Richard Bragdon
Tobique—Mactaquac, New Brunswick · Conservative · Canada
“Mr. Speaker, where are the results? New Brunswick families are feeling the effects of this Liberal recession every day. Canada is the only G20 country in a recession. GDP has shrunk for three of the last four quarters, and unemployment is the second highest in the G7.”
“Mr. Speaker, according to that member on that side of the House, everyone should just be happy. That member is getting an announcement. Another member is getting an announcement. Another member is getting a commission. Members are getting rhetoric. Guess what? There are still no results. Canadians want results. Show us the results.”
“Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, a report of the Canadian section of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group. [ English ] This report describes the group's congressional visit to Washington, D.C., from March 17 to 19.”
“Mr. Speaker, today, the Prime Minister arrives at the G7 as the only leader who has driven his country into a recession. While families struggle through this full-blown recession, the Liberals continue to offer announcements instead of results.”
“Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, four reports of the Canadian section of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group. [ English ] I had the privilege of leading several of these missions alongside the Hon.”
“The fourth concerns IPG's participation at the CSG's South Southern Legislative Annual Conference in Birmingham, Alabama, from July 19 to 23, 2025. The fifth concerns IPG's contributions to the Pacific Northwest Economic Region's 34th annual summit in Bellevue, Washington, from July 20 to 24, 2025.”
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“Canadians are struggling to put food on the table, especially around Christmas. It is time to lower costs and make food more affordable again, especially for people in our rural communities.”
“Mr. Speaker, eight months ago the Prime Minister told Canadians to judge him by their experience at the grocery store. Today's food price report confirms that groceries keep getting more expensive. When the Liberals took office in 2015, the weekly grocery bill was $159. Today it has more than doubled to $338, over $17,000 a year, and next year families will pay an additional $1,000, which will be the largest increase ever recorded. For rural Canadians, these costs hit especially hard. Many travel farther to shop and have fewer options. Farmers are struggling with soaring input costs, higher debt, and policies that make it more expensive to grow and transport food. Instead of cutting spending and axing hidden taxes that drive up prices, the government keeps raising them.”
“Madam Speaker, I would note that the responses tabled today to Order Paper Questions Nos. 461 and 470 were not signed by any minister or parliamentary secretary. They were in fact signed by the member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie , who is no longer a member of cabinet nor a parliamentary secretary. Can you confirm, Madam Speaker, that it is not permitted for backbench members who are no longer in cabinet to table documents as if they were still a minister? Since the responses are now void, Madam Speaker, can you say whether or not the government has met its requirement to table the response to these questions within 45 days, or whether the matter will be referred to committee, as required in the Standing Orders when the government misses a 45-day deadline for Order Paper responses? I have the documents to substantiate that as well.”
“Mr. Chair, I want to thank my colleague from Courtenay—Alberni for his very good remarks; they were very thoughtful. It is absolutely important that there is urgency to getting this resolved. What is evident so far is there has been no urgency from the government on softwood lumber. It has been 10 years. Former prime minister Stephen Harper got to a deal in 80 days. We are causing the death of the forestry sector by delay. There is delay in dealing with what needs to be dealt with. It is time to get back to the table, think big picture and get the best deal possible for Canada's forestry workers. We need urgency from that side of the House. I hope the member will join me in demanding that the government take action for our forestry workers.”
“I hope that the House keeps in mind the personal devastation that forestry workers are experiencing right now. I wonder if the hon. member would comment on that.”
“Mr. Chair, when we are talking about big issues at a national level that are affecting literally thousands upon thousands of people, and when we are talking about macroeconomics and international trade deals, what can often get lost and overlooked is the localized picture and the individual. This is near and dear to my heart, and the forestry sector is near and dear to my heart on a personal level, because I was raised in a forestry worker's home. My dad worked in a pulp mill for over 50 years, prior to retiring at the age of 69. He worked as late as 69 years old because the mill went down in the community where I grew up, Nackawic, when my dad was 51 years old. As a result of that, the devastating effects he went through, such as loss of pension and other challenges, had an impact not just on him but on the whole community.”
“Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister once said that he was a master negotiator who could secure a deal with President Trump by July. He failed, and now he shrugs it off, saying, “Who cares?” and that he does not have a burning issue to speak with the President about. I can help the Prime Minister . New Brunswickers care, because 93% of our exports go to the U.S. The longer this issue goes unresolved, the more uncertainty there is for New Brunswick's forestry workers. Say “Who cares?” to the people who live in Florenceville-Bristol, in Plaster Rock or in Nackawic. They certainly do care, and they want a government that responds. When will the Prime Minister secure a resolution and meet with our closest neighbour and customer?”
“Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Quebec, who delivered a very good speech with a lot of very important messages for Canadians. Our country has a major affordability problem right now. [ English ] We need to see more being done to address the issues of affordability for everyday Canadians, including our seniors. There was nothing in this budget that addressed the needs of seniors throughout this country. Many of them are on fixed incomes and cannot afford to make ends meet. It is getting increasingly more challenging for them every day that goes by. Can my colleague address the issue of the often forgotten in our country, namely our seniors?”
“Mr. Speaker, Food Banks Canada reports 2.2 million visits in a single month, double what it was just six years ago. Its CEO says that poverty and hunger have become “the new normal in Canada” and that working Canadians, from construction crews to office staff, “are needing to stop at the food bank on their way home from work”. In rural Canada, where food and fuel already cost more and jobs are often seasonal, families are being hit hardest. When will the Prime Minister admit that his inflationary deficits are driving Canadians to food banks instead of grocery stores, and change course?”
“Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised a deal with President Trump by July 21, and he still has no deal. There have been lots of concessions on Canada's part, but there is still no deal. What about lumber? Mills back home in places like Florenceville and Plaster Rock are contending with the challenges these tariffs bring. When Prime Minister Harper faced this issue, he got it resolved in 80 days. After 10 years without a deal, does the Prime Minister realize that the longer he fails to get a deal on lumber, the more that thousands of jobs back home in New Brunswick are at risk?”
“Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has said Canadians should judge him by grocery prices. Across Canada, rural families are feeling the pain at the checkout, including in New Brunswick, where groceries are up 23%, far outpacing inflation, yet yesterday the Liberals voted against the Conservative motion to make food more affordable. Instead, they doubled down on their hidden taxes, like the industrial carbon tax, their fuel standards and their packaging tax, policies that hit rural Canadians hard. When will the Liberals finally stop their hidden tax on food and give Canadians a break at the grocery store?”
“Mr. Speaker, it is so true; Canadians are facing some really tough choices. They are facing some unbelievably difficult scenarios in their own household as they make decisions pertaining to their budget, and that includes seniors and young people. I see in my own home area of Woodstock, New Brunswick, that the local food bank's usage has doubled since the same time last year, and a worker there said that it is from all age brackets, from young to older. She said, “Richard, this is at a crisis point; we have got to have additional help.” It is time we prioritized the plight of ordinary Canadians who are being hurt.”
“Mr. Speaker, one thing that is abundantly clear is that, in all the considerations of the current government, rural Canada is left out. Our agricultural and natural resource sectors are not top-of-mind considerations. What needs to happen is a reprioritization so the perspective of the people who are most affected by the government's policies and have been harmed by them the most, including our agricultural producers, farmers, fish harvesters and energy and natural resource workers, is heard and heeded in the House. Rural Canada was the key to building this country, and it will be rural Canadians who will be key to its comeback, so their perspective needs to be weighed in on this. The more it is considered, the better we are all going to be and the better their prosperity will be. It is time for rural Canada to be heard.”
“Mr. Speaker, I respect my hon. colleague, but I want to say that it is, again, extremely misleading to the House. There is no way possible a government can double its deficits and continue to spend at the rate it is spending and expect inflation to go down. Inflation is continuing to go up, especially as we look at competitive and comparable nations across various jurisdictions. We talk to the folks back home in New Brunswick and the folks across Canada, especially in rural Canada, about the cost of living. They do not at all feel like their cost of living has suddenly dropped since the election. They are feeling it more than ever, and it is time we addressed it.”
“The government's approach to various regulations, taxation and policies has had a discriminatory impact on rural Canadians, whether it is the EV mandates that eliminate their ability to choose for themselves and their households the vehicle they want to drive that best meets their needs and their budgets, the anti-firearms legislation the Liberals continue to bring in year after year that goes after their way of life and traditions, or even the attack on farmers and those in the natural resources sector, who see their input costs continuing to go up year after year because of taxation. Why does the government not get onside with us, support our opposition motion, bring some relief to this sector, which so desperately needs it, and help bring down the price of food across this country?”
