Dan Muys
Flamborough—Glanbrook—Brant North, Ontario · Conservative · Canada
“Today, that promise feels increasingly out of reach. Young Canadians who have done everything right are finding themselves locked out of the housing market. Many are delaying major life decisions.”
“Yet, when members examine Bill C-26 , they will find very little detail about what success looks like. How many homes would be built? How many housing starts would result from this spending? What benchmarks would be used to determine whether the money was spent effectively?”
“In essence, it would authorize the Minister of Finance, with a giant blank cheque, to make payments to the provinces and territories up to a maximum of $1.713 billion for the purpose of improving housing supply. It is a lot of money, and there is not a lot of indication as to whether there would be results.”
“After the introduction of the bill in March, between the months of April and May, housing starts decreased by 6%. That is not progress. Housing affordability improves when homes are built. That means reducing delays, accelerating approvals and ensuring that infrastructure keeps pace with growth.”
“What is missing is a federal government willing to focus on results instead of process. Canadians are tired of hearing that help is coming. They want to see the homes being built and families getting a key in the door of the home they can actually afford. That is the standard by which the bill should be judged.”
“Mr. Speaker, if you will indulge me for a moment, as Sunday is Father's Day, I would like to thank my father for his love and support to me and my three brothers, for the life lessons he taught us and for his humour, his compassion, his very practical common sense and his love of nature: happy Father's Day to Dad.”
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“That was a result of discipline, investment and policies that rewarded work and encouraged growth. Today, the middle class is feeling squeezed. Stagnation should not be a destiny. With the right leadership, fiscal discipline and a government that understands that prosperity comes from building, Canada can again have the richest middle class in the world. With a new government, it will.”
“Canadians are not asking for miracles. They are asking for a government that understands that prosperity comes from building, producing and competing, not just borrowing and hoping. Conservatives believe in clearing the bureaucracy that blocks projects, ensuring Canadian workers benefit from Canadian infrastructure, strengthening our ports and trade corridors, restoring fiscal discipline so capital flows back to Canada and rebuilding confidence that this country can once again get things done. On every one of those measures, the budget comes up short. Ten years ago, Canada was described as having the richest middle class in the world. In fact, commentators noted that in 2014 the Canadian dream had replaced the American dream, after 10 years of Conservative government and strong fiscal management. That was not an accident.”
“Imagine a national infrastructure system that worked with the same real urgency. Imagine if approvals were predictable, if capital felt welcomed, if projects moved from announcement to construction to completion. That is how we reverse this productivity decline in our economy, how we attract investment and how we grow our economy. Canada should be the easiest place in the world to build responsibly. We have skilled workers. We have resources. We have stable institutions. What we lack is urgency. The budget continues the pattern: high spending, high debt, low growth and no structural reform. Nearly a year after the government was elected, Canadians still do not see the breakthrough that was promised. As long as investment lags, approvals stall and productivity falls, living standards will continue to erode.”
“In 2024, it handled over 750,000 kilograms of cargo. As a result of private sector commitment to that airport, it was able to secure a long-term investment. It continues to grow. It supports jobs, it strengthens supply chains, and it connects southern Ontario to global markets. In fact, to give an example, DHL Express operates cargo across the world. Hamilton airport is its fourth-largest-volume facility in the entire world. The largest is in Hong Kong, then Leipzig, Germany, then Cincinnati, Ohio, and then Hamilton, Ontario. That is the result when there is a positive private sector investment that actually creates jobs and success. Completed in 2021, that particular facility met its five-year volumes in one year. That is what trade-enabling infrastructure looks like. It is succeeding in spite of the endless red tape.”
“I asked the transportation minister if he would make the same commitment, to track not just steel but any Canadian content in all projects under his department. To his credit, he said that he would commit to reporting the volumes, the value and the origin of Canadian materials used in future projects and report that back publicly to Parliament. However, here is the problem. Why did it take pressure through Order Paper questions and committee hearings to get there? Why are we not tracking Canadian content as a standard practice? If we are going to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on infrastructure, Canadian workers should be part of that story. Let me offer a contrast. The Hamilton International Airport, which is located in my constituency, is a success story. It is now Canada's largest overnight express cargo airport.”
“In 2024, I filed an Order Paper question asking how much of the federally funded infrastructure in Canada uses Canadian steel. The response came back, and I was astonished to learn that the government did not even track that data. The government could not tell us how much of our own infrastructure spending was using Canadian steel production. That is billions of dollars with no central tracking. If we do not measure it, we cannot manage it. (1250) Unsatisfied with this answer, I took it to committee. I asked the president of Alto how much Canadian steel was going to be used if the project were to proceed. Would it be tracked? Would it be reported? The answer was that it could result in 600,000 tonnes of steel, but we do not produce the right type of steel in Canada. That should not be foreign steel.”
