Sandra Cobena
Newmarket—Aurora, Ontario · Conservative · Canada
“Mr. Speaker, 100 years is a century of memories, service and stories. In Newmarket—Aurora, we are preparing to celebrate a very special milestone as our friend and local Second World War veteran Mr. Jeffrey Reynolds turns 100 years old on June 29.”
“Turning 100 years old is an extraordinary achievement, but it also carries even greater meaning when that life was dedicated to serving others before it had fully begun. I ask all members of the House to join me in wishing Jeffrey Reynolds a very happy 100th birthday.”
“They felt that they were the passengers, because the government was driving them into incredible amounts of debt that they would eventually inherit.”
“I heard from a small business owner on Davis Drive who is watching her customer base shrink because people simply do not have money left over at the end of the month. I heard from a senior on a fixed income who never thought he would have to choose between his bills and groceries.”
“However, the government members stand here and ask Canadians to trust them with the national finances, with a 1% chance of keeping their own promises. Let us not forget they revised this fiscal anchor after they already failed to meet their last one. I should mention I am splitting my time.”
“Even Mexico, which also shares a border with the U.S. and has been significantly impacted by tariffs, has managed to steer clear of a recession. When we are the only country in the world's 20 largest economies to be in a recession, that is a local policy problem.”
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“Mr. Speaker, even the government's own fiscal watchdog said that he is in the dark on the government's financial plans. He would not even comment on whether the finances are sustainable and is in the dark on how the Liberals are going to pay for nearly half a trillion dollars. It is not enough to have a plan but not know how they are going to pay for it. Perhaps they do not want their broken promises and ballooning deficits to come to light. There is no private sector discipline here, only secrecy, broken promises and no budget. What exactly are they afraid Canadians will find in the numbers?”
“That painting now hangs in my office, and I would like to invite everyone to stop by to see it and enjoy a cup of tea. I thank the teachers at Sacred Heart and every educator who goes that extra mile.”
“Mr. Speaker, we all remember that one teacher who made a lasting impact on us, the one who believed in us before we believed in ourselves, the one who would stay up late to push us further and who made us feel worth every minute of their time. At Sacred Heart Catholic High School in Newmarket, I saw that spirit alive. I saw it first during the election, when teachers organized a candidates' debate so that the students could moderate the discussion and challenge ideas. They did not just teach civics; they brought it to life for their students. I saw it again when students participated in the Newmarket Night Market, proudly showcasing their artwork, including one powerful piece celebrating strength, empowerment and the women who shape us.”
“Madam Chair, we are talking about the respect for taxpayers' dollars. I have a scenario, an example, for the minister. Will the minister hand me $486,000 today if I give him a list of the investments I am going to make but I cannot tell him how I am going to pay him until the fall?”
“Madam Chair, the measure was going to reduce taxes by $800, but the cost of food is also going up by $800: $800 minus $800 equals zero. Canadians are not going to be better off. Will the minister please deliver a budget?”
“Madam Chair, there is an affordability crisis. People are going hungry, and they are going to the food bank. The hunger and the affordability crisis are not going to wait until the fall. We need a budget this spring. Why is the minister forcing Canadians to wait?”
“Mr. Speaker, the reality is that inflationary spending causes our dollar to weaken because the government floods the economy with excess borrowed money and it weakens our dollar, raising the cost of everything.”
“Mr. Speaker, yes, I wonder if the Liberal government would take a lesson from private industry, a lesson from Brookfield Asset Management, because Brookfield does prepare a budget before it spends. It is a basic practice, but the Liberals are refusing to put forward a budget, and they are taking the time to ask for $486 billion in new spending. That is irresponsible.”
“Mr. Speaker, the responsible thing to do is what every family, every business and every government must do, which is to deliver a budget at the beginning of the fiscal year, not after authorizing $486 billion in spending.”
“Mr. Speaker, the reality is that the government stole three platform points from Pierre Poilievre's plan, one of which was cutting income taxes by 1%. We are talking about the budget here. Let us talk about numbers. This tax cut would save Canadians $800, but the Liberals' inflationary spending is increasing the cost of food by $800 a year. The simple math is that $800 less $800 equals zero. How are Canadian families going to be better off under the government and its plans?”
“Let us build a Canada where no one fears the future, where food is affordable, where Canadian families can breathe again and where hope is not a luxury but a lived reality. I urge the government to stop the excuses, stop the delays and table a budget now.”
