Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak today on the Speech from the Throne and its implications for residents in the riding of Kenora and those across northern Ontario. Unfortunately, the Liberal government's speech made one thing exceedingly clear, and that is that it has no plan to guide our country through this pandemic. The speech promised lots of new spending and plenty of recommitments to promises the government had already broken in the past, but the government has no plan to get our economy moving, no plan to address the health crisis nor any plan for the north.
The Liberals' slow response to COVID-19 has cost Canadians their jobs and their lives, and the government seems committed to its same failed approach. The speech contained no pledge to increase health transfers to the provinces, no plan to increase access to testing and no timeline for approvals of rapid at-home tests. The government has also been slow in its response to the pandemic in northern indigenous communities and has failed to deliver adequate support in a timely manner.
As I already noted, there was no plan to get our economy back on track. I have heard from countless business owners in my riding that the federal support programs that the Liberals came up with were not sufficient to cover their costs or any of their losses. Now the government is pledging to reform the business account and the business credit availability program, and I will be very interested to see what it is exactly that it comes up with.
The Conservative Party has been providing insight into many of the shortcomings of the government's pandemic support since this crisis began. We know the Liberals could have and should have acted much sooner than they did. They certainly did not need to prorogue Parliament. We note that the six-week suspension had nothing to do with helping northerners or Canadians, but had everything to do with covering up Liberal scandals.
Now as the economy of our country is attempting to bounce back from what truly was a devastating blow from COVID-19, we know that nearly one million Canadians are currently out of work as a result of the government's actions. The Liberals now claim that they can create one million new jobs with even more government intervention. This is a government that also claimed it would plant two billion trees and we know it has not planted a single one, so please forgive me if I do not have a lot of faith in its promise.
What northerners and all Canadians need right now is a plan to provide small businesses and the private sector with the opportunity to grow and prosper again. If the throne speech was any indication, the Liberals will continue to spend recklessly at a time when the government should be exercising ever more caution of how public funds are used. The last thing that hard-working families and businesses need as they begin to rebuild their lives after this crisis is to be hit with a huge tax bill to pay for Liberal overspending.
Let me be very clear. These are exceptional circumstances and many Canadians find themselves unemployed, underemployed or struggling to keep their businesses alive through no fault of their own. They need support to get through that. That is why the Conservatives supported many of the programs that were rolled out. We supported the emergency response benefit and the student benefit, and we convinced the government to provide a benefit top-up to Canadians who are gradually returning to work to make sure that there is always a financial incentive to do so. This new top-up is reflected in the government's Canada recovery benefit.
However, we also lobbied for the government to reform its business support programs and allow more Canadians to get more support faster. We also know if we want our social safety net to be sustainable for future generations, then we need to spend responsibly right now. The Liberals have shown time and time again that they have no idea how to prioritize when spending taxpayers' money and would rather hand over millions of dollars to their more connected friends than invest in legitimate projects to help Canadians.
The Liberal government is also ignoring many issues that are of importance to indigenous communities and those living in the north, such as the fact that it has recently walked back its promise to end all drinking water advisories on reserve. In fact, it was not even mentioned in the throne speech. What the Liberals did do was make some recommitments on issues like infrastructure gaps and food insecurity as well as Internet access, but these are all promises that the government has made before and we have seen very little improvement after five years of Liberal governance. Residents in my riding of Kenora and the territories and across northern Canada are not under the expectation that these promises are going to be anything more than just words.
For instance, I would like to talk about Internet access for northern communities. It is something that I have been fighting for since I was elected nearly a year ago. It is an issue that was top of mind for many folks in my riding and across Canada long before I was elected, yet there has been very little action from the Liberals. Residents in Yukon, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories have been especially disadvantaged by the gap that exists. We are now in the middle of a pandemic, forcing many people to work, attend classes or perhaps even act as government services from home, without any tangible commitments from the Liberals on how they are going to support people through that. I believe the necessity for reliable broadband is abundantly clear, given the fact that I am delivering this speech to the House of Commons through virtual means right now.
That is why, this past May, the Conservative Party released a list of recommendations that would bring Internet connectivity to all of Canada, including its rural, remote and northern parts. These are practical, common-sense policies that would provide relief in both the short term and the longer term. We look at a number of different things, including ways that we can increase competition and provide better services. I believe if the government wants to make good on its broadband pledge, it can start by immediately implementing many of the policies and solutions that we have put forth, as well as by reducing red tape for providers looking to deploy many innovative solutions. Unfortunately, if the government does not act soon, many people living in rural, remote and northern Canada will be left behind.
I must also say that I was glad to see that, in the new throne speech, the Liberal government finally acknowledged the tourism industry needs some help. Members from all parties have been lobbying for support since the crisis began, and there was no sign of movement from the Liberals. I signed a joint letter with a colleague from the NDP and even a member from the Liberals, urging the government to provide tourism support. There was still no response.
In the meantime, tourism operators in the riding of Kenora and across the north have lost their summer season. They have been forced to lay off employees and many are at risk of losing their businesses altogether. Frankly, many have also wasted capital on overhead and start-up costs for a summer season that never happened, in part due to the government's lack of clarity on how long the border closure would last. I do hope the government will finally step up and provide that support. However, I feel it will be too little, too late, for many.
While the Speech from the Throne mentioned food security, I am concerned about the lack of detail that was provided. If the Liberals are serious about ensuring food security and lowering the cost of delivering it in the north, they need to commit to serious investments in transportation and infrastructure. The current programs and structures put in place by the government have actually led to an increased prevalence of food insecurity across the three territories, as well as in many northern and indigenous communities in my riding.
That is why economic development must be a central focus for our country, and more specifically northern economic development. Whether it is natural resources, transportation or tourism, I believe northern Canada has the potential to drive our economic recovery and provide the revenues that will help close the gap of food insecurity. Unfortunately, we did not see any of those details in the throne speech. In fact, one of the only things that the Liberals were explicitly clear about was that they are hoping to further restrict firearms rights, which is a direct attack on the way of life in northern and indigenous communities.
Going into the new session of Parliament, I hoped the government would present a new plan to bring Canada through this crisis. It is clear to me now that the Liberals have no such plan.
Canada's north is a region with immense opportunities, but the government has been trying for many years to dismantle the northern economy and is failing to provide adequate housing and social supports. The Conservative Party will continue to hold the Liberals to account and to provide a compassionate and ethical government in waiting, and we will fight for a stronger response to this health crisis across Canada and ensure northern regions have the tools and the support they need.
We will get our economy back on track. We will provide small businesses the opportunities to thrive in this unprecedented challenge. As always, we will continue to be a voice for northern Canada.