The House resumed from May 30 consideration of the motion for an address to His Majesty the King in reply to his speech at the opening of the session, and of the amendment as amended.
:
Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for .
On behalf of Nipissing—Timiskaming, I would like to offer my support to our fellow citizens of Saskatchewan and Manitoba who have been affected by the forest fires. May rain and calm weather return quickly to the affected communities.
[Translation]
Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate you on your election as Speaker.
I am very proud to follow in the footsteps of Anthony Rota, who served as the Speaker of the House of Commons from 2019 to 2023. He also served the people of Nipissing—Timiskaming for 17 years.
[English]
Let me start by sharing a bit of information about my riding, which is only four hours west of Ottawa. Nipissing—Timiskaming is made up of many unique communities. As a former mayor of my community, I know that each community deserves a representative who recognizes its distinctive character. I commit before my colleagues today to serving each community and its citizens with attention and discernment.
There are areas of our riding such as Bear Island and Garden Village, which are home to the Nipissing, Temagami, Antoine and Matawa/North Bay Algonquin first nations. It is with honour and respect that I say meegwetch to the original people and affirm my commitment and responsibility to advance the process of reconciliation. It is important to them that the government recognize the rights and contributions of the Anishinabe first nations in all discussions concerning their lands, resources and economic opportunities.
[Translation]
I also want to talk about the francophone population in my riding. Nearly one-third of the residents of Nipissing—Timiskaming have a working knowledge of French and English. During the election campaign, many people spoke to me about the importance of a federal government that will continue to defend the rights, freedoms and prosperity of francophone communities outside Quebec. They also spoke about the importance of protecting institutions that promote francophone culture, such as Radio-Canada.
[English]
That is a snapshot of my riding and its people.
When I met with people, including business owners and organization leaders, in my riding, the issue that came up most often was leadership. That is why, when Mark Carney released the plan entitled “Canada Strong”—
:
Mr. Speaker, when the plan entitled “Canada Strong” was released, it immediately resonated with the people in my riding, so I congratulate all who developed this plan, which addresses our nation's fundamental need at this critical time: economic prosperity. I would now like to share some of the significant comments I received regarding economic prosperity from three sectors of my riding: mining, agriculture and defence.
The first are comments received from the mining sector. As some may know, northern Ontario accounts for most of Ontario's mining activity, with approximately 200 companies, a third of which are in Nipissing—Timiskaming. Mining is the largest commercial contributor to the GDP of Nipissing—Timiskaming. The riding is a hub for the global mining supply and services sector.
This past weekend, the mining institute of Canada celebrated 100 years of mining in North Bay. From North Bay, companies export and operate around the globe via the city's well-developed transportation network, including highway, rail and air connections. The local industry is known internationally for its innovation, and it collaborates with post-secondary institutions to develop new technologies.
When I met with representatives of these companies, there were three issues that came forward. The first is access to labour. With mining expected to see strong growth in the next few years, what is problematic is that 21% of mining workers in North Bay are over the age of 55 and are nearing retirement. The shortage of housing remains a major barrier to attracting new residents to the region and is why housing projects tied to the North Bay area will continue to need support in this mandate of government.
A second issue is tied to the fact that 65% of local companies will be introducing new products to the market, and they will continue to need strong support for innovation from organizations such as FedNor and the Business Development Bank. The third issue is that 60% of these companies export around the world, and they will continue to need support from Export Development Canada for managing their risks.
Second, I would like to say a few words about agriculture. We sometimes do not think of the north in terms of agriculture, but there are significant opportunities for expansion in the agricultural sector in Nipissing—Timiskaming, in what is known as Little Claybelt: the area of Temiskaming Shores, Earlton and Belle Vallée. In Timiskaming, there are 456 dairy, cattle and crop farms, with an average size of over 500 acres. With the growing days, days that are getting longer, it is predicted that this is an area that will have much opportunity moving forward.
When I met with influencers in that area, they spoke about three things. The first is protecting supply management. They were very thrilled with the words that were included in the Speech from the Throne, as well as with statements made by the new . However, they pointed out the last trade negotiations with the United States, where supply management was supposedly off the table but concessions were nonetheless made at the last minute, so they intend to remain vigilant in the future.
Their second concern is for financing. They need the support of Farm Credit Canada and FedNor. Third, they ask that Highway 11 north be included in the Canada strong plan, as it is an important highway that falls under the plan's provisions for building an east-west trading corridor and twinning the Trans-Canada Highway. As we know, Highway 11 is the main route used for truckers as they travel the country from east to west.
Finally, I will say a few words about defence. People may not recognize that since 1951, the city of North Bay has been home to the Canadian Forces base known as 22 Wing North Bay. It has 500 military personnel who provide surveillance and warning for the aerospace defence industry and work closely with NORAD in Colorado. There are also U.S. military personnel stationed in North Bay.
From a city perspective, there is a strong interest in our base. It has strong ties to our communities. We have an airport with a military-grade runway. Flight schools, a Canadore College aviation campus and Voyageur Aviation Corporation operate out of this facility. There is an increased interest in the impact of the “Canada Strong” plan, which focuses on rebuilding, rearming and reinvesting. The base's facilities need housing improvements.
I will also say a quick word about an issue tied to the CFB but not its daily operations. It is related to a major water contamination problem. PFAS, known as a “forever chemical”, used in the foam for air defence firefighter training until the late 1990s, seeped into the airport grounds and surrounding groundwater. The city and the Department of National Defence have reached a $20-million agreement to clean up the airport. However, and I will conclude on this point, the contamination has also seeped into waterways connected to Trout Lake, which supplies North Bay with drinking water.
In recent months, Health Canada has established that the maximum allowable concentration of PFAS in drinking water is 30 nanograms per litre, while Ontario's 2024 drinking water report indicates that the City of North Bay's drinking water system is the only known system in Ontario that consistently exceeds this limit due to historic PFAS contamination. As a result, additional funding is needed to upgrade North Bay's water treatment plan and to remove PFAS from the water supply. This is urgent.
[Translation]
There are so many other things that I could say with regard to the comments that I heard from my community following the election and with regard to our “Canada Strong” plan. That being said, I am pleased to see that the plan and the Speech from the Throne identify those issues and that meaningful action will be taken to address each one of them.
In closing, I want to reiterate my full support for the throne speech on behalf of the people of Nipissing—Timiskaming. I am happy to take any questions from my colleagues.
:
Mr. Speaker, I rise today with my maiden speech, with profound gratitude to my constituents, my family and my colleagues, and with immense pride as the newly elected member of Parliament for Port Moody—Coquitlam, which includes the villages of Anmore, Belcarra and beautiful B.C.'s coastal communities. Our community spans the ancestral and unceded homelands of the Coast Salish peoples, including the Kwikwetlem, Tsleil-Waututh, Musqueam, Squamish, Katzie, Kwantlen, Kyuquot and Stó:lo nations. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to them for caring for these lands since time immemorial.
Like many in the House, I did not get here alone. My path has been paved by the trust and support of my community, the voters who placed their faith in me for the past 14 years, first as their voice in local government and now as their member of Parliament. They believe in progress and the idea that government can and must be a force for good in their lives. It is their collective voices that guide me here today. It is humbling and energizing all at the same time. The responsibility of it is enormous. This role is not about representing a riding on paper, but about effectively giving voice to people's concerns, their ambitions and their faith in what Canada can become.
All along, I have been inspired by my mom. She is 85 now and was a trailblazer as one of Canada's first female OBGYNs. It was lonely for women in the profession in Calgary in the beginning, where she first practised. That is where some of the very hard times in Alberta were back then for women. A woman had to be a victim of rape or claim mental insanity for the right to choose. Today, more than 50% of those in the profession are women. Mom was very active with the status of women and the creation of the “Shocking Pink Paper” of 1988 to ensure that Canada's daughters were safe from harm in the workplace and had equal rights and equal pay. I have big shoes to fill, but I need all members to stand with me in doing this important work.
I also extend my heartfelt thanks to my family: my husband Gaetan, our kids Isabelle, Vincent, Carola, and Charlotte, and my awesome dad, who is an extraordinary mentor. He is retired as a geophysicist, but he still teaches at the Mount Royal University in the sciences.
I offer my sincerest gratitude to my community back home and my phenomenal campaign team and volunteers, for without them I could not be here today.
Port Moody is a jewel of the Lower Mainland, from the mighty Fraser River in the south to the serene Burrard Inlet in the west, through the towering trees of Anmore and Belcarra. Our region is a meeting place, a city of nature, tradition, innovation and cultures from every corner of the world. Our diversity is our strength. Nearly half of Coquitlam's residents are immigrants, people who came from around the world to build a better life. They bring with them talent, drive and compassion. These values show up in our schools, our businesses, our local arts scene and our community, everywhere. It showcases who we are.
We are also a community of care. Non-profit groups like SHARE Family & Community Services work tirelessly to support families in our community. The Port Moody and Coquitlam foundations support our community as well with their needs and ideas. Our first nation partners continue to teach us what stewardship and respect for the land truly mean.
In 2021, when I was on the Port Moody city council, I co-authored a report calling for meaningful engagement with first nations, support for UNDRIP, the implementation of the five truth and reconciliation recommendations that municipalities have within their power, and of course a blanket exercise for council and staff. It is my hope that every Canadian can participate in and experience a blanket exercise so they can truly understand the devastation of colonialism.
I am encouraged by the recent Speech from the Throne, “Building Canada Strong: A bold, ambitious plan for our future”. It outlines a vision that meets this moment. It does not sugarcoat the challenges ahead but reminds us of what Canada can be if we act with purpose and we act together. We are not here to manage decline; we are here to share and build progress.
