Michael Guglielmin

Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the great people of the riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge. Canadians are struggling with the cost of living, and every single dollar matters, whether it be the parent filling up the family car before taking the kids to school, the tradesperson driving from job site to job site or the truck driver delivering food that ends up in our grocery stores. It certainly matters to the families in my riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge who are trying to make their paycheques stretch a little further each month. When I am at the east or west Woodbridge seniors clubs, the topic on everyone's mind is how expensive life has gotten. For seniors, OAS and CPP do not go far enough. As for their grandkids, they feel that life is unaffordable and they will never be able to get ahead. It has been a year and a half since the Liberals were elected, and many are wondering how life has changed, how their lives have been made better. Yes, there are many global challenges that further complicate the problem, including the unjustified tariffs on our country, but many of the affordability concerns that Canadians are talking about predate this, and many of them are self-inflicted after almost 11 years now of bad government policy. There have been many announcements from the government, but we have seen very little progress. We see a government that is great at marketing its announcements but very little action. I would submit that things have actually gotten worse. The Liberals in the last year and a half have doubled the deficit and added hundreds of billions of dollars of new spending above the reckless levels inherited from the previous disastrous Trudeau Liberal government. One need look no further than the fact that we are now at the highest levels of government spending as a share of the economy since 1996 and have the biggest deficit outside of COVID in Canadian history. As a member of His Majesty's loyal opposition, it is my job to hold the government accountable, question its expenditures and, yes, agree where there is room to agree. Just yesterday, when I asked a question in the House on the cost of retaliatory tariffs for Canadians, the government House leader proceeded to act as if such a question was part of a “‘blame Canada’ pattern”. I mean, how dare the Conservative opposition ask a simple question of basic economics to the Liberal government? We know transparency is not the Liberals' strong suit. Following months of Conservative calls to extend gas tax relief for Canadians, the federal government decided to suspend the excise tax on gasoline and diesel in April, providing relief of 10¢ per litre on gasoline and four cents per litre on diesel. This suspension was originally scheduled to expire after Labour Day, but the government has now introduced legislation to extend it to January 2027. For Canadians who depend on their vehicles, and for businesses that depend on affordable transportation, the extension provides additional relief. It also raises an important question about what happens when that relief expires. Conservatives have constantly called for greater relief, and we believe the government should go even further by removing all federal taxes on gasoline and diesel until at least Canada Day 2027, which would save Canadians 25¢ per litre and provide an annual savings of $1,200 per family. I will also note that when Conservatives proposed to remove the federal excise tax on fuel for a longer time, Liberals downplayed it as having little to no impact on affordability for Canadians. I would also like to say that I will be splitting my time with the member for Mégantic—L'Érable—Lotbinière. How much could that wasted time and delay have saved Canadians? Let us think about it. We had a motion in this very House on this exact issue that the Liberals voted against several months prior. We have seen this before. The Liberals backtracked on their previous narrative regarding their tax policy. Exhibit A is the consumer carbon tax. As the hon. member for Saanich—Gulf Islands suggested earlier today, the Liberals are plagiarizing parts of our platform for their own, and it is no surprise that they are because that is exactly what Canadians need to address issues of affordability and the cost of living. Fuel taxes drive up costs for Canadians, and the impact extends well beyond the gas station. When fuel costs rise, the consequences are felt throughout the economy, and ultimately, those costs find their ways into the wallets of every single Canadian. Let us consider what happens before a family even walks into a grocery store. A farmer needs fuel to operate equipment and produce food. A trucking company needs diesel to transport that food. A distributor needs to move it to a warehouse, and another truck delivers it to a grocery store. Every stage involves transportation, and every single stage has costs. When fuel becomes more expensive, businesses face pressure to absorb these costs, reduce spending elsewhere or pass some of those expenditures along to the customers. That is why Conservatives have been calling for the government to go further. Lower fuel costs can help families at the pump while easing some of the pressures facing the businesses that produce and deliver the goods Canadians rely on. As someone who spent 20 years in industry, I understand the importance of getting materials from a supplier to a factory and the finished product from a factory to a customer. The manufacturing transportation costs are part of the price of doing business. It is a top-three line item on most financial statements. A company might be doing everything it can to improve productivity, control expenses and remain competitive, but it still needs to purchase fuel to move its products. When those costs rise, it can put additional pressure on the company's margins and ability to compete. This is particularly relevant today when Canadian manufacturers are already navigating significant uncertainty in their trade relationship with the largest market, the United States. For businesses in Vaughan—Woodbridge and across Ontario, transportation costs are one of several factors that determine whether they can offer competitive prices, attract orders and maintain employment. Fuel tax relief can help with one of those pressures. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business has also reported significant financial pressure among small businesses. Among those who considered it a bad time to start a business, 88% cited high costs, 65% pointed at taxes and 53% identified government red tape. These are Canadians who invest their savings, take risks and employ people in our communities. When their costs rise, it can become harder to expand, invest in new equipment, hire workers or offer competitive pricing. Conservatives also called for reforms to federal permitting, taxation and regulation to address Canada's broader competitive challenges. For example, we have learned that there are over 100,000 different regulations on the manufacturing sector alone. The decisions Parliament makes on fuel taxes are a part of that discussion. I want to turn to the experience of younger Canadians. The finance minister claimed his government is fighting every day for young people and their generation, yet a recent RBC report highlights that more than half of Canadian parents are financially supporting their adult children, giving an average of $6,100 just last year. Young Canadians should not need the bank of mom and dad to afford groceries and rent. A significant portion of Canada's brain drain is because of the cost of living for our young people. Conservatives have raised concerns about the scale of federal spending, the deficit and the long-term costs of servicing public debt. Those concerns deserve careful consideration when the government is asking Canadians to accept that further fuel tax relief cannot be sustained beyond next spring. Bill C-38 also presents an opportunity to consider the broader fuel tax proposal. Conservatives have called for removing all federal taxes on gasoline and diesel until at least Canada Day 2027, including the GST on fuel, while also proposing changes to the clean fuel regulations and the permanent elimination of the industrial carbon tax. The government has estimated that extending the existing tax suspension will provide an additional $2.9 billion in tax relief. That makes the scheduled return of the tax particularly important to examine. If the government recognizes that fuel tax relief can help Canadians and Canadian businesses manage rising costs, Parliament should understand why the relief is scheduled to end on April 1. The families I represent in Vaughan—Woodbridge are looking for greater financial security. They want to know that their children have opportunities to purchase a home, that their businesses can remain competitive and that their paycheques will cover the costs of everyday life.

