COLUMN: On Parliament Hill – Flying time and four weeks on the hill

Over the past four weeks, Parliament Hill felt as it should — alive with MPs, staffers, and media filling its grounds.

Following the Christmas break in December 2024 and then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s resignation, the government was prorogued while the Liberal party held its leadership race. Once Mr. Carney became Prime Minister, the April 28 election was called, leaving only four sitting weeks for this new minority government to begin its mandate before summer break started.

For Conservatives, all efforts were made to maximize the time allotted. The millions of Canadians who cast their votes—including 2.4 million new voters leading to 24 new seats—are counting on us to fight for a more affordable, safer, self-reliant, and united Canada. And that’s exactly what we’re committed to doing.

Following the throne speech, Conservatives were persistent about the government’s need to produce a budget and even passed an amendment to the Throne Speech to present a spring budget.

Conservatives also introduced a motion to end the government’s impractical and unrealistic zero-emissions vehicle mandate, ultimately eliminating the option of buying new gas-powered cars by 2035. Conservatives believe Canadians need to be in the driver’s seat on this one and are fighting for Canadians to have a choice. We understand that travelling long distances or living in colder climates, without the infrastructure for EVs to be repowered, makes the EV option impractical.

You’ll recall last week’s reference to the Auditor General’s report on ArriveCan (GC Strategies), which revealed that 106 contracts were awarded to GC Strategies across 31 federal organizations, totalling $92.7 million, with $64.5 million already paid out. Conservatives, together with the other opposition parties, passed a motion calling on the government to recover the money given to GC Strategies within 100 days.

As new bills were presented in parliament, we proudly asserted that we would work with the government on all matters in the nation’s best interests. Clearly, proposed tax cuts should be supported to lighten the burden on Canadian workers—even when government plans are insufficient.

Bill C-5, introduced by the Liberal government, was an example of unleashing potential, knowing that thousands of projects need to be accelerated. Canadian workers have been desperate to see even one major project move forward since the Liberal government shelved 16 projects over the last decade, costing the economy $176 billion.

After a decade of Liberal policies that inhibited Canadian economic progression, we must start building mines, hydroelectric dams, nuclear plants, LNG liquefaction facilities and pipelines. How Canada balances climate stewardship with the development of our natural resources is vital at this point in our history—just as crucial are stronger oversight, greater transparency, and full parliamentary accountability.

That said, while it is unfortunate that bad policies blocking projects, capping oil and gas, and imposing an industrial carbon tax, as found in C-69 and C-48, were not repealed, Conservatives found a way forward. With support from opposition colleagues, Conservatives passed an amendment to safeguard important protections – keeping our promise to fight for Canadian taxpayers.

As summarized by Conservative Shadow Ministers Philip Lawrence and Shannon Stubbs in their joint statement, “Bill C-5 would have allowed Ministers to circumvent lobbying and conflict of interest laws…” This is especially important due to the Prime Minister’s own admission to potential conflicts of interest from his years at Brookfield Asset Management. According to Deputy Privy Council Clerk Christiane Fox, they are working very closely with the Prime Minister’s Office to manage all the declared conflicts.

After four strong and productive weeks of fighting for Canadians, rest assured that Conservatives will continue working diligently over the summer and return to Ottawa this fall, ready to stand firm for Canadian jobs and families. We remain dedicated to restoring the Canadian promise—a beacon of hope, opportunity, and unity for all who call this great country home.