“Canada is in a recession, and our economy is the worst in the G7. People cannot afford food or housing, and many are losing their jobs. I want the Prime Minister to present a plan to undo his government's economic policies.”

“moved: That the House recognize that the Liberal Prime Minister has given Canada the: (i) only economy in recession in the G7, (ii) worst household debt in the G7, (iii) worst housing costs in the G7, (iv) second highest unemployment in the G7, a third higher than in the United States; accordingly, the House call on the Liberal Prime Minister to immediately present a plan to reverse all the economic policies of the Liberal government which have given Canada the G7’s worst economy. He said: Mr. Speaker, I am going to be splitting my time with my great friend, and a decent hockey player, the member for Swift Current—Grasslands—Kindersley. Where is this Prime Minister? He has been hiding, ducking and dodging since Friday morning. This is the guy who was supposed to be a master negotiator, the guy who would get a deal done. He said he was the guy who would get Canada back on track, and he said he was the man with the plan. However, it all turned out to be a sham at the end of the day because on Friday morning, Canadians got the devastating news of something that they have already been feeling in the last 10 years under the incompetent Liberal government: Canada is in a full-blown Liberal recession. In fact, this Liberal Prime Minister is the only leader in the entire G7 to drive the economy into a full-blown recession. All of the other G7 countries face the exact same external pressures and the exact same tariffs. Why is it that this Prime Minister, who was supposed to be the guy, plunged our economy into a recession? In fact, in the entire OECD, Canada is one of only two countries that are in a recession now. Liberal pundits and their paid media keep saying this is just a technical recession. What is a technical recession? This full-blown Liberal recession meets the criteria with two consecutive quarters in a shrinking economy, but let us look at the time since this Prime Minister took power. In three out of the four quarters since he became Prime Minister, the economy has shrunk. Business investment has declined for five straight quarters and $20 billion of net investment has fled the country since he became Prime Minister. Just in the first three months of this year, 120,000 jobs are gone and 48,000 of those people are still looking for work. This Prime Minister delivered to Canada the second-worst unemployment rate in the entire G7. He is the worst when it comes to housing costs. In the entire G7, Canada, under this Prime Minister, is the worst when it comes to household debt. Let us dig into that a bit. What does this recession mean? It may be technical to the paid media, but in Canadian terms, it is the single mom who has to put groceries back because she cannot afford them or she has to buy in portions every week because the cost of living has skyrocketed under the Liberals. Including food costs and housing costs, everyday life is more expensive because of Liberal taxes and the failure of Liberal policies. It is the dad in Windsor who has lost his job. He is one of the 120,000 people who, in the first three months of this year under the Liberal government, lost their job. He has to sit around the dinner table explaining to the kids how many things they cannot do over the summer and how many vacations they cannot have because he is more worried about how he is going to pay the bills, pay the mortgage or rent and put food on that table. It is the mom who just got laid off and was barely hanging on. It could be one of the majority of Canadians who are just $200 away from insolvency. It could be one of those 2.2 million Canadians who are waiting in a food bank line every single month, and that number might even go up now because of the job losses under the current government. This Prime Minister sold himself to be something different. He said he would not be like the previous guy. He is actually worse, so he is right in one sense. Not only is he spending more, if one can believe that. He doubled the deficit that Justin Trudeau left. Then, he corrected himself in the update and became the second-worst as well, having the second-worst deficit in Canadian history outside COVID. That means more costs, more debt and more taxes on Canadians. It is more of the same and it is all on the Canadian credit card. He does not care. This guy is better at going around and shaking a lot of hands, signing a bunch of fake papers and jet-setting around the world. However, it does not just stop at jet-setting around the world. He makes sure he has the finest meals on those planes. In fact, he just recently spent $200,000 on fine dining on those plane rides. While Canadians are lining up in record numbers at food banks, and the food banks are even running out of food now, the Prime Minister gets to live lavishly, jet-setting around the world, pretending he is doing something. After all that showboating and all of that show, at the end of the day, he has plunged Canada’s economy into a full-blown Liberal recession. There are families who are affected and who had been affected before. In fact, in the business community, for consecutive quarters, there are more businesses closing in Canada than are opening. Business insolvencies are up. People are starting to miss their mortgage and credit card payments. The cost of everyday life has only gotten worse under the incompetent Liberal Prime Minister. In fact, if we look at debt loads, Canada has the highest debt load in the entire G7. Because of Liberal policies, the costs of food and housing are way up, and just those two pieces alone now make up about 120% of one person’s income. That means someone’s entire paycheque gets eaten up and then they have to either borrow, or put on credit, for food or other essentials. Then, that just piles up, and they start missing payments, which is exactly what is happening now. The number of defaults, delinquencies and insolvencies are all up. We have not seen some of these numbers since 2009, when we literally had a global financial crisis, and the difference back then was that we had a really responsible Conservative government that knew where to spend money and that knew how to create jobs at the time. We never saw an inflation crisis the last time this happened. I do not remember an inflation crisis. I do not remember interest rates spiking at the highest and fastest rate in Canadian history. That medal goes to the incompetent Liberal government, because all it does is spend, spend, spend, because it does not mean anything to the government. The Prime Minister is more concerned about his banker, bondholder and Brookfield buddies than he is about the average everyday Canadian. In fact, he is the same Prime Minister who sold the illusion that he was the guy who was going to deal with Donald Trump. He was all “elbows up”. Now everything is down, including our economy. We are in a recession, and now the Prime Minister is on team Trump. In fact, now he is parroting Donald Trump. Now it is “make America great again”. However, I ask, “What about Canada?” We might as well get the Prime Minister a MAGA hat. What we are asking for today is that the incompetent Liberal Prime Minister present a plan, stop hiding and come out of the witness protection program. He is supposed to be leading this G7 country, the same one that he has driven into a recession. He must tell Canadians what his plan is. Conservatives have a plan. If the Liberals want a plan that will help us get out of this mess that they created, they can take our plan and take credit for it. They can put their stamp on it, and at least Canadians would have a future that is more safe and more affordable. Conservatives would end the antidevelopment laws that the Liberals passed, like Bill C-69 and Bill C-48, which does not let our product leave the west coast and does not let pipelines get built. We would get rid of the industrial carbon tax, which makes the cost of everything more expensive. We would lower taxes for individuals, small businesses and corporations, so we can create the business environment that we need. We would introduce a law so that, any time a Canadian company reinvests its capital gains in Canada, they would not have to pay those capital gains taxes. They could defer them, so we could create better jobs and a better economy right here in Canada. Of course, we would put an end to all the Liberal waste: the billions and billions of dollars that go to Liberal-connected insiders in consultant fees because the Liberal ministers are too incompetent to create plans of their own, and the boondoggle of a project that is Alto. The government, for a project that has not even started yet, has already shovelled out millions in bonuses. We would put an end to this Liberal corruption. The Liberals can take our plan. Let us get working for Canadians together. It is time for the Prime Minister to come out of hiding and present a plan.”