“They limit the ability to respond to global trade shifts, and we cannot move goods efficiently through our ports if we cannot compete. The budget talks about investing in infrastructure, including ports and economic corridors, but the actual legislation before us contains no specific reforms to enable Canada's port authorities to operate with true agility or competitiveness. It does not remove constraints, modernize governance or give them new tools to respond faster to shifts in global trade. Even as the government talks about nation building, the bill does nothing to unlock the capacity of our ports. Let me also talk about steel. Steel is not abstract. Steel is Hamilton. Steel is jobs. Steel is national capacity.”
“When these countries decided something mattered, they built it. Here in Canada, we pass bills, we hold press conferences, we have photo ops, and we announce frameworks, but we have not built anything. Eight months after passing Bill C-5 , Canadians are still waiting. In 2023, members of the transport and infrastructure committee conducted a national study on large port infrastructure expansion projects. We toured ports from coast to coast, and we heard clearly that we need faster approvals, greater financial flexibility and the removal of structural bottlenecks. That was three years ago. Today, we are hearing the same complaints. Nothing has changed. The Canada port authorities model is supposed to provide operational independence, yet federal constraints limit agility and competitiveness.”
“As a member of the transport and infrastructure committee, I stood in the House three times and spoke in support of it. It was sold to Canadians as nation building, a turning point, a faster approvals regime and a new era of major projects, but eight months later what has actually been built? What major project has broken ground because of Bill C-5? What strategic corridor has been accelerated? What transformational piece of infrastructure is visibly under way? Canadians are still waiting. Meanwhile, in Europe, when governments decided energy security was a national priority, Germany built a major LNG terminal in roughly seven months, Italy built the Genoa bridge in just over a year, Finland completed construction of its Inco facility in about four months, and the Netherlands brought its Eemshaven LNG terminal online in about six months.”
“For all of this spending, Canada's GDP growth is projected at just 1.1%, the second-lowest in the G7. That is according to the OECD. Canada is on track to have the worst economic growth of all 38 advanced economies through 2060. It is dead last. Canada's business investment per worker remains significantly below those of its peer OECD economies, and the gap is widening. Canadian firms invest less in machinery, technology and innovation per employee than their counterparts in other advanced economies. At the same time, new capital per worker in Canada is only about 66¢ for every dollar seen by workers in other OECD economies, a stark symptom of weaker long-term competitiveness. This is not just a blip. It is a structural decline, and budgets like this do nothing to reverse it. Eight months ago, Parliament passed Bill C-5 .”
“Mr. Speaker, I will note upfront that I will be splitting my time. It is always an honour, of course, to rise in the House and speak on behalf of the great people of Flamborough—Glanbrook—Brant North. At second reading of this bill, I spoke about affordability, housing, groceries and mortgages, but this afternoon I want to speak about something deeper, the foundation beneath it all: our economy. If a country cannot build, cannot attract investment, cannot grow productivity, then everything else becomes harder. That is exactly where Canada finds itself today. Budget 2025 would add $321 billion to the national debt over the next five years. It would spend $55.6 billion on debt interest next year alone, which is more than we spend on health transfers to the provinces and more than the GST revenue collected.”
“Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Elmwood—Transcona's excellent speech gave some excellent examples from the people of Winnipeg. This is in contrast to the speech of the speaker previous. Let me ask a follow-up to the question my colleague was just asked, because we know that the Prime Minister was very clear that Canadians should judge him on the cost of groceries at the grocery store, and we now know that Canada is the food inflation capital of the G7. I want to give my colleague a chance to elaborate a bit more, because as he indicated, we know 70% of the food is produced right here, and we know that 90% of agribusinesses have said that the industrial carbon tax and the Liberal bureaucracy are things that are adding to the cost of food and making those grocery prices higher. Maybe he can comment more on that.”
“Mr. Speaker, under the Prime Minister , food prices have jumped 7.3% and are rising twice as fast as those of other goods, making Canada the food inflation capital of the G7. This is a made-in-Canada problem; 70% of our food production is right here at home, yet nearly 90% of agribusinesses say Liberal red tape is putting them at risk. Punishing regulations and the industrial carbon tax are driving up costs. Just how much higher must grocery bills climb before the Liberals stop strangling Canadian food production with red tape and punishing taxes?”
