Mr. Speaker, I am proud to stand before the House to speak to the third reading of the budget. The finance minister has done an extraordinary job of putting forward a blueprint for Canada that would enable us to be more competitive, to provide for prosperity and to protect our sovereignty. These are important steps, so I thank the minister of finance for doing so. These are values that are critically important to all of us. I believe it is a vision shared by all parties and certainly by Canadians.
I came back into politics for a number of reasons. I think many members have as well. It is important for us to provide value in the House and to enable the next generation to be better off than we are, given the circumstances and the opportunities that we have in this place to do something better.
We are at a pivotal moment in our history. Geopolitical challenges are before us. Our largest trading partner is becoming less dependable, which is requiring us to be more forthright, to broaden our reach. The budget speaks to that. These are complex issues, so gimmicks do not work in this case. We need a serious road map. We need some serious engagement by all sides to enable this to succeed and to enable Canada to succeed.
At times, I hear us attacking the independent institutions in our democratic society that make us trusted partners around the world. I hear attacks on the Governor of the Bank of Canada or our securities commissions or our independent judges. We create the laws, but judges enact them, and we need that to be the case. The blame game that we sometimes see in the House can only go so far. We are all accountable here. We are all accountable to our constituents. We are all accountable to our children and to our parents. We in this House are trying to enable our society to care for our elders and to provide every opportunity for our children, which brings us to the budget.
I joined politics after 25 years in the private sector having my own business. I spent 20-plus years in the banking sector, supporting commercial business clients and participating in the capital markets. I enabled mergers and acquisitions and fostered ways for Canada to succeed. In that circumstance, I recognized—