The throne speech delivered by His Majesty King Charles III speaks of a country that must not settle for getting by, but one that must invest boldly in building up. It calls for Canada to make sure that no one is left behind, where prosperity is shared and where ambition is matched with action. All this is backed up by a plan in the “Canada Strong” vision that was laid out by our , and as a new MP, I believe in it. It diagnoses what is not working and points to what is possible when the government works together.
The “Canada Strong” plan recognizes what Canadians already know, that affordability is the central issue, and it calls for a transformative approach to housing. This would remove the barriers in building and make sure that people have access to clean and secure housing in a way never seen before.
Innovation is not a trade-off, but a growth strategy. Companies like Moment Energy, based right here in Coquitlam, are already leading the way. By repurposing EV batteries, they are proving that sustainability and entrepreneurship go hand in hand.
The King also speaks to small businesses, like the ones in my community, lining St. Johns and Clarke streets in Port Moody, or Austin Avenue and North Road in Coquitlam. They are not just job creators. These people are dreamers, risk-takers and community builders. The “Canada Strong” plan supports them with targeted tax relief and by reducing red tape so that they can do what they want to: grow, hire and innovate. However, none of this is possible without us working together.
Just as importantly, the plan doubles down on Canada's most enduring advantage: its people. This means continuing to invest in universal, affordable child care. It means tackling systemic inequities in health, education and income, and, yes, it means reconciliation, but not with words alone.
The King's lifelong advocacy on sustainability and climate action has emphasized partnerships among governments, businesses and communities for the very reason that nature is our life support system. It sees young activists as the architects of tomorrow.
During COVID, while I was on city council, I met with a group of grade 4 and 5 students in our school district. They called themselves the “super team”, which stands for “single-use plastic elimination reinforcers”. They shared their concerns about animals, fish and birds that were strangled by plastic or malnourished because their stomachs were full of it. They wanted a ban. They came to Port Moody city council and got unanimous support, then they went to the province, and now we have this ban happening federally. Kids from my community led the way and influenced the legislation. This gave us hope. They give me hope.
Like the King's speech, with themes of unity and service in the spirit of “Canada Strong”, the super team story shows how extraordinary people, especially youth, can drive extraordinary change through collaboration and perseverance. Let us continue this good work together.
:
Mr. Speaker, it is the honour of a lifetime to rise for my first speech in this chamber.
As I stand here today within these four walls, surrounded by well over a century of Canadian history, I am all too aware of the awesome responsibility I have been given, and I am humbled to be the first member of Parliament for the newly established riding of Vernon—Lake Country—Monashee.
Many years ago, when I worked here as a young legislative assistant, I promised myself that when I came back to the Hill, I would do so as a member of Parliament, and I promised myself I would model my career after Darrel Stinson, a former member of Parliament and a legend in his own right. Darrel was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in 2006 and advised to get his affairs in order. He survived that and then some time later went on to beat stage 4 cancer yet again. Darrel will be turning 80 this Thursday, almost two decades later. I wish a happy birthday to Darrel. I can only hope to fill his shoes in this place.
Our riding is a jewel of British Columbia, with towering forests, rolling vineyards, pristine lakes and snow-capped peaks, but it is not just the landscape that makes it exceptional; it is the resources and our people. There is gold in the Monashees, silver in the Slocan Valley, forestry in Lumby and Cherryville, agriculture in the Okanagan and tourism throughout. They are people who work hard, build communities and believe that if government just gets out of the way, they will get the job done.
Our riding is a microcosm of Canada. Canada should be one of the most prosperous nations on earth. We are rich in resources, talent and innovation. However, we are not rich. Our people are struggling. Our natural resources are vast, and our people are willing, but Liberal policies have stifled opportunity, burdened industry and made prosperity feel out of reach for far too many.
Let us call this what it is. It is a government that has lost faith in what built this country: work, resourcefulness and the industries that sustain our towns. Small businesses are struggling not because we lack potential but because we are being held back. I know this first-hand. My own small trucking business cannot move material on bicycles or in electric cars, so the carbon tax simply means I have to charge more and my customers have to pay more. That is the very definition of inflation. The endless seas of paper we have to swim through, the red tape and the crippling taxation make it almost impossible for small business to get ahead.
This Liberal government has made life harder for everyday Canadians. While Mr. Trudeau is gone, the architect of his economic disaster remains on the front bench across the aisle, and the brains behind it have taken his place. In fact, very little has changed, despite the 's rhetoric to the contrary. Our last Liberal prime minister told Canadians the budget would balance itself. Now we do not even have a budget.
For the past 10 years, Ottawa has not just been in the way; it has been the problem. In Vernon—Lake Country—Monashee, we see the consequences every single day. Forestry, once the backbone of communities like Lumby and Cherryville, has been crippled by indecision and red tape. Sawmills are shuttered. Skilled workers are unemployed, not because the trees are gone but because the political will is gone. In the Monashees, responsible mining projects with strong local support are stalled in endless federal reviews. While the world clamours for critical minerals, we are stuck in neutral.
Many of our residents once worked up north in the oil fields and on our pipelines and then came home for the weekends, because they could live in the beautiful Okanagan, but this Liberal government killed the northern gateway and energy east pipelines and left us at the mercy of the American energy industry and government tariffs.
Tourism operators, whether guiding hikes through forests or running lodges along our lakes, face rising costs, labour shortages and a government more interested in lecturing than listening. Then there is agriculture. Our orchards, wineries, breweries and distilleries are second to none, but if I ask any grower or small producer, they will tell me the same thing: They are being taxed, regulated and carbon-priced out of business. These are family operations, and they have so much potential. They do not ask for subsidies; they ask for fairness.
Instead of unleashing that potential, this Liberal government has spent a decade tying it up with bureaucracy, ideology and economic self-sabotage. This government has consistently treated prosperity like something to apologize for. I, for one, wholeheartedly reject that.
However, I did not come here to dwell in frustration. I came here because I believe in a better way forward. Our Conservative vision is simple: less interference, more opportunity; less punishment, more prosperity; and a government that respects hard work instead of penalizing it.
We believe in unlocking Canada's potential, which means, number one, reviving our forestry sector with clear, science-based regulations and the predictability that companies need to invest long-term; number two, fast-tracking responsible resource projects, particularly those critical to global supply chains and local paycheques; number three, cutting the red tape and tax burdens that are choking small farms, wineries and craft producers; and finally, concentrating revenue on tangible infrastructure, like safe highways, broadband for rural businesses and upgraded safety, not on more giveaways, handouts and social interference.
Most of all, we believe that families, not Ottawa, know what is best for themselves. That means allowing parents to guide their own children and keep more of what they earn, letting small business grow without fear of the next federal penalty and helping communities shape their own future.
The people of Vernon—Lake Country—Monashee did not send me here to manage decline. They sent me here to fight for growth and to restore faith in the promise of this country. This promise is not abstract. It is a father back to work at a reopened sawmill. It is a young entrepreneur opening a craft cidery without drowning in federal paperwork. It is tourists returning to Silver Star and the Shuswap with ease, because the infrastructure keeps up with demand. It is families paddling on a lake or sitting around a campfire, because their town did not become a victim of urban centralization. That is what I stand for, not more Ottawa, not more empty rhetoric. I stand for a Canada that believes in itself again.
Canadians are tired of government that spends more, delivers less and tells them they should feel guilty for wanting to succeed. They are tired of watching opportunity pass them by while their leaders play it safe, hedge their bets and avoid hard truths. As C.S. Lewis wrote, we all want progress, but progress means getting nearer to where one wants to be. If one is on the wrong road, progress means turning around and walking back to the right road. We are on the wrong road. It is time for a new approach. My riding and this country are ready to thrive again.
I stand here today not as a cynic but as a realist with hope: hope that Canada can rise to meet this moment, that we can be a nation where prosperity is earned, not punished; where natural beauty is matched by economic strength; where we are proud of who we are, not apologizing for it. I want to make one thing clear to everyone listening in this chamber and across Canada. I am not here to stoke division for its own sake. I am here to help Canadians pull toward the best possible future, where every resource, every community and every family has the freedom to flourish.
To my Liberal friends in particular, I invite them to set aside economic gaslighting and ideological double-talk and join us in practical steps to restore Canada to its rightful place as a global leader in resource-rich prosperity. When they talk about making us an energy superpower, let us follow it with actions to make it happen and not excuses about why it cannot be done. Empty slogans are not enough. Pipelines are crucial. Work with us to rebuild the forestry sector so the forest workers no longer worry about their next paycheque. Collaborate on intelligent mining reforms that honour both the environment and the people who earn their living from the land. Above all, let us recognize that our differences are far smaller than our shared dreams.
Whether one belongs to a small family restaurant in Lake Country or works for a forestry co-op in Cherryville, and regardless of which party we belong to, every Canadian wants good schools, safe neighbourhoods and a stable community. Every Canadian wants to look their children in the eye and say that tomorrow will be better than today. Let us stop pretending, and let us get to work to make that happen.
:
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to stand in this place and speak to the Speech from the Throne. As this is the first time I am rising in this Parliament, I would like to take a moment to express my gratitude to the voters in Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek for once again putting their faith in me to be their representative here in Ottawa. It is truly an honour, one that I take very seriously.
No one gets here on their own, and I want to thank my team and the volunteers who showed up day after day during the campaign. Lastly, I want to thank my husband, Milton, and my entire family, who have stood by me and behind me every step of the way.
I also want to acknowledge all those individuals displaced as a result of the fires in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, as well as all those fighting hard to ensure those communities remain safe.
The people in my riding and, indeed, Saskatchewan, overwhelmingly voted for hope and change. They understood that our country would not thrive under more of the same failed Liberal policies. While the promised change, a different Liberal government and a more serious approach, we are not off to a good start. As it turns out, things are not so different after all, starting with the Prime Minister naming Trudeau's foremost ministers to the most senior roles in his cabinet.
