M-92 Climate crisis and affordability

That:

(a) the House recognize that,

(i) we are in the middle of both a climate crisis and a cost-of-living crisis,

(ii) people across the country are struggling to afford housing and food, while also dealing with formerly unprecedented climate disasters that will only continue to get worse if urgent action is not taken,

(iii) while this is happening, fossil fuel companies made record profits last year, with the five largest fossil fuel companies operating in Canada alone making record annual profits of over $38 billion,

(iv) a significant portion of these profits were made as a result of price-gouging at the pump in 2022, costing Canadians an additional 18 cents per litre more than typical profit margins on fuel, far more than the increase of 2 cents per litre from carbon pricing during that same period,

(v) despite these immense profits, most fossil fuel companies have announced their intention to, or have already begun, walking back what few climate pledges they had made,

(vi) for other large industries operating in Canada, such as banking and insurance, that made profits in excess of their average annual profit over the preceding 10 years, the government has recognized these profits as unreasonable profiteering off of Canadians during a time of economic hardship and put into place a 15% windfall tax on these profits through the 2022 Fall Economic Statement’s Canada Recovery Dividend,

(vii) the Parliamentary Budget Officer has determined that extending the Canada Recovery Dividend to include the excess profits of fossil fuel companies operating in Canada could generate additional revenues of up to $4.4 billion,

(viii) larger windfall taxes have been applied to excess profits of oil and gas companies operating in the United Kingdom, at a rate of 25% generating 5 billion pounds (approximately $8.4 billion), and in Europe, at a rate of 21% generating 140 billion euros (approximately $203 billion); and

(b) in the opinion of the House, the government should,

(i) immediately extend the Canada Recovery Dividend to include the excess profits of fossil fuel companies operating in Canada,

(ii) reallocate the revenue raised to support further action on proven solutions that both address the climate crisis and improve affordability for Canadians, such as investments in public transit, retrofitting buildings, and greening the electricity grid, in recognition that carbon pricing cannot be a standalone climate policy.