Rachael Thomas

[Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2020, April 13th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I withdraw the comment, but I would ask that the House observe the clock and that equal time be granted for an answer as was given to the question.

[Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2020, April 13th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, the member referred to my speech as being full of “negativity”. Only a Liberal would say that me talking about the potential and ability of Canadians as the solution would call that negativity. Why? Why would the Liberals call that negativity? They would call that negativity because they want Canadians to be reliant on the government, and because they want to be able to control people. They do not want Canadians to be free thinkers. They do not want Canadians to be ingenious. They do not want Canadians to be problem solvers, solution makers or independent wealth creators. They want Canadians to remain reliant on the government. When I talk about Canadians being the solution, and when I talk about the incredible potential that we have in our country, the members opposite refer to it as negativity.

Madam Speaker, that question was a very lengthy question and you are cutting me off inappropriately right now.

[Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2020, April 13th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, the current government seems to wear federal debt as a badge of honour. It is bizarre and quite troubling. In the party opposite they love to brag about how much money they have spent, as my hon. colleague has pointed out. They do not so much enjoy talking about the outcome, however, and perhaps that is because the outcome is abysmal.

We will take, for example, the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities. The Minister of Infrastructure and Communities was recently reviewed by the Parliamentary Budget Officer, and he confirmed that tens of billions of dollars have rolled out the door in the name of infrastructure projects, and yet the minister is not able to show proof for 9,000 projects. They just disappeared. We have no idea where these projects were fulfilled. We have no idea where they are in their current standing, but we know that billions of dollars rolled out the door. That is unthinkable. That is a scandal of tremendous magnitude.

More borrowing does not equal good governance, as much as the party opposite would like us to believe that. As the official opposition we have supported every single spending measure put forward by them in order to ensure Canadians were rightly taken care of. After all, I do believe that if government policies are what robbed Canadians of their livelihood, then government should also step in and provide for those individuals, because they lost their job at no fault of their own.

However, it is wrong to simply look at the dollars that are being pushed out as some sort of measure of success rather than evaluating the outcome, and the outcome and benefit to Canadians that the government has offered is abysmal. It is embarrassing.

Throughout the pandemic, we have worked with the government to grant specific support measures to Canadians, but at times even our good faith has been put to the test, for example, when the Prime Minister tried to get away with unlimited taxing and spending for up to two years. It is unbelievable. When we have sought clarity from the Liberals, whether it was on spending, vaccines, unethical behaviour, the reason for proroguing Parliament this fall or the sexual misconduct allegations that are taking place within the CAF, we have consistently been silenced. We have been met with deflections, non-answers, filibusters and more secrecy.

Members will forgive me if I am a little skeptical when the government asks to expand the debt ceiling and to take a line of credit for over $660 billion. I have to take a step back, ask some very good questions and point out some very good things that need to be considered.

I referred a moment ago to the lack of transparency around infrastructure spending, but the reality is that this is just the tip of the iceberg. The Parliamentary Budget Officer has said again and again that the current government operates with great secrecy. When the Minister of Finance was questioned at committee about the purpose for this inordinate and unprecedented amount of money that is being proposed to borrow, the minister directed the members to look at a publicly available chart. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, this so-called “chart” existed, but there were no expenditures attached to it or the intent of those expenditures. I have a suggestion. Perhaps if they are going to ask to spend this amount of money, they should have a chart available. A pie chart or Excel sheet is not that difficult. However, borrowing money is not the issue. The matter at hand is much greater than dollars. It has to do with the very ethical standard the government sets for itself and the way it conducts itself on behalf of Canadians.

Canadians are looking for a way back to normalcy. They want to start earning a paycheque, rather than collecting a government cheque, so I ask where the plan is. Where is the plan? Where is the leadership? Where is good governance? Throwing money at a problem does not fix it. Money does not equate to outcomes; strategy equates to outcomes, and the current government loves to brag about how much money it is spending, how much it plans to borrow and the amount of debt it intends to take on, but this type of scheme is very short-lived and incredibly detrimental to Canadians.

In fact, Canadians know that the only way the government can bring in money is through taxation. That is it, full stop. Money spent is not a measuring stick for success, but if we want to look at lowering unemployment rates or if we want to look at the growth of our GDP, those are great measures, so let us do that. Oh, wait. That is not positive news.

When I think of Canada's future, I am optimistic nevertheless. Want to know why I am optimistic? It is not because of the government at the helm. I am optimistic because of the very Canadians who live in this country and steward its great resources. I am optimistic because of the men and women who call this nation home who are incredibly entrepreneurial, who are not afraid to take a risk, who are excited about working and getting this country back into shape. The only thing we are missing is a leader who sees this potential.

