Mr. Speaker, when Canadians opened the budget, they were shocked. They were shocked because the Prime Minister promised he would be different from Justin Trudeau. He promised fiscal responsibility. He promised to reduce spending. He promised to lower the debt-to-GDP ratio. However, it was all show.
Canadians now see the truth. Instead, the Prime Minister has delivered the largest deficit outside COVID, at a staggering $78 billion, but there are some people celebrating. I could almost hear the bankers and bondholders clinking their champagne glasses, thrilled about higher inflation and interest rates that will put more money in their pockets. The global elites are grinning too, because the Prime Minister quietly removed the luxury tax on yachts and private jets. However, the middle class are the ones who were fooled. As the saying goes, “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”
As I read through the pages of the budget, I was struck by what was not there. There was not a single meaningful measure to confront the drug and addictions crisis devastating our communities. For a decade, the Liberals have normalized drug use. They have promoted the consumption of illegal drugs, such as crack cocaine, meth and fentanyl, under the guise of safe supply. There is nothing safe about fentanyl. There is nothing safe about enabling someone to slowly poison themselves to death, yet the Minister of Health continues to make drugs more accessible and treatment harder to find. If it sounds insane, that is because it is.
Let us look at the facts. The Liberals approved the decriminalization of hard drugs in British Columbia. The then associate health minister signed an exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act that legalized drug use across the province. What has this experiment produced? If the minister walked down East Hastings Street in Vancouver as I did this last month, she would see what happens when government enables drug use. It is not just crime and chaos; it is costing lives too.