Warren Steinley

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to join in and ask for more with respect to the answer I received back in the previous session on affordability. I know my colleague from Whitby is going to respond to the question I am going to ask him. We have had a lot of good, partisan sparring back and forth over the years, for a long time. I am going to bring this down to a constituent level because I just received an email from a senior lady in my riding at 2:03 p.m. this afternoon. I am going to read this and talk about the affordability issues people are facing so we can have a conversation, on a real constituent basis, about what is going on in people's daily lives. It says, “I'm 74. My husband is 75. We get nothing extra from the federal government. When I say 'we', I mean the seniors who have paid income taxes on all the money we've scrimped and saved over our working years while paying for our children's child care and food. This money was to see us through our retirement years. All that hard work so we can enjoy our golden years was for what? We still have to scrimp and save so we can afford food and shelter. “The Liberals keep going on about how much they've done for everyone, including the seniors, so they can afford to pay for food. This is a lot of poppycock. They say, ‘Look at how many are registered for the seniors dental program.’ That is all fine and dandy, but how many of those registered actually qualify? This is the number that really matters. My husband and I are registered, but our combined income means we don't qualify. If it was not for investments we saved for over 40 years, we would not be able to afford to retire. To make matters worse, the investment income is all taxable. “Sorry for the long rant. I just get so frustrated when the Liberals keep saying that they're helping us but everything keeps going up and our income stays the same. Keep up the good work. Janet.” What I am wondering for Janet is—

There is heckling from the other side, which is interesting. Mr. Speaker, she said they do not qualify for the dental program, if the Liberal members would listen to what I say. This is what the Liberals do. They dismiss what everyday Canadians are talking about and the issues they are facing. I want to ask this of my friend from Whitby, who I think is here for the right reasons, though we have different opinions. Every day in question period, the Liberals get up and say, “Oh, but there's a dental program.” For seniors like Janet and her husband, because of their retirement income, they do not qualify, so they do not get anything. They are frustrated seniors who are not really seeing any of the benefit of these programs, but their income is being taxed, and that is going to pay for programs for other people. They are in a really tough situation. What would Ryan say to Janet right now?

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate some of the member's responses. He and I will debate another day how many times he voted in favour of the consumer carbon tax and how he was one of the main cheerleaders for the consumer carbon tax until he found it not to be beneficial to his election options. He realized that it was very unpopular, so then instead of being for it, he was against it. I also agree with the cutting of the gas tax. We talked about that for years and years, but last session, the member voted four or five times against cutting the gas tax, when the Conservatives brought a motion forward that resembles Bill C-38, which the Liberals just brought forward, so he also voted against that not so long ago. The member is the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance. I do like to have this debate back and forth because he did talk about a whole suite of programs. How much would it cost the Liberals to cut taxes so people had more money in their pockets and not have some of those programs?

Madam Speaker, the Liberals said for months and months that their gas tax was not creating an affordability crisis. We brought forward motion after motion, and every Liberal member voted against getting rid of the gas tax. Can my colleague explain what he thinks of the change of heart the Liberals had. Why are they now admitting that they were wrong after all these months, when Canadians could have had a tax decrease on groceries for months? Now they are bringing it in a little bit late. Why has there been a change of heart from our Liberals colleagues?

Mr. Speaker, the member for Winnipeg North just talked about commitments. Well, we cannot eat commitments. Let us ask the people in Ingersoll about Stellantis and those commitments, which all left our country because of the Liberals' failed policies. Every Conservative here is here to save money for Canadians. How much money would Canadians have saved if the Liberals had actually taken our policy months and months and years ago to take the tax off gas so they would be able to drive to their work and actually take their kids to school and put food on the table?

Madam Speaker, the member went through all the programs that Canadians have, including the new grocery rebate. Is that really an admission that their policies are failing? The fact that they have to give Canadians more money back in programs means they cannot afford food on their own. The member has been in the House for a while. Why did she vote against our motion to take the tax off gas four or five times last spring?

Madam Speaker, they say that imitation is the finest form of flattery. We are flattered that the government is finally taking some of our policies to save Canadians money. That is why Conservatives came here: to make sure that Canadians have more money in their pockets. This is my question, and the previous Liberal speaker did not answer it: I am wondering why the member voted against our motion to remove the tax on gas four or five times last session. Canadians could have been saving money for almost a year, rather than bringing this forward now. Why did he vote against his constituents' having more money in their pockets when we brought this exact motion forward last session?

Mr. Speaker, all we hear from the Liberals is how great they are and that the government is doing so great. My question for my colleague is simple. If the government is doing so great, why are so many Canadian citizens struggling every single day?

Mr. Speaker, I have just a quick question for my colleague from the NDP. The federal government says it is doing so well and its policies are just great, and its members are always patting themselves on the back. If the government is doing so well, why are so many Canadians struggling across the country?

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has said affordability is the best it has been in decades, but in reality, 38% of Canadians face food insecurity. One in five say all food in the home has been eaten and there is no money left to buy more. It is no wonder Food Banks Canada gave the Liberal government an F on food insecurity. Will the Prime Minister reverse his costly policies, which caused this crisis, so Canadians can afford to once again live?

