Fraser Tolmie
Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan, Saskatchewan · Conservative · Canada
“Mr. Speaker, my colleague across the aisle mentioned the former leader of the Progressive Conservative Party, Mr. Joe Clark. I actually have interactions with a former Liberal minister, Mr. Dan McTeague, who said that he did not leave the Liberal Party but that the Liberal Party left him. I think there is some give and take here.”
“Mr. Speaker, I am sorry I missed my root canal today. I want to talk about my colleague across the aisle's saying that he has recognized the economy. The Liberal Party has failed Canadian people for far too long. The Liberals had this opportunity 10 years ago, but they are just recognizing it now.”
“I feel like we have done a great disservice to Canadians and to veterans, who just want some basic, simple things like care, and we are failing in our duty to support them. I witness that every single day, whether they are reservists or full-time veterans.”
“That is the whole point of having an independent military review board, to recognize the bravery and the sacrifice of our Canadian soldiers. Not only is this important to my family, but it is important to my riding.”
“Our sacrifices made overseas are something Europeans witness every single day. It is hard for Canadians to reconcile that. That is why we have to make that extra effort within the House of Commons to recognize those who have advocated on our behalf and made that sacrifice.”
“Madam Speaker, I am thankful for the opportunity to speak to this motion. It is a very important subject, not only to my riding but to me personally, and I would like to share the reason.”
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“Mr. Speaker, the carbon tax is a hot button for me because I have seen the carbon tax being downloaded to provinces in hospitals when we were having a health care crisis. I have seen it downloaded to provinces when we have had an education crisis, where school boards are struggling to make ends meet. I have also seen it downloaded to municipalities when kids are going to learn how to swim, where the recreation fees are going up and parents are drowning in taxes. This is what I have seen from the Liberal government. Money is not getting to the people it needs to get to, and that is just wrong.”
“Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out, and let us state the facts, that many of the offices were streamlined into Service Canada offices and were not closed, as my colleague has said. We are putting veterans here. The questions I am getting from veterans are not from 2014; they are from now. The questions I am getting are from now, and the Liberal government is in power. It has had 10 years, almost 11 years, to fix the problem, and it has done nothing. It has ignored the problem, and now it is trying to hide it.”
“They were overcharged because their government misread its own law. They had no way of knowing it. They had no way of fighting it. A class action lawsuit was their only recourse. The bill closes that door. The question is not whether the government can find the money, but whether the people who wore the uniform deserve to be treated fairly for the country they served. This bill answers that question, and the answer is no. This is a shameful use of Parliament's powers. When one serves, they learn that the person beside them will not leave them behind. That is not a policy, but a promise. Veterans deserve better. I will not be supporting this.”
“Parliament is being asked to authorize the government to keep money it should never have collected from veterans in long-term care, some of whom are no longer alive to see it returned. The Veterans ombud, retired Colonel Jardine, testified at the Standing Committee on Finance that she wrote directly to the minister on this issue calling for her to admit the mistake. She correctly points out that the bill is unprecedented, patently unfair and is calling for amendments to Bill C-15 . The minister could not find the courtesy to reply to the ombud, but her department found time to write collection letters to thousands of disabled veterans. The real issue here is that these veterans are not in their prime. They are often in long-term care. They are elderly, disabled and at their most vulnerable.”
“Senator Patterson asked a simple question, knowing that costs increase significantly the further north one goes, she said, “So can we not include ‘and territories’?” The VAC official answered plainly, “That would change the intent of the program.” Senator Patterson's response was, “Wow. Thank you.” In my experience working with Senator Patterson, I have learned that she is a strong advocate for veterans and serving members. Her response says it all. She cannot believe it. Bill C-15 makes this dire situation even worse. Sections 373 to 375 of the bill do not fix the problem, but erase it. The government is using budget implementation legislation to retroactively rewrite the law back to July 15, 1998, making that VAC deal legal in hindsight. This is not an administrative correction.”