• Personal attack
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  Speech on a motion

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  This statement targeted a person rather than their actions or views: “more concerned about his banker, bondholder and Brookfield buddies”.

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• Echo ×5

  A repeated line

  “We would get rid of the industrial carbon tax.”

  Said 5 times by 5 members since May 7.

  Every time it was said →

“Liberal policies are hurting Canadians. Millions of people must use food banks, and many are losing their jobs or cannot afford groceries. Conservatives are standing up for these people.”

“Madam Speaker, let me humble that out-of-touch, mega Liberal. After 11 years of this incompetent Liberal government, no one is giddy anymore. No one is excited anymore. No one has anything to smile about. The 2.2 million Canadians waiting in a food bank line are not giddy. The dad who just lost his job because of incompetent Liberal policies is not excited and is not giddy. The mom who has to put food back because she cannot afford it this week is not giddy. Conservatives are standing up for those Canadians because of bad Liberal policies that drove us into a recession, drove record numbers of people into the food bank and made more people food-insecure today than we have ever seen in this country before. That is what Conservatives are standing up for.”

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“Liberal taxes and policies put Canada into a recession and made life too expensive for families. The Prime Minister does not understand how hard things are for everyday Canadians, and I want my colleague to talk about how out of touch he is.”

“Madam Speaker, what we always hear from these Liberals is that Canadians have never had it so good. Now that we have been talking about how Canada was on the wrong track and we are in a full-fledged recession because of these Liberal policies, they think this side is giddy. No, we are just disappointed. We have been bringing up stories about how everyday Canadians are finding it hard to make ends meet for years, and how taxes and the carbon tax are burdening mothers and fathers. Do members remember the consumer carbon tax? Well, the Liberals want all the credit for taking it away. They put it in there in the first place. They took thousands of dollars out of families’ budgets every year, and now they want to think that Canadians are giddy that we are in a recession. No. It is such a difficult time right now for people around the country, and the Prime Minister is so out of touch. He will not answer a question about the recession. When he did talk about it, about three weeks ago, he said, on affordability, that Canadians have never had it so good. Could my colleague please respond to how out of touch the Prime Minister actually is?”

“The Prime Minister needs to show Canadians an economic plan. The government should cancel the carbon tax on businesses to lower everyday costs. It should also scrap laws and bans that stop us from building mines, pipelines, and other projects so we can sell our goods around the world.”

