Mr. Speaker, it is always an honour to rise in the House as the elected representative for North Okanagan—Shuswap. It is a riding that will no longer exist after the next election, but one that I have been honoured to serve for the past nine-plus years and will continue to serve until the next federal election day, when I hope to be elected to represent the new riding of Kamloops—Shuswap—Central Rockies.

I have met with incredible people in every community across North Okanagan—Shuswap, all with a passion for their community or their cause and all dedicated to making our communities the best they can be. As we approach the end of the fall session here in Parliament, I wish to take a few moments to thank public service sector employees, health care workers, first responders, small businesses, not-for-profit volunteers and especially those supporting and running local food banks and support organizations for all they do for our communities. Their support is critical, especially in these winter months, when housing and heating costs are higher, when local produce is not as readily available and food banks see extra need, and when greyer days can add to mental health challenges. I thank them for all they do, whether it is big or small, to support our communities. Together we are stronger.

I would like to remind everyone that sometimes all it takes is a call just to ask if someone is okay. It can make a world of difference in someone else's day and in their life. I hope everyone has a joyous end to 2024 and a bright vision and future for 2025.

I will turn now to the debate at hand. It is important that Canadians understand the magnitude of the matter that is at the root of this debate. That matter is the green slush fund scandal at Sustainable Development Technology Canada. For Canadians watching at home, I will break down the green slush fund scandal into four points. One, through its ever-increasing taxation, the NDP-Liberal government has extracted money from Canadians. Two, the Auditor General found that Liberal appointees gave 400 million tax dollars to their own companies, involving 186 conflicts of interest. Three, representatives elected in the House by Canadians told the NDP-Liberal government to provide the unredacted documents to the police so they could investigate the scandal. Four, the NDP-Liberal government continues to refuse to release the documents.

There we have it. The NDP-Liberal government took money from Canadians and gave the money to their buddies, and now they refuse to provide the documents of the scandal to the police because apparently the government has something to hide. The Speaker of this House, who operates like a referee in our proceedings, has even ruled that the NDP-Liberal cover-up violates the order made by the majority of MPs sent here by Canadians.

What does this latest scandal mean for Canadians? Rather than being focused on developing laws and policies supporting the lives of Canadians, the time of the House of Commons has been focused on trying to resolve the latest NDP-Liberal government scandal. I do not say this to diminish the importance of shining the light of truth to expose what lies beneath the government cover-up, because doing so in this matter is indeed essential.

Many Canadians will recall the Liberal sponsorship scandal and that two Auditor General reports and a public inquiry revealed that ad agency executives and Liberal Party officials had corruptly handled more than $300 million, $100 million of which was funnelled from the government to the Liberal Party. Nearly 20 years ago, the sponsorship scandal was exposed because Conservatives forced the matter and insisted on exposing the truth, and today, here we are again insisting on the truth being illuminated in the NDP-Liberal government green slush fund scandal.

For Canadians, the green slush fund scandal also means $400 million was wasted or stolen at a time when many Canadians cannot afford to eat, heat or house themselves. It means $400 million was wasted or stolen at a time when communities are struggling to deal with the housing crisis, the opioid epidemic and aging infrastructure that needs to be strengthened to withstand severe weather events and natural disasters.

Now, $400 million is a big figure. When I speak with, and receive emails and calls from, the good people of North Okanagan—Shuswap, they are absolutely astonished by this massive amount of money that was misappropriated. They are astonished because there are so many ways that those funds could have been allocated to benefit citizens who earned these tax dollars in the first place.

The $400 million could have gone a long way in supporting local governments to increase climate adaptation of infrastructure to protect our communities from the effects of flooding. The $400 million could have helped prevent the destruction by natural disasters like the East Adams Lake and Bush Creek East wildfires that ravaged the North Shuswap in 2023. The $400 million could have gone a long way in capitalizing wildfire training and equipment. Instead, 1,200 residents in the Shuswap had to face the fiery infernos of 2023 and contend with rebuilding 176 destroyed homes and restoring another 50 homes.

A lingering, lethal threat of wildfires is the persistent threat of landslides. The $400 million could have supported assessments and actions to help the Shuswap with recovery in the short term and prevent more natural disasters in the long term, but the NDP-Liberal government chose to send $400 million to its friends through the green slush fund scandal.

No community in Canada has evaded the ongoing opioid crisis that has claimed over 47,000 lives since the Prime Minister ascended to power with his misguided policies. Conservatives have consistently pleaded for common-sense policies and federal resources for addictions treatment, but the NDP-Liberal government in Ottawa and the NDP government in Victoria have ignored common sense and subjected our communities and vulnerable citizens to dangerous hard-drug experiments.

As the House of Commons, and as representatives of all Canadians, we must guard against becoming unaffected by the lives lost every single day in communities of all sizes across our nation. We must resolve to learn from the failures of the Prime Minister and Premier Eby. The $400 million could have provided new addictions treatment capacities to save lives, but instead, these dollars were prioritized for the green slush fund, to be delivered to NDP-Liberal insiders.

There are also acute needs for increased mental health services in communities across Canada. These needs could have been served if the $400 million provided through the green slush fund had been directed to supporting expansions of mental health services in Canada. The COVID-19 pandemic, government lockdowns and social divisions stoked by the NDP-Liberal government took a toll on Canadians. Inflation and never-ending tax hikes have made life in Canada more expensive than it has ever been. This has taken, and continues to take, a toll on Canadians. While the NDP-Liberal government pats itself on the back for saddling generations of Canadians with unprecedented levels of public debt, Canadians see their standard of living being eroded.