Mr. Speaker, this member from northern Saskatchewan is the biggest embarrassment to come out of Saskatchewan since the Riders lost the Grey Cup for having too many men on the field. Let me make a list of what this guy has actually delivered. He cancelled the Snowbirds. He shuttered two agriculture research stations. He never delivered money for the RCMP museum in Regina. If the Liberal government is doing so great, why are Canadians struggling so much?

Mr. Speaker, I am tabling a petition signed by members of my community on Commissionaires, which remains the largest employer of veterans in Canada. Commissionaires had an agreement with the federal government that gives Commissionaires the first right of refusal for security at federal buildings for government departments. The government decided that policy will end in April 2027, with a clear lack of justification for doing so. The abolition of this agreement would cost Commissionaires up to $330 million and put the employment of thousands of our veterans in jeopardy. The undersigned citizens of Canada call upon the Government of Canada to revoke its decision to end Commissionaires' 80-year preferential contract entitlement on federal security guard contracts. This is important for veterans across the country. I so submit.

Mr. Speaker, the member for Yorkton—Melville has been a great colleague. She really embodies the three things we talk about as Conservatives: faith, family and freedom. She always asks about people's families. I am a big family guy, and the fact that she is resigning to spend more time with her husband, their beautiful kids and grandkids really is a testament to her leaving on a high note and at the appropriate time. I wish her and Marty the best in their retirement. I thank her for always being there, for talking about family and for making sure her colleagues' families were always top of mind. It is something I have always appreciated about her. I send her love and wish her a great retirement.

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to join in this debate on Government Business No. 12 on the spring economic update. A lot has changed since the spring economic update. The most recent PBO report says the government has slowing growth, a larger than promised deficit, a weakening fiscal outlook and a 1% chance of meeting the government's own fiscal anchor. That has all happened since the last spring economic update. We are debating Government Business No. 12, and it feels like Groundhog Day. Every time the Liberals bring a closure motion forward, the member for Winnipeg North gets up and says the Conservatives are blocking and filibustering. It is an example of the far-left ideology over there. It is always someone else's fault. There is always a reason why they did not get the job done. If Liberal legislation did not get passed, it is the Conservatives' fault. If the Liberals cannot meet any of their economic targets, it is Donald Trump's fault. If the Liberals cannot get trade deals done, its the fault of the global crisis. There is always something to blame for why the Liberals never follow through on their promises. If they cannot get houses built, it is the municipalities' fault. If they cannot get more trade deals, perhaps it is the Easter bunny's fault. I do not know. The Liberals always have someone to blame, and that is the far left in a nutshell. It is never, ever their fault. One thing I want to talk about when it comes to ideology is child care in Saskatchewan. This is the Liberals' flagship. This is their baby. They thought it would change the lives of parents. I want to talk about the latest report on child care in Saskatchewan, which says 92% of people in Saskatchewan say it is difficult to find child care. Families are being told that child care is more affordable, but affordability does not matter if there is no availability. The report goes on to say that so many communities in my home province of Saskatchewan are being called child care deserts. There are simply not enough day care spaces. Get this. It further says the people the Liberals pretend to care about and want to help are the ones who are hurt the hardest. It is often the parents who need flexibility the most. The nurses, first responders, retail workers and anyone working evenings, weekends or shift work are left without options. This is what the Conservatives talked about all along when the Liberals brought forward their child care program. We said parents need choice. Make it the parent's choice. Allow private day cares to stay open. Allow parents to have the choice of where they want their children to go. Supplement public day care with private day care so that there are more spaces. The Liberals promised to build 255,000 day care spaces, and they have only made 65% of that target. Shame on them for over-promising once again and leaving parents holding the bag. There are a few other things I want to talk about that were in the spring economic update but never materialized in Saskatchewan. When the people in Saskatchewan look at the spring economic update, what do they not see? They do not see funding for the Snowbirds. It took the Liberals only 10 years to ground the Snowbirds program in Saskatchewan. The iconic Snowbirds are housed in Moose Jaw. The aerial acrobat team is the pride of Canada, and it took the Liberals only 10 years to ground it. They are going to over-promise and over-commit once again. They promised to have the Snowbirds flying by 2030. I do not think that is going to happen, and I do not think anyone on these benches thinks the Snowbirds are going to be flying any time soon. A lack of preparation and planning by the Liberals caused that. Let us talk about what else is not in the spring economic update for Saskatchewan. There is no money for the RCMP Heritage Centre. It is in my home riding of Regina—Lewvan. The Liberals have promised money since 2015 to help the RCMP Heritage Centre become a national museum. They promised it in the 2015 campaign, the 2019 campaign, the 2021 campaign and the 2025 campaign. It was in their platform, and they still have not followed through on the commitment to make the RCMP Heritage Centre a national museum. That is a shame, because it does wonderful work and tells the stories of our brave men and women in uniform. That is something that should be done sooner rather than later. I hope they follow through on that commitment, because they promised it time and time again and they have never delivered. Another thing in the spring economic update that would not help Saskatchewan is the closing of agriculture research stations in Scott and Indian Head. I do not know when the Liberals became the anti-science party. I do not know why they do not want to believe in the science of agriculture across our communities. The research stations are so important because there are four different types of soil in Saskatchewan. That is why there is one in Scott, one in Indian Head and a federal research station in Swift Current. They do different experiments on these different soil types. If the Liberals close two of these research stations, they are going to throw away decades of research that has been done to help the soil become more fertile and to help us make sure we have better crop varieties. They do not say much about the fact they have cut funding to research stations. They do not talk about the cuts they have made, and there are so many more places where the Liberals have wasted billions of dollars. Then they decide to cut the Snowbirds and the agriculture research stations, and not fund their commitments to the RCMP heritage museum that they have promised time and again. The last thing I would say, and this has been really quiet on the Liberal front, is that the government is talking about the potential of selling airports, which I find is a very interesting strategy coming from the Liberal side. The Regina airport is located in Regina—Lewvan. I do not know what the Liberals do not like about Regina—Lewvan, but I hope they will come visit. We would give them a tour so they could see a lot more of this beautiful part of the city in Regina, Saskatchewan. I invite them all to come out. They could see—

