Mr. Speaker, whether someone lives in Toronto or a small town in southeast Saskatchewan, every dollar that Ottawa spends beyond its means ultimately comes out of the pockets of Canadians, either through taxes today or inflation tomorrow. Families in my riding tell me the same thing over and over: They are working harder than ever and somehow falling further behind.
I have spoken with farm families, the people who feed this country and the world, who have found themselves relying on the food bank for the first time. It is not because they are not working hard; they are. It is because the cost of running a farm, including fuel, fertilizer, insurance and machinery, has outpaced the market and the market's return. In fact, farm receipts have fallen by 26% according to FCC.
This budget only worsens that reality by maintaining the industrial carbon tax, which hikes the cost of food production and transport; increasing the regulatory burden on resource development, making energy more expensive; and adding new layers of bureaucracy instead of reducing costs for families and businesses. A government that claims affordability is its priority cannot pass a budget that consistently pushes Canadians toward the breaking point. It is a real missed opportunity to strengthen Canada's resource economy.
Bill C-15 continues a troubling pattern of policies that undermine the industries that have historically built and funded Canada's prosperity. In Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Newfoundland and Labrador, energy and mining are not abstract concepts. They are paycheques, municipal tax bases and the economic backbone of entire regions. These industries want to innovate, reduce emissions and expand opportunity, but they cannot do that when the federal government treats them as something to be managed rather than partners in national prosperity.
The budget implementation act does nothing to reverse the damaging emissions cap on oil and gas; create certainty for pipeline and export projects; provide competitive incentives for Canadian potash, uranium, helium and rare earths; or help provinces build the infrastructure needed for the next generation of small nuclear reactors. This is not a regional argument. A strong resource economy is a national benefit. Every hospital, school and road in this country has been financed in part by the power of the resource-producing provinces. When the federal government undermines these industries, the entire country loses.
As someone who has served at the provincial level, I have a deep respect for the constitutional division of powers. Provinces understand their communities, industries and local needs far better than Ottawa ever can. However, Bill C-15 accelerates a trend of federal expansion into areas that were never intended to be directed from the capital. Whether it is intrusion into natural resource development, agriculture, labour markets or local infrastructure priorities, this budget assumes Ottawa always knows best. Local governments, provincial and municipal, need flexibility, not a one-size-fits-all directive buried in a 600-page document. Conservatives believe in restoring respect for the federation. We believe in partnership, not paternalism.
One of the most troubling parts of the budget is how much of the new spending goes not to frontline services but to expanding bureaucracy. Canadians do not need more gatekeepers. They need timely, reliable, efficient service from the government they fund. However, we have seen longer passport delays, slower immigration processing, inconsistent service from EI and CPP call centres, and growing regulatory backlogs at CFIA and PMRA that hurt farmers, processors and exporters. Despite record spending, Canadians are getting worse results. Bill C-15 does nothing to correct this.
Having spent years doing business internationally, I can say with certainty that countries that succeed over the long term do two things really well. They create stable conditions for investment, and they foster a regulatory environment that rewards productivity, innovation and growth. Canada is falling behind in both. Meanwhile, our trading partners, notably the United States, are attracting investment at a pace we are not matching. That has direct consequences on jobs, wages and long-term prosperity. This budget should have been an opportunity to signal to the world that Canada is open for business again. Instead, it signals that Canada is doubling down on complexity, cost and uncertainty.
For over two decades, I lived and worked in countries transitioning from centralized control to open markets. Those experiences taught me this simple truth: The more government tries to control every aspect of the economy, the more productivity fails, the more investment dries up and the more ordinary people struggle. I see the echoes of those systems in the growing federal bureaucracy, in the layering of regulation upon regulation, and in Ottawa's insistence that central planners know better than workers, farmers, entrepreneurs or provinces. The lesson from overseas is clear: Prosperity grows from the bottom up, not the top down. That is a principle Conservatives embrace and that this budget ignores.
Canadians deserve a budget that reflects their priorities, not Ottawa's priorities. Conservatives will bring forward a plan grounded in three core commitments: restore affordability and lower the cost of living by axing the carbon tax and reducing unnecessary regulation and costs, strengthening competition to lower grocery and housing prices, and stopping inflationary deficits that erode household spending power; unleash the private sector by removing the barriers to resource development, accelerating approvals for energy, mining and agricultural innovation, and supporting interprovincial trade and labour mobility through initiatives like blue seal licensing and shovel-ready zones; and respect provincial and municipal authority by empowering local governments rather than micromanaging them from Ottawa, reforming federal departments to deliver timely, efficient service, and investing in national infrastructure only in partnership with provinces, which know their priorities best. This is the path to a more confident, prosperous and united Canada.
Canadians are experiencing one of the most challenging economic periods in recent memory. They needed a budget that recognized the hardship they are facing, respected the federation, supported the industries that sustain our country and restored conditions for economic growth. Bill C-15 does none of that. Instead, it doubles down on overspending, overreach and policies that undermine affordability and competitiveness.
That is why Conservatives will oppose this bill and continue to stand up for families, workers, farmers and businesses who need a government that is on their side. Canada has unlimited potential. What we need now is leadership that trusts Canadians, empowers provinces, respects taxpayers and unleashes the strength of our private sector. Those are my remarks on Bill C-15.