Branden Leslie
Portage—Lisgar, Manitoba · Conservative · Canada
“Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has said affordability is the best it has been in decades, but normal, hard-working, everyday Canadians know that is simply not true. Meat Loaf famously once sang Two Out of Three Ain't Bad , but, surely, three out of four is not good.”
“Mr. Speaker, we have a new top export out of this country. It is announcements and MOUs. Not that long ago, Canadians used to dream of buying a home. Now, under the Liberal Prime Minister , many are starting GoFundMe pages just to pay for essential items for life.”
“Mr. Speaker, I recognize that the minister was not here during the last Conservative government. There are members across the way who were here, and they may recall the outrage whenever the Harper government used time allocation.”
“Mr. Speaker, I listened closely to my colleague's speech. She talked about unintended consequences a lot, which was a bit strange for somebody who, just months ago, told Canadians that it was the Liberals making her communities less safe and that it was their “bail not jail” policies and legislation that favoured criminals over victims.”
“Mr. Speaker, the Liberals did not drive our economy into the ditch by accident. They took every wrong turn and ignored every warning sign, and now they want to blame everyone else. After more than a decade of inflationary spending, red tape and anti-development laws, Canada is now the only G20 country in a recession.”
“Meanwhile, the Prime Minister spent nearly $1 million on luxury catering over 14 trips, enough to feed a family for 55 years. The Liberals can blame the mud, the road or the weather, but everybody knows that they have been behind the wheel. Canadians deserve a government that stops—”
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“Whether we drive a pickup truck, an SUV, a van or a compact car, Canadians make the choice to buy these products based on their own realities, not based on ideology. Let us start with the cost of all of this. Has anyone across the way looked at the prices associated with some of these vehicles? Even with the federal rebates, which, let us be honest, were a band-aid solution, EVs are expensive. They are expensive vehicles. When the rebates ran out, sales plummeted. To purchase an EV, we are talking $50,000, $60,000, $70,000 or maybe over $100,000, where they get the further punishment of the Liberals' luxury tax. They are going to be paying even more for these vehicles. Then there is the additional cost, of course, of installing the in-home charging station.”
“It is their business. It is not the government's business. It should never become the business of the federal government. Unfortunately, under the old and new federal Liberal government, it has become its business. It is not environmental policy. It is elitism. At the end of the day, Canadians are going to be the ones paying the price for it. The truth is that Canadians are not stupid. They know what kind of vehicle works for them. They shop around for prices and for options. They know what will serve them and their families. They do not need lectures from politicians whose only experience with a vehicle is getting in and out of the back seats of one of those government-issued black cars, like the Minister of Transport or the Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture , who have admitted they do not even own vehicles.”
“Mr. Speaker, it is always an honour to rise in this place. I will first say that I will be splitting my time with our excellent leader of the opposition in the House of Commons, the member for Regina—Qu'Appelle . Let me begin by saying this. It is something that may come as a surprise, at least to some of my colleagues across the way. I am not opposed to electric vehicles. If a person wants to buy one, go for it, but what I am opposed to is the Liberal government's mandate that would ban gas-powered vehicles by 2035. In a free country, with a free market, the Canadian people should be free to choose what vehicle they drive, among many other things. This is not a radical idea. It is simply called choice. If somebody wants to spend their hard-earned money on an electric vehicle, that is their right. I hope it serves them well.”
“Mr. Speaker, that sounds a lot like the cheap talk that I mentioned. The Prime Minister said that he will support a pipeline if there is consensus, but his environment minister is spinning an entirely different story. This week, I asked her point-blank to define “consensus”, and she shrugged her shoulders and said, “what consensus”. I am happy to tell the minister what it means. Polling shows that three-quarters of Canadians support an east-west pipeline, with premiers' also backing the idea. If that is not consensus, what is? Will the Prime Minister set the record straight, define consensus for Canadians and tell us who, if anyone, holds a veto over a new pipeline project?”
“Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have flip-flopped on pipelines more than a fish out of water. The Prime Minister claims he wants to make Canada an energy superpower, but talk is cheap. If he is serious, he must repeal a decade's worth of the Liberals' anti-energy laws: the no new pipelines act, toss it; the shipping ban, send it out to sea; the job-killing oil and gas production cap, scrap it; and the industrial carbon tax, kick it to the curb. When will the Prime Minister realize that we will never get a new pipeline built in this country without repealing the disastrous Liberal anti-energy laws?”
“Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is a quick study, with a booming voice, so I think he is going to do just fine in this place. Unfortunately, he will come to learn that, yes, this is far too regular. It does not have to be, but under this current old corrupt Liberal government that we have had for 10 years, it has become far too regular. I will go back to what I said earlier. The numbness that the average Canadian feels inside is because they are just so accustomed to scandals. They have become accustomed to waste, and that is why I think it is imperative, at least for the opposition parties and what should be the governing party, to step up and say that, especially for a new government, this is not okay. The Auditor General highlighted complete failures, flaws and wasted money. We can, we should and we must do better.”
“Mr. Speaker, I was not aware of today being that, and I will say, perhaps surprisingly but not shockingly, that in my riding, many of the businesses actually buy a ton of products from Quebec, namely steel, an industry that we support because we are vitally ingrained in manufacturing across North America, and I will try some of those pickled eggs another time. The Liberals cannot just keep saying “new government” and not do anything about it, ever. That is the reality. They have done nothing to change, other than just saying they have changed. They are still full of corruption, fraud and an unwillingness to fight for Canadian tax dollars, and that is what is embarrassing.”
“Mr. Speaker, does the member know how I know it is not a new government? It is the deflection and distraction, the best tactics to try to avoid accountability for the failures. Yes, they happened in the past. That does not mean that there should not be a course correction going forward. There should also be accountability for the policy failures that led to this and the lack of respect for tax dollars. We live in a country where ministerial accountability is supposed to be a real thing. I have seen no accountability from anybody on the Liberal side of the government. That is the numbing effect that Canadians are feeling. The government should just do the right thing and ask for the money back, demand the money back or find a way to get the money back, and ban the people who did it in the first place.”
“Let us work to repair that numbness that has been caused by scandal after scandal, waste after waste. We can do better. It starts with a simple motion like this. I want to work collaboratively, just as my Liberal colleagues repeatedly say, with the so-called new government, so let us do it. Here is the opportunity.”
“It is the same people and the same advisers. It is the same government claiming it has learned a new lesson, it has learned from the AG report and it is not going to do the same thing anymore. I do not believe it. The problem is that Canadians do not believe it either. They have become numb to it. They have become numb to the scandals and the wasted money, but that does not make it okay. The easiest thing we can do as parliamentarians today, and the right thing, is to support this very reasonable motion: work to get the money back and ban the people who ran a scam on Canadian taxpayers. When it is time to vote, I encourage all my colleagues to support this very reasonable motion. Canadians may have forgotten that that is to be expected of us and of government.”
“Both elements of our motion today are entirely reasonable: work to get the money back; and ban the guys who caused the problem. There is no reason to vote against this motion. Now, I want to highlight one thing. I will tell a story. I have heard a lot today about this being a new government. We have heard that over the last few months, often said by the same people who were here six months ago or five, ten years ago. The same people are saying that the government is new, that they learned their lesson and have changed. The other day, my daughter Maeve, that beautiful little girl, filled her diaper. When I went to change her, I changed her shirt. I was tired. My wife asked me why I would change her shirt and not her diaper. I said I did not know. That is what it feels like we have changed here. Nothing has changed with the new government.”
“I am not willing to let this so-called new Liberal government just walk past that. (1810) We have CRA, which will happily go after a small business owner who is a bit late on a small tax or a dispute. If a little old lady is getting jammed up on her taxes, it will go after her. For the Canadians we were sent here to represent, our Parliament should have the will to push back to get them their money back. The second part of this very reasonable motion is to ban the owners of GC Strategies from ever being involved in any government contract ever again. The government talks about how it placed a seven-year ban on them, but they could re-form. They are going to work the system, because that is what these guys are good at. They have figured out how to game the system. We should ban them for life.”
“We seem numb to $64 million just being blown, with no recourse. We hear, “We understand. We are going to learn. We are going to be better in the future,” but that is not good enough. Many people are, rightly, appalled at the scam by GC Strategies, including the ad scam app, this $80,000 app that turned into a $60 million boondoggle, that held up people at the border, that forced them into quarantine for two weeks because the app did not function correctly. It was the overpaid, expensive app that did not fulfill its purpose and cost far too much. There are too many scammers like this. One of the highlights from the AG report is that the owners of GC Strategies are not alone. They figured out a racket, but there are others doing it, too. The rules in place have not been applied, and they need to be applied.”
