Parliamentary Speeches

Mr. Speaker, I rise for the good people of Simcoe—Grey and, more precisely, Clearview Township. I have a petition to present with respect to a deep concern within the community. The Department of National Defence has purchased 700 acres of prime farmland to build an over-the-horizon radar system. That is phase one. In order for phase two to be successful, it needs up to another 3,000 acres. The residents in that area have been asked to sell. They have no interest. Their fear is expropriation, similar to what happened with the Alto rail line. There are deep concerns because it is prime farmland. It is also right beside the Minesing Wetlands, an extreme environmental spot. The petitioners do not think the department has looked at all options in other locations with respect to this. Therefore, they are asking that it stop the building of the over-the-horizon radar site on the already purchased property, prevent future acquisition of prime farmland in building an over-the-horizon site, and register the previously purchased property with the Ontario Farmland Trust to preserve its agricultural status.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member opposite for discussing the automotive industry for a small portion of his speech. I know that there is great concern in the county of Simcoe, as host to Honda as well as to Toyota. There are really only the big two now in Canada. We have a government that wants to buy Canadian and support Canadian. I would like to ask the member where we are at when we are bringing up to 50,000 Chinese EV vehicles into Canada that are not going to be produced here. The battery plant has been cancelled. That was $15 billion in investment. Does the member opposite feel that the government's buy Canadian policy and then, by the same hand, getting Chinese vehicles imported here is going to help manufacturers here in Canada?

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise on behalf of the people of Simcoe—Grey, and more specifically those in Clearview Township. The Department of National Defence has purchased one farm of roughly 780 acres, to install an over-the-horizon radar system in a phase one. In order to really complete the system, it is going to need phase two. All the residents are extremely concerned. The department needs another up to 3,000 acres to complete it. Clearview Township and municipalities around it are all opposed to the site's location. We think the department needs to find another spot for it. This is going to change the lives of residents. People are stressed. They do not know if their land is going to be expropriated, and, quite frankly, the public meetings have not been very fruitful. Petitioners are asking to stop the building of the over-the-horizon radar site on the already purchased property, prevent future acquisition of prime farmland in building an over-the-horizon site and register the previously purchased property with the Ontario Farmland Trust to preserve its agricultural status.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a petition from the good residents of Simcoe—Grey who are opposed to the over-the-horizon radar system. If we can imagine for a minute, there is going to be close to 4,000 acres when the project is done, all phases, which will be totally flat. Every farm, every house, every barn will be knocked out, as well as all wooded lots, in the middle of the municipality. The municipality is against it. Therefore, the residents are calling for the government to stop the building of the over-the-horizon site on the already purchased property, prevent future acquisition of prime farmland, including the building of the over-the-horizon site on the prime farmland of Clearview Township, and register the previously purchased property, which is roughly 750 acres, with the Ontario Farmland Trust to preserve its agricultural status.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to announce this year's recipients of the Simcoe—Grey MP Community Leader Awards. Nelly Galifi manages the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul food bank and volunteers for its response line, helping many community members in crisis. Mary Beth Sharpe, for 19 years, managed the books at and lent her sewing skills to our not-for-profit Theatre Collingwood, as well as volunteering with local youth charity Home Horizon and the annual Coldest Night of the Year fundraiser. Donna Baylis has for a decade organized the Creemore Community Christmas Dinner, as well as the annual Christmas markets and Breakfast with Santa events. Congratulations to Nelly, Mary Beth and Donna. I thank them for their selfless dedication to our community. I also want to recognize Nilo Ciotti, Canada's oldest living former CFL player, who turned 100 yesterday. I look forward to celebrating this milestone with him and his many family members and friends this weekend in Collingwood.

Mr. Speaker, I rise on behalf of the great residents of Simcoe—Grey and, more specifically, the township of Clearview. The Department of National Defence has purchased 700 acres of prime agricultural land to build an over-the-horizon radar system. The residents there are stressed and concerned. In order to do phase two, the department needs up to another 3,000 acres to make the radar run at its peak performance, so petitioners are worried that the government might expropriate. There are concerns over the environment as well. This property is beside the Minesing Wetlands. Between food security and environmental issues, there are great concerns, so the petitioners are calling on the government to stop the building of the over-the-horizon site on this already purchased property, to prevent future acquisition of the prime farmland of the township of Clearview and to register the previously purchased property with the Ontario Farmland Trust to preserve its agricultural status.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for her passionate speech about democracy. I can tell members I had the opportunity on the weekend to attend the 50th anniversary of Wendy and Larry Long of Clearview Township. I congratulate them on 50 years. The common question was about floor crossers. People are concerned, are upset and have lost faith in politicians. The other part the Liberals are now talking about is committees. Does my colleague find when she is in her riding that the trust in politicians has really gone down in the last couple of weeks because of what the Liberals have been doing here?

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise here on behalf of petitioners from Simcoe—Grey once again. The Department of National Defence has purchased 700 acres of prime farmland with the goal of building an over-the-horizon radar system. This is fantastic land right on the edge of the Minesing wetlands. There are huge environmental concerns. In order for this to be operational, stage 2 would require up to another 3,000 acres. All the residents are worried about expropriation. This is prime farmland. Petitioners are calling on the government to stop the building of the over-the-horizon site on the already purchased property, to prevent future acquisition of prime farmland and the building of the over-the-horizon site on prime farmland in Clearview Township, and to register the previously purchased property with the Ontario Farmland Trust to preserve its agricultural status. The municipality and all the neighbouring municipalities are opposed to this location.

Mr. Speaker, I rise on behalf of the good people of Simcoe—Grey to present a petition. The Department of National Defence has purchased over 700 acres of prime farmland in the Township of Clearview and will need up to another 3,000 acres to finish the over-the-horizon project. There are many concerns environmentally. The Minesing Wetlands are right beside this property. As well, we often hear about food security. This will be a huge chunk of land, and certainly the people in the riding are not interested in selling the 3,000 acres. They fear there will be expropriation of these properties. There is nowhere else for the people to go. The petitioners are asking for a stop to the building of the over-the-horizon site, for other options in other areas, for prevention of future acquisition of prime farmland or any building of the over-the-horizon site on prime farmland in Clearview Township, and for registration of the previously purchased property with the Ontario Farmland Trust to preserve its agricultural status.

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise on behalf of the residents of Simcoe—Grey to present a petition. People in Clearview Township were shocked and surprised when the Department of National Defence bought a farm of 750 acres from one farmer and proposed an over-the-horizon radar system. We are very supportive of our military, as Canadian Forces Base Borden is within our border. The concern is that the department needs another 2,600 acres, and people are extremely worried that the government, if needed for phase two, will expropriate those lands. No one is interested in selling, so the petitioners are asking that the government stop the building of the over-the-horizon site on the already purchased property, prevent future acquisition of prime farmland for the building of the over-the-horizon site on the prime farmland in Clearview Township, and preferably register the previously purchased property with the Ontario Farmland Trust to preserve its agricultural status. We are definitely opposed to expropriation of these properties.

