Michael Kram
Regina—Wascana, Saskatchewan · Conservative · Canada
“Mr. Speaker, many religious groups have expressed concern about Bill C‑9 , in particular about the removal of a long-standing good-faith religious expression defence.”
“Overall, on a per capita basis, Saskatchewan welcomed more Ukrainians than any other province in the months following Russia's invasion. I have to say that designating Ukrainian heritage month is a fine idea, particularly for the people of Saskatchewan. Therefore, I certainly support Bill S-210 .”
“This Ukrainian Easter egg is one of the most popular tourist stops along the Yellowhead Highway, visited by thousands of tourists every year, including my fiancé and me just last summer. Of course, many Ukrainian Canadians, as well as Canadians without Ukrainian heritage, celebrate Vyshyvanka Day every year on the third Thursday in May.”
“Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity this afternoon to speak in favour of Bill S‑210 , which would designate the month of September as Ukrainian heritage month.”
“Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity today to present petition e-7326 in the House of Commons. This petition has been signed by over 1,800 Canadians who are concerned about human rights abroad, particularly the case of former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan.”
“The first is St. Michael's Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Regina, which will be celebrating its 100th anniversary next year. I know that I and many members of the community are looking forward to the centennial celebrations. The second is St. Onuphrius Ukrainian Catholic Church.”
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“Mr. Speaker, many religious groups have expressed concern about Bill C‑9 , in particular about the removal of a long-standing good-faith religious expression defence. Now that the Liberals have decided to dismiss these very legitimate concerns, could the Liberal member clearly explain where the line now falls between the lawful expression of sincerely held religious beliefs and a criminal offence?”
“I also hope that it serves as a reminder to the Liberal government that there are some very tangible measures that it could be taking to help our friends and allies in Ukraine that would ensure that their culture and heritage remain strong for generations to come. Slava Ukraini.”
“The Chancellor of Germany, the Prime Minister of Greece, the President of Poland and the President of the European Union have all asked the Liberal government for more Canadian energy exports to Europe, only to be told, quite famously by Justin Trudeau, that there was no strong business case for LNG exports from Canada to Europe. As a result, Russian troops continue to occupy Ukrainian soil, Russian rockets continue to rain down on Ukrainian cities and Ukrainians continue to suffer. In conclusion, I support Bill S-210 to officially recognize Ukrainian heritage month, and I encourage all members to vote in favour of the bill.”
“We need to build pipelines in this country by repealing the Liberals' anti-energy laws, including Bill C-69 , the no more pipelines law, and Bill C-48 , the west coast tanker ban, so that we could export Canadian energy and be a force for good in the world instead of enriching dictators such as Vladimir Putin and enabling them to wage war against Ukraine. In the following four years since Chrystia Freeland's speech in the House of Commons, the inaction from the Liberal government has been disappointing to say the least.”
“In fact, I said as much in a speech in the House four years ago. When then finance minister Chrystia Freeland made her 2022 budget speech in the House, she received one standing ovation from all members of all parties. It was when she said that the Russian army invading Ukraine needed to be vanquished. I agreed then and I agree now that nothing would be better for the Ukrainian people than to get the Russian army off of Ukrainian soil. The best way to do this would be to displace Russian oil and gas sales to western Europe with Canadian oil and gas exports, thus making it financially impossible for Russia to continue the war. As I said in my speech four years ago, exporting oil and gas to Europe requires pipelines.”
“Overall, on a per capita basis, Saskatchewan welcomed more Ukrainians than any other province in the months following Russia's invasion. I have to say that designating Ukrainian heritage month is a fine idea, particularly for the people of Saskatchewan. Therefore, I certainly support Bill S-210 . However, it is important to keep in mind that Bill S-210 is only a symbolic gesture. That is not to say that symbols are not important, because in a way, they are, but I wish the Liberal government would take some more tangible, concrete steps to support our friends and allies in Ukraine through their current struggles against the Russian invasion. In particular, the single most beneficial action that Canada could take to help Ukraine would be to sell more Canadian oil and gas to western Europe so those countries could stop buying from Russia.”
