Kyle Seeback
Dufferin—Caledon, Ontario · Conservative · Canada
“Mr. Speaker, I want to extend my deepest sympathies to the family of Constable Tarun Bali, who passed away tragically in the line of duty in northern Ontario. Constable Bali was a member of the Dufferin OPP in my home riding of Dufferin—Caledon. I know the men and women who serve in the Dufferin OPP.”
“Mr. Speaker, this is the 11th time the Liberals have announced they are going to make food cheaper for Canadians. Forgive me if I do not believe a single word that these guys say.”
“Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present today. The first petition is with respect to a young man from Bolton, Ontario, Gabriel Arshad, who was critically injured on July 5, 2025 in a devastating four-vehicle collision.”
“Mr. Speaker, luxury Normandy butter cups, beef tenderloin, braised beef with wine reduction and crème brûlée were included in 95,000 dollars' worth of luxury meals on one flight, $1 million in the last 12 months. Meanwhile, a quarter of Canadians are food-insecure.”
“It is really unbelievable, Mr. Speaker. Every week, they stand in the House of Commons and brag about the fact that for the first time in Canadian history, a government has to send money to Canadians so they can buy groceries. Let us think about that for a minute. That is the country they have created in Canada.”
“Mr. Speaker, every month, there is a new report that shows how difficult life has become under the Liberal government. Last night, it was a damning report from Food Banks Canada, and this month we have a report from United Way that says 60% of Canadians now have anxiety just thinking about their finances.”
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“We should not send the Americans a single penny for a single EV until every single illegal, unjustified tariff is taken off Canada and what we produce. The fact that the Liberals will not do it is shameful. Now, let us talk about something positive we could do for the Canadian auto sector, not the thing the Liberals are doing, which is to hurt it by giving those rebates for American EVs. I have also talked to auto workers about our policy, which is to take the HST off all Canadian-made vehicles, not picking and choosing as the Liberals have done. There is one Canadian EV that may get this subsidy, which is the Dodge Charger. It is a $95,000 electric muscle car. There are not a lot of people buying them. In fact, in 2025, 600 people in Canada bought the Dodge Charger.”
“The Liberals ran an the entire election on elbows up and saying that they could deal with Donald Trump and that they would stand up to Donald Trump, but here they are subsidizing Donald Trump's buy America plan. He wants every single auto in North America to be made in America. I have looked auto workers in the face and told them about this policy, and they are outraged. The Liberals say that they have had conversations. I challenge any Liberal member to go and sit down with an employee from the shuttered Brampton plant and say to them, “We are sorry you lost your job, but by the way, we will be giving rebates for American-made EVs.” I can say right now that the meeting would not go well, because they are outraged. I am outraged too.”
“Every single American electric vehicle should be ineligible for any kind of rebate. It is insulting that the Liberals are not doing that. They could do it with one stroke of a pen. The Prime Minister likes to do these fancy announcements with a pen. He pretended to get rid of the carbon tax by signing something. We all remember that a while ago. He could actually do it for this. With the stroke of a pen, the Liberals could make sure that American EVs are ineligible for one penny of Canadian tax dollars until the Americans take their illegal and unjustified tariffs off our auto sector, but they do not do it. They are kowtowing to Donald Trump with this policy, and I do not understand why they are doing it.”
“To do that, he is putting enormous tariffs on Canadian autos. These tariffs are decimating Canada's auto industry. We have seen the closure of two production facilities. Thousands of Canadians who manufactured cars have lost their jobs. These were good, union jobs that allowed people to pay for their families, their mortgages and all of these things. This is caused by the tariffs. One would think that in the middle of a trade war caused by the Americans, there is no way we would be giving subsidies for American electric vehicles, but we are. It is disgusting. I spent Tuesday meeting with the Unifor Skilled Trades Council and skilled trades workers. Every single worker I talked to was outraged that the government would send one penny to the United States for an electric vehicle, which is what it is in fact doing with rebates.”
