Mr. Speaker, today young people realize they cannot afford rent, let alone a home of their own. This is not normal. Across our cities and towns, tent encampments replace parks, as needles and crack pipes fill our streets and streetcars. Canadians are told to accept chaos as compassion. Small businesses board up. Even full-time workers are using food banks. This is not normal. Violent crime climbs, repeat offenders walk the streets and communities live in fear. Churches are burned, synagogues are vandalized and people of faith wonder when it became too dangerous to open their doors or speak their minds.
None of this is normal. Canadians are being told to lower their expectations and accept this decay as the new normal. A country this rich and this capable should not feel this hopeless. We can restore safety, make homes attainable, reward work and fix what families depend on, instead of creating dependence on Ottawa. What Canadians are living through should not be and is not normal.