Blake Richards
Airdrie—Cochrane, Alberta · Conservative · Canada
“Mr. Speaker, on June 12, Filipinos worldwide celebrate Philippine Independence Day. As we celebrate, we recognize the rich history, culture and enduring spirit.”
“Mr. Speaker, by moving this motion, the government is shutting down debate about the very underpinnings of our democracy: our elections. There are a number of concerns that I could have raised. There are some positive things in here.”
“The day also reminds us of the value of freedom that inspired the Philippines' independence movement and continues to inspire people everywhere. On behalf of Canada's Conservatives, I wish all Filipinos a happy independence day, and I look forward to joining in tomorrow's celebrations. Maraming Salamat . Mabuhay .”
“Motion for concurrence moved that the fifth report of the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs, presented on April 30, be concurred in. He said: Mr. Speaker, I stand today in unity with veterans from all across Canada who have been tirelessly fighting to right a historical wrong.”
“Just a young man, he was sent overseas to fight those responsible for terrorizing not only the people of Afghanistan but also people around the world through horrific attacks like those witnessed on September 11, 2001. It was in Afghanistan where Jess Larochelle made his mark on Canadian history.”
“This example is one that cries for change; it cries for justice. If mistakes were made and new details are brought to light, then mere policy should not stand in the way of honouring a war hero.”
The complete record
Every one of 169 lines we hold for Blake Richards, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 3 of 4.
“If we follow this reasoning, how can the Liberal government be so happy about a 13% increase in applications, when just months ago the Auditor General cited the loss of applications due to a broken recruitment system, which remains unfixed? Further, the Canadian Armed Forces has also indicated that the 13% figure does not reflect anything to do with the policies of the current government and is a projection it has been making and watching for over four years now. Right off the bat, the very premise that underlies this motion has proven to be false. In conclusion, it should be stated very clearly that the Liberals have an abhorrent track record when it comes to our veterans.”
“The motion also asserts that there will be a need for more veteran services due to higher recruitment numbers as a result of policies of the Liberal government. To support this, the Liberals have been happy to parade around a recent report that states that applications to the Canadian Armed Forces have increased by 13% last year. Once again, we are faced with Liberal misdirection. To begin with, the Auditor General report in November of last year clearly states that the Canadian Armed Forces continually fails to meet its own recruitment goals year over year. Among the reasons cited for this was a cumbersome, bloated and outdated recruiting system. The report rightly points out that most applicants drop out of the process because it can take upwards of a year to get enrolled in the Canadian Armed Forces.”
“Built in 1915, the Colonel James Layton Ralston Armoury, locally known as the Amherst armoury, housed some of Nova Scotia's finest. Local men signed up at the armoury to serve in World War I and to fight Nazi Germany in World War II. There were 497 men from Amherst and its surrounding areas who never returned home. Their names are marked on a local cenotaph in the Amherst area. For almost 500 individuals who paid the ultimate price, the Amherst armoury holds dear meaning. What is just a talking point for the Liberals in Ottawa is a living part of the heritage of Amherst, Nova Scotia, and its people, and they deserve action, not empty promises, so let us today renew our calls on the Liberal government to abandon its political games and to commit to the transfer of a historic property like that to the people who deeply care for it.”
“For years, I have asked minister after minister in the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs if they know how many homeless veterans there are, and how many homeless veterans that their so-called veterans homelessness program has helped. Every single one of them has not been able to answer. They do not even know how many there are, let alone how many they have helped. (1805) That pattern is as disturbing as it is clear: The Liberals love to talk the talk, but they never walk the walk. Words, promises and platitudes are never acted upon or followed up on. It is easy for them to forget about the cost of their inaction when they are here in Ottawa, spending away the future of Canadians, but for everyday Canadians in proud historic towns like Amherst, the effects of their inaction weigh heavily.”
“It is fully within their authority and their ability as the Government of Canada to facilitate the transfer of that property. Had the motion today called for action, they would have found support on this side of the House. I know that veterans in Nova Scotia and across Canada will be incredibly disappointed to hear that the government thinks that a motion for a study six months from now is an acceptable answer to a call for action they have been making for years now. This issue comes down solely to political will and priorities, which the government has clearly signalled its disinterest in. The government does not care what becomes of the Amherst Armoury or what becomes of homeless veterans.”