“Madam Speaker, “We are in the middle of a trade war” is what the Liberals say in response to questions Conservatives raise every time there are more layoffs in the auto sector, in the softwood lumber sector, in the steel and in the aluminum sector. They repeat it to justify their failure to get a deal with the Americans on these tariffs. Let us be very clear about something right at the get-go: The United States started this trade war. It was President Trump who did it. He put unjustified and illegal tariffs on Canadian products. He has done that, which makes the Liberals' position on this legislation completely incomprehensible. When Donald Trump is tariffing the Canadian economy, and in particular autos, he has said that he wants every single Canadian auto manufacturing job in the United States. That is his stated goal.”
“Mr. Speaker, I almost feel bad for the minister , pathetically trying to justify sending money to Donald Trump's America to subsidize the production of American EVs. The President has declared economic war on Canada. He has said he wants every single Canadian auto job in the United States, and under the Liberals, he is succeeding. The Canadian auto economy is being decimated. The Liberals' plan is to allow the American auto manufacturers access to Canadian dollars for EV subsidies. It is disgraceful. It is unconscionable. Will the minister apologize to Canadian auto workers for this terrible policy?”
“Mr. Speaker, the happiest person in North America when the Liberals announced their EV subsidy plan was Donald J. Trump. Let me explain. He has explicitly said he wants to take every single Canadian auto job and bring it down to the United States. Under the Liberals, he is succeeding; 5,000 auto workers have lost their jobs. The plant in Brampton that was supposed to build the Jeep Compass is now in the United States. The U.S. is succeeding under the Liberals. Auto workers do not want their tax dollars going to subsidizing American-made vehicles. Will the minister look auto workers in the face today and say that no Canadian tax dollars will go to Trump's America to build vehicles?”
“Madam Speaker, the last time the Liberals ran EV rebates, between 2019 and 2025, 99% of the rebates went to foreign-made vehicles, including in Donald Trump's United States. While we are in the middle of a trade war and Donald Trump is tariffing our vehicles at 10%, leading to the closure of two manufacturing plants and the layoff of thousands of workers, Donald Trump's buy American program is going to benefit from Canadians' buying American EVs, subsidized by Canadian taxpayers. This is outrageous. It is not a good day for Canadian auto workers. A good day would be if the Liberals were to adopt our plan to take the taxes off autos.”
“Madam Speaker, last night the industry minister said the quiet thing out loud. When pressed on how many Canadian vehicles the Liberals' EV rebate will apply to, she admitted it is only one. The vast majority of these EV rebates will go to foreign car manufacturers, including in Donald Trump's America. He is the guy who is tariffing our autos, put 5,000 auto workers out of work and closed two plants. Rather than rewarding Donald Trump's America, why not take the tax off all Canadian-manufactured vehicles to preserve Canadian jobs and benefit all Canadian auto workers?”
“Mr. Speaker, it is time for a bit of education for these Liberals. Less than 5% of vehicles manufactured in Canada will qualify for this EV rebate; the rest will come from the United States and other foreign manufacturers. Imagine being an auto worker in Brampton who was supposed to manufacture the Jeep Compass EV. That job went to the United States. That Jeep Compass EV being manufactured in the United States is actually going to be subsidized by our taxpayer dollars. That auto worker in Brampton is looking at this Liberal government, and at how this is going to benefit Donald Trump, and asking, What the hell is going on in Ottawa?”
“Mr. Speaker, the Liberal minister just said that they stand with auto workers, but it sure looks like they stand with Donald Trump. Let me explain. While Donald Trump imposes 10% tariffs on every single vehicle that comes into Canada, the Liberals have passed an EV mandate that is actually going to give Canadian taxpayer dollars, in the form of subsidies, to American-made EVs. One cannot make this up. Fewer than 5% of Canadian vehicles will qualify for this EV subsidy. Why are the Liberals contributing to Donald Trump's buy American instead of preserving jobs in Canada?”
“Mr. Speaker, the Liberal minister says that they stand with auto workers. What it looks like is that they stand with Donald Trump, because while Donald Trump imposes 10% tariffs on every single vehicle that comes into Canada— Some hon. members: Oh, oh!”
