Grant Jackson

Mr. Speaker, new numbers from Harvest Manitoba should concern every member of the House. In March, more than 61,000 Manitobans accessed a food bank, and more than half of them were children. According to the Winnipeg Free Press, food bank use in our province has increased by more than 150% since 2020. Today, an average of nearly 25,000 Manitoba households rely on food banks every month, which is more than double the number from just a few years ago. Behind these numbers are parents trying to feed their children, seniors stretching fixed incomes, and working families who simply cannot keep up with the cost of the basics. Manitobans are working hard, but too many are being forced to turn to food banks just to put dinner on the table. This should not be accepted as normal. Canadians need a government focused on lowering the cost of living so that working families can afford the necessities and get ahead again. It is time to implement our Conservative economic action plan, which will deliver real—

Mr. Speaker, after nearly 18 months of the Liberal government, Canadians have witnessed a lot of talk and no results when it comes to affordability. Kayleigh from Westman wrote to me and said she spends $160 a week just driving to work and over $2,000 a month on groceries to feed her kids. Despite working full-time, Kayleigh writes, “it feels like we are falling further behind every month.” Her friends and neighbours, like all young parents in my community, are questioning why they work so hard and never get ahead. Will the Liberals adopt our economic action plan to save families like Kayleigh's nearly $10,000 this year and provide real relief?

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to be back here and to rise on behalf of the residents of Brandon—Souris to present a petition regarding an announcement from the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food, which confirmed in April that it will be cutting six research positions at the Brandon agricultural research station. This is a very important facility, not just for my constituency but also, indeed, for Canada's and North America's agricultural sectors. Much of the research that has been done at this facility has gone on to produce some of the most biosecure, resistant crops, which have dominated North America's agricultural industry and market. It is a shame that the government has decided to cut leading-edge research positions at this facility. The petitioners and my constituents are calling on the government to reverse its decision.

Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to be back and a pleasure to see you in the chair. I wonder if my colleague from Edmonton would mind giving his perspective. The member for Winnipeg West just spoke about the lack of consultation with treaty partners. I thought the question was a little bizarre coming from the member for Winnipeg West, given the member from Edmonton's history as a proud chief of his first nation and his relationship with the federal government and the Crown over the course of his service in that role. I wonder if the member for Edmonton Northwest could give a little bit more clarity for the member from Winnipeg on this topic.

Madam Speaker, the comments from the member for Winnipeg North are really interesting because the member from Edmonton earlier admitted that there is a treaty commissioner that some provinces have, to deal with the failure of government to follow through with the commitments of the historic numbered treaties. I think everybody finds that to be very reasonable. However, this bill would create a modern treaty commissioner. With numerous modern treaties it is actively pursuing, some of which are before this House for debate, the government is admitting that it is already preparing for the fact that it is not going to follow through with the commitments that it has written into those treaties. The government needs to create another independent office at the same time as it is passing these treaties, to make sure it actually keeps the commitments that it is making to the first nations people in this country. That is a bit outrageous, and I wonder if my colleague from British Columbia would agree.

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I think it was very audible, the government whip shouting across that a member was a “liar” in the House. You previously ruled on a heckle that called another member a “liar”, and the member was asked to retract that statement. I would ask, Mr. Speaker, that you hold the same standard for the chief government whip.

Mr. Speaker, I find it very unfortunate that the member for Winnipeg North would accuse this member of the things that he has put on the record today. I think that is a pretty disturbing accusation to put on the record. I think the member for Calgary Skyview is accurately representing the concerns that he has heard from his own constituents as well as his own ethnic community. I wonder if the member could put on the record a bit more of the things that he has heard from leaders of his faith, which the member for Winnipeg North should probably take heed of before we take a final vote on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I do not think we will be trusting the minister's word on what a .22 is, given that he did not know what an RPAL is either. Manitoba's premier, Wab Kinew, recently said that the Prime Minister is requiring LNG to be shipped through the port of Churchill by 2030 as a requirement for federal support of the port of Churchill plus expansion project. Is that true, yes or no?

Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the minister minds addressing whether any of this money would be available for municipalities that are quite small. Despite their not being perhaps as flashy as big announcements in the major cities across Canada, these municipalities, in previous Liberal iterations of bloated federal government programs and funding, could not access the type of funding that they needed to spur small-scale housing projects in their municipalities. Can the minister comment on whether Liberals are going to get it right this time and ensure that all municipalities within the country can access funding for housing projects or whether they going to forget about rural Manitoba and rural Canada once again?

Mr. Speaker, despite leading Canada into a recession, the Prime Minister continues living in luxury, racking up $1 million in inflight catering alone. Meanwhile, more and more Manitoba families are struggling just to put food on the table. Last week, Harvest Manitoba shared its Manitoba poverty report card, which says it all, giving the government an F in its poverty rating and advising that of the record-setting 60,000 Manitobans who visit food banks monthly, 30% are employed full-time. What? If full-time workers cannot even afford food, these gimmicks and rebates are not going to cut it. When is the government going to take serious action to reduce food prices in this country?