“Madam Speaker, the member is absolutely right. At a time when the Prime Minister needs to present a plan to Canadians for plunging them into this Liberal recession, he is hiding. In fact, just yesterday, he did the whole Biden point, which is pointing to where he was going when asked a question and just walking that way. What he needs to do is present a plan. My colleagues started off by saying the Liberals copied our plan when we said to axe the carbon tax. That is where they started. Let us put some other solutions in front of them right now: cancel the industrial carbon tax; bring down the cost of food and everyday life; cancel all the antidevelopment laws that the Liberal government put in place that do not let a new pipeline, a new mine, a new dam or any infrastructure get built; cancel Bill C-69; get rid of the tanker ban, Bill C-48, and my colleague from Calgary has a bill currently in the House so we can get our product not just to the West Coast, but off the west coast into the Asian markets; and get rid of the industrial carbon tax so that we can make Canada more competitive. The world needs what Canada has. We just need the Liberal government to get out of the way.”

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“The Liberals only talk about natural resources. Conservatives take action.”

“Madam Speaker, I think the only thing I can really agree with is when that member said that the Liberals have just talked about natural resources. We on this side of the House are all about action. Anywhere we go inside—”

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“Canada is in a recession. The government spends too much borrowed money, which hurts families and drives business away. The Liberals should listen to Conservative ideas to fix the economy.”

“Madam Speaker, it is always an honour and a privilege to be able to rise on behalf of the great people of southwest and west central Saskatchewan. I rise today to talk about the opposition motion that we have put forward, but before I do, I just want to take a few moments here to offer our sincere condolences to the families in Pelican Narrows who were impacted by a shooting that happened up there yesterday. Our thoughts and prayers are with the community and the family of the victim up there. I wanted to start off by acknowledging that. What are we doing here today? We are talking about a recession. The Prime Minister himself, in an interview with the BBC when he was over in England, said “the technical definition of a technical recession is...two [straight] quarters of flat or negative [GDP] growth”. That is it. It is pretty simple. What do we have here in Canada? Let us take a look. Real GDP fell 0.1% in Q1, and the quarter before that, it fell roughly 1%. Based on the Prime Minister’s own words, that meets the definition of a technical recession, so that is what we have. The Prime Minister has been in power for a little over a year. He is supposed to be the grandmaster economist who is going to save Canada. He was bold enough to stand at the microphones and say that the United States was on track for a recession, but Canada was not. There might be some impact from what is happening in the States, but it was headed for a recession, and we were not. That is what he said. That was right around the time of the last election, so that was one of the first things he was trying to sell to Canadians. Okay, so let us look at his track record. When he was over in England, he said that Brexit was going to cause a massive recession. Well, he was wrong. I just talked about what he said about the United States. He was wrong. He said Canada was not going to enter a recession. Guess what. He was wrong, because here we are right now. The Prime Minister’s very own definition has been met: two straight quarters of negative or flat growth. An hon. member: Oh, oh! Jeremy Patzer: Madam Speaker, I am just quoting the Prime Minister. I know it is hard for the member to actually grasp his own leader’s words, but that is what his own leader said. I am only quoting his own leader. If he does not like it, he can take it up with the Prime Minister. Let us talk a bit more about some of the signs and the markers we have been seeing when we talk to Canadians. We have been telling the government for a couple of years now that the pressures on households are getting to be very tight. What we saw in quarter one was that over 37,000 Canadians filed for insolvency, just in Q1. That is the highest it has been since 2009, when there was an actual global recession and the housing market crashed around the globe. It has not been that high since then. That is what we have been seeing. Let us look at household debt. Canadian household debt is 103% of GDP. Canadian non‑mortgage debt is $43,300, up from $40,200 two years ago, which was already a crazy high number. Now, when we look at the snapshot for just homeowners, non-mortgage debt is $82,400, up 19% in two years. Canadians are feeling the pressure and are putting more on their credit cards. It would appear that they are following what the government has been doing. What has the government done? The government has been living off the credit card that the taxpayers basically provide it. Every single announcement the government makes is borrowed money. The government has been running on constant deficits for a very long time. We saw a bit of a recent influx in government revenues because oil prices have gone a bit higher and the government actually benefited from that. What did the Liberals do? They spent it. They blew it. The deficit for this year alone is almost $80 billion. Let us take a look at what the national debt looks like. Canada is over $1.3 trillion in debt. That number is massively rising every single day. What is the Bank of Canada telling us? Well, there is 523 billion dollars’ worth of debt that has to be refinanced. That was refinanced when the former prime minister said, “Interest rates are at [all‑time] lows, Glen”: 1%. It is now being recalled at 3%, so the share for every Canadian, just on that number alone, is going from $1,500 to $1,900 because of that jump from 1% to 3%. That is going to have a massive impact, and that is just in the short term. There is longer‑term interest that is going to be up for renewal as the years go on, and those rates are going to be higher and higher. We have a continually snowballing and cascading effect that is going to rock Canadian households. Let us take another look at what is happening in the business world. Business capital investment fell 0.7% in quarter one, which was the fifth straight quarter that business investment in Canada has fallen. This comes after a 10-year run with the Liberal government when foreign direct investment of over $1 trillion left Canada. For every dollar that came in, two dollars left. That is what we are seeing here. That is the by-product of what is happening today. When we look at some of the other statistics from the Bank of Canada and a few others, they mention that government spending was down 2.5% and that is what caused a bit of a drop in GDP. The fact that it is government spending that is also driving that shows the government is the one trying to artificially prop up the economy. The private sector is struggling. We are not seeing massive private sector investment. There are a couple projects here and there, but we are just not seeing the large-scale investment that is required. Let us look at what the Liberals wanted to do. Coming out of the election, they said they wanted to build at speeds not yet seen. What did they propose to the House? It was Bill C-5. They said they needed Bill C-5 because that was going to allow them to do what? It was to override their own bad laws they had put in place, because they recognized that was the problem. They said they needed Bill C-5 so they could circumvent their own laws that they had created. We said it would be better if they just scrapped the bad laws but that we would play ball and help them out, so we worked with the government to pass Bill C-5. We put some safeguards in there to make sure the Prime Minister was not greasing the palms of his buddies at Brookfield, and we helped them pass Bill C-5. Then they put projects on the list. There are a couple of LNG projects on there. They have been on that list now for well over 250 days. We are closing in on almost a year with some of these projects listed, and there has been no movement. Nothing is happening. Germany came here and said it wanted our LNG, and the government said, “Sure, this time we’ll work with you to make sure you get some LNG.” When did it say we would deliver the LNG to Germany? It was sometime in the 2030s. There is no fixed date because the government does not actually know. What did Germany do? When the former prime minister said there was no business case, Germany went home and built an import terminal in 194 days. That is a shorter amount of time than the projects have been on the Major Projects Office list with nothing being done. What have Conservatives done? Well, we proposed the Canadian sovereignty act because we wanted to help the government get out of its own way. We proposed that in the same way we are doing here today, with an opposition day motion, to give the government a template to kind of get the ball rolling, to help it advance the football down the field, per se. The Liberals voted against it. They had an opportunity to implement another one of our great plans, and they voted no. They took our advice and scrapped the consumer carbon tax. Now they are saying this is one of the greatest cost-saving moves they have ever made, and that is because Conservatives were right. It was Conservatives who put the pressure on them to do it, and eventually they relented. Maybe if they would implement the Canadian sovereignty act, which would repeal the bad laws like Bill C-69 and Bill C-48, that would get them on the right track and get them going, because Bill C-5 was supposed to be the mechanism to help them circumvent those laws. If they would implement the Canadian sovereignty act, it would get them going in the right direction. It would also get rid of the industrial carbon tax, which we know is putting massive downward pressure on investment in Canada because nowhere else around the world wants the same type of pricing mechanism that the government is going to enforce on Canadian industry. It is going to be devastating to Canadians. The Liberals should look at what Conservatives are proposing. We have had some great ideas that would help them and that probably would have helped them avoid entering this recession, which has been made by the Liberal government. If they want to work with us, we have great ideas. They have said no to many of them, and now they have to pay for that, which means Canadians have to pay for it because the government has no money. It is only because Canadians pay taxes and the government prints money against the future of Canadians that it acquires any money. At this point in time, if it wants to get the economy rolling, the government could take some of our great ideas that we have proposed, and that would actually help it avoid this recession.”