Speaking of potential, let me mention that it is incredibly sad that the government has offered nothing to the oil and gas sector. In fact, it has gone so far as to demonize the sector here in Canada and support the sector in other countries where there are no human rights protections, where there are no environmental protections and where there certainly is no revenue generated for us. The government would rather support places like Saudi Arabia than develop our own sector. It is sad.

The Liberals just had their policy convention. Many of the resolutions that were brought forward would certainly be applauded by last century's socialist leaders. It is hard to imagine the price tag of things like pharmacare and national basic income, but at the end of the day, Canadians are the ones who have to foot the bill. In fact, the Parliamentary Budget Officer calculated that a Liberal universal basic income would mean a 47% across-the-board increase in personal income tax. That means if someone sees $1,000 come off their cheque right now every month, they would be seeing $1,470 come off their paycheque then. That is a lot of money. That is the thing about government spending. It always costs the taxpayer. It always costs the Canadian worker because when those sorts of socialist policies are put in place, taxes have to come up. When taxes come up, it creates an environment that is unfriendly to businesses. Then those businesses actually leave the country. When they leave the country their jobs go with them and when the jobs go with them, the unemployment rate goes up. It is an incredibly detrimental place to put our country.

The Prime Minister often speaks of building back better and creating a more equal society. With this plan of unending spending and historic borrowing he will, in fact, create a more equal society. No doubt about it, we will be more equally poor. Is that really the Canada we want? Margaret Thatcher was asked about her policies when she was the prime minister in the U.K. She said, “what the honourable member is saying is that he would rather the poor were poorer, provided that the rich were less rich.” That is the policy of the government. It would rather that the poor are poorer, as long as the rich are less rich. That is not the Canada that the citizens of this great nation want. That is not the Canada that I can support because greater things are possible, because Canadians are capable of great things. Canadians need a prime minister who sees the solution for what it is, and it is not the government. It is the people. It is Canadians who are the problem solvers, the solution makers and the wealth generators. Canadian workers are the ones who will get Canada back on track.

In 1921, architect John A. Pearson commissioned the following scripture to be engraved over the west window of the Peace Tower in West Block: “Where there is no vision, the people perish”. Right now, Canadians are looking for a leader with vision. They want to see a leader who has a plan, a strategy to restore this country to the powerhouse nation that it can be and has always been intended to be. The answer is Canadians. The solution right now is a leader who has vision to see the answer.

[Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2020, April 13th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, one of the things I have observed that the Liberals like to talk about is how much money they have spent. It is tens of billions, hundreds of billions of dollars just rolling out the door. The Liberals spend and spend, and then they tell Canadians how successful they are in looking after them because they have spent x dollars.

However, since when is spending the measure of good governance? Since when is spending the measure that we use to know whether or not the Liberals are making decisions on behalf of Canadians that are actually helpful? What measure would be better?

[Criminal Code, April 13th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, the hon. member outlined the bill and very much made it sound like the crimes that were addressed in the legislation, Bill C-22, simply had to do with public health concerns.

That being the case, I am wondering if the hon. member could comment on kidnapping. Kidnapping is one of the things in the bill, and the sentence is being lessened for engaging in this. Could the member please help me understand how this is a public health concern?

[Supplementary Estimates (C), 2020-21, March 25th, 2021]

I vote nay.

[Supplementary Estimates (C), 2020-21, March 25th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I want to clarify my vote. Unfortunately, my app did not work and it says I cannot start by video.

[Business of Supply, March 25th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, of course, and Canadians want to know that the government is acting ethically, that the government is being held accountable, that the government is transparent and open. Canadians have that expectation when we function within a democratic system like Canada. To get to the bottom of the WE charity scandal and to get to the bottom of what has taken place with regard to the treatment of women within the Canadian Armed Forces is so crucial.

Again, for the Liberals, for those across the aisle from me who accuse us of petty politics, just how much value do they place on Canadians? How much value do they really place on openness and transparency? How much value do they place on the lives of those women within the Canadian Armed Forces who were detrimentally impacted by the sins committed against them?

[Business of Supply, March 25th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, as members of Parliament, of course, we are held to a high standard for how we use taxpayer money to promote our efforts as members of Parliament, but we are also held accountable for how we use that money to promote other efforts within our community and beyond. As MPs we are not permitted to use our finances or the money that is allocated to our offices to advance our private interests. For the Prime Minister to do so is absolutely inappropriate.

It is important for us to bring the witnesses to this committee so that they can testify on what exactly happened behind closed doors and we can get to the bottom of it and the truth be exposed, so that Canadians can be well served.

[Business of Supply, March 25th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, we have already made it very clear to the public that we intend to pay that back. That process has begun.