Issues of the Day – May 10, 2018

May 11, 2018

1) Affordability 

ISSUE:

On Tuesday, the House debated a Conservative motion that would have called on the government to cancel any plans for new taxes that would raise prices on consumers. This comes after the Prime Minister claimed that Canadians must make “better choices”, while attempting to defend his decision to impose a carbon tax that will raise gas prices. 

The reality is that the Prime Minister’s suggestion to make “better choices” will not help most Canadians heat their homes and buy groceries. Instead of committing to lowering taxes for Canadians, the Liberals chose to vote against this Conservative motion.

KEY MESSAGES:

  • Justin Trudeau is making life more expensive for Canadian families.  Gas prices, electricity rates, taxes and mortgage payments are all increasing, making it difficult for families to make ends meet.
    • Justin Trudeau has raised income taxes on 80% of middle class taxpayers, boosted payroll taxes and now he is ramming through a carbon tax that will inflate other consumer prices. Worse, his government is covering up how much the tax will cost the average Canadian family.
  • Over the last two years, Conservatives have asked the government dozens of times to tell us how much a middle-class family will pay in new taxes and each time the Liberals have refused to tell Canadians.
    • The Liberals admit that gasoline prices will go up by at least 11¢ a litre and that the cost of heating one's home will increase by over $200. However, they will not tell us the overall cost to an average Canadian family, because they do not want people to know what this scheme will cost.
  • The Parliamentary Budget Officer released a new report recently which found that the Liberal carbon tax will take $10 billion out of the Canadian economy by 2022, while other estimates argue the cost could be as much as $35 billion per year.  This will hurt jobs, workers and their families.
  • Proponents of carbon taxes say the costs of the carbon tax can be reimbursed, and that it is more efficient than regulation:
    • But there is no jurisdiction in Canada where the carbon tax is revenue neutral. In every province, it has become just another revenue source; and
    • In no jurisdiction have regulations actually been reduced.
  • The Liberals’ carbon tax will not lead to major emission reductions in Canada.
    • Despite having the highest carbon tax in Canada, emissions have continued to rise in British Columbia.
    • As a result, British Columbians now pay more for gas than anyone else in North America. BC’s carbon tax isn’t helping the environment; it’s just costing people more to get to work and to take their kids to hockey and soccer practice.
    • Conservatives understand that you cannot tax your way to a cleaner environment.
  • Andrew Scheer’s Conservatives will continue to fight for lower taxes and we will continue to call on the Liberals to end their carbon tax cover-up!

If pressed on our environmental plan:

  • As our leader has said, we will be unveiling a detailed and comprehensive environmental plan before the next election.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Low-level carbon taxes are not effective at reducing GHG emissions:

  • According to the Ecofiscal Commission: “Over time, we need deeper emissions reductions. That’s why a rising carbon price is so important. As the carbon price increases, it will affect more decisions, resulting in more emissions reductions. But even a carbon price of $100 per tonne won’t force actions that cost $200 or even thousands of dollars per tonne. A predictable and gradually rising path for the carbon price will let individuals and businesses plan for the future, again keeping costs down.” https://ecofiscal.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Ecofiscal-Commission-Carbon-Pricing-Report-Clearing-the-Air-April-4-2018.pdf

2) Illegal Border Crossers

ISSUE: 

Since Justin Trudeau tweeted #welcometoCanada last year, over 20,000 asylum seekers have illegally crossed into Canada. It is expected that upwards of 400 individuals per day will cross through unofficial entry points during the summer months. 

Under the Safe Third Country Agreement, those seeking asylum must do so in the country where they first arrived. This prohibits people coming from the United States from seeking asylum at an official port of entry in Canada. However, this does not apply when people cross at unofficial entry points. 

Instead of committing to closing the loophole, the Liberals continued their band-aid approach to the issue. They announced that they would be prioritizing work permits for illegal border crossers over those that entered the country legally, and that they plan to send immigration officers to Nigeria to help process U.S. visas. These actions would not be necessary if the Liberals listened to Conservatives, and closed the loophole in the Safe Third Country Agreement. 

KEY MESSAGES: 

  • Canadians expect our immigration system to be compassionate and fair.
  • What is not compassionate, and what is not fair, is when individuals are forced to live in homeless shelters, tent cities and makeshift refugee camps because the Prime Minister has compromised the integrity of our immigration system.
  • As a result of Justin Trudeau’s failure to manage a planned immigration system, social services across several provinces and cities are stretched to their breaking point.
  • Justin Trudeau should be ensuring that when the world’s most vulnerable come to Canada, they are given access to the resources and resettlement services necessary to successfully integrate into our social and economic fabric. Instead, the Prime Minister has had to spend hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on band-aid solutions to deal with his  inability to manage Canada’s immigration system.
  • By reallocating immigration officers to process illegal crossers, Justin Trudeau is forcing families to wait longer for reunification and thousands of privately-sponsored refugees to languish in UNHCR camps. This is not fair.
  • Andrew Scheer’s Conservatives will continue to advocate for a compassionate and fair immigration system, hold Justin Trudeau accountable, and call for the Safe Third Country loophole to be closed by  designating the entire Canada-U.S. border as an official port of entry.