Immediately after their swearing-in, his ministers made statements refuting the various policies he had run on. For example, the claimed that no pipelines will be built, and the stated that he intends to make sure housing prices do not come down. It is not a good sign that while Canadians are struggling with affordability and businesses face uncertainty, Liberal ministers want to suppress the country's largest industry and keep young Canadians priced out of the housing market.
Members will remember when the said during the election campaign, “a plan beats no plan.” Canadians were rightly expecting to see that plan put forward in the Speech from the Throne, followed by a budget. However, with the campaign behind him, the Prime Minister announced he is waiting until the fall, pushing off the plan, as well as the accountability that comes through the scrutiny of a government's budget. Instead we are left with a throne speech full of half measures, no budget and main estimates that include more spending than under Trudeau, with an 8% increase.
During the election, the said that despite being an economic adviser to Trudeau, he would be different; he would reorient the government to be more fiscally responsible. The throne speech stated, “In all of its actions, the Government will be guided by a new fiscal discipline: spend less so Canadians can [save] more.” However, no sooner did the promise of fiscal responsibility pass his lips than it is already being broken. Now we see that the spending of the Trudeau years will carry on under the current Prime Minister.
The main estimates were released last week, with the government asking to spend nearly half a trillion dollars in its first spending bill. How can the Liberals keep a straight face in claiming to be fiscally responsible while supporting a spending bill that even outstrips Trudeau’s spending from last year? Within this half-trillion dollar ask, the government has earmarked $26 billion in spending on consultants. That is an 11% increase in spending on those consultants.
In the last Parliament, Conservatives uncovered what the Liberals paid for: consultants who had padded their pockets through double-dipping, fraudulent billing and, at the end of it all, subpar work that could have been done in-house by the public service. Perhaps the additional billions in spending is due to the new list of Liberal insiders that the new brings with him from his previous career.
In the arrive scam scandal, a consulting firm billed tens of millions of dollars to build a simple app but did none of the work, work that some programmers were able to replicate over a weekend. Roughly $60 million is known to have been spent on this app; the number may be even higher, but, because shoddy documentation was kept, the Auditor General could not confirm it, so we will never know.
We also found out that McKinsey, a favourite consulting firm of the Liberals, was given preferential treatment, leading to $100 million in government contracts. The Liberals used a contract vehicle called a national master standing offer, which is usually reserved for vendors who offer a specialized service that government departments need access to. When the Auditor General reviewed these contracts, she found that McKinsey should not have been given special access to the government contracts.
In the throne speech, the also promised to work with indigenous peoples to identify and catalyze projects of national significance. Given the Liberal government's track record on indigenous procurement, I believe this will be another empty promise.
While studying the procurement strategy for indigenous businesses, the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates found that the government was not verifying the indigeneity of businesses. During testimony, indigenous groups and businesses suggested that most of the funding through this program was going to non-indigenous businesses that were posing as indigenous. The Liberals allowed this abuse by ignoring the rules and a lack of indigenous leadership and/or ownership while handing out millions of dollars in contracts. The government was unable to offer any explanation for its failure to ensure that programs meant to benefit indigenous peoples and businesses did so.
Although this study was cut short when the election was called, the issues persist and must be addressed, especially if the government intends to fast-track major projects across the country. This leads us to the promise in the speech to create a “new Major Federal Project Office”.
Imitation is truly the best form of flattery. In 2007, the Harper government created the Major Projects Management Office. The goal of the office at that time was to improve coordination within Canada's regulatory system by providing industry with a single, efficient point of entry into the federal process. It also provided for the integration of Crown consultation requirements with indigenous communities at the beginning of the process. This further demonstrated the Harper government's commitment to consulting with and listening to Canadians, especially those most directly affected by resource development projects, all while upholding Canada's world-class environmental standards. Does this sound familiar?
However, the last 10 years of an antidevelopment Liberal government has made Canada dependent on and vulnerable to the U.S. Without a commitment to scrap the production cap on Canadians, to repeal Bill and Bill , and to axe the federal industrial carbon tax, this proposal is just another empty promise.
In closing, the promises made in the Speech from the Throne do not line up with Liberals' actions. While promising to enact more fiscal discipline, they are increasing spending. While promising to define a new relationship with the United States, they are dropping retaliatory tariffs and allowing the U.S. to take jobs out of Canada. While promising to make Canada an energy superpower, Liberal ministers insist that pipelines should not be built and that Canada's oil and gas should stay in the ground. While the promised to bring housing costs down, his intends to keep house prices up, at record highs.
The Liberals are already going back on their word within the first days of this session. Unfortunately for Canadians, the so-called new Liberal government looks a lot like the old one. After 10 years of high spending leading to inflation and an affordability crisis, Canadians want fiscal restraint and a government that will be responsible with their tax dollars.
Canadians can count on Conservatives to fulfill our duty every day to stand up for them, fight for change and restore hope once again.
:
Mr. Speaker, you look great in that robe and in your new role. You certainly have worked hard, and it is great to see you there. I send my congratulations to you and to your family. I am sure they are very proud of what you are doing.
I will be sharing my time with the new member for following the retirement of the Hon. Lawrence MacAulay. When someone says “Cardigan”, we automatically, after so many years, think about Mr. MacAulay, who did such a great job representing Cardigan. I wish him well in his retirement.
I am honoured to rise for the first time in the House during the 45th Parliament. I also want to thank the constituents of Humber River—Black Creek for re-electing me and asking me to represent them here in the House again. Since I came in during a by-election in 1999, this is, I believe, the 10th time I have had an opportunity to be in the House. It was an honour then, and it continues to be a tremendous honour today. It is an accomplishment, I have to admit. I am not quite sure how I managed all those years, but clearly we did.
I want to thank His Majesty King Charles III for delivering the Speech from the Throne. I will quote from it because I think it captures how we are all feeling today and the direction we want to go. He said:
We must be clear-eyed: the world is a more dangerous and uncertain place than at any point since the Second World War. Canada is facing challenges that are unprecedented in our lifetimes.
Many Canadians are feeling anxious and worried about the drastically changing world around them. Fundamental change is always unsettling. Yet this moment is also an incredible opportunity.
It is an opportunity for each and every one of us who has the privilege of being a member of the House of Commons. His Majesty continued:
An opportunity to think big and to act bigger. An opportunity for Canada to embark on the largest transformation of its economy since the Second World War. A confident Canada, which has welcomed new Canadians, including from some of the most tragic global conflict zones, can seize this opportunity by recognising that all Canadians can give themselves far more than any foreign power on any continent can ever take away. And that by staying true to Canadian values, Canada can build new alliances and a new economy that serves all Canadians.
I think the speech captured very much, in those comments, how Canadians are feeling. They are feeling nervous and anxious. Every time we put the television on, we are never quite sure what our neighbour to the south is going to say.
I think it is imperative that we take the opportunity the leadership from our is clearly giving us. It is an opportunity to participate together and for all of us in the House to work together to make sure that Canadians have the best opportunities possible so that our country can grow to be what we want it to be, but we must work together. Without us working together, we are not going to achieve these things. I continue to ask that we co-operate with each other and that we put Canadians and our country first, no matter what.
Today, of course, I rise with this message to talk about purpose and unity for Canada. Together, we stand at not only a critical time, but also an opportune time. The government is here to renew our commitment to the Canada we are shaping for today and the future, together with all my colleagues in the House.
As a nation, we must continue walking the path of truth and reconciliation. A tremendous amount of work was done under our previous prime minister, and it needs to continue, grounding our future in justice and respect for indigenous people. Canada is proudly multicultural, bilingual and democratic. The riding of Humber River—Black Creek, which I am honoured to represent, is one of the most diverse ridings. Families from every corner of the globe create a community where they build new lives, speak dozens of languages and bring their unique cultures to strengthen Canada and our community.
We will eliminate international trade barriers and launch national infrastructure projects through the one Canadian economy. I wish all the premiers and the tremendous luck and faith today as they move to identify not only those transformational projects that really matter to other parts of Canada but also how we are going to work together to achieve them.
When I first came here almost 25 years ago, I headed a task force. In that task force report, one of the recommendations, and this was in 2001, was to eliminate interprovincial barriers. It was clearly a significant roadblock for the economic well-being of all of our provinces, yet here we are in 2025. Only after the threats from our southern neighbour are we actually trying to remove those interprovincial barriers. I wish all of our premiers well at this particular time as they move forward.
With the new “build Canada homes” initiative, we will increase the affordable housing supply, reduce development costs and promote innovative modular construction. I have received a lot of information on the housing file, as many of my colleagues have. With regard to the prefab homes, there is the ability to put up some of these homes within a month. This is a critical time for us to be looking at how we can change the way we have been doing things and remove the red tape we have all talked about so we can move forward on this.
Canada is a global leader in clean energy, skilled trades and innovation, as well as international relations, security and public safety, which are all critically important themes as we move forward.
To protect our sovereignty, we are reinvesting in the Canadian Armed Forces. Federal investments in the RCMP and national security have to be a priority for the House as we move forward to protect our sovereignty and Canadians. Public safety is not just about policing, though. It is also about prevention, community and trust.
We are strengthening our laws to make bail much more difficult to get for any repeat offenders. We are reforming firearm regulations with stronger red flag laws and yellow flag laws and revoking licenses from those with violent or protective order histories. We have heard far too much about domestic violence happening in our communities, and we have to spend far more time and attention on that issue.
We are going to cap the operating budget growth at under 2% and balance the operating budget within three years. That is a huge goal, one that I believe would be very significant for us to achieve and for all of us to achieve.