“The Interpretation Act is explicit: The definistion of province “includes Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut”. VAC ignored this, which affected the formula applied to veterans, wherever they live, by roughly $260 per month, or $3,130 per year, for nearly three decades. A class action lawsuit was launched in October 2024 on behalf of veterans and their survivors. Bill C-15 would make that lawsuit go away. I want to highlight that, on December 8, 2025, the Senate Standing Committee on National Security, Defence and Veterans Affairs heard testimony from VAC officials on exactly that issue.”
“Veterans across this country have contacted MPs to report the same pattern of repayment demands for income they had properly disclosed, with VAC's own acceptance letters sitting in their files as proof. This is not an overpayment recovery program, but an administrative failure being downloaded onto the most vulnerable people in the system. The government is demanding repayment from disabled veterans who received benefits in good faith while at the same time refusing to pay veterans who have been overcharged for 28 years. This is not fiscal policy. It is a double standard. It never ends with the Liberal government. For nearly 30 years, Veterans Affairs Canada overcharged veterans in long-term care across the country. What was the error? When calculating care rates, VAC excluded the territories from the formula.”
“My office heard from one veteran directly who has 21 years of service, a 100% disability designation and a spotless record with VAC going back a decade. When he applied for the income replacement benefit in 2015, he declared every source of income on his application, including his military pension. VAC reviewed it, accepted him into the program and sent him a letter confirming it had accounted for that pension. He kept every document. (1550) In January of this year, the veteran received a letter from VAC telling him that he had failed to report that same pension and that he now owes over $42,000. He and his wife live on that pension income. His words to my office were that he is afraid they are going to lose their house. He is not alone.”
“Many veterans will face higher out-of-pocket costs for products currently covered under their plan. If the government is willing to present inflated numbers when it benefits it so that it looks like it is doing what it says it is going to do, veterans and Canadians should ask what else in the bill is being measured the same way. While this bill was being drafted, thousands of veterans were receiving letters from the government telling them to repay immediately. We are not talking about small amounts. My colleagues have documented cases exceeding $100,000 being demanded from disabled veterans. The government is clawing this money back directly from disability pensions and other payments. These are not veterans who cheated the system.”
“We need to treat the veterans who built this sector as qualified and important partners in its future. The government is now claiming that Bill C-15 will generate $4.23 billion in savings by reducing cannabis reimbursement rates for veterans. Let us look at the actual numbers. VAC spends roughly $200 million a year on medical cannabis. The government is cutting the reimbursement rate by about a quarter. That is roughly $50 million in annual savings. Even over many years, the math does not come close to $4.23 billion. It would take over 30 years. The government has not explained the gap. We have asked and veterans organizations have asked repeatedly. The $4.23-billion figure relies on public sector accounting that recognizes estimated life savings all at once today.”
“I want to mention that the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs is currently studying barriers to entrepreneurship among veterans. That study will likely conclude with a recommendation for a new grant program. That is the predictable result. However, while ACVA studies barriers, the $6.6-billion defence industrial strategy, the largest defence investment in a generation, contains zero veteran business set-asides. There is not a single line. In the United States, veteran status opens economic doors. The GI bill's boots to business program, a 3% federal contracting carve-out for veteran-owned businesses, is a deliberate policy choice. Deliberate policy choices are important. Canada is studying barriers while actively building new ones. We do not need a new grant program.”
“Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Lanark—Frontenac , who is diligently working on his speech right now. The government will say it has a revenue problem, and it does. It will say it has a spending problem, and it does. What it will not say is that it has a priority problem. I served. I know what it means to trust that one's country has one's back. Bill C-15 is where we find out what that trust is actually worth. It is 600 pages that inflate savings that do not exist, that retroactively change the law to avoid compensating veterans who were quietly overcharged for decades, and that demand repayment from disabled veterans who can least afford it. Serving this country is not a liability to be managed, but this bill treats it like one.”
“Mr. Speaker, that answer does not deal with the crisis of bad Liberal policies in my province. There is an emergency. Farmers across my riding have been sounding the alarm bell for years. The ban on strychnine has led to uncontrolled gopher populations devastating crops. The Government of Saskatchewan, rural municipalities and farmers have called for emergency access to strychnine. The Liberal minister committed to farmers in my province that he would support emergency-use application. Will the government listen to farmers and for once keep its promise?”
