Mr. Speaker, I wish a happy birthday to your father. I am sure he is excited to watch the proceedings here every day.
Unfortunately, for me, this is not a happy occasion to be speaking in the House of Commons. It is my job to represent the electorate of Saskatoon West, to do things in their best interest and to put forward a positive vision of our great country.
I can say to the people back home in Saskatoon that the Conservative Party has a positive vision for this country, for Canada. We have a plan that will axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime. Conservatives, led by our leader, will fix what this costly NDP-Liberal coalition has broken. They do not have to worry. I will speak to the hopeful optimism that the leader of the Conservative Party is bringing to Canadians.
Like I said, today is not a good day, and it is because, instead of being able to speak to the great things Conservatives would do for Canadians, we are once again stuck here in the quagmire of an NDP-Liberal scandal. With another NDP-Liberal scandal, I can imagine people flipping the switch and tuning out right now. Canadians have heard this record on repeat for 10 years. Actually, it has been much longer than that. It goes back even further. At this point, Canadians are quite jaded to the graft corruption and outright illegality of the Prime Minister and his cronies.
Before us today is a simple issue: The House asked the government to provide documents related to the green slush fund to the RCMP because we are suspicious that the Liberals have been taking taxpayers' money and giving it to their friends and supporters. The government provided some documents but decided to black out much of the relevant data.
The Speaker's office ruled that the Liberals were wrong and had violated the rules of the House, so now the Liberals would rather gridlock Parliament than provide the blacked out information. There must be some nasty surprises lurking in those documents. I also want to remind everyone in the House that the Liberals could end their filibuster of Parliament by simply releasing the documents, but they seem to want to fight this one to the end. Again, I am curious to know what they are hiding.
This is history on repeat to many folks. It certainly is to me. I stand here in the House of Commons as a Conservative member of Parliament, but I must say that I have not always been partisan. Most of my adult life, I did my civic duty, just like most Canadians. I would look at the candidates running for election and then mark my ballot. I would pick my MP based on the leader who I thought would make the best prime minister, the party that had the best policy items and the local candidate who would best represent me in the House. Then I would go home and repeat that process four years later. That was it.
Then, the 1990s occurred, and the Liberal government members at that time did what they always did, which was to become arrogant and out of touch. It is so important to understand that Liberals behave a certain way. Just like the prior Liberal government collapsed in a pile of corruption, it appears that the current Liberal government is moving the same way, this time helped by the NDP. Twenty-five years ago, the Liberal corruption was a billion dollars wasted on a long-gun registry that was useless and ineffective; Jean Chrétien using his influence as the then prime minister to ensure that money flowed to a hotel owner in his riding, in a scandal known as Shawinigate; the billion-dollar boondoggle; and the even more staggering sponsorship scandal. These are the Liberal corruption scandals that convinced me that it was time to stop just marking my ballot and to take a keen interest in the workings of our government.
It appears that here again we have a story of Liberal corruption, but it is important to put it in context. One of the most egregious examples of Liberal mismanagement in our nation's history, the billion-dollar boondoggle, occurred in the 1990s under the Liberal government of Jean Chrétien. It was not a small oversight or an isolated mistake. It was systemic incompetence that cost Canadians over a billion dollars, money that was supposed to be used to create jobs and help hard-working families.
At the heart of that scandal was Human Resources Development Canada. An internal audit revealed that over a billion dollars in grants had been handed out without proper paperwork, oversight or accountability. Grant applications were incomplete or non-existent, and approvals were given based on politics, not on the quality of the application. Essentially, public money was being given out to Liberal insiders and supporters as a reward, the kind of corruption we expect to see in a third-world dictatorship, not in Canada. That was my introduction to the Liberal Party, the first time I really paid attention to politics. Billions of dollars had been funnelled into pet projects, wasted with no oversight and with no one held responsible. Canadians were promised better job opportunities and stronger communities. What did they get? A scandal that reeked of corruption and incompetence, with taxpayers left holding the bag.
Soon after came another dark chapter in our country's history of Liberal corruption, which was the infamous sponsorship scandal, also known as ad scam. This scandal represents one of the clearest examples of why Canadians can never trust the Liberal Party to responsibly handle their hard-earned taxpayer dollars.
