Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to respond to the hon. member for Malpeque, though I must say that I find it quite ironic. The hon. member seems to have completely forgotten the days of the sponsorship scandal, which his party and Liberal government allowed under its watch. It was a scandal that saw millions of tax dollars wasted on egregious kickbacks and party favours to Liberal donors and friends.
On this side of the House, we respect the hard-earned tax dollars of Canadians. That is why our government has maintained the highest level of accountability when spending tax dollars.
Since taking office, our government has reduced the cost of travel by 15% and accommodations by nearly 8% for ministers from the high levels that were the norm under the Liberal Party when it was government.
We are a government that respects the Canadian taxpayer and has delivered results. Whether it be helping young Canadians with access to labour markets through our youth employment strategy or stimulating small business growth through the extension of the hiring credit for small businesses, our government is committed to ensuring that Canadians get value for their money. We respect their hard-earned tax dollars.
With respect to the comments regarding the ministers of the House, I will to reiterate what I said last evening: This government acts to protect Canadians. The health of Canadians is the government's first priority. We have increased the number of food inspectors by over 700 persons, by over 170 meat inspectors in fact. This is something that we have acted and moved forward on to protect Canadians and their health. The opposition members have voted against all of these increases.
Suffice it to say, the member has it wrong. I encourage the member to remember the sponsorship scandal, the reason why we are in government, because we are accountable and take account of Canadian taxpayers' dollars. The Liberals seem to have forgotten how to do that.