- Member of Parliament
- Member of Parliament
- Conservative
- York—Simcoe
- Ontario
- Voting Attendance: 69%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $119,263.34
- Government Page
Madam Speaker, when I look at the economic situation impacting Canadians right across the country, I cannot help but wonder this. Had the Prime Minister never entered politics, and had a more regular upbringing typical of most Canadians, he would very likely be cutting it on a drama teacher's salary. If he were, could he afford to live under the very same policies and economic conditions he is imposing on Canadians today?
Under these circumstances, I cannot help but wonder how the Prime Minister, if he were not the Prime Minister, could stretch his budget to cover feeding his family, clothing, mortgage payments, car expenses, cellphone bills and all the other obligations facing ordinary, but truly extraordinary, Canadians.
However, we know that the actual circumstances of the Prime Minister are far different than those facing most people across the country. He does not know what it is like to struggle to put food on the table or gas in the car, but Canadians are doing this, all the while going about their daily lives.
Increasingly, more Canadians are paying attention to what is taking place in Ottawa and what the government is doing, because they must. They can no longer go about their lives without being directly confronted and negatively affected by the actions and failures of the Liberal government. This is because everything is broken in Canada under the Prime Minister.
There has been a record two million food bank visits in a single month. Housing costs have doubled. Mortgages payments are 150% higher than they were before the Liberals formed government. Canada has been warned that it is the most at-risk country in the G7 for a mortgage default crisis. Violent crime is up 39%. Tent encampments can be found in most major cities. Over 50% of Canadians are $200 or less away from going broke. Average household debt makes up 100% of the income of Canadians. Business insolvencies have increased by 37% this year. Despite our growth in population, there are fewer entrepreneurs and fewer new businesses than ever.
This is the day-to-day reality facing Canadians because of the generational high inflation and the fastest rise in interest rates in Canadian monetary history, an issue the Prime Minister says, if members recall, he does not think about. However, regular people do. Every single person living in our country has been impacted by rising costs; homelessness amid an unaffordable home ownership and rental market; not to mention rampant crime; and a destabilized society where basic government services, travel, medical care and so much more have become inaccessible, unreliable or non-existent.
Canadians know that the Liberal government has caused this misery with the rampant overspending, a record $600 billion of inflationary debt and countless tax hikes that increase the price of the goods we buy and drives up the interest we pay.
Now, when Canadians are looking to the federal government and the Prime Minister responsible for everything being broken to see what is being done to tackle these issues, they see this, the 2023 Liberal fall economic statement. Talk about a day late and a dollar short.
The government did not implement any of the common-sense proposals the Conservatives called for to address the problem facing our country's citizens. Instead, the Liberals are forcing $20 billion of new spending on Canadians that will further drive up taxes, inflation and interest rates.
Never before has a federal government spent so much with so little to show for it. Now Canadians are paying the price. In fact, the Liberal policies in the economic statement only make the problems piling up in our country so much worse.
The Liberals are now spending more on interest on the debt than they are on health care. Let us think about that. It is no wonder York—Simcoe still does not have a hospital. When justifying the failure of the economic statement, the Deputy Prime Minister said, “Canada is not and never has been broken.” Can people believe that?
Canadians are paying attention and they are being told by the Deputy Prime Minister, who is tasked with tackling these issues, that actually there are not any. She says everything is fine and Canadians have never had it so good. We should not be surprised. This is the same Deputy Prime Minister who spends thousands on limos while bragging she does not need to own a car. She can just walk out the door and get on a subway.
This is the same finance minister who is holding back the rural top-up fund from the carbon tax from the first nations in my riding of York—Simcoe, forcing them to pay more in carbon taxes simply because of where they live. That is dividing based on geography. She will pretend that a AAA credit rating matters, as if that will fill the stomachs of Canadians lined up at food banks. It does not matter to her that this rating is only maintained on the backs of Canadians through higher taxes and interest rates.
She will also brag that Canada supposedly has the lowest debt and deficit in the G7, but she ignores the fact that when we account for general government debt, federal, provincial and territorial, Canada has the 10th highest debt-to-GDP burden in the OECD. With this economic statement, the Liberals would have people believe that, because the federal debt is only 42% of our GDP, it is all good. However, the truth is the government debt is 113% of our GDP when we account for all of it.
The Liberals’ refusal to admit that Canada is broken, that people in this country are suffering and that a change of course is necessary, proves to Canadians without a shadow of a doubt that the government is out of touch and incapable of responding to the crises it has made. There are crises. Let us look at the headlines from the past few months: “Canada's worst fiscal crisis in generations is brewing”, “Federal efforts to solve Canada’s housing crisis” are failing and “Surgery backlogs...no family doctor: ...Canada's health-care crisis”. There are so many more covering affordability, opioids, foreign interference, food insecurity and mental health. There is crisis after crisis after crisis.
After eight years, Canadians have never been more unhappy, more uncomfortable and more unsafe. This economic statement proves that the biggest crisis facing this country, and the root of all others, is a crisis of leadership. The approach of the Prime Minister and his NDP-Liberal government is not working. Prices are up, rent is up, debt is up and taxes are up. Time is up. Canada is broken and the only people who will not admit that are the very same people who caused it: the tired, corrupt and out-of-touch Liberal government.
There is a better way. Conservatives will axe the tax, balance the budget to bring down inflation and interest rates to bring home lower prices for Canadians in a Canada no longer defined by crisis. We can only speculate what could have been if the Prime Minister was never Prime Minister. I am confident that we will not need to wait much longer before the Prime Minister is not the Prime Minister anymore. With the many issues facing our country, and the repeated failures by the government to address them, what will his legacy be?
