Mr. Speaker, I asked what the plan is to spend $180 billion on infrastructure, and he says, “We have 20 buses.” Congratulations. Now we know the Liberal plan. How much does that work out to per bus?
House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2021, with 50% of the vote.
Infrastructure March 20th, 2018
Mr. Speaker, I asked what the plan is to spend $180 billion on infrastructure, and he says, “We have 20 buses.” Congratulations. Now we know the Liberal plan. How much does that work out to per bus?
Infrastructure March 20th, 2018
Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Budget Officer is trying to ascertain where all of this supposed infrastructure, now non-infrastructure, money is going. He wrote this in his report just last week:
Budget 2018 provides an incomplete account of the changes to the Government’s $186.7 billion infrastructure spending plan.
The Parliamentary Budget Officer requested a new plan, but it does not exist. How is it even possible to spend $186 billion without a plan?
Finance March 19th, 2018
Mr. Speaker, the government said that the deficit would be just $10 billion. It has been nearly $20 billion. This year the deficit will be three times the size that the Liberals committed to in their platform, and they are unable to find a single penny in savings necessary to eventually return us to a balanced budget.
Why does the member not just rise now and admit what the Parliamentary Budget Officer has already suggested, and what Canadians already know, which is that the Liberals will never balance Canada's budget?
Finance March 19th, 2018
Mr. Speaker, let us review the fiscal promises. The Liberals said they would cut $3 billion in waste. Instead, they found billions of dollars in increased spending. They said that the deficit would be just $10 billion. It has been double that. They said that the budget would be balanced by 2019. Now they say that will not happen for another 25 years, during which time they will add, or some government will add, half a trillion dollars of deficit. They said the middle class would pay less. Instead, the Fraser Institute said that 80% are paying more.
With all of these broken promises, how can the Canadian people believe anything the Prime Minister says about their money?
Finance March 19th, 2018
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals claimed that their deficit spending would go to infrastructure, but now the Parliamentary Budget Officer has revealed that a quarter of that money has lapsed and just disappeared into the massive Liberal spending hole. Now there is this:
Budget 2018 provides an incomplete account of the changes to the Government’s $186.7 billion infrastructure spending plan. PBO requested the new plan but it does not exist.
How does the government spend $186 billion with no plan?
Finance March 19th, 2018
Mr. Speaker, by the end of this term, that is an election promise.
That is a promise. The Liberals also promised they would eliminate $3 billion in spending after they did a comprehensive review to find waste. Having done that review over the last two years, the Liberals have come to the conclusion that there is not a single penny in waste that they can cancel. In fact, it gave them ideas on how they could spend even more.
Will the Liberals keep their promise to eliminate $3 billion in annual spending waste by the end of this term, yes or no?
The Economy March 2nd, 2018
Mr. Speaker, the reality is that the previous government brought a million new jobs, despite the great global recession.
The Liberals inherited massive global and U.S. growth and have delivered nothing but debt as far as the eye can see. Now the world is taking its money out of Canada, and we are losing jobs along with it. Why?
The Economy March 2nd, 2018
Mr. Speaker, the fact is that the Liberals inherited that from the previous government. The previous government took Canada through the great global recession with the best job results, the lowest taxes, and the biggest middle-class income growth of any government since records have been kept—
The Economy March 2nd, 2018
Mr. Speaker, the government inherited a short-term windfall from a housing bubble in Toronto and Vancouver, a booming U.S. economy and world economy, and a doubling of oil prices. What did the Liberals do with it all? They blew it. Now the results are coming in. Today we have disappointing economic growth numbers. Yesterday the former chief economic analyst at Stats Canada revealed that investment in Canada is in a free fall.
Why did the Liberals blow Canada's good fortune instead of setting it aside and preparing for the risks ahead?
Opportunity for Workers with Disabilities Act March 2nd, 2018
Mr. Speaker, his autistic son taught Randy Lewis the amazing and underutilized potential of workers with disabilities.
His job as Walgreens vice-president gave him a chance to do something about it, hiring over 1,000 workers with disabilities at Walgreens' mercilessly competitive distribution centres, earning the same wages and doing the same work as everyone else.
His book, No Greatness Without Goodness, recounts the touching story of a mother breaking into tears when her adult disabled son came home with his first paycheque, which was bigger than either of his parents had ever earned.
I am pleased to announce today that Randy Lewis has endorsed the opportunity for workers with disabilities act, which will allow workers with disabilities to earn more in wages than they lose in clawbacks and taxes. It will give thousands of people the pride and independence of a job, and what Martin Luther King called the “dignity of labour”.