“Instead of making more empty promises and motions, why do the Liberals not finally start to do right by veterans and reverse their decision to cut veterans' pensions and services? Perhaps most pertinent to this debate is the fact that veterans in Amherst, Nova Scotia, have clearly expressed their desire for a building there, and they have done so for years now. We now have the Liberal member for that very community introducing a motion for debate which does not call for action to grant the veterans of Amherst what they are asking for. Instead, the motion suggests a study should take place to determine what should be done. We already know what should be done. We already know what this property needs to be used for. There is no excuse for the games that the Liberals are playing here.”
“On one hand, they are claiming in this motion that veterans need more service spaces, but on the other hand, they are carrying out the largest cuts to veterans that we have ever seen. On one hand, they are finally acknowledging a cost of living crisis after denying it for years, but on the other hand, they are lowering veterans' pension indexing to give them less every year. The cherry on top is that the Liberals are also using the budget implementation act to retroactively change legislation to avoid a lawsuit representing veterans who were overcharged by VAC for long-term care. Actions speak much louder than words, and Canadians can see right through the Liberals.”
“The Liberals stand here today, once again using veterans as a pretense for their political goals. Just last week, half of the Women Veterans Council resigned in protest of the Liberal government's using them for photo ops and virtue signalling, while ignoring them the rest of the time and not allowing them to work for veterans or even have a say with the minister . Canadians have had enough, and it is time for action. With the budget implementation act, the Liberals snuck in changes to the pension indexing of veterans, meaning that they would receive less money every year to keep up with the rampant inflation that Liberal deficits are costing us. Food inflation, the cost of living and housing are all up, and now veterans' pensions are down. We have to ask ourselves, what are the Liberals telling veterans?”
“The Liberals then decided that they would not provide wreaths for Remembrance Day for cenotaphs across the country. After push-back from the Conservatives, they had to walk that back, but just before Remembrance Day, the Liberals announced more than 4 billion dollars' worth of cuts to veterans' benefits. They refused to answer questions about where those cuts would take place, but we already know that their budget proposes to cut veterans' pensions. The Liberals sent out more than 100 letters to veterans demanding massive repayment sums because of the department's own negligence and accounting errors, while they simultaneously moved legislation to retroactively change legislative decisions to avoid having to pay back the disabled veterans they have been overcharging for years.”
“Mr. Speaker, we stand here today watching the Liberals once again play politics with veterans. Rather than treating our veterans as heroes who served the country, this motion is just the latest action in a string of actions taken by the Liberal government, which treats veterans as pawns for their political ambitions. In less than a year since the election, the Liberals have made several inexplicable decisions that not only neglect their duties to veterans but also insult veterans. It started with the minister being unable to answer how many veterans had been helped through the flagship programs on homelessness and employment. Despite millions of dollars spent and years of patting themselves on the back, they had no idea if their program was actually doing anything.”
“If this member of the government wants to see more services for veterans, she should walk over to the Minister of Veterans Affairs and say, “Let's get more services for veterans,” rather than trying to gum up Parliament with a study when we could be just taking action. She is part of the government. Why does she not just take action?”
“Mr. Speaker, what I often find happens when I hear a politician talk about wanting to do a study is that it is often a way to avoid taking action. With these underused properties, and there is one in my riding, I listen to my community. I know what it needs. I do not need to have a study of Parliament to decide what needs to be done with those properties. I would suggest that any member who has one of these properties in their riding should know what their community needs. We do not need a study of Parliament to be able to decide what needs to be done. The same thing goes for when we talk about serving our veterans.”
“To lose a child is an unthinkable tragedy. Although we cannot legislate away that loss, we do have the ability to assure bereaved parents that government programming will not cause them unnecessary harm and stress while navigating their loss. The Employment Insurance Act must be amended to accommodate pregnancy and infant loss and to finally give grieving parents the compassion they deserve from their government.”
“While I am happy to see this injustice may finally be remedied, it also leaves me angered at the thought of so many parents continuing to be subjected to this treatment when recommendations for change were made seven years ago. We have all heard the saying, “Better late than never”, but “late” in this case has caused significant emotional and financial hardship for so many parents who did not have to suffer further at the hands of the Liberal government. I sincerely hope that this bill does not see the same resistance to its implementation that Motion No. 110 did, as these parents deserve better from their government during a time of unimaginable loss. It should not have taken this long. In closing, as the father of a son and an infant daughter myself, I can say that parenthood is one of life's greatest joys.”
