Linked statement

“I want the House to pass our motion to remove taxes on diesel. High fuel costs are hurting small businesses. The government's bills give the Prime Minister too much control over which projects get built instead of fixing the rules for everyone. The government needs to cut taxes and work with Conservatives to help our economy.”

“Madam Speaker, it is an honour to rise at the end of this incredible debate that has been going on in the people’s House of democracy: the House of Commons. The government has, before this House, Bill C-39. About a year ago, we voted on Bill C-5. A year ago, we were promised and we were told by the Prime Minister that the bill before this House would be instrumental in breaking down barriers, would lead to new investment and would unleash the Canadian economy like we had never seen before. One year later, we are not that much further ahead. Canadians, frankly, expected more announcements, bigger announcements and more things through the Major Projects Office, which was established in that legislation. My big worry, and the point I would like to raise today in my limited time, is that what we are seeing with the government is a policy of workarounds and build-arounds. For 10 years under Justin Trudeau, it was wrong for Liberals to speak about building energy infrastructure. They were chastised for it. They were not allowed to speak about Canada’s benefits. The former member for North Vancouver, Jonathan Wilkinson, said there was no business case for building energy projects in Canada. Justin Trudeau, in some of his last acts as Prime Minister, said to Europe that there was no business case for us to sell our oil and gas, our resources, in a responsible way to our European allies. I am very happy today that the Prime Minister has changed his tone and has started to do some positive things for Canada by acknowledging that we have to use our resources for the betterment of Canada and for what this country can be. That is positive. However, unfortunately, despite the workarounds and the build-arounds that he is putting in place, because of the political pressure of the extremist left in the Liberal Party, we are not seeing the real transformations we need to see from a regulatory perspective in Canada to unleash the entirety of Canada’s economy. Why do I mention this? Under Bill C-39 and Bill C-5, so much of the power rests with the governor in council, the Prime Minister’s Office. It is not in the hands of small businesses. It is not in the hands of investors. It is in the hands of the Prime Minister. I do not want to create a command economy. That is not a long-term solution to the challenges Canada is facing today. The only way for Canada to succeed long term is to complete the erasure of Justin Trudeau’s march to socialism and give Canadian businesses the certainty they need and the assurances they need. The framework for doing business in Canada is not one path over here, one through the Major Projects Office and one through a cabinet minister’s office. We need one way for any project to move forward, not the chosen projects of the Government of Canada. That is not a safe approach and that is not a sustainable approach. Today, the Conservatives have put forward a motion asking for taxes on diesel to be removed. One of my best friends, Anthony Geertsma, called me the other day. Anthony is one of the smartest guys I know. He can fix literally anything and he makes a living doing just that. However, he said, as a business owner, his costs are skyrocketing because he is driving between Langley, Abbotsford and Chilliwack every single day, and diesel prices have more than doubled. He can remember when he was paying half of what he is paying today just to do business. That is not sustainable. The Conservatives are putting forward this motion because we need to get back to basics. We need to empower our small business owners who already are in Canada with tax changes that would allow them to flourish. This is one small step that is part of a bigger project for energy independence and for broad-based reform that would help our small business owners. These are changes that Canadians want to see and that will trickle down to grocery stores. To conclude my remarks today, we cannot simply rely on big projects, workarounds and build-arounds. We need to focus on structural reforms that complete the erasure of Justin Trudeau’s socialist policies, which put our country so far back. We have to be responsible, and we have to work together. Conservatives are asking the Liberals to put aside their partisanship and to work with us for the betterment of our country. We have to stand up for Canada. They are not doing enough to stand up for Canada. Here, on this side, we are going to stand up for Canada. We are going to stand up for Canada, because we cannot entrust the well-being of Canada’s economy to one man. Again, we ask the Liberals to please work with Conservatives. Stand up for Canada. If they believe their words about being at economic war with the United States and the need for energy independence, please work with us. Protect our sovereignty. Their approach is not doing that. They should listen to the ideas from this side of the House. We have good ideas, and they are going to make measurable changes in the lives of Canadians. Please, put aside partisanship. Stop the internal battles between the blue Liberals and the red Liberals, and just stand for Canada with the Conservative Party of Canada.”