• Personal attack
  ?

  Speech on a motion

  Respect 97 of 100

  This statement targeted a person rather than their actions or views: “He is supposed to be the grandmaster economist who is going to save Canada”.

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• Echo ×5

  A repeated line

  “We would get rid of the industrial carbon tax.”

  Said 5 times by 5 members since May 7.

  Every time it was said →

“The member asked a silly question. He ruined Saskatchewan when he was in government there. The words he is upset about came directly from the Prime Minister, so he should complain to his own leader. Our plan is already on the official record if he bothered to pay attention.”

“Madam Speaker, that is a bit of a ridiculous question coming from that member, who spent 26 years in a provincial government and destroyed Saskatchewan. That is his track record: destroyed it. Again, he takes issue with what I said, but guess what. I was quoting the Prime Minister. If he takes issue with what I was saying, I was quoting the Prime Minister. He should talk to his boss if he does not like what I was saying, because that is who I got it from. If he wants to know what our plan is, he should just go back and look at the blues. We have it right on record. We debated it in this very House, and this member is saying he has never seen our plan. He needs to wake up and pay attention.”

“Members of Parliament are qualified because the people elected them to speak for their communities. The Liberal member from Saskatchewan does not represent his voters. He voted for higher taxes and to take people's guns away.”

“Madam Speaker, the question we were just asked by the only Liberal in Saskatchewan was about the qualifications of a member of Parliament. Our qualifications are that we work hard, we get voted in by the people and we bring their voices to the House. My big problem with this member is that he represents northern Saskatchewan and has voted against every common-sense motion we have had. He voted to add taxes to streaming services. He voted to not scrap the industrial carbon tax. He voted to keep the gun confiscation plan in place. Everything his constituents sent him here to support, he has voted against. I would like some comments from my colleague on that. Do not forget the Snowbirds.”

