Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise in this House as the new member for Battlefords—Lloydminster. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my family, my friends, and the many volunteers whose dedicated support and encouragement brought me here today.
I would also like to thank the constituents of Battlefords—Lloydminster for putting their trust in me to be an effective voice for our communities. I am proud to represent a riding that cherishes and promotes Canadian values, including freedom of conscience, freedom of thought, and freedom of belief, all of which are fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights.
The government has a responsibility to protect these rights for all Canadians, yet the Liberal government is holding taxpayer funds hostage from those Canadians who do not share its beliefs. Asking applicants to the Canada summer jobs program to disavow their personal beliefs is completely unacceptable. I call on the government to put aside party politics and to remove the Liberal values test from the Canada summer jobs application.