“Would he agree with me that maybe those costs should be revealed to the people of Canada who go to the grocery store, so that when they see the labels, they understand where the taxes are going and what—”
“Madam Speaker, I would like to share with my colleague from Foothills that the thoughts and prayers of those in Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan are with him and his riding. During his intervention, my colleague was talking about the increased cost of food, and I just received an email from someone in my riding, saying that their old age pension went up by $2.43 a month, which is $29 a year. Their question was how they could get by, given all the increases that they have. We have talked about the carbon tax. The carbon tax is embedded in the costs that are throughout the food supply chain, so I would like for my colleague to just share a little more.”
“Mr. Speaker, earlier on, I talked about pride. One of the things that someone wants to be able to do, as a father or mother, is provide for their family. When people cannot provide for their children because the Liberal boot is on their throats and the Liberals then turn around and say they have started up a food program, I think parents would prefer to be able to send their kids to school with food that they have provided for them as opposed to a program initiated by the Liberals. As I said, I faced challenges growing up and lived below the poverty line. It was not until the mid-eighties when the Conservative Party got into power that we really started to flourish and jobs and growth in this country really started happening.”
“I appreciate the question that has been brought forward, but I have never met a farmer who did not know how to recycle and did not know how to look after their land better than the Liberal government.”
“Mr. Speaker, when I speak to farmers, one of the biggest challenges they have dealt with is drought, but that has happened throughout their farming history. In fact, if we go to the University of Regina and look at the history of drought, it has happened since 1902. There are large periods within our history that show that there have been droughts. One of the things that the Liberal government could do is step up to the plate, partner with the provincial government and help with the Upper Qu'Appelle water program to actually help farmers and contribute. What would actually happen is that there would be sustainable crops, and there would be a better return on investment. With the carbon tax, we do not know where the money goes. It is like a slush fund for the Liberals.”
“They deserve a government that makes food affordable by making food production competitive. It is time to stop taxing food and start feeding families.”
“It would rather give families a few hundred dollars to pay for the inflated grocery bills its policies created. It is like breaking someone's leg, offering them crutches and expecting them to say thank you. It is more than breaking a leg; it is breaking people's spirits. Conservatives will support Bill C-19 because, when families are struggling, we will not play politics with their grocery bills, but supporting temporary relief does not mean accepting permanent policy failure, and we will continue to point that out. The government must acknowledge that Canada does not lead the G7 in food inflation by accident. We lead because of policy choices and bad governance. Families in Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan and across Canada deserve better than recycled band-aid policies.”
“They face policy-driven food inflation without getting the government's band-aid solution. We cannot tax the people who grow the food, process the food and transport the food, and then act surprised when food becomes unaffordable for families. Instead of addressing Canada's position as the G7 leader in food inflation, the government offers temporary handouts while doubling down on policies that are driving costs higher. Real food affordability requires addressing root causes by removing the industrial carbon tax burden on farmers, processors and transporters; eliminating the clean fuel regulations that add seven cents per litre to agricultural food costs; and cutting the regulatory red tape that makes Canadian food production less competitive than our G7 counterparts. However, the government will not do that.”
“They show up in the grocery stores across the country. The industrial carbon tax affects every stage of food production: the fuel for tractors and combines, the transportation to move grain, the fertilizers to grow crops and the processing facilities that turn commodities into food. Clean fuel regulations add another seven cents per litre on the diesel and gasoline that farmers depend on. These are not abstract policy debates; they are direct cost increases that get passed through the supply chain. When it costs more to grow food in Saskatchewan, it costs more to buy food in grocery stores from Victoria to St. John's. The cruel irony is that working families in Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan pay the higher grocery costs caused by policies hitting their neighbours' farms, but many earn just enough to be cut off from the grocery benefit.”