Mr. Speaker, I am not going to ask a question, because I do not think I want to hear the answer. Quite frankly, if I am going to comment, I would say that I have been fortunate. Honda has been in my riding for many years, before this redistribution, and I have worked with them for many years. I can tell members about the frustrations that Honda has had with the Liberal government. “This is a new Liberal government”, we hear time and time again. It is the same government. When I am hearing comments about battery cars and EV cars, they are missing the whole idea behind this: We need to sell something that people want to purchase. A lot of those companies, quite frankly, have been doing great work on their GHGs, and they are concerned that they have a government, once again, that wants to dictate what kind of technology they need to use to get to those numbers. There is extreme frustration. The other part of it that I want to mention is that a lot of them that are not tier one or tier two parts suppliers have no foreign investment anymore, because it is the same government proposing the same issues. Quite frankly, it is killing our automotive industry.

Mr. Speaker, before the redistribution, Honda was part of my riding. I am very happy that the member who represents them now is seeing what is going on in our community. I know how important Honda is. I have many employees in my riding who work there. They do great community work and a lot of charitable work. Could the member for New Tecumseth—Gwillimbury update us on what the folks are saying and why they need the plan that has been presented by the Conservatives?

Mr. Speaker, I rise today for the great people in Clearview Township in Simcoe—Grey. We are very supportive of our military. In fact, Base Borden is located within my riding, but the concern is over the site and location of a phase one, over-the-horizon radar system that is right beside the Minesing Wetlands and is also prime agricultural land. The residents are concerned with the purchase of the first site, which is 750 acres. The second site is up to 3,000 acres. The landowners are not interested in selling around that area. They are pushing for other locations that we feel could be better, not only for the residents but also for the military itself. It is a very busy area. I present this petition on behalf of the petitioners and their concerns that it is prime farmland that is going to be gone. We talk all the time in the House about food security, so there are other locations that, we stress, would be a lot better.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise on behalf of the residents of Simcoe—Grey and, in fact, those all across the country. The Department of National Defence purchased 700 acres off one farmer to build the over-the-horizon radar system. The people in the riding are not opposed to our military. In fact, they support the men and women. Base Borden is in my riding. However, they have concerns. This is prime farmland. In order to move to stage two, the department needs 2,600 more acres, which it will need to purchase off landowners who presently have no interest in selling. The petitioners have some deep concerns. It also follows along the Minesing swamp, so there are a lot of environmental issues on this particular land. The residents are calling upon the Government of Canada to stop the building of any over-the-horizon sites on the already purchased property, prevent future acquisitions of prime farmland and the building of any over-the-horizon sites on the prime farmland of Clearview Township, and register the previously purchased property with the Ontario Farmland Trust. We hear all the time in the House about the importance of food security. We understand national security. We just believe there are other sites available.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise to present a petition from the great residents of Simcoe—Grey and, more specifically, Clearview Township. This will be the first of many petitions. The Department of National Defence has purchased 700-plus acres of prime farmland overlapping the Minesing Wetlands to build a preliminary Arctic over-the-horizon radar system in Clearview Township. DND has now sent emails to many landowners surrounding it, and it wants an additional 2,600 acres of prime farmland to create this site. The petitioning citizens of Canada call upon the Government of Canada to stop the building of any over-the-horizon site on the already purchased property, prevent future acquisitions of the prime farmland and building of any over-the-horizon site on the prime farmland in Clearview Township, and register the previously purchased property with the Ontario Farmland Trust to prepare its agricultural status. People are concerned and worried; they do not want their land to be expropriated. Many of the townships in the area are supporting this.

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member represents my neighbour riding. I am sure he knows, since he comes from a municipal background, as I do, that in the last 10 years, many municipalities have had major concerns. There is increased food bank usage and a huge homelessness problem. It is something my riding is trying to address. I know that a mayor in the member's riding declared a state of emergency to fix some of the problems that have been created by the Liberal government, which have put people in these situations. I am wondering if he could comment on the state of emergency that has been invoked in the City of Barrie.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the great people of Simcoe—Grey to speak to Bill C-15, the budget implementation act. When the budget was announced, I, like many of my constituents, was shocked that the so-called new Liberal government could spend even more than the so-called old Liberal government. What a decade it has been. Almost every facet of Canadian life has declined. Our young people find it harder to get work and many have given up on ever owning a home. Previously, middle-class families were able to save a little to get ahead and now they struggle just to get by. Seniors, especially single ones, who rely on CPP and OAS to get by are spending their golden years in poverty. Every crime indicator has increased. Homeless encampments are everywhere. Illegal drug use is rampant. Housing prices have recently cooled but still remain near all-time highs. It is great for those who own a home, but a disaster for those who dream of owning one themselves. Therefore, people rent, but rent too takes up more of their monthly budget than it ever has before. If everyone was being totally honest, I do not believe anyone in this place could say that, for the majority of Canadians, life has improved in the last 10 years. When constituents write to me, call my offices or speak to me at many events, they often raise these issues. As we all know in this place, constituents raise many issues, but if I were to group them into categories, then I would say that cost of living is by far the most common issue I hear about. The issue that most affects cost of living is just how expensive food is. We are not just talking about organic, imported, deluxe foods. We are talking about basic Canadian staples, like beef, bread and vegetables. I know we have heard some of these numbers in the chamber before, but let us have a quick recap. As of October 2025, here are the year-to-year price increases: Fresh or frozen beef is up 16.8%. Fresh or frozen chicken is up 6.2%. Apples are up 4.2%, and carrots are up 11%. These are just a few examples. The irony is that much of this food is produced in Canada, including in my riding, Simcoe—Grey. The local producers of this food are not seeing profits increasing at the same rate that prices are rising in grocery stores. A recent report indicated that a full 80.6% of Canadians say food is their top expense pressure, a shocking 28% of Canadians use their savings or borrow money just to buy their food, and a quarter of Canadians are experiencing food insecurity. That is a key term the government likes to use. In fact, it is one of the government's key arguments as to why Canada now needs a national school food program. Let us leave aside the fact that the only reason Canada would ever need a school food program is that so many Canadians have become poorer under the government that they now have difficulty feeding their children healthy food. There have been initiatives in the past in less affluent areas of the country, where school breakfasts or lunch programs existed to address certain challenges. A national school food program means that kids going hungry is now a national problem, after 10 years of Liberal fiscal mismanagement. If Liberals want to push a national school food program, they are certainly welcome to it, but when doing so, they should acknowledge that this is not a generous initiative; it is an attempt to fix a problem that, quite simply, they created. I am not here to debate the proposed national school program, but I do want to bring attention to the Liberals' vision for the program, as outlined in Bill C-15, under division 44, proposed paragraph 5(a): the Government of Canada’s vision is that all children and youth in Canada have access to nutritious food at school, in an inclusive and non-stigmatizing setting that fosters healthy practices, through school food programs that strengthen connections with local food systems, the environment and culture; I want to draw members attention to the two points in that quote. The first is access to nutritious food. Whether the government is using Canadian tax dollars to provide kids at school food or parents are using their own money to provide it at home, I think everyone here would agree that access to nutritious food is number one. The second point is the connection to local food systems, the environment and culture. I know that in Simcoe—Grey, we really live by those words. The local food scene is incredible. I do not know if anyone has ever tried it, but I imagine that one could go a year eating only food grown in my riding of Simcoe—Grey. All the major meats, soy, grains, vegetables, apples, berries and milk are produced in Simcoe—Grey. Many producers go back generations, and some even to the 1800s, with generation after generation of farm families producing the healthy foods we enjoy, all while ensuring the environment remains clean, the soil rich and our water pristine. When the government talks about nutrition and strong connections to the local food system, the environment and culture, those are words we really agree upon. That is why it is so difficult for me and so many residents of Simcoe—Grey to understand what the government is doing in Clearview Township, one of the communities in my riding. Back in July, my office was notified by the Minister of National Defence and DND that it had purchased 711 acres of prime agricultural land, which it plans to strip down to build one of the Arctic over-the-horizon radar projects right now. Do not get me wrong, a Liberal government taking an interest in defence once again is a good thing. The proposed pay raise for the men and women in uniform is one of the positives in the budget. Simcoe—Grey is very proud of our Canadian Forces Base Borden. In fact, the proposed radar site is only about 10 or so kilometres from Base Borden. I want to stress that no one in Simcoe—Grey is opposed to updating Canada's radar system, but they are very concerned about the proposed location and what it entails for our local farming community. Many residents found out about this radar project when they received a letter in the mail from DND asking to buy their land. That is right. It is building a radar site next door, but this is only phase one. It will also build phase two, and the government wants their land to do it. Imagine the reaction from local landowners. Many reached out to my office with questions and concerns. To the minister's credit, he did provide some information to my office. DND even hosted two jam-packed town halls, both on the same day; we wanted more meetings. Here is where we are at. DND intends to proceed with phase one of the project even without securing land for phase two, which it will not be able to do because no one wants to sell the farms that have been in their families for generations. The government will need to expropriate farmers to get the land, and we are not just talking about a couple of small farms. When phase two is completed, it is estimated that 4,000 acres of Canada's most prime farmland will be taken out of our national ecosystem. This is prime farmland that produces an array of foodstuffs. To put it in perspective for Canadians, I had some of the affected landowners in my riding put together some numbers of what will be lost if the government follows through with this project. On an annual basis, Canada will lose the production of 820,000 bushels of corn, which would make 300 million 12-inch tortillas or 50 million boxes of Corn Flakes; 196,000 bushels of soybeans, which is 258,000 gallons of soybean oil or 8.6 million pounds of protein; 368,000 bushels of wheat, which makes 15.4 million pounds of flour, seven million loaves of bread or 15.4 million one-pound boxes of pasta; and 14 million pounds of canola, which produces 789,000 gallons of canola oil or eight million pounds of canola meal. Add to that 185,000 pounds of beef, 700,000 pounds of chicken and 2,500 pounds of pork. These are huge numbers. It is astounding to me and to so many people in Simcoe—Grey that at a time when the government is talking about food costs, food security and the importance of nutritious local food, the government would simultaneously be proposing to take all this nutritious, local food out of the national food supply. There must be another site for this project in southern Ontario that meets the criteria. The criteria is remote land, flat land, few environmental constraints, distance and close to electrical power. We do not believe eliminating 4,000 acres of prime farmland and destroying generational farm families' livelihoods is the process. The government needs to realize that jeopardizing food security in the name of national security is not the way to go. I encourage the government to scratch its plans for Clearview Township and investigate the other sites we have proposed in order to not affect and reduce national food security. I want to thank Rachel Brooks and Terri Jackman for all the work they are doing on this.