“This is at a time when young people have given up on the dream of home ownership in record numbers. How sad. This is not a demand problem; this is an overtaxation problem. Let us heed Peter's call, cut the HST on all new homes, reduce development charges and cut the red tape. I congratulate and thank Peter.”
“Mr. Speaker, it is an honour for me to salute Peter Turkstra, a leader, builder and community philanthropist. Last week, I attended the industry luncheon of the West End Home Builders Association in Hamilton, where Peter Turkstra was inducted into its hall of fame for his decades of leadership and service. Turkstra Lumber is an institution in the construction industry. This honour was very well deserved. However, Peter's acceptance speech raised loud and clear alarm bells of an industry in crisis. He called out the excessive taxes and bureaucracy from the federal Liberals, as well as the provinces and municipalities, that are decimating homebuilding in Canada. It hurts Peter's soul to lay off experienced and loyal tradespeople because of this crisis.”
“Mr. Speaker, the third petition is on behalf of Canadians who are concerned about the persecution of Falun Gong by the Chinese Communist Party. Falun Gong practitioners have endured human rights abuses, torture, imprisonment and forced organ harvesting. Petitioners ask that the Government of Canada call upon the Chinese Communist Party to end its persecution and that those officials of the Chinese Communist Party who are responsible for these acts be held accountable.”
“Mr. Speaker, the second petition is also from residents of Flamborough—Glanbrook—Brant North in support of Bill C-218 . These Canadians want people who have conditions of mental illness provided with proper treatment and not offered assisted suicide. They ask the House to support Bill C-218, which would do that.”
“Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions to present. I am honoured to rise and present a petition on behalf of constituents of the great riding of Flamborough—Glanbrook—Brant North who are concerned about the Bloc-Liberal amendment to Bill C-9 that would threaten religious freedoms. The petitioners want the protection of religious freedoms, and the amendment to be withdrawn.”
“Mr. Speaker, a new report from the Missing Middle Initiative warns of a lost decade for home ownership. For every 100 new adults, there will be only 12 housing starts intended for ownership. Nearly half of young Canadians say they have considered leaving their city or province because of housing costs. Now the market is seizing up. New home sales in the GTA have hit a 45-year low, putting 100,000 jobs at risk. Builders are laying off workers, and they fear they may not survive. When will the Liberals adopt our plan to get their bureaucracy out of the way so young Canadians can buy—”
“Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise and to present a petition on behalf of residents of Flamborough—Glanbrook—Brant North who write in support of Bill C-218 , an excellent bill by my friend and colleague, the hon. member for Cloverdale—Langley City , which seeks to stop the expansion of medical assistance in dying to people with mental illness. We believe that it would be an egregious expansion; that there should be supports offered to people who have mental illness, such as suicide prevention and other supports; and that it is not necessary to make that expansion. It is an honour to present the petition from constituents on that issue.”
“Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Windsor for an excellent speech, albeit with some very sobering facts. The member talked a lot about nutrition. The Prime Minister has said that Canadians should judge him by the prices in the grocery aisle. However, we know, of course, that food inflation is running rampant. What is she hearing from her constituents about grocery affordability in Canada?”
“Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Skeena—Bulkley Valley raises a good point. The Prime Minister said to Canadians to judge him on the price of groceries at the grocery store. We know that he has not actually visited a grocery store, but we also know that grocery price inflation is 40% higher in Canada than in the U.S. There have been multiple reports as to the food price pressures that Canadians are facing. Why does the member think that the government would not do something as straightforward as scrapping the industrial carbon tax, which we heard about in committee, as a measure for increasing affordability?”
“Madam Speaker, my colleague from Brandon—Souris talked of record food bank use in his region. We had the Feed Ontario hunger report out today, which made some of the same observations about record food bank use, including among seniors. It says senior food bank use has doubled over the last five years. The member had, I think, in his speech that it is $50 that a single senior is going to save from this tax cut, which is 13¢ a day, yet there was another report out that states the average family is facing an $800 increase this year in the cost of food. Are Canadians continuing to pedal backwards under the Liberals?”
“How many more warning signs will the government ignore while families, workers and seniors are being pushed to the breaking point?”