Madam Speaker, we are facing a major affordability crisis, and in that same spirit of collaboration, we would like to see the government extend this fuel tax break even further. We would also like to see it take some of our other ideas on affordability. We have a serious problem with regulations that have a stranglehold on the Canadian economy. We need serious tax reform. I believe it was a Liberal prime minister, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, who once said that if Canada wants to be competitive with the United States, the largest market, it is not going to be a market competition. We have to have a more competitive regulatory system and a much more competitive tax system. I would like to see the Liberals collaborate with us on those things to increase affordability for Canadians.

Madam Speaker, we see a theme here. The Liberal government spends 11 years recklessly destroying the Canadian economy and then wants to take credit for programs that it institutes to apparently help subsidize the people in the economy that it destroyed. To answer the member's question, we need to see the spirit of collaboration on serious things like tax reform, on things that will help us build up our leverage in trade negotiations and that will help promote competitiveness. We would like to see the Liberals actually start building energy infrastructure so we can take advantage of this unique opportunity to capitalize on our natural resources, so we can lower business and personal tax for people and really target key industries and see them thrive. We have everything we need in this country. We just need the Liberals onside to promote these ideas.

Madam Speaker, the constituents from Vaughan—Woodbridge and, frankly, Canadians right across this entire country recognize the unique position that Canada is in with our large natural resources that we sit upon. What they would like to see the government do is move at speeds not seen before, like it promised in the last election, so we can develop the infrastructure, export our natural resources and build up this country for everybody.

Mr. Speaker, a Desjardins report confirms there is a double tariff shock on manufacturing businesses here in Canada. A business owner in Woodbridge was not only hit by crushing 50% tariffs on his exports to the U.S. but also recently lost a steel drum contract due to a 50% countertariff imposed by his own government. Washington started this trade war, but how is the Prime Minister going to ensure that Canada's response does not place an undue burden on Canadian businesses and consumers?

Mr. Speaker, today we heard the minister keep talking about support packages. Oxford economists have been clear that they may soften the blow, but they will not solve the problem. Economist Trevor Tombe estimates that the government's countertariffs could cost Canadian consumers $4 billion. Meanwhile, businesses in Vaughan—Woodbridge are facing increased costs to their inputs and being forced to consider relocating south of the border. We should out-compete the Americans, not out-tax them. Can the Prime Minister tell Canadians how much his countertariffs will cost them?

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister said that affordability is the best it has been in a decade, but full-time workers are living in RVs and trailers because they cannot afford a home. Families are spending over 120% of their income on rent and food alone. People are even skipping surgeries and other major life events just to survive. The Liberals' inflationary spending, red tape and antidevelopment policies created this recession and cost of living crisis. It is not global forces; it is Liberal choices. When will the Prime Minister reverse his costly policies that caused this crisis so Canadians can afford to live again?

Mr. Speaker, we cannot make this up. The Prime Minister says affordability is the best it has been in a decade. Then ministers in the House rise and take credit for programs they implemented to address all the damage they caused. Their promised surveillance pricing legislation to lower grocery costs will not even take effect before 2028. While millions of Canadians cannot afford to eat, the Prime Minister spent nearly $1 million on inflight catering, and all of that on the taxpayers' dime. When will this Prime Minister stop making Canadians pay for a crisis he built, a recession he caused and dinner that he put on their tab?

Mr. Speaker, in 1952, a courageous 21-year-old woman left her small town in Treviso, Italy, with her father by her side. They boarded a train bound for Genoa. From there, alone, she stepped onto a ship and began that now famous journey across the Atlantic, arriving at Pier 21 in Halifax. She came to Canada alone, speaking no English and carrying little more than hope. That young woman was my grandmother, Olga Guglielmin, who celebrated her 94th birthday this year. Like so many Italian Canadians, Nonna Olga came in search of a dream. It was the dream of family, opportunity and a better life than the one she had left behind. She taught us that the greatest riches in life are not measured in dollars, but in relationships. Around her table, with a simple tablecloth, good food, candlelight and loved ones gathered close, she showed us what truly mattered. This Italian Heritage Month, I honour all Italian-Canadian nonni, especially my Nonna Olga, whose courage, integrity and love continue to guide us.

Mr. Speaker, under the Liberal Prime Minister, Canada is the only G20 country to fall into a recession. Now the Liberals want Canadians arguing over labels: technical recession, marginal recession, full recession. Even the Prime Minister himself admitted a technical recession and a recession are the same thing. Families are not sitting around the kitchen table debating definitions. They are looking at higher mortgage payments, grocery bills that keep climbing and paycheques that are not keeping up. Our economy has shrunk in three of the last four quarters. The Parliamentary Budget Officer says there is less than a 1% chance that this government meets its own fiscal anchor. Meanwhile, the Bank of Canada is warning that one in 10 Torontonians may not be able to renew their mortgages next year. Canadians have worked hard, played by the rules and done everything asked of them. They should not be falling further behind because the government cannot control its spending. Canadians need a serious plan to restore growth, protect paycheques and bring hope back to the Canadian economy.