“When the people of Ukraine needed help, the people of Saskatchewan provided that hope. (1415) All of a sudden, a century of Ukrainian heritage in Saskatchewan kicked into action. Cousins, aunts and uncles started texting each other to arrange for spare bedrooms and clothing and to make all of the necessary arrangements to welcome their Ukrainian friends and family members who were coming to Saskatchewan to flee the war zone. People who had taken Ukrainian language classes in Saskatchewan schools had a newfound use for their language skills, as newcomers from Ukraine were given work placements on farms, oil rigs and local businesses. Masses and services at Ukrainian Catholic and Orthodox churches were, all of a sudden, standing room only on Sunday morning.”
“We all remember the images on TV of Russian tanks rolling across the border into Ukraine. I remember having many conversations with members of Regina's Ukrainian community. I would ask them, “Do you have any friends or family members who are close to the fighting?” The answer was invariably yes. Practically everyone had received an email or text message, or had had a phone call, from a friend or family member not far from the fighting, and practically all of them had fled with nothing more than the shirts on their backs. It is certainly a tragedy that they will remember for the rest of their lives, but as Mr. Rogers famously said, whenever there is a catastrophe, always “look for the helpers”, because if we look for the helpers, we will know that there is hope.”
“The first is St. Michael's Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Regina, which will be celebrating its 100th anniversary next year. I know that I and many members of the community are looking forward to the centennial celebrations. The second is St. Onuphrius Ukrainian Catholic Church. This church was originally built in Smoky Lake County, northeast of Edmonton, between 1915 and 1928. In the 1990s, the building was meticulously disassembled and relocated to the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, where it was reassembled in the Canadian history hall, where it stands today for all to see. While the history of Ukrainians in Canada has been mostly positive for over a century, we recently entered some very sad and dark times in February 2022, with Russia's illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.”
“This Ukrainian Easter egg is one of the most popular tourist stops along the Yellowhead Highway, visited by thousands of tourists every year, including my fiancé and me just last summer. Of course, many Ukrainian Canadians, as well as Canadians without Ukrainian heritage, celebrate Vyshyvanka Day every year on the third Thursday in May. The vyshyvanka is the traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirt. I know I enjoyed wearing my vyshyvanka and spending time with members of the Regina chapter of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress when we celebrated this occasion in Regina just last month. With the possible exception of the grain elevators, I would argue that few buildings have defined the prairie landscape more than Ukrainian churches, both Catholic and Orthodox. There are two of these churches in particular that I would like to mention.”
“Many of these settlers came from Ukraine. In addition to their farming practices, they brought with them their language, their culture and their traditions, many of which can still be seen today across the Prairies. The town of Hafford, Saskatchewan, proudly displays Ukrainian-language street signs as a tribute to the Ukrainians who first homesteaded and settled in that area. What would become the Ukrainian Museum of Canada was established in Saskatoon in 1941 by the Ukrainian Women's Association of Canada before it expanded into a national network of museums. The town of Vegreville, Alberta, is home to the world's largest pysanka, or Ukrainian Easter egg, outside of Ukraine.”
“Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity this afternoon to speak in favour of Bill S‑210 , which would designate the month of September as Ukrainian heritage month. This bill is particularly relevant to Saskatchewan and the Prairies as a whole because of the long and rich history of Ukrainians and Ukrainian communities that has contributed to the development of that region of the country. The settlement of western Canada was one of the most transformational events in Canadian history. In the late 1800s, the land that would eventually become Saskatchewan had a population of approximately 10,000 people. That number would increase nearly a hundredfold by the 1920s. Homesteaders from all across Europe, including some of my great-grandparents, moved to Saskatchewan because of the promise of free farmland and a better life.”
“Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity today to present petition e-7326 in the House of Commons. This petition has been signed by over 1,800 Canadians who are concerned about human rights abroad, particularly the case of former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan. For more than three years, Imran Khan has been left to languish in prison in what the United Nations working committee on human rights has described as an arbitrary detention and a violation of the universal declaration of human rights. Petitioners are asking for the Government of Canada to publicly call for the immediate release of Imran Khan, as well as all political prisoners in Pakistan. They also want Imran Khan to have access to medical treatment and his family, as well as Canada's high commissioner to Pakistan, in order to confirm his condition.”
