Debates of June 2nd, 2025

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply

[Scott Anderson, Conservative, Vernon—Lake Country—Monashee, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the last prime minister used to say that the Liberals were working for the middle class. He used to answer almost every question with that promise. Thanks to the work of the past 10 years, the middle class is on life support today. Middle-class people can barely pay their taxes, and they can barely pay their mortgages. The Liberal government says that it is working to make us an energy superpower. How poor are we going to be if we have 10 more years of that? I shudder to think about it.

Government needs to get out of the way, not stand in the way. If we want to help our farmers, let us remove the industrial gas tax. That is what is hurting farmers right now, more than anything else. They do not want handouts; they want a fair shake.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on his speech and on his election as a member of Parliament.

I listened to the Speech from the Throne last week, and it concerned me. I do not know if my colleague is as concerned as I am, but I am concerned about the government not presenting a budget. I am also concerned that the government seems keen to go full speed ahead on fossil fuels. When the government talks about conventional energy, we know that means fossil fuels. The federal government is talking about bypassing the provinces and their environmental assessments so that it can make all the decisions itself.

Is my colleague not concerned that the government has decided to give up the fight against climate change altogether and go all in on fossil fuels?

[Scott Anderson, Conservative, Vernon—Lake Country—Monashee, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we are all concerned about the environment. We all know that we need to make improvements and work toward a clean energy future. I have no doubt that will happen eventually. What I am more concerned about is pretending that it has already happened and that we have the capacity to do that. We cannot simply run our economy on fairy dust, hopes and dreams, and technology that is not yet deployable, not yet mature.

Reality suggests that we have to use fossil fuels for the foreseeable future while we transition into technologies that we may not even understand at this time.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, it is interesting. My colleague asked a good question in regard to agriculture. His question highlights the fact that during the last election, Pierre Poilievre made virtually no reference to agriculture. However, the member opposite talked about its importance. We can contrast the Liberal platform to the Conservative platform. The member should maybe reflect on how the Liberal Party outperformed the Conservatives on the agricultural file.

Rather than criticizing the former prime minister, could the member tell his constituents why the Conservative Party of Canada and Pierre Poilievre were outperformed by the Liberal Party and the current Prime Minister in the last election when it came to agriculture?

[Scott Anderson, Conservative, Vernon—Lake Country—Monashee, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. member pointed out the exact problem. The Liberals made lots of promises, which he considers “outperforming”. I do not have to deal with the promises. I can look at the last 10 years, since 2015.

If we are talking about performance, performance is action, not promises. The Liberals are famous for making promises and equally famous for breaking them. When the hon. member says the Liberals outperformed the Conservatives, I would suggest that he is—

[The Deputy Speaker, Tom Kmiec]

With that, I will bring questions and comments to a close.

Resuming debate, the member for Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek.

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to stand in this place and speak to the Speech from the Throne. As this is the first time I am rising in this Parliament, I would like to take a moment to express my gratitude to the voters in Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek for once again putting their faith in me to be their representative here in Ottawa. It is truly an honour, one that I take very seriously.

No one gets here on their own, and I want to thank my team and the volunteers who showed up day after day during the campaign. Lastly, I want to thank my husband, Milton, and my entire family, who have stood by me and behind me every step of the way.

I also want to acknowledge all those individuals displaced as a result of the fires in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, as well as all those fighting hard to ensure those communities remain safe.

The people in my riding and, indeed, Saskatchewan, overwhelmingly voted for hope and change. They understood that our country would not thrive under more of the same failed Liberal policies. While the Prime Minister promised change, a different Liberal government and a more serious approach, we are not off to a good start. As it turns out, things are not so different after all, starting with the Prime Minister naming Trudeau's foremost ministers to the most senior roles in his cabinet.

Immediately after their swearing-in, his ministers made statements refuting the various policies he had run on. For example, the Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture claimed that no pipelines will be built, and the housing minister stated that he intends to make sure housing prices do not come down. It is not a good sign that while Canadians are struggling with affordability and businesses face uncertainty, Liberal ministers want to suppress the country's largest industry and keep young Canadians priced out of the housing market.