“GC Strategies took $64 million from Canadian taxpayers to deliver little to no proof of any of the projects, while failing to deliver security clearances for most of their subcontractors. This is a two-person shop in a basement. It is a good gig. I almost want to applaud them for finding a flaw in the system. That flaw is what has been highlighted, appropriately and correctly, by the Auditor General. It is appalling. What is frustrating to me is that our Liberal colleagues across the way just do not seem to care about that and think it does not really matter because “we are a new government.” I talked to a colleague recently, and he mentioned that my generation seems numb to the scandals, and that is well earned because of the last 10 years of scandals under the Liberal government.”
“I also want to thank the countless volunteers, whom I wish I could name, and all of those who put up signs. It is a humbling experience. I will be splitting my time with the member from Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill . Now, on to the relevance of today's topic, which is a relatively good motion and, in particular, for a new government, one that is easily supportable. It offers two important ideas that we all, in this chamber, should support. It has been identified by the Auditor General, and by this House, which brought Kristian Firth to the bar to admonish him for the fraud he perpetrated upon Canadian taxpayers, a “once in 100 years" event, we will call it. Taxpayers deserve their money back. It is not that complicated.”
“I want to thank my immediate family, as well as my parents and Cailey's parents for the support they have offered us throughout this process, including the odd better part of the experience, which is taking care of their granddaughter. I want to thank the family affair that was my campaign: my Aunt June, who ran our office in Winkler; my mom, who ran the office in Portage; and my dad, who led the charge for signs. I want to thank Karen, Martin and Val; Jordan, our EDA president; and all of the EDA members who were involved in the process. I want to thank my core campaign team of Drew, Michael and Don, the guys who were there with me day in, day out on the campaign trail. I want to thank Kenny and Tom, and all of the donors they had to deal with as the finance guys on my EDA and through the campaign.”
“Mr. Speaker, as always, I appreciate the opportunity to rise in this House. This is my first time of any length to offer my sincere appreciation and thanks to my friends and neighbours across our region, the riding of Portage—Lisgar, for once again placing their trust in me to be their representative here in Ottawa. It is an incredibly humbling experience. It does not matter the party; when members walk into this chamber, we know the weight that that holds. We know the value and the importance of that trust that has been placed in us, so I want to thank them. I also want to thank my beautiful bride, Cailey, and our wonderful 17-month-old daughter, Maeve. This is a difficult work environment at times. It is demanding, and their sacrifice is vital, just like all of our families are.”
“Mr. Speaker, I was wondering if my colleague could expand on some of the consulting costs we have seen rising under the government. He rightfully outlined the fact that we have seen a massive increase in the number of public servants and, simultaneously, under the Liberal government, a massive increase in consultants being used. If we had a budget, I guess it would be in the budget, but from the main estimates, we know that there are more consultants coming to the aid of our public sector. I am wondering if the member could expand upon those earlier remarks.”
“Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General proved what Canadians already knew: The Liberals cannot run a lemonade stand, let alone the government. They funnelled tens of millions of dollars to their friends at GC Strategies, with nearly half of the contracts delivering little to no result. With respect to the Liberals' federal lands housing initiative, after seven years, they have not delivered even 8% of what they promised they would. The F-35 program is 50% over budget and plagued with construction delays and staffing shortages. Here is a simple question: Why is it that Liberals can never deliver any project on time or on budget?”
“Mr. Speaker, I agree that it is a great moment to reach, but according to Deloitte, the plastics ban the government is proposing would raise produce prices by 34% and increase food waste by 50%. Given the rising food bank use and the cost of groceries right now, is that a good idea?”
“Mr. Speaker, I do not feel reassured. I certainly did not hear a “no” in there. What we do know is that the Prime Minister was implicated in setting up offshore tax havens to avoid paying Canadian taxes. We know that he is sitting on stocks from Brookfield Asset Management, which is riddled with conflicts of interest and which benefits handsomely from government contracts. We know that he is perfectly fine to promote companies Brookfield owns on the debate stage, so what will he do to help himself behind the closed doors of government? Canadians deserve to know if he will financially benefit from any current or future contracts Brookfield gets with his government. When will the Prime Minister come clean and tell Canadians what assets he personally holds?”
“Mr. Speaker, like most Canadians, I do not stash my assets in offshore tax havens in Bermuda or the Cayman Islands, and like them, I believe in shining a little sunlight on the people who govern us. The Prime Minister claims that his assets are in a blind trust, but Canadians are the ones completely in the dark. He absolutely knows what his assets were before he placed them into a blind trust. I will ask a simple question that deserves a simple answer: Does the Prime Minister knowingly or blindly have any financial interest in any offshore tax havens, yes or no?”