“Mr. Speaker, as usual, the Liberal member from Saskatchewan does not know what he is talking about. I have been here for a lot less than 10 years, and before I was elected, a Liberal MP represented my riding. During that time, the Liberals gave us the carbon tax, the “no more pipelines” bill and the west coast tanker ban, which led to thousands of job losses in the Saskatchewan oil patch. On the rare occasion when this member does attend a cabinet meeting, will he tell the Prime Minister to reverse his costly policies so that Canadians can afford to live again?”
“Mr. Speaker, of all the countries in the G20, Canada is the only one in a recession, and it is no mystery why. The Liberals' inflationary spending, red tape and antidevelopment policies created this recession and cost of living crisis. It is not global forces; it is Liberal choices. Why can the Prime Minister not understand that Canadians cannot afford to make ends meet, that his costly policies are driving the G20's only recession and that his policies are failing Canadians?”
“Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition on behalf of concerned workers and business owners at the Regina International Airport. The signatories of the petition are concerned about the Liberals' proposed official languages administrative monetary penalties regulations and their application to businesses operating at airports. Smaller regional airports, such as Regina, do not have easy access to a fluently bilingual labour force, and as a result, it is not practical to expect every restaurant, souvenir shop and car rental business on the airport's property to offer services in French. They fear that penalties as high as $25,000 per infraction could drive them out of business. Their solution is to simply exclude from the regulations any airport with fewer than four million passengers annually.”
“Mr. Speaker, rising jet fuel prices are making international travel too expensive for many Canadians, but fortunately, next week, people in Regina and southern Saskatchewan can travel the world without ever leaving the queen city. The 55th annual Mosaic Festival of Cultures will be celebrated all across the queen city on June 4, 5 and 6. Pavilions throughout Regina will feature food, drinks and cultural performances from Austria, Bangladesh, Central and South America, China, Greece, Hungary, India, Italy, Persia, Poland, Romania, Scotland, the Philippines and Ukraine, as well as first nations and Métis communities. It is all made possible by the Regina Multicultural Council and its many dedicated volunteers. I thank everyone involved for sharing their culture with the rest of Regina and southern Saskatchewan.”
“Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the defence minister was covering for cancelling the Snowbirds by telling Canadians the planes were unsafe, but according to CBC reporting, his own defence department says the Snowbirds can continue flying the jets until at least 2030. Who are Canadians to believe, the minister or his own department? Does the minister not have confidence in his own department, or did he mislead this House yesterday?”
“Canadians and the world expect better from the Prime Minister . When will he unlock our resources so Canadians can afford to live?”
“Mr. Speaker, in a recent video, the Prime Minister called Canada's closeness to the United States a weakness. This anti-American attitude, combined with the Liberals' decades-long opposition to pipelines, has caused the Americans to look elsewhere to meet their energy needs. Last month, the Americans suspended sanctions on oil imports from Russia. That is right, even Vladimir Putin is better at selling natural resources to the United States than the Prime Minister is. What a shame it is that the Keystone XL pipeline has not been built yet. Western Canadian oil should be flowing through that pipeline right now at $100 per barrel, and the wealth generated should be increasing the standard of living right here in Canada. Instead, the money is going to Russia to pay for its illegal war against Ukraine.”
“On behalf of Canada's Conservatives, I reaffirm our unwavering commitment to stand with Ukraine until victory. Happy Vyshyvanka Day and slava Ukraini .”
“Mr. Speaker, every third Thursday in May, we celebrate Vyshyvanka Day. This year marks 20 years of this tradition in Ukraine and 10 years here in Canada. What began as a student initiative at Chernivtsi University has grown into a global celebration of Ukrainian heritage, identity and resilience. This Vyshyvanka Day, more than four years into Russia's illegal invasion, we are reminded that this symbol has endured centuries of attempts to erase the Ukrainian people, both physically and as a nation. Like every stitch in a vyshyvanka , every act of support matters. Canada must continue to step up by providing the military support Ukraine needs and by dramatically increasing our energy exports to displace the Russian resources that are financing this war.”
“Madam Speaker, it is depressing to have to line up at a food bank when 10 years ago someone used to be able to afford groceries, but Canadians are starting to see that the Liberal promises are just an illusion. To quote an editorial in The Globe and Mail, “In the upside-down land of the Liberals, a spending spree is a spending cut, blowing a windfall of billions of dollars is prudent and failing to prepare for a fiscal storm is, well, just good management.” When will the Prime Minister end his costly credit card budgeting so Canadians can afford to live?”