Mr. Speaker, Canada lost 18,000 jobs in April. The unemployment rate is now 6.9%. Youth unemployment jumped to 14.3%. Young Canadians are unemployed longer than at any time since 1976. Instead of results, these Liberals have given us more job losses and more of the same. The Prime Minister told Canadians they must prepare for sacrifices, while young Canadians are already sacrificing jobs, opportunities and their futures. How much longer will the Liberal government force young people to sacrifice for its failures?

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals speak of their latest programs, but the investors have already given us their verdict. Capital is leaving this country at a record pace. Our investment per worker is the lowest in the G7. In a country that needs millions of homes, 100,000 skilled tradespeople cannot find a project to work on. A country is not built by speeches, MOUs and press releases. It is built by employers willing to invest here, and they are choosing to invest elsewhere. When will the Prime Minister fix the conditions that have driven investment, jobs and opportunity out of this country?

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize something truly special happening in Vaughan—Woodbridge. I recently launched a youth advisory council, and the response has been remarkable. Young people in our community are stepping up. They are showing up and saying, “We care about the future of this country, and we want a seat at the table.” That is exactly the spirit that builds Canada, and that spirit is alive and well in Woodbridge. After more than a decade of Liberal government, our young people are worried. They are worried about crime in their neighbourhoods and the rise of artificial intelligence. They are wondering what AI means for the future and its impact on jobs. They look at this country, and they wonder if the cultural fabric can still hold together. Many of them have stopped believing they will ever own a home or raise a family in the communities that they grew up in. That is not the Canada we promised them, and that is not the Canada we are willing to accept. I want to hear the voice of every young person in Vaughan—Woodbridge. They deserve to be heard.

