamps to feed their families and kids. On this side, the Conservatives are going to work as hard as we can to save Canadians money and put more money back into their pockets so that they can feed their families and get good-paying jobs. That is what this motion is about. It is about getting diesel production and good jobs back in our country so that families can afford to feed themselves and not have to rely on the government.”

“The Liberals say global events are driving up diesel prices in Canada. That makes no sense. Last month, Canadians paid 24 cents a litre more than Americans and 31 cents more than the world average.”

“Madam Speaker, we have heard this talking point over and over from the Liberals’ side: There are world factors on the oil prices that are increasing diesel prices in Canada. However, Canada paid roughly 24¢ a litre more for diesel than Americans did last month and paid 31¢ more than the global average last month. If global conflicts are doing this, why are we paying 24¢ more than Americans and 31¢ more than the global average? It does not make any sense.”

“The government promised in 2024 that grocery prices would go down by Thanksgiving. They did not. I want the member to tell us if grocery prices have actually dropped since then.”

“Madam Speaker, I think my hon. colleague from Whitby got confused; I think he read a 2024 speech that he read a couple of years ago. I remember in this House when the now finance minister promised that grocery prices would be down by Thanksgiving and that was in 2024. Members will remember he called all the grocery CEOs together and said, “That is it. We are going to have lower grocery prices by Thanksgiving.” I am wondering if there are any updates to the member’s speech on whether grocery prices have lowered since 2024.”

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“Life costs too much, and the government is not helping many seniors. A senior in my riding wrote to me because she and her husband cannot get the federal dental plan, but their taxes still pay for it. I want the government to explain what it will do to help seniors like her.”

“Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to join in and ask for more with respect to the answer I received back in the previous session on affordability. I know my colleague from Whitby is going to respond to the question I am going to ask him. We have had a lot of good, partisan sparring back and forth over the years, for a long time. I am going to bring this down to a constituent level because I just received an email from a senior lady in my riding at 2:03 p.m. this afternoon. I am going to read this and talk about the affordability issues people are facing so we can have a conversation, on a real constituent basis, about what is going on in people’s daily lives. It says, “I’m 74. My husband is 75. We get nothing extra from the federal government. When I say ‘we’, I mean the seniors who have paid income taxes on all the money we’ve scrimped and saved over our working years while paying for our children’s child care and food. This money was to see us through our retirement years. All that hard work so we can enjoy our golden years was for what? We still have to scrimp and save so we can afford food and shelter. “The Liberals keep going on about how much they’ve done for everyone, including the seniors, so they can afford to pay for food. This is a lot of poppycock. They say, ‘Look at how many are registered for the seniors dental program.’ That is all fine and dandy, but how many of those registered actually qualify? This is the number that really matters. My husband and I are registered, but our combined income means we don’t qualify. If it was not for investments we saved for over 40 years, we would not be able to afford to retire. To make matters worse, the investment income is all taxable. “Sorry for the long rant. I just get so frustrated when the Liberals keep saying that they’re helping us but everything keeps going up and our income stays the same. Keep up the good work. Janet.” What I am wondering for Janet is— Some hon. members: Oh, oh! Warren Steinley: There is heckling from the other side, which is interesting. Mr. Speaker, she said they do not qualify for the dental program, if the Liberal members would listen to what I say. This is what the Liberals do. They dismiss what everyday Canadians are talking about and the issues they are facing. I want to ask this of my friend from Whitby, who I think is here for the right reasons, though we have different opinions. Every day in question period, the Liberals get up and say, “Oh, but there’s a dental program.” For seniors like Janet and her husband, because of their retirement income, they do not qualify, so they do not get anything. They are frustrated seniors who are not really seeing any of the benefit of these programs, but their income is being taxed, and that is going to pay for programs for other people. They are in a really tough situation. What would Ryan say to Janet right now?”

“The government has to give people grocery rebates because its policies made food too expensive. Why did the member vote against our plan to take the tax off gas?”

“Madam Speaker, the member went through all the programs that Canadians have, including the new grocery rebate. Is that really an admission that their policies are failing? The fact that they have to give Canadians more money back in programs means they cannot afford food on their own. The member has been in the House for a while. Why did she vote against our motion to take the tax off gas four or five times last spring?”

“Liberal promises do not help people buy food, and their policies made a car company leave Ingersoll. Conservatives want to cut the tax on gas so Canadians have enough money to drive to work, take their kids to school, and buy food.”

“Mr. Speaker, the member for Winnipeg North just talked about commitments. Well, we cannot eat commitments. Let us ask the people in Ingersoll about Stellantis and those commitments, which all left our country because of the Liberals’ failed policies. Every Conservative here is here to save money for Canadians. How much money would Canadians have saved if the Liberals had actually taken our policy months and months and years ago to take the tax off gas so they would be able to drive to their work and actually take their kids to school and put food on the table?”

“For months, the Liberals voted against cutting the gas tax and said it did not make life unaffordable. Now they are cutting it, but it is too late. I want my colleague to explain why the Liberals changed their minds.”

“Madam Speaker, the Liberals said for months and months that their gas tax was not creating an affordability crisis. We brought forward motion after motion, and every Liberal member voted against getting rid of the gas tax. Can my colleague explain what he thinks of the change of heart the Liberals had. Why are they now admitting that they were wrong after all these months, when Canadians could have had a tax decrease on groceries for months? Now they are bringing it in a little bit late. Why has there been a change of heart from our Liberals colleagues?”

“The Liberals say the government is doing a great job. If that is true, why are so many Canadians struggling?”

“Mr. Speaker, all we hear from the Liberals is how great they are and that the government is doing so great. My question for my colleague is simple. If the government is doing so great, why are so many Canadian citizens struggling every single day?”