Members will remember when the Prime Minister said during the election campaign, “a plan beats no plan.” Canadians were rightly expecting to see that plan put forward in the Speech from the Throne, followed by a budget. However, with the campaign behind him, the Prime Minister announced he is waiting until the fall, pushing off the plan, as well as the accountability that comes through the scrutiny of a government's budget. Instead we are left with a throne speech full of half measures, no budget and main estimates that include more spending than under Trudeau, with an 8% increase.

During the election, the Prime Minister said that despite being an economic adviser to Trudeau, he would be different; he would reorient the government to be more fiscally responsible. The throne speech stated, “In all of its actions, the Government will be guided by a new fiscal discipline: spend less so Canadians can [save] more.” However, no sooner did the promise of fiscal responsibility pass his lips than it is already being broken. Now we see that the spending of the Trudeau years will carry on under the current Prime Minister.

The main estimates were released last week, with the government asking to spend nearly half a trillion dollars in its first spending bill. How can the Liberals keep a straight face in claiming to be fiscally responsible while supporting a spending bill that even outstrips Trudeau’s spending from last year? Within this half-trillion dollar ask, the government has earmarked $26 billion in spending on consultants. That is an 11% increase in spending on those consultants.

In the last Parliament, Conservatives uncovered what the Liberals paid for: consultants who had padded their pockets through double-dipping, fraudulent billing and, at the end of it all, subpar work that could have been done in-house by the public service. Perhaps the additional billions in spending is due to the new list of Liberal insiders that the new Prime Minister brings with him from his previous career.

In the arrive scam scandal, a consulting firm billed tens of millions of dollars to build a simple app but did none of the work, work that some programmers were able to replicate over a weekend. Roughly $60 million is known to have been spent on this app; the number may be even higher, but, because shoddy documentation was kept, the Auditor General could not confirm it, so we will never know.

We also found out that McKinsey, a favourite consulting firm of the Liberals, was given preferential treatment, leading to $100 million in government contracts. The Liberals used a contract vehicle called a national master standing offer, which is usually reserved for vendors who offer a specialized service that government departments need access to. When the Auditor General reviewed these contracts, she found that McKinsey should not have been given special access to the government contracts.

In the throne speech, the Prime Minister also promised to work with indigenous peoples to identify and catalyze projects of national significance. Given the Liberal government's track record on indigenous procurement, I believe this will be another empty promise.

While studying the procurement strategy for indigenous businesses, the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates found that the government was not verifying the indigeneity of businesses. During testimony, indigenous groups and businesses suggested that most of the funding through this program was going to non-indigenous businesses that were posing as indigenous. The Liberals allowed this abuse by ignoring the rules and a lack of indigenous leadership and/or ownership while handing out millions of dollars in contracts. The government was unable to offer any explanation for its failure to ensure that programs meant to benefit indigenous peoples and businesses did so.

Although this study was cut short when the election was called, the issues persist and must be addressed, especially if the government intends to fast-track major projects across the country. This leads us to the promise in the speech to create a “new Major Federal Project Office”.

Imitation is truly the best form of flattery. In 2007, the Harper government created the Major Projects Management Office. The goal of the office at that time was to improve coordination within Canada's regulatory system by providing industry with a single, efficient point of entry into the federal process. It also provided for the integration of Crown consultation requirements with indigenous communities at the beginning of the process. This further demonstrated the Harper government's commitment to consulting with and listening to Canadians, especially those most directly affected by resource development projects, all while upholding Canada's world-class environmental standards. Does this sound familiar?

However, the last 10 years of an antidevelopment Liberal government has made Canada dependent on and vulnerable to the U.S. Without a commitment to scrap the production cap on Canadians, to repeal Bill C-69 and Bill C-48, and to axe the federal industrial carbon tax, this proposal is just another empty promise.

In closing, the promises made in the Speech from the Throne do not line up with Liberals' actions. While promising to enact more fiscal discipline, they are increasing spending. While promising to define a new relationship with the United States, they are dropping retaliatory tariffs and allowing the U.S. to take jobs out of Canada. While promising to make Canada an energy superpower, Liberal ministers insist that pipelines should not be built and that Canada's oil and gas should stay in the ground. While the Prime Minister promised to bring housing costs down, his housing minister intends to keep house prices up, at record highs.

