Mr. Speaker, the Liberal sponsorship scandal is a grievous breach of the public trust and a serious waste of taxpayers' money.
Nova Scotia in the past year has faced several financial challenges as a result of storms, floods and hurricanes. The $250 million wasted on the sponsorship scandal is roughly equal to the average annual taxes paid by 30,000 Nova Scotians. In other words, almost all of the taxes paid by 30,000 Nova Scotians last year simply vanished.
Other choices would have better served the South Shore. The sponsorship money would have paid eight years of salary for 20 new nurses in my riding. It would have hired 20 police officers for eight years and given each of them a new cruiser. It would have paid four years of university tuition for 360 deserving South Shore students, and that is only 1/25th of the money the Liberals gave to their friends. The money belonged to the citizens of Canada, not Liberal cronies.
From coast to coast, Canadians deserve better.