Rona Ambrose

[Natural Resources, April 13th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, since taking office, the Liberals have completely failed to support Canada's energy sector.

While the U.S. has ramped up its oil exports, while at the same time blocking Canada's oil exports, the Prime Minister has done nothing about it. His principal secretary has said that oil and gas development is as bad as “hooking kids on cigarettes”. His environment minister has said that we need to move in the direction of ceasing all development in the industry.

In his ideological quest to make Canada free of fossil fuels, is the Prime Minister willing to take responsibility for the hundreds of thousands of jobs that will be lost?

[Natural Resources, April 13th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the failure of the Liberals to support Canada's energy sector is damaging the country, and it has real consequences. Thousand of jobs are being lost, families are losing their homes, and the communities are devastated.

All these families and communities need to hear is a clear message from the Prime Minister that he actually supports new pipelines. Will the Prime Minister finally assure all of us that if the National Energy Board approves Trans Mountain and energy east, he will also approve them?

[Natural Resources, April 13th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to say how thrilled we all are to see the Clerk back at her desk. Audrey O'Brien has had an exceptional career. She has served this Parliament, she has served her country, and she has served all of us. On behalf of everyone here, I would like to pay tribute to a remarkable woman, and I thank her.

Canadians understand that pipelines are the safest way to move our oil and gas to market. While our government approved the northern gateway pipeline, immediately after the election the Liberals killed it by slapping a transportation ban off the west coast.

If the Prime Minister is willing to kill a pipeline project after it is already approved, how can we have confidence he will not do the same thing to the Trans Mountain and the energy east pipelines?

[Employment, April 12th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, if we cannot trust the numbers, how can we trust that the economy is in good hands?

In Alberta, the Prime Minister told oil and gas workers that they should be pleased they were not harder hit, when all they needed to hear was a commitment to build pipelines. Will the Prime Minister finally tell the 100,000 unemployed oil and gas workers today that if the Trans Mountain pipeline and the energy east pipeline are approved, he will also approve them?

[The Budget, April 12th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, first the Prime Minister refused to give the parliamentary budget officer the information that he needs to do his work. Since then, we have seen a former deputy minister of finance conclude that this budget has no transparency. Even the CBC, believe it or not, declared that the numbers do not add up and called it “a shell game”. We have made-up numbers, hidden numbers, and numbers pulled from thin air, so why should Canadians trust the Prime Minister to run our economy?

[The Budget, April 12th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, experts agree on three things: the Liberals are borrowing way more money than they promised, they are already raising taxes, and none of the spending will create the jobs and growth that they promised. In addition, this budget is the least transparent budget in 15 years. Now we also know that the budget numbers do not add up.

Let me repeat that: the federal budget numbers do not add up.

When the numbers do not add up, how can Canadians trust them with their jobs?

[Taxation, April 11th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are spending $30 billion of borrowed money, but not a dime of it is going to small businesses. It is not a question anymore of delaying their promise to cut taxes for small businesses; now they have admitted they do not even have a timeline for it.

Is the Prime Minister ignoring small businesses because he still thinks, as he did in the election, that they are actually just ways for wealthy Canadians to cheat on taxes?

[Taxation, April 11th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, small business owners are hard-working, middle-class Canadians, but the Liberals have betrayed them. The Liberal promise to cut taxes for small businesses has vanished into thin air.

Why is the government breaking its promise and hanging Canadian small business owners out to dry?

[Consular Affairs, April 11th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, Alison Azer's four children were kidnapped and are now thought to be in Mahabad, Iran. She has been in touch with the RCMP but is extremely frustrated with the lack of response from the government. She is worried that her daughters may be subjected to female genital mutilation and that her older son may be sent to a madrassa.

We understand, based upon communications between our offices, that the Minister of Foreign Affairs is open to a meeting.

Would the minister confirm today that he will meet with Mrs. Azer?

[The Budget, April 11th, 2016]

Those leaders in our first nations need to be just as accountable as every leader in this House. That means that when they use taxpayer money, it should be transparent. Only then will families, women and children, get the support they need.