Madam Speaker, since this is my first speech in the House, I would like to take a few moments to thank the people of Mégantic—L'Érable—Lotbinière for placing their trust in me and for giving me the privilege of representing them for a fourth term. It is nice to see that the support from my constituents has continued to grow since I was first elected in 2015. I am extremely grateful for that.
I want to personally thank my campaign manager, Isabelle Laplante, who has been my right-hand woman since almost the very beginning of this great adventure in Ottawa, and Anabel Grondin, the newest member of my team, who quickly learned what to do in an election campaign. I also want to thank my official agent, Serge‑André Tardif, for whom this was a brand new experience. Finally, I want to thank the president of my riding association, Marc Nolin, along with all of leaders and volunteers who worked hard to ensure that Mégantic—L'Érable—Lotbinière remains a great Conservative riding.
This election was unlike any other for me. It was a very emotionally difficult time that I would not wish on any of my colleagues. To wrap up my remarks about the election, I want to thank my wife and my two daughters, Marie‑Soleil and Justine. We have always been a close-knit team in good times and in bad, and we have just been through the worst with the loss of my son, David, four months ago today. He was with us in our hearts every day of this election campaign.
Once again, I want to thank everyone for their messages of solidarity and support. I am motivated to continue my work as the member for Mégantic—L'Érable—Lotbinière and to bring all of my experience and determination to that task. I know that David will always live on in my thoughts and in my heart.
During this election campaign, people told me how concerned they are about the future and the direction taken by the Liberal government over the past 10 years. Although President Trump wormed his way into our election debates by creating economic chaos around the world, the everyday priorities of the people I met, whether in their homes, at the grocery store or at events, have not changed. Issues such as the rising cost of living, lack of housing, skyrocketing home prices, rising crime, weak justice system and out-of-control immigration were top of mind for everyone. As we saw again this week, Canada has the second-highest food inflation rate among all G7 countries.
During the election, the Liberal leader presented himself as the man with a plan, yet he cribbed freely from other parties' platforms, notably from Pierre Poilievre's Conservative plan. He even happily and unreservedly condemned Justin Trudeau's Liberal team for the disastrous state Canada is in today.
It seems that he finally listened to the Conservatives' call to axe the carbon tax. As the unelected prime minister designate, he even dipped into public funds to give all Canadian citizens a nice little present—all, that is, except those in Quebec and British Columbia. As far as election goodies go, it rivalled Maurice Duplessis's refrigerators.
We might therefore have expected the Prime Minister to ditch all the ministers who had blasted the official opposition all these years for having the colossal nerve to demand an end to the carbon tax. Trudeau's cabinet ministers used to rise one after another to vilify the nasty Conservatives, accusing them of being willing to stand by while the planet burned with their loud demands to axe the carbon tax. The minister of environment and climate change at the time never missed an opportunity to tout the carbon tax as a cure-all for every climate ill and every wildfire, and to warn us that evil oil and gas users would have have to pay, pay, pay.
We were also expecting the man with the plan, this Liberal banker, to come forward right away with that plan and to be fully transparent, as promised, about what he was going to do to address the housing crisis, to end inflation, to prepare for the recession being forecast by more and more economists and to get public spending under control.
The man with the plan actually promised to limit government spending increases to 2% a year. However, we have heard nothing but radio silence since he was elected. He is no longer talking about that.
First, we learned that government spending will increase by 8% this year. The government is adding $500 billion to the bill that future generations will have to pay. That is four times more than he promised.
Second, everyone will remember the epic series of contradictory remarks that the Minister of Finance and National Revenue and the Prime Minister made to the media shortly after the election. First they said there would be no budget, but there would be an economic statement. In the end, they said there would be a budget, but it would not be presented until the fall. Basically, it was a bit chaotic over there. That said, it was all of a piece with the last 10 years of the Liberal government.
Finally, we realized that the man with a plan did not have a plan ready this spring and that he would not be tabling a budget this spring. There is still time for him to make good on his own throne speech, which calls on him to table a budget this spring. He will have the opportunity to do so this afternoon by voting in favour of the Conservative opposition motion. The opposition is reaching out and asking the government to end food inflation, come clean with Canadians about the state of public finances and table a budget before Parliament rises for the summer.