Mr. Speaker, I am not here to split hairs, by any means, but those are the numbers that we got through our research, which is number one. At the end of the day, if the member opposite went to a grocery store, I think he would probably find those numbers are realistic. I often go to the grocery store and things are up even more than that. That is the average that we found. I believe those are the answers.

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is also a hard worker. He knows, and it is what I have heard, that these farming communities have no interest in selling. These farming communities have grown through the years, through generations. They have a lot of equipment. I do not know what happens when it comes to the expropriation process, but what I can say is that these individuals have absolutely zero interest in selling. He is correct. Many organizations have reached out, and they are not against. I want to stress that no one is against the actual radar system and what we are doing in the military. We are very proud. There are other organizations, including the beef producers and the Simcoe County Federation of Agriculture, that have sent letters. Neighbouring municipalities have as well. I know Innisfil, which is in the member's riding, Clearview Township, the host municipality, and Mayor Measures have been against the location and the site. As well, Essa Township and, just the other day, the Township of Springwater, all within the Simcoe County, have opposed this particular location.

Mr. Speaker, I certainly do not regret voting against this budget. My concerns were with the deficit, the expenses and the amount of money. We hear those numbers and stats, that the interest payments are more than the transfers to health care and more than the GST we collect. I am not upset with my objection, because I care about the next generations. When it comes to the pipeline, my opinion is that we need to get our resources to market. I am not surprised that one of the members from the Liberal Party resigned. I actually thought last term that it would have been a lot more, because they would have realized what they were doing to this country.

Mr. Speaker, residents of Simcoe—Grey are proud to be the home of Canadian Forces Base Borden. They are also proud farmers, so when DND revealed it had secretly bought over 700 acres of prime farm land to build a radar site, residents were shocked. Now they are concerned, after DND started contacting residents directly, asking them to sell their land because it needs thousands more acres. They will not sell; they have been on the land for generations. Will the government expropriate their land? Affected residents Terri Jackman and Rachel Brooks took the lead and started a petition. Others have rallied behind them. We talk every day in the House about high prices and food security in Canada. The government says it is taking action. That action should not be turning 4,000 acres of Canada's best farm land into a radar site. Residents support investments in Canada's national security, but they call on the minister to select a radar site that does not sacrifice food security in the process.

Mr. Speaker, there are some things in the member's speech that we agree on. They have our backs and we must have theirs. That is extremely important. We also agree that everyone should be safe from harassment. The Borden base is in my riding. I am very honoured to represent the men and women of the military who serve and have served in that area. I used to sit on the veterans affairs committee, and what I have noticed since being elected in 2019 is that a lot of the same issues are being repeated over and over by the government, which has been in place for 10 years. We are studying some of the same issues again and again, such as individuals dealing with PTSD or getting another job after service. Why would the public believe now that any of this would help any of the people who are serving today and those who have served? For 10 years, it has been the same thing over and over, with lots of promises and absolutely no delivery.

Mr. Speaker, I know about the balance, as in my riding, between the military, which is very important, and agriculture. I know the government purchased roughly 1,600 acres for an Arctic over the horizon radar system. There seems to be a clash. The municipality and the Simcoe Federation of Agriculture are not against the actual technology; what they are against is the site of up to 4,000 acres. If it affects food security and there is going to be an appropriation of land, how will that play out against protection for our military?

Mr. Speaker, Honda Canada was in my riding until this latest election and the redistribution. I dealt with it all the time. I thank my colleague for pointing out the importance of those jobs. I remember when Stephen Harper, back when I was a mayor prior to my time here, introduced the gas tax. For a lot of municipalities, it was dedicated funding for roads and bridges. I know how important it was, especially for the rural areas at that time. This is ridiculous. All the companies know it. All the manufacturers know it. Does the member believe this will go the same route as the carbon tax and that the Liberal government will try to sell it, but in the end, the reality is that it just makes absolutely no sense?