It is increasingly looking like he will forever be remembered as the Prime Minister who broke Canada. Instead of our out-of-touch policies, we need a vision for the country and a prime minister who believes in Canadians the way Canadians believe in their country. The Leader of the Opposition will be that prime minister, and Conservatives will axe the tax and fix the budget.
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- Oct/18/23 2:03:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is running our country like he is the captain of the Titanic. He justified his record-high spending because interest rates were at historic lows. He encouraged Canadians to keep borrowing because those rates would stay low. He may as well have said that our country's finances were unsinkable.
The captain of the crew of this ship ignored all the warnings about icebergs and look where we are today. Inflation and interest rates are hitting record highs. Canadians are now running to the lifeboats as the cost of food, fuel and home heating continues to climb. Too many people are losing their jobs, their homes, their savings and any hope they had for the future. It was hubris that sunk the Titanic, but it is the arrogance and entitlement of the Prime Minister that is sinking Canadians now.
Conservatives will right the ship by axing the tax on gas and groceries. We will end inflationary deficits. Let us give Canadians a lifeline and bring it home.
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- Oct/16/23 2:11:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, small businesses are the cornerstone of our communities. They are the supporters of local sports teams, small-town fairs and charities. They are the job creators. They provide valuable goods and services to the community every single day. Unfortunately, after eight years of this NDP-Liberal government, it is now harder than ever for hard-working small business owners to stay open. Tax hikes, red tape, crime, quadrupled carbon taxes and inflation are causing significant hardships.
I do not know who is left buying what this government is selling. Most small businesses are barely holding on by their fingernails. They are seeing fewer customers as the cost of living rises. Canadians need more common sense not nonsense from a Prime Minister who is just not worth the cost.
This Small Business Week, know that Conservatives will take care of business by taking care of small businesses. We will bring back hope and get government off their backs.
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- Jun/6/23 3:03:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are on the ropes, trying to pay this Liberal carbon tax. It raises gas prices by 41¢ a litre every single time they fill up. However, like a one-two punch, the Prime Minister is now forcing a second carbon tax on Canadians, adding another 17¢ to the cost of fuel. Canadians are already down for the count, having to take on extra jobs and turn to food banks just to get by.
Instead of sucker-punching Canadians, will the Liberals axe the carbon tax?
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- Apr/18/23 3:01:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, “Sorry, kids, Disneyland is cancelled” is what too many Canadian parents are having to tell their children. Sixty per cent are scaling back their summer vacations because of inflation.
However, that has not stopped the Prime Minister from jetting off to Jamaica, costing taxpayers $160,000. It is unbelievable. While our Prime Minister catches some rays with his Trudeau Foundation cronies, Canadians just cannot catch a break.
Instead of cancelling Canadians' vacations, will the Liberals stop the hypocrisy and cancel the carbon tax?
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Mr. Speaker, I do not want to talk about the failures of the government on ports, airports, health care or the numerous other things I could go on and on about.
We now have a federal government that seems to be going around the provinces with this bill, and I wonder if the member could comment further on that.
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Mr. Speaker, we are talking about global inflation and the reality is that Canada is the worst in the world. If we look at our ports, the Port of Vancouver is the worst in the world. Toronto Pearson International Airport is the worst airport in the world. People are waiting in line for passports for days. These are the failure of the Liberal-NDP government.
I want my colleague to comment on health care. In my riding, when I go out to doors, my residents are pleading with me. They say, “Scot, I would love to have a doctor.”
We are spending a billion dollars on this dental care program, and people are saying they do not have a doctor. People are waiting months and months for a specialist. Could my colleague comment on that?
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- Oct/3/22 2:12:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the devastating impact the Liberals are having on our country will be deeply felt this Thanksgiving.
At a time of record-high inflation and rampant unaffordability, many Canadians will struggle to afford their Thanksgiving meals. Others will find it difficult to pay for fuel or fare to visit loved ones, and those travelling by air will be faced with delays and cancellations. Some will be seeing family for the first time in years after being forced apart by a government that cannot even provide basic services to its citizens.
These are the realities facing Canadians. The Liberals deny that they are responsible for any of it, but it is Trudeau.
This Thanksgiving, Canadians will overcome these challenges. They will make sacrifices to gather with family to share a meal and to give thanks. Their perseverance is inspiring and should serve as a reminder that it is not the government that makes Canada what it is.
That is why I am thankful that ordinary Canadians are committed to reclaiming the “can” in Canada.
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- Sep/21/22 3:07:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, LaRue's Haulage in Keswick has served the community of York—Simcoe for over 75 years, but the future is looking bleak for small businesses like theirs because of the carbon tax. LaRue's has paid more than $65,000 in carbon taxes since May, and that is with just 20 trucks on the road. They are holding on by their fingernails, but with the carbon tax tripling, local businesses like LaRue's could go under. This is happening right across the country.
The carbon tax is crushing Canadian small business. Will the Liberals scrap this tax?
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- Jun/2/22 2:12:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with the cost of living spiralling out of control, many Canadians are struggling, worried about their ability to provide for their family's future and the direction that our country is headed in.
Sadly, the out-of-control spending and divisive and regressive policies of our Liberal Prime Minister have turned Canada into “Can'tada”: “Can't” afford to buy or rent a home, “can't” afford gas, “can't” afford groceries, “can't” keep a small business open, “can't” retire, “can't” protest, “can't” express dissent, “can't” get a straight answer from government, “can't” work hard to get any further ahead.
Under the Liberals, everyday life has become unaffordable. There are limited opportunities for students, working parents, seniors, first nations communities, new Canadians, small business owners and everyone else. Canadians need relief. They need hope and confidence in the future. That is why Conservatives will continue to stand up for ordinary Canadians and will ensure to fight so that the true north remains strong and free.
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