Third, his new cabinet brought back the main ministers responsible for the chaos that Justin Trudeau caused over the past 10 years. It is just terrible to see these ministers defending the same Conservative ideas today that they fought against for 10 years. Their titles have changed, but what about their values, their ideals and everything they said for 10 years? All of that has evaporated. It is gone. We know it is just smoke and mirrors. A thirst for power may have blotted out the last 10 years of their lives, but as the saying goes, “what's bred in the bone will come out in the flesh”. Let us see who will be the first to show their true colours.
I would now like to speak to the Bloc Québécois's motion. It is not possible to talk about the Bloc Québécois and the carbon tax without first mentioning its visceral hatred of oil and gas. That is quite a paradoxical position for a party that represents the regions of Quebec, where gasoline is absolutely essential to everyday life. People need it to go to work, to drive their kids to school, to go to the grocery store, to work in the fields and to travel the long roads that connect one village to the next. For the Bloc Québécois, oil is just dirty, and Quebeckers must pay the price. It was Bloc Québécois MPs who said that the carbon tax should be much higher than it is. What does the Bloc Québécois think now about the fact that Quebec is still a province that levies a carbon tax and makes Quebeckers pay more for their gas by maintaining a carbon pricing system? How does the Bloc Québécois feel about the fact that, last week, I paid $1.16 a litre here in Ontario to fill up my car, whereas, when I came back to Ottawa this week, I paid $1.55 a litre in Thetford Mines for the same gas and for the same distance?
This is a recurring theme in the daily lives of many Canadians who feel that the cost of living is rising. Gas prices have accounted for much of this increase. Does the Bloc Québécois agree that Quebeckers are currently disadvantaged in many respects with all the taxes on gas? Why does the Bloc Québécois think it is acceptable that Quebeckers should pay for the war on carbon all by themselves and that families, especially those in rural areas, should be deprived of hundreds of dollars each year, money that they could be using to pay their bills?
Fifty-six per cent of Quebeckers believe that Quebec should end its carbon pricing system. Furthermore, 68% of Quebeckers want the carbon tax to be shown separately on their gas bills. The Bloc Québécois voted with us for a budget to be tabled this fall. The Bloc Québécois rightly wants to know the state of public finances and the Liberal Prime Minister's plan. What is the state of the deficits? What is the government's operating deficit? How will the Liberals pay for the things they have promised?
I have another question, and this time it is for the Liberals who were elected in Quebec. Did they pressure the banker Prime Minister to extend this vote-buying exercise to Quebeckers? Did they let this injustice happen without standing up for the interests of Quebeckers?
At first glance, the Bloc Québécois's request may seem legitimate, but it does not take into account the other request made by the Bloc on the state of public finances. It is not possible to play for the Liberal team, promise the moon and the stars and make all kinds of commitments, and say that everything will change overnight without telling Canadians and Quebeckers how much money is in the bank account and how much of that money will have to come from the credit card.
Who will have to pay off this credit card? We know very well. I assume people know that credit cards have to be paid off eventually. I assume that most of our colleagues here know that. The problem we have is that the debt has become so big in Canada that we are not the ones who will pay off our own debt. It will be our children, our grandchildren, our great-grandchildren. If this continues, we will never see the end of this debt. Demanding a budget at this time is the right thing to do. The Bloc Québécois was right to join us in amending the reply to the throne speech. We expect the Prime Minister to table a budget to ensure fairness for all Canadians and Quebeckers.
I would like to use my remaining speaking time to move an amendment to the Bloc Québécois motion. I move that the motion be amended by deleting the words “without conditions” and “estimated at $814 million” and, in the last paragraph, by replacing the word “Quebec” with “Quebeckers and British Columbians” and adding the following: “when the Government of Quebec ends its cap-and-trade system to compensate Quebeckers who have paid for and are still paying for that system”.
I think that would make it fair. It would mean that Quebeckers would receive a cheque directly from the federal government, as the citizens of the other provinces have. That way, Quebeckers would save at the gas pump every day.