“Therefore, if the Liberals now agree with Pierre, why have they not gone all the way? Why are Canadians still being crushed by a crisis the Liberals now admit exists but still refuse to address? It is a moment for leadership, and leadership starts with a plan backed by numbers. It is called a budget. We must renew the generational contract, the idea that, if people work hard, play by the rules and give back, they can still get ahead. We cannot settle for timid consensus. We cannot govern with what makes the best headlines. We must act boldly and lead with principle. The Liberals must do the right thing and deliver a budget, not in the fall, and not after another spending spree, but now.”
“There was once a time, under both Liberal and Conservative governments, when fiscal responsibility was a shared national value. It was on that consensus that Canada built its prosperity. However, under Justin Trudeau, that consensus was shredded, and this Liberal government is taking it one step further. It is now not only continuing with the spending but also refusing to deliver a budget. Yes, it is nice to see the Liberals, the NDP, the Bloc and the Greens finally catch up to ideas that Pierre Poilievre put forward years ago, such as lowering income taxes, eliminating the carbon tax and removing the GST on homebuilding, but let us be honest. The Liberals are showing up late and going only halfway. Pierre did not just talk about affordability, he also led with bold proposals.”
“Let us call this what it is: It is not just mismanagement; it is economic negligence. The government has gone from saying the budget will balance itself to the budget will not be balanced to there will be no budget at all. (1600) By refusing to present a budget until the fall, the Liberals will have gone over a full year without a federal budget, which would be the longest stretch since the 1960s, outside of the pandemic. What makes this even more insulting is that, while Canadian families are being crushed by an affordability and housing crisis, and communities are facing rising crime, the Liberal government sees no problem shutting the government down for the summer and walking away while Canadian families continue to struggle.”
“Affordability is the number one concern I hear about from my neighbours, and we must urgently bring down food costs, not make them worse through inflationary spending. When a government floods the economy with borrowed money, it weakens our dollar. When our dollar is weak, everything is more expensive, including food. It is basic economics, and Canadians are paying the price every day at the checkout lines. What have the Liberals done? They have refused to table a budget. They have refused to show a path forward. Now they are asking Parliament to approve even more spending than the last government, with more spending announcements expected in the months ahead. Today, for example, there was another announcement for an increase in military spending, with no budget and without a single plan to balance the books.”
“The beautiful thing was that there were a lot of donations from the community, but when I was speaking to the staff, they shared that they do their record keeping at month-end, and every month is a record month. That is the trend. It is not just the people we might expect using the food pantry. It is families, seniors and young people. In fact, young people are disproportionately represented among those using the Newmarket Food Pantry because they cannot afford food. It has revealed a quiet crisis gripping Newmarket—Aurora and other communities across the country. People from all walks of life are facing food insecurity. The Newmarket community has responded with generosity, but the demand keeps growing. The reality is that kindness is not enough.”
“According to H&R Block Canada, 85% of Canadians are living paycheque to paycheque. That is up from 60% just a year ago. That is not just economic pressure; that is a national emergency. This is what happens when a government spends without discipline, borrows without limits and governs without a plan. The legacy of Liberal policy is not progress. It is the slow undoing of a family’s dignity. This year alone, the average Canadian family will pay $800 more to buy the same amount of food. It is not better food or more food, but just the same. Food costs continue to outpace inflation, and every grocery trip feels more painful. When I visited the Newmarket Food Pantry, I saw the shelves were being emptied just as fast as they were being restocked.”
“Mr. Speaker, it is said that inflation is cooling, but families are not feeling it. That is because the real cost of living is not measured on spreadsheets. It is measured at the grocery store, the gas station and the dinner table. Everywhere I go, I hear about it. The price of groceries has soared. Homes are out of reach. Mortgage renewals have doubled. Rents are breaking records. Families are living with constant anxiety, counting dollars, skipping meals and giving up on dreams. These are not statistics. These are real people with real struggles. During the election last month, a man in my community said he had never cared about politics, but this election was different for him because he needed a break. He felt like he was treading water and needed something to change. He is not alone.”
“Mr. Speaker, when mothers go grocery shopping, it is about their kids. They would rather go hungry than see them go without. In Newmarket, I met a mother of three little boys who was in tears. She did not know what she was going to feed them the following week. Who can blame her? Two bags of groceries now cost $100 and barely last two days. The Liberals' inflation is the slow undoing of a family's dignity, yet the Liberals plan to continue their inflationary spending. Will the Liberals present a budget this spring and reduce spending, or will they continue to ask parents to pay for their broken promises?”
“Worst of all, hours after the Prime Minister stood up in the House and promised to cap spending growth at 2%, the Liberals introduced a bill that grows it by 8%. Canadians deserve better than broken promises and blank cheques.”