We will cut waste. What government does not say that? We will reduce duplication and use technology, though, to improve service delivery across the public sector. It is this new technology that promises the best opportunity for us to do this.
I truly hope that those are not just words. It seems like every government, for the many years that I have been doing this, even at the municipal level, says the same thing. It is really hard to do. It was one of the issues that made me leave the municipal level to come to the federal level, because there was that frustration in trying to reduce waste and cut costs but not having the revenue to do the services we had to do.
Together, we all can build a stronger, safer and a more united Canada.
:
Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise in the House today on behalf of the people of Cardigan, Prince Edward Island. I thank them for the trust they placed in me, and I assure them that I am here to work for all my constituents, regardless of who they voted for. I want to take a moment to thank my family: my wife Catherine, my son Alex and all my extended family, who have stepped up and taken over my duties as a dairy farmer of 38 years. They have allowed me this opportunity to pursue a lifelong dream of representing the people of Cardigan.
I would also like to acknowledge and thank my predecessor, the Hon. Lawrence MacAuley, who represented the riding of Cardigan for over 36 years and delayed my lifelong dream. In all seriousness, his hard work and commitment during his years as an MP are visibly evident throughout the riding of Cardigan.
I invite all colleagues of the House to visit Prince Edward Island in support of tourism at home in Canada this year. From our pristine beaches and renowned golf courses to our world-class seafood and rich cultural experiences, P.E.I. offers something for everybody. Our vibrant and resilient communities welcome people to discover the authentic hospitality that makes our island truly unique.
As the representative of Cardigan, I stand grounded in shared values: community, family, hard work and fairness. I stand here today feeling proud and hopeful because the Speech from the Throne delivered last week offers a bold and ambitious yet practical approach to building a strong Canada from coast to coast to coast.
This government's plan responds to the defining challenges of our time with clarity, compassion and informed decision-making. It prioritizes affordability, national unity, clean energy growth, reconciliation, and rural opportunities. It offers the people of Cardigan more than the ability to endure the pace of change, but opportunities to forge and lead through it.
What I hear about most from my constituents is the cost of living, including from young families trying to buy their first home in Montague and seniors living in Morell trying to balance their household budgets with the increased cost of groceries and prescription medicines. That is why I strongly support the government's measures for reducing costs and making life more affordable.
Removing the consumer carbon tax will help our fishers and farmers be more competitive, with lower costs to process and transport their products, and it will benefit all other residents through reductions in fuel prices. Cutting the GST on houses at or under $1 million for first-time homebuyers will result in up to $50,000 in savings. In rural P.E.I., that is a real game-changer.
We are maintaining key programs, such as child care, pharmacare and the new dental care plan, which now helps millions of Canadians, including thousands of people in Cardigan. We are also going to be reducing income taxes for approximately 22 million Canadians. These are practical ways that this government is reducing day-to-day costs for every individual and every family in Canada.
Housing is one of the biggest issues facing young Islanders. Whether it is finding a place to rent or saving for a down payment, the barriers are real, and this government has taken serious action on housing and homes. We will be creating the “build Canada homes” program, a mission-driven approach to fast-tracking affordable builds. We will be investing in prefabricated and modular housing, an area P.E.I. could lead in given our skilled trades base, and we will be cutting municipal development charges for multi-unit housing, making it easier to build homes where they are required.
This is not just a housing program; it is a job and growth creation plan for Canada. As we ramp up homebuilding, we can train and support the next generation of skilled workers in P.E.I. We will work with our educational institutions, like Holland College; our trade unions; and employers across P.E.I. to support Islanders in accessing the training and skills to seize these opportunities.
One of the most exciting parts of the throne speech, which will positively impact all areas of growth, is the drive to create one Canadian economy. Every year, domestic interprovincial trade barriers cost the Canadian economy up to $200 billion, barriers that directly impact opportunities for farmers, fishers and even craft brewers in Cardigan. The plan to remove all remaining federal barriers to internal trade and labour mobility by Canada Day is a major win for P.E.I., and I am hopeful this includes reducing the tolls on the Confederation Bridge and Atlantic Canadian ferries to make all industries in P.E.I. more competitive as we pursue new trade alliances across Canada and throughout the world.
The creation of a major federal project office is expected to cut project approval times from five years to two. For infrastructure projects like a proposed electrical grid for the Atlantic region, for clean energy projects like wind or solar and for support for an energy corridor, this means faster action, more jobs and timely outcomes.
The government's renewed trade agenda also promises to open up export channels for island products, from potatoes to seafood to bioscience innovations. Both a port expansion and a new facility for exporting island goods are being discussed. These could translate into real jobs in community hubs in my riding such as Stratford, Souris, Georgetown and Montague.
I represent a riding built on the backbone of our primary industries: farming and fishing. Our government will be protecting supply management, which is essential to dairy farmers like me and egg and poultry producers. We will be backing our food producers and ensuring us all access to fresh, healthy and local foods. We will be recognizing agriculture as not just an economic driver, but a key part of our national identity. We can also support other initiatives, including community-owned lobster co-ops and sustainable agricultural practices. These actions will give our primary industries a path to sustainability and profitability and thus economic stability.
With climate impacts and market uncertainty, stability in these sectors is vital. We create stability by investing in agri-tech and processing infrastructure. Our government must also continue to fund small craft harbours for the repairs and dredging that are required because of the increasingly severe weather events and reduced winter ice. Without ice cover, shorelines are exposed to water currents throughout the winter, causing silt accumulation in all our harbours.
The impacts from climate change are not abstract for Islanders. We must advocate for programs that reward climate-friendly land use, protect shorelines and fund climate resilience. Our government's plan includes supporting the creation and sustainability of national and urban parks and marine protected areas, and supporting Canada's clean energy transition, where P.E.I. demonstrates leadership. These actions will support local conservation initiatives and clean growth sectors in eastern P.E.I. Our legacy of service and unity lives on today as we face uncertainty together. We must learn from our history to make tomorrow a better place for future generations.
In the spirit of unity, rural P.E.I. has welcomed newcomers for generations. Cardigan's economy depends on the skills of local workers and newcomers. However, with the increased pressure on housing, education, and health services, this government's decision to rebalance immigration streams while also investing in settlement and training support for newcomers is a responsible approach to supporting communities, as our rural industries need continued access to a temporary foreign worker program. We need to ensure that people are treated fairly and that integration pathways lead to long-term community vibrancy.
The throne speech rightly affirms our commitment to indigenous reconciliation, to supporting two official languages and to maintaining culturally focused institutions like CBC/Radio Canada. CBC's presence in the Atlantic ensures our stories, our music and our challenges are heard, and it is vital to rural community connection. In the Cardigan riding, we work closely with the Abegweit First Nation in our continued efforts in reconciliation. The Speech from the Throne commits to advancing reconciliation by doubling the indigenous loan guarantee program to $10 billion, enabling communities to participate in major projects.
At the end of the day, Islanders are pragmatic. We know the value of a dollar, and we expect our government to exercise the same pragmatic approach to spending. The Speech from the Throne sets a strong target of reducing annual government operating spending from 9% to 2%. At the same time, it protects transfers to provinces, individuals and communities. It demands smart investment, not reckless cuts. By reducing duplication and using technology, the government aims to improve services while controlling costs, a philosophy that would resonate in any P.E.I. household.
This Speech from the Throne is more than a federal document. It is a blueprint for how we can strengthen Canada by empowering electoral districts like mine. It acknowledges that places like Cardigan are not peripheral to the nation; we are foundational to it. With action on affordability, housing, jobs, reconciliation and sustainability, this plan reflects the hopes and aspirations of the people I am proud to represent, people who wake up early, work hard and care deeply about their communities.
As a member of Parliament, I will work hard every day to make sure the plan is implemented in a way that reflects our island priorities, that our projects are funded, that our voices are heard and that our future is secured. Let us build a Cardigan where opportunities are everywhere. Let us work together to write the next chapter of—
:
Mr. Speaker, it is an honour and a privilege to stand today for the first time in this historic chamber as the member of Parliament for Vaughan—Woodbridge.
As I am sure was the case for members on all sides, I was in awe when I first took my seat here, a symbol that is at the core of our democracy. The House has echoed with the debates that have shaped our nation, from the early debates around national policy to the conscription crisis of 1917, and from the debates surrounding pipelines in 1956 to the Canadian flag and free trade. I am sure I am not alone in saying that the feeling of awe is instantly met with an understanding of the responsibility that members have to the constituents in the communities they represent.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the residents of Vaughan—Woodbridge for entrusting me to be their representative in the chamber. This seat in the House belongs to them.
Our community is a vibrant riding, where nearly half our residents proudly claim Italian heritage, making our community one of the largest Italian hubs in the nation. Our riding is also made up of growing populations of Vietnamese, Punjabi, Chinese and many others; it is a truly diverse community. From the thriving small businesses on Woodbridge Avenue and Weston Downs to the quiet streets of Islington Woods, and from the growing neighbourhoods of Vellore to the cultural vibrant festivals that light up our summers, Vaughan—Woodbridge is a testament to the enduring Canadian values of faith, family, community and hard work. I am committed to being their champion and giving life to their hopes inside the chamber.
I would like to recognize the most important person in my life, my wife, Maria. Her love and strength hold our family together, raising our beautiful daughters, Abigail and Hanna, and our newborn son, James. As members of the House are well aware, our spouses play a critical role in our work as parliamentarians. They bear an unseen burden of public life, and Maria does so with grace.
I would like to thank my parents, Debbie and Bruno, for their example of always being the adults in the room and for teaching me the importance of responsibility. I would also like to thank my late grandfather Nico for his hard work and persistence, and for teaching me to always be self-reliant. My grandparents immigrated from Treviso, Italy, in the 1950s. They chose Canada, a land of opportunity where one could dare to dream. They worked hard and made this country their own. I am very proud of my Italian heritage.
