Brad Vis

Mr. Speaker, Claims · 48 wordsbefore I begin my formal remarks, I want to outline that the City of Abbotsford is launching its consultations this June on the Sumas River watershed flood mitigation plan.¹ Earlier this month, the cities of Princeton, Merritt, Hope, Chilliwack and Abbotsford launched the west coast corridor resiliency partnership.²Off point Procedure · 4 wordsExcuse my skepticism today, ProcedureClaims · 42 wordsbut with the bill before us, Bill C‑26, and the corresponding programming motion, we would essentially be granting, without any parliamentary oversight, $1.7 billion to the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure to fund certain projects at their discretion without any parliamentary oversight.³ Procedure · 7 wordsThat is what we are debating today.Procedure The ask · 14 wordsI would encourage the minister to consider Abbotsford and the 2021 floods we had. Reasoning · 35 wordsWhen a minister takes action like this, I know that we can do the same for a region of British Columbia that is essential for the government to meet its own export and infrastructure goals.Partly on pointUnearned certainty Claims · 18 wordsBill C‑26 is two paragraphs long.⁴ It basically would grant the minister unfettered spending abilities with $1.7 billion. Procedure · 3 wordsForgive my skepticism, ProcedureClaims · 32 wordsbut I do not want to authorize and will not support another dollar of taxpayer money’s going to a government that has so resoundingly failed on the housing platform, starting in 2016, Procedure · 46 wordsso with my time today, I am going to share a few remarks about fiscal accountability. I am going to outline some of the most egregious examples of how the government has mismanaged money. I am going to talk about flood infrastructure in the Fraser Valley.Procedure Reasoning · 26 wordsIf the government can take quick action like this, why can it not take quick action on a project of national interest with clear accountability metrics?Partly on point Procedure · 67 wordsThen I am going to go over the national housing strategy the Liberals launched in 2016, the National Housing Strategy Act, what they said at the time about these bills and what they hoped to accomplish. I look forward to reviewing federal program spending on housing affordability dating back to 2019 with the Parliamentary Budget Officer. I will have some other comments tying all those points together.Procedure Promise · 16 wordsFinally, I might even bring a motion forward to amend the programming motion before us today. Procedure · 34 wordsLet us start with fiscal accountability. I want to start by speaking about a cornerstone of our democratic system, parliamentary accountability, specifically how it operates in the context of federal spending legislation in Canada.Procedure Reasoning · 62 wordsAt its heart, parliamentary accountability ensures that the government, which exercises the power to tax and spend, remains answerable to the elected representatives of the people of the House. That duty goes to the very heart of our parliamentary system and why we are here. The power of the purse is one of the oldest and most fundamental principles of Westminster democracy. Claims · 28 wordsIt was hard fought over for centuries, from the struggles between Parliament and the Crown in the United Kingdom to the evolution of responsible government here in Canada. Reasoning · 43 wordsThe principle is simple: Governments may propose spending, but only Parliament can authorize it, and that authorization must be informed, transparent and accountable. This is not a ceremonial role. It is not a rubber stamp. It is a safeguard on behalf of taxpayers. Claims · 22 wordsAt first glance, the bill appears straightforward. It would authorize $1.7 billion in payments to provinces and territories to address housing supply, ⁵Reasoning · 52 wordsbut as parliamentarians, our responsibility does not end with the stated intent of a bill or the comments from one of the ministers responsible, during his remarks in the House. Our duty is to examine how public money is authorized, how it is spent and whether it is subject to meaningful oversight. Claims · 56 wordsIn Canada, this principle is embedded in our Constitution and operationalized through the financial procedures of Parliament. The House of Commons plays a central role in reviewing and approving federal expenditures. Standing committees examine departmental estimates and call ministers and officials to testify and justify their spending plans in detail, at least in an ideal world. Reasoning · 17 wordsHowever, accountability does not end once funds are approved. In fact, it continues through the fiscal cycle. Claims · 81 wordsMechanisms such as the Public Accounts of Canada and reports from the Auditor General provide retrospective oversight, enabling Parliament to assess whether funds were spent as intended and whether value for money was achieved. The Standing Committee on Public Accounts then reviews these findings, further reinforcing accountability. Despite this robust framework, obvious challenges remain. One persistent concern is the complexity and timing of financial documents. Parliamentarians are often tasked with reviewing information within a limited time frame and with limited information. Reasoning · 21 wordsThis task constrains effective scrutiny and at times shifts the balance of power to the executive branch from the legislative branch. Claims · 60 wordsWe have seen the consequences of that in recent years, and it is only heightened now through the fabricated majority of the Prime Minister.Partly on point The current government has overseen a significant expansion in federal spending, accompanied by rising deficits and growing public debt. While some of that spending occurred during extraordinary circumstances, the pattern has continued well beyond those moments. Procedure · 8 wordsNowhere is that more evident than in housing.Procedure Claims · 43 