The Liberals are already going back on their word within the first days of this session. Unfortunately for Canadians, the so-called new Liberal government looks a lot like the old one. After 10 years of high spending leading to inflation and an affordability crisis, Canadians want fiscal restraint and a government that will be responsible with their tax dollars.

Canadians can count on Conservatives to fulfill our duty every day to stand up for them, fight for change and restore hope once again.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I want to pick up on the Conservative spin, which really has not changed. The members opposite like to talk about pipelines as though they actually built any pipelines during Stephen Harper's era that brought our product to the coastlines. They did not build one inch of pipeline. In fact, the only pipeline that we have seen in the last 20 years that brought things to the coast was under former prime minister Justin Trudeau, yet the Conservatives try to give this false impression that they know how to get the job done when they do not.

Would the member opposite not agree that it is time that we put a little of the so-called misinformation that comes from the Conservative Party to the side to focus on Canada and its best interests? Would she not agree that it is time that we have a team Canada approach in dealing with the Trump tariff and trade issue, which is something her constituents are concerned about, as my constituents, and all Canadians, are?

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK]

Mr. Speaker, just when the Prime Minister and his caucus would love us to believe that there is a new government, that member stands up to ask a question and proves, as he does over and over again, that it is the same old, tired government we dealt with in the last Parliament.

It should go without saying, and the member would be familiar with this, that I rarely ever agree with anything he says. The past 10 years of Liberal governments have shown that the Liberals are not interested in or serious about making Canada an energy superpower. Despite all their rhetoric, their actions have spoken louder than their words, and we can expect more of the same.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I find it fascinating to watch the Liberals and Conservatives duke it out over which of the two is more pro-oil and which of the two wants pipelines built the most.

My question for my Conservative colleague following her speech is the following. In light of this sort of transformation of the Liberal Party into the Conservative Party 2.0, does she get the impression that she is losing her purpose given that the Liberals are doing the work that the Conservatives want to do themselves?

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I absolutely disagree with the premise of the question. What we have here is a government that actually stole many of its ideas from Conservatives. The Liberals say they are going to do these things, yet they have a Speech from the Throne that is ambiguous enough that they will be able to not undertake the things they are promising. They are not bringing forward a budget, so we do not know what their plan is. There is no road map to get us where they say they want to go, and it remains to be seen if they will actually end up getting us there.

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Ponoka—Didsbury, AB]

Mr. Speaker, congratulations to you on your new role as Deputy Speaker. You and I are fellow Albertans who have been in this place for a long time.

My colleague from Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek gave us quite the list of things Liberals had said that they would do, just for us to find that they were going to do the exact opposite once they were elected. That seems to be pretty much the way the Liberals operate in Canada. They say whatever they need to say, and create whatever state of fear they need to create, to get elected, and then they come to Ottawa to basically renege on all of the promises they made.

In my constituency, there are a lot of hunters, anglers, farmers and ranchers who own firearms. We heard His Majesty the King in the Speech from the Throne talk about respecting law-abiding firearms owners, yet when we take a look at the estimates tabled by the government, we see that it is going to spend four dollars going after law-abiding gun owners for every one dollar it is going to spend going after gangs and criminals.

I am wondering if my colleague would talk about how Liberals seem to say one thing and do the exact opposite, not just on energy, agriculture and firearms, but on basically everything they do.

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has been in office since March 14 and is now pushing a presentation of a budget for six months. He is pushing it down the road, even though the fall economic update was tabled in December of last year.

This is not leadership; this is abandonment. That is exactly what the Liberal government does. It is long on virtue signalling and short on being virtuous.

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, Humber River—Black Creek, ON]

Mr. Speaker, you look great in that robe and in your new role. You certainly have worked hard, and it is great to see you there. I send my congratulations to you and to your family. I am sure they are very proud of what you are doing.

I will be sharing my time with the new member for Cardigan following the retirement of the Hon. Lawrence MacAulay. When someone says “Cardigan”, we automatically, after so many years, think about Mr. MacAulay, who did such a great job representing Cardigan. I wish him well in his retirement.

