Mr. Speaker, I would like to split my time with the member for St. Albert—Sturgeon River.
In Hamilton, when someone is hired, if they do not do a job, they do not get paid. It is that simple. It is how we were raised, with fairness, accountability and respect for honest, hard-working people. If they do the job, they earn their pay.
Here in Ottawa, the Liberals paid $64 million to GC Strategies, a two-man company that was run in a basement that did not even do the work. It subcontracted everything, and the Auditor General said that in many cases, there was no proof that any work was done at all, just invoices, excuses and a total lack of accountability. No one would get away with that in Hamilton, not a chance, so why should Liberal insiders?
Prime Minister Trudeau and his government were warned, not once but repeatedly, by internal reports and concerned civil servants. Public servants testified they had the power to recover the money. Instead, what did they do? They kept signing contracts. They kept the gravy train running for their friends. These are the same civil servants the member on the other side just blamed.
This is the same GC strategies that is now under RCMP investigation, a company cloaked in secrecy with deep ties to Liberal insiders. It is the same GC strategies whose founder had his house raided by the police. Still, 31 different government departments handed it over $64 million. What was it for?
The Auditor General reviewed a sample of the contracts. What did she find? In nearly half the cases, departments paid GC Strategies without checking if the work was done. In over 80% of the contracts, they could not even prove they got a fair deal. In 46% of the contracts, they did not even prove they received the work before paying the bill.
If someone tried handing out public money with no receipts, no oversight and no proof of work in Hamilton, they would not just be shown the door; they would be dragged into court facing fraud charges, and the community would be demanding answers. Here in Ottawa, they get a handshake, a renewed contract and another cheque with seven figures on it. It is not just negligence; it is institutionalized corruption. The rules are different for Liberal insiders, and Canadians are paying the price.
In my riding of Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, families are doing everything right. They are working overtime and pinching every dollar just trying to stay afloat. Food prices are up, rent is sky high and mortgages are crushing families. Every extra dollar counts. While Hamiltonians are cutting back, the Liberals are writing blank cheques to their buddies. That is not just bad government; it is broken government. It is upside down.
This is not an isolated issue, and it is certainly not a paperwork mistake. It is a pattern. The Prime Minister has built a government where insiders get rich and Canadians get left behind. Remember what he said, that he would spend less, but this year's spending bill is 8% bigger than Trudeau's last one. That is over a half a trillion dollars with no budget and no plan. It is just more money for consultants, to the tune of $26 billion. That is $1,400 from every Canadian household. Where will the money go? It will not go to building homes and hospitals or to defence spending. It will go into padded contracts for Liberal insiders, padded invoices for middlemen and padded bonuses at CMHC, with millions paid and nothing delivered.
Hamilton gets none of that benefit but all of the bill, so when the Liberals tell Canadians to tighten their belts, pay their carbon tax and wait for help, it is an insult. They are not governing; they are cashing in. It is no wonder Canadians are frustrated. They see a government that pushes work and rewards waste. They see a government that lets friends walk away with millions while working people get squeezed.
During the election, I met a woman named Alexa while I was out door knocking in Hamilton East—Stoney Creek. Alexa is a single mother of three young boys and works overtime as a public service worker. She is doing everything right, showing up, working hard and raising her family, but she told me how hard it is becoming just to put food on the table. Living paycheque to paycheque, Alexa said she has had to make impossible choices among rent, groceries and gas. The dream of raising her kids in a good neighbourhood and providing a decent life feels more out of reach every passing month.
We talked about the skyrocketing cost of living, and now a decade of Liberal waste and mismanagement has made things worse. That day, I made a promise, and not just to Alexa, but to every family like hers across Hamilton and across the country. I promised that I would come to Ottawa to fight to make life more affordable, to put money back in their pockets and to stand up to the insiders and the waste so that families like Alexa's are not left behind.
That is who this is about. It is about Alexa. It is about the people doing everything right and getting nothing back. When they see the government hand out $64 million to a company that did not even do the work while they are scraping together dollars for their kids' lunches, it is not just frustrating; it is infuriating. Enough is enough.
Today, the Conservatives are demanding two things. First, we should get taxpayers' money back, $64 million, recovered within 100 days. If Hamilton families have to live on a budget, the government should also. Second, we should ban GC Strategies and its founders from ever getting another federal contract. This includes all of their shell companies, subsidiaries and spinoffs. They cashed in on Canadians; they should not get a second chance.
Let me be clear. This is not about politics. It is about trust. It is about fairness. It is about respecting the people who sent us here to represent them. Right now, that trust is broken. We have a government that paid a company to do work it did not do, a company that is now under RCMP investigation and a company that has been exposed by the Auditor General, and the Liberals want to move on like nothing has happened. We will not let that happen, not on our watch, not in this House. I came to Ottawa to represent Hamilton, and in Hamilton we hold people accountable. We do not tolerate waste, we do not reward failure and we do not let people get rich by ripping off taxpayers.
This motion is simple. It gives the government a clear chance to show Canadians that it is serious about cleaning up the mess: no more talk, no more spin, just action. It should recover the money, ban the contractors and stand up for taxpayers.
If Hamiltonians cannot skip the bill when they do not get service, neither should Liberal insiders. When someone cuts corners, they do not get a raise; they get the door. When government insiders get caught abusing public trust, they should not get a slap on the wrist; they should be banned for life.
Let me remind the House that we have seen this before, with the sponsorship scandal, the WE scandal and the McKinsey contracts. It is always the same. It is about Liberal-connected firms and Liberal insiders, while regular Canadians pay the price. It is the same movie over and over, and Canadians are tired of it. This time we are drawing the line.
To every hard-working Canadian out there, the nurses pulling overtime, the truck drivers paying high fuel costs and the steelworkers putting in double shifts, I want them to know that someone is finally fighting for their dollar. We are here to say we have seen enough waste, enough favours and enough payouts. Let us get taxpayers' money back.
Every member of the House has a choice. They can stand up with Canadians or stand up with consultants; stand up for accountability or stand up for corruption. It is time for action now.