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the great people of Simcoe—Grey for again putting their trust in me to be their voice here in Ottawa. I am so thankful to my campaign team for their hard work and dedication, with special thanks to Duane McNabb, my campaign manager, and Karin Greig, my financial agent, who both filled such critical roles. Springtime is a busy time in Simcoe—Grey with so many great events taking place. First, congratulations to all the 2025 high school graduates. I will be at the Georgian Triangle Humane Society this weekend for its walk for pets. On June 21, I will be celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Everett Legion. Later that night, I will attend a banquet in honour of the 1909 Collingwood military police cadet corps' 25th anniversary. On June 28, I will be part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the Blue Mountain Foundation for the Arts. In July, I will be hosting the grand opening of my new Angus constituency office. Everyone here is welcome, even you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for his passionate speech today. We do not always agree with the Bloc, but I have to say that, in the member's speech, there was a lot of discussion about the carbon tax, when it was implemented and why it was withdrawn. There are definitely a lot of frustrations in my riding of Simcoe—Grey from people who have paid for years and years into something that they thought they got money back from, which was not true. What message does that send to the residents in his riding and my riding about the government, when it not only flip-flops on such a key issue but also, basically, has been taking money from Canadians for many years?

Mr. Speaker, a new TD report says that the Liberal housing plan to build 500,000 homes a year is likely to fall well short, but that is really no surprise since this promise comes from the same party that said it would plant two billion trees. TD says that even 400,000 homes a year is not possible, since housing starts in Canada actually declined by 30,000 units this year. Without a budget, there is no real plan for housing. When will the government table a budget so Canadians can know whether this latest Liberal promise will allow them to afford a roof over their head?

Madam Speaker, first of all, I want to congratulate the member opposite for his victory and welcome him to the House. I know the member thanked his family for allowing him to run and for their sacrifices. I want to yell out a quick happy birthday to my daughter Sarah, who is 18 years old today. We do miss some events because we are in the House doing our job. Yesterday, we voted to have the government table a budget before the end of this session and the summer break. The Conservatives wanted to stay over the summer because we have so many issues to tend to in our country. What message does it send to the individuals in the member's riding and people across Canada that the Prime Minister will probably not follow the will of the House?

Madam Speaker, earlier this week, the finance minister said that all is well with the Canadian economy, that it is Canadians that just are not feeling that good, that it is a vibecession. New economic data has just been released from Statistics Canada, which has now confirmed a sixth consecutive quarter with a decline in GDP. Add to that an incoming U.S. administration threatening 25% tariffs across the board. If the Prime Minister does not have a plan beyond bad vibes, will he get out of the way for—

Madam Speaker, the government is just not serious. Canadians are facing a made-in-Canada GDP per capita recession. The NDP-Liberals have overseen the worst standard of living decline in Canada in 40 years. What is the Liberal plan? The Liberal plan is to quadruple the carbon tax, increase housing taxes and implement a capital gains tax increase. That is without a 25% tariff in place yet. A two-month tax trick will not make those bad vibes disappear. Since the Prime Minister does not have a real plan, will he get out of the way for a prime minister who does?

Madam Speaker, in my riding I hear mostly from seniors who actually watch what is going on here in the House of Commons. The one thing I get asked continually is, “What about us? What have we done? Why are we forgotten?” It is continuous and now we have seen another package, seniors are not going to get the $250, so they are upset. My question to my colleague as the critic for seniors is this: What could we do, with all these scandals and all the money out there, to help seniors in our ridings and across Canada when we look at the amount of wasted money the government has spent the last little while?

Mr. Speaker, it is always an honour to rise on behalf of all the great residents of Simcoe—Grey. I just want to give a quick thanks. Last week was Remembrance Day, and I was invited to 15 ceremonies. I attended two of them on Remembrance Day, the only two I could go to during that time period since I was driving. I just want to thank the volunteers in my EDA for helping out to make sure that a wreath was placed at each event. I also had many volunteers out this weekend, as we had two parades, one in Angus and one in Collingwood. We have many parades. I thank them for their support. For those who were not here the last time I spoke, I was talking about seeing scandal after scandal, whether it is WE Charity, SNC-Lavalin or, probably the largest one, the green slush fund, and about our frustration. I was talking about some of my residents, like Stephanie, who started a new poultry farm in my riding. She was due a GST rebate in April but had not received it by June, so she reached out to my office. In July she was told it was under audit and to follow up in three months. Already frustrated after the three months, she said that the GST refund could really help keep her new business going. However, it is government, so we waited until October 3, and guess what we were told. There was no audit noted on her file at all and no one was sure what was holding up the refund. A week later, the CRA said there was no agent on her file at all. For nine months, this brand new business waited for a much-needed rebate cheque, but the CRA had no one on the file, could not say why the refund had not been processed and could not tell her when it might be. It is another incredibly frustrating experience for a Canadian just trying to get ahead. As I have said here before, all of this is while the Liberals directed $338 million to projects in which board members of the green slush fund had a direct conflict of interest. For anyone who is paying attention right now, that is why so many people are frustrated with the Prime Minister and want him to go. Even some members of the Liberal Party are starting to understand that as well. I am going to end my speech with the words of one of the courageous whistle-blowers who helped bring the Auditor General's attention to the corruption at the green slush fund: The true failure of the situation stands at the feet of our current government, whose decision to protect wrongdoers and cover up their findings over the last 12 months is a serious indictment of how our democratic systems and institutions are being corrupted by political interference. I want to take this opportunity to thank that whistle-blower, who brought this to light. We do not need it, but it is why we are seeing frustration. It is time to axe the tax. It is time for us to build the homes. It is time to fix the budget. It is time to stop the crime. Frustrated Canadians have had enough. They are worried about another budget and what the government will do to all Canadians and how it is going to affect their lives. It is time for us to call a carbon tax election and let them decide what the right thing to do is. It is time to bring it home.

Mr. Speaker, I find it quite comical to get that type of question. Last week, we had a week in our ridings, and I hope the member opposite spent a lot of time visiting his constituents. No one talked about anything other than the scandal and corruption of the government at every event I attended. From veterans to those at birthday celebrations to new Canadians, they all wanted to know when the election was going to happen. The emails I receive in my office are consistently about the frustration that Canadians are feeling. They understand that the government does not seem to care, so it is time to have a carbon tax election.

Mr. Speaker, once again, we are here to get the documents. That is the discussion and debate we are on. I do not know why other parties are deflecting questions instead of dealing with what really needs to be done. It is a simple process. It is unfathomable that the House made a decision and we have a government that is not going along with it. What I am hearing in my riding is that people are frustrated. Why are we here? Why do I have the ability to vote and to make a difference when the government will not accept the vote on this issue? Once again, le us get the documents so we can move on.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for those nice comments. Just so everyone here is aware, I drove last night to make sure I was in time, and I think the hon. member flew, so I brought his clothes with me. I think he is thanking me for bringing his clothes. I hear all the time about wasted spending and have heard great thoughts about what we could do with that amount of money in my riding. For example, hospitals could be built. I know of two that need funding. We could lower taxes so there is more money in seniors' pockets. All the money going to scandals could, quite frankly, go to debt or to finding ways to save money. Right now people are struggling, whether it is with food, rent or mortgages, so any money the government is wasting is money that is not going to good causes.