In the early 2000s, an investigation revealed that, under the Chrétien Liberal government, millions of dollars were funnelled into a corrupt scheme under the guise of a national unity program. This sponsorship program, supposedly designed to promote Canadian unity in Quebec, became nothing more than a cash machine for Liberal-friendly ad firms and well-connected insiders. Public money was funnelled through advertising agencies that had close ties to the Liberal Party.
These companies received millions for doing next to nothing, and then conveniently donated a portion of that money back to the Liberal Party. This was a government caught red-handed using taxpayers' money to grease the palms of its political friends while Canadians were left paying the bills. Fortunately, Canadians saw through this and elected a Conservative government to clean up the mess. Does this sound familiar?
We know the importance of fiscal responsibility and transparency. That is why we are committed to fixing the damage caused by these corrupt and wasteful practices. Billion-dollar boondoggles and sponsorship scandals are what happens when the Liberals are in charge. There is waste, fraud and scandal. Let me remind the House that this is the same Liberal Party that continues to throw around billions in unchecked spending, all while raising taxes on the very people we are supposed to serve.
Conservative governments believe in fiscal responsibility, transparency and in being careful stewards of the hard-earned tax dollars of Canadians. We will not tolerate waste and mismanagement. It is time to axe the tax, fix the budget and put an end to the reckless spending habits of the Liberal government once and for all.
Sometimes we forget the impact the decisions made in the House have on Canadian people. The waste and graft that occurs through the Liberal mismanagement of public dollars impacts people in a very real way. Last week when I was home, I was reminded of this when I met somebody that has been impacted by this.
Stan Holcomb, born near Viscount, Saskatchewan, overcame the loss of his left leg to become an exceptional athlete and prosthetist. Raised on a family farm, he thrived in sports, learning to skate and swim with a prosthetic leg. In 1971, Stan joined the Saskatchewan Abilities Council, launching a 43-year career in prosthetics, and began competing in wheelchair sports.
He represented Canada in the 1976 Paralympics and was integral in founding the Canadian Amputee Sports Association and Canadian Association for Disabled Skiing. A passionate volunteer, he remains an avid golfer and dedicated sports supporter. A fixture in the Saskatoon community, Stan's dedication to hard work, personal responsibility and traditional values align closely with his Conservative principles.
Over the years, he has been an advocate for local causes and has remained committed to strengthening his community through volunteer work, youth sports and his unwavering belief in the values that have helped shape his life and career. Stan will be inducted into the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame on November 2, and it is no wonder.
Stan's beliefs and values are shared by all Conservatives and many Canadians. It is people like Stan who feel the pain of Liberal corruption. People like Stan end up paying the price of this corruption. When people get frustrated with the corruption, it leads to a change in government, like what happened in 2006 with the election of Stephen Harper's Conservative government.
The last time Canadians called in the Conservatives to clean up the Liberal mess, a great many things were accomplished. One of the ways Stephen Harper's government cleaned up the last Liberal mess was the Federal Accountability Act, which brought in new anti-corruption laws. We also created the independent office of the Ethics Commissioner and established the lobbyist registry. One of our proudest accomplishments was the creation of the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer.
Unfortunately, the Liberals have managed to find ways around all of these safeguards. It is almost like they have a special department in the Prime Minister's office dedicated to finding ways to skirt the rules.
What is the latest scandal that is paralyzing the House right now? It is the green slush fund scandal. It follows a typical Liberal pattern. The government decides that it needs a way to reward its friends and supporters by funnelling money to them. Then it finds a legitimate program tasked with dispersing vast amounts of money. In this case, it was a program to fund environmental projects. The government then encourages all of its friends to apply on the promise that they will be approved, regardless of the actual value of what is being done, and most do not do much of anything. Then the money flows and, boy, does it flow.
After that, the Liberals get caught. In this case, it was the Auditor General who investigated and ultimately found 400 million dollars of spending that was at risk and hundreds of conflicts of interest. Now we are trying to get Canadians the accountability that they deserve, but the government refuses to provide the documents to the RCMP. Here we are, and I will the remind the House that the government and the NDP-Liberals could end this right now by providing these documents to the RCMP.
