Mr. Speaker, I want to extend my best wishes for the summer to all colleagues from all sides. We have fought hard for our constituents, for our convictions and to advance the common good of this country. I want to share my best wishes with all colleagues, as well as the various staff and people in this institution who support the important work that we do.
In addition to thanking and wishing best wishes to all colleagues and support staff here, I want to note that this will be a very important summer in my province because we will be discussing and debating the question of Alberta's place within Confederation. I can tell the House that I firmly believe in the importance of a strong Alberta within a united Canada. I believe that is the position held by the majority of my constituents. I look forward to talking to people and listening to them over the summer. I would encourage colleagues from all parts of the country to also listen to, respect and try to understand the concerns Albertans have. Many Albertans, including those who support a united Canada, have concerns about the way our federation has operated and want to look for opportunities to improve things for the good of the whole country.
Coming back to the question I had originally asked and that I am following up on, I am deeply concerned, as we go into the summer, about the challenges facing young Canadians and young Canadian families when it comes to finding employment, starting out in life and believing they can have a better future and that they can pass a better future on to the next generation.
We have a worsening employment crisis. It is getting increasingly harder for young people to find their first job, and for young families to afford their first home and be able to afford to take those critical steps forward in life. In recognition of that problem, and in an effort to be constructive, we have, as the Conservative Party, put forward constructive proposals to try to make life better for young people seeking jobs and for young families.
Last fall, we announced the Conservative youth jobs plan to unleash the economy, fix immigration, fix training and build homes where the jobs are. This plan, if implemented by the government, would help young people have hope that they can have jobs and opportunity going forward, afford homes and have the standard of living their parents had. We have also released a work and family life plan to support young families. This plan includes vital reforms to parental leave to make it easier for parents who are trying to start a family, maintain a connection to work and earn an income at the same time.
I am very proud of the work we have done as a Conservative opposition, focusing on what matters to Canadians and on putting forward constructive proposals to make people's lives better. We have asked the government, in a spirit of goodwill and co-operation, to take these ideas forward and adopt our Conservative youth jobs plan and the parental leave reforms we have put forward. Unfortunately, in many cases, we have seen the government choose to move in the opposite direction, for instance, by defunding grants to students at vocational institutions who are trying to gain the vital experience they need for jobs.
We have always sought to be productive and constructive by putting forward these good ideas and asking the government to adopt them. Therefore, as we face these ongoing challenges, an affordability crisis and a youth unemployment crisis, will the government take a serious look at what we have put forward, including the Conservative youth jobs plan, parental leave reforms and the need to reform training to connect Canadian young people with Canadian jobs? Will the government look at our ideas, take them seriously and consider implementing them as part of the budget so we can finally reverse the trajectory that we have seen and give young people hope for jobs, homes and opportunity in the future?