“Food policy experts confirm that most of Canada's food inflation is now policy-induced, with carbon pricing embedded throughout the supply chain. If food inflation is truly a global problem, as the government claims, why does Canada have the worst food inflation in the G7? What is the government doing differently that is making groceries more expensive for Canadians than they are for families in every other major developed economy? The answer is clear. It is a policy failure. While other G7 nations manage global pressures, Canada has added layers of domestic costs that make us uniquely uncompetitive. Saskatchewan feeds Canada. We are one of the world's largest producers of wheat, canola and pulses. When policy costs drive up input costs for Saskatchewan farmers, those costs do not disappear.”
“In their tax roll, we showed everyone where their taxes were going, and we should be able to do that for the constituents of our ridings when they are going to the grocery store. They should understand where their taxes go so that they understand the costs that are being driven up by the Liberal government. (1830) The government consistently dismisses Conservatives' concerns about taxes driving up food costs. When we point to the industrial carbon tax, clean fuel regulations and regulatory burdens throughout the supply chain, the government claims that food inflation is simply a global issue affecting everyone, but the facts tell a different story. Canada now leads the entire G7 in food inflation at 6.2%. This is worse than the United States at 3.1%, worse than the United Kingdom at 4.2% and worse than Germany, Japan, France and Italy.”
“He will keep saying that, and he will repeat it, but the Prime Minister is looking at life through a straw. He needs to take the straw away, open up his eyes and see the problems. The Liberals need to take the focus off trying to make themselves look good and focus on the root issues, the root problems that we are facing and that every household in Canada is facing. We are supporting families in this crisis, but we refuse to pretend that the bill would fix anything. While the government offers handouts with one hand, its policies continue to drive up costs with the other. If it wants to be transparent, then disclose all the taxes that go into something. I remember doing that as the mayor of my city of Moose Jaw.”
“This reference is to those who have access to food banks. What about those who do not have the access to food banks in their communities, like my mother? Conservatives will support Bill C-19 , because families need help right now. We will let the bill before us pass, because every dollar matters when families are choosing between groceries and other essentials. However, let us be honest about what this is. It is a band-aid solution that barely covers a few trips to the grocery store. This is a recycled Trudeau-era policy that would provide temporary relief without addressing the fundamental problem of driving grocery costs through the roof. I have heard my colleague from Winnipeg North from across the way say that the Prime Minister is focused.”
“I may have moved on, but I know that these are the types of people I represent in Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan, and the generosity of those people is second to none. When I say this hits close to home, it is because the Moose Jaw & District Food Bank is just a few blocks away from my riding office. Last week, the executive director, Jason Moore, made it clear what families in my riding are facing. He said about this government's grocery benefit, “It'll help, but it's not going to be a fix everything solution for food banks.” Mr. Moore understands what many working families in Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan know all too well, which is that even those earning modest incomes often fall through the cracks. Their household incomes put them above the benefits threshold, but they are still struggling with bills that have become unaffordable.”
“Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Skeena—Bulkley Valley for what he shared. It was very provocative, and it brought back some memories. Normally when we get up to speak, we try to give the interpreters a bit of a heads-up of what we are going to say, but his intervention hit home for me. It reminded me of my childhood growing up below the poverty line under Trudeau senior. It was a time when my mother and I had to go to the Salvation Army to get a $10 food voucher, which back then was a lot of money. We did not have a car. We did not have a TV. We struggled to put food on the table. There were times when we did not have much in the cupboard. By the miracle and grace of God, someone would show up in our driveway with a bunch of groceries.”
“Madam Speaker, that is a very interesting question. People do not seem to understand the negative consequences of the carbon tax. It has a trickle-down effect, and it is trickled down onto provincial levels of government. I have seen it affect the local school boards, where there was a $2-million deficit. The school boards were promised they were going to get that money back from the federal government, but they never got it back, even though we are going through an education crisis. There is the downloading of carbon tax onto the hospitals; we are going through a health care crisis, but we never get that back. It is happening to everybody. It is happening to our farmers, and it is being passed on to the consumer. It is a bad tax.”