Home ownership is a mere fantasy for most young adults in Canada. All these NDP-Liberal government policy outcomes are undermining mental health across our country. Let us imagine the mental health services that could have been expanded by the infusion of the $400 million that was sent to the NDP-Liberal insiders through the green slush fund. The ongoing NDP-Liberal government cover-up suggests the government is hiding the documents from the police for a reason. The government cannot explain why it blew $400 million in yet another scandal rather than making a positive difference for mental health services. Shame on the NDP-Liberal government.

The NDP-Liberal government talks a big game when it comes to the housing crisis, but it chose the green slush fund scandal over homes for Canadians. In order to accelerate construction of new homes, we need more Canadians certified in the skilled trades. This reality is not a new concept; it has been known for years.

Let us imagine how many Canadians could have been trained and certified in a skilled trade with the support of $400 million. We are talking about helping Canadians acquire the skill and certifications they need to help other Canadians. Who could oppose this common-sense approach? The NDP-Liberal government will talk the talk when it comes to building new homes, supporting workers and training for the trades, but the green slush fund scandal is proof positive that it will not walk the walk.

When given the choice between supporting skilled workers in Canada to build new homes and using the green slush fund scandal, it siphoned off $400 million for its buddies. The NDP-Liberal government chose that. Four hundred million dollars could have supported the training and certification of thousands of skilled workers in Canada, but instead, it chose the scandal.

Across Canada, there are people holding professional credentials from other countries, but they cannot perform the professional work they are trained in because their credentials are not recognized in Canada. There is a lot of professional training and talent that goes to waste every single day in Canada, including in professions and sectors that are desperately needing trained personnel.

Rather than developing creative ways of delivering hundreds of millions of dollars to insiders, why did the NDP-Liberal government not develop creative ways of unleashing this unused professional training? If foreign credentials and training have had parity with those in Canada, why are those credentials not recognized? If foreign credentials and training do not meet Canadian standards, why is the NDP-Liberal government not investing in a system for assessing and upgrading foreign credentials? Let us imagine all of the unrecognized professionals in Canada who could have been moved towards the profession of their training with the $400 million doled out by the green slush fund.

Water and waste-water treatment systems are essential for sustaining our communities and ensuring our waters are protected from untreated sewage. In 2012, the Harper government implemented Canada's first-ever national standards for waste-water treatment: the waste-water system effluent regulations.

As part of the implementation of the regulations, compliance deadlines were set for waste-water systems that did not meet the new standards. The deadlines were set up to allow time for municipalities to plan and budget funds to complete the upgrades and bring their waste-water systems up to the new standards.

Today, 12 years after the Harper government implemented the waste-water treatment standards, communities large and small across Canada have yet to achieve the standards. Why?

First, the Liberal government, propped up by the NDP, pushed the compliance deadlines far down the road. This was done by the member for North Vancouver when he was the environment minister. Second, the government has failed to prioritize the support for upgrading waste-water treatment systems. The $400 million the NDP-Liberal government allocated to its pals through the green slush fund could have assisted local governments in advancing their waste-water treatment systems closer to compliance. We all know that this is not what the NDP-Liberal government chose to do.

In addition to representing North Okanagan—Shuswap, I am also honoured to serve as the official opposition's associate shadow minister for Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, recreational and west coast, and as vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans, FOPO.

My hon. colleagues at the FOPO committee, and each of the six fisheries ministers shuffled into the role by the Prime Minister, know I am a strong advocate for preventing the spread of aquatic invasive species, AIS, in Canada's waters. AIS pose acute threats to fish, wildlife and habitats, and acute threats to biodiversity. Over the past nine years, it has been concluded by FOPO members and witnesses that preventing the spread of AIS must be a priority because the cost of prevention is nothing compared to the permanent harms that AIS can inflict on ecologies, economies and communities.

Earlier this year, the government removed its funding from the B.C. government's invasive mussel defence program that inspects and treats watercraft, followed by cuts to AIS prevention and inspection stations along B.C.'s borders. I pressed the fisheries minister on this illogical and short-sighted funding cut, and she responded that zebra and quagga mussels are present across Canada. This statement was blatantly false and it was shocking; zebra and quagga mussels have not been located in Canada west of Manitoba, which is why we need to protect western waters through prevention.

Regardless, the minister cut funding to AIS prevention inspections in B.C. Just last week, it was reported that whirling disease, a parasite causing defects and death in salmonids, was detected in Kootenay Lake. I cannot help but wonder whether the spread of whirling disease in B.C. could have been prevented had the government prioritized AIS prevention. The $400 million in the green slush fund could have helped protect B.C.'s water from the invasive species and parasites that decimate fish populations and habitats, but the NDP-Liberal government chose otherwise.

As I close out my time today and as we approach the holiday season, I want to take a minute to thank some people. I want to thank the House administration staff who help ensure that we are able to do our job as parliamentarians. I thank the pages in the page program, who are an invaluable part of our daily activities here and conduct their role often in tandem with completing university courses here in Ottawa.

I thank the food service staff who prepare and serve our nutrition. I thank our office staff who spend long hours researching and preparing us for our daily activities. I especially thank our Parliamentary Protective Service personnel, who often stand on guard for us in the inclement weather we often see here in Ottawa.

Last, I thank our families, who give their unquestioning support and spend more time alone as we fulfill our duties here.

I wish everyone a merry Christmas, a blessed holiday season and health and happiness in the new year.

Mel Arnold

$579,571.00