William Stevenson

Mr. Speaker, Procedure · 27 wordsI rise this evening to follow up on a question I asked earlier in the year about the affordability crisis facing Canadians and the government’s costly decisions.Procedure Claims · 20 wordsWhen Canadians are working full-time but cannot afford a home, when families are struggling to pay for groceries and rent, Positioning · 42 wordsand when people are forced to make impossible choices just to get by, Canadians deserve more than a government pointing to economic indicators and good news. They deserve responsible spending, meaningful actions and a government that understands the consequences of its decisions.Positioning Claims · 18 wordsAs a chartered professional accountant for 26 years with tax experience, I understand the importance of fiscal responsibility.⁸ Reasoning · 40 wordsBudgets must balance priorities, spending must deliver results, and every dollar of taxpayer money must be treated with respect. Responsible budgeting is not simply about cutting costs. It is about understanding what we are losing when we make those cuts. Claims · 82 wordsWhat has been top of mind in recent days are the Liberals’ cuts to national parks. We learned late last week that Parks Canada is discontinuing its search and rescue dog program in Banff National Park, a program that has been essential for more than 55 years.¹² The program has helped locate missing people, find avalanche victims, recover those lost in the mountains and support law enforcement locally. One of these dogs, Leroy, helped find more than 57 people during his career.³ Positioning · 8 wordsThese are not just numbers on a spreadsheet.Positioning Claims · 47 wordsThese are people who were brought home to their families because of the dedication and specialized skills of these dogs and their handlers. Banff and Jasper are among Canada’s most treasured national spaces. They attract visitors from across the country and around the world. As visitation grows, Reasoning · 32 wordsand demands on our parks increase, especially with the Canada strong pass, we should be strengthening the tools that help people be safe, not eliminating proven capabilities in the name of savings.⁴ Procedure · 6 wordsThis decision raises a serious question.Procedure Positioning · 13 wordsWhat is the true cost of cutting a program that helps save lives?Positioning Procedure · 6 wordsThe concerns do not end there.Procedure Claims · 93 wordsParks Canada is now undertaking another round of workforce adjustments. The agency expects to eliminate the equivalent of roughly 500 full-time positions as part of its federal spending reductions, totalling nearly $145 million over the next three years.⁵⁶ These are the people who maintain trails and facilities, protect wildlife, support visitors, preserve our national heritage and help communities recover from disasters. In Jasper, where the community and the park continue to recover from the devastating 2024 wildfire, Parks Canada employees are still doing essential rebuilding work while facing uncertainty about their own futures.⁷ Reasoning · 36 wordsThese are not positions that can be written off as cost savings measures. When experienced employees leave, specialized programs disappear. We are losing institutional knowledge, frontline capacity and the ability to respond effectively when emergencies happen. Positioning · 31 wordsCanadians expect their government to find savings, eliminate waste and live within its means. Conservatives believe in that responsibility. However, cutting essential services and jeopardizing skilled careers is not good management.Positioning Reasoning · 34 wordsAffordability matters. Canadians need relief from the cost of living, and taxpayers deserve value for money, but affordability controls cannot become an excuse for decisions that put livelihoods at risk or compromise the safety—