Mr. Speaker, once again, this discussion is about releasing the documents. That is the first thing. I come from a municipal background. I was a mayor for many years and was then on the two-tier county council. I can say that for a lot of programs, there are lots of announcements saying the Liberals are going to have all this funding and it is going to be fantastic, but it does not work. The rural areas do not get funding. Sometimes, not enough people can access funds from the programs; it is only great announcements. The Canada Infrastructure Bank, for example, was a flop that did not amount to anything. We just get empty promises at election time so the Liberals hope they can get some votes. Quite frankly, I think Canadians are frustrated and have had enough.

Mr. Speaker, we could put our hands up and ask certain questions of members, not just on this side but across the whole House: Are services better today than when they were elected? Are their staff more frustrated today when dealing with these bureaucracies than when they were elected? I am sure the answer would be yes, and I think that would be true right across the board if people were to give a true answer. For me, there has been frustration in getting information, getting through on the lines and getting money back, and all the while, the only thing that is better is the number of employees. Way more employees have been added, yet we have a lot fewer services. The frustration from individuals coming into my office is unbelievable. They will wait all day sometimes to get something with no phone calls back. It has never been like this before, so it is frustrating.

Madam Speaker, my colleague's speeches, today and yesterday, were very interesting. In my riding, I am often asked to speak at high schools and talk to civics and leadership classes. More than ever, there really seems to be a distrust of many politicians of all stripes. We can name all the scandals one after another. Is the member opposite hearing this as well because of the continual scandals, and what will it take for the public to trust in members of Parliament once again?

Madam Speaker, I think at this time the interpreters may get a bit of a break in the speed of the discussion, which might be nice going into the weekend. I want to quickly say, as I am the last speaker today, that with Remembrance Week and Remembrance Day, it is important for all of us to pay tribute and make sure we attend services. To everyone watching, I am very fortunate to have Base Borden in Simcoe—Gray. Not only do I represent all the people there, but I represent the largest training base. The military is an important part of our community, and not just for what its members do in the military, but for what they do for all of us citizens and civilians, whether it is by volunteering for hockey teams, baseball teams or whatever else. Hopefully, everyone has an opportunity to go to one of those services. I am pleased to rise today to speak to the amended motion concerning the Liberal green slush fund. Known to some as Sustainable Development Technology Canada, this fund has become arguably the biggest transfer of contracts and tax dollars to Liberal friends since the sponsorship scandal, which toppled the Paul Martin government. However, there is one fundamental difference between then and now: It was not as hard to make ends meet back in 2004. While Liberals rewarding their friends is nothing new, back in 2004 people just saw it as business as usual. In 2004, yearly inflation was 1.27%. Most people had jobs, and this allowed them to pay their bills and save for a vacation and for their future and children's future. The Liberals' waste was frustrating, definitely, but that is just how Liberals do business. People were not struggling as they watched Liberals line their friends' pockets with tax dollars back then. Let us fast-forward to 2024 to see how things have changed. We have tent cities in the major centres, and now they are even in small towns in my riding. Crime rates have soared. Daily essentials are no longer affordable since double-digit inflation has driven up the price of almost everything. It is difficult to save for family vacations. Liberals here in the House even mock Canadians' desire for a great summer road trip. It is near impossible to save for retirement or to put money away for our children's future. A good government would do whatever it could to lower the cost of living for its citizens, but we do not have a good government here in Canada. The Liberal-NDP government instead raises taxes and takes more money from all of us, making it harder and harder for a regular middle-class family to get ahead. It takes all that money and hands some of it back to certain targeted groups, and then screams that Conservatives are going to all of a sudden take it all away. This is how Liberals operate: take from everyone and then throw some pennies out to Canadians and have them fight it out among themselves. “Tax, divide and conquer” is the ethos of today's Liberal Party. However, Canadians, now more than ever, see through this strategy. Canadians who have done everything they were told to do are finally fed up. Getting an education, working hard, being honest, obeying the law, paying taxes and then being rewarded seems like a quaint idea. Instead, Canadians watch more and more of their paycheques get taken by a federal Liberal-NDP government that continues to get bigger while it spends their hard-earned money on pet projects and sweetheart deals for its friends. In 2004, Liberal corruption and mismanagement annoyed Canadians. In 2024, it has made them angry. The most surprising thing about this is that Liberal-NDP government members seem to be in shock as to why Canadians are so angry. When I last spoke to the green slush fund a couple weeks ago, I outlined that this was just another in a long line of Liberal scandals. There was WE Charity and the billion dollars it was given after hiring the Prime Minister's brother and mother. There was SNC-Lavalin, which had the Prime Minister personally intervening to help it get out of fraud charges for the low cost of $100,000 in donations to the Liberal Party. There was also the Aga Khan scandal, which saw the Prime Minister, the member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, the member for St. John's South—Mount Pearl and their families get a $271,000 vacation in exchange for $50 million in tax dollars. We cannot forget the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation taking money from a Beijing-connected billionaire in exchange for future considerations from the Communist government. I barely even got to touch on the $237 million that former Liberal MP Frank Baylis got for ventilators, which may not have even been delivered, or GC Strategies, which got $20 million to build the arrive scam, which was supposed to only cost $80,000. Most Canadians are not better off after nine years of Liberal corruption and mismanagement but their insiders and friends are way better off, friends like the environment minister's former boss, the founder and owner of Cycle Capital, Andrée-Lise Méthot. While Ms. Méthot sat on the board of the green slush fund, she helped herself to $114 million in tax dollars, which she funnelled to companies she had invested in. Her then-senior adviser, the current Minister of the Environment, had 25 meetings with the Prime Minister's Office and the Department of Industry to help seal the deal. Ms. Méthot says her company tripled in value during this time. We know that the environment minister remains a shareholder in this company to this day. He will not say how much he owns but he certainly has personally benefited from this overt corruption. It may be hard to believe for many of us but the environment minister was actually a very wanted commodity by the federal Liberals in 2019. How better to demonstrate our adherence to the climate change agenda than by recruiting one of the most radical environmentalists out there? Despite some association with Quebec separatists and his public support for socialism, the Liberal Party was desperate to improve its image among eco-activists, so landing the present environment minister was a challenge the Prime Minister relished, but what did it cost? How many of the 25 meetings were also about recruiting the environment minister to run for the Liberal Party? What was the price to get a rumoured separatist and committed socialist to become part of the pipeline-owning Liberal government? Canadians are frustrated. They are frustrated because, in Canada, for the longest time, we were told that if we work hard, we will get ahead, and that if we work hard and pay our taxes, we will be taken care of when we retire, but those promises have been broken. After nine years of the Liberal government, the Canada so many of us grew up in is gone. People are working harder than ever before. The price of housing and the commute to get to work have grown while the wages of the working people have stagnated in Canada. What is worse, the Liberal government has overseen the biggest increase in the cost of living since another Trudeau was prime minister. Under the Liberals, we pay more for groceries. We pay more for gas, for our home, for our family, and we drive longer to get to our job but since our wage has likely not increased much and the cost of everything has skyrocketed, our quality of life and the time we enjoy with our family have declined. This is a reality for many Canadians as they watch Liberals, their friends and insiders get multi-million dollar contracts and sweetheart perks they can only imagine. Every day I get people in my riding either phoning or emailing the office saying how frustrated they are or how hard it is to get by. I say “to get by” because that is all. They have given up on getting ahead under the government; they just want to get by. I think of people like Carolyn, a senior in my riding. Carolyn turned 65 in March. She had been collecting CPP and expected to automatically receive OAS after her 65th birthday as her husband had. When May came and she had not received anything, she contacted Service Canada. She was told it does not necessarily start automatically for some people and that she needed to apply. Carolyn completed her application and submitted it. She was told that it would take over 100 days to process, so she waited. Over 100 days, in fact, she waited and nothing: crickets. She contacted Service Canada again and again, only to be told that she had missed completing one small section in her application. No one ever thought to tell her. Despite 100,000 new bureaucrats being hired since the Liberals took office, over 100 days went by and not one person at the Government of Canada thought it might be a good idea to reach out and let her know. She was told to start over, apply again and wait 100 more days. There was no “let's fill that section out together” or “let me fill it in for you” or “apply again, but we'll process it immediately because it's already been 100 days.” She applied again from scratch, but she also contacted my office shortly thereafter to let us know how ridiculous this whole process was. We pushed on her behalf. Now she will be getting her arrears in five days, and regular payments will start at the end of this month. We have lots of stories like this about the frustration of dealing with the biggest, most expensive government in Canadian history. Carolyn faced an unresponsive bureaucracy for months to get the few hundred bucks she was entitled to as a senior, while Liberal friends and insiders continued to get millions of dollars in contracts and zero accountability. That is really why people are so frustrated. What about people like Travis in my riding? Travis works hard. He pays his taxes. Travis is proud of his family. Travis has lived in Angus since 1996 and in the same home since 2007. Recently, though, there has been a lot of growth in this area, with many new developments taking place as people have left Toronto for slightly more affordable properties, and obviously better federal representation, and moved to Simcoe—Grey. There has been so much growth that Canada Post had to change postal codes. Inexplicably, it was the existing residents who were given new postal codes, instead of the people moving into the new developments. What is worse is that, when these residents began updating their new postal codes with their insurance companies, their rates jumped. In Travis's case, his home insurance went up 50% and his car went up 50% as well. That seemed bizarre, so my office investigated it further. It turns out the new postal codes put long-time rural residents like Travis into what is now considered an urban postal code. Because crime is now out of control in our cities, thanks to the Liberals' soft-on-crime policies, insurance rates have skyrocketed. If we are lucky enough to have what is considered an urban postal code, our rates will have jumped as well, even if we are in the same house for many years. Since Canada Post is about as accountable as the Liberal government, Travis was stuck trying to appeal this rip-off to the ombudsman, but even they could not help. There are hundreds of people in my riding who have faced that this year. I have been bombarded with calls because their insurance went up, but they have not moved. It is ridiculous right now because people are having a tough time getting by. It has been extremely frustrating and expensive, and it has been a hassle for all these hard-working people just trying to get ahead. All the while, Liberal insiders are getting millions of dollars, no questions asked. Liberal members pretend to be outraged as to why we are still talking about this matter. How dare opposition members take them to task over corruption and complete mismanagement? It is because of people like Travis and Carolyn, who play by the rules but have a harder and harder time getting ahead. How about Colleen, another constituent of mine in Simcoe—Grey? She contacted my office back in March when the CRA sent her notice that she had an $8,000 debt dating back to 2017 for benefits she was not entitled to. CRA took issue with the fact that Colleen had said she was separated but was still living in the same house with her former partner. Life is really expensive for Canadians post-COVID, but even in 2017, it was difficult for those going through a divorce or a separation to get a new home. Colleen took the advice of her lawyer and, for financial reasons, remained in the lower level of the house until it could be sold. The sale took a year. Colleen is not the only person who has faced this sort of situation. I am sure some of the members in the House are aware of similar cases. Colleen and her husband's separation was documented as of May 1, 2017. They began separate lives. They even had separate schedules to use the one kitchen in the home. Oddly, while the CRA came after her demanding $8,000 in payments, it accepted the date of separation for her now ex-husband, who was living at the same address.