What is the legacy of the NDP-Liberal costly coalition? It takes what is good and wonderful and blows it up. The Prime Minister, when he was simply the leader of the Liberal Party in 2015, ran an election campaign on the promise of blowing up Stephen Harper's legacy of achievement. To his credit, that promise made was a promise kept. It is perhaps the only promise the Prime Minister has ever kept, and it was the one to destroy everything good about Canada. He sure made good on that one, did he not?
Is there accountability in government? Not anymore. Are there people going to prison for committing violent crimes? Not anymore. Is the government treating taxpayer dollars with respect? Not anymore. Is the Prime Minister pitting one group of Canadians against another while they fight for table scraps? Yes. Indeed, he does that every day.
Whatever the NDP-Liberals can do to hurt Canadians and make them lash out at their neighbour, I assure members they will do that. Every single wedge issue they can find, they will use. Integrity, honesty, trust and truthfulness are all foreign concepts to that lot.
How do they fill the void when they have no values? They fill the void with deficits, deceit and drugs. These are the disastrous ideals driving the NDP-Liberal coalition. After nearly a decade of its reckless policies, we are seeing the devastating consequences of the deficits, the deceit and the failure to address the drug crisis.
First, the NDP-Liberals have run up record deficits, driving our national debt to unprecedented levels. Their out-of-control spending has fuelled inflation and made life unaffordable for countless Canadians. From rising grocery bills to soaring mortgage rates, Canadian families are struggling to make ends meet, all while the government continues to pour billions into misguided programs. These deficits are not just numbers on a balance sheet. They represent higher taxes, increased borrowing costs and a future burden on our children and our grandchildren.
The government's deceit has been just as harmful. The NDP-Liberals continue to claim that they are helping Canadians, but the truth is that they are making life harder. Time and again, they have promised transparency and accountability, yet they have consistently misled Canadians. Whether it is their failure to balance a budget or their mishandling of public funds, Canadians have every right to be outraged by the government's dishonesty.
We must also talk about the drug crisis. The NDP-Liberal government's approach to drug addiction has failed to keep our communities safe. Its so-called harm reduction polices have done nothing to curb addictions or support recovery. Instead, they have enabled dangerous drug use, leading to more deaths and an increase in crime across our communities. Canadians deserve better. A Conservative government would restore fiscal responsibility, put an end to deceitful policies and tackle the drug crisis, with a focus on recovery, treatment and community safety. It is time for real leadership that puts Canadians first.
Before Canadians are able to bring it home with real Conservative leadership, perhaps we need a reminder of why we are here today. Rampant corruption is the defining feature of the NDP-Liberal costly coalition. Let us dive right into these scandals: the so-called green slush fund, the arrive scam, the WE Charity scandal, the SNC-Lavalin affair and the Prime Minister's secretive trip to the Aga Khan's private island.
Let us start with the so-called green slush fund. As I said, it was under the guise of tackling climate change that the NDP-Liberal government used a fund that had little to do with real environmental action and more to do with lining the pockets of its well-connected friends. The Liberals funnelled billions of dollars into this fund without proper oversight or accountability. The real purpose was to have a way to funnel taxpayer dollars to their friends and allies. This misuse of taxpayer money is a betrayal of trust, particularly when Canadians are facing high inflation, rising energy costs and unaffordable housing. This is not in dispute. The Liberals themselves closed the whole thing down once the Auditor General shone a light on their corruption and deceit.
Canadians deserve better. They deserve a government that is honest, transparent and focused on real solutions, not on political gains.
Next, we have the ArriveCAN debacle, better known as the arrive scam. The government spent $54 million on an app that should have cost a fraction of that amount. When questioned, the Liberals could not even explain where the money went. ArriveCAN was supposed to make border entry smoother during the pandemic but instead it turned into a costly, unnecessary fiasco. Not only was the app riddled with glitches, causing confusion and chaos for travellers, but it also became clear that most of the money spent went to well-connected contractors rather than to the development of the app itself.
How did an app like ArriveCAN, which was later deemed unnecessary, cost $54 million? While Canadians struggled during the pandemic, the NDP-Liberal government was busy wasting millions on a failed app. Instead of owning up to its mistakes, it tried to shift the blame and avoid accountability. This is not leadership. This is corruption.