“The Secretary of State for Rural Development does not support Saskatchewan. He celebrated when the Snowbirds were cancelled. He also supports the carbon tax, which will hurt resource projects in his own riding. Only Conservatives stand up for Saskatchewan.”

“Yes, Madam Speaker, let us not forget about the Snowbirds. When the Snowbirds were grounded, the Secretary of State for Rural Development said it was a very, very joyous and happy day. When the Snowbirds were cancelled, that is what he said. Yes, let us take a look at some of the benefits to Saskatchewan. The Secretary of State represents the part of our province that should benefit the most because there are a lot of great resources in the north that could be developed. The industrial carbon tax is going to hammer those projects in his riding, so it is shameful that he continues to prop up that policy. He is clearly not on Saskatchewan’s side. Only Conservative members are truly on Saskatchewan’s side.”

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“Provinces should make their own energy choices. The federal government is forcing rules on them instead of letting them decide how to use their own oil, gas, and power.”

“Madam Speaker, let us talk a little about some energy policy. It is important. I think the member would agree with me that it is actually up to the provinces to decide what path they are going to go on. I know Quebec has done a lot with hydroelectric, and it views hydrogen, for example, as a plan to go forward. In Saskatchewan, we have a lot of natural gas. There is a lot of oil extraction that goes on. That is a provincial resource. It is up to the provincial government to deal with that. The federal government, the Liberal government, has been taking a top-down approach that is forcing provinces to take one path or a different path but not the path that the provinces themselves actually want to choose. Resource extraction is up to the provinces and should be left to the provinces, and the feds should just get out of the way.”

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“Canadians are struggling to afford food and housing, and young people cannot find jobs. Millions of people, including many children, are using food banks every month. I want to know what the member has to say to these families.”

“Madam Speaker, notwithstanding the rhetoric in that speech and the pat on the back that the member is expecting, there is a disconnect between what he said and what we are seeing on the ground. As a matter of fact, in communities across the country today, Canadians are struggling to afford food to put on the table. Young people cannot find a job. Housing is completely out of reach for everyone. Does the member know that schools are not open at dinnertime? Food Banks Canada has reported that 2.2 million people are visiting food banks every month, one-third of whom are children. While the member wants a pat on the back, 24,000 children today are going to walk into a food bank, hoping to find something on the shelf to eat because they are hungry. What does he have to say to those hard-working Canadians, those families and those children who cannot afford to put food on the table today?”

“The government allows drug consumption sites near schools and day cares where people use fentanyl. I want the member to tell me if he thinks using fentanyl next to children is really safe.”

“Madam Speaker, I will bring it back to how the topic today actually impacts many Canadians. This is a very special subject, and it impacts so many Canadians. It is about opioids. The member was talking about the safety of children. Right now, we have a government that actually endorses fentanyl use and drug consumption sites next to kids here in Canada. Through an exemption, there are actually federally approved sites right now in Canada operating 50 steps away from schools and day cares. In these drug consumption sites, there is fentanyl used 50% of the time. The member has totally skewed what he means by safety for children. I cannot imagine the member’s children being exposed to these drug sites every day going to school, so my question for him is, does he actually think it is safe to use fentanyl beside children?”

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“Canada's economy shrank in three of the last four quarters. No other G7 country had that happen. The government blames the United States, but Mexico also trades with the U.S. and its economy is doing fine. The government needs to stop blaming the U.S. and start fixing our economy.”

“Madam Speaker, my colleague from Mirabel’s passion is exceeded only by his knowledge on this subject. I understand the member’s point about measuring and calling a recession, but we have to set numbers somewhere. The fact is that Canada’s economy has contracted for three of the last four quarters. Not a single country in the G7 has had a contraction in the economy in the last four quarters. The government, we hear constantly, is blaming it on the trade war with the U.S. Mexico, which is more reliant by a fair amount on trade with the U.S. than Canada is, has actually seen its exports to the U.S. rise. Mexico, which is, again, more reliant on the U.S., has not fallen into a recession or a contraction in its economy, unlike Canada. I wonder if my colleague could expand a bit on his talk about how the government needs to stop blaming the U.S. for political gain and start working to improve the economy and exports, much like Mexico has.”

“The Harper government set up free trade with South Korea and made deals with around 40 other nations. Free trade has always had strong support in Quebec. I want the member to explain why free trade matters so much to Canada and to Quebec.”