“Madam Speaker, after 11 years of the Liberals, they continue to spend like drunken sailors, with a deficit of $65 billion, debt servicing at $59 billion and the total debt a staggering $1.7 trillion. The costly credit card budget means more debt, more costs, more spending, more taxes and more of the same. Why have the Liberals doubled Justin Trudeau's deficit and doubled down on costly credit card budgeting, forcing Canadians to pay more for gas, groceries and housing?”
“Instead of more recycled speeches and photo ops, we need to get shovels in the ground quickly for oil and gas infrastructure, to build strength at home and unbreakable leverage abroad.”
“Mr. Speaker, today the Liberals want people to believe that they are in favour of pipelines, but it is all an illusion. Not so long ago, they declared that there was no business case for LNG development. The Liberal Prime Minister still has not gotten rid of the Liberals' antidevelopment laws. In my home province of Saskatchewan, natural resource development is not an abstract. It makes up 10% to 15% of the provincial government's budget. It pays for hospitals, schools, roads and social services. As a landlocked province, Saskatchewan cannot prosper from these resources without pipelines. For over a decade, the Liberal government has been all talk and no action on resource development. In the face of global trade threats, when will the Liberal government get serious about resource development?”
“Mr. Speaker, I should be clear that I am hopeful the measures included in Bill C-25 are sufficient to curtail the activities of the longest ballot committee. If they are not, then we will be right back here scratching our heads and looking for new ways to curtail its activities. I think that mandatory deposits are the most promising way, given the past activities of the committee.”
“Mr. Speaker, certainly undue influence and undue foreign influence is a concern in our elections. It is good to have a large number of grassroots Canadians participating in the democratic process, which is certainly preferable to a small number of well-to-do insiders. However, I would caution against the idea of public funds for parties or a per-vote subsidy for parties. If individuals want to get people to vote for them, they have to go out, knock on doors and do some fundraising at the same time. I think that having a nominal amount of fundraising for candidates and for parties is a good thing.”
“Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the hon. member on becoming a grandfather for the fourth time, earlier this month. I wish him well with the new bundle of joy. I am hopeful that the measures in Bill C-25 are sufficient to curtail the activities of the longest ballot committee. However, I think it is very telling that its members were the ones behind the 2017 court case, which struck down the requirement of the $1,000 deposit. It is also very telling that, after that court case, they opened the door to their current disruptive activities. We will have to take a wait-and-see approach, and we will have to wait and see.”
“Therefore, my personal view and my personal suggestion is that if the measures included in Bill C-25 are not sufficient to curtail the activities of the longest ballot committee, then the next step should be to revisit the idea of a very nominal deposit and the requirement of receiving a very nominal number of votes on election day. Doing so would cause frivolous candidates to think twice before reaching into their wallets, while at the same time respecting the charter rights of non-frivolous candidates. Hopefully it does not come to that. I am hopeful that the measures introduced in Bill C-25 will be sufficient. I look forward to supporting this bill going to committee and having it studied in further detail. In summary, I will be pleased to vote for this bill at second reading. I look forward to any questions.”
“It was this court case that opened the door for the longest ballot committee and their current practice of running large numbers of frivolous candidates, all at no cost to themselves. I would also like to mention that while the judge's ruling indicated that a $1,000 deposit was an unreasonable infringement of section 3 of the charter, the ruling left open the possibility of a deposit of a smaller, less burdensome amount. It is also worth noting that in last week's by-election in Terrebonne and in last year's by-election in Battle River—Crowfoot, many of the longest ballot committee candidates did not receive a single vote. They could not convince a single person to vote for them, nor could they be bothered to show up to vote for themselves.”
“In summary, I think that the official recommendations in the committee's report and their inclusion in Bill C-25 is a positive step to curtail the activities of the longest ballot committee. I would be surprised if it solved the problem completely. Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to highlight one of the other ideas that witnesses discussed at committee but was not included in the official recommendations in the final report, namely the reinstatement of mandatory monetary deposits by the candidates. For context, it used to be that a $1,000 deposit was required when a candidate registered to run in an election in this country. In 2017, this requirement was ruled unconstitutional after a court challenge by the same people behind the longest ballot committee.”