“Mr. Speaker, this week, the Prime Minister introduced his first spending bill for the coming fiscal year, called the main estimates. He promised to spend less. Instead, he is spending more, a lot more. In fact, this bill proposes 8% more spending than in Justin Trudeau's final year in office. That means that overall government spending is set to grow nearly three times faster than inflation and population combined. Seniors, moms and small businesses all have to budget before they spend. Why can this Prime Minister not do the same? This is record-breaking waste. Consultant spending has ballooned to $26 billion, that is a 36% increase in one year, or $1,400 in taxes per household just for consultants.”
“Mr. Speaker, the bottom line is that there is no plan to pay for the $486 billion in spending that the Liberals have asked Parliament to authorize. It is not a plan to have no plan. If there were a plan, they would have presented it. Our GDP is struggling. Our productivity is down. Our purchasing power is crumbling. The unemployment rate is rising, and tariffs are hurting our industries. The purpose of a budget is to bring order to uncertainty, but the Liberal government has done the opposite. By refusing to present a budget this spring, it has deepened the volatility in an already fragile economy. Fiscal credibility is earned by showing the numbers respecting the process that has defined Canada for more than half a century.”
“If the Prime Minister and his finance minister want to be taken seriously as stewards of the economy, they need to do what every family, every business and every government must do: put forward a budget. It is my sincere hope that we can work together to provide relief to Canadian families and businesses and to steer Canada in the right direction. However, the government needs to provide the fundamental information for every parliamentarian to make an informed decision on what is best for Canadians. On matters of finance, my trust is built on numbers, on accountability and on a budget. I ask again: With the economic storm clouds moving in, how is it possible not to produce a budget this spring?”
“Any lender would tell them to come back when they have evidence of their income. As a finance professional of 14 years, I say the same to this Liberal government: Come back when there is a plan to pay for all of this spending. The government says economic conditions may change over the summer. Yes, there is an uncertain world, there are summits, and there are shifting forecasts. That is exactly why we need a budget. When income is lost, we budget. When costs rise, we budget. When we want to change our circumstances, we budget. Our GDP is struggling, our productivity is down, our purchasing power is crumbling and the unemployment rate is rising. These are the fingerprints of 10 years of failed Liberal policies.”
“Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and his cabinet took the time to prepare a spending plan, but they did not make the time to prepare a plan to pay for it. Last week, I asked a simple question: “With the economic storm clouds moving in, how is it possible not to have a budget this spring?” Since then, the Liberal government presented the main estimates to Parliament to request nearly half a trillion dollars, $486 billion, to fund the government until next March. However, it has not presented a budget, which is the very document that shows how it intends to pay for all of this spending. How irresponsible is that? Imagine someone walking into a bank for a mortgage with all of their expenses, their car payments, groceries and student debt, but refusing to provide evidence of their income.”
“Mr. Speaker, my team and I knocked on 100,000 doors, and the priorities at the doors were very clear: affordability, crime and unleashing our economy. When a young mother is choosing between rent and groceries, she does not need a promise to consider her needs in the fall; she needs action today. We have just returned and are about to adjourn. This is unacceptable.”
“Mr. Speaker, as I was door knocking in Newmarket, Doug, a sweet senior in my riding, opened the door and invited me in to share some of his concerns. As we were talking, he said to me that when he was a little boy, his father taught him to work hard: that if he wanted something, he needed to work hard and give it his all and he would have it. Doug was sitting in his living room and said, “I gave it my all. I worked hard my entire life, and I am sitting here in my living room struggling to make ends meet.” That is unacceptable. Canadians, including seniors, are looking for opportunity. They want an affordable life.”
“Mr. Speaker, when I was running to be a member of Parliament, I was recalling my early days here in Canada and called my mom to ask her a question. I said, “Mom, did you rely on any government programs when we came to Canada? What did you need, because you came with three young children?” She said to me, “All we needed was opportunity. All we needed was a job so that we could work hard, work long days and provide a future for our children.” Today, that opportunity is gone. It is no longer possible to just work hard, earn a decent living and build a beautiful home and a beautiful future for our children. This is what Canadians bring up at the doors today.”
“Canadians feel the urgency. I feel the urgency. We feel the urgency. We cannot ask Canadians to wait while we rest. Let us meet this moment with the urgency it deserves, not someday, not afer the break, but now.”