“More parents each year have gone through this same unimaginable experience only to be told by the government that it is sorry for their loss, but they need to pay the money back and return to work immediately. So much time has passed since Motion No. 110 was first introduced in the House. So many parents to whom the Liberal government could have offered much-needed support have lost a pregnancy or infant since then. Why only now? Why not in 2019 when the opportunity first presented itself? Countless individuals like Sarah and Lee Cormier have waited years for change. They have done the hard work to provide support to other grieving parents, wearing their loss with courage in the hope that other families would have one less burden placed on them by their own government during their darkest hours. They have waited too long.”
“She created a petition, which I sponsored, calling on the Government of Canada to implement a bereavement benefit for all grieving parents of pregnancy and infant loss and to implement all seven recommendations contained within the committee report tabled in 2019. With Sarah's help and the help of organizations and individuals all across Canada, we collected signatures, and I was proud to be able to table those petitions in the House of Commons. Still we had more inaction from the government. More days, weeks, months and years went by. There were more heartbreaking anniversaries that bereaved parents observed. For all the efforts they had made in memory of their beloved child, hoping for change, still the government remained silent.”
“This bereavement leave would only be available to federally regulated employees, leaving scores of parents without that same assistance due to their sector of employment. For all the work that these parents had put in to finally have their experience recognized, most of them would be left without access to that leave that they had fought so hard for, and it changed nothing with respect to the flaw in the Employment Insurance Act. After years of watching the Liberal government's inaction and seeing this announcement only apply to federal sector workers, Sarah Cormier contacted my office once again.”
“The government had failed them by refusing to act on the recommendations passed in the report, but these individuals continued the hard work, hoping to finally have their experience acknowledged by their government. Petitions were signed, letters were mailed and emailed, and phone calls were made. Each year the anniversary of their child's passing came and went, but rather than give up and decide to just move on, they remained steadfast in their determination to find a solution to help others like them. Finally, after years of watching and waiting for the Liberal government to do something, anything, to implement those recommendations tabled in 2019, a small glimmer of hope came in the 2023 budget. A vague outline for a potential bereavement leave for pregnancy loss was included, but of course there was a catch.”
“It seemed reasonable that with the unanimous support for the motion itself, these recommendations based on the motion would then see the same support. One of those recommendations was a bereavement leave that would provide income support of 12 to 15 weeks for parents grieving the loss of an infant. This would allow them some space and some time to manage their loss without forcing them back to work out of necessity to provide for their families. However, a federal election later in 2019 and another in 2021 essentially sidelined any future progress that Motion No. 110 could have made in creating a designated bereavement benefit. (1335) During that time, however, the parents, the families and the organizations that I had come to know over the years and that had supported Motion No. 110 did not sit silently by.”
“Adapting to the loss of a child is difficult enough without having to also be worried about bills or repaying benefits they have to repay to the federal government but would have been entitled to had the unthinkable tragedy not occurred. That was the foundation for the introduction of Motion No. 110 in 2018. As I mentioned earlier, Motion No. 110 ultimately received the unanimous support of the House of Commons when it was tabled here and was then referred to the human resources committee to be studied. In 2019, that committee tabled a report entitled “Supporting Families After the Loss of a Child”. It outlines seven recommendations. The report and those recommendations served as a blueprint to ensure that grieving parents would not have to endure both emotional and financial hardship after an unimaginable loss.”
“Instead they are forced to fundraise, organizing walks, runs and other community events, just so they can help provide a cushion for another family that might someday experience the same kind of loss that they themselves have experienced. They honour the lives of their children by giving back, creating a safety net for anyone who has had to face the same unimaginable tragedy. The funds these parents had received were already committed to them for the duration of their parental leave, so it stands to reason that in the event of the loss of a child during that time, those benefits could easily continue for a period to help them relieve any financial burdens the family might also be experiencing.”
“To add insult to injury, the benefits they received in the week following Quinn's passing would have to be paid back. If we were to ask anyone with an ounce of compassion if this should ever happen to a family during their darkest hours, the answer of course would be no. Unfortunately, the Cormier family is but one of thousands of families across this country that have been subjected to the same response from their government, which should be offering assistance for bereaved parents rather than adding an unnecessary burden during the most difficult period of their lives. Over the years, I have crossed the country attending memorial events and rallies organized by broken-hearted parents supporting one another through their grief. They are asking for nothing more than some compassion from their government.”
“While I appreciate the member's bringing this forward now, I cannot help but wonder how many families during that time the government could have compassionately responded to in their time of greatest need. Every single case is one too many. I would like to take us back to the year 2016. I was first made aware of this serious flaw in our employment insurance program when I was approached by two of my constituents, Sarah and Lee Cormier. They contacted me following the unimaginable tragedy of losing their daughter Quinn at just four months old. She passed away suddenly and unexpectedly due to sudden infant death syndrome. While in the midst of navigating the shock and grief of Quinn's loss, they were also informed by Service Canada that their parental benefits would be immediately cut off.”
