Mr. Sean Fraser (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Lib.)

Mr. Speaker, with respect, the report of the Parliamentary Budget Officer does not represent the government's agenda going into the next election. We have been very clear that when it comes to our plan to put a price on pollution, the price is going to increase to $50 a tonne until 2022, at which time the policy will be reviewed.

I would be happy to speak to the hon. member's constituents, who should know by now that eight out of 10 households that the hon. member represents will be left better off as a result of our plan. If he does not want to accept my opinion on this piece, I would point him to the previous report of the same Parliamentary Budget Officer, who indicates that only the wealthiest 20% would pay more and that 80% of that member's constituents will be better off at the end of the year.

I look forward to seeing him on the doorsteps campaigning on a promise to take $307 from a typical family of four in his constituency.

Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Carleton, CPC)

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' promise that the cheque was in the mail was never kept. It was not as advertised. We now know that the rebates were a third smaller and the tax will be twice as high as advertised, so smaller rebates than promised and higher taxes than admitted. These facts are now known to us. We now know that, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, for the Liberals to keep their own promises, they would have to increase the tax to a rate that would cost the average family over a thousand dollars a year in Ontario, including gas prices that are 23¢ higher.

Why did they try to cover it up before the election?

Mr. Sean Fraser (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Lib.)

Mr. Speaker, I find it entertaining that the hon. member is putting so much stock in the PBO's report, when he will not even submit his own party's platform for consideration, because it is hiding the true cost to Canadians.

When it comes to the size of the rebate, we have said the entire time that a typical family of four in the province of Ontario would receive a rebate of $307. That is as true today as it was when we first announced our plan.

He is confusing statistics by saying that the average payout, which pertains to a family of a smaller size, is different than that for a family of four. This is simple arithmetic. I would be happy to walk him through it after question period, but I sense that after a few months he is choosing not to listen because he knows our plan is the right plan.

Mr. Gérard Deltell (Louis-Saint-Laurent, CPC)

Mr. Speaker, we know full well that the Liberals have spent the past three years trying to convince Canadians that the Liberal carbon tax would allow them to meet the Paris targets and, more importantly, reduce greenhouse gas emissions. That is false on all counts.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer confirmed yesterday that Canada would not meet its Paris targets and, worse still, that the Liberals would have to raise the Liberal carbon tax to five times what it is now in order to meet those targets.

Will the Liberals be honest with Canadians and tell them exactly how much they plan to increase the tax if, heaven forbid, they are re-elected in six months?

Mr. Sean Fraser (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Lib.)

Mr. Speaker, I note that the hon. member's own province of Quebec has a price on pollution and our system does not apply. I would be curious if he would go out and say that the province does not have the authority to put the price on pollution that exists and is supported by members of his province.

The hon. member knows that in the provinces where the federal backstop applies, eight out of 10 families are better off at the end of the year. This is not some Liberal partisan plan. We can look to last year's Nobel Prize winner in economics, who has developed this sort of approach. We can look to Mark Cameron, Stephen Harper's former director of policy, who has indicated that families will be better off. We can look to Doug Ford's chief budget adviser, who testified before the Senate in this Parliament, saying that the number one thing we can do to move toward a low-carbon economy is to put a price on pollution and—

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mr. Anthony Rota)

The hon. member for Louis-Saint-Laurent.

Mr. Gérard Deltell (Louis-Saint-Laurent, CPC)

Mr. Speaker, I will ask it in English this time.

Based on the Quebec experience, yes, we have a cap-and-trade system in Quebec, but what are the results? There is zero reduction of emissions. This is the result when we tax people: no reduction of emissions. This is the Quebec experience. This is the truth. These are the facts. This is the science.

Will the minister be clear with Canadians for once? Can the Liberals explain how much they will raise taxes?

Mr. Sean Fraser (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Lib.)

Mr. Speaker, with respect, if the hon. member would listen to the details of our plan, he would realize that as the price on pollution increases approaching 2022, so does the rebate. The more time goes on, the cost is not increased, but the rebate to families increases—

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mr. Anthony Rota)

I just want to interrupt the hon. parliamentary secretary. The hon. member for Louis-Saint-Laurent asked a question, and I am sure he wants to hear an answer. With all the chatter, we are depriving him from hearing that.

Order. I will let the hon. parliamentary secretary continue.

Mr. Sean Fraser

Mr. Speaker, in the remaining time I have, I will reiterate the point that anybody who has any equity in this conversation knows that the number one thing we can do to reduce emissions is to put a price on pollution.

We have found a way to make life more affordable at the same time, by returning the rebate directly to households. This marries the theme of our government, which is to make life more affordable for those who need it. Whether with the Canada child benefit, the middle-class tax cut or the price on pollution, we are doing the right thing for our environment and making life easier for families.