I am honoured to rise for the first time in the House during the 45th Parliament. I also want to thank the constituents of Humber River—Black Creek for re-electing me and asking me to represent them here in the House again. Since I came in during a by-election in 1999, this is, I believe, the 10th time I have had an opportunity to be in the House. It was an honour then, and it continues to be a tremendous honour today. It is an accomplishment, I have to admit. I am not quite sure how I managed all those years, but clearly we did.

I want to thank His Majesty King Charles III for delivering the Speech from the Throne. I will quote from it because I think it captures how we are all feeling today and the direction we want to go. He said:

We must be clear-eyed: the world is a more dangerous and uncertain place than at any point since the Second World War. Canada is facing challenges that are unprecedented in our lifetimes.

Many Canadians are feeling anxious and worried about the drastically changing world around them. Fundamental change is always unsettling. Yet this moment is also an incredible opportunity.

It is an opportunity for each and every one of us who has the privilege of being a member of the House of Commons. His Majesty continued:

An opportunity to think big and to act bigger. An opportunity for Canada to embark on the largest transformation of its economy since the Second World War. A confident Canada, which has welcomed new Canadians, including from some of the most tragic global conflict zones, can seize this opportunity by recognising that all Canadians can give themselves far more than any foreign power on any continent can ever take away. And that by staying true to Canadian values, Canada can build new alliances and a new economy that serves all Canadians.

I think the speech captured very much, in those comments, how Canadians are feeling. They are feeling nervous and anxious. Every time we put the television on, we are never quite sure what our neighbour to the south is going to say.

I think it is imperative that we take the opportunity the leadership from our Prime Minister is clearly giving us. It is an opportunity to participate together and for all of us in the House to work together to make sure that Canadians have the best opportunities possible so that our country can grow to be what we want it to be, but we must work together. Without us working together, we are not going to achieve these things. I continue to ask that we co-operate with each other and that we put Canadians and our country first, no matter what.

Today, of course, I rise with this message to talk about purpose and unity for Canada. Together, we stand at not only a critical time, but also an opportune time. The government is here to renew our commitment to the Canada we are shaping for today and the future, together with all my colleagues in the House.

As a nation, we must continue walking the path of truth and reconciliation. A tremendous amount of work was done under our previous prime minister, and it needs to continue, grounding our future in justice and respect for indigenous people. Canada is proudly multicultural, bilingual and democratic. The riding of Humber River—Black Creek, which I am honoured to represent, is one of the most diverse ridings. Families from every corner of the globe create a community where they build new lives, speak dozens of languages and bring their unique cultures to strengthen Canada and our community.

We will eliminate international trade barriers and launch national infrastructure projects through the one Canadian economy. I wish all the premiers and the Prime Minister tremendous luck and faith today as they move to identify not only those transformational projects that really matter to other parts of Canada but also how we are going to work together to achieve them.

When I first came here almost 25 years ago, I headed a task force. In that task force report, one of the recommendations, and this was in 2001, was to eliminate interprovincial barriers. It was clearly a significant roadblock for the economic well-being of all of our provinces, yet here we are in 2025. Only after the threats from our southern neighbour are we actually trying to remove those interprovincial barriers. I wish all of our premiers well at this particular time as they move forward.

With the new “build Canada homes” initiative, we will increase the affordable housing supply, reduce development costs and promote innovative modular construction. I have received a lot of information on the housing file, as many of my colleagues have. With regard to the prefab homes, there is the ability to put up some of these homes within a month. This is a critical time for us to be looking at how we can change the way we have been doing things and remove the red tape we have all talked about so we can move forward on this.

Canada is a global leader in clean energy, skilled trades and innovation, as well as international relations, security and public safety, which are all critically important themes as we move forward.

To protect our sovereignty, we are reinvesting in the Canadian Armed Forces. Federal investments in the RCMP and national security have to be a priority for the House as we move forward to protect our sovereignty and Canadians. Public safety is not just about policing, though. It is also about prevention, community and trust.

We are strengthening our laws to make bail much more difficult to get for any repeat offenders. We are reforming firearm regulations with stronger red flag laws and yellow flag laws and revoking licenses from those with violent or protective order histories. We have heard far too much about domestic violence happening in our communities, and we have to spend far more time and attention on that issue.