“Mr. Speaker, last year alone, one million Ontarians needed a food bank, and that totalled 8.7 million visits, according to today's Feed Ontario hunger report. This is the highest number of visits ever recorded. Of those visitors, one in three was a child, one in three was a person with a disability, and one in four was a working Ontarian who still could not earn enough to make ends meet. Ontario had twice as many seniors turning to food banks as it did five years ago, and three in five visitors were social assistance recipients who simply cannot keep up with the cost of living. This is not normal, and it is not sustainable. After a decade of Liberal spending and broken promises, Canadians cannot afford to live.”
“Mr. Speaker, Feed Ontario's “Hunger Report 2025” came out in recent days, and the numbers were very shocking. We saw an increase in the number of seniors, working people and people with disabilities accessing food banks. I have a question for my colleague, who cited some of the disparities in the savings on taxes within this bill for single seniors and single parents. The bill is called the making life more affordable for Canadians act. Does it accomplish that at all? What should have been done differently?”
“Mr. Speaker, I sit on the transport and infrastructure committee. We worked with the government on the amendments to Bill C-5 to get it passed, and we made it better. It was a tiny, baby step forward. Of course, we want to see these projects get done, but right now, there are a lot of announcements, a lot of paper, a lot of press releases and a lot of flash, but no projects on the ground. By the way, the nuclear project on the first list was already being supported by the Government of Ontario. It was not new in any way. It was just more paper, announcements and optics from the Liberal government.”
“Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Edmonton for that excellent point. We are spending more on the interest on the debt than we are on health care. That makes no sense. That was not the case 10 years ago when health care transfers were increasing year after year and we were the best-performing economy in the G7. Having recently spent some time in a hospital, a couple of days on a stretcher in a hallway, I can say that a lot needs to be done in the health care system. Money is being spent because the Liberals cannot rein in the billions of dollars going to their consultant friends. They cannot produce a fiscally responsible budget. It should be going to health care, and it is a shame that it is not.”
“When former prime minister Trudeau said no to Germany when it wanted liquefied natural gas from us, Germany went to Qatar and built an import facility in 190 days. That is longer than the Prime Minister has been office, and—”
“Mr. Speaker, let me correct the record. The budget was balanced in 2015. We were the strongest-performing economy in the G7 and in the OECD at that time, and we were increasing health care transfers to the provinces year over year. Let me answer the question. I talked about this quite a bit during the election. Canada has everything the world wants. Canada has everything the U.S. wants. We have oil, gas, forests, expertise and smart people. The second-largest nuclear plant in the world is just down the highway from where I live. We have people working in that supply chain. We also have potash and uranium. It has been eight months since the Prime Minister formed government, and in that time, what has been accomplished? There has been a lot of travel and a lot of talk, but no shovels in the ground.”
“It raises the deficit, it raises the debt, it raises inflation, it raises the cost of living on every household in the country, it ignores warnings and it leaves Canadians paying more and getting less. Canadians deserve better than this. They deserve leadership that respects their struggles, listens to their concerns and delivers real results. We will continue to fight for accountability, and we will continue to fight for affordability.”
“Conservatives will continue to champion letting workers keep more of every dollar of their paycheque by cutting taxes, making homes affordable by clearing the bureaucracy that blocks building, bringing down food prices by cutting hidden taxes, restoring fiscal responsibility that reins in runaway deficits and rebuilding confidence in our economy so we are attracting investment and rewarding innovators in the Canadian economy. We would open Canada up to those economic opportunities again, not choke it with red tape and debt, as the government has been doing for 10 years. We would build a positive, hopeful future for every Canadian. (1730) Budget 2025 does not meet the moment.”
“Canada should be a place where hard work is rewarded, investment is welcomed and opportunity is rising, not shrinking. Canadians are not asking for perfection, but they are desperately asking for affordability and for a plan that respects their sacrifices, and this budget does not meet that expectation. That is why Conservatives will oppose this costly, reckless budget if the government will not deliver a budget that helps Canadians.”
“They worked hard. They saved up. They had the belief that every generation should get more and should be stronger. We were not born with a silver spoon in our mouths, but they passed on the middle-class dream of Canada to my brothers and me. Owning a home was an achievable goal. Building a future was achievable, but for young people today, it is simply out of reach after 10 years of Liberal budgets. Families are feeling squeezed. Young people see no path to home ownership. Entrepreneurs are facing barriers at every turn, and seniors worry about the price of groceries. A senior came into my constituency office during the break week and said they no longer buy beef because it was out of reach for them at the current price. This is someone who had a reasonable pension income from their work in the private sector previously.”
