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

Mr. Speaker, to repeat an earlier answer, the analysis laid out in the report does not consider certain measures that will be implemented in the next 11 years and in fact leaves out certain measures that have already been announced, such as our investments in public transit, our subsidy for zero emissions vehicles or advancement in carbon sequestration technology.

With respect to the cost of our plan to put a price on pollution, I am pleased to advise the hon. member that eight out of 10 families that live in the riding she represents will be better off. They will have already received a climate action incentive of $307 and that will climb year over year.

It will be curious to see how that member campaigns in the next election with a promise to take that money from her constituents.

Ms. Marilyn Gladu (Sarnia—Lambton, CPC)

That is simply not true, Mr. Speaker.

Half of Canadians are about $200 away from being able to pay their bills each month, yet the Liberals carbon tax will put a painful 23¢ per litre increase in the price of gasoline, and that will do nothing to help climate change.

The Liberals have said they want to help the middle class, but they are punishing it and those hoping to join it. Why ?

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

Mr. Speaker, we now see Conservative MP after Conservative MP repeating false points in this chamber. It is entirely inappropriate. When it comes to the issue of affordability, I note that the Parliamentary Budget Officer previously confirmed—

Oh, oh!

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mr. Anthony Rota)

I do not know what it is about the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment, but he keeps getting help from the other side when he is trying to answer a question to which the member for Sarnia—Lambton wants an answer. I want everybody to let the hon. parliamentary secretary answer the question and we will keep it down so the member can hear the answer.

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

Mr. Sean Fraser

Mr. Speaker, on occasion the truth can hurt, but it is important we say it as loud as we can no matter how many times it takes.

The truth is that the Parliamentary Budget Officer has confirmed that eight out of 10 families will be better off. If the Conservatives were concerned about affordability, I am curious as to why they voted against a tax cut for nine million middle-class Canadians and voted in favour of maintaining a favourable tax system for the wealthiest 1%. When they had an opportunity to support the Canada child benefit, which put more money into the pockets of nine out of 10 families, they voted against that.

Mr. Joël Godin (Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, CPC)

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are the ones telling untruths.

This government is not telling the truth. After discrediting the United Nations it continues to undermine the findings of scientists and a number of relevant authorities, including the commissioner of the environment. Even the Parliamentary Budget Officer, an independent officer of the House of Commons, said yesterday that the Liberals' plan was insufficient to meet the Paris targets.

When it comes to the environment, the Liberals are misleading Canadians.

Once again, why is this Liberal government incapable of telling the truth?

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

Mr. Speaker, it would be easier to take criticism from a member of a party that has actually advanced a climate plan to date. The Conservatives refuse to and they refuse to put their plan before the Parliamentary Budget Officer.

If we want to see what a Conservative climate plan looks like, we should look at Doug Ford, who dismantled flood protections and showed up asking what the heck was going on. When we look at it, it will be less effective to reduce emissions and will be twice as expensive for households.

I would suggest the member, instead of attacking our plan, which is credible, talk to some of his caucus colleagues, who seem not to understand that climate change is real, who say that global warming is simply body heat coming off humans, who refuse to acknowledge the signs. When we look at the IPCC or Canada's changing climate report, it is real and we have a duty to—

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mr. Anthony Rota)

The hon. member for Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier.

Mr. Joël Godin (Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, CPC)

Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate to hear that from the Liberals. This government is out of touch and has no credibility on environmental matters. What planet is it living on?

The Liberals are the only ones who believe that Canada will meet its Paris targets with their plan. I invite the Liberals to come back to planet Earth and do something now to protect it.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer said that Canadians will have to get poorer and pay five times more than the current carbon tax if we want to meet the Paris targets. Canadians deserve the truth.

Why is the government hiding the truth?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would point the hon. member to an article this past week, in which his leader refused to acknowledge the connection between severe weather events and climate change. The deputy leader of the Conservative Party tweeted out a quote to a similar effect. He has caucus colleagues who point to snowbanks in Saskatchewan in February as proof that climate change is not real. He has colleagues who do not want to abide by the Paris agreement, yet he has the audacity to criticize us on our plan to meet those targets.

