Liberal MP gives the finger while voting against Conservative motion to exempt home heating from Trudeau carbon tax

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre lost a vote in the House of Commons Monday to exempt the Liberal carbon tax on all home heating fuel, and a Liberal Member of Parliament apparently gave the finger while voting against the Conservative motion.

According to Poilievre, Trudeau secured the support of the separatist Bloc Quebecois before the vote as well as the party’s continued support to keep the Liberals in power. 

After the vote was tallied, Conservative House Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay (CPC-South Surrey-White Rock) rose on a point of order to condemn government MP Ken McDonald (Liberal-Avalon) who “literally gave the finger to … Canadians.”

“We just had a very important vote for Canadians and the member from Avalon literally gave the finger to those Canadians as he stood to vote for our motion which was to give them a break and a reprieve on home heating costs. He gave the finger to the seniors, he gave the finger to all those struggling to make ends meet in an unaffordable Canada,” she said.

McDonald claimed he had been merely scratching his head but video of the vote indicates otherwise.

Ironically, the Newfound and Labrador MP has voted against the implementation of the carbon tax on two occasions – an indication that many other Liberal MPs in Atlantic Canada could also rebel against what the Conservatives call “a punitive tax.”

The vote occurred just after Question Period, which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not attend. He was not in the House for the vote either. The motion was defeated by a vote of 186 to 135. Although the motion was non-binding and not a confidence vote that could bring down the government, it was potentially embarrassing for the Trudeau government which is losing the communications battle over selling the carbon tax as necessary to fight climate change.

In his first two questions, Poilievre said the Liberals had secured victory in the vote and guaranteed two more years of Liberal government by reaching a clandestine deal with the separatist Bloc.

“Today, though, we've learned that the Bloc’s desire to drastically increase this prime minister's carbon taxes are not random. The Bloc Quebecois in fact has promised the prime minister that they will keep him in power in a two-year costly coalition. What concessions did the Bloc get in order to keep this incompetent and costly prime minister in power? 

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland responded to Poilievre’s question but did not acknowledge any deal but did vote against the Conservative motion. 

The socialist New Democratic Party which has been in an informal coalition with the Liberal government sided with the Conservatives in Monday’s vote to pause the carbon tax on all fuels.

Last month, Trudeau announced a three-year carbon tax “pause” on home heating oil. That announcement overwhelmingly affected Canadians living in Atlantic Canada, where oil remains the home heating fuel of choice. The rest of Canada uses natural gas, which won’t be exempt from the carbon tax for the next three years.

Trudeau has promoted the carbon tax, which is rising to 61 cents on every liter of gas purchased at the pump, as a “tax on pollution” and a means of fighting climate change.

The “pause” was immediately attacked by the Conservative Party leader Poilievre as a way of appeasing unhappy Liberal MPs in Atlantic Canada who are worried about losing their seats in the next federal election over the economic burden created by the carbon tax.