“These are staggering statistics, yet we are whistling, humming, taking photo ops and talking happy talk about how we are going to be the greatest and strongest economy in the G7. The average Canadian is looking back and saying that feels like a fairy tale to them. That is a long way from reality in their households. They are just trying to figure out if they can afford a certain grocery item this week or if they are going to have to stop a subscription in order to continue purchasing the basic needs for their households. We have big challenges, and I wanted to talk for a brief moment, as I come to close, about the impacts on rural Canada. I am a rural Canadian. I live in rural New Brunswick, and I represent a rural riding that is filled with small towns and rural communities.”
“We have heard producers ask repeatedly, and I hear it back home in my area, when the government is going to get off their backs, get out of their way and let them do what they can to help Canada get through the challenges we are facing right now and help Canadians. It is hard to help others when the burden of taxation continues to be put on their backs layer upon layer, with further regulation upon regulation. There are all these hurdles to overcome, and that is let alone competing in international markets. It is time we addressed these things. Since March 2025, food inflation has risen 1.5%. Food prices have risen 48% faster here than in the United States. Canadians make over two million food bank visits per month, which is a 90% increase since 2019.”
“They took the carbon tax off, supposedly, in one name, but it has come back as the clean fuel tax, which only augments further the cost of anything that is trucked, shipped, hauled and exported. Then there is the food packaging tax, the attack on plastic. To everything that gets packaged and everything that gets put in a bag and shipped, that tax is applied. It affects the cost of goods, and it is putting our farmers and producers at a severe disadvantage as far as competitiveness goes with neighbouring jurisdictions and other jurisdictions around the world. It is hard for these farmers and growers to keep pace with the rest of the developed world and compete economically when their input costs continue to soar.”
“What are those who grow our food telling us we need to do to address this problem? They would like to see the industrial carbon tax removed from fertilizer and farm equipment. That would certainly help. They want the government to deal with inflation, because as everyone who follows it knows, inflation is the most harmful tax of all. It eats more and more of people's paycheques and incomes than any other tax right now when we consider its overall effects, especially as it pertains to groceries. Farmers want us to address the clean fuel standard tax. That has been added on. It is basically a second version of the carbon tax, which the Liberals said they would remove.”
“There is a common denominator throughout this crisis. It is a denominator that has been there for over 10 years now. We are talking about a decade's worth of common denominators. It is the current and previous government. The Prime Minister stated that Canadians would judge him by the cost of groceries, and what we know is that they have. They are continuing to look at it, and they realize that he is not taking action despite the great promises. What are the reasons for us to call upon the Prime Minister to address this right away? What are some of the things we should make sure get done in order for these problems to be addressed? (1325) First, here are some of the big ones. Let us go to the source: those who grow our food. What are the farmers across the country asking for this government to do?”
“It was the Prime Minister who said that Canadians will judge him by the price of their groceries. They will be able to render their verdict on that. When we look at the prices of groceries in the six months since he has been Prime Minister , they have done nothing but continue to soar and go up. Canadians are struggling as a whole right now, as 61% of Canadians lack confidence in their ability to afford groceries six months from now. This is staggering, and 70% to 80% of young Canadians worry regularly about covering the costs of essentials. Food Banks Canada found that 40% of Canadians thought they were financially worse off compared to the previous year. These are devastating findings from reputable sources, and it is time for the government to take action to remediate and address those concerns.”
“We are dealing with devastating facts and realities relating to food inflation in the country. The government needs to take action and it must take action quickly. We have had lots of happy talk, lots of meetings, lots of photo ops and lots of chances to discuss and think about this. We have put it under active study and review and reported back to the overarching committee that reports back to the supreme committee that gets back to the House, which gets back to the minister, who eventually gets back to us. Someday, maybe, they will consider taking some kind of action so they can have another photo op to talk about what they have been talking about for months. Canadians are demanding real action and tangible results. They want a government that will do what it says it is going to do.”
