SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 299

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 15, 2024 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 299 - Apr/15/24
Mr. Michael Barrett (Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, CPC)
  • Apr/15/24 7:51:32 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise today, and I want to start by wishing a very happy birthday to my uncle, Wayne MacHale. Uncle Wayne is 73 years old today. Wayne is lucky to have my aunt, Aunt Michelle, as his wife. He is also the proud father of Eric and Daniel and equally proud of their wives, his daughters-in-law, Sandra and Maureen. He is proud of his grandchildren, Liam, Rory, Molly, Owen and Cameron. I think he was watching one of them play soccer tonight. Wayne is the brother to my mom, Anne. He is a tremendously nice guy and an avid golfer. I am so proud to know him and wish Uncle Wayne a very happy birthday. I will move to the business that we find ourselves here to discuss, which, of course, is waste, scandal and mismanagement. That is what we see from the Liberals with everything they touch. It is like the reverse Midas touch. I think everyone would be surprised that it has been so long since I mentioned their billion-dollar green slush fund. What is the reason for that? It is because there are new details about Liberal scandals, such as their $60-million arrive scam, every day. The Prime Minister and his NDP-Liberal government are always enriching their friends at the expense of Canadians; tomorrow they are going to roll out their budget, which is going to cause Canadians to continue to struggle after eight years of the government. The billion-dollar green slush fund has appointees of the Prime Minister and people with their hand on the tiller who are under investigation by the Ethics Commissioner, having admitted to enriching themselves while Canadians struggle. It is the same story for the $60-million arrive scam, with a dozen investigations, not the least of which is that of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. When we talk about accountability, let us look at the government's commitment to accountability. In November 2022, if people can go back to that time, the Leader of the Opposition put forward a motion to have the Auditor General investigate the arrive scam. The government says it is transparent and wants accountability. How did the Prime Minister vote? The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance is going to present the budget tomorrow. How did the cabinet vote? How did Liberal members vote? They voted against having the Auditor General investigate this latest scandal. It is hard not to feel disappointed in one's government when there is a new scandal every day. On that, the Prime Minister and I agree. We are so disappointed. While Canadians line up at food banks in record numbers, they see inaction and a government that is worsening the crisis they are facing. They are going to be able to count on common-sense Conservatives to axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime. When will the government do the right thing and do the same?
504 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 299 - Apr/15/24
Mr. Michael Barrett
  • Apr/15/24 7:58:21 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, every time, it is the same thing. The Liberals want us to trust them, and they say that they have processes in place. That is what they tell us. They did not want us to look deeper into the billion dollar green slush fund. When we did, after they tried to block committee investigations, we found conflicts of interest. What happened? I wrote letters to the Ethics Commissioner, and he launched investigations into their appointees. It is the same thing with the $60 million arrive scam. The Liberals say that everything is fine and that there is nothing to see there, yet 12 investigations later, they are still telling us to trust them. We do not. We do not trust them to keep taxes low, to build houses, to balance the budget, to bring down inflation or to return safety and sanity to our streets. Canadians have had enough, and they want real action. They want a government that is accountable. That is why Conservatives are going to bring it home.
173 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border