“However, I would again caution members from believing that this would completely solve the problem. Indeed, in last week's by-election in Terrebonne, which was one of the ridings targeted by the longest ballot committee, the longest ballot committee did have unique official agents for almost all of the candidates. If I could make a prediction about the effectiveness of unique official agents in future elections, it would seem that instead of the longest ballot committee recruiting, say, 100 frivolous candidates, they would have to settle for recruiting 50 frivolous candidates and 50 frivolous official agents, which is no doubt a significant improvement, but probably not enough to dissuade the longest ballot committee from interfering with future elections.”
“Another matter that received considerable attention at the procedure and House affairs committee was the official agents for candidates. The Canada Elections Act requires that each candidate have an official agent, but there is nothing stopping one person from serving as the official agent for multiple candidates in the same riding. (1035) I know that everyone enjoys a good sports analogy, so I will relay to the House that some of the witnesses at committee said that allowing one person to serve as the official agent for multiple candidates in the same riding was like the coach being allowed to coach multiple teams in the same league. That is certainly a violation of the spirit of the law, given that elections are inherently competitive processes. I am glad to see that particular recommendation has made its way into Bill C-25 as well.”
“However, there is presently no rule against a person signing the nomination papers of more than one candidate. There is also no rule against people signing the papers before the candidate's name has been filled in at the top. What the longest ballot committee was doing was getting people to sign the papers of many different candidates while the candidate's name was still left blank. This made it easier for it to recruit frivolous candidates whose only intention was to disrupt the electoral process. Bill C-25 closes this loophole by allowing people to sign the nomination papers of one candidate only. While I do not believe this will solve the problem completely, it will constrain the ability of the longest ballot committee to get frivolous candidates on the ballot.”
“In fact, one of the recommendations of the committee's final report was for the government to introduce legislation to close some of the loopholes in the Canada Elections Act that were being exploited by the longest ballot committee. That legislation has come to the House of Commons in the form of Bill C-25 , which we are debating here today. I would like to go through a few of the report's recommendations in detail and share my thoughts about the potential effectiveness of curtailing the disruptive activities of the longest ballot committee. The first recommendation relates to collecting signatures for a candidate's nomination papers. Right now, in order to run for a seat in the House of Commons, a candidate's paperwork must include the signatures of 100 eligible voters in the candidate's riding.”
“As a result, ridings targeted by the longest ballot committee have, as the name implies, unmanageably long ballots, up to a metre in length in some cases. In last year's general election in the riding of Carleton, and in several by-elections in previous years, nearly 100 candidates appeared on the ballot. This has led to excessively long paper ballots and a great deal of frustration among voters and Elections Canada workers. In fact, Elections Canada actually had to change the format of the ballot to be write-in ballots for a by-election last year and another by-election last week, because of the disruptive activities of the longest ballot committee. Last fall, the procedure and House affairs committee studied this matter in depth, and I was pleased to see the broad consensus among MPs from all parties to fix this problem.”
“While many Canadians may watch politics on TV and may talk politics over coffee, I think it is fair to say that for the vast majority of Canadians, their most important and meaningful contribution to the democratic process is to actually go down to the polling station on election day and mark an X by the name of the candidate of their choice. Therefore, it is important that we as lawmakers get this right. Of particular concern in recent years are the disruptive activities of a group calling itself the longest ballot committee. Quite simply, it is a group of troublemakers who seek to disrupt the electoral process by recruiting large numbers of frivolous candidates who then flood Elections Canada offices with paperwork.”
“Mr. Speaker, I would like to start this morning by thanking my grade 2 social studies teacher, Mrs. Rose Klein. It was many election cycles ago when I was in her class, which is where I first learned about elections. I could not have imagined that one day I would be standing here on the floor of the House of Commons debating a bill to make changes to the Canada Elections Act. That certainly speaks to the importance of having positive role models in one's life. Bill C-25 is an act to make certain amendments to the Canada Elections Act. I think we can all agree that the integrity of the electoral process is fundamental to our democracy.”
“Mr. Speaker, last fall the media reported that Regina's new federally subsidized electric buses could run for only three hours per day in the winter, but in response to a written question, the Liberals said that they have “not been made aware of any instances where battery electric buses were unable to operate due to cold weather.” That is anywhere in the country. How is it possible for the Liberals to be so unaware of billions of dollars of waste, and why do they continue to throw money at buses that will not work in Canadian winters?”
