They heard promises. There was a promise that the Liberals would make historic investments in infrastructure and balance the budget in 2019. Well, when I was on their doorsteps, my constituents had seen the writing on the wall. They had seen that the government has no plan, no ability to balance the budget and, what is more, is unable to deliver on that infrastructure commitment.
We see commitments in 2019 in the form of much-needed revenue for infrastructure programs, which will come in the form of an increase to the gas tax benefit that the municipalities receive, but that is not what they are used to and it is not what Canadians expect of their government.
In 2008, there was a global financial crisis, the likes of which had not been seen in the lifetime of anyone in this House. In response to it, Conservatives invested in Canada. I can speak from experience in my riding that some of the investments made by the Conservative government have impacts that will last for a generation or more, which I am very proud of. They included $12 million at the grain elevator at the Port of Johnstown in Edwardsburgh/Cardinal township, with matching funds of $12 million from the province and $12 million from the municipality. It directly employs many and indirectly employs many hundreds more, and it is a real service to the agriculture community. As well, $60 million was invested in the two ports of entry at Prescott and at the Thousand Islands, easing access to our market and the American market, as well as allowing tourists to more