“We are seeing a massive increase in and strain on the budgets of our seniors. They are having a harder and harder time making ends meet on fixed incomes while their costs for things like heat and groceries continue to soar. When it comes to individual grocery items, grapes are up 24%. The cost of canned soup is up 26%. The cost of sugar is up 20%. The cost of potatoes is up 16%. I do not know about other members, but coffee is pretty essential to my household, and it is up 22%. I think that is a crisis in and of itself for those who partake in coffee. Let us set the scene a little further. There are even more food inflation considerations we have to put into the mix. Food inflation is 70% above the Bank of Canada's target. Food prices are up 40%. Food bank usage is also up 142% across the country.”
“Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time. It is an absolutely honour to once again rise in the people's House to address the important opposition motion we put forward today for consideration. It is clear that Canada is in the midst of a crisis. Canadians are struggling to afford food, and the cost of living is quickly rising. Many Canadians are finding it harder and harder to meet their everyday bills and obligations, let alone plan for their futures. Younger Canadians are increasingly despairing about their future prospects of ever owning a home, and many are even struggling to afford to pay rent. On top of this, what we have is a continual soaring of the price of groceries, which affects every household in Canada and every age bracket. In my region in particular, it does not matter which age bracket.”
“Mr. Speaker, after 10 years of the Liberal government, Canadians cannot afford groceries. Back home, the Valley Food Bank in Woodstock reports serving twice as many people this time of year compared to last. These increases span every age group, especially seniors. These are our neighbours. They are not just statistics. They are our family members and they are our friends. Can the Prime Minister tell this House how, on the one hand, he plans on tackling inflation and bringing down grocery costs, while on the other hand he is doubling the nation's deficit? How is that even possible?”
“Madam Speaker, Canadians are demanding a whole lot less talk and a whole lot more action, and it is time we end the era of Canadian self-sabotage, get out of our way and start to unleash the potential. We have unlimited potential in this country. We just have to—”
“Madam Speaker, sometimes, it is better to answer a question with a question. As my hon. colleagues feel that oil and gas and energy development are dirty, bad for the planet and not good for the environment, are they willing to turn down all future transfer payments coming from the oil and gas sector and say they do not want dirty oil and gas money anymore? Do they want all of it reallocated? We could put that money into better forest management practices and the purchase of water bombers to help with forest fires. Maybe a productive use of the energy of this House would be reallocating transfer payments to provinces that appreciate the oil and gas sector.”
“Let us partner with the private sector. The Conservatives have done that in the past, four times under a previous administration, and we built four pipelines.”
“Madam Speaker, it is always good to see my hon. colleague. He is a workhorse here in the House, but I must say that I think he has been sorely misled on this matter. The only ideas the Liberals think make successful projects when it comes to oil and gas are ones they stretch out over 10 years, regulate and strangle to death, and pump billions of dollars of taxpayer funds into, without really incorporating the private sector because the private sector has long left the scene. The private sector realizes that Canada is not a secure place in which to invest for energy purposes under the current regime. It wants stability and predictability. We believe on this side of the House that government needs to get out of the way, stop over-regulating and allow the private sector to come in and do what it does best.”
“It is time we release the oil and allow it to get us out of the economic malaise we are in. The answer is in the house; we just have to release it.”
“She was left with two sons, and the collectors came and said, “We are going to take your two sons and put them in slavery to pay off your debts.” She said, “I do not know what I am going to do. I do not know where I am going to turn.” She went to a wise elder in the community, and the wise elder said, “What do you have left?” She said, “I have just a little bit of oil, sir.” He said, “Go back, close the door, get your sons to borrow all the vessels they can and use that little bit of oil. Pour it out.” They kept pouring out the oil into the empty vessels, and guess what. They kept filling and filling those vessels. She went back to the wise man and said, “We have filled all the vessels.” He said, “Now go sell that oil to take care of your debts, and it will take care of your family.” I think there is a truth in that ancient story.”
“Germany came here wanting to do business with us and sign contracts, but the previous government, which is the current government, said there was no case for that. I am sorry, but there is a great case for it, and we have watched over 1 trillion dollars' worth of economic productivity and opportunity slip through our fingers because we have been putting the boot on the very sectors that could lead to our prosperity. I could not help but think of a famous old story as I was preparing for this. It is an ancient story, and I know I am down to one minute, so I have to do this quickly. There was a lady who was in real trouble in ancient times. Her husband had died.”