“Mr. Speaker, we should be extracting those reserves out of the ground and exporting them to the rest of the world. Unfortunately, the Liberals have killed the northern gateway pipeline, the Keystone XL pipeline, the energy east pipeline, all of which could be exporting Canadian oil at $100 a barrel to the rest of the world. How much higher does the price have to go before the Liberals flip-flop again and admit that there is a business case for exporting Canadian oil and gas to the world?”
“Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Natural Resources promised that Canada would “do its part” to help release oil reserves in order to stabilize the market, but Canada does not have a strategic oil reserve, in part because of Liberal energy policies that have kept Canadian oil and gas in the ground. Conservatives have proposed a strategic oil stockpile that would allow us to fuel our friends abroad, power paycheques at home and diversify our trade. Will the Liberals adopt our plan so we can be stronger at home while building unbreakable leverage abroad?”
“Mr. Speaker, obviously, if those programs were working, we would not have so many children living in poverty. Mahatma Gandhi once said that the true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable, so it is unfortunate that child poverty in Canada has risen for the third year in a row. More than 800,000 children in this country are currently living in poverty, and that number has more than doubled since 2020. When will the Liberal government reverse the trend of child poverty getting worse under its watch and create an economy where Canadians can afford to live?”
“Mr. Speaker, last month during the Prime Minister's visit to Beijing, he announced that he finally had a deal to roll back that country's tariffs on Canadian canola. He even had a grandiose signing ceremony with Xi Jinping in front of Canadian and Chinese flags. Yesterday, however, the Chinese announced that they were postponing their decision until March 9. Is Beijing backing out of the deal, or was the Prime Minister misleading Canadian canola farmers in the first place?”
“Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to present a petition today in the House of Commons on behalf of concerned residents of Regina and southern Saskatchewan. Signers of the petition are concerned about recent Liberal-Bloc amendments to Bill C-9 that could be used to criminalize passages from the Bible, the Quran, the Torah and other religious texts. They feel that government censorship of these religious texts, especially in churches, temples and other places of worship, represents an unreasonable infringement of the charter rights to freedom of religion and freedom of expression, and that the bill in its current form should never become law in this country.”
“Madam Speaker, the finance minister promised three years ago to stabilize food prices, but today Canada has the highest food inflation rate in the G7, and more and more Canadians are struggling to afford groceries. Clearly, this problem requires a team Canada approach. Will the Liberals work with Conservatives to cancel the industrial carbon tax, the fuel standard tax and the plastic packaging tax, and to fast-track results for Canadians?”
“Madam Speaker, last week the Prime Minister visited a grocery store to announce his Canada groceries and essentials benefit. While this program would do absolutely nothing for the vast majority of Canadians, it is even receiving lukewarm reviews from Regina's anti-poverty advocates. John Bailey, CEO of the Regina Food Bank, said that this rebate is not a magic bullet and that “it's not the only step that we're going to need to make sure we're really combating food insecurity.” Denis Simard, executive director of Regina's Al Ritchie Community Association, said that he expects food insecurity to increase despite the rebate because of rising food inflation. Peter Gilmer of the Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry said, “It's certainly not enough.” Those Canadians struggling to make ends meet should know this: Conservatives see them.”
“Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have said many times now that the Canada groceries and essentials benefit would help 12 million Canadians, but what about the other 28 million Canadians who are struggling with rising grocery prices? Why not adopt policies that will bring down the cost of groceries for all Canadians, such as cancelling the industrial carbon tax, the federal fuel standard or unnecessary food packaging regulations, all of which drive up the price of groceries for all 40 million Canadians?”
“Mr. Speaker, Statistics Canada has confirmed what Canadians already know: Food inflation is up 6.2%, and it is getting harder and harder for people to fill their shopping carts with groceries. The Liberal fuel standard adds 7¢ to every litre of gas. That is going up to 17¢ by 2030, and this drives up higher prices at the grocery store. Conservatives would be more than happy to work with the Liberals to repeal this costly policy today. Will they do it?”
“This would be much better than the Liberals' makeshift solution of temporary tax credits, which only serve to make people even more dependent on another government program.”