Good morning everyone,
I would like to start today by addressing the recent events in Minneapolis and across Canada and the US over the weekend.
Like all of you, I am heartbroken by the killing of George Floyd.
No one should ever feel unsafe around police officers, who must uphold the law for all, or feel unsafe because of the colour of their skin.
We all have a responsibility to fight anti-black racism, and all forms of brutality or injustice, in Canada and everywhere.
Now, Conservatives have put forward constructive solutions to fix what are largely technical problems so that Canadians can get the help that they need.
But, instead of making these simple changes, Justin Trudeau is letting Canadians down.
He promised in March to fix the problems. Well it’s now June.
For example: Brandt Tractor, a company in my riding, can’t access the wage subsidy because they acquired another company in the fall. Like so many businesses, they have been hit hard and their workers need help to be able to stay on the job.
Now, I have repeatedly raised this issue with the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance. So why haven’t they fixed this technical issue impacting companies and workers across the country?
On April 8th, Conservatives called on the government to give back to small businesses the GST they had remitted in the last year.
This would have provided much needed cashflow to literally thousands of businesses across the country.We also raised concerns with the wage subsidy and proposed changing the criteria so that businesses could demonstrate their 30% revenue loss using other metrics like loss of earnings, have repeatedly raised this issue with the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance. So why haven’t they fixed this technical issue impacting companies and workers across the country?
We also raised concerns with the wage subsidy and proposed changing the criteria so that businesses could demonstrate their 30% revenue loss using other metrics like loss of earnings, subscriptions or orders.
Thousands of companies can’t access the wage subsidy because of this barrier.
In fact, according to the Department of Finance, uptake has been only half of what the government expected.
So, why won’t the Trudeau Liberals help these companies?
On April 26th, we asked the Prime Minister to change the criteria for the Canada Emergency Business Account so that small businesses who use a chequing account can qualify.
That’s a simple fix that would have helped so many. So why hasn’t it been made?
Over a month ago, we raised the issue of businesses who don’t qualify for the emergency business account, because they don’t have regular payroll.
We asked the Liberals to expand the eligibility criteria to include revenue decline. So why haven’t they?
On May 14th, we asked the Liberals to include a sliding scale in the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance Program for businesses with less than 70% revenue loss, so those experiencing significant revenue decline get some rental relief.
The program only started taking applications on May 25th. So why did the government not make this simple change to help more small business owners?
These are just some of the ways that Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government are letting down Canadians.
These aren’t just numbers on a spreadsheet.
They are real Canadians who are struggling. Canadians who need help but who have fallen through the cracks.
Conservatives have proposed easy solutions to help them. So why hasn’t Justin Trudeau acted?
Meanwhile, the Canadian Medical Association has warned that Canada won’t be ready if a second wave hits.
Government procurement efforts have been plagued with issues. Masks are defective, test kits contaminated, and sometimes shipments don’t show up at all.
According to the government’s own statistics, they have ordered more than 100 million N95 masks since the beginning of this year but have received less than 12 million .
Of those 12 million masks, 9.8 million (82%) have not met our standards and cannot be distributed to front line emergency workers.
So what is the government’s plan to get the personal protective equipment Canadians need?
There is no plan.
But with the help of the NDP, the Liberals have shamefully shut down Parliament until at least the fall.
If MPs can gather safely in the Chamber four days a week for a hybrid special COVID-19 committee meeting, why can’t MPs carry out normal Parliamentary business?
The Liberals spent weeks trying to shut down Parliament, instead of looking for ways to ensure that it could safely reopen.
They have only allocated four hours to study and debate more than $150 billion worth of new spending. That is not how our democracy is supposed to work.
Opposition parties provide vital oversight and hold the government accountable.
It is our job to comb through every line item, to question every expense and make sure that Canadians’ tax dollars are spent properly.
Happy to take your questions.=
Saturday, April 18, 2026
