Legislative Debate (18 May 2022)

From Hansard - 18 May 2022

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Federal Government Policies

The Assembly was debating the following motion moved by Bronwyn Eyre(Sask Party - Saskatoon Stonebridge-Dakota):

That this Assembly condemns the Trudeau-NDP coalition government for increasing the carbon tax, blocking pipelines, attacking the energy sector, bringing back the gun registry, and actively working against the interests of Western Canada.

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Mr. Keisig: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That was a fantastic speech by my colleague from Moose Jaw Wakamow. I’m honoured to be on my feet today and enter into debate. I want to pose a question to yourself, Mr. Speaker, and to every member in this Chamber. Why did you enter the political realm? What caused each and every person present here today to serve the province of Saskatchewan?

I know everyone will answer with the motivation to serve their communities, their constituents, the province, but there’s always a tipping point. There’s always that TSN [The Sports Network] turning point, Mr. Speaker. And what was it for yourselves? I want to talk about mine, Mr. Speaker.

April 4th, 2019, I was one of thousands who attended an anticarbon tax rally in Regina. A fleet of trucks from farmers, energy workers, and many associated industries converged on our capital city to protest against Justin Trudeau’s imposition of the carbon tax. Many people across multiple industries organized this event, and they brought forward a non-partisan event, Mr. Speaker, solely against the carbon tax, Bill C-69, C-48 — Justin Trudeau’s energy policies.

The organizers requested speakers from all three elected representatives in the province. They asked the federal cabinet minister, Ralph Goodale, to speak, the Opposition Leader, member from Saskatoon Meewasin; and they asked the Premier, the member from Rosthern-Shellbrook. Of those three requests, Mr. Speaker, only one showed up, our Premier. Our Premier gave a fantastic speech detailing all the problems with this form of taxation and how he and his caucus would denounce this new tax and defend Saskatchewan’s interests vigorously. The other two political figures who chose not to attend, well their silence spoke volumes, Mr. Speaker.

I’ve always been politically inclined, but the responsibility of family, work, farming always kept me busy. But being in that group in a large room at exhibition grounds with so many wonderful people listening to a great speech from the Premier, I decided I had to become more involved to ensure that the Premier’s message that day got out to all of Saskatchewan. Three years later, Mr. Speaker, I’m proud to stand here and join in on the opposition of the carbon tax.

I was reading some old newspaper articles about the rally, and I came across a quote from Blair Stewart in the Regina LeaderPost and this is, “When the carbon tax comes in, it’s going to raise the price of our fuel. It’s going to increase home heating and electric bills and increase grocery prices.” Well what a prophetic statement, Mr. Speaker. Every prediction Mr. Stewart made is accurate and is coming true right before our eyes. This tax does not reduce emissions. Instead it drives up all the prices of goods and services, puts Saskatchewan exports at an incredible disadvantage, and it hurts Saskatchewan families financially.

But, Mr. Speaker, on a positive note, we know that this tax is an example of horrible government policy but it is a policy that governments can change. My goal is to support elected officials who support the removal of this unfair, job-killing, price-raising form of taxation, Mr. Speaker.

Members opposite have talked all session about inflationary pressure on Saskatchewan people, which is a genuine concern that this government takes seriously. However not once have we seen a single member of the opposition speak out against this policy behind much of this inflation we live through today. They’ve sat here in this Assembly and spoken to the media about how concerned they are about inflation. Where are they when Saskatchewan people need their voice the most, Mr. Speaker? I can tell you where they were. Many were at rallies against pipelines and these policies that are hurting Saskatchewan families. And it shows Saskatchewan people that they continue to use the same old tactics that want to stunt this province’s growth.

Eleven cents a litre, Mr. Speaker, 11 cents a litre right now is the price on fuel of carbon tax, and that’s going to go up to 42 cents a litre very shortly. And that carbon tax is fully supported by Jagmeet Singh, the federal New Democratic Party. And our Premier has always been opposed to this tax and our colleagues in caucus have too.

I honestly don’t know, Mr. Speaker, if there’s been a more outof-touch government than the current Jagmeet Singh-Trudeau coalition. Their latest thing that they’re discussing is reducing nitrogen fertilizer emissions by 30 per cent. It’s very early stages but, I mean, what’s coming from the federal government right now is absolutely loaded with rhetoric and talking points but very low on factual information, Mr. Speaker. I have no idea why any government would try and impose their will on the absolute best food producers in the world. These emission-target discussions are in very early stages, Mr. Speaker, and we’re staying on top of it.

However, the reality in my constituency and across the province, there is so little trust in the coalition government due to their overbearing and heavy-handed approach in dealing with Western Canada. The last thing we need is some government scheme to reduce our farmers’ ability to manage their own business and produce agri-food products for ourselves and the world.

Now, Mr. Speaker, in this time of global uncertainty due to the reprehensible actions of Putin, we desperately need food and energy security. That is something this government understands, and I hope the members opposite will get that message to the Jagmeet Singh-Justin Trudeau coalition government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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