wordsThe government has announced and re‑announced billions of dollars in housing initiatives over the past decade. Despite these commitments, housing affordability has deteriorated. The cost of buying a home has risen dramatically, rents have increased and supply has not kept pace with demand. Reasoning · 24 wordsIf Parliament had been provided with clear metrics, stronger oversight tools and more transparent reporting, we might better understand where these programs fell short. Claims · 22 wordsInstead we are left with repeated announcements, escalating costs and performative motions such as the one before us today on more money. Reasoning · 57 wordsA culture of accountability must be maintained and strengthened in the House. This is not solely about rules and procedures; it is also about a shared commitment to transparency, responsibility and respect for Parliament’s role. Parliamentary accountability in federal spending is not an abstract concept. It is a living practice that underpins public trust in our institutions, Claims · 129 wordswhich is diminishing. Each vote on estimates, each committee hearing and each audit contributes to ensuring that all Canadians have trust in the process, which right now they do not. In 2017, the government unveiled Canada’s national housing strategy.⁶ The initial investment was $40 billion over 10 years to tackle homelessness and housing supply through redesigned and expanded federal programs.⁷ At the time, former minister of fisheries, and member, Bernadette Jordan said that through these investments, “we will reduce chronic homelessness by 50%.”⁸ In 2017, the estimated number of chronically homeless shelter users was 28,900, according to Statistics Canada.⁹ In 2024, that number rose to an estimated 36,058 people experiencing chronic homelessness.¹⁰ The government made a promise to learn from the past, act with foresight and deliver real solutions, Reasoning · 11 wordsbut nearly a decade later, the results tell a different story. Claims · 79 wordsIn October, the Parliamentary Budget Officer reported that an average home costs 34% more than what an average-income household can afford.¹¹ CMHC’s latest outlook projects that homebuilding could drop by as much as 18.1% over the next three years and forecasts that housing starts will be 55% below CMHC’s own target to restore affordability.¹²¹³ The federal housing advocate, and this is wild, reported that it would take more than 1,000 years to restore housing affordability under the current plan.¹⁴ Positioning · 5 wordsThis is a systemic failure.Positioning Claims · 149 wordsOne of the clearest constraints that do not get enough attention in the House is infrastructure. While the minister did outline a few projects about improving infrastructure for housing supply, the scale of the problem is much greater than the one-off announcements he has made. More than 11% of Canada’s water infrastructure and waste-water infrastructure is in poor condition, with an estimated more than $100 billion in upgrades needed, according to Statistics Canada.¹⁵¹⁶ Mike Moffatt, founding director of the Missing Middle Initiative, said, “communities simply don’t open land for development at all because they know infrastructure cannot support it.”¹⁷ While Canadians are told more housing is coming, the foundation required to build it is missing. Either it is outdated, or current systems and approaches cannot accommodate it. The government cannot deliver housing, partly because it cannot deliver infrastructure. Its track record proves it cannot manage large-scale investments at all. Procedure · 6 wordsLet us look at some examples.Procedure Claims · 256 wordsIn the last Parliament, Conservatives were upheld in a Speaker’s ruling on Sustainable Development Technology Canada.¹⁸ The member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie held a beneficial interest in Cycle Capital, a Quebec-based venture capital firm that received tens of millions of dollars in SDTC grants without any checks and balances.¹⁹ A recording of a senior civil servant slammed the outright incompetence of the Trudeau government, which had inappropriately given 123 million dollars’ worth of contracts to companies such as Cycle Capital.²⁰ It was so bad, so egregious, that the former speaker, the member for Hull—Aylmer, essentially shut parliamentary procedures down for almost a year. The Auditor General found the SDTC fund did not follow conflict of interest policies in 90 cases.²¹ It spent nearly $76 million on projects connected to Liberal friends and appointees to run SDTC.²² It spent $59 million on projects that were not allowed to have been awarded any money.²³ It spent $12 million on projects that were both in a conflict of interest and ineligible for funding.²⁴ In one instance, Trudeau’s hand-picked SDTC chair, Annette Verschuren, syphoned off $217,000 to her own company.²⁵ The Liberal government has a history of very poor decision-making. Other members of the House and members of the public have described it as corruption. The former speaker shut down Parliament for almost a year because the government at the time refused to comply with basic financial transparency and then tried to make the superfluous argument that it was a charter violation for the Conservatives to refer this information to the RCMP. Positioning · 5 wordsWhat did the Liberals do?Positioning Claims · 11 wordsThey prorogued Parliament, ²⁶and Justin Trudeau is no longer prime minister.²⁷Off point Procedure · 8 wordsThe second example is the Canada Infrastructure Bank.Procedure Claims · 117 wordsWith great fanfare, in 2017, the CIB was given $35 billion in federal financing intended to attract private sector investment into infrastructure.