“Mr. Speaker, it is really sad for auto workers to hear this secret plan. This secret plan for auto workers sounds an awful lot like “the cheque is in the mail” or “the dog ate my homework”. Do we know what is not secret? It is the 5,000 auto workers who have lost their jobs and now have to figure out how they are going to put food on their tables and how they are going to pay their mortgages in a cost of living crisis caused by the Liberals. I ask the minister to please get beyond her talking points and to please stop saying that she is standing up for workers when 5,000 workers have lost their jobs. It is a simple question: When will these workers actually get their jobs back?”
“Mr. Speaker, that is the same drivel the minister was trying to sell to auto workers three months ago. Nothing has actually gotten better. Let us start with how it started. They said they were the ones who could negotiate with Donald Trump. Let us look at how it is going: 700 auto workers have lost their jobs in Ingersoll, 3,000 auto workers have lost their jobs in Brampton and 1,200 have now lost their jobs in Oshawa. We need to get beyond these talking points. I have a simple question for the minister: When will these auto workers actually get their jobs back, instead of these tired words?”
“Mr. Speaker, what the Liberals promised in the election was that they were going to fast-track nation-building projects, and that is one of the reasons Canadians voted for them. Unfortunately, they have not actually fast-tracked anything. Not a single new nation-building project has been approved. Not a single shovel has gone in the ground for any of those projects. We need a new approach. That's why a Canadian sovereignty act needs to be implemented. It would tear down the barriers to building these projects. It would create new economic opportunity and thousands of good-paying jobs. The Liberals have stolen almost every single one of our policies. Why do they not steal this one for the benefit of Canadians?”
“Mr. Speaker, for almost a year, Canada has endured an unprovoked economic attack by the United States and President Trump. Conservatives worked to fast-track Bill C-5 , which was supposed to fast-track nation-building projects. Unfortunately, it has not fast-tracked anything. Not a single new project has been approved and not a single shovel has gone into the ground. There is an alternative. A Conservative sovereignty act would repeal anti-development legislation, speed approvals and create economic opportunities for Canada. Businesses and provinces that invest would be rewarded. Why will the Liberals not support this bill so that we can lessen our dependence on the Americans?”
“Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister recently flew to Davos, where he spoke to global elites at the World Economic Forum, and he said that a country unable to feed itself, fuel itself and defend itself has few options. Here at home, Canadians need action, not carefully crafted speeches. Food inflation is up over 6%, and a record number of Canadians line up to use a food bank every single month, despite those empty words. The Liberals fast-tracked Bill C-5 to get major projects built, and yet nothing has been built, and the hope of a pipeline is fading very fast. Our armed forces are under-equipped and in the midst of a recruiting crisis after 10 years of woke Liberal policies. Talk is cheap. Canadians deserve real action, not carefully crafted words for the elites at Davos.”
“Mr. Speaker, yeah, except when Stellantis was at committee, its president said it is not in default of the contract. It is probably relying on the section in the contract that said it would guarantee 4,475 jobs, when at the time, the company had 8,000 jobs, and 4,475 jobs is about 3,500 fewer than 8,000. I know that is hard for the Liberals to comprehend, and that is why they feel as though when Stellantis fired 3,000 workers it was not in default. Guess who benefits again from this. It Donald Trump and America, where all those jobs went, along with a $13-billion investment from Stellantis. What—”
“Mr. Speaker, yesterday at committee the finance minister condescendingly said that he was a lawyer and would be happy to explain the Stellantis contract. Well, one does not have to be a lawyer or even an accountant to know that 4,475 jobs is fewer than 8,000 jobs. The incompetent Liberals signed a contract with Stellantis that was going to pay Stellantis billions of dollars, and it guaranteed 4,400 jobs, when Stellantis at the time had 8,000 jobs. This allowed Stellantis to fire 3,000 workers and ship the jobs down to the United States. How do the Liberals explain this unbelievable level of incompetence?”
