Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House, but I am not doing so to defend the Prime Minister, to speak on behalf of the former attorney general of Canada or because my colleagues keep attacking my government. I am doing so to stand up for my riding. That is what matters here today.
What would each member do if over 9,000 jobs in Canada were in jeopardy? This would be like losing 400 or 500 jobs in my riding. The largest employer in my riding employs 400 people. I have been asked whether I would be prepared to look those workers in the eye and tell them that they are going to lose their jobs, that their families are going to be affected and they are going to lose their pensions because three or four people within the company are corrupt. I can assure the House that I would work incredibly hard to protect those jobs, and I would not apologize for it. I would have no choice, because those workers are the ones who elected me, and that is my role as their member of Parliament.
At the end of the day, I want to ensure that the middle class is doing well, and that is what we are doing as a government. The Prime Minister has always focused on the middle class and those working hard to join it. We have seen that our policies are working. We targeted poverty. We know that our measures have lifted 825,000 families out of poverty. Ultimately, that is what matters.
Today, I know that we are seeking to determine whether there were misunderstandings between the former attorney general and certain employees of the Prime Minister's Office. However, all members of the House, whether or not they are ministers, would do the same thing.
I heard my colleagues opposite speak about Alberta. I know that they would do the same thing to protect jobs in Alberta, as would the four Alberta MPs on this side of the House. That is why we bought a $4.5-billion pipeline. I never saw the former Harper government do that.