Madam Speaker, it is an honour to rise on behalf of the great people of the riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge. Every Canadian household will pay $3,400 this year for the interest on the federal debt. That is $3,400 per household gone, just to service what the government has borrowed. That number is only going to rise in the foreseeable future. That one number tells Canadians everything they need to know about the Liberal government’s 2026 budget. The finance minister stood in this place just three days ago and told Canadians, “the dream of Canada is alive and well. Young people, increasingly, see themselves in building Canada strong, and we will be there with them.” I would invite the minister to put down the prepared remarks and speak to the young people I represent. About 47% of Canadian home builders are laying off workers. In Ontario, that figure climbs up to 65%. More Canadians are starting businesses in the United States than in Canada. Half a trillion dollars in net investment has fled south of the border. How does the minister call this a dream? For too many young Canadians trying to afford a home, find a job or start a business in this country, it is a nightmare from which they cannot awake. The minister went further and told this House, “Generations will look back at the Prime Minister, the government and the current Parliament and say that we were there for them. We are building long-term wealth and growth.” Indeed, generations will look back at this. They will look back at $80 billion a year in interest payments. They will look back at a government that called debt an investment and mortgaged their future. The government is not building long-term wealth. It is building long-term debt and calling it long-term wealth. It gets much worse than that. The Prime Minister himself straight up misled Canadians when he claimed, just a few weeks ago, “Affordability is the best it has been in over a decade.” Every Canadian I have spoken to, regardless of who they are, knows this is false. Let us consider what Conservatives asked for in this update. We asked for the deficit to be capped at $31 billion, the figure Justin Trudeau projected in his last fiscal update, a figure that brought down a finance minister and a prime minister. It is the very deficit that almost toppled a federal government. Under this Prime Minister, the Liberals have more than doubled that number: $66.9 billion this year. That is six straight years of deficits above $53 billion and 11 straight years of deficits from the Liberals. What is amazing is that the Liberals celebrate their $67-billion deficit as if they are being fiscally responsible and stewards of economic management. Imagine this. The Liberals put forward a budget and have a projected deficit of around $80 billion. They then put out a spring economic statement and say, “Look how amazing we are. The deficit is only $67 billion, still more than double what was projected the year Trudeau was prime minister, but less than what we projected a few short months ago. How great are we?” We do not have to imagine that, because that is exactly what the Liberal Prime Minister has done. Outside of the pandemic, this is the largest deficit in Canadian history, and spending as a share of our economy is the highest it has been since 1996. The government calls this fiscal discipline. This is not discipline. This is a windfall. There was $60.3 billion in new revenue that walked through the finance minister's door, the product of higher personal and corporate taxes, which hurt our competitiveness, and higher oil prices. What did the Prime Minister do with this extra money? He spent it. The government spent two-thirds of a gift it did not earn and asked Canadians to applaud the restraint. The trajectory is actually worse than the headline. Public debt charges are rising 50%, from $54 billion today to almost $81 billion five years from now, more than the government spends on health care transfers and more than it collects from every Canadian who pays GST. While interest climbs, growth falls. Real GDP growth has averaged 2.1% over the last 25 years. It is projected to be 1.7% this decade, and 1.5% for decades to come. The government is borrowing more, growing less and