To every single volunteer of my campaign team, I would like to express my deepest gratitude for their monumental effort and commitment to the principles of our party, a commitment that helped deliver a very decisive victory. Those principles teach us that government's role is not to burden but to enable, yet for nearly a decade, excessive regulation, wasteful spending and punitive taxes have stifled economic opportunity and freedom.
I am guided by the principles of individual liberty, personal responsibility, limited government and the rule of law. These principles are not abstract but are the foundation of a society where every Canadian can flourish, free from government overreach and empowered to shape their own destiny.
As a former executive in the steel industry, I have seen first-hand how bureaucracy strangles workers and small businesses. I am here to fight for them, cutting red tape, slashing unfair taxes and making government work for people, not against them. The true role of government is to create the conditions to ignite the spark of the Canadian dream, empowering every Canadian to chase after their aspirations, not stifle them with heavy-handed, centralised control of sectors of our economy and with bureaucratic overreach.
My constituents have been clear: They expect their government to deliver results, not rhetoric. On this front, the Speech from the Throne leaves much to be desired. One of the major issues that is top of mind for my constituents is the increase in crime. Vaughan—Woodbridge is a place where families raise their children, neighbours know each other by name and community pride runs deep. The rising crime, fuelled by the government's soft-on-crime policies, is eroding the sense of security that families in Vaughan—Woodbridge and communities across our very country deserve.
In the throne speech, the government could have easily said that it was going to get serious on crime and address the issue by getting rid of failed legislation like Bill and Bill . It could have committed to introducing mandatory minimums for serious crimes and prioritizing victims over criminals, but it did not.
In Vaughan—Woodbridge, there have been countless examples of car thefts, home invasions and break-and-enters. Business owners and their staff have been held at gunpoint, and there are women like Sara, whom I met in Sonoma Heights and who told me that her daughter constantly feels uneasy about going out at night alone. Our York Region Police officers do an exceptional job and work tirelessly, but the House must give them the tools to keep criminals behind bars. In fact, we have a moral obligation to do so, for safe communities are the foundation of a strong Canada
A key priority for my constituents is the crippling cost of living facing our country. Whether I am chatting with construction workers, visiting Vici Bakery or Sweet Boutique, or am randomly stopped at a local grocery store like Longo's, the message is the same: Life is too expensive, and people, especially our youth, feel they cannot get ahead.
During the campaign, a 17-year-old at Fortinos approached me. He said that he cannot vote but that his future is in my hands. All he wants to do is get married, buy a home and have a family. This not a radical dream; it is the Canadian promise, yet for far too many young people, it feels like a fantasy. The aspirational ideals of home ownership and raising a family should not invoke feelings of frustration and hopelessness, for they are foundational to the social contract in a great country like Canada.
Our youth are our future, and for far too long they have been ignored. Canada must have their back or we risk continuing our brain drain, where young talent leaves our lands for jurisdictions around the world where their money goes farther and where they can have the type of life they wish to have. We must address this issue with haste or we will all suffer in the long run.
The Speech from the Throne proposes implementing a brand new bureaucracy instead of cutting the red tape that has driven up the cost of homes. Despite a new prime minister and cabinet, the plan mirrors Trudeau's $90-billion housing strategy, which doubled prices over a decade and left young Canadians priced out.
Last week, it was revealed that the had overseen the introduction of half a trillion dollars in new government spending without a formal budget, a move not seen for decades outside the COVID period. This represents an 8% increase in federal spending, with a significant portion allocated to bureaucracy, consultants and contractors.
As parliamentarians, our role is to serve Canadians. The government's proposal for a new housing bureaucracy, coupled with half a trillion dollars in new spending without a formal budget, shifts focus away from the needs of Canadians and towards expanding an already massive government. With the current parliamentary session set to break for the summer in less than three weeks, there is little time left to thoroughly debate and scrutinize each significant proposal, leaving critical issues like housing and fiscal responsibility unresolved.
Canadians deserve better. Conservatives are committed to putting Canadians first and would be willing to sit through the summer to ensure that these matters are properly addressed, prioritizing accountability over a rushed agenda. The time for bold action is now.
I close with the words of John Stuart Mill: “The worth of a state, in the long run, is the worth of the individuals composing it.” Let us build the Canada where Sara's daughter feels safe, where that young man at Fortinos can afford a home and where every family in Vaughan—Woodbridge and across this country can thrive. I am here to fight for them and for all Canadians.
:
Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to the people in my hometown of Kitchener South—Hespeler who gave me this opportunity to make a maiden speech today in Canada's House of Commons. May I never forget that this is their seat, and may I faithfully serve them so long as they see fit to keep me in it.
There is no chance I could stand before you today without the love and support of my wife, Simone. She is a brilliant physician and scientist who has now given me the greatest possible gifts: our children, Penelope and Felix. Six months before this election, she nearly died delivering Felix to us. She spent a couple of days in the ICU on life support and today is at home in Hespeler being just the best mom in the world to our two kids. I should be at home with them. They are the best part of my life.
Also, it has been a pleasure and an honour to be a physician serving my community for the last 13 years. When I went door knocking, I knocked on thousands of doors, and one of the most common questions I received was a question I asked myself: Why the heck am I doing this? Why would I go into politics? Do I not like being a doctor and do we not need doctors? The answer is yes, I like being a doctor, and yes, we need doctors, but to fully explain why I had to do this will take about 10 minutes. It has to do with who I am and what Kitchener is, so here I go.
My family's story is typical in Kitchener. My dad's family came to the region when it was still called Berlin, Ontario. They came from present-day Germany before it was called Germany. One hundred years later, when war with Germany broke out, my Grandpa Strauss, like so many other Kitchener Germans, enlisted with the Scots Fusiliers because one's last name and mother tongue were not of much matter when it was time to stand on guard for our true north, strong and free. We only have a Canada today because Canadians from all over the world put Canada first in this way. They staked their lives for Canadian values, which are enshrined in our anthem as truth, strength and freedom.
Conversely, my mom came as a Romanian refugee from Communist Yugoslavia in the 1960s. When my dad was away with the air force, we would speak Romanian in the house. I grew up hearing from my grandparents, in that language, that they were poor back home, but I had no idea how poor until about 10 years ago, when I travelled with my grandfather to his tiny village, now on the border between Serbia and Romania. Fully half of the homes there were boarded up. It was overrun by stray dogs and weeds. We went to the house my mom was born in. It had two rooms and dirt floors and was about 400 square feet. There was a bedroom with four beds in it and a kitchen with two beds in it. Nine people slept in those six beds. As I stood in what I am sorry to call a shack, the enormity of what Canada had given my family hit me like a ton of bricks.
My grandfather is one of the smartest, hardest-working people I have ever met. When he came to Canada, he spoke zero English, had a grade 6 education and had two small daughters with him. After six months of working in a factory for $1.09 an hour, he was able to buy a five-bedroom house in downtown Kitchener for $20,000. That house is now worth $1 million. I do not have to say that that opportunity no longer exists in our country today.
My 28-year-old brother-in-law recently graduated from the University of Waterloo in mechatronics engineering. He has no hope of buying that house on his engineer's salary. Where did that opportunity go? I do believe that my grandfather has the answer to that question. He had to do three years of military service in Yugoslavia, and he always told me he loved the army life. It did not strike me until a couple of years ago to sit down and ask him, if he loved the army so much, why did he go back to farming in the village? He said, “Because, Matthew, you cannot get promoted unless you join the party”, which was the Communist Party. I said, “Well, you were an ambitious man, Grandfather. Why didn't you join the party?” He replied, “Because, Matthew, if you are in the party and they say this is black”, pointing to the white tablecloth, “then you have to say it is black, even though it is white.”
English is my grandfather's fifth language. I promise he has never read George Orwell's 1984, but this is exactly the “two plus two equals five” scene. I think about this scene a lot when I am told that men can get pregnant. When the truth becomes illegal, everything breaks. If one cannot say what is wrong with the tractor or the levee or the hospital or the passport office, one can never fix it, and it will stay broken. Not willing to give up speaking the truth, my grandfather went back to the village. After a few years, though, the farms were all socialized, and eventually the starvation got so bad that they had to make a break for it.
I have stories of our health care system in universities going back 13 years ago and all the way up to last fall, when my bleeding, postpartum wife spent six hours cradling a two-day-old baby in the emergency room while not being seen by a physician. When I told the triage nurse I was going to take my wife to another hospital in the next town over, he said, “That would be great. Thank you. There is no place for her here.” If people go to one of our ERs and are treated like cattle, like my wife was at that time, they have no recourse. They would be really delighted if people took their business elsewhere.
When farming is socialized, we get bread lines, and people died of starvation while standing in Soviet bread lines. When health care is socialized, we get lines in the ER, and I promise that people have died and are dying in waiting rooms and emergency rooms across this country right now.
One may think that I am being overwrought and seeing the ghost of communism where it does not exist. However, I would note that we just spent 10 years with a prime minister who, when asked which government in the world he most admired, stated it was the basic dictatorship of the Chinese Communist Party; a prime minister who released a statement lionizing brutal communist dictator Fidel Castro when he died; a prime minister whose answer to every social problem, dental care, child care, pharmacare, school lunch, climate change, etc., was always more socialism, more central planning, more top-down pronouncements and less freedom to make choices for ourselves and our families.
The zenith of all this top-down control came during the pandemic. The members opposite went full communism. They locked Canadians down in their homes. They ruined weddings, funerals, Easters, proms and Christmases. They closed the borders. They kept mothers from children and brothers from sisters. They deprived this House of its ancient rights, spent $600 billion of taxpayer money with no budget and doubled our national debt to pay healthy 16-year-olds to sit in their basements. Then, as now, they did all of this in the name of crisis management.