“We can do that through unleashing our natural resource and energy sectors, getting off their backs and lifting off the punitive measures that keep our resources in the ground while allowing other countries that do not have the regulation or human rights to advance their economies at our expense. It is time to get our own house in order. The globe is calling for it. How many missed opportunities have we had as a country? Japan wanted our natural gas. We said there was no business case, so it signed a $550-billion liquefied natural gas contract with the U.S. Europe wanted to do business and buy Canadian energy. We said there was no business case for that and that we were moving beyond the old sources of energy, and guess what. It signed a $750-billion contract with the United States.”
“If the Liberals want national unity and want to unleash Canada's potential and pull us together as a country, they should stand on the side of Canadian energy, which is responsibly developed and responsibly sourced. It is a good news-story, and we need to stand on the side of Canadian producers. These types of policies have a devastating impact on rural Canada. Much of our natural resource and energy are based in rural Canada, along with our agriculture. It is these two sectors that have helped build this country, and these two sectors will be key to our country's comeback. It is time we stop the anti-rural Canadian approach to governance and recognize that it was rural Canada that built this country and that rural Canada will be key to our country's comeback.”
“This is about subsistence for many families living throughout this country, whether in Alberta, Saskatchewan or Newfoundland, and the spinoffs that affect the rest of the country. When we shut down oil and gas production, we also shut down transfer payments. I speak as an Atlantic Canadian in a province that has been the beneficiary of transfer payments that have helped us meet our budgets and keep our schools and hospitals open and our economies going through economically challenging times. As a New Brunswicker, I am thankful for western energy production, the oil and gas sector in Newfoundland and the oil and gas sector generally. It has kept Canada rolling and kept us, our schools and our services functioning in difficult economic times.”
“They are wanting to know when the government will deliver on all of these promises that it is making in meeting after meeting. The best way we can deliver on those promises is to make sure we start by passing the opposition motion, to get our resources unleashed so that we can supply a world that wants Canadian energy. (1745) The PBO came out with a report just recently, in March 2025, that talks about these threats. It says that because of the oil and gas production emissions caps, our oil and gas production will fall by nearly 5%, the national GDP will shrink by $20.5 billion every single year and 54,400 full-time jobs will disappear by 2032. These are not abstract figures; they are people's livelihoods.”
“The government has become a master at making great announcements. It is wonderful. I love seeing all the happy talk. It is great. We have meeting after meeting and lots of happy talk, but really, when we bore down through all the noise, there have been no really substantive moves to develop the infrastructure necessary to get our resources to market. There has not been one new pipeline agreed to be built since all of the promises of becoming an energy superpower. There has not been the removal of the tanker ban so that we could export our resources to global markets. There has not been a putting in place of the infrastructure necessary to get liquefied natural gas to the markets. The frustration of Canadians is getting high.”
“The world wants Canadian energy. It wants Canadian oil. It wants Canadian gas. We have the best regulatory regime for those sectors, and we also have the best workers for those sectors. We can have the best, most reliable and dependable energy supply to give to a vulnerable, energy-hungry world that we could ever imagine, but we have to get out of our own way. The opposition motion is a great first step to doing that, and I hope the government will join us in passing this. It is time to unleash Canada's potential. Our greatest threats are those that have been self-inflicted, whether they are interprovincial trade barriers or emissions caps. I think that what Canadians are demanding is for us to get our own house in order. It is time for us to realize our potential. We have to get beyond the era of empty promises and grand announcements.”
“I think it is time that we deal with the call that is coming from within the house, and we can do that by passing our motion, which calls for the elimination of the caps on oil and gas emissions and production. This type of policy has done more to sabotage Canada's future than any threat coming from without. If we only got out of our own way and unleashed our own potential, by allowing our workers to do what they do best, Canada could come out of the economic malaise in far better shape than we could have imagined. We could stand on our own two feet with fortitude and confidence and face any other challenge that comes from without if we got our house in order from within. There are many, many people in our country who recognize the potential that Canada has to step into the vacuum and the void that is being created internationally.”
“A young lady was receiving call after call after call of a threatening nature. She was afraid and paranoid and absolutely terrified. She was on the run and hoping to get help. Of course, the calls kept coming. She managed to get a call through to the police. Finally, the police returned her call and said, “[The call is] coming from inside the house.” I could not help but think that perhaps the greatest threats we face are not from without; those calls and those threats are coming from within, through bad legislation, misplaced priorities and putting the boot on the proverbial neck of our producers, our workers, our energy and oil and gas sector.”