“If a business owner has money to invest in Canada today, they will not wait until the fall; the investment will go elsewhere, and once it is gone, it is gone for good. For the entrepreneurs and risk-takers, I ask this: Where is the plan to unleash the Canadian economy? Where is the urgency to meet this moment? If I could deliver one message from the people of Newmarket—Aurora, it is this: We want a government that moves with the urgency of a parent trying to provide a future for her children, with the urgency of a Canadian entrepreneur trying to keep the lights on, or with the urgency of a paramedic trying to provide a lifeline to a patient. My neighbours in Newmarket—Aurora elected me to work the long days to restore the promise that working hard will grant a person a great life in a beautiful home on a safe street.”
“Government members say they want investment, jobs and economic independence from the United States, but their actions do not meet their ambition, and the Liberal legacy continues to sabotage our economic self-reliance. Somewhere along the way, bureaucracy took the place of common sense. Our GDP is struggling, our productivity is down, our purchasing power is crumbling and the unemployment rate is rising as a result of Liberal policies. Let me be clear, and the Prime Minister knows this well: In investment banking, if a person does not know their numbers, they get fired. In commercial banking, if a person does not have a budget, they do not get the loan. In private equity, if a person does not have a plan, they do not get the investment.”
“(1740) For the victims of all forms of crime, and for our police, I ask this: Where is the legislation to repeal catch-and-release bail laws? Where is the legislation to end human trafficking? Where is the legislation to crack down on intimate partner violence? Where is the urgency to meet this moment? I met a Canadian entrepreneur in Aurora who is bright, driven and successful. He built three businesses in the U.S. but only one here at home in Canada. He told me something that stopped me. He said that in the U.S., he gets his permits, his financing and his approvals in days. In Canada, it takes months or sometimes years. This is unacceptable, because he is a man who wants to build here and who believes in this country, but we are making it harder for him to do it.”
“Our seniors have already given so much and they are running out of time, yet Parliament has been shut down since December, so for almost six months. Just as we return, we prepare to adjourn again until September. For our young people and our seniors, I ask this: Where is the urgency to meet this moment? During the campaign, I met an individual in Newmarket who refused to believe that there was a crime crisis in our community. In fact, as he walked out of his home, looking up and down at the street, he asked where the crime was and said that he did not see any crime on his street, yet, a couple of doors down, a woman who was working in her front lawn had had her car stolen that morning. She was at risk of losing her job because she could not get to it. Crime will not wait until Parliament reconvenes in the fall; it demands action now.”
“When she told me her story, she looked at her grandchildren beside her and said that they will not have the same opportunities that she had, and they were born in Canada. That should stop us; it should move us. For that grandmother, looking at her grandchildren with fear, I ask this: Where is the budget? Where is the urgency to meet this moment? Everywhere I go in Newmarket and Aurora, I hear it. On front porches, in parking lots, in elevators and checkout lines, people are tired of waiting for a home they can afford, for a permit that never seems to come, for a safe street, for a family doctor or for a government that understands one simple truth: that their time is not a limitless resource. Young people are growing older while giving up on their dreams.”
“It did not matter, because we had arrived in Canada, and being Canadian was and always will be a privilege. My parents worked two and sometimes three jobs. I cared for my younger brothers while my parents worked. We all watched the sun come down day after day while we waited for mom and dad to come home. We saved every penny we could. We budgeted and budgeted some more, because if people want to change their circumstances, they budget. One day, we had just enough to buy our first home in beautiful Aurora, Ontario. What breaks my heart is knowing that today, that path, the one my parents walked, is almost gone. Last fall, I met a grandmother in Aurora. Her story sounded like ours, with long days, night shifts, sacrifice and budgeting.”
“Mr. Speaker, I thank the people of Newmarket—Aurora for entrusting me to be their voice in Ottawa. I thank my campaign team, who gave this mission 18 months of relentless effort. We knocked on 100,000 doors to earn our neighbours' trust. I thank my family, especially my husband Matthijs, for standing beside me with his wise counsel, and my three beautiful children, Matthijs, Martina and Isabella, for their endless cheering on of mami . As I entered the chamber for the first time as a member of Parliament, I felt a deep sense of humility. I never knew that this would be possible for someone like me. My family came to Canada with nothing but the clothes in our suitcases, but those suitcases were stolen, and so we carried our belongings in garbage bags.”
“Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister claimed to be the man with a plan. That is very well, but where is it? After 14 years in finance, I have learned that, if someone does not know the numbers, that person is out. We know the Prime Minister is committed to spending more than Justin Trudeau, but he will not even tell Canadians how much. TD reported that Canada is nearing a two-quarter recession, with up to 100,000 job losses this fall. I have one simple question: With the economic storm clouds moving in, how is it possible not to have a budget this spring?”