Physicians, professors and journalists who spoke out against these abuses were hunted down. They had their licences and their jobs threatened. I know this because it happened to me at Queen's University, where I taught. Jane Philpott herself, one of the only two cabinet ministers to speak truth to Justin Trudeau's power, informed me in her dean's office that the reason the administration had to harass me was that I “criticized the government”. That is a direct quote.
Of course, Prime Minister Trudeau and his commissars were immune from all of this. He could attend gatherings of greater than five if it suited his political purposes, like a George Floyd protest in Ottawa, and he did. The Liberals claimed unto themselves the power to censor the news, to violate free speech in the name of fighting misinformation, while they promoted misinformation. They gave luxurious contracts to their friends in academia to promote their misinformation and gave hundreds of millions of dollars to mainstream media to promote government narratives. These three institutions, government, media and the academy, have important roles in society to regulate each other. However, under the federal government's bribery scheme, they have ended up, like the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker out to sea, stewing in each other's bathwater.
When ordinary, everyday Canadians came here to Ottawa complaining that their charter rights to bodily autonomy, assembly and free movement were being violated, every member of the Liberal caucus voted to trample their rights further. They violated section 2 and section 8 of the charter in imposing the Emergencies Act. It is not me saying that, but Justice Mosley of the federal court. They trampled on the charter rights they claimed to revere, and then they laughed about it. The current , in particular, laughed about it.
If we cannot speak truth to the Liberals' power, everything will continue to break. That is why I had to come here; I refuse to be a cog in their broken machine. I hope it is the case that this darkness left with the former prime minister, and I beseech the new to turn to the light, to defend those values enshrined in our anthem: truth, strength and freedom. I read his book. It is called Values, and freedom, I am sorry to say, is not among those therein discussed.
The repackaging of the Liberals' socialist plans in banker socks might fool some of the people some of the time, but it is not fooling the multicultural communities in Kitchener South—Hespeler. The Romanians, Albanians, Polish, Ukrainians, Serbians, Croatians, Lithuanians, Venezuelans, Chinese, Somalis and Ethiopians with lived experience of socialism, and who know what they are seeing, do not like it and sent me here. They came here for freedom, and not just any freedom but our specific, embodied Canadian freedoms.
These freedoms are ours, but they are not merely ours, and they are certainly not ours to discard. They were fought for at Runnymede and encoded in the Magna Carta. They were fought for in the English Civil Wars and the Glorious Revolution and enshrined in the Declaration of Rights. They were fought for in the world wars and enacted in Diefenbaker's Bill of Rights. They were fought for by both my grandfathers, by all of our grandparents, and embodied in all of us here.
The answer to the question of why I came here is that I am here to speak truth to power on behalf of the people of Kitchener South—Hespeler. I will be happy to go back to being a physician and professor once I can practise in truth and freedom again and once we can all live in truth and freedom again. May God keep our land glorious and free.
:
Mr. Speaker, I would first like to inform you that I will be sharing my time with my colleague, the member for .
I would like to use my time to review the Speech from the Throne. I will not hide the fact that the Bloc Québécois is extremely concerned about the direction the Liberals are taking. They have literally abandoned the fight against climate change, when they should be doing so much more. During the election campaign, the Liberals confirmed that they planned to abandon much of the previous government's climate action plan. They abandoned consumer carbon pricing without replacing it with anything. Even the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said that it was a very bad idea to axe this tax.
The government also sent out $3.7 billion worth of vote-buying cheques to all Canadians, except Quebeckers, despite the fact that Quebeckers had paid $800 million as compensation for abolishing a carbon tax. The tax no longer existed, but the government still wanted to compensate for it.
On top of that are the oil and gas pipeline projects. The previous government had promised to eliminate oil and gas subsidies, but now the Liberals will not say a word about it. I would remind the House that $30 billion in subsidies was paid to the oil and gas industry in 2024, for a total of $75 billion over five years.
The Liberals also floated the idea of eliminating the emissions cap for the oil and gas sector, the most polluting sector in the country. They also proposed to weaken environmental assessments to make it easier to get pipelines approved. That was before the election. Since the election, the frenzy of environmentally irresponsible behaviour on the part of both the Liberals and the Conservatives has continued.
Right now, severe wildfires are burning in Manitoba. There are close to 70 fires, and thousands of people have been evacuated. The government seems to be brushing that aside in favour of the development and continued expansion of Canada's oil and gas sector.
The throne speech also mentions that there are major challenges with regard to climate change that are generating uncertainties across the continents. Let me stress the phrase “climate change”, because that is the only reference to climate change in the throne speech. Simply put, climate change has disappeared from Mr. Carney's narrative.
To solve the climate crisis—
:
Mr. Speaker, I blame my inexperience. I will not make this mistake again. Please forgive me.
To solve the climate crisis, the government is proposing to fast-track what it calls “projects of national significance”, projects that are in the national interest. It is announcing these projects now, but without naming them. However, everyone knows full well that the government is talking about things like pipelines, oil and gas.
According to the Speech from the Throne, removing barriers will enable Canada to build an industrial strategy that will make it a “leading energy superpower in both clean and conventional energy”. Conventional energy, as we now know, refers to oil and gas. This approach is totally inconsistent with the fight against climate change.
As we saw during the election, the government wants to keep supporting the growth of oil extraction from the oil sands, oil in general, gas, and pipelines. We see right through the government's game. This very day, before the met with the provincial premiers, he sat down with oil and gas CEOs and Danielle Smith, the Premier of Alberta.
Canada is the fourth-largest producer of oil and gas worldwide. It already is an energy superpower. Let us be clear, right now, we are experiencing the devastating effects of wildfires. They should remind us that it is not in the national interest to exacerbate the climate crisis and build new oil and gas pipelines. What we need to do instead is get away from fossil fuel energy as fast as possible.
This government is doing the exact opposite. It wants to reduce approval times for major federal projects from five years to two by creating a major federal project office. Of course, we expect environmental assessments to suffer. What will this office's role be in relation to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada's role? It seems to us that, from now on, projects will be approved before they are assessed.
The government wants to create an energy corridor free from regulatory obstacles by watering down environmental assessment rules in order to make projects happen faster. The environment and the environmental and territorial sovereignty of Quebec and the provinces could end up paying the price. The Bloc Québécois believes that it is essential that all major infrastructure projects, especially oil and gas projects, undergo a complete and thorough environmental assessment and that they be approved by Quebec and the provinces. Obviously, we will not allow the government to build a pipeline through Quebec.
The government's current attitude to the fight against climate change is completely irresponsible. It claims that these projects are for the common good, but I would remind members that it has not even assessed them yet. The government needs to understand that there is no fast lane to social acceptability. The government needs to take the time to conduct free and informed consultations. To do that, it needs to carry out a proper environmental impact assessment to identify the projects' environmental, social and economic impacts, as well as any climate impacts. Before it can establish that a project is in the national interest, it needs to assess its climate impact. Obviously, all of this needs to be done in collaboration with indigenous people, the provinces and affected communities.
Now we keep hearing about the “one project, one review” approach. We in the Bloc Québécois called on the federal government to stop duplicating Quebec's environmental assessments, as it did for GNL Québec's Énergie Saguenay project, when Ottawa continued its assessment after Quebec had rejected the project.
Of course the federal government must fulfill its responsibilities, but only in the very specific areas under its purview, as defined by the Impact Assessment Act, and when projects fall under federal jurisdiction. It must not interfere in areas of provincial jurisdiction.
When the government says it wants to adopt a “one project, one review” approach, we have to wonder how it plans to achieve that goal, because Quebec has very clear laws. Any pipeline more than two kilometres long is subject to Quebec's environmental assessment process and must be assessed by Quebec's Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement, or BAPE. That is one review already. We are wondering how the federal government will manage to achieve “one review“ if Quebec is already responsible for doing it.
As for protecting the land, the government reiterated its commitment to protecting 30% of the land and seas by 2030. If Ottawa wants to be taken seriously, however, it must immediately stop encouraging the development of offshore drilling, which threatens marine biodiversity. The Prime Minister recently supported a call for bids for offshore oil exploration licences covering 85,000 square kilometres off the coast of Newfoundland. Ottawa seems to think this move to expand fossil fuel development somehow fits into the fight against the climate crisis, yet some of these licences actually encroach on a marine biodiversity protection zone.
If the federal government wants to help protect land that does not belong to it, it should try increasing the money it transfers under the Canada-Quebec nature agreement from $100 million to $300 million, as the Bloc Québécois suggested in its 2025 platform.
The government cannot claim that a project is in the national interest if the public has not been consulted and voiced an opinion. What does it take for a project to be in the national interest? Why should a major oil and gas project be prioritized over projects with far broader benefits, such as large-scale electricity, green energy and public transportation development projects?
The money that the federal government is probably going to invest in the oil and gas industry could instead be used to develop, consolidate and strengthen public transportation assets and services, such as the Quebec City tramway, Montreal's blue line, trains to the Gaspé or intercity networks. These projects need considerable support, and they are truly in the national interest and would help meet the challenges of the 21st century. In its platform, the Bloc Québécois proposed making public transportation a priority.
When the government talks about a pipeline to the east to diversify markets, it is not unreasonable to ask what markets it is talking about, since no European countries have offered to purchase the oil, which would not be available for years in any case. The market for oil is shrinking anyway.
Obviously, we are in favour of developing green energy, energy efficiency, public transportation, transportation electrification, energy sobriety and green buildings. We are not in favour of using public funds to develop fossil fuel energy, pipelines, oil sands or natural gas.