“Thanks to the hard work of many advocates across the country who pushed back against that heartless resistance, the motion ultimately received the unanimous support of all members of the House at that time, but when the time came for concrete action, the Liberal government deliberately delayed moving on the recommendations that were made by the human resources committee, and it voted down an amendment that we moved to its budget that would have seen positive change for grieving families happen as early as 2019. Now, here we are debating proposed legislation based on most of the very same recommendations that were made more than six years ago.”
“Madam Speaker, today I acknowledge all the grieving parents across Canada who have had to endure both financial and emotional hardship at the hands of the federal government due in large part to a systemic flaw in government programming for maternity and parental benefits. Nearly 10 years ago we began a journey together to make change in this country, to make sure that, in the future, parents who experience the loss of a child are not also subjected to that same lack of support and compassion by the federal government. We sought some of the very changes that are now proposed in the bill that is before us. However, Motion No. 110 was unfortunately repeatedly roadblocked by the current government.”
“Mr. Speaker, there are a lot of people struggling in this country who would beg to differ. I will talk about Justin, a middle-class dad from Airdrie, who says that the cost of living crisis is eroding middle-class stability, with families being squeezed by soaring housing, grocery, utility and fuel prices. That is all because the Liberal industrial carbon tax, the fuel tax and the food packaging tax have increased the cost to grow, ship and sell everything that Canadians need. Why will the Prime Minister not finally axe his inflationary spending and end his punishing taxes so that Canadians can afford a decent life once again?”
“Mr. Speaker, Heather from Airdrie is a senior who has worked in Canada since she was 13 years old. She and her husband paid their dues, but now, after a lifetime of contributing, they are, in their words, next to having to use the food bank just to get by. It is unacceptable that, after 10 long years of the Liberal government, the seniors who built this country cannot even afford groceries. When will the Prime Minister axe his inflationary spending, his industrial carbon tax, his fuel tax and his food packaging tax, so Canadians can afford to eat?”
“Carlos is the creative genius behind Filipinos in the 6ix, the largest online North American Filipino page promoting Filipino culture and values. Join me in recognizing the amazing contributions of Filipinos all over Canada, and let us celebrate our shared values of family, freedom, community and hard work. Maraming Salamat Po. Tara Na.”
“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the amazing contributions of the Canadian Filipino community from coast to coast to coast. Filipino culture is one that values faith, family, community, hard work and loyalty. From Vancouver to White Horse and St. John's, Filipino families have contributed greatly through their hard work and community involvement. Rarely will I find a church or community group without pancit, Tagalog and friendly smiles. I myself am honoured to be married to a Canadian Filipina, and I have had the privilege of meeting with Filipino leaders all across our great country. Today, I want to recognize in particular one of those community leaders: Carlos Cabaneros, who is here on Parliament Hill today.”
“They would have to if they are going to make the kind of cuts they are talking about. They do not know what, and it leaves veterans in a situation where they are afraid, concerned and scared for their futures because the government is failing them.”
“Mr. Speaker, I could talk forever on this, but I know that I will not be able to. The bottom line is that those who have served our country deserve to have a government that is there for them. When they did that service, that is all they expected in return, help with the needs that they might have in the future. The government is failing them. It is that simple. There is a $78-billion deficit, but the one place where the government has decided to make cuts is to veterans, those who serve the country, who sacrifice for the country. There are $4 billion in cuts. The worst part of it all is that Liberals have not been honest. They are not telling veterans or Canadians what those cuts are going to be. We know they are going to affect their benefits and services.”
“Mr. Speaker, I think that what the question really illustrates is how badly the government has failed Canadians. I think that what the people who were looking for something in the budget saw was a government that wants to build up more and more bureaucracy. I mentioned veterans in my speech. The member mentioned seniors. Families, young Canadians looking to afford a home, people who cannot afford to put food on the table and everyone who is struggling in the country, and there are far too many people who are struggling because of the 10 years of the Liberal government, looked at the budget as something that would bring them some hope. There was nothing for anyone in the budget, except for more bureaucracy.”