“Investments are falling, and as a result, living standards are declining. This is not a plan for prosperity; this budget gambles away Canadian futures. Across the great riding of Flamborough—Glanbrook—Brant North, there are four fall fairs and there are two summer festivals. I had a booth at each of them this year, as I do every year. My team and I spoke to thousands of people over the course of the 24 days of those fairs and festivals, and two themes were entirely consistent and top of mind among constituents. One was affordability, and the second was the increasing concern that a middle-class life in Canada is no longer possible. I assured them it was not this way 10 years ago, and it will not be this way once the government is replaced It does not have to be this way. My parents came as the children of immigrants to Canada.”
“What worries me are the long-term consequences of this budget, because the finance minister would add $321.7 billion to the national debt over the next five years. This is more than double what his predecessor would have added, and it would add $10 million to our debt every hour. These costs are being passed on to Canadian taxpayers, and this inflationary pressure is causing grocery prices to rise and the interest rates on mortgages to be impacted. The federal debt is now $1.35 trillion, and what do Canadians get for all of this? It is a GDP growth of 1.1%, which is the second-lowest in the G7. Ten years ago, at the end of a decade of Conservative government, we were the best-performing economy in the G7, but we are no longer today. Unemployment is rising an average of 6.4%.”
“In fact, there was a report last week out of Dalhousie University, which said that 80.6% of Canadians, that is four in five, identify food as the biggest, most pressing expense they are facing. (1725) This is in a country where we grow so much food and can export it around the world. Of course, if we had trade deals with certain countries and were not facing the impediments that have resulted since the Prime Minister took office, we would export more. How sad is that? We know that gas and home heating are still higher because the industrial carbon tax remains. We also know that Canadians are working harder but are falling further behind. Affordability is not just a talking point; it is a crisis at kitchen tables.”
“I will talk about what this means to the people of Flamborough—Glanbrook—Brant North, who live in the fast-growing suburban communities of Paris, St. George, Waterdown, Binbrook and Mount Hope. Families are already struggling to make ends meet because they have seen their mortgages increase as they go to renew them. The Bank of Canada has warned that with millions of mortgages still coming due in 2025 and 2026, some people are facing a 20%, 30% or even 60% increase in payments. That can be $1,000 or $1,500 added on to a mortgage payment each month in our region and across Canada. That is really a gut punch to household budgets. The other thing that they are being squeezed with is grocery prices. They remain painfully expensive.”
“Every year since, when I have spoken on the budget, usually in the spring, I have raised the same warnings. Every year, under the Liberal government, the situation has gotten worse. Today, Canada's standard of living is in its steepest decline in 40 years. According to the OECD, Canada is on track to have the worst economic growth of all 38 advanced economies over the next four decades, right through to 2060. The productivity gap with the United States is now at its widest since the 1950s, and business investment per worker has fallen to half of what it currently is in the U.S. Since 2014, business investment in Canada has dropped 20%, while in the United States, it has grown by over 70%. This is not a momentary blip. It is a structural decline that is directly tied to policy choices made by the Liberals over the past decade.”
“The most alarming number of all is that Canada will spend $55.6 billion on interest on the debt next year. That is more than all the transfers from the federal government to the provinces for health and more than is collected in GST by the government. To put that in perspective, every single dollar of GST paid by Canadians is not going to doctors, to nurses or to hospitals; it is going to bankers and bondholders. This is not fiscal responsibility. This is not economic leadership. It is certainly not what the Prime Minister promised Canadians. When I first rose in the House four years ago to speak on the fall economic statement of 2021, I warned about the dangerous trend that was already appearing: declining investment, falling productivity and a shrinking standard of living.”
“In fact, Fitch, the government's own credit rating agency, and the independent Parliamentary Budget Officer, until he is replaced because the Prime Minister does not like to hear challenges to his authority, have warned of credit downgrades. This would add billions more in interest costs. This is alarming. He promised to spend less and, instead, the budget spends $90 billion more. That is $5,400 of extra inflationary spending per household, and that has consequences. He promised help for municipalities, to get Ottawa support in cutting the homebuilding taxes in half. Instead, that promise is gone, and higher housing costs for young people desperate to enter the market are the price of the Prime Minister . He promised more investment, but the budget itself admits the truth, that private sector investment in Canada is collapsing.”
“Mr. Speaker, it is always an honour to rise in the House and speak on behalf of the great, smart, hard-working people of Flamborough—Glanbrook—Brant North. Tonight we are debating budget 2025, the costliest budget in Canadian history outside COVID. An hon. member: Best budget ever. Dan Muys: Well, Mr. Speaker, I would disagree, and I will tell members why for the next 10 minutes. The first budget presented by the new finance minister promised discipline, responsibility and a new direction. However, every single one of those promises was broken. Six months ago, the minister promised Canadians a deficit of $62 billion. In the budget that was presented a couple of weeks ago, it was $78 billion. He promised a declining debt-to-GDP ratio, but it is rising.”