Madam Speaker, it is an honour to speak on behalf of the residents of the beautiful riding of Simcoe—Grey. As members know, last week was a riding week, and there were couple of celebrations that I was fortunate to attend. The first was the 40th anniversary of Jan Trude's first Tim Hortons. Jan owns all the Tim Hortons's in the Collingwood catchment area. It was a great anniversary. Forty years is pretty incredible, as is what Jan does for the local community, whether it is the hospice, the hospital or the Georgian Triangle. She also donates money every year for golf tournaments and is always there with products when people need them. The other celebration I would like to highlight quickly was for Honorary Colonel Rory MacKinnon. I am fortunate to have Canadian Forces Base Borden in my riding, and he is now the honorary colonel for 16 Wing. I went to the change of appointment ceremony and I congratulate Rory. He will do a great job and will represent the people in our armed forces very well. If I asked someone back in my riding of Simcoe—Grey if they had heard about the Liberal scandal in which the Liberals gave hundreds of millions of dollars to friends and insiders, the one with all sorts of conflicts of interest, the one in which Liberal cronies figured the rules did not apply to them, the one that produced perks and profits for Liberals and their friends while many Canadians struggle just to put food on the table, do members think that person might be able to guess which one it was? I suspect they would ask which of the many Liberal scandals I was talking about That is because for nine years, we have seen this behaviour time and time again. Canadians are finding it harder to get by, but for Liberals and their insider friends, the times have never been so good. Through scandals, mismanagement and insider deals, Liberal friends have enjoyed an endless buffet of Canadian tax dollars. Maybe my constituent would have guessed I was talking about WE Charity. We all remember WE Charity. Sometimes it feels like forever ago when it comes to Liberal scandals. However, WE Charity almost got $1 billion from the Liberals, untendered, to administer the short-lived Canada student service grant program. The Prime Minister himself stated that WE was the only possible option to administer such a program, despite the number of public service executives growing by 42% since the Liberals took power and 50,000 new bureaucrats being hired just from 2015 to 2020. Now it is more than 100,000 new hires since the Liberals took office. Despite 50,000 new people on the public payroll, somehow only an organization that had spent almost half a million dollars to hire the Prime Minister's own mother and brother, not to mention prominently featuring the Prime Minister at events targeting youth, could handle this billion-dollar program with almost no strings attached. One can spend half a million dollars and get a billion-dollar return. Only friends of the Liberal Party would get that type of return on investment. “What about SNC-Lavalin?” my constituent might ask. It is another classic case of Liberal corruption for our feminist Prime Minister. Members will recall that SNC-Lavalin spent $1.9 million to host Muammar Gaddafi's son on a visit to Canada in 2008. The RCMP were watching, and it turns out that was just small potatoes. By February 2015, the RCMP pressed charges alleging that between 2001 and 2011, SNC-Lavalin had paid $48 million in bribes to government officials in Libya. The charges also alleged that the company defrauded Libyan organizations of $130 million. However, luck, once again, was on SNC-Lavalin's side, because shortly after all of these charges were pressed, the Liberals came to power. After 51 meetings with senior officials and $110,000 in donations to the Liberal Party later, the Prime Minister agreed to change the Criminal Code to allow SNC-Lavalin to get away with fraud and bribery charges. Here we go again: only $100,000 in donations to make almost $200 million in corruption disappear. That is a great return on investment for friends of the Liberal Party. It was not the WE Charity scandal and it was not the SNC-Lavalin scandal. What about the Aga Khan? That was one of our first reminders that the rules the rest of us follow do not apply to the Prime Minister. On December 26, 2016, while most of us were dealing with food hangovers from Christmas dinner the night before, the Prime Minister and his family hopped on his jet and headed down to Nassau, Bahamas. Then they got a lift from there in the Aga Khan's private helicopter over to his private island so they could have a bit of rest and relaxation. Conveniently enough, a few Liberal friends were also visiting. The member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount and her husband, who is a childhood friend of the Prime Minister, were there, as were the member for St. John's South—Mount Pearl, a groomsman at the Prime Minister's wedding, and his husband. What did this quaint New Year's getaway for a few old Liberals cost? It cost $271,000, almost five years of salary for the average Canadian. That is not to mention the $50 million of federal funding given to the Aga Khan Foundation, a registered lobby group, in just the previous year. We would think that for that kind of donation, the vacation would have been for free, but I guess for the Prime Minister and the few Liberal friends who attended, it was. Imagine spending 50 million tax dollars for the invite and another 271,000 tax dollars for a vacation that regular Canadians can barely ever dream of. It is another great return on investment for the Liberals who were lucky enough to get the invite. Incredibly, though, the present scandal we are talking about is not WE Charity, SNC-Lavalin or the Aga Khan's private island getaway. My constituents may guess it must be the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation scandal. That one almost slipped my mind. There seem to be so many that it is hard to keep track. Let us recall it. In 2015, if a billionaire and adviser to the government of the Prime Minister's favourite basic dictatorship were asked to get in the good books of the Liberal Party, what would they do? They know the Prime Minister's father had an admiration for Communist dictators like Fidel Castro and Mao, and they know there is a foundation named after the former prime minister that is actively seeking donations, since the previous Liberal government gave it a generous $125-million endowment. They also know that the foundation is stacked with Liberal cronies and regularly meets in the Prime Minister's Office. Conveniently enough, they know that the Chinese Business Chamber of Canada is hosting a posh fundraiser in Toronto, where they might be able to get some face time with the Prime Minister and his brother. What would they do? They would hop on a jet from Beijing to Toronto and commit to dropping $1 million in exchange for future considerations. That means $200,000 for the foundation, $750,000 to Pierre Trudeau's favourite alma mater and $50,000 on a statue of the elder Trudeau himself. CSIS says that China interfered in the 2019 and 2021 elections, both taking place after the donation was made. It could be a coincidence, but what if it was not? Taking $1 million in donations to help sway two elections in one's favour seems like a good return on investment that I think even the Liberals would be truly impressed