Mr. Speaker, it has been my guiding purpose in this House to stand for people who work hard, pay their taxes and play by the rules. I speak of those quiet souls who live in the suburbs, villages and countryside of my riding. While members across the way may mock such people, I speak of those quiet souls who live in my community, and around this place we do not hear enough from them.
After all, they do not have money for lobbyists, nor do they have time to attend protests, and they have none of the intemperance to demand more from others. They are too busy working, too busy taking children to hockey and soccer, too busy volunteering for their favourite charity. They are the carpenters and the cab drivers, waitresses and welders, builders and bricklayers, farmers and fishermen, engineers and entrepreneurs. An honest day's work is their request and the fruits of their labour are their reward.
So how can I honour that request and how can that reward be fulfilled? First, we can start by giving such people back what is theirs by lowering their taxes. Since taking office, we have lifted the heavy weight of government off of their backs. Because of this Prime Minister, they can now invest in the economy and enjoy the fruits of their investment with a tax-free savings account. Because of our Prime Minister, they can buy goods and services that their families need and pay less GST. Because of our Prime Minister, the average taxpayer in this country pays $1,500 less than before. Because of our Prime Minister, thousands more pay no taxes at all.
The second thing we must do is work in this House for these silent voices and not for the privileged interest groups that are here so often to ask for more of what others earn.
Take, for example, the Ottawa transit strike. After 51 days of gridlock and half a billion dollars in economic costs, our government moved to take the actions that ultimately ended that strike. Those in Ottawa know that throughout this time it has been fairly difficult. The Queensway has been a parking lot, seniors could not get their medication, employees could not get to work, and the poor and the most vulnerable could not get anywhere.
The noble purpose of protecting the downtrodden long ago gave birth to the union movement. How ironic, then, that this same union with this strike so punished Ottawa's most vulnerable. One lady of modest means in our community said that the strike effectively cut off her arms and legs. Another strike victim, named Anna, suffered most of all. The union strike forced her to walk 18 kilometres from her home at Bronson and Carling to her job in my neighbourhood of Barrhaven. A good Samaritan discovered her roadside in -25° weather. To get to and from work she had been walking a total of 12 hours a day.
The union bosses had demanded more “uncertified” sick days, that is, days off without a doctor's note. Like most people in the real world, Anna cannot take uncertified sick days until the strike is over. The union bosses demanded control over their work schedules, but like most people in the real world, Anna certainly did not have the ability to set her own schedule. Like most people in the real world, she was not able to simply go on strike when the going got tough. She has a living to earn, taxes to pay, responsibilities to meet and a sense of duty to shoulder. She has to live in the real world, and by moving to order the bus drivers back to work, we demonstrated that we do too.
I doubt that we will see her around this place lobbying or demanding more from others, but that does not change the central purpose of my seat in this House. My duty is to people like Anna and others, to those who work hard, to those who give what they can, to those who build this country. They work for their families, for their communities and for their country, and it is our duty to work for them.