We are going to cap the operating budget growth at under 2% and balance the operating budget within three years. That is a huge goal, one that I believe would be very significant for us to achieve and for all of us to achieve.

We will cut waste. What government does not say that? We will reduce duplication and use technology, though, to improve service delivery across the public sector. It is this new technology that promises the best opportunity for us to do this.

I truly hope that those are not just words. It seems like every government, for the many years that I have been doing this, even at the municipal level, says the same thing. It is really hard to do. It was one of the issues that made me leave the municipal level to come to the federal level, because there was that frustration in trying to reduce waste and cut costs but not having the revenue to do the services we had to do.

Together, we all can build a stronger, safer and a more united Canada.

[Carol Anstey, Conservative, Long Range Mountains, NL]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague talked about all of the ambitious goals and all of the things that her government wants to accomplish. My question is very simple: How does she feel about the fact that there is no budget to present to Canadians with respect to the road map of how to accomplish these great goals?

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, Humber River—Black Creek, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I welcome my colleague to the House of Commons. I very much look forward to having the time to be able to work with her as we move forward on these very important things.

I do not have a problem with the issue of waiting until the fall to have a budget. There is so much happening at this time. I just wonder how anybody would sit down to really try to do a budget at this particular time. The fall will come, when we will have a much more accurate viewpoint of where we are going with our issues with the south. Hopefully, we will have lifted all of the barriers together with our premiers, and we will be moving forward with a much more accurate budget when it comes out in the fall.

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I listened closely to my colleague's speech.

It is no secret that there is a lot missing. Members may already know this, but I am extremely disappointed. We were told that we need to work quickly to reassure people. Here we are with a Speech from the Throne that is missing so much.

I will give an example. We are well aware that people 65 to 74, seniors, are victims of discrimination. In the last Parliament, all the bill needed was royal assent. Not a single day went by in the election campaign without this being brought up to me.

I would like my colleague to tell me where things stand with reducing and increasing what people 65 to 74 need to live.

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, Humber River—Black Creek, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I welcome my colleague back. I look forward to working with her in the upcoming months and hopefully years.

We all care very much about the issues of seniors and ensuring that they have services and adequate pensions. All of those things are important. If we are able to transform the economy and move forward in the direction we are excited to go in, all Canadians will benefit, including our senior population, which is an important part of Canada and an area that all of us care about.

[Marianne Dandurand, Liberal, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate my colleague on her re-election. She has had the privilege of being chosen by her constituents to represent them several times now. That is inspiring for new members like me.

She rightly talked about reducing interprovincial trade barriers. That is likely a way to help all Canadians get through the current crisis and deal with the challenges we are facing with our American neighbours.

I would like to ask my colleague how she thinks that eliminating those barriers could have a serious and positive impact on the lives of her constituents and the businesses in her riding.

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, Humber River—Black Creek, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am very excited about welcoming another female to the House of Commons. I very much look forward to our working together and advancing the issues we care about.

As to the removal of interprovincial barriers, I remember being in Vancouver and wanting to bring a case of wine with me, wonderful wine, and I was told I could not take it. I could take two bottles of wine, but I could not take that wine properly through the system and ship a box or case of it to Toronto.

That is just one small example of barriers that prevent people in my riding, which the member asked about, who are in the construction trades from going to another part of Canada to work. They very much want to but are not licensed to, so we should eliminate all of those requirements. A licensed construction worker in Toronto should be able to freely work elsewhere, whether in Newfoundland or Saskatchewan. Those barriers have been put up for a variety of reasons and need to be gone so that people have the freedom to go and come as they please.

[Kent MacDonald, Liberal, Cardigan, PE]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise in the House today on behalf of the people of Cardigan, Prince Edward Island. I thank them for the trust they placed in me, and I assure them that I am here to work for all my constituents, regardless of who they voted for. I want to take a moment to thank my family: my wife Catherine, my son Alex and all my extended family, who have stepped up and taken over my duties as a dairy farmer of 38 years. They have allowed me this opportunity to pursue a lifelong dream of representing the people of Cardigan.