with. Amazingly, though, this is not even the scandal we are here to talk about today. Nor is it about former Liberal MP Frank Baylis, whose consortium got $237 million to build ventilators that may or may not have been delivered. Nor is it about GC Strategies, which the Auditor General has announced she is investigating for more than $100 million in often sole-source contracts it received from the Liberal government. Members may remember that for the arrive scam app alone, GC Strategies pocketed $20 million, and that was for no work. That was for an app that was supposed to cost only $80,000. It is certainly nice work for those who can get it. Today, I am here to talk about what may be the dooziest of all Liberal scandals, which is saying something. I am here to talk about Sustainable Development Technology Canada. Maybe members know it better by its unofficial name, the Liberal billion-dollar green slush fund. They may have heard something about the green slush fund recently, but in case they have not, let me provide a bit of background. Sustainable Development Technology Canada is a federally funded not-for-profit that approved and disbursed over $100 million in funds annually to clean technology companies. It was established in 2001 by the Government of Canada through the Canada Foundation for Sustainable Development Technology Act. It supported projects that develop and demonstrate new technologies that address issues related to climate change, air quality, clean water and clean soil. It was an arm's-length organization from the government. By all accounts, SDTC was doing good work for its first few years under its Stephen Harper-appointed chair, the Canadian technology leader Jim Balsillie. However, in 2018, former Liberal industry minister Navdeep Bains had concerns regarding Mr. Balsillie's public criticism of the Liberals' privacy legislation. Those concerns continue to be shared by many Canadians and many in the House. Now we know that the Liberals do not tolerate dissenting options, so Bains manoeuvred to put Annette Verschuren in as CEO, even though she was already receiving SDTC funding through one of her companies and in an immediate conflict of interest. In fact, the minister, the Prime Minister's Office and the Privy Council were warned of what risks would be associated with appointing somebody who was already in a conflict. They were told that the fund had never had a chair with interest in companies receiving funding from SDTC. Bains appointed her anyway. He also appointed two other very controversial board members who went on to engage in unethical behaviour in breach of the Conflict of Interest Act by approving funding to companies in which they held ownership stakes. It is said that the new chair and board members began to oversee an environment where conflicts of interest were tolerated and managed, not avoided, as they be. Board members regularly awarded SDTC funding to companies in which they themselves either held stocks or positions. It really was corruption on a staggering level. By January 2021, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry was appointed after Navdeep Bains declined to run for re-election. In November 2022, whistle-blowers raised internal concerns with the Auditor General about unethical practices at SDTC. The Privy Council was briefed by these whistle-blowers about the allegations shortly thereafter and commissioned two independent reports. In September 2023, the whistle-blowers took the allegations public and the industry minister finally agreed to suspend SDTC funding. This was followed shortly thereafter in November 2023 by an audit of SDTC by the Auditor General. Fast-forward to June 2024, and the Auditor General's report was released. It claimed severe governance failures at SDTC. Just what did the Auditor General's report find? Are members ready for this? It found that SDTC gave $58 million to 10 ineligible projects that did not even produce green technology or contribute to emission reductions and $334 million, over 186 cases, to projects for which board members held a direct conflict of interest. There were 186 cases, and no one flagged that there were that many conflicts of interest. It is unbelievable. SDTC gave $58 million to projects without ensuring that contribution agreement terms were even met at all. The Auditor General also made it clear that the blame for the scandal falls on the industry minister who “did not sufficiently...monitor” the contracts that were given to Liberal insiders. I am wondering if perhaps the industry minister was maybe too busy organizing his own leadership campaign to keep an eye on the money or the department that he was giving money to. That is certainly not very responsible. Let us dig a little deeper. There is the Minister of the Environment, who, after being arrested by Toronto police but before joining the Liberal cabinet, served as a strategic adviser for a venture capital firm called Cycle Capital from 2009 to 2018. The founder and owner of Cycle Capital, Andrée-Lise Méthot, sat on the board of the green slush fund. While she was on the board, she helped give $114 million to companies that she herself had invested in. Thanks to her strategic voting and the hard work of her strategic adviser, who had 25 meetings with the Prime Minister's Office and the industry department, the value of Cycle Capital strangely tripled. When she finally left SDTC in 2022, Méthot was awarded for her great work and went on to join the Canada Infrastructure Bank's board, another Liberal debacle. While there, she helped get $170 million of infrastructure bank money for a company owned by the chair of the green slush fund, the aforementioned Annette Verschuren. We really cannot make this stuff up. We could make a movie about all this corruption. I should add that, according to the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, the Minister of the Environment still has a passive interest in Cycle Capital. We do not know how much he owns, but we do know, whatever he does own, the company tripled. That is a really good Liberal return on investment, if members ask me. Not to be outdone, green slush fund board member Guy Ouimet admitted in committee that $17 million of green slush money went to companies he himself had a financial interest in. He said that this is a small amount of money. It might be for Guy, but for the residents in my riding, that is a lot of money. How about those who are actively being punished by the government, which is desperate to raise revenue to pay for all of this corruption? These are people like Katie, a farmer in my riding, whose family also runs a grain drying and storage operation used by other local grain growers. She got a hold of me this week, actually. Her family, so far, has paid a total of $151,781.02 in carbon tax, plus $19,731.53 in HST, for a total of $171,512.55. The Liberals like to say that most Canadians get back more than they pay in carbon tax. If that is the case, Katie is still waiting for her $200,000 cheque. That is what angers people about these scandals. In just this speech today, I have highlighted over two billion dollars' worth of Liberal corruption and mismanagement. Those are tax dollars for hard-working Canadians. We need to find where this money went. People deserve answers and need to be held accountable. That is why, on June 10, we asked for the production of various documents related to SDTC—