“Mr. Speaker, do members want to know what is unjustifiable? What is unjustifiable is giving a multinational company $15 billion and having a jobs guarantee in the contract that allows the company to fire almost 50% of its workers. Let that sink in. The Liberals gave Stellantis $15 billion. It was allowed to fire 3,500 workers in Canada and still be in compliance with the contract. That is gross negligence. It is incompetence beyond incompetence. How the hell has someone not been fired?”
“Mr. Speaker, for months, Conservatives fought to get the Stellantis contracts released despite the gag order from the Liberals, and now we know why they wanted to hide it. The so-called jobs guarantee that the minister was bragging about in question period only a few weeks ago was for 4,400 full-time employees at Stellantis. That sounds okay, except Stellantis had 8,000 employees at the time the contract was signed. That allowed the company to lay off 3,500 workers and still get the money. Is that why it fired 3,000 auto workers in Brampton, took the cash and sent the jobs to Donald Trump?”
“Mr. Speaker, unlike that minister, I have actually read the contracts, and if she actually had a legal case to do anything about the 3,000 workers who were fired in exchange for $15 billion, the government would have sued, but it has not. All Canadians should know the extent of the incompetence of the Liberal government. The jobs guarantees in those contracts are not worth the paper they are written on. If I had drafted that as a first-year law student, I would have gotten an F. How does this minister stand here to defend this terrible contract?”
“Mr. Speaker, Stellantis is investing $13 billion of its own dollars into the United States to create 5,000 auto jobs. Meanwhile, the Liberal government gave Stellantis $15 billion taxpayer dollars, and they fired 3,000 auto workers. Let that sink in for a minute. This is what happens when incompetent Liberal ministers do not read contracts. This is not an investment; it is a corporate rip-off. It took $15 billion and fired the workers. How does this incompetent minister sleep at night?”
“If I had drafted a contract like that in first-year law school on behalf of my client, my contracts professor would have given me an F, and that is what the government has.”
“Mr. Chair, a lawyer who would not read a contract on behalf of their client would face a massive lawsuit, yet successive ministers are signing billion-dollar contracts but not reading them. It is beyond negligence; it is gross negligence. It is malfeasance, and it is causing devastating impacts in the auto industry. The Liberals say there is a jobs guarantee. Can someone explain it to me? If there is a clause in the contracts that says there is a jobs guarantee, the jobs guarantee allowed Stellantis to lay off 3,000 workers in Brampton, when its total workforce at the time was a little over 8,000. Was it allowed to lay off almost 50% of its workforce? That is no jobs guarantee.”
“They have told me very clearly that the auto industry in Canada, at a 10% tariff, is finished. Our Prime Minister stands there and brags about a 10% tariff. It is disgusting.”
“Mr. Chair, it is just another example of the abject failure of a Prime Minister who campaigned on knowing the American President and on knowing how to get a deal. All we see is that the deal promised by July 21 has not happened and that every single time the Prime Minister goes and visits the American President, things actually get worse; we get more tariffs on more products, and we get higher tariffs. It is the exact opposite of what he campaigned on. As I said earlier, the most shocking and stunning thing is that the Prime Minister has the audacity to stand in this place and brag about a 10% tariff on the auto sector. He bragged about it. He said that we have the best deal in the world, as if he should be thanked and celebrated. As I said before, I spoke with representatives of the Unifor National Skilled Trades Council.”
“Meanwhile we are hollowing out the middle class, hollowing out the auto sector and losing lots of good-paying unionized jobs.”
“Mr. Chair, they are devastated. Unionized workers in the auto industry are devastated, and they are terrified of what is coming down the pipe. I was speaking with people at GM in Oshawa, and there is a factory in the U.S. being retooled right now, the Orion plant, that is going to manufacture light-duty vehicles. Guess what GM manufactures in Oshawa: light and heavy-duty vehicles. As a result of the tariffs, what the Prime Minister thinks is the best deal in the world, manufacturing of light-duty vehicles could be transferred from Oshawa to the Orion plant, which is going to start manufacturing in Q1 of 2027. This is a decimation of the auto industry, and all the Liberals say is “It is a trade war.” Wait a minute; the Liberals ran on the platform that they could solve the trade war.”
