Mr. Speaker, in the big partisan circus that is the Conservative caucus, all members, whether they are ministers or backbenchers, are forced to repeat the PMO's favourite line: “You voted against it.”
These free-thinking Conservatives did not speak out against omnibus bills, gag orders or in camera meetings. No, they are concerned only about their own privileges.
They will continue to spout whatever is on the cheat sheet Ottawa has provided, and they will blame the opposition for voting against the budget.
Thanks to this ridiculous, simplistic logic, we now know that the Minister of National Defence is against veterans, because he voted against $17 million for St. Anne's Hospital.
The Minister of Human Resources is against affordable housing, because she voted against $1.6 billion in funding for affordable housing in 2005.
Canadians deserve better. They deserve an honest government and, in 2015, they can count on the NDP.