“Madam Speaker, I always look at it from the perspective of what the taxpayers in my riding care about. I think about the farmers in my riding, and I have never met a farmer who did not know how to recycle or did not know how to take care of the land better than anybody else. They are getting a heavy boot put on their neck by the Liberal government with all these policies and all these taxes that are being downloaded onto them and now passed on to the consumer. Saskatchewan is known for its food, fuel and fertilizer, and we need to export that. It is important to recognize the gifts that we have been given in our ridings and to be able to export them, because they are what the world needs.”
“Madam Speaker, that is an interesting perspective. What I am fighting for is the financial independence of taxpayers, choice for taxpayers. The choice that the taxpayers of Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan want is financial freedom. They do not want a heavy boot on their neck. They do not want to be paying taxes that are going out the window like the Liberal spending, which is just throwing money on fire. They want their independence.”
“The Lake Diefenbaker project represents a $4-billion investment that would transform Saskatchewan agriculture, create thousands of jobs and create revenue for generations. Let us stop using announcements as a substitute for achievement. I have spent four years in the House fighting against the government's spending addiction. The math is simple, the choice is clear and the time for excuses is over. The Liberals cannot spend their way out of debt. They cannot announce their way to prosperity. They cannot break every promise and expect Canadians to trust them with their future.”
“This project would create jobs and an economic return in one of our most important industries. As I have said repeatedly in Parliament, if the government were serious about helping the agriculture sector, it would continue with projects like the Lake Diefenbaker irrigation project. However, the Liberal response was to ignore it for a decade while spending billions on boat-buying schemes. While canola exports dropped 17% and Chinese markets closed completely, the Prime Minister prioritized $5,400 per household in new spending over agricultural support. The industrial carbon tax remains in place, adding costs to Saskatchewan farmers already devastated by trade wars. The contrast is staggering.”
“The Liberals used COVID as an excuse for unlimited deficit spending, and that reckless approach continues today, five years later. The difference is clear: Real leaders find efficiencies during crises. Liberal leaders find excuses to spend. When in leadership, one has to make tough decisions. Nowhere are the government's misplaced priorities more obvious than in its treatment of Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan taxpayers are funding the Prime Minister 's $321.7-billion debt explosion while receiving one copper mine project in return. Our farmers face 100% Chinese tariffs on canola, while the Liberals add $10 million to our debt every hour. For years, I have advocated in the House for the Lake Diefenbaker irrigation project, a ready-to-proceed initiative that would generate massive economic returns.”
“These Liberals have reversed that priority. They have made debt payments the largest line item in the federal budget while telling Canadians that there is no money for the services they need. I will talk about two different approaches to crisis leadership. In 2020, as the mayor of Moose Jaw during the worst pandemic in a century, I faced the same pressures every leader did. The easy path would have been to raise property taxes and blame COVID for the burden on taxpayers. Instead, I chose fiscal discipline. We found efficiencies. We prioritized spending, and we refused to raise taxes despite unprecedented challenges. That is what real leadership looks like under pressure. The Liberal government chose the opposite path.”
“From strawberries up 51% to ground beef climbing 14% since March, no family is immune. (1630) We are spending more on debt interest than health care transfers. We are spending more on debt interest than we collect in GST. Every dollar the Liberals collect in GST goes to the bankers and bondholders, not doctors, not nurses and definitely not veterans. These are the Liberal priorities: bankers first; health care second. Veterans get $185 million over four years, while bankers get $55.6 billion every single year. The government has turned Canada's federal budget into a wealth transfer system, from Canadian families to banks. When I was mayor, every dollar we saved on interest payments was a dollar we could invest in water infrastructure, in community development and in services residents actually needed.”
“The debt interest will be $55.6 billion this year. That is over $3,000 per Canadian household. The Liberals talk about making tax cuts, but just add it on. It is nothing but a shell game. They are taking from one hand and giving to another. When the Prime Minister told Canadians to judge his government by their experience at the grocery store, he set the standard. Seven months later, families are paying almost $1,000 more per year on food, with costs more than doubling since 2015. Record food bank visits and 85% of Canadians citing food affordability as their biggest concern shows he has failed that test. Eighty-six per cent of Canadians are eating less meat, not because they are vegetarians but because they cannot afford it. Families are compromising nutrition for cheaper options.”