“Mr. Speaker, I would like to compliment my colleague from Edmonton Southeast for his excellent speech and his passion in fighting for his constituents. The Prime Minister said that he should be judged by the price of groceries in the grocery aisles, while we know he does not actually go to any grocery stores. We do know that grocery price inflation is growing 40% faster in Canada than it is in the U.S. There was the shocking study out of Dalhousie University last week that said that 80.6% of Canadians tag food costs as their number one price inflation and pressure concern in their budgets. I would like to ask my colleague whether he is hearing that from his constituents in Edmonton. What is his reaction to the budget and its lack of ability to address that affordability challenge?”
“Madam Speaker, I would agree with the member opposite that Calgary is indeed an ambitious city, having lived there for 10 years of my life and having a wife from Calgary. Will the parliamentary secretary say on behalf of his government when an energy pipeline will be built to tidewater, whether it is an oil pipeline to the B.C. coast or something like the former energy east program to the Atlantic provinces? If we want to increase the GDP significantly, the fastest, best and most significant way is through private sector investment in an energy pipeline.”
“Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister 's costly credit card budget piles today's reckless spending on tomorrow's taxpayers, and the warnings keep getting louder. Fitch, the government's own credit rater, says that the Liberals routinely blow through their fiscal anchors and that federal finances run a high risk of further deterioration. Now the budget watchdog is sounding the alarm, noting that the government has abandoned its debt-to-GDP anchor, which is the very metric the Liberals said was key to protecting the AAA rating. No wonder the Prime Minister wants to fire him. How many more damning watchdog reports will it take for the Prime Minister to rein in spending?”
“Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague, who serves on the committee and who amplified the question asked by my colleague from the Bloc. There were common-sense amendments proposed by the Conservatives, in conjunction with the Bloc Québécois, that upheld the value of Canadian citizenship, that looked at language and the ability to speak one of the two founding languages of the country, and many other things. However, those were blocked by the Liberal government. Why does the member think that is? Why is there this reticence to uphold the value of Canadian citizenship when we should be doing that with a piece of legislation like this?”
“Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised the fastest-growing economy in the G7. Instead, we have the fastest-shrinking economy, with higher unemployment, record household debt and the most expensive housing. It is another Liberal broken promise. He told Canadians to judge him by grocery prices, and they are rising even faster today, which is another Liberal broken promise. The Prime Minister promised to “build, baby, build”. Instead, it is “block, baby, block”. Housing starts are projected to drop 13%, which is another Liberal broken promise. He promised “elbows up” tariffs against the U.S. and then removed them without a deal, which is another Liberal broken promise. He promised to “spend less” and “invest more”. Spending is way up while the deficit is doubling and $63 billion in investment has fled Canada.”
“Mr. Speaker, the member for Winnipeg Centre was with us at committee and had a chance to ask questions of witnesses as well. I share some of the skepticism she has about some of the answers we received from ministers, for sure. As I said, we believe Bill C-5 is a small step in the right direction, but there is still much to be desired. We did, of course, add amendments that added a number of pieces of legislation the government cannot circumvent. One of them was the Indian Act, and there were other things. Otherwise, the government would have been handed a completely blank cheque and an absurd amount of power to run roughshod over federal legislation.”
“Mr. Speaker, obviously, there are very bright people in Windsor and in southwestern Ontario. A 13-year-old has figured it out. It is a shame that this 13-year-old cannot have the future in Canada that she should be able to aspire to because of the policies of the last 10 years of the government. The Liberals are not going to be tabling a budget this session, which is ending today. We are going to have to wait for the fall. No budget equals no plan. The man with the plan has not delivered a plan at all.”
“Mr. Speaker, are we going to have free trade in Canada and the $200-billion opportunity by Canada Day? No, we are not. There is a framework, but there is a lot to do. We just heard the minister 's speech, and a number of things are still going to happen in July, with a meeting of the minds and convening, which is something the Liberal government is very good at, but we are not seeing action. If we want to talk about a team Canada approach, I would remind the member for Winnipeg North that the premier of my province, Premier Ford, has been one of the premiers who have called for the scrapping of Bill C-69 , as I have indicated, which is one of the impediments to building things. It is going to stop them from building projects in Ontario as well.”