Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the hon. member for Barrie South—Innisfil.
When the Liberals first took office in 2015, they told Canadians that a bit of red ink would buy prosperity, that deficits would fuel growth and investment and that Canada would be better off. After nearly a decade of the record showing the opposite, we have to wonder if we should still keep going in this direction. We have had record borrowing and record spending, with record debt and hardship among Canadians. Investment per worker has fallen by more than 10%; economic growth per capita is the worst in the G7, and the current Prime Minister has caused 86,000 jobs to be lost, resulting in the second-highest unemployment rate in the G7. The new Prime Minister is just like the old one: more spending, more borrowing and more pain for hard-working Canadians.
Behind every number is a person, a story deserving to be known. A few weeks ago, I spoke with Joy, a woman from my community who uses a wheelchair and lives on a fixed income. She called to tell me how desperate she has been in trying to find accessible housing. She has done everything she can. She is responsible, organized, determined and working hard, but as rents climb and the cost of living rises, every apartment she looks at is out of her reach. She told me she just wants a place where she can live with dignity. Is this not what most people want? These are the very basic necessities of life, and she just wants a place where she can live with dignity. My question for the government is what it would like me to tell her. What do I tell someone like Joy, who is doing all she possibly can but is not able to afford a basic roof over her head?
Then there is Susie. Susie is a senior in my riding who reached out to me. She has worked hard her entire life, raised her family and contributed to the community. She pays her taxes faithfully. Now, in retirement, she finds herself unable to afford groceries and rent. She has to choose between the basic necessities of affording her rent or putting proper groceries in her fridge. Of course, the roof over her head is most important in her view, so she pays the rent, but she has turned to skipping meals in order to make it.
This is Canada, one of the richest nations in the world, yet our seniors are being forced to choose between food and rent. There is nothing else to point to other than government policy. It is not the sign of a healthy economy. It is the consequence of years of reckless fiscal policy that has driven up inflation, raised interest rates and punished those who have worked hard their whole lives. This is happening not just to seniors or those with a disability but to working families too.
A couple who would prefer not to be named sat down with me and shared that both of them are working full time. They have three kids and are doing their best, but, at the end of the day, they are not able to afford the things they require as a family. These people have chosen to start skipping meals in order to make sure that their kids have enough to eat and that they can continue to put a roof over their head and function as a family unit. I could go on and on. There are dozens of these stories that come into my office almost monthly, and it keeps getting worse as time goes on. Folks have done everything right, but, for some reason, cannot get ahead.
This is what happens when a government spends beyond its means. Inflation is not an abstract concept; it is a thief, and it is the result of the government. It erodes purchasing power, punishes responsibility, makes the poor poorer and shrinks the middle class, yet the Liberal government continues to insist that deficits somehow make life more affordable and somehow Canadians are going to get ahead.
They are not. The truth is the opposite. Every dollar the government borrows today is a dollar that people like Joy, Susie or the hard-working couple have to pay back. It is on their backs. It becomes their responsibility because of the government's irresponsibility.
Just the other day, I overheard my office manager in the constituency talking to my intern. She was explaining to my intern that when people call or come into the office, sometimes they sound upset or maybe even a bit angry; sometimes, that can be a bit uncomfortable. However, my office manager put it into perspective. She offered an explanation and said that when they come in, they are not trying to be mean and they are not trying to be rude; they are desperate because of fear. They are afraid because they cannot afford rent. They are afraid because they cannot afford food. They are afraid because they cannot pay their bills, and they are desperate for help. They are afraid of what the future holds, because they do not see hope in it.
This insight reminded me of what is really at stake here. Behind policy debates and behind the economic charts and forecasts are millions of Canadians who are afraid. They are afraid they will lose their jobs, afraid they will be without a home and afraid they will never get ahead or be able to step into that opportunity that they so long for. These are the people I visit with each and every day when I am in my constituency. These are the people who share their stories with me, and they just want a fair shot at life. They need Canada to be as it once was, a place where opportunity is great and where the chance to get ahead is normal.
The Liberals told Canadians that their deficits would grow the economy from the heart out. How is that working? It is not. Instead, they have grown debt; they have grown dependence, and they have grown despair. That is what is on the current government's record. Since 2015, business investment in Canada has fallen off a cliff by about half a trillion dollars. It has gone south of the border. Companies do not want to invest here because they see a government that is hostile to them, a government that actually wants those jobs to go south, as the Prime Minister has promised. He wants to send not just half a trillion dollars but a trillion dollars; that is his latest promise.
The Liberals have been trying to convince Canadians that more spending is the solution to every problem that their spending has already created. If we would just take a second to consider that, it is like pouring gasoline on a fire to put it out. That is what the government is offering. That is what we can expect in the November 4 budget from the government: more spending to put out the fire that its inflationary spending has already caused. It is ludicrous.
The truth is simple. Government does not create wealth; it takes it from those who do, which means it is incumbent upon governments to be wise stewards. Every dollar government spends is taken from a taxpayer. It is taken from Joy, Susie and the hard-working couple I referenced earlier.
I want to be clear: The motion we are discussing today is not just about numbers; it is about people. It is about Joy, it is about Susie, and it is about that couple in my riding. Canadians are strong. They are resilient and hopeful, but they are losing faith in the current government, in the leaders of the day. Who can blame them? After nearly a decade of Liberal promises, Canadians are worse off than ever before. They need a government that respects their money, that lives within its means and that restores common sense to our economic decisions.
Conservatives are calling on the current Liberal government to stop its wasteful spending, which fuels inflation; to bring investment back to our country rather than sending it south of the border; and to make life affordable for hard-working Canadians again. I urge every member in the House to listen to the stories in their communities, to hear the pain and the anxiety behind the statistics and to recognize that the Liberal government's decisions are failing Canadians. Let us stop repeating Justin Trudeau's and the current Prime Minister's policies, and let us stop mortgaging our children's future. Instead, let us start building a Canada where every person, regardless of income or circumstance, has the opportunity to thrive. It is time to put those people, Canadians, first. It is time to rein in spending and be responsible.