Mr. Speaker, as this new Parliament begins, this is my first opportunity to address the House since the election, and with that I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to those who have sent me here to advocate on their behalf. They are, of course, the great constituents of Lethbridge. I also want to extend my sincere gratitude to my wonderful husband and my beautiful baby girl. They are an incredible support to me, as is my phenomenal campaign team, so I extend my gratitude to them.
During this election, I had the privilege of knocking on tens of thousands of doors and, of course, collecting people's stories. There is one that has stuck with me, and I have often reflected on it. It was toward the end of the campaign when I knocked on the door of a young woman. She came to the door, looked at the button I was wearing, and very quickly had a smile on her face. She said, “You know, I am 32 years old. This is the first election I am voting in, and you have my full support.” She explained that what we represented for her was hope for a great future. She went on to explain that she was someone who was struggling to make ends meet, although she was working very hard, and she was also living in constant fear. Having fled domestic violence, and with her partner still lurking on the streets, she was constantly looking over her shoulder. She was not at all confident that she was safe.
These are the real challenges that Canadians face. Her story, of course, is unique, but it could be told by tens of thousands of others. The motivation for her voting was hope, hope for affordability, for security of person, for safety and for a vibrant future. Not a day goes by that I do not recall this story and its elements. The Speech from the Throne should have chartered a clear path forward that gave Canadians hope for affordability, hope for security and hope for a future, but instead, Canadians were left with a series of slogans, photo ops and promises that turn a blind eye to the real problems Canadians face.
The government has made lofty claims, but words are not enough. Canadians need real concrete action, not theatre. They need a plan, not a performance. After nearly a decade of mismanagement under the Liberal government, nothing has changed. Sure, there is a new leader, but there are the same old policies, the same tired talking points and the same theatricals. Unfortunately, the throne speech was not at all a road map for a vibrant future, but rather a piece of theatre. It was entertaining, but without substance.
Let us begin with one of the government's stated ambitions, which is to make Canada “the world's leading energy superpower”. On its face, this is something that Conservatives can agree with. We believe in the energy sector. We believe that Canada should be the greatest supplier of energy in the entire world. Our abundant natural resources are not a problem to be managed, but rather a gift to be shared. This is what we believe. They are our key to prosperity, our global influence and our national unity, but ambition alone does not build pipelines, and it does not get product to market. Good intentions do not attract private capital, which is much needed, and press releases do not get projects done.
What was missing from the throne speech was in fact a credible plan. The government spoke vaguely of fast-tracking nation-building projects, but it offered few concrete answers to questions like these: Will the government repeal the broken Impact Assessment Act? Will it lift the tanker ban that still blocks exports from northern British Columbia? Will it scrap the arbitrary emissions cap on oil and gas, which is a cap that was never about emissions but purely about ideology? These are the concrete steps that would be required should the government be truly interested in energy development.
We heard from the energy minister that Ottawa is looking for “quick wins”. Well, the energy sector is not looking for that. It is looking for constancy, consistency, dependability and reliability.
Albertans are asking for something very clear and very simple: a pipeline to the northwest coast. It is shorter and more efficient, and it is largely engineered already. That is the real test of the government's commitment. If the government can get that project done, we will take it seriously, but to turn a blind eye to that project, one that would be so easily completed, is to say that the government is truly interested in only lip service.
While the throne speech tried to sound like an invitation to build, it was delivered by a government that has spent the last weeks bypassing Parliament, faking authority and eroding public trust. Let me outline what I am talking about here. I am talking about a Prime Minister who signed fake documents, pretending that they held real power. I am talking about a Prime Minister who is functioning in a way that is actually contradictory to Canada's constitution.
Canada is not a presidential republic. We are, in fact, a parliamentary democracy. In this place, we have elected officials who have been sent here on behalf of their constituents to represent them. In this place, we engage in rigorous debate and then come to a decision. Once that decision is reached, it is signed off on, and of course enacted into law. For the Prime Minister to sit there, take a piece of paper, put it into a fancy red folder, sign it and say he is issuing a decree is laughable. It lacks true authority. It is unbecoming of the Prime Minister. Altogether, it is a sneaky, misleading action toward the Canadian public. It is wrong.
The thirst for show over substance has real consequences. Look no further than the main estimates. They were released alongside the speech. After promising restraint and after denouncing the previous government's waste, let us look at what we see.
In summary, spending is up by more than 8%. There is a 14% increase in planned appropriations. There is $26 billion committed to consultants. That is $26 billion, with a “b”. That is not a government committed to fiscal restraint. In fact, if that is fiscal restraint, I would hate to see the government on a spending spree. That is a scary thought. The current administration is not reducing the cost of government but rather ballooning it. Ultimately, it is the Canadian people who will have to pay for the government's misjudgment.
The Prime Minister claims that he will balance the budget in three years, yet his first real numbers show exactly the opposite. There are 75 departments that received an increase in funding. Only 14 were cut back a bit. This is not a government that is saying to do more with less; this is a government that says to continue to spend at will. As a reminder, it is the Canadian people who are providing the money that is being spent.
Even more troubling is the fact this key spending is actually being reclassified. The government is blurring the lines between capital investments and operating expenditures. Why would the Prime Minister wish to do this? He wants to pretend that he has made the books better. He wants to actually hide the true size of debt but have the appearance of being a better manager. In fact, that is not the case. The terms are simply being changed. It is sneaky, it is dishonest and it will generate ill will with the Canadian public. This is a government that consistently says the right things but does the wrong ones, a government that governs by theatre, not by principle.
My Conservative colleagues and I offer an alternative. We believe that cutting taxes means making hard choices. We believe that building pipelines, not building narratives, should be made the priority. We believe in keeping Canadians safe, not appeasing criminals. Above all, we are committed to fighting for hope: hope that a family can afford groceries again, hope that a young couple can buy their first home, hope that our streets can in fact once again be safe, and hope that every single Canadian, no matter where they live or what they do, can reach greater heights, go further and build a life of dignity and purpose.
In this session, my Conservative colleagues and I will be fighting for these things, because we believe in the Canadian people.