“When I was a shadow minister for environment, I asked exactly where we were on building out the charging infrastructure and the power generation. We are nowhere near getting it done. They are plowing ahead with the zero-emission vehicle mandate because it sounds good, but it is causing havoc in the industry. All the CEOs have asked for it to be scrapped, but the Liberals push forward with it, sign terrible contracts and have decimated the auto industry. They should be ashamed of themselves.”
“If there was a jobs guarantee, as the Liberals describe, how was Stellantis able to lay off 3,000 workers at the plant in Brampton? At the time they signed the agreement with Stellantis in Brampton, there were a total of 8,000 Stellantis workers in Canada. If the Liberals had a jobs guarantee, as they suggest, does the job guarantee allow Stellantis to lay off almost 50% of its workforce and still get almost $1 billion? It is outrageous. The incompetence from the Liberals is stunning and staggering, yet no one gets held accountable. In fact, the minister who signed this contract, which has allowed Stellantis to lay off all these workers when there is a so-called jobs guarantee, was promoted to finance minister . Let us talk about the zero-emission vehicle mandates that the Liberals keep talking about.”
“In that agreement, they were going to give up to $1 billion for retooling the Brampton assembly plant and another assembly plant. As part of that, there was supposed to be a jobs guarantee. We have heard the Minister of Industry say, and I saw her say it at committee, that there is a jobs guarantee. We asked her in what section of the contract. She could not say what section of the contract, because she did not read the contract. We also heard the previous industry minister say that he did not read the contract, so we have ministers signing multi-billion dollar contracts and not reading them. Let me tell members something about contracts, because I did go to law school and I remember taking contracts in law school.”
“We know the results of what is happening with these tariffs: the layoffs in Brampton, the layoffs in BrightDrop and the layoffs in the auto sector in general. We also have to think of what the Prime Minister said just over a week ago when asked what the status of the negotiations with President Trump was: “Who cares?” and that is “boring”. This is the same Prime Minister who is bragging about a 10% tariff that is decimating the Canadian auto industry. If that is not bad enough, let us talk about some of these programs the Liberals like to brag about, like the ones the member for Guelph was just rhyming off as if there is some amazing development for the Canadian auto industry. They signed a contract with Stellantis specifically with respect to the Brampton assembly plant.”
“However, the problem with the trade war is that the Prime Minister has stood in this chamber and said, “We have the best deal [on auto] in the world”, as if he is proud of what has happened with the 10% tariffs on auto, because that is what he is saying: “We have the best deal in the world.” It is either incredible ignorance or he actually does not care. I have spoken with Unifor's local presidents in the auto assembly industry and with Unifor's skilled trades council, and they have told me that the Canadian auto sector cannot survive at a 10% tariff, yet we have the Prime Minister standing up in this chamber and bragging about how we have the lowest auto tariffs in the world. It is an unbelievable insult to every single auto worker in this country.”
“Mr. Chair, I will be splitting my time with the member for Windsor West . When we get into debates about issues like this, the absolute decimation of the Canadian auto sector, what we find is that Liberal members love to get up and talk about programs, funding envelopes and all these other wonderful things they are allegedly doing that are supposed to make things work, but let us talk about the facts. The facts are pretty terrible. We have now lost 3,000 jobs at the Brampton assembly plant. We have lost over 1,000 jobs at the BrightDrop assembly plant. Honda is losing approximately $900 per vehicle it exports to the United States, so who knows how long that is going to continue. Every time we bring this up, the Liberals get up and say that there is a trade war, as if we are not aware of that fact.”
“Mr. Speaker, that answer is unbelievable. We have a minister who did not read a contract, who admits he did not read the contract, and he was promoted to become the finance minister. The Liberals talk about a job guarantee for workers in Brampton, and there clearly is not. As Christmas approaches, 3,000 assembly workers in Brampton are out in the cold collecting EI. The Liberals talk about some contracts and other things, but they are doing nothing to get the workers back into their plants. They talk about extended EI. I have met with those workers. They want to be in the plant. They want their jobs back. What are the Liberals doing to get the jobs back for those workers?”