“As the mayor of Moose Jaw during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, I refused to raise property taxes, despite unprecedented challenges. While other governments used COVID as an excuse for unlimited spending, we found efficiencies and maintained financial discipline. I have balanced budgets at the municipal level and fought for fiscal responsibility in the House for four years as an MP. I have managed 120 million dollars' worth of infrastructure projects and brought over $1.3 billion in economic investment to my community while keeping taxes low. I know what real fiscal leadership looks like. This is not it. The fundamental truth the government refuses to acknowledge is simple: It cannot spend its way out of debt; it cannot borrow its way out of debt. Let me put this fiscal disaster in terms that every Canadian can understand.”
“The federal debt is now over $1.3 trillion, a number so large most Canadians cannot even comprehend it. Let me be clear about the Liberal pattern. Stephen Harper left the government a balanced budget, achieved through disciplined spending and sound fiscal management. In 2015, Justin Trudeau promised modest deficits and told Canadians that budgets balanced themselves, which is perhaps the most economically illiterate statement in our political history. In 2025, the current Prime Minister presented himself as a fiscal hawk, the supposed adult in the room who would restore fiscal responsibility. The reality is that he will add over $320 billion to the federal debt over five years, more than twice what Trudeau would have added. The fiscal hawk was a fantasy. I know something about fiscal responsibility under pressure.”
“Madam Speaker, I appreciate the comments my colleagues have been sharing today. It seems we are the only ones who are standing up for Canadians and the travesty of this budget. We are facing the greatest peacetime fiscal crisis in a generation and it did not have to be this way. The Prime Minister broke every promise he made just six months ago. This is a Prime Minister Canadians simply cannot trust. He promised a $62-billion deficit and delivered an over $78-billion deficit. That is $16 billion in broken promises. He promised to spend less. He is spending $90 billion more, which is $5,400 more in inflationary spending per household. He promised to lower the debt-to-GDP ratio. He is raising both debt and inflation. This budget adds $10 million to our debt every hour. That is $240 million every single day.”
“Madam Speaker, first I would like to help my colleague with directions. Britain is that way, and the Philippines are the other way, or maybe it is the other way around: east and west. Let us talk about the Ukraine deal. We put ourselves at a negative because we were adding carbon tax, and now the Liberals are pulling out of carbon tax. The reason we voted against the deal is that they do not know how to trade, and that is the problem; that is why we are here. The Conservatives are always going to advocate for Canadian businesses and for fairness in trade deals. That is what we are—”
“Madam Speaker, I want to congratulate my hon. colleague again on his private member's bill that passed earlier today. It is very touching, and it does show we can get work done here, whether it is with help from across the aisle or on our own. Local producers are very disappointed. They feel left out. They have had their challenges over the years, and they feel they have been ignored and neglected by the Liberal government, not only in this trade deal but for years on end. I heard earlier a colleague from across the aisle talking about how Canadian pork producers were able to sell pork in the Philippines. That is great news, but the thing is that we need to be trading globally. The problem is that we are importing from the U.K., not exporting to the U.K., and that is where we should be going.”
“Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for pointing out that Canada is obviously a global trading partner. However, we have had a relationship with the U.K. that has been broken, and it should not have been. The problem is not new. The problem is the fact that we did not address trade with the U.K. years ago. Therefore this is not a new opportunity; it is just an opportunity that we need to capitalize on, which should have been done years ago.”
“As Conservatives, we intend to support the expansion of trade markets for Canadian products. Canadian businesses and our British partners deserve leaders who act with urgency, not a government that is always a day late and a dollar short, or maybe I should say a pound short. We will continue to point out the government's failures to secure wins for Canada, its producers and those who are relying on the Prime Minister to keep his promises. I would be very happy to take any questions, and I am very interested in further discussion with regard to British pensioners. As I mentioned earlier when I started off, my parents were both immigrants. They came to this country to start a new life, but they also helped build Britain after the Second World War.”