“Madam Speaker, it is an absolute honour to rise in the people's House yet again and to have the opportunity to speak to this, our motion on eliminating the caps on oil and gas and energy emissions, which have been to the great detriment of Canada's unbelievable and incredible potential that has yet to be fully realized. Today I could not help, in preparation for these remarks, reflecting upon a film that was somewhat before my time. I was but an infant when it was first released, but it got re-released, I think, in the 1990s, when I was in my teen years in high school. It was a movie entitled When a Stranger Calls . There was one particular line in that movie that seemed to go viral, as it were, before “viral” was even a known word; it went quite far and wide, and it still echoes to today. That phrase was this.”
“Mr. Speaker, I just have a couple of simple questions. It really is quite perplexing. Who has been in power for the last 10 years? Who passed legislation that shut down pipeline expansion and development? Who put in the no tanker ban? Who brought in all these types of legislation that have constricted our economy, held back our economy and talked down our oil, gas, and natural resource and energy sector for 10 years? It was not this side of the House. It was that side of the House. Now, all of a sudden, the Liberals want us to believe they have done a backflip and a road to Damascus and that they now believe in energy development. Can the minister please explain this to the people's House?”
“Mr. Speaker, what a complete and totally comprehensive non-answer that was. Earlier this week, the Auditor General released their scathing audit, stating that GC Strategies was paid $64 million for the ArriveCAN app, with little to no evidence of any work having been completed. The Auditor General made note that this is just one example of what is likely a widespread issue. There may be a new prime minister, but it is the same old Liberal government. Will the Prime Minister stand up today and vote for our Conservative motion to return this money to hard-working Canadian taxpayers, yes or no?”
“Mr. Speaker, absolutely, we need to get to the bottom of how much has been collected so far through the countertariff measures and make sure that what has been collected is getting to the businesses and families that have been most impacted by these tariffs. It is time we had accountability, and the best way to get that is to have a budget tabled in this House.”
“Mr. Speaker, what has become abundantly clear is that people are tired of the contradictions and they are tired of the verbal gymnastics. One thing is said in conversation and grandiose ideas are put forth, but in the reality of walking it out and taking the steps necessary to release the potential of our country, the Liberals do nothing. They talk a great talk, but let us see what they do when it comes to actually putting in place the policies necessary to unleash our potential and unlock our resources so that we can prosper and tackle the challenges within our own country.”
“Mr. Speaker, my answer is simple. We need to acknowledge the fact that many of the fires in Canada are considered acts of arson committed by people who acted irresponsibly. [ English ] It is because people are not taking responsibility. We can blame people and do all this other stuff, but primarily let us get our house in order and do the practical things, like good forest management practice. That is common sense that would help reduce the risk of forest fires.”
“More Canadian energy on the global markets is better for the global environment, because we have the best practices for extraction and the best environmental regulations on the planet. It is time to use Canadian energy and stand up for it.”
“Mr. Speaker, I have another C for the hon. member across the way, and that is called common sense. Common sense would tell someone that they do not talk down the life-giving sectors of this country, namely energy, oil, gas and natural resources, for 10 years, telling them how bad and how horrible it is, how we have to get off it and it is no good. They have provided transfer payments to the rest of us in this country to help keep our hospitals open, keep our schools open and keep us functioning. All of a sudden, the Liberals are doing a gymnastic backflip in the midst of a campaign and pretending to be champions of the energy sector. Canadians are not buying it. It is time to use common sense.”
“If we look at what is in our own house, we can find the answers to our problem. Stop blaming that which is without. Stop looking everywhere else to escape our own responsibility. Let us change course within and unleash the potential of Canada's resource, energy and farming sectors, and watch us overcome any challenge we could ever face. It is time to get our own house in order.”
“I challenge the House to consider a severe course correction from the error and the era of Canadian self-sabotage to the time and the season of great change that will bring prosperity, not just to a certain element of our society, the elite and the sophisticated, but to all Canadians, especially the working class, those who put boots on every day, carry their buckets to work and wait on our tables. They are those who have often been overlooked and forgotten. Let us change course and make sure that their needs are addressed in the House. The last C I am going to end on is this: There is a question that comes in the midst of a crisis. Oftentimes, we look at who can save us, what can save us, what can change it and what can help us. I think we have to ask ourselves what it is in our own house that needs to be addressed.”