We then have the infamous WE Charity scandal. In 2020, the Liberal government handed nearly a billion-dollar contract to the WE Charity, an organization with close ties to the Prime Minister's family. This was supposed to be a program to help students during the pandemic, but it quickly unravelled when it became clear that this was yet another example of the Prime Minister using his office to benefit those close to him.
Multiple members of the Prime Minister's family, including his wife and brother, received payments from WE Charity, which raised serious questions about conflicts of interest. This is a clear violation of ethical standards, but instead of coming clear, the Prime Minister and his cabinet doubled down, refusing to take responsibility for their actions. The WE Charity scandal not only wasted taxpayer money, but also showed the extent to which the government is willing to go to enrich its friends and allies. The Ethics Commissioner found that the Prime Minister broke conflict of interest rules again, and once again there were no real consequences. Canadians deserve better.
Next up is the SNC-Lavalin affair, a scandal that shook the foundations of our democracy. In 2019, it came to light that the Prime Minister and his inner circle attempted to interfere in the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin, a Quebec-based engineering firm accused of bribery and corruption. When then attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould refused to bend to the Prime Minister's will, he retaliated by removing her from her role, demonstrating that the government prioritizes political favours over principles.
This is a direct attack on the rule of law in Canada. The Prime Minister and the government were willing to bend the rules, pressure the former attorney general and undermine the justice system, all to protect a corporation with deep political connections. This scandal was not just about SNC-Lavalin. It was about the lengths to which the Liberals would go to protect their own interests. It showed a complete disregard for the rule of law and an alarming willingness to interfere in the justice system for political gain. This is corruption at the highest levels, and Canadians deserve better.
Finally, let us talk about the Prime Minister's secretive trip. In 2017, it was revealed that the Prime Minister accepted a lavish vacation on the private island of the Aga Khan, a billionaire whose foundation receives millions in funding from the Canadian government. This was a blatant conflict of interest, and the Ethics Commissioner ruled that the Prime Minister had violated the Conflict of Interest Act. Despite this, there were no real consequences, and the Prime Minister brushed off the scandal as a misunderstanding. However, make no mistake: This was no simple misunderstanding. It was yet another example of the Prime Minister using his position of power for personal gain while ignoring the ethical standards that should guide all public officials.
Canadians expect their leaders to lead by example, to be transparent and to put the interests of the country ahead of their own. However, time and again, the Liberal Prime Minister has shown that he is more interested in helping his friends, bending the rules and avoiding accountability. Canadians are tired of the corruption, the scandals and the excuses. All of these scandals show a pattern of deceit, mismanagement and ethical violations from the NDP-Liberal government. It has betrayed the trust of Canadians and has proven time and again that it cannot be trusted to govern with integrity.
A Conservative government will put an end to this corruption. It will restore accountability, transparency and ethical leadership to Ottawa. Canadians deserve a government that works for them, not one that is mired in scandal and focused on enriching its friends. It is time to clean up the mess, restore integrity and bring real leadership back to Canada.
The time for excuses and corruption is over. Canadians are tired of a government that puts political insiders ahead of hard-working families. We need real leadership, not more scandals, waste and deceit. That is why we must hold a carbon tax election. We need an election to axe the carbon tax, which drives up the cost of living, making gas, groceries and heating unaffordable for millions of Canadians.
We need to build homes, not bureaucracy. Families are struggling to find affordable housing, and the NDP-Liberal government's policies have only made it worse. A Conservative government will fix this by empowering builders, cutting red tape and ensuring more homes are built faster to meet the needs of Canadians.
We must also fix the budget. Nine years of reckless Liberal spending, like the green slush fund, have driven up inflation, and Canadians are paying the price, with higher interest rates, less purchasing power and ballooning national debt. A Conservative government will restore fiscal responsibility, balance the budget and bring down inflation to help all Canadians.
We need to stop the crime that is plaguing our communities. Under the NDP-Liberal government, crime rates are rising, and its soft-on-crime approach has failed. A Conservative government will restore safety and order and bring order to our streets by enforcing tougher penalties and supporting law enforcement.
The next election will be about restoring common sense in government. It will be about bringing home lower taxes, affordable homes, fiscal responsibility and safe streets. It is time to end the corruption and bring home a government that works for the people. Let us bring it home.