“We will restore Canada's reputation as a reliable partner to allies like the United Kingdom. We will negotiate to allow fair market access for Canadian products and stand up for our industries and our agriculture producers. We will put Canadian exporters first, and we will remember that our friends deserve better than bureaucratic delays. Having experienced both British excellence in education and the practical demands of municipal leadership, I know what real partnership looks like. It is built on reliability, competence and mutual respect, qualities the government has forgotten. This bill should have been passed months ago. The Liberals' delays have cost jobs, hurt our reputation with a key ally and weakened our position in the fastest-growing region in the world.”
“How can we lecture other countries about trade rules when we cannot even ratify agreements on time with our closest allies? Real leadership means delivering results, not just good headlines. As a mayor, I did not cut ribbons until the projects were actually built. The government announces everything and delivers nothing. The minister needs to answer some tough questions: Why have the Liberals not secured any benefits for our cattle producers? How do we prevent this embarrassment with our allies again? At the municipal level, we understood that investors have options. If we did not act quickly and professionally, they would go elsewhere. The same applies to international trade. Our partners will not wait forever for Canada to get organized. When Conservatives form government, we will not just talk about trade; we will deliver results.”
“From Vimy Ridge to Afghanistan, we have stood together. Now, when it comes to trade, we are making them wait while we sort out our bureaucratic mess. During my time at King's College London, I witnessed Britain's commitment to innovation, enterprise and global engagement. The U.K.'s decision to join CPTPP represents exactly that forward-thinking approach. Meanwhile, Canada is dragging its feet like we are still debating whether trade is good for the economy. Canada held the CPTPP chair in 2024 but failed to lead. Other nations celebrated at the Vancouver meeting while Canada remained uncommitted. Given the Prime Minister 's close relationship with the U.K. Prime Minister, one would have thought they might have used this opportunity to advocate on behalf of our agriculture producers.”
“In comparison, Canada exported to Britain just 25,000 dollars' worth in 2024 and, to date, has no beef exports in 2025. For those who are watching, that is 25,000 dollars' worth in 2024, which is unbelievable. This is not fair trade. This is a one-way street that favours British producers, while our farmers and ranchers face non-tariff barriers designed to shut them down. As a mayor, I learned that economic development happens through work, not announcements. We attracted major investment to Moose Jaw by rolling up our sleeves and delivering results, $1.3 billion of results in six years, not by staging photo ops but by standing up for our community and for our businesses. The government has forgotten that lesson. (1705) The U.K. and Canada share more than just a monarch; we share values, institutions and centuries of partnership.”
“The numbers do not lie. The U.K. is the world's sixth-largest economy, and it is the first European country in CPTPP. Eight countries are already trading under new terms while Canada waits and waits, and Canadian exporters are losing the competitive advantage. However, there is an even more troubling pattern here. Under the trade continuity agreement, the U.K. has not been acting fairly toward our pork and cattle producers. The U.K. objects to carcass washes applied at Canadian slaughter plants and opposes the use of growth promotants in beef and pork production. The trade statistics tell the real story of the Liberal government's failure to stand up for our producers. Britain exported over 40 million dollars' worth of beef into Canada in 2024 and nearly 30 million dollars' worth in the first half of 2025.”
“It is a difficult acronym, but I got through it on the first round, so hopefully I will get through it for the rest of the speech. They were dealing with the sixth-largest economy, and Canadian businesses were left waiting at the dock. Having studied at King's College London in the U.K., I understand first-hand the deep economic and cultural ties that bind Canada and the United Kingdom. The U.K. is not just another trading partner. No, it is one of our oldest and most reliable allies, which makes the government's fumbling even more inexcusable. Today, I will outline three critical failures: one, the economic opportunity cost of Liberal delays; two, the damage to Canada's international credibility; and three, the pattern of trade negligence that is hurting our exporters, in particular my own riding of Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan.”