Ms. Niki Ashton (Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, NDP)

Mr. Speaker, Canadians want bold action on climate change, and they know that there is no time to waste.

The NDP has called on the government to invest in green jobs and green energy, but what did the Prime Minister do? He bought fridges and pipelines for his billionaire pals. Four years in power, and all we have seen from the Liberal government are more subsidies for big oil and its pipelines. This is not how we save the environment.

When will the Liberals stop siding with the big polluters so we can win the fight against climate change?

Mr. Sean Fraser (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Lib.)

Mr. Speaker, with respect, I have a great appreciation for NDP's desire to do something about the environment. It is too bad its desire does not match its ability to think out a plan that makes sense. If we look at the Ecofiscal Commission's review of the NDP plan, it has said that NDP's measures for big emitters will actually do nothing to reduce emissions and will hurt the Canadian economy at the same time.

We can tell that New Democrats lack the thoughtfulness that the climate debate demands when we look at the hon. member's question, which confuses fridges for refrigerants, which are actually one of the fastest-growing causes of climate change globally.

I share the New Democrats' desire to do something about climate change, but the difference is that we have thought about how to make it happen.

Ms. Niki Ashton (Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, NDP)

Mr. Speaker, people in our north and across the country are forced to make impossible choices because of the high cost of medication.

It is inconceivable that in 2019, in Canada, people have to choose between buying food and medication. Liberals have been putting pharmaceutical and insurance companies in the driver's seat, but the Hoskins advisory board is clear: Canadians need a universal, public, single-payer pharmacare.

This is what the NDP has been pushing for. Enough of the half-measures and the favours to the Liberals' corporate friends. Will the Liberal government implement universal, comprehensive, public pharmacare, yes or no?

Hon. Ginette Petitpas Taylor (Minister of Health, Lib.)

Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear. Our government is absolutely committed to making sure that every Canadian has access to a national pharmacare program, and the work is absolutely under way.

In budget 2019, we announced funding: $35 million for the creation of a Canadian drug agency, and also $1 billion to address the situation of rare diseases. We will continue to work with our partners on the ground, provinces and territories, indigenous leaders and the health care sector, as we want to make sure that we make pharmacare a reality for all Canadians.

Mr. Robert Aubin (Trois-Rivières, NDP)

Mr. Speaker, Dr. Hoskins' report is crystal clear: we need a universal public pharmacare program. In fact, that is something the NPD is firmly committed to bringing in.

People should not have to cut up their pills to make their prescription last longer. Instead of listening to what people need, the successive Liberal and Conservative governments have consistently sided with large insurance companies.

Can the Liberal government commit, as we have, to implementing a universal pharmacare program as early as next year?

Hon. Ginette Petitpas Taylor (Minister of Health, Lib.)

Mr. Speaker, once again, I want to be very clear. Our government is determined to ensure that all Canadians have access to a pharmacare program. The work is in progress.

In budget 2019, we announced $35 million to create a Canadian drug agency. We also want to ensure that there is money for it. We invested $1 million to address the issue of drugs for rare diseases. We will continue to work with the provinces and territories to ensure that all Canadians have access to a national pharmacare program.

Mr. Robert Aubin (Trois-Rivières, NDP)

Mr. Speaker, while the Conservatives and Liberals prepare for a war of words on the carbon tax, young people are marching in the streets to demand climate action. Political will and leadership are necessary to combat climate change. Both the Conservatives and the Liberals have shown that they have neither.

We in the NDP have the courage to act as well as an ambitious plan to start transitioning to green energy.

Will the government commit to stop subsidizing the oil sector and start transitioning to sustainable energy?

Mr. Sean Fraser (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Lib.)

Mr. Speaker, I have enormous respect for the young people who are advocating for more climate action. I wish politicians of all stripes would pay heed to the message they are sending us, which is we need to take action and we need to take action now.

The NDP is advocating for plans that we started implementing three years ago, not just putting a price on pollution but moving toward having 90% of our electricity generated from non-emitting resources by 2030; like making the largest investment in public transit in the history of our country; like making record investments in energy efficiency and green technology. With respect to fossil fuel subsidies, we have already phased out eight of nine that exist in the tax code.

When it comes to the NDP plan to eliminate all fossil fuel subsidies immediately, it has forgotten to consider that it actually provides electricity to northern communities and other—

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mr. Anthony Rota)

The hon. member for Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill.

Ms. Leona Alleslev (Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, CPC)

However, Mr. Speaker, he is not going to actually meet the targets.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer has confirmed what the Conservatives have been saying all along; that the Liberal carbon tax is a cash grab, not a climate change plan. The Prime Minister has tried to hide the real cost of his carbon tax, but the PBO has laid out the truth. The cost of gasoline would rise by at least 25¢ per litre.

When Canadians are trying to get ahead, not just get by, will the Prime Minister tell Canadians how much the full and final cost of this carbon tax will be?