Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise in the House of Commons and speak to any issues, even if they are issues like this.
I listened to the member for Newton—North Delta. I asked her if she had researched and taken a look at the manifest to see how many times individuals outside of government had actually been on the plane. One would think that would be something that the opposition members would look at if they were going to take an entire day of the House of Commons’ time, that they might actually do a little research. But the answer was “I don't know, I didn't look into it; you guys have that information”. All Canadians have that information because it is made public.
Imagine this: a full day of the House of Commons’ time when we have issues with respect to our economy, with respect to our natural resources and environment, issues with respect to the situation in Ukraine and the incredible leadership the Prime Minister has shown to bring the world community onside. What do NDP members want to talk about? A topic that they know nothing about, that they have not researched but have tried to score some silly, cheesy political points with. This is a sad commentary on what the NDP has become.
New Democrats are like a stinky skunk in a corner. They are the shadow of what they used to be; a party that used to stand for something in this place, that on occasion used to fight for the things they actually believed in. Now they are like a scared little skunk in a corner, ready to spray that smelly spray one last time before they go into oblivion. That is what they have become. They get up in the House, day in and day out, and talk about all the bad things that everyone else is doing. This is a party whose leader has been ordered by Parliament to appear in front of a parliamentary committee to answer questions about the potential abuse of taxpayers' money. The leader of the NDP has been ordered by the House of Commons to appear in front of a parliamentary committee. It is absolutely shameful.
Are we talking today about the economy and the fact that the government has created over one million new jobs? No, we are not, because the NDP has decided to talk about something else. Are we talking about the very important priority of making sure we get a pipeline to the west coast so that we can extract our natural resources and create jobs? No, we are not talking about that. Are we talking about grain, the fact that our farmers have done such a great job and the yields have increased so much and that the government has taken action to make sure that the crop gets to port and around the world? Are we talking about that? No, we are talking about the fact that over eight years, the Prime Minister has on eight occasions taken an individual who is not part of the government on a Challenger jet. That individual has been asked to pay back the equivalent cost.
New Democrats say this does not exist. Two seconds on a website would show that 12 fares by WestJet actually exist. I know members over there may not take WestJet, but it proves that those types of flights are available. More importantly, the members are saying, “Do as we say, not as we do”.
A very close friend of the Prime Minister visited at his home. Someone the Prime Minister has known for many years was going back home at the same time as the Prime Minister, to the exact same airport because they were flying out of the Ottawa Airport. There are 7 to 8 extra seats on the plane, but he is not supposed to go on that one; he has to go somewhere else. It is absolutely ridiculous.
It is another reason why, after 16 straight elections, the NDP has never had the opportunity to sit on this side of the House. Canadians know full well that New Democrats cannot be trusted anymore. It is not the same party that used to stand for something. They stand for nothing. They are a shameful disgrace of what they used to be; a party that sometimes Canadians would look at.
They used to call themselves the party that would stand up for some of the moral values in the House. Now they are nothing but smelly, stinky skunks—