“Mr. Speaker, the member just demonstrated, exactly, the problem with the Liberals. When we think back to about six months ago, during the election, they had a very different story to tell than what we are hearing from the member today. That is the problem with the Liberals. They keep changing their story every single day. No one can rely on anything they say, and no one can count on them, ever, to do anything. All they do is make excuses and continue to change their story. Canadians deserve much better than that. That is not leadership. That is not even honesty. Canadians deserve much better. They will get it from the Conservatives in the next election.”
“That is what the country needs, and that is what Conservatives offer, because a federal budget should not just be about graphs and pie charts; it should be a document with a serious plan to empower Canadians who want to afford a home, families who need relief from rising costs and veterans who deserve peace of mind that the promises their country made to them in return for their service will be kept by the government. Canadians deserve better than the Liberal go-to of yet more debt and more bureaucracy, with the can of real solutions being kicked once again further and further down the road. That is why Conservatives will oppose this budget.”
“That is how we would secure a future of opportunity, not through yet more crushing debt on our children and their grandchildren, and we certainly would not do it by introducing new layers of bureaucracy that set up delays and hurdles to the very solutions that Canada needs. This budget is not a plan for prosperity; it is a plan for perpetual debt. It is a betrayal of promises, a burden on our kids and our grandkids, and a blueprint for bureaucratic bloat. Canadians know that they deserve better. They deserve a government that trusts them, that empowers them and that believes in their ability to build a stronger Canada.”
“While they crib and water down some of our versions solutions, they never commit to the full and needed action. Our Conservative plan is clear. If we were to form government, we would end inflationary deficits and restore fiscal discipline. We would cut wasteful spending and bureaucracy instead of growing it. We would unlock resource projects to create jobs and generate revenue. We would lower taxes so Canadians could afford to eat and heat and house themselves. We would protect veterans with the benefits they earned and not claw them back. That is how we would right the fiscal ship in Canada.”
“We believe in a Canada where the government serves the ambitions of the people and not the other way around. We have proposed solutions that would help to lift Canada out of the deep hole that we find ourselves in now, after ten years of Liberal government. We do this because Canada is one nation, and our fortunes, all political persuasions aside, are intertwined. Conservatives simply want the best for Canadians, and after bearing witness to this decade of misguided, inept and too often corrupt Liberal government, we can clearly see that the Liberals are going to continue to repeat the mistakes of the past, those same mistakes that have caused Canada's economic future to go completely off the rails. We therefore offer alternatives to what has not worked. We would be pleased for the government to take us up on our proposals.”
“Although the Liberals are running a $78-billion deficit and spending like it is going out of style, the one area they choose to cut deeply is the services and benefits that our veterans rely on. There are $4 billion in cuts to the services our veterans rely on, which they have earned through their service for this country. Now there is this question mark hanging over all those benefits, because there are no clear answers, timelines or transparency on what those cuts are going to be, but it is creating a lot of stress and a lot of anxiety for those who have already sacrificed so much for this country. That is not leadership. That is not realistically meeting challenges. That is just cynical, sneaky and utterly shameful. I want to contrast what we have seen in this budget with what Conservatives believe in.”
“Mr. Speaker, this budget does not tackle the real obstacles to growth. Instead of unlocking resource projects, building pipelines or enabling housing construction, the Liberals are busy picking winners and losers, leaving national projects that could create thousands of jobs stalled under mountains of red tape and regulation. Conservatives have a different vision, and that would be to get rid of some of the policies that are crippling our industries in this country, slash red tape and let Canadians build and prosper. I wanted to talk for just a second or two about our veterans in this country, those who have paid the ultimate price for our country, those who have served and those who have sacrificed.”
“Mr. Speaker, there is still no construction date for the pipeline. The Prime Minister blames everyone else, like the B.C. government and first nations, anyone but himself. Of course, it is really the “leave it in the ground” members of his own caucus who are trying to stop it. The Prime Minister could approve an oil pipeline to the Pacific without a carbon tax, without delays and without any excuses. The proof is in the pudding, and it is not a pipeline until it is built. Will the Prime Minister tell Canadians today when shovels will be in the ground on this oil pipeline? He can just give us a year.”
“Instead, they are getting more of the same failed Liberal policies in a new package. Why does this matter? It matters because every dollar borrowed today drives inflation tomorrow. It means higher taxes, smaller paycheques and fewer opportunities for Canadians.”
“More bureaucracy on top of bureaucracy, which is more of the same problem on top of the problem that already exists, is not going to get homes built. It is the same thing when we talk about equipping our Canadian Armed Forces. It is great to hear of new investments being put in, but what the Liberals are going to do is spend all that money on new bureaucracy and consultants. What I am afraid of is that at the end of the day, there will be nothing left to buy the equipment and resources that our men and women in uniform need. (1355) More and more bureaucracy is not the challenge. Canadians do not need more office towers full of bureaucrats. They need homes they can afford, jobs they can count on and a government that gets out of the way so that projects can get built.”