What we are proposing is a vision. We hope that the government will strive to regain its credibility, because, unfortunately, when it comes to the fight against climate change, it is not at all credible. Right now, wildfires are raging across Canada and people are being evacuated from their homes. We are asking the government to be responsible. The Bloc Québécois will stand firm to make sure that the government finally takes the climate crisis seriously.
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Mr. Speaker, before I officially begin my speech, I want to thank the voters of Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères for putting their trust in me for a fourth time in this election. It is a great privilege that I do not take lightly. I will do my best to do right by the people of Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères.
Since today's debate is on the Speech from the Throne and since my leader gave me the monarchy file, that is what I will be focusing on today.
In the most recent election, many Quebeckers chose to hold their noses and vote Liberal. What was the first thing that this government did the day after the election to thank Quebeckers? The government had a great surprise for us. It invited the King to come. When I saw that, I thought it was ridiculous, that the government was laughing at us, thumbing its nose at us, that something was happening that was not right. However, no, this was serious and not just a joke.
We know that the Acadians were deported because they refused to swear allegiance to the King. We know that after the conquest, an oath of allegiance was forced on the newly conquered people, requiring them to renounce their Catholic faith in exchange for the right to hold public office. We know that in 1837-38, the Patriotes were hanged in the name of the monarchy. However, after all that, Quebeckers have been told to be Canadians and to vote for Canada. Now that the election is over, do they feel like throwing a big party paid for with their taxes, attending a royal parade and inviting Charles III? Had that been the Liberal message during the recent election, I have a feeling that there would have been fewer Liberal members.
There is no hiding the fact that the King is the living embodiment of old colonial oppression. The decided to invite the King because, for him, royal power is not just an insignificant old relic. It means something to him and he sees it as important. One does not extend a royal invitation on a whim.
Nations are built on symbols, which are a way of expressing who they are. The decision to invite the King was a way of embracing this dreaded symbol that Quebeckers reject, of reminding them of it, and of rubbing it in their faces. However, it was starting to fade from memory, since it had been half a century since a monarch was in Parliament. Back when I was in university, I took a constitutional law course where I was taught that if a power goes for too long without being used, it gathers dust, and eventually that power starts to smell musty and it becomes obsolete. It is like an old car parked at the back of the driveway that is starting to rust. At some point, it cannot be driven anymore and has to be scrapped. This is pretty much the same thing.
In fact, a kind of break happened recently. I say “recently”, but it was before I was born, which, in terms of all of Canada's history, could mean recently. As everyone knows, the Constitution was repatriated in 1982. Incidentally, Quebec never agreed to it, but that is another story. What exactly happened at the time? The Queen brought the Constitution over from London, saying that it was no longer her responsibility, but ours. She surrendered it to us, in a sense, because it has not been revisited ever since.
Now, thanks to the Liberals, we have gone back 100 years. Journalists asked the Prime Minister why he invited the King. He was a bit surprised by the question and did not understand why he was being asked that, because it seemed quite obvious to him. He replied that he saw it as a symbol of our sovereignty from the United States. The question then becomes exactly whose sovereignty are we talking about, because it is not our sovereignty. It is the sovereign's.
I do not think that having a foreign monarch come here is a sign of sovereignty. It is more like a sign of subservience and submission. The proof is in the order in which they walked when the King arrived. That said it all. First came the King. Next came the Governor General, and then the Prime Minister. The more legitimate people are, the further back they go.
It was the same for members of Parliament. When the King arrived in the Senate and sat on his throne, the unelected senators sat comfortably at their desks, while members of Parliament, who are elected by the people, stood at the entrance.
It is shameful. We are not in the middle ages. Given that, the government said that we needed to send a message to President Trump. The message sent by the government to President Trump is more or less that Canada cannot be his subject because it is already someone else's subject. Canada already belongs to someone else: the King of England. What is next? Are we going to replace the flag with the Union Jack or replace the national anthem with God Save the King, while we are at it?
In fact, it is rather incredible that 150 years after it was founded, Canada is still a country that is incapable of existing on its own. It absolutely needs to revive its old colonial connection to justify its existence. Do we really want to be butlers, a sub-country? I believe that Canada also has the right to evolve at some point.
We are told that we had to invite the King because we wanted to prove that we are different from the United States. If having a King is the only difference between Canada and the United States, then we have a problem. They must really be desperate. In fact, this really says a lot about English Canada's identity crisis. They are incapable of standing up on their own. If we need the King to prop us up, then we are on shaky ground. In Quebec, we are not going to ask Emmanuel Macron to come and help define who we are. We know that we are Quebeckers. We know who we are.
We then heard the member for say that it was a great day for Canada, that the entire world was watching with great excitement. The Bedouins in the Sahara were watching with bated breath. In the trenches of Ukraine, the fighting stopped because they had to watch the King's speech. Prayers were interrupted at the Vatican, in Jerusalem, in Mecca. I mean, come on. Aside from the U.K., who is interested in some old man reading a speech written by someone else? I would say pretty much no one. It is completely ridiculous. When they say "the world", they mean the U.K. That is pretty much the only place where people would have taken an interest in the throne speech. This is clear proof of an anglocentric view of the world. To them, the world is the Anglosphere. They think that the world revolves around them.
The invitation to the King was, above all, a concrete example of the old English Canadian loyalist tradition. English Canada was founded by loyalists who left the United States after it gained independence 250 years ago. They did not want to be part of a republic, a sovereign country. They decided to flee to Canada, where there was still a king. Afterwards, they tried to make us disappear by any means possible. It became a country of Orangemen. The Durham Report was implemented, the Métis were brutally repressed, Louis Riel was hanged and French was banned in every Canadian province. The reality is that Canada is a country built on our exclusion and marginalization. That is the reality. Now Canada is telling us that it has not changed, that the same royalists are still around.
The royal romanticism we see today is celebrated like a sort of nostalgia for the loyalist Canada of the good old days. Surely members can understand why I am not really interested in partying with them. I do not understand why they cannot grasp why Quebec is not joining them and why we are not celebrating everything I just described alongside everyone else. These are actually horrors.
I have a suggestion for them. They can have their monarchy party. They can have their fun. They can spend as much of their tax money as they want on crowns and trinkets, but they need to do it on their turf. What we are going to do is build our country on our turf. That is my suggestion, which I hope will meet with strong support in the House. I think that is the solution to the current conflict.
:
Mr. Speaker, I am sincerely grateful to the people of York Centre, to my supporters and to my colleagues. This is an honour of a lifetime. I thank them so much.
Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. I rise in the House for my inaugural address with humility to share my unique story in the hope that I do not go back to the future.
I clearly remember the Communist Soviet Union. I lived there until I was nine. Those of us who come from the eastern bloc are afraid. Please, do not dismiss us.
I will begin by asking a question: How many bedrooms are in members' home? Are there more bedrooms than people? Why? It is because we have a housing crisis. Why do people need so many bedrooms? “How many bedrooms?” is the precise question the Red Army asked my great-grandmother after the Bolsheviks barged into my family's home in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1918. It turned out my family had too much house, so the Bolsheviks settled in two more families. That was the hell that were communal apartments in eastern Europe.
We already have a vacant house tax in Toronto. Some folks in Vancouver are talking about a vacant bedroom tax, and we are already asked how many bedrooms we have on the national census. Let me draw a scenario. An article in The Globe and Mail claimed that there is no version of reality where housing supply can meet the rising demand. After the 's “build Canada homes” fails, because we cannot trust the government with our dry cleaning, imagine what is going to happen when people have no place to live and the federal government declares housing a national emergency. We all have to do our part. People who own large homes should do their fair share. Why do they need all these extra bedrooms? Why not redistribute housing?
I am not saying this will happen, but who knows anymore? My fear is the new phenomenon we are seeing in Canada called collectivism. It is accelerating, and it is exactly the path that Venezuela and so many other countries took, slowly, step by step.
Everything is the biggest crisis ever now. We have a new crisis every week. The problem is that at a time of crisis, even when collectivism is well intentioned, it is just a step away from Communism. There are no limits to where collectivism will go, because the bigger the crisis, the bigger the government's solution, especially from the Liberals. They are determined to save us from everything. They will fit a square into a circle, even if they break the toy. Of course, mainstream media will applaud and tell us that it is working. Then, all of a sudden, we do not recognize our country.
Do members know what else? In the Soviet Union, people were not allowed to listen to foreign radio like the BBC or the Voice of America. They were not allowed to read western newspapers or books. They could not even pass around photos of supermarkets, so Soviets would not start asking why people have eggs in Europe but Soviets do not. That is why people called it the Iron Curtain.
The talks about there being too much disinformation out there on U.S. platforms. What is he going to do? Is the Prime Minister going to censor Twitter? Is he going to put me behind the Iron Curtain again? Freedom of speech is the greatest right of them all, because through freedom of speech, we defend all other rights and all other people. However, freedom of speech is not just the right to utter speech; it is also the freedom to hear speech. When the Prime Minister threatens my ability to read Twitter, I am worried. Am I going back to the future again, like the Beatles song Back in the U.S.S.R.?
It does not matter how people voted; they do not want censorship in Canada. It is not up to the , who calls himself a proud socialist, to decide what is true and what is not true and what is safe and what is not safe. The Liberals, like all radicals, think they know what is good for us. That is the difference between Liberals and Conservatives: Liberals want to tell people what to do; Conservatives say, “You do you.” In fact, communists use the word “disinformation” to come down on free speech. I say to just have the decency to call it lies. They can accuse me of lying. I dare them to.