The fact is that we will meet our targets, because failure is not an option. This is the greatest challenge of our generation and we found a way to do it that makes it more affordable for families.

Mr. Dane Lloyd (Sturgeon River—Parkland, CPC)

Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Budget Officer has released a scathing report that the Liberals will not meet their Paris climate change targets, that is, unless they raise the price at the pump by 23¢ a litre.

The Liberals have promised that they will not raise this until after the election. No kidding. They will wait until after the election when they no longer need Canadian votes, but still need their money.

When will the Liberals finally come clean and tell Canadians the true cost of their carbon tax plan?

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

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member represents part of the province of Alberta, which I called home for a number of years. I am pleased to share with the hon. member that the province he represents will have constituents next year receiving a climate action incentive of $888 at tax time, which is more than they will pay as a result of our plan to put a price on pollution.

If he puts so much stock in the Parliamentary Budget Officer's report, I would challenge him to speak to his leader about presenting the Conservative Party platform so they can understand the cost. If he wants to look a little further, I can point him to the prior report of the PBO, which indicated that eight out of 10 families would have more money in their pockets.

I do not know why this is the case, but the Conservatives seem allergic to money for—

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mr. Anthony Rota)

The hon. member for Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock.

Mr. Jamie Schmale (Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, CPC)

Mr. Speaker, the environment minister said that she would make her Paris targets, but the PBO has confirmed that the only way the Liberals' carbon tax will work is if they charge 23¢ a litre more for gasoline. Life is already too expensive. Canadians are already struggling to pay their heating bills and buy groceries. Clearly, this punishing tax plan will severely hurt families and seniors, particularly those on fixed incomes.

When will the Liberals finally admit that their carbon tax is not an environmental plan; it is a tax plan?

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

Mr. Speaker, I find the question rich coming from a member who decided to hide the fact that the climate action incentive existed in a publication to his constituents, which was designed to tell them how they could maximize their tax refund. The fact is that families of four in Ontario received $307 this year, and that rebate will grow over time.

It seems as though the Conservatives are putting their fingers in their ears, saying they do not want to hear the truth because the truth is not helpful to them. Every time they have the chance, they vote against measures that put more money in the pockets of Canadian households. We found the most effective way to reduce emissions, we found a way to make life more affordable and, every time, they seem to vote against measures that have that impact.

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mr. Anthony Rota)

Before I go to the next question, I want to remind some members who have very strong voices that carry very well to be mindful of the strength of their voices. It drowns out answers we are trying to hear.

The hon. member for Vancouver Kingsway.

Mr. Don Davies (Vancouver Kingsway, NDP)

Mr. Speaker, the Hoskins' advisory council was clear that Canadians needed public pharmacare, yet the government refuses to commit to it. People are making impossible choices when it comes to the prescription drugs they need, choices like paying their rent or filling a prescription, cutting pills to make a bottle last longer or skipping their medicine altogether. People are getting sicker and dying.

A simple question deserves a clear answer from the health minister. Will the Liberals implement a universal, comprehensive, single-payer pharmacare or not?

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

Mr. Speaker, we agree that Canadians should not have to choose between putting food on their table and paying for prescription medication. That is why we are committed to ensuring that all Canadians have access to a national pharmacare program. The work has been under way for a few years.

The first thing we have done is some work to lower the costs of drugs in the country. In budget 2019, we announced $35 million to ensure we would have a Canadian drug agency that would help us make this plan a reality.

We are deeply committed to ensuring that all Canadians have the prescriptions they deserve.

Mr. Don Davies (Vancouver Kingsway, NDP)

That is what the Liberals said in 1997, Mr. Speaker.

There were 11,500 Canadians who died from opioid overdoses between 2016 and 2019. Opioid deaths have risen every year of the Liberal government's mandate. This is a true epidemic.

The Liberals say that they are doing everything possible, but they are not. We need a national declaration of a public health emergency, federal funding for overdose prevention sites, more investments into treatments and an end to the cause of this carnage, which is a poisoned street supply.

Why are the Liberals refusing to take these overdue measures that will save lives?