Mr. Speaker, we hear them cheering that, yes, they would. They tricked one of the Conservatives by promising to fund something in their riding. That is how the member for Sarnia—Lambton—Bkejwanong got tricked into moving over to the Liberal side. She was promised money from the housing minister. I find it very interesting that the Liberals are willing to try to buy people. I will tell my friend across the way a little story. My daughter saw some of the comments with respect to floor crossing, and she asked me if I would ever cross the floor. I told her that I would not in a million years. She said, “Good. I'll still be proud of you.” There is the saying “from the mouths of babes”. Even 11-year-olds know that we should really keep our word all the time. I think sometimes we get the most truth when we talk to young people across the country. That is what the Liberals have lost in the economic update as well: the fact that young people are struggling more each and every day. The fact that the vast majority of young people in Canada do not believe they are ever going to afford a home is not good enough for our country. We need to do better for young people. The fact that 2.2 million people go to food banks in this country, which is the breadbasket of the world, is not good enough. A vast majority of those people going to food banks are children, young people and students. The fact that people are languishing on wait-lists for years in the health care system is unacceptable. The fact that we gave $1.6 billion to failed asylum claimants for health care benefits but we do not look after seniors who need hip and knee replacements is unacceptable. One thing I want to get to before I wrap up is the fact that when we say that Canada can be better, and when we question if the Liberals are doing good enough for Canadians, they call us unpatriotic. That is unacceptable. The Liberal government is not Canada. Every member of the chamber loves our country, but we think our country can do a heck of a lot better than it is doing right now. We are the only G7 country in a recession, and the blame lies at the Prime Minister's feet. He promised the world he could deal with Donald Trump. There is a video that says this. That was an absolute crock. The Prime Minister has failed at every promise he has made. He promised to build at speeds not seen in generations. That is not true. He said he would deal with Donald Trump. That is not true. He said he would make sure that the budget was balanced. That is not true. Do members remember when Stephen Harper said that budgets are like potato chips and that one cannot not have just one? It has been 11 years of straight deficit budgets that keep getting bigger, and Canadians are left holding the bag.

Mr. Speaker, I would love to debate back and forth with my colleague, because, as I said, we helped the Liberals pass Bill C-5, the One Canadian Economy Act. We needed it. We co-operated. They needed it to make the economy stronger, but they have not used the bill once. Even when we are trying to help them grow the economy, they fail. I will take no lessons from the colleague across the way. We will do our job and study legislation, but when we do help, they still cannot get the job done.

Mr. Speaker, there are so many ways the Liberals have wasted money. I can talk about the $300 million in PrescribeIT. I can talk about the tens of billions of dollars given to third party consultants and about the growing size of bureaucracy. If they hire more consultants, they should not have to have a larger bureaucracy. We can talk about the millions, even billions, of dollars sent out of the country in international aid, which is probably on an ideological basis not on a humanitarian basis. There are a lot of areas where there is money wasted by the government. I want to make sure that those are cut and that the provinces remain full.

Mr. Speaker, it is truly heartbreaking that, under the Liberals, the Snowbirds are going to be grounded. I remember, as a young kid, our driving to Moose Jaw from our farm in Rush Lake and watching air shows for the Snowbirds. Seeing those planes in the sky was a special moment. In Barrie, 150,000 people got to see that for the last time. The fact that the Liberals did not have a plan to make sure that the Snowbirds could keep flying and had proper jets to keep flying is a damnation on their record. They had 11 years to make a plan, and they failed. That is why we are not going to have the Snowbirds for the foreseeable future. We would do whatever we could and help them in any way to make sure we could get planes so the Snowbirds could keep flying. It is just really sad for our Canadian identity and our Canadian heritage.