“Rather than removing a lot of the barriers and obstacles that already exist, which the Liberals, frankly, created, they have said to just build a whole new bureaucracy to decide if we might be able to exempt some of those things from the bureaucracy we already have. Well, how about just removing some of the obstacles and actually seeing things get built? That would make a lot more sense. It is the same thing when it comes to building homes. Everyone in the home construction industry and everyone who is trying to buy a home already recognizes that the biggest cost going into the construction of a new home nowadays is complying with government, whether it is on taxation, red tape or bureaucracy. Instead of dealing with knocking that down, the Liberals are just going to build a whole other bureaucracy to supposedly build homes.”
“They call that investing in the future, but every extra $1 billion that is borrowed today is actually a burden on Canadians who are not yet born, locking them into decades of repayments for sunk costs instead of leaving them with the means and resources to invest in their own futures and their own priorities. I call the Liberals' debt and deficits approach what it really is: passing the bill for Liberal priorities today to Canada's children of tomorrow. Adding more government, more bureaucracy and more layers of red tape seems to be the Liberals' answer to every challenge. Their solution is to create new agencies, new programs and new bureaucracies that slow down progress and stifle innovation. Let us think about some of the things they have done recently. We have an issue in this country with being able to get major projects built.”
“Let us look at the opportunity cost that is being squandered by continuing to rack up the national credit card. Imagine what $50 billion in annual interest payments could do. It could build dozens of hospitals. It could build maybe 1,000 schools. Some 4,100 kilometres of new roads could be built. It could cover nearly half of Canada's 5% NATO commitment for our defence spending to ensure that we finally properly equip the men and women of Canada's Armed Forces. Best of all, it could give the average Canadian family nearly $5,000 a year in tax relief. Instead, that money just vanishes into thin air, into debt servicing. The Liberals continue to choose to increase that debt and therefore the cost of that debt. As a result, they line the pockets of bondholders and bankers, their Liberal friends.”
“It is a worse record than that of Justin Trudeau, who was the worst prime minister in Canadian history up until now. This is not just a broken promise; it is a cynical, self-serving betrayal of trust. Every dollar borrowed today is a dollar that our children and grandchildren will have to pay back with interest. Let us not forget that interest payments are already exceeding what is spent on health care transfers in this country. This is not compassion; it is fiscal recklessness. It is all over the place in this budget. The budget locks Canadians into a cycle of debt that will last for decades and decades. Thanks to the government, Canadians are already paying over $50 billion annually in interest, money that could fund things Canadians need or, better yet, be left in the pockets of taxpayers, who earned that money in the first place.”
“Mr. Speaker, federal budgets are not just about numbers on a page. They at least should not be about just numbers on a page. They must be about addressing the cost of groceries for struggling families and about the price of gas for workers who depend on their vehicles to earn a living. They should be about whether or not young Canadians can afford a home. As I said, at least they should be about that. The Liberals, though, unfortunately fall far short of that mark. During the election campaign, the Liberals pledged to get their spending and their deficits under control, but what does this budget offer instead? There will be a $78-billion deficit this year alone and projections of $321 billion in new debt over five years, more than double what was promised. What was promised was too much already.”
“We are recommending that the Liberal government get their out-of-control spending in order and stop ignoring the homelessness crisis amongst our veterans. We have tabled this supplemental report to highlight those issues.”
“Mr. Speaker, I rise to present the supplemental report of the Conservative members of the committee. Our supplemental report is entitled “Conservatives Demand Action Instead of Just Words for Indigenous and All Veterans”. While we agree with much of the main report and the points that were heard from many of the witnesses, who feel left behind by the government, there were a number of concerns that were raised by many veterans in the committee that were left out of the main report, so we have tabled this supplemental report to highlight those issues: the all too familiar stories of the current cost of living crisis and the housing crisis, and what they are doing to our veterans. More and more veterans than ever are on the streets and relying on food banks.”
“[ English ] The freedom for which they spilled their blood is not the property of this generation to surrender, so please join me and my colleagues in Canada's Conservative Party in making that commitment today. We pledge to uphold those freedoms. It is how we will honour their memories, thank them for their service and show our respect for their sacrifice. Freedom came at all costs, and at all costs we must ensure it is maintained. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.”