spending the difference on interest. It is mortgaging the future of our children and grandchildren. Then, there is the sovereign wealth fund. The key word in “sovereign wealth fund” is “wealth”. Norway has surpluses. Saudi Arabia has surpluses. Singapore has surpluses. Canada has a $66-billion deficit and $1.3 trillion in debt. The $25 billion seeding the fund is borrowed. That is not a sovereign wealth fund; it is a sovereign debt fund. Members do not have to take my word for it; they can take the word of independent voices. Build Canada, a non-partisan civic movement that supports founders and innovators in this country, calls the Canada Strong fund a “war bond”, where Canadians are being asked to “buy equity in the projects” that the government cannot get off the ground by its own merits. The Montreal Economic Institute put it plainly: “We don't need a Canada Infrastructure Bank 2.0”. The Infrastructure Bank is a cautionary tale. Of 108 projects, only 11 have been completed. The Parliamentary Budget Officer found that the bank will fall $20.1 billion short of its disbursement target. Sixty-seven per cent of its partner funding came from the public sector. The very private capital it was supposed to attract, it is not attracting. The transport committee of this House recommended abolishing it. The government's response was to raise its spending limit by another $10 billion. Canadian pension funds hold $1.33 trillion in foreign assets, 51% of their total holdings. Let us think about that: 51% of their total holdings not invested in Canada. Capital is not missing in this country; confidence is. The spring economic statement mentions artificial intelligence six times across its entire length. There are six mentions and six pillars of the strategy that does not yet exist. The Minister of Artificial Intelligence set his own deadline to deliver the framework. He missed it. His office now tells Canadians the framework is coming soon, but with no specific timeline. Witnesses appearing before the industry committee on this very subject have called the government's consultation process rushed and too corporate-heavy. They have noted the absence of unions, civil society, researchers studying AI work, governance experts, privacy experts and human rights experts. A list of pillar names is not a strategy. While Canada drafts press releases, our competitors are building the technology that will define the next century of economic growth. Debt will cost $3,400 per household this year and $80 billion a year in interest by the end of the decade. We have a sovereign wealth fund with no wealth, a strategy with no plan, a finance minister who calls this a dream and a Prime Minister creating an illusion. Conservatives reject this credit card budget. We would build a paycheque economy where hard work brings home a powerful paycheque, where families can afford groceries and can afford their homes, and where neighbourhoods are safe and opportunity in this country is real. That is the promise of Canada, and that is the promise we will keep. That is why I move this amendment, seconded by the member for Parkland: That the motion be amended by deleting all the words after the word "That" and substituting the following: "the House decline to give second reading to Bill C-30, An Act to implement certain provisions of the spring economic update tabled in Parliament on April 28, 2026, since the Bill reflects the Prime Minister's approach to credit-card budgeting by: (a) adding $37.5 billion in inflationary, net new spending; (b) running a deficit more than double the $31 billion last projected when Justin Trudeau was prime minister; (c) continuing to drive inflation up through the creation of more bureaucracies, rather than taking meaningful action to confront the affordability challenges facing Canadians by axing the taxes on groceries, eliminating the fuel standard and industrial carbon tax, scrapping the food packaging tax to make life affordable again; and (d) failing to cut inflationary spending, currently being racked up on the country's credit card, such as the Alto rail project, the Liberal gun grab, excessive use of external consultants, foreign aid, corporate welfare, and taxpayer-funded handouts for fake asylum claimants.

