Doug Eyolfson

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for acknowledging how listening to our treaty partners is essential for reconciliation. This legislation was developed with the help of over 30 modern treaty partners. How can the member say that the legislation would not be useful in helping to resolve problems with modern treaties when so many modern treaty partners helped develop this bill?

Mr. Speaker, this Saturday, May 30, I will once again be riding my Triumph Bonneville in Winnipeg's Ride for Dad to help raise funds and awareness for prostate cancer research. This year's ride is especially meaningful to me because I will be riding in memory of my dear friend Paul Stewart, a long-time participant and organizer of Ride for Dad who passed away from prostate cancer nearly one year ago. Paul dedicated countless hours to this cause and inspired many in our community to join the fight against prostate cancer. More than 5,300 Canadian men die from this disease every year, accounting for approximately 15% of cancer deaths among men in Canada. Behind these numbers are fathers, brothers, friends and loved ones whose lives are cut far too short. Thanks to advances in research, screening and treatment, more lives are being saved, but there is still more work to do. Every dollar raised through Ride for Dad helps support life-saving research, increase awareness and promote early detection. I encourage all Canadians to support a rider in their community and to help us continue to fight against prostate cancer. Together, we can save lives and and make prostrate cancer history.

Mr. Speaker, we hear the phrase “Government should get out of the way.” Whenever I hear that phrase, I think that someone has been reading a little too much Ayn Rand. I would like to ask the hon. member this: In the face of the punishing tariffs from the United States, what would be happening to Canadian businesses if government got out of the way?

Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by saying I will be sharing my time with the member for University—Rosedale. We are living through a period of real global uncertainty. Trade tensions are rising. Conflicts around the world are disrupting supply chains and prices are being pushed up by forces that no single country controls. That is the reality Canadians are living with, but Canadians are not asking for analysis. They are asking for relief. They are asking for it in a way they can feel in their daily lives. In Winnipeg West, people are not focused on global markets. I recently spoke with seniors in Winnipeg West who told me that grocery trips have become like a budget exercise, because they have to make sure that the basics last until the end of the month. This is what people are dealing with. They are focused on whether their paycheque will last the month. They are focused on what gets bought, what gets delayed and what simply cannot wait. I hear it in grocery stores. I hear it from families and from young people trying to get started. The message is consistent. Things are getting harder, not easier. That is where responsibility matters. We cannot control global instability. We are responsible for how it is felt here at home. We are responsible for whether support arrives when it is needed. We are responsible for whether opportunity is within reach or out of reach. We are responsible for whether life becomes more manageable or less so. If it does not show up in people's lives, it does not count. Nowhere is that clearer than in affordability. Families in Winnipeg West are making difficult choices every time they go to the grocery store. They are stretching budgets that are already stretched thin. The Canada groceries and essentials benefit will support approximately 475,000 Manitobans, including over 36,000 people in Winnipeg West. For a family of four, up to $1,890 this year is not symbolic; it is groceries on the table, it is bills paid and it is breathing room where there was none. With a top-up arriving as early as June 5, that support arrives when pressure is being felt, not after it has passed. Affordability support only works if it is timely. We are also making it easier for Canadians with disabilities to access the support they are entitled to. By streamlining the disability tax credit application process, expanding who can certify eligibility and reducing barriers for those with long-lasting medical conditions, more Canadians will be able to access the disability tax credit and the supports connected to it, including the Canada disability benefit. Affordability is not one-size-fits-all and support has to reach the people who need it most. Gasoline is another point of concern. In Winnipeg West, people depend on their vehicles for work, school and daily life. When gasoline prices rise, there is no buffer. The impact is immediate. That is why reducing prices by about 10¢ per litre until Labour Day matters. It is not the full answer, by any means, but it is real relief every time someone fills their tank. Right now, stability matters. Housing pressure is building, rents are rising, vacancy is tightening and ownership is becoming harder to reach. This update responds with scale: more than $7 billion to accelerate rental housing and another $1.7 billion to remove barriers slowing construction. This means stalled projects move forward, more housing gets built in Winnipeg and more people get options instead of uncertainty. Without new supply, affordability does not stabilize; it erodes. However, housing does not get built on policy. It gets built by people. We are also building for the long term. In Manitoba, the talent is there. The barrier is access. That is why a $400 weekly apprenticeship benefit matters, along with supports for employers to take on apprentices. It removes the financial gap that keeps people out of the trades. That means more apprentices on job sites across Winnipeg, more projects completed and more stable, well-paying careers that stay in our communities. That is because opportunity only matters if people can actually take it. The Canada Strong fund is about keeping investment in Canada: building here, hiring here and growing here. Growth only matters if Canadians feel it. In Winnipeg, we can already see how that works. At 17 Wing, and across our aerospace sector, defence is not abstract. It is work, skills and opportunity. Canada has now reached the 2% NATO target, strengthening both our alliances and our economy. Through the defence industrial strategy, more than 125,000 jobs will be supported across the country, and Winnipeg is part of that. That means aerospace work today, and opportunity for the next generation. Strong communities also require safety. In Winnipeg West, people are concerned about fraud, scams and financial crime targeting vulnerable residents. This update includes $75 million for the Canada community security program, along with stronger action against fraud. That means better protection, and it means consequences for those who target people's savings and security. When people do not feel safe, nothing else works the way it should. Strong communities are built through connection, through recreation, through sport and through shared spaces. With $755 million in sport funding, more young people in Winnipeg West will have access to programs that build confidence, discipline and belonging. For many families, that is not secondary; it is foundational. Communities are not built on announcements. They are built one person, one family and one neighbourhood at a time. All of this is being done while maintaining fiscal discipline. We are reducing spending by $60 billion over five years and lowering the deficit. Canadians expect support in difficult times, but they also expect responsibility. We are expected to deliver both. The people in Winnipeg West understand that the world is uncertain. They are not asking us to control it. They are asking us to respond to it, to make life more affordable, to make opportunity more accessible, to make communities safer and stronger, and to ensure that what is decided in this place is felt in their daily lives. In Winnipeg West, if it is not felt, it does not count.