The best way to combat lies is not censorship, but more information and better information. Throughout history, those who impose censorship are always the bad guys. Unless speech violates the Criminal Code, let Canadians hear all opinions and make up their own minds. That is democracy. The Communists also lied very well. They lie about everything. My grade 1 gym teacher said, “You don't need herring on your bread. Bread and butter is good enough. Maybe they have herring in America, but that is because America didn't fight in World War II.” What a terrible lie. Germany even lost World War II, but they have herring in Germany.
Ironically, the also has difficulties getting his facts straight. He says one thing in English and another thing in French, one thing out west and another thing in Quebec. He had nothing to do with Brookfield's move to New York. He just signed the letter to the shareholders.
Now the refuses to table a budget, because he plans to rewrite the books: New books, everybody. He will override well-established public sector accounting principles. He will take out capital dollars because they are not real dollars: We do not pay interest on them and we do not add them to the debt. Abracadabra and boom, Canada's operational budget will balance itself.
I started out as a commercial and bankruptcy litigator. The first thing to be asked when entering a distressed company is “Show me the books”. When the books are hocus-pocus, we can bet there is malfeasance. When we hear about a company doing a big accounting revision, the stock is dumped. Separating capital and operational expenditures never worked. It has been tried, and it failed.
The should be honest about his government's failure and fess up to the gazillion-shmuzzillion dollar deficit. He should not cook Canada's books because, mark my words, it will undermine confidence in our country and it will bankrupt our nation. Please, do not cook Canada's books.
After the Soviet Union, I lived in Israel until age 15. I lived in the Holy Land during the first intifada. Now I apologize, colleagues, but this is important. When a Hamas terrorist assembles a suicide vest, they pack it with as many nails as possible, and this is true, so when the suicide vest goes off, it blinds as many people as possible and cuts as many limbs as possible. I watched Tel Aviv bus No. 5 blow up on TV every other week. That was the first intifada.
Now they chant “Viva viva intifada” in my riding in north Toronto. I am back to the future, again. I am here to alert my fellow Canadians and everyone in this room, beware of the intifada, beware of jihad coming to Canada. There is no Zionist occupation in Syria, but more than a million people were killed in a civil war. In Yemen, in the last decade, almost half a million people were murdered. In Rwanda and Sudan, millions of Muslims were murdered, with no Zionists in sight. An offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood is murdering Black Muslims in Sudan right now. It is a real genocide, and not a word from the Liberals. That is why many Muslims come to Canada, to escape jihad, to escape that hell.
It is shameful that the word “intifada” is now chanted in Canada, even though I am a free speech guy. Jihad is incitement to violence and it is dangerous. Beware of jihad picking up steam in Canada. That is the historical perspective I bring to this Parliament.
Wait, I have another historical perspective. It is Canada. I am exhibit A for the Canadian promise. We landed at Pearson when I was 15, on September 5, 1995. We came directly to Sheppard and Bathurst in the heart of York Centre. I remember it like it was yesterday. It was in the middle of the night. I looked out the window and I saw Earl Bales Park. Across the park, on the other side, I saw Yonge Street lights and towers. It was beautiful. I was in love from day one.
We did not have a cent to our name. I remember what true poverty was like. My father sold ice cream on those yellow bicycles. My mother was an unemployed teacher, but Canada has given me every opportunity to study, to work and to succeed, because all one ever needed to do to succeed in Canada was work hard and be nice to people. That is it. Now I am elected to the House of Commons by the same community that welcomed me as an immigrant.
Dreams come true, but not in this Canada. Before the Liberals, dreams came true all the time for many Canadians. Now a quarter of Canadians cannot afford food. It is shameful. That is why I am here, and that is why our Conservative team is here to help Pierre Poilievre—
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Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to be standing here today to give my first-ever speech as a member of Parliament. Let me first start off by thanking the incredible people of my riding of North Island—Powell River. I am here first and foremost because of the trust they have placed in me to be their voice and their elected representative in this esteemed chamber. This is something for which I will always be grateful and which I will never forget.
It has been almost two years now since I first decided to seek the Conservative Party nomination and run in the last election. It was a decision I made because I believed then, as I do now, that this country was headed in the wrong direction, that it was failing to live up to its true potential and that it was sleepwalking toward a fiscal and cultural cliff. I think there is no better example of that than the fiscal mismanagement we have seen of our country.
When I worked at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, I used to tour a debt clock right across the country. It showed how much the federal government had borrowed and how much debt it was leaving to future generations to pay for. It was a great tool to help people visualize just how much we were leaving the next generation to pay for. That particular debt clock no longer exists, because under the Liberals and the NDP, we have managed to borrow more money in the last 10 years than all other governments in the history of this country combined, and we literally ran out of digits on the clock.
Of course, all this spending, borrowing and printing of money has other consequences as well. We have seen the highest inflation in more than 30 years, as everything, especially homes, has become less affordable. There used to be a promise here in Canada: If people worked hard, paid their taxes and followed the law, they could afford a place to live.
When my grandfather, who is now 94 years old, first came to Canada in 1957 as a refugee, he, like most new Canadians, started off with a minimum-wage job working on the railway. On that minimum-wage job, he was able to afford a home and a nice piece of property right on Vancouver Island and have it paid off in less than 10 years. Does anyone think one could afford a home and have it paid off in less than 10 years while earning minimum wage anywhere in Canada today? I do not think so.
This is the result of too much government, too much regulation and too much bureaucracy. It is time to remove the gatekeepers and start building things in this country again. This also means supporting our incredible resource sector and resource sector workers, who have been under constant attack from the Liberals and the NDP.
On the North Island, where I live, forestry is down by a third; aquaculture has been cut in half; fishermen have had their access barred to areas they have fished sustainably for more than a hundred years; and the last mine on Vancouver Island closed as well. On energy, the Liberal record is even worse: axing the northern gateway pipeline, telling our allies in Korea, Germany and Greece that there is no business case for Canadian LNG, and introducing legislation like Bill , which killed dozens of massive energy and resource projects and led to tens of billions of dollars in investment fleeing to the United States, and for what? Was it just so these jobs can leave our country, for China, for India, for the U.S., for countries with lower environmental standards than our own? These are Canadian workers who have had their livelihoods, their ability to put food on the table to feed their families, sacrificed by the Liberals and the NDP on the altar of this green ideology. Here is the truth: No one does safety and environmental stewardship better than Canada or better than Canadians, and as long as the world needs lumber, minerals, or oil and natural gas, as much of it as possible should come from right here in Canada.
We also have to rebuild our military. We have our amazing men and women in uniform flying combat aircraft that are more than 40 years old, to say nothing of the state of our submarines. Our men and women in uniform, as amazing as they are, find a way to make it work; they really do. However, it should not be up to them to become the world's experts in using old, rusted-out equipment. They deserve better than that.
There is maybe no issue where the Liberals and the NDP have done more damage, from a human perspective, than their mismanagement of the addictions crisis. First, they decriminalized hard drugs, including fentanyl, crystal meth and crack cocaine, and then they used taxpayer money to flood the streets with a highly addictive and deadly opioid called hydromorphone, or Dilaudid, while marketing it to our young people as safe supply. This is all part of their plan known as harm reduction.
As a result, since 2015, more than 50,000 Canadians have died from drug overdoses. That is more Canadians dead than those who died in the entire Second World War. That does not sound much like harm reduction to me. They say the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing while expecting a different result, so how about instead of handing out free drugs, we get our fellow Canadians into treatment, get them into recovery and return them to being healthy, productive members of our society again?
At the same time, we need to repeal the soft-on-crime Liberal legislation, like Bill and Bill , that has reduced jail time for serious offenders and granted near automatic bail for career criminals. In fact, it seems the only people who are ever punished for anything anymore under the Liberals and the NDP are those who actually work for a living and follow the law, whether it is our law-abiding firearms owners, who have been targeted and demonized by their own government; small business owners, who have been taxed and regulated to the point of insolvency; or resource workers, who have had their jobs threatened, their careers denigrated and, in some cases, their livelihoods destroyed.
Right now, in Canada in so many ways, it feels as if right side up is upside down and common sense no longer exists. That brings me to the cultural erosion that we have seen, the tearing down of statues, the erasing of our history.
I was in Victoria the day this corrosive ideology all began, when they toppled the monument to the man who built this country, without whom Canada would not even exist. The truth is that this country has so much to celebrate and so much to be proud of. We owe an infinite debt of gratitude to all those who came before us, like the prime ministers, both Liberal and Conservative, whose portraits are hanging just outside these chamber walls. They laid the foundation for what would become and for what still is the greatest country in the world. They laid the foundation by being bold, by being daring and by getting things done.
In the late 1800s, Canada was a small country divided by language and religion and surrounded by a larger and much more powerful neighbour to the south, yet in that historical context, we completed what many consider to be this country's greatest engineering and political feat: the Canadian Pacific Railway. Championed by Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald, most do not know that the bulk of the work took just four years to complete through some of the most difficult and expansive terrain in the world, across the Canadian Shield and through the Canadian Rockies. It was the key to bringing my province, British Columbia, into Confederation.
Can members imagine, in the current political, regulatory and cultural climate of today, if we tried as a nation to undertake a similar feat? Instead of championing these kinds of nation-building projects, the government today seems to be actively plotting against them, but it does not have to be this way. Macdonald dreamed big, Sir Wilfrid Laurier dreamed big as well and we can dream big once again.
The truth is that the silver lining to this problem lies in its solution. We do not need the government to step up in any particular way. We just need the government to get out of the way and give this country back to those who built it, the people. That begins where this country draws its greatest sources of strength: the wealth of its resources and the ingenuity of its citizens. I intend to do my part to always be a voice for the hard-working citizens of my riding in this incredible country, to always be unapologetically proud to be Canadian and to always be guided, no matter what, by what is true and what is right, not by what is politically correct.