Mr. Speaker, although I disagreed with large segments of my colleague's speech, the part she ended on is the most important one in her intervention today, which is the unacceptable nature and the affront to Westminster parliamentary democracy we have seen on display last week and now this week with programming motions being used at whim by the parliamentary secretary to the government House leader and the rest of his administration. I wonder if that member could elaborate just a little further on the damage that does to public trust in the institution of this Parliament and how it operates on behalf of all Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, it always amazes me that the theme for the government should be that someday they will get it done, and that member is certainly no exception to that rule. He is in charge of planning for the government, in terms of the House schedule, as is the House leader he serves. That member has been elected in this House since 2010. There is nothing new on the Liberal benches about that member. In fact, I was 13 years old when that member was first elected to this place, and he has not figured out by now that summer comes every year, midway through June, and that they need to plan accordingly to get their legislative agenda through. When exactly does that member think he is finally going to get ahead on the planning of the legislative agenda to get the government's legislation finished in this place?

Madam Speaker, there are a few disturbing comments on the record already, unfortunately, early this Monday, from the government whip and the parliamentary secretary to the government House leader. I find it very unfortunate that they continue to accuse Conservatives of hating Canada. I love this country, and the member for Winnipeg North knows that. I find it very disturbing that he continues to accuse us of rightfully calling out the government where it has failed over the last 11 years. There are more Canadians at food banks than ever before, including educated Canadians with post-secondary degrees, more than ever, lining up at food banks because their jobs do not pay them enough to pay for the increase in food prices under the Liberals. There are more Canadians under 35 out of the housing market than ever before. What exactly is it that the Liberals think they have to be so proud of?

Madam Speaker, the analogy, I think, is just perfect. The Liberals are spinning their tires so hard in the mud, trying to prove to Canadians that they are improving the economic situation when they are in fact failing it, that they are actually going backward and making things worse. They are doing this instead of being stuck stationary and, certainly, instead of moving forward, which is exactly what people in this country need, particularly Manitobans and young Canadians across this country, from coast to coast to coast. I wonder if the member, who has been here a bit longer than I have, could provide a little more context about what it might take to finally get the Liberals to do a bit of self-reflection, eat a bit humble pie and maybe make a change so that Canadians are better off.

Mr. Speaker, there is no question the member is an excellent member of Parliament. We are lucky to have her and so are her constituents. I just want to pick away at this a little. I know she heard the speech earlier from the Liberal member talking about how he felt his government has saved the taxpayer $60 billion. I just do not see that in any of the documents. I do not see that in anything we are discussing today with respect to the opposition day motion. In fact, we are calling out the Liberal government on the fact that its economic policy has failed Canadians. It has failed this country for 11 years. We need a fresh perspective. I wonder if that member can elaborate on the fact that the Liberals seem to be pretty out of touch when they have spent over their $60 billion projected deficit. We are now much higher than that. Somehow these Liberal members are still running around saying that they have saved the taxpayers money when in fact we are seeing record-level deficits.

Mr. Speaker, the chief government whip knows well that he cannot reflect on a member's presence or past presence in, or absence from, the chamber. I would remind him to read his own rule book, for which he is responsible for the government—

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my excellent colleague for his speech, not least for the way that he ended it. I might just have to find myself down there for a couple of butter tarts. His speech accurately portrayed what I am hearing, and what I know most of our colleagues in this place are hearing, from constituents. They are feeling the recession. They are feeling the inflationary policies of the government that have driven down their wages and driven up their cost of living. I would like the member to provide a little more clarity on why he thinks the Liberals cannot admit that their 11 years of inflationary spending have had a devastating impact on our economy, on household incomes and on household debt, and what the implications of that could be going forward.

Madam Speaker, just last week, a tragic collision just east of Brandon claimed the life of a 49-year-old woman after a semi-truck failed to stop at an intersection on Highway 110. Our thoughts remain with her loved ones during this devastating time. Since then, reports have revealed that the trucking company involved had its Manitoba safety licence revoked in 2021, yet it was able to continue operating in Manitoba under a licence issued in another province. The Liberals know that this licensing loophole has existed for some time, so why has the transport minister not taken any action to close it and ensure preventable deaths like this never happen again?

Madam Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague on an excellent speech outlining some of the significant concerns that we have about the bill: number one, about the Liberals' budget, and number two, about the expedited process by which the government is trying to ram this through with its new-found majority government. We have concerns, and I think Canadians have concerns, about the economic outlook of this country. We have concerns about the approaches that the government is taking by not only using time allocation here in the House but also shutting down committees. I wonder if the member has a bit more to say about the concerns that his constituents are relaying to him about the heavy-handedness of this brand new, manufactured Liberal majority government.

Madam Speaker, in picking up exactly where the member left off, I will say that am quite curious about protecting defence industrial capability. We heard a lot from the member and from the Prime Minister about Saab and the agreement on surveillance planes. We are all wondering when the government is going to make the decision on our next fighter jet capability. I understand there have been promises from Saab about eastern Canadian jobs but very little about that for western Canada, if the Gripen is to be produced in Canada. Meanwhile, many good jobs in Winnipeg are based at Magellan Aerospace, which makes the entire tail fin component of the F-35. I am wondering if the member is going to advocate just as strongly for aerospace industry jobs in Manitoba as he is for those in eastern Canada.