“Mr. Speaker, it is time for some facts on the Stellantis contract in the Brampton assembly plant. The fact is that the former minister of industry did not read the contract and, as a reward, was promoted to finance minister . The fact is that there is no job guarantee in this contract, or it could not have laid off 3,000 workers. The fact is that the Liberals gave $200 million to Stellantis with no conditions. Even Ontario did not advance the money exactly because of that. The fact is that 3,000 auto workers in Brampton are out of work and struggling to make ends meet. How the hell are the Liberals so incompetent?”
“Mr. Speaker, I am not a stock expert, but stocks go up for a variety of reasons. Dollarama is going up because Canadians are finding themselves squeezed. It is amazing how the Liberals never acknowledge it. They get up every day in the House of Commons and talk as though Canada is going through the biggest economic boom since post-World War II. They are so out of touch with reality. The reality is that Canadians cannot make ends meet, and they are going to the dollar store. The other thing that sometimes drives stocks is speculation. People are speculating that Brookfield is going to get a lot more out of the Liberal government, because it has repeatedly in the last few months. There has been contract, contract, contract. It has been Brookfield, Brookfield, Brookfield.”
“Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. [ English ] The digital services tax is one of the most embarrassing debacles of the Liberal government, and it has had many. The Liberals were warned repeatedly that this was going to be a major trade irritant with the United States. When I travelled down to the United States as the shadow minister for international trade, I was repeatedly told by every congressman and senator I met with that the digital services tax was going to cause a huge problem in the relationship between Canada and the United States. They went ahead anyway and imposed the digital services tax, which, of course, worsened the relationship between Canada and the United States. To make it worse, they just abandoned it for absolutely nothing in the negotiations with President Trump. It is really quite pathetic.”
“Mr. Speaker, that is patently false. That is number one. Nothing approaches the deficit these guys ran in 2021 and 2022. Nothing approaches that. The Liberals talk about things like dental care and the food program, and that is great. I am glad that the people who cannot afford dental can get some dental care and I am glad that some families that cannot afford to feed their children will get some food in a school food program, but the result of the Liberals' economic mismanagement and their economic vandalism is eight million visits to the food bank last year. Let us think about that. This is outrageous. What they are doing with all of their spending is driving the vast majority of Canadians into food poverty, whereby they have to go to the food bank. They then create a couple of programs and try to pat themselves on the back.”
“They set up a projects office where they hand-pick the projects. Can members imagine the backroom dealing that will go on to get those projects bumped up the list? The green slush fund is going to look like small potatoes at the end of what is happening with the special projects office, because the well-known insiders will know who to talk to and what to do to sneak their little projects up the list so that people get rich. Who is going to get rich? It is Liberal insiders. This is one of the reasons we absolutely have to oppose this budget. It has generational debt, generational job losses and generational corruption. We are voting against this budget.”
“I briefly talked about generational corruption, because rather than creating an even playing field and economic zones where the best companies get to put forward their ideas and compete to try to get through a streamlined environmental process, these guys decided the way to do it is to hand-pick projects. Lo and behold, who is getting some of this project money? It is Brookfield. How much more money is Brookfield going to get through backroom, insider deals with the Liberal government? I guess we are going to have wait and see, because that is what the Liberals have decided to do. What is even scarier is that the CEO of Brookfield testified at committee and said that every time Brookfield does well, the Prime Minister does well financially because of his enormous shareholdings in Brookfield. What did the Liberals do?”
“When we think about doubling the national debt in 10 years and ask Canadians if anything is better, and their is answer is, “I cannot think of anything that is better,” we have to ask ourselves what the heck these guys did with all of this money. We get dribs and drabs of this. We had a great intervention by a Conservative member looking at some of the spending envelopes recently. He talked about something for a gender barracks in a Lebanese ski school. There was $4 million for that. If Canadians looked at where the government is spending money, they would be 100% horrified.”