²⁸ The government plan indicated that the Canada Infrastructure Bank would be responsible for delivering the capital over an 11-year period. Global News reported in 2021 that the CIB had committed over $4 billion for projects, ²⁹but none involved funding from private investors, which was the original intent of the fund: public-private partnerships using federal dollars to scale private sector investment. It just was not happening. In July 2025, the PBO reported that the Infrastructure Bank was not on track to spend its sector-specific funding amounts by 2027-28.³⁰ In other words, it was projecting complete failure.Off point Procedure · 6 wordsA third example is electric batteries.Procedure Aside · 6 wordsThis one really grinds my gears.Aside Claims · 218 wordsAccording to the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s estimates, the total cost of government support for EV investments in Canada was earmarked at $52.5 billion between October 2020 and April 2024, including the strategic innovation fund and special production subsidies for Stellantis, Volkswagen, Honda and Northvolt.³¹ Despite funding commitments, many federally backed auto sector projects have been delayed or have fallen apart altogether. Stellantis shifted Jeep Compass production from Brampton, Ontario, to Illinois; ³²Honda’s $15-billion EV supply chain project in Alliston is delayed; ³³Volkswagen has deferred its production schedule in St. Thomas; ³⁴Northvolt is slower than expected in its rollout in Quebec; and General Motors’ termination of BrightDrop EV van production has taken place in Ingersoll.³⁵ To make matters even worse, despite significant promises, hours of debate and promises from the government that it was going to create an EV ecosystem like nothing we have ever seen before in Canada, taking advantage of our critical minerals, the advanced manufacturing in Ontario, new opportunities for mining in the Ring of Fire and new export opportunities, all through these investments that were so necessary, the Prime Minister just recently handed 30% of our electric vehicle market to China without guardrails. This is the very country that he said, just a year ago in the election, was the greatest threat to Canadian democracy. Positioning · 6 wordsWhat in the world is this?PositioningOff point Procedure · 5 wordsExample number four is ArriveCAN, ProcedureClaims · 247 wordswhich was originally budgeted at only $80,000 but ballooned to cost Canadians approximately $60 million.³⁶ A year ago tomorrow, the Auditor General confirmed that GC Strategies, a dodgy IT firm that does not do IT work and is now under RCMP investigation for ArriveCAN, was awarded 106 contracts worth nearly $100 million under the Liberals.³⁷³⁹ Despite the firm already receiving $64.5 million from the government, the Auditor General found that in 46% of cases, there was little or no evidence that work was actually performed.³⁸ The Auditor General called the government bookkeeping for the project the worst she had ever seen.⁴⁰ In an extraordinary, rare step, the contractor was formally censured in Parliament for its conduct, ⁴¹which is something almost never seen in federal procurement, underscoring just how serious and egregious these failures were. Example five, another one that hits close to home, because I represent a sizable indigenous population, is the indigenous procurement policy. In August 2024, Global News reported that through the procurement strategy for indigenous businesses, the government awarded billions of dollars in contracts earmarked for indigenous enterprises without always requiring bidders to prove they were first nations, Métis or Inuit.⁴² Contracts awarded to indigenous businesses skyrocketed from $100 million in 2018 to $1.6 billion, ⁴³which is 6.3% of all eligible federal spending at the time.⁴⁴ Thawennontie Thomas, co-founder of LaFlesche, a plastics manufacturing company near Montreal, “said it’s ‘commonly known’ among Indigenous executives that non-Indigenous businesses [were] taking advantage” of the procurement policies.⁴⁵Off point Procedure · 8 wordsExample number six is a recent one, PrescribeIT.Procedure Claims · 72 wordsThe Liberals spent nearly $300 million over a decade on prescribing software.⁴⁶ The CEO of Canada Health Infoway was paid nearly $900,000 a year while the program failed across most of Canada.⁴⁷ The agency has still not complied with a parliamentary request to provide unredacted documents on its PrescribeIT failure.⁵³ Nearly $100 million went to Telus Health as the primary technology vendor, with unanswered questions about who owns the taxpayer-funded intellectual property.⁴⁸ Positioning · 3 wordsWhat a disgrace.Positioning Claims · 35 wordsWe have just learned that the Minister of Health has now cancelled the program in disgrace despite repeated attempts for more transparency by Conservatives at the health committee, ⁴⁹which were blocked by the Liberal members.⁵⁴Off point Procedure · 13 wordsExample number seven is COVID-19 loans and the Canada emergency business account program.Procedure Aside · 5 wordsThis is a big one.Aside Claims · 84 wordsA 2024 Auditor General report estimated that $3.5 billion went to ineligible businesses.⁵⁰ The Department of Finance Canada and Global Affairs Canada, according to the Auditor General, did not provide effective oversight to ensure that the CEBA program was managed with due regard for value for money. Export Development Canada notes that the Auditor General failed to exercise basic controls in contract management, such as monitoring that the amounts paid aligned with the work performed. This meant that the value for money was compromised.Off point Procedure · 14 wordsExample number eight was a big one in the 2021 election, the WE Charity.Procedure Aside · 5 wordsIt seems like ages ago.Aside Claims · 59 wordsIn June 2020, the WE Charity was chosen to administer the Canada student service grant, a $912-million program introduced by Justin Trudeau to provide financial relief for students during the COVID-19 pandemic.⁵¹ According to a report to Parliament’s ethics committee, Trudeau family members were paid more than $217,000 for speaking engagements and reimbursed $210,000, ⁵²which included flights and hotels—Off point