I would also like to acknowledge and thank my predecessor, the Hon. Lawrence MacAuley, who represented the riding of Cardigan for over 36 years and delayed my lifelong dream. In all seriousness, his hard work and commitment during his years as an MP are visibly evident throughout the riding of Cardigan.

I invite all colleagues of the House to visit Prince Edward Island in support of tourism at home in Canada this year. From our pristine beaches and renowned golf courses to our world-class seafood and rich cultural experiences, P.E.I. offers something for everybody. Our vibrant and resilient communities welcome people to discover the authentic hospitality that makes our island truly unique.

As the representative of Cardigan, I stand grounded in shared values: community, family, hard work and fairness. I stand here today feeling proud and hopeful because the Speech from the Throne delivered last week offers a bold and ambitious yet practical approach to building a strong Canada from coast to coast to coast.

This government's plan responds to the defining challenges of our time with clarity, compassion and informed decision-making. It prioritizes affordability, national unity, clean energy growth, reconciliation, and rural opportunities. It offers the people of Cardigan more than the ability to endure the pace of change, but opportunities to forge and lead through it.

What I hear about most from my constituents is the cost of living, including from young families trying to buy their first home in Montague and seniors living in Morell trying to balance their household budgets with the increased cost of groceries and prescription medicines. That is why I strongly support the government's measures for reducing costs and making life more affordable.

Removing the consumer carbon tax will help our fishers and farmers be more competitive, with lower costs to process and transport their products, and it will benefit all other residents through reductions in fuel prices. Cutting the GST on houses at or under $1 million for first-time homebuyers will result in up to $50,000 in savings. In rural P.E.I., that is a real game-changer.

We are maintaining key programs, such as child care, pharmacare and the new dental care plan, which now helps millions of Canadians, including thousands of people in Cardigan. We are also going to be reducing income taxes for approximately 22 million Canadians. These are practical ways that this government is reducing day-to-day costs for every individual and every family in Canada.

Housing is one of the biggest issues facing young Islanders. Whether it is finding a place to rent or saving for a down payment, the barriers are real, and this government has taken serious action on housing and homes. We will be creating the “build Canada homes” program, a mission-driven approach to fast-tracking affordable builds. We will be investing in prefabricated and modular housing, an area P.E.I. could lead in given our skilled trades base, and we will be cutting municipal development charges for multi-unit housing, making it easier to build homes where they are required.

This is not just a housing program; it is a job and growth creation plan for Canada. As we ramp up homebuilding, we can train and support the next generation of skilled workers in P.E.I. We will work with our educational institutions, like Holland College; our trade unions; and employers across P.E.I. to support Islanders in accessing the training and skills to seize these opportunities.

One of the most exciting parts of the throne speech, which will positively impact all areas of growth, is the drive to create one Canadian economy. Every year, domestic interprovincial trade barriers cost the Canadian economy up to $200 billion, barriers that directly impact opportunities for farmers, fishers and even craft brewers in Cardigan. The plan to remove all remaining federal barriers to internal trade and labour mobility by Canada Day is a major win for P.E.I., and I am hopeful this includes reducing the tolls on the Confederation Bridge and Atlantic Canadian ferries to make all industries in P.E.I. more competitive as we pursue new trade alliances across Canada and throughout the world.

The creation of a major federal project office is expected to cut project approval times from five years to two. For infrastructure projects like a proposed electrical grid for the Atlantic region, for clean energy projects like wind or solar and for support for an energy corridor, this means faster action, more jobs and timely outcomes.

The government's renewed trade agenda also promises to open up export channels for island products, from potatoes to seafood to bioscience innovations. Both a port expansion and a new facility for exporting island goods are being discussed. These could translate into real jobs in community hubs in my riding such as Stratford, Souris, Georgetown and Montague.

I represent a riding built on the backbone of our primary industries: farming and fishing. Our government will be protecting supply management, which is essential to dairy farmers like me and egg and poultry producers. We will be backing our food producers and ensuring us all access to fresh, healthy and local foods. We will be recognizing agriculture as not just an economic driver, but a key part of our national identity. We can also support other initiatives, including community-owned lobster co-ops and sustainable agricultural practices. These actions will give our primary industries a path to sustainability and profitability and thus economic stability.