“Madam Speaker, my colleague mentioned a situation earlier and wondered whether it was the Harper government that established free trade with South Korea. The answer is a categorical yes. Members may recall that, under the visionary leadership of Ed Fast, the then minister of international trade, Canada, under Mr. Harper, had free trade agreements with 40 or so nations. Plus, back in 1988, when free trade with the United States was being debated, we received the support of Quebeckers, especially prominent Quebeckers like Bernard Landry and Jacques Parizeau, who spoke out in favour of free trade. I would appreciate it if the member could explain why free trade is important for Canada and especially for Quebec.”

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“Canada is in a recession. Food costs too much, people are losing jobs, and the government has added one trillion dollars to the national debt. To fix this, the government should cut taxes, develop our natural resources, and end trade barriers between provinces.”

“Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to participate in today’s debate on Canada’s economic future, particularly with regard to the reality facing all Canadians as we speak, because yes, sadly, Canada is in a recession. It is with great joy and pleasure that I will share my time with my distinguished colleague from Calgary Crowfoot, and I thank all those who are vigilant, unlike myself, who have unfortunately dropped the ball. In that regard, I will have a few words to say about people who have dropped the ball. We are not happy to note that Canada is in a recession. As all economists know, a country is in a recession when its gross domestic product, or GDP, is negative for two consecutive quarters. Some may seek to qualify this particular recession, but, mathematically speaking and quite clearly, it is defined as follows: If the GDP is down for two consecutive quarters, it is a recession, and that is what we are dealing with. Some have tried to quibble over this definition of a recession. However, beyond the quibbling, there is the reality of the hardships faced by Canadians—hardships that have plagued Canada for far too long. We have the worst food inflation among G7 countries. Every month, 2.2 million Canadians turn to food banks for food. Let us not forget that we are in Canada. Of that number, one-third are children. Families, fathers and mothers, cannot afford to provide for themselves and must resort to visiting food banks. I want to mention some folks in my riding, including people at Amélie et Frédérick and community fridges in Val‑Bélair, L’Ancienne‑Lorette and Loretteville on Racine. These people are working hard to provide food aid, and God knows their work is essential. We are fortunate that these volunteers with various charities in every riding, especially my riding, Louis‑Saint‑Laurent—Akiawenhrahk, are thinking of the least fortunate. The thing is, these folks are telling me that the people who donated to food banks for years are now the ones coming to food banks so they can feed their families properly. Unfortunately, Canada also has the second-highest unemployment rate among G7 countries. That is the reality in Canada. Those are the problems Canadians are facing. This confirms the sad reality that Canada is in a recession: those 112,000 jobs that were lost since the beginning of the year. There is the reality faced by entrepreneurs who want to invest but are dealing with serious concerns about economic stability. They cannot invest in an environment that is not stable, and the Canadian economy is currently losing momentum. We can also see the impact in trade flows. Some $20 billion in investment has left Canada, on top of the $1 trillion in investment that has not been made in Canada over the past 10 years under Justin Trudeau and the current Prime Minister. That is why we feel that the Canadian economy is weakening, that it is declining and that it is in recession. It is also important to understand that, over the last 10 years, Liberal governance has, unfortunately, not changed much. Take a look at what happened between 2015 and 2025, and from 2025 until today. Unfortunately, we are still on the same track. The government spends without restraint, it shows no concern for properly managing the money of Canadians who pay GST every day and their taxes every month, when our primary responsibility, as parliamentarians, is to ensure that the money is spent wisely. We have been living beyond our means for nearly 11 years. The debt has risen by $1 trillion, which is almost twice the total debt accumulated over the previous 125 years. That is the reality of Liberal management: $1 trillion in additional debt. Last week, I had an exchange with the Minister of Finance during committee of the whole. I reminded him that he is the third-most senior minister in the government, since the Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs and One Canadian Economy and the Minister of Industry were both appointed ministers as soon as Mr. Trudeau was elected. Six months later, the member for Saint-Maurice—Champlain, the current Minister of Finance, was appointed. Today, as Minister of Finance, he is responsible for debts totalling $1 trillion, because that $1 trillion in debt has accumulated over the past 10 years. That is money we do not have. That is money that had to be printed. That is debt we are passing on to our children, our grandchildren, and our great-grandchildren, who have not yet been born but who will have to pay for it. That is why we must be careful. That is why we need a positive, winning strategy for Canadians. Our Conservative approach is basically to leave more money in the pockets of Canadians. Two months ago, we started a debate about transportation and gas taxes. That affects all Canadians, not just those who have a gas-powered car. We know that the goods we buy, like food, do not fall from the sky. These goods are transported, and, in many cases, gas is involved. This gas tax affects all Canadians. Our proposal was very clear: Abolish all federal taxes for the entire year. That would leave $5 billion more in the pockets of Canadians. We believe that people are better at managing their money than the government, to whom they send their money in the form of taxes. The government used our idea to fuel theirs, no pun intended. They decided to temporarily cut the excise tax by 10¢ for a few months. To paraphrase Neil Armstrong’s words in reverse, cutting the tax may be a giant leap for the Liberals, but it is a small step for taxpayers. That is why we need to go much further. Our approach is to abolish all federal taxes. That would leave $5 billion more in the pockets of Canadians. That is how we can help people. We also wanted to unlock the full potential of Canada’s natural resources. I have had plenty of opportunities to discuss this in my time here and on prior occasions when I was in the National Assembly. I am an ardent fan and strongly in favour of all the natural resources we have and all energy sources. When I talk about energy, I mean green energy, renewable energy and so-called fossil fuels. Canada has it all. Canada has every energy source that countries would go to war over. Canada has all the natural resources it needs to achieve its own and the planet’s full potential. Canada is ready to go. Unfortunately, the government spent a decade holding back the development that Canada needs, that Canadians need and that the whole world needs. The whole world needs more energy. It needs the natural resources and rare materials that Canada has. The way I see it, there is no such thing as going too far with any of this. Furthermore, we must continue to open the door to free trade with countries around the world. As I mentioned a few moments ago, that has been the case in Canada since Brian Mulroney’s terms in office, since the 1988 free trade agreement and since Jean Chrétien’s efforts to extend that North American agreement. I am also proud to add that, under Stephen Harper, we truly broke down barriers by concluding agreements with nearly 40 countries, and that is a good thing. I am very pleased to see that the current government is following in those footsteps. We must continue in this direction, while recognizing that Canada is a champion of free trade. If free trade creates real wealth for Canadians, then it should go hand in hand with lower taxes and lower taxation. If we are capable of that, if we are a global model for free trade, then we should also practise free trade within our own country. I therefore urge the government to go further. That is why, unfortunately, Canada is in a recession. Canada deserves better.”