Madam Speaker, I just want to begin by saying that this is my first time speaking to the motion. The residents of Simcoe—Grey want to hear from me. To me, this is not a filibuster. I would actually almost want an apology for him thinking that that is what I am trying to do here. I would like to add, quite frankly, that it is quite simple if he would like to move along. The only people who are holding this up are from the Liberal Party. All the Liberals need to do is produce the documents. That is what we have been asking for. We are not the only people asking for it. It is not only the opposition asking for it. Obviously, there is something to hide. Show us the documents.

Madam Speaker, my colleague's question is important. I think it starts from the top. If we had a government that was looking out for the dollars of Canadians and understood how hard it is to make a dollar, it would probably make sure that message would get to the individuals who are involved in these offshoot companies. No one from the government spoke after there were 186 conflicts of interest. We might see one, two or perhaps three. I come from a municipal background. I just cannot imagine 186 conflicts of interest and nobody speaking up. The 186 conflicts would not have taken place in a day, so this was a process. Quite frankly, it starts with the top leadership, and that is why I am very proud to be supporting our leader.

Madam Speaker, first of all, in the House today we are talking about documents. I do not know if the member saw we are talking about the documents, so I am looking for questions about the documents. A lot of the questions we seem to be getting from the NDP are provincial ones, so I do not know if the members would like to perhaps run as MLAs. That might be a good idea so they could get those ideas out. However, I want to work for the people in Simcoe—Grey here today, and what I want to do is get those documents released. Let us move on. Let us get the House going. All the government needs to do is show us the documents.

Madam Speaker, I go to many events, and the frustration is terrible. People are hurting financially and emotionally. What is going on in this country is shocking to people. It is unfortunate that people have a bad view of politicians. What has happened after nine years of the Liberal government is that people's perception and mistrust are at an unbelievable level. It is like never before. They tell me, quite frankly, that they want to axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime. They want a carbon tax election, and I can say that the good people of Simcoe—Grey will hopefully get their wish.

Madam Speaker, the idea behind what we are debating is that we want the documents to go to the RCMP. That is what the majority of the House has stated. It is a shame that is not what is happening. Obviously, there is some contempt of the House, and I think some real soul-searching should be done to see why the Liberals would not release those documents to the RCMP. It is an outside force. Let it deal with the documents. There is something wrong.

Madam Speaker, I do not know why the Liberals would not want to be open and transparent and let this go to the RCMP. It is not like we are sending documents to one of our parties. We would be taking them to an outside authority. If there is nothing to hide, why would the government not want to do it? This whole issue and delay is because of that one simple process. I have faith in our committees when we are there studying it, but that is not what we are debating here today and it is not what the House wanted to do. It is the same thing as the Winnipeg lab. The House has spoken. Let us respect democracy and do the right thing.

Mr. Speaker, this year marks the 10th anniversary of the Small Halls Festival, a unique eight-week festival with events across the communities of Clearview Township. Community centres, outdoor stages and churches in Creemore, Singhampton, Duntroon, Nottawa, Sunnidale Corners, Brentwood, Dunedin and Stayner will each host different events. Whether it is whisky or wine tasting, beer or food pairing, chicken races, craft fairs, car shows, a do-it-yourself marble run competition, music or art shows of any style and variety, there really is something for everyone at the Small Halls Festival. I congratulate Mayor Doug Measures, Deputy Mayor Paul Van Staveren, Clearview Township council and the more than 250 community volunteers and sponsors who make the festival possible. Come to Clearview Township to celebrate the best of rural living and see why the award-winning festival is one of the greatest in Ontario.

With regard to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and its Voluntary Disclosure Program (VDP), since January 1, 2016: (a) how many (i) individuals, (ii) employers, (iii) corporations, (iv) partnerships, (v) trusts, have successfully used the VDP (i.e. their application for the VDP was accepted), broken down by year; (b) how many (i) individuals, (ii) employers, (iii) corporations, (iv) partnerships, (v) trusts, with accounts outside of Canada have successfully used the VDP, broken down by year; (c) how much in relief has been granted through the VDP, broken down year and by (i) individuals, (ii) employers, (iii) corporations, (iv) partnerships, (v) trusts; (d) how many Canadians have been convicted of tax evasion related to money and other assets held overseas; and (e) how many Canadians have been convicted of tax evasion related to money and other assets held overseas?

With regard to transcriptions or transcripts prepared by the government since January 1, 2022, and broken down by department or agency: (a) for each occurrence, what is the (i) date of the proceeding or event, (ii) location of the proceeding or event, (iii) description or summary of the proceeding or event, (iv) main participants speaking at the proceeding or event, (v) subject matter of the proceeding or event; (b) what was the cost of each transcription in (a); (c) who requested each transcription in (a) be prepared; and (d) what was the total amount spent on transcriptions or transcripts, broken down by year?

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have long known that the carbon tax costs them more than they get back. Who else knows this? The Liberals do. That is because the Parliamentary Budget Officer revealed this week that the Liberals commissioned a report that confirmed what Canadians already know, that the carbon tax costs families more than they get back. Now the Liberals refuse to release the taxpayer-funded report. Let us end the carbon tax cover-up. When will the minister quit using unbelievable talking points and release the secret report that proves once and for all that Canadians are right?