My apologies, Madam Speaker.
I have stood in the House time and time again calling on the government to invest in Alberta, and I am sure that my Conservative colleagues in the House agree with me when I say that Albertans have been left out in the cold. Albertans have been abandoned by their federal government and are rightfully angry.
I know people are hurting all across Canada. COVID-19 has taken our loved ones and wreaked havoc with our economy. In Alberta, the damage that COVID-19 has caused is just the tip of the iceberg. Prior to COVID-19, Alberta was headed for an economic crisis, with the highest unemployment rates in the country and an economy built on a plummeting price of oil. None of that has changed.
Albertans were hurting before the pandemic and Albertans will still be hurting long after this pandemic is over. Last week, I met with workers from the building trades who told me that 50% of them are out of work. Imagine knowing that when this horrible nightmare of COVID-19 is over, people will still have nothing to go back to, that their future will be just as bleak.
Instead of fighting with our most important customer over a pipeline that stands to create fewer than 2,000 Albertan jobs, I am asking the government to help Alberta diversify. I am asking the government to partner with Albertans to rebuild and diversify our economy. I am asking the government to create jobs in Alberta in more sustainable sectors of our economy like agriculture, food products and tourism.
We are at a critical point in our history. Will we help Alberta transition? Will we create a future for my province or will we just abandon it to the likes of Jason Kenney? Alberta workers are waiting for the government's answer.