“The government is not getting real results for Canadians. The Prime Minister promised to stand up to the United States, but he has been weak instead.”

“Mr. Speaker, I always appreciate the comments by my colleague from Winnipeg North, even if they are wrong. The problem is, where are the results? People are asking for real results. I am sure the member remembers well the campaign promise by the leader of the Liberal Party 15 months ago. He said it would be elbows up and he told America we would be strong again. When he got elected, he went to the White House. What did he do? It was far from elbows up. He was humble. What did he do a week ago? He went to New York. What did he say? He said we will make America great again. Who can believe it? This is the truth. This is the reality. Imagine if a Conservative had said that in New York. Those guys would have been in a nuclear war against us. The truth is that this country needs real effects and real results—”

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“The government should help businesses by finding new markets for their goods and cutting their taxes, not by giving out subsidies. This would leave them with more of their own money to invest, like helping lumber companies sell to other countries.”

“Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question and for standing up for the businesses in his riding and in his part of the country. He does a good job of representing those people, unlike what we have seen over the past 10 years. I want to point out that we think that all natural resources should be developed properly. The best way for the government to help businesses is to find markets for them, support them in their search for new markets and reduce the related tax burden. Giving out hundreds of thousands of dollars and subsidies is not going to help. Instead, the government needs to help businesses develop markets and ensure that they have more money in their coffers so that they can invest in the future with the help and support of governments. The government needs to give them more room to act by opening up markets. Canada has representatives around the world, so lumber from the Gaspé region could be sold around the world.”

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“The Liberals claim life has never been better for Canadians. But millions use food banks, crime is bad, and our economy is shrinking. Does the member really agree with the Liberals?”

“Mr. Speaker, when we listen to the Liberal government, we get the same message: Canadians have never had it so good. We have 2.2 million Canadians going to food banks every month. We have out-of-control crime. We have the only shrinking economy in the G7. We have the only shrinking economy among Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. About one-quarter of Canadians are living with food insecurity right now under the Liberal government. Does the member think Canadians have never had it so good, as the Liberals are claiming?”

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“The Prime Minister made a lot of promises about the economy, but he has not delivered any results.”

“Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his hard work, which I appreciate. I have known him for the last 10 years. He works hard for Canadians and the people in his riding. Let me be clear about this. Unfortunately, for all of the promises made by the Liberals, especially the Prime Minister we have right now who, in campaigns from coast to coast a year ago, said his way was the right way, it would be elbows up and we would be very strong because he knew about the banking system, there have been no results yet.”

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“Canada is the only G7 country in a recession, and we have the worst household debt and housing costs. The government cannot just blame global events for this. I want the government to admit this failure and present a real plan to fix our economy.”

“Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to speak to opposition motions. Today Conservatives call on the House to recognize that the Liberal Prime Minister has given Canada the only recession in the G7. It is so sad that it has come to this and that we have to call on the House to recognize the sad fact that Canada is in a recession and is the only country in the G7 for which that is the case. Why is Canada alone in the G7? The government has blamed international events and continues to blame international factors for Canada’s poor economic performance, but I point out to the House that every other G7 country faces the same international factors. The Liberals cite war in Ukraine, in the Persian Gulf and in Iran, but this affects all countries. They talk about the trade war that we certainly do not want and did not ask for in Canada, but I point out that the United States is tariffing itself. It faces tariffs. It has made the decision to make its own citizens pay tariffs on what it imports, yet it is not in a recession. It is Canada alone among G7 countries that is in a recession, so we have to look at other factors driving this. The Conservative motion calls on the government to recognize that Canada has the worst household debt in the G7. There was devastating testimony at the finance committee about a month ago. Equifax and TransUnion, two of the businesses that track consumer debt behaviour, informed the committee that indebted Canadians are getting deeper in debt. They are going further into debt, and the credit balloon is continuing to expand but not with additional players. It is not that Canadians are buying homes for the first time, or this kind of thing, and becoming new participants in credit. No, indebted Canadians are getting deeper in debt. They are coping with this not with higher salaries and higher incomes to pay their debts. They are stretching out their payments, refinancing their loans, skipping out on essentials, cutting back on other expenses and exhausting their savings. This is not sustainable. This is not going to give us a consumer-led recovery, because consumers are tapped out. In fact, Food Banks Canada just released a report that says that among lower-income Canadians, food, other essentials and housing combined are more than 100% of the average household budget. People at the lowest levels are the people getting deeper in debt. They cannot afford food. They cannot afford gasoline. They cannot afford housing. They are coping with it by exhausting any savings they might have and getting deeper into debt. Affordability is part of the crisis that we find ourselves in. With respect to housing, we call upon the government, in the motion, to acknowledge that we have the worst housing affordability in the G7. A first-time homebuyer, a young person or young family hoping to establish a new household and buy a home as part of a long-term financial plan or as a way to put down roots in a community, has not have a hope under the government. The Liberals have presided over the astonishing run-up in the cost of housing that has shut out a generation of young Canadians from home ownership and traps people in rents that they are increasingly unable to afford. Rent has more than doubled under the Liberal government. Even though rents have been coming down for the last 18 months, as it has pointed out, they are still more than double what they were when the government took office. We see housing as unaffordable. The Liberals have killed the dream of home ownership for a generation of Canadians. They have created a country in which one’s ability to become a homeowner is really tied up in the question of whether or not their parents were homeowners and are able to share their equity with their children by refinancing their own home, lending them the money, co-signing, or all the different things. I was in the mortgage industry, and for the entire length of my career, a normal person with a normal, proper job who wanted to buy a home could save up the down payment over a period of a year or two and could come in, qualify for a mortgage and buy a home. That is simply impossible now in almost all of Canada’s major cities. It is a real shame. We heard testimony to that effect at the finance committee. Our motion calls upon the government to present a plan to reverse the situation we are in. The Liberal government squandered the opportunity it had when it was first elected. Let us go back in time for a minute to 2015. In 2015, when the government was sworn in, it had a balanced budget and a conditionally approved pipeline to the west coast. Literally days after the government was sworn in, it cancelled the northern gateway pipeline. If that pipeline had been built, it would right now be pumping 525,000 barrels a day to world markets. Let us think of the economic activity just from that one project alone. At today’s prices, that is nearly $50 million a day. Let us think of the tax revenue foregone by the government. Let us think of the paycheques that do not exist from all the jobs that would go into the production and transmission of 525,000 barrels a day at today’s prices. The Liberal government blew it, and that was just one pipeline. There was also not yet an application, but there was an intent to build an east coast pipeline as well, and the government chased off that project when it started musing about changing, even before it put in Bill C-69, which really nailed the door shut and made sure no pipelines would ever get produced. What the Liberal government has done is it squandered the opportunity. There were years when there was a strong world economy in the early years of the Liberal government, and the Liberals blew it. They still ran up deficits. They spent the cupboard bare in times of relative prosperity globally. Ever since then, they have been less able to cope with crises and have left us where we are today, extraordinarily in debt with a $67-billion deficit that the government just tabled and fiscal anchors that have been just cut loose. They announce one and then they abandon it. The Liberals have presided over a productivity crisis that, two full years ago, the senior deputy governor of the Bank of Canada said was a break-glass emergency. Well, the Liberals did not break the glass and deal with the emergency. They have just fumbled along right up to this very day. The Prime Minister told everybody, about 15 months ago, that he was the man for a crisis and that he was the person who would have a deal with Trump’s America by July 2025. The Prime Minister said that this was the time for prudent fiscal management and that as a banker he had the skills to manage the national budget. He said that he was a man for a crisis. It was all an illusion. Here we are now at a time when we are in a recession. We are the most indebted country in the G7. We have food bank usage that is off the chart. We have housing that is staggeringly unaffordable. We have the same global concerns as every other country, but we are the one that is in a recession. The responsibility for that lies on the Prime Minister, and the 10 and a half years of financial and economic mismanagement that has occurred under the Prime Minister and the government’s watch.”