“The voters in my riding ask me all the time, “Kyle, what is actually better after all of this spending?” Is health care better? No. We have waiting lists that are completely unacceptable. We now spend more money on interest on the debt, which is like making the minimum payment on a credit card. We pay more money servicing the interest on the debt than we do on health transfers to the provinces. This is the effect of piling generational debt onto Canadians and the next generation of Canadians. These are significant problems. What else is better? Are our armed forces better equipped? No, they are not. Is the cost of living less? No, it is not. Is it easier to buy a house? No, it is not. Are our roads less congested? No, they are not.”
“Again, if I had turned in that contract in my second year of law school, my contracts professor would have given me an F, and that is what we get with these guys. We do not get things that are good for the Canadian economy. Let us talk about the second generational thing in this budget, which is the generational debt the Liberals are going to be adding onto every single Canadian. There is $78 billion this year, although the PBO estimates that it will be even higher. As I said earlier, there is the debt of successive governments from 1867 to 2015, which is one chunk of debt, but from 2015 to 2025, the Liberals doubled it. Let us think about that. Let it sink in. What took over 100 years to accumulate, the Liberals doubled in 10 years.”
“It is even below, “Who cares?” and that is “boring”. That is what the Prime Minister is saying to all those families and communities who rely on these industries: “Who cares?” and that is “boring”. (1210) One thing I want to comment on is that the Liberal industry minister has stood up many times and said there was a jobs guarantee in these contracts. I had the opportunity to sit in on the OGGO committee and look at these contracts. Now, I cannot speak about the specifics of those contracts because they cannot be released, but what I can say is that if I had drafted a contract like that for a project when I was in my second year of law school, I would have gotten an F. This is the Government of Canada allegedly signing a contract to give a corporation $15 billion.”
“Again, if I go back to when the Prime Minister says, “Who cares?” and that is “boring” when asked about whether he has met with President Trump to resolve the tariffs, members might understand why they blew past July 21 and we are now into December with no resolution on these things. If we want to talk about the softwood lumber industry, this has been absolutely devastating for communities across the country. Again, this has not be been resolved in eight years. From Justin Trudeau who did absolutely nothing to resolve the softwood lumber dispute, we now have a Prime Minister who says, “Who cares?” and that is “boring”. Wait a minute. That was just with respect to the tariffs that the President recently put on steel, aluminum and autos. I do not think softwood lumber even reaches the issue plate for him.”
“If members wonder why we have not actually solved the trade dispute with the United States, which has now cost 1,000 job layoffs in the steel industry, it is because we have a Prime Minister who so casually says “Who cares?” and that is “boring”. This is the result of “Who cares?” and that is “boring” when we are talking about our largest trading partner, but it does not stop there. Let us look at what is happening in the auto industry. We have now lost production at the Brampton assembly plant and others could be facing the same fate because, once again, the tariffs that are put on our auto sector by President Trump have not been resolved by the Prime Minister . Some of us might recall that it was the Prime Minister who said that he would have a deal by July 21. The last time I checked my calendar, I saw we are quite past July 21.”
“All of these things have been a boon to Liberal insiders, who get rich on these schemes. These are three ways in which, I guess, this budget is generational, but generationally bad and would cause generations of damage to the country I love and all Conservatives love. Let us talk a bit about some of those specifics. We now have 1,000 job layoffs in the steel industry in addition to other layoffs that have happened in the steel industry over the course of the current government. The Liberals are going to say it is caused by the tariffs from President Trump in the United States. Sure, that is one factor, and it would be great if that were to be resolved, but we have a Prime Minister who said, “Who cares?” and that is “boring”.”
“We can look at the generational devastation in the softwood lumber industry, which the current government has been unable to resolve in eight years of government. If members recall, under the government of Stephen Harper, the softwood lumber dispute was resolved within six months of that government's taking office. Now we are looking at eight years and we are looking at tens of thousands of jobs lost, mills closed, etc. If we also look at generational opportunities for corruption, then this budget is also generational. The Liberals have decided that the best way to spur the Canadian economy is to set up a special office and the Prime Minister will pick certain projects that will get special status. These are the people who brought us the WE Charity scandal, the green slush fund and many other scandals over the past years.”