Connie Cody

“Madam Speaker, I suspected that would be the answer. That is the Liberal government in a nutshell: grand statements, high-profile press conferences and promises. The Prime Minister tells us he will stand up for Canada’s interests and honour its commitments. There is a big difference between talking tough and negotiating tough. The Liberals seem to excel at making announcements. The problem is that they are unable to turn those announcements into results. Let us talk about the gift the Liberals handed to the digital giants in the U.S. What did Canada receive in return? Normally, a skilled negotiator makes concessions on some points in order to secure gains on others. A negotiator who walks away from the table without gaining anything should consider a different line of work. Am I suggesting that the Prime Minister should change jobs? I will let him draw his own conclusions. Let us review the facts. The Liberal government backed down under U.S. pressure when it came to the major digital platforms helping to fund Canadian culture. Netflix, Disney+ and other digital streaming giants had been expected to contribute 15%. Washington opposed that measure. What did the Liberal government choose to do? It chose to reverse course in June 2025. What has the government announced to try to smooth things over? It announced that $600 million would be paid to the cultural sector. That money is coming out of the pockets of Canadian taxpayers. Instead of taking that money out of the pockets of the American tech giants, the government is taking it out of the pockets of Canadian citizens. Earlier, the parliamentary secretary told us that this money would be paid out quickly. He was right to issue a correction. It has not been 18 months, it has been 16 months. This money should have been paid to businesses in the cultural sector 16 months ago, not 18 months ago. That is still a 16-month delay, 16 months too late, if we are to believe the Liberals’ promise. In other words, what the government did was cut costs for the American tech giants and ask taxpayers to make up the gap, but we got absolutely nothing in return. U.S. tariffs have not gone away and Canadian businesses continue to feel the consequences of the trade war. We made major concessions. What did we get in return? Nothing. Donald Trump got something. He got his concessions. The tech giants got a break. Canadians got left with the bill. However, we do not know when that bill will come, because no one has been paid. In short, it is a bad deal all around. What a negotiator he is. Artists, producers, creators and those who work in the cultural sector are the ones being left behind. They likely had high expectations with this announcement. On one hand, they have not received a single cent of the levies that were supposed to be paid out. On the other hand, none of the Liberals’ promises have materialized. The government promised a swift resolution, but instead it has created uncertainty. Raising people’s hopes only to disappoint them later is not how you run a country. Even the promised compensation has yet to materialize. This is not an isolated incident. I have pages and pages of examples where the Liberals have failed to keep their promises. It has become this government’s trademark. The Liberals table a bill promising to protect creators, yet nothing happens. They promise to help businesses by resolving the tariff crisis, but it is not working. They promise to lower the cost of groceries, but there are 2.35 million monthly visits to food banks. The government lectures Canadians about fiscal discipline when they themselves are incapable of it. One need only look at the PBO’s figures to see that. In closing, I would just like to say one thing: Never buy into a Liberal promise.”