Mr. Speaker, while the government dithers, the crisis worsens. People and businesses in Lakeland and Alberta are struggling. It is rippling through all sectors and across Canada. Alberta, from singlehandedly creating more than half the nation's jobs in 2011 as Canada's long-time economic engine, lost 100,000 jobs in the past year and is expected to lose 27,000 more in 2016.
Low oil prices and land-locked resources are not the only cause. Bad policy, mixed messages, and federal capitulation, to self-interested maligning here and abroad make things worse. The members opposite say they understand the human consequence of job loss. Those words are empty and do not put food on the table or pay the mortgage. Yesterday, the Liberals rejected a national tie that could bind us all economically, physically, and symbolically.
It is time for the government to show it truly cares about the magnitude and long-term impacts of the challenges hitting Alberta the hardest. The Liberals need to act in the best interests of my home province, which is in the best interests of Canada.