Mr. Speaker, everybody loves the underdog. Think of great movies, like Rocky, Rudy, or Will Smith's, The Pursuit of Happyness, or think of the great legends of David and Goliath or Robin Hood.
Speaking of Robin Hood, our Liberal opponents are always telling us that we need big government, to take from the rich and give to the poor. Why is it that big government always seems to send the money in the opposite direction? Think about the Bombardier bailout, which would take a billion middle-class tax dollars and give them to a company of billionaire owners and millionaire executives; or there is Ontario's so-called Green Energy Act, which forces low-income families to pay inflated electricity bills that subsidize millionaire insiders with green energy contracts; and there are the government-mandated taxi cartels that allow millionaire taxi plate owners to rip off cab drivers and their passengers.
Those who have the money to lobby government and game the rules of government always win with bigger government. The underdogs, by contrast, have to fight their own battles. We need to fight alongside them. That means fighting for immigrants who are qualified engineers and doctors working minimum-wage jobs because bureaucracy prevents them from getting a licence to practise their profession.
It means fighting for small businesses that pay too much tax. It means fighting for lower taxes for low-income people, so that work always pays more than welfare. Speaking of welfare, we should get tough on welfare for the incompetent millionaire CEO who is back at the trough seeking yet another bailout or handout from working-class taxpayers.
This is what it means to stand up for the underdog, for the people who work hard, pay their taxes, and play by the rules. They too often are forced to shoulder the burdens of wealthy insiders who take advantage of big government to profit and enrich themselves.
I ask today if the government will stand on the side of Canada's underdogs by keeping its promise to lower taxes for small businesses from 10.5% to 9%, allowing those businesses to create jobs and opportunity for all Canadians.