Madam Speaker, $81 billion is the amount of money the Liberal government under the Liberal Prime Minister wants to mortgage away for our young people's future. The Liberal Party and the Liberal government had a chance to demonstrate that they were different. The Liberals had a year to say that they are a different government now and are going to reject the incompetent and fiscally irresponsible ways of the Justin Trudeau Liberal government, but they did not. The mask came off. It is the same Liberal, costly government it always has been. In response to the hon. member, I would ask this: Where are the young people going to work? The Liberals have driven investment out of this country. Companies do not want to open businesses here. People do not want to stay here. There is a trillion-dollar gap between FDI and capital flight in this country. Where are the young people going to work? The Liberals should start acting fiscally responsibly and stop talking and pretending as if they were.

Madam Speaker, the verdict on the costly budget is in, and it is unforgiving. The Globe and Mail reports that for every $100 in revenue, the Liberal government spends $97. The Globe and Mail said, “Even Justin Trudeau would have difficulties in matching that performance.” Federal net debt now exceeds 40% of GDP, and it is rising. Long-term growth is projected to be a measly 1.7%. When will the Prime Minister stop borrowing against a future Canadians can no longer afford?

Madam Speaker, the deficit is now going to be $67 billion. That is up from $31 billion, not down, and the member can recite her talking points all afternoon from the Prime Minister's Office, but the truth is that for months the Prime Minister tried to convince Canadians that he was something different. He wanted them to believe that he was a break from the past. I guess the masks sure fell off this week. The deficit is doubled, spending is accelerated and growth is abandoned. This is not a new government making hard choices; it is the same irresponsible Liberal government making reckless decisions. When will they—

Mr. Speaker, we would think, given all the turmoil and the disastrous record of the Liberal government over the last 10 years, this “new” government, as Liberals like to label themselves, would have easily been able to divorce itself from the disastrous track record and trajectory of the Liberal government. Instead, as we learned this week, it has decided to double the deficit and increase the interest payment on the debt to $80 billion, money that could be used for health care transfers, to lower taxes or for housing. Instead, it is being used to rob a generation of growth and opportunity. We thought the current Prime Minister would be different. Instead, we realize he is just another Liberal.

Mr. Speaker, like many things in this budget, there are no solutions. This budget is full of empty promises. It is full of nothing more than a bunch of announcements that do nothing for people other than to serve the purpose of adding debt and robbing opportunity from a future generation. Unfortunately, jobs are fleeing this country. Young people are going to have less and less opportunity. We have seen that over $1 trillion of capital flight has occurred here in Canada, with the difference between foreign direct investment and capital flight accelerating. More and more people are going to require employment insurance if this keeps up because, really, the government is not providing the conditions for any future opportunity in this country.

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals claimed that in their latest update they would show discipline. Instead, Canadians got more debt, more spending and more of the same. The deficits are now projected to be double Trudeau's and as debt rises, taxpayers pay the price. Public debt charges are predicted to be more than $54 billion this year, rising to $81 billion in five years. That is money that cannot go to tax relief, cannot go to housing and cannot go to health care. It is no wonder that The Globe and Mail said it is a bit rich for the finance minister to be claiming fiscal responsibility. When will the Liberal Prime Minister end his costly budgeting so Canadians can afford to live?