Mr. Speaker, in the last election, the Prime Minister argued for an aggressive elbows-up approach with the United States. Then in November, in the wake of Donald Trump's crippling tariffs and the ongoing trade war, the Prime Minister was asked during a G20 summit when he had last spoken to the President. His response was to flippantly say, “Who cares?” This was an insensitive remark, particularly to the thousands of Canadians in the auto, forestry, steel and aluminum industries who had lost their jobs since the Prime Minister came to office.
With his having gone from “elbows up” to “who cares”, having failed to keep his election promise of having a new trade deal with the United States by July, having gone to Washington in October and come back without a trade deal, having seen softwood tariffs triple and having seen thousands of layoffs, I asked the Prime Minister when Canadians might expect a trade deal. My question was a serious question, a relevant question and timely. It might have been a bit aggressive, but the parliamentary secretary's response that afternoon was simply to insult me and my party.
He offered no apology for the Prime Minister's insensitivity to workers, no excuses for the broken promises on trade deals and no path forward. He just patted himself and his government on the back for their relief efforts. The parliamentary secretary's insolence in question period is not really the reason I have brought this back for an adjournment debate. I am here tonight because in the last two months, the underlying issues that precipitated the “who cares” response remain unresolved. The Prime Minister's flippant attitude toward journalists and parliamentarians is showing a troubling pattern.
Only this past week, the Prime Minister was asked how talks with President Trump were going. He said, “That's the most boring question. Think of a new one.”
What an astonishingly arrogant and condescending response to a basic, normal, pertinent question from a journalist. Canadians expect clarity and respect from their Prime Minister and from those who speak for the government in the House of Commons. The Prime Minister was elected to get results for Canadians, and he made many very specific commitments during the election. He did promise a trade deal with the United States by this past July, and he has failed to deliver one. We all know that Donald Trump's attacks on the Canadian economy are unjust and unprovoked, and that his insults and threats to Canadian sovereignty are appalling, but the Prime Minister has made promises to Canadians within this known environment and he has failed to keep those promises.
Tonight, the parliamentary secretary has an opportunity to show some compassion for Canadians who have lost their livelihood as a result of tariffs unjustly imposed by Trump. Every day in question period, we hear heartbreaking stories of mill closures. These people care if and when the Prime Minister has spoken to the President. They do not think it is boring. They are increasingly aware of how unprepared Canada has become for the crisis before us. For 10 years, the government has driven hundreds of billions of dollars out of the country. The Liberals have shut down private investment in new pipeline construction. For 10 years, they have broken all of their promises on the deficit, the debt, spending, infrastructure construction and a host of other things they promised in 2015.
I am going to keep demanding accountability from the government. I will not forget that the Prime Minister and the government made a promise that they have not delivered.