Shannon Stubbs, Member of Parliament for Lakeland and Conservative Shadow Minister for Energy and Natural Resources, continued to hold the Liberals accountable in Parliament and at committee for their record of economic decline, rising costs, lavish in-flight catering bills, and anti-development policies that block investment, resource development, and opportunity for Canadians. 

On June 2nd, Stubbs spoke in the House of Commons after new data from Statistics Canada revealed that Canada is now the only G7, and G20 country, in a recession after just over a year of Mark Carney being Prime Minister:

“The Prime Minister has made Canada the only G7 country in a recession. Even though the other countries face the same global challenges and tariffs. Canada’s economy shrunk 75% of his term, with the lowest investment per worker in the G20. That is less opportunity and more stress for Canadians who cannot afford it. A year in, almost 46,000 more Canadians are jobless, household savings are at their lowest, and millions of Canadians, especially kids, visit food banks just to get by. These are predictable results with deficits double Trudeau’s, higher carbon taxes and a decade of top-down ‘Ottawa knows best’ chaos and division. So much for the elbows-up man with a plan for Canada. Canadians get photo ops, discussion papers and a self-identified European PM who just said he wants to make America great again.”

On May 29th, when the data revealing Carney’s recession was first published, Stubbs responded:

“Prime Minister Carney told you he was the man with the international credentials, the economic education, and the experience you needed … But the numbers are in after a year of him as Prime Minister, and here’s the truth that we Conservatives have been warning about: the inevitable results of the Liberals’ tax, borrow and spend, and anti-development agenda.

Conservatives would cut taxes; scrap anti-development laws and regulations that block building and deter investment; restore hope for Canadians who struggle to keep their heads above water because of this Liberal government, so that anyone who works hard can enjoy an affordable home, a safe street, good food on the table, and capture their dreams. Because Conservatives want a country where people get ahead by having the best product and the best work, not by having the most political influence.”

On June 3rd, Stubbs presented the Conservative’s dissenting opinion from the Special Joint Committee on the Exercise of Powers Under the Building Canada Act, that raised concerns about transparency, accountability, and national security, and highlighted Conservative efforts in committee to improve Bill C-5 to get major projects built by the private sector:

“Conservatives highlight potential conflicts of interest around seconded private sector and bank employees with salary top-ups, national security reviews, including Beijing’s state-owned enterprise involvement in major projects, and the federal government’s refusal to confirm whether the Prime Minister considers a Pacific pipeline in Canada’s national interest. Conservatives put forth common-sense amendments to improve and pass Bill C-5, to define the national interest, to ensure 2 yr reviews are law, and on the federal Crown’s duty to consult to get to yes in a good way with Indigenous people on major projects. The Liberals defeated them. Conservatives still call on the Liberals urgently to repeal or reform the 12 anti-development laws and 7 regulations in C 5 that the Liberals admit block building.”

On the news that the Liberals have delayed their consultations on their promised reforms to approval timelines, Stubbs said:

“Mark Carney promised to approve major projects at speeds not seen in generations, but over a year into office, the lack of results shows it’s just another illusion … After a decade of Liberal decline, the last thing Canadians need are more endless consultations that are just another excuse to delay and block shovels in the ground.”

Stubbs seconded Bill C-264, a Conservative bill that would repeal Bill C-48, the Liberal Shipping Ban that blocks responsible Canadian energy exports from Canada’s Pacific coast, Stubbs said in Parliament:

“I think more Canadians than ever before are ready to hear it. They want the government to change the fundamentals, to get rid of its anti-energy laws, so that Canada can be affordable, self-reliant, strong and free”

Stubbs also opposed the Liberal-appointed CRTC’s plan to triple the online streaming tax to 15% on already stressed and struggling Canadians, after which the Liberals ordered the CRTC to pause it:

“This tax exists because of the Liberals’ Online Streaming Act, Bill C-11. The Liberals created it, and now Canadians face a bigger bill because of it. At a time when families struggle to pay for groceries, rent, mortgages, and utility bills, the Liberals want to make the limited times when Canadians can steal away some relaxation at home or on the road more expensive too.”

Stubbs also pointed out the revelation that Prime Minister Mark Carney spent $195,000 in just 3 trips to Europe last year on in-flight catering alone:

“Millions of Canadians now struggle to afford the essentials, and the price of groceries has outpaced overall inflation for every single month that Carney’s been Prime Minister. Instead of cutting his cushy caviar catering, Carney chooses to spend more … while he leaves Canadians behind and makes everything more expensive in your daily life … That’s outrageously reckless with your money and all about unimaginable perks for Mark Carney and his entourage.”

Stubbs also voted in favour of common-sense Conservative Opposition Day motions to:

• Protect private property rights by directing federal lawyers to defend fee simple ownership and to require explicit property-rights protections in future federal agreements with First Nations,
• Repeal the Liberal fuel standard, federal industrial carbon tax, and fuel excise tax to lower fuel costs for Canadians,
• Stop the Liberals planned increase to the streaming tax immediately and to eliminate the tax altogether,
• Require the Liberals to present a plan to reverse the Liberal economic policies that have left Canada as the only G20 country in a recession.

Stubbs will continue to fight to cut taxes and inflationary spending, slash big bureaucrat bonuses and corporate cronyism and axe anti-development laws and red tape that block building to unleash Canada’s economy so Canadian can have hope and afford to thrive, not just survive.