Conservatives demand the Liberal/NDP government give ALL Canadians a fair break on the cost of home heating.

November 2nd , 2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PETERBOROUGH, ON — Michelle Ferreri, Member of Parliament and Conservative Shadow Minister for Families, Children, and Social Development released the following statement calling on the Liberals to extend their three-year pause of the federal carbon tax to all forms of home heating:

“The Liberals’ agenda is not based in environmental science; it’s based in political science. 

“Last week’s announcement to pit Canadians against each other, providing a break on the punitive carbon tax to Atlantic Canadians, while keeping the tax on for the rest of Canadians is another way this Prime Minister divides-to-distract. He thinks that if people are afraid of their fellow Canadians, they might forget that they cannot afford to gas their cars or heat their homes. We have seen this divide-and-conquer strategy of the Prime Minister over many years.

  • He called small businesses “tax cheats.” 
  • He calls anyone who disagreed with him a “small fringe minority,”
  • He tries to tarnish Muslim, Sikh and Christian parents, calling them “hateful” simply because they want to protect their children. 
  • We see, again and again, how the Prime Minister tries to demonize hunters, calling them “American” and saying that people who live in rural Ontario and hunt for sustenance are the reason we have record gang shootings in downtown Toronto. 

“That has become his go-to approach, and here we have it again with a “two classes of citizens” approach to his carbon tax. 

“We heard from a Liberal Minister on national television last weekend say that if people want a break from the carbon tax, they must vote Liberal. That is a shame. Every Canadian deserves the necessities to live. Heating your home during a Canadian winter is not a luxury. 

“The most compassionate thing we can do is make life affordable for our children, seniors, and the middle class struggling to make ends meet with this Liberal/NDP inflationary spending problem. 

“Some people may want to argue that the carbon tax is not responsible for inflation or that it is not contributing to inflation. Let us correct that for the record as well. This Prime Minister has tried to tell Canadians that repeatedly, but again, we know it is not valid. We

saw that last week at the Finance Committee, where the Governor of the Bank of Canada, Tiff Macklem, testified:

The Member for Northumberland—Peterborough South: “Just to reiterate what you [referring to Mr. Macklem] said there, it would be 60 basis points, or 0.6%, which currently the inflation rate is at 3.8%. That equals almost 15% if I can do the math quickly.”

           Mr. Tiff Macklem: “It would be 3.2.”

“This testimony tells the story and the facts, proving the impact of a carbon tax on Canadians. If the carbon tax were removed today, inflation would go from 3.8% to 3.2%. That is significant. The cost of mortgages and interest rates, the cost of heating and groceries, and the necessities people need to live that are squeezing them out every month would go down. 

“Today, Conservatives call on members of the House of Commons to treat all Canadians fairly and vote in favour of the Conservative motion to pause the carbon tax on all home heating for all Canadians.”

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Media Contact:

Emily McCullough

emily.mccullough.484@parl.gc.ca 

343-551-9252