Mr. Speaker, steelworkers are the backbone of our nation, and the products they make are the bones of our economy. We cannot have a modern economy without steel, and Canada's steel sector has been under attack from American tariffs and the Canadian government's taxes.
Steelworkers go to work every day, work in difficult conditions and bring home a paycheque for their families to raise their kids in the hopes that their children will have the same opportunity that they had. The member for Edmonton Griesbach could tell us all about that. His father worked at the Algoma plant in Sault Ste. Marie for 30 years, so for him, it was personal when he learned that one-third of those incredible workers would be losing their jobs.
A thousand families sat around dinner tables last night, wondering how they would pay their mortgages. Fathers had conversations with their children, saying they will not be able to register for soccer or hockey for the next season. Mothers and fathers tossed and turned in their beds, wondering what their future looked like and whether they would have to move.
This is after the Prime Minister looked them in the eyes and promised that he would protect their jobs. He said he would negotiate a win with President Trump to end the tariffs and there would be a deal by July 21. That was last summer. He missed his self-imposed deadline. He said he would be “elbows up”, and now he says, “Who cares?”
Those families care. I want them to know that we Conservatives care about them. We want to fight for their jobs every day and in every way.
We want to know, in an emergency debate, why the Prime Minister gave $400 million in tax dollars, money that came from hard-working people who are struggling to pay for their groceries and their mortgages, without getting job guarantees. It rips off both taxpayers and workers. It is another bait and switch by the Prime Minister.
On behalf of all those families, we want the answers to those questions. We want an end to the Prime Minister's Liberal industrial carbon tax on steel production, which makes it even more difficult for Canadian steelmakers to compete with their American counterparts. Trump's tariffs plus the Liberal taxes are driving jobs south of this country. That is why we, as Conservatives, are fighting back.
We want to get a fair deal, without tariffs, with the Americans. We want an end to the industrial carbon tax. We want to make sure that $400 million results in job guarantees, because that is what taxpayers paid for. However, to get any of that, we need a debate on the floor of the House of Commons to put forward the positive ideas, protect paycheques and make sure that the vital industry of steel is strong here in this country.
That is what we are fighting for. It is for the Canadian people who work hard to be able to have good jobs and buy food and affordable homes in safe neighbourhoods and a nation that puts Canada first.