With climate impacts and market uncertainty, stability in these sectors is vital. We create stability by investing in agri-tech and processing infrastructure. Our government must also continue to fund small craft harbours for the repairs and dredging that are required because of the increasingly severe weather events and reduced winter ice. Without ice cover, shorelines are exposed to water currents throughout the winter, causing silt accumulation in all our harbours.

The impacts from climate change are not abstract for Islanders. We must advocate for programs that reward climate-friendly land use, protect shorelines and fund climate resilience. Our government's plan includes supporting the creation and sustainability of national and urban parks and marine protected areas, and supporting Canada's clean energy transition, where P.E.I. demonstrates leadership. These actions will support local conservation initiatives and clean growth sectors in eastern P.E.I. Our legacy of service and unity lives on today as we face uncertainty together. We must learn from our history to make tomorrow a better place for future generations.

In the spirit of unity, rural P.E.I. has welcomed newcomers for generations. Cardigan's economy depends on the skills of local workers and newcomers. However, with the increased pressure on housing, education, and health services, this government's decision to rebalance immigration streams while also investing in settlement and training support for newcomers is a responsible approach to supporting communities, as our rural industries need continued access to a temporary foreign worker program. We need to ensure that people are treated fairly and that integration pathways lead to long-term community vibrancy.

The throne speech rightly affirms our commitment to indigenous reconciliation, to supporting two official languages and to maintaining culturally focused institutions like CBC/Radio Canada. CBC's presence in the Atlantic ensures our stories, our music and our challenges are heard, and it is vital to rural community connection. In the Cardigan riding, we work closely with the Abegweit First Nation in our continued efforts in reconciliation. The Speech from the Throne commits to advancing reconciliation by doubling the indigenous loan guarantee program to $10 billion, enabling communities to participate in major projects.

At the end of the day, Islanders are pragmatic. We know the value of a dollar, and we expect our government to exercise the same pragmatic approach to spending. The Speech from the Throne sets a strong target of reducing annual government operating spending from 9% to 2%. At the same time, it protects transfers to provinces, individuals and communities. It demands smart investment, not reckless cuts. By reducing duplication and using technology, the government aims to improve services while controlling costs, a philosophy that would resonate in any P.E.I. household.

This Speech from the Throne is more than a federal document. It is a blueprint for how we can strengthen Canada by empowering electoral districts like mine. It acknowledges that places like Cardigan are not peripheral to the nation; we are foundational to it. With action on affordability, housing, jobs, reconciliation and sustainability, this plan reflects the hopes and aspirations of the people I am proud to represent, people who wake up early, work hard and care deeply about their communities.

As a member of Parliament, I will work hard every day to make sure the plan is implemented in a way that reflects our island priorities, that our projects are funded, that our voices are heard and that our future is secured. Let us build a Cardigan where opportunities are everywhere. Let us work together to write the next chapter of—

[The Deputy Speaker, Tom Kmiec]

The member will be able to continue his comments during questions and comments.

The member for Central Newfoundland has the floor.

[Clifford Small, Conservative, Central Newfoundland, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my colleague, the new member for Cardigan, that the throne speech made no mention of the fishing industry other than the commitment to turn 30% of the ocean into marine parks by 2030. The new Liberal direction with respect to the fishing industry is identical to the direction of the Trudeau era. The Prime Minister is more concerned with meeting United Nations goals and satisfying NGOs than with supporting our fishing industry.

Does the member for Cardigan agree with his leader that it is more important to maintain commitments to the United Nations, or is it more important to support coastal economies like those in his own riding?

[Kent MacDonald, Liberal, Cardigan, PE]

Mr. Speaker, in my speech, I talked about creating community co-ops in the lobster fishing industry. The lobster fishermen are experiencing lower prices than normal this year and have to get a steady say in the marketplace. An avenue to do that is to create community co-ops. I will be pursuing efforts with the federal government to fund some of those initiatives. In addition, the reductions in the carbon tax will help with the cost of fuel and other issues in the fishing industry.

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Speech from the Throne announced that the time frames for launching major federal projects would be shortened.

I am very worried about the environment. I am especially worried about one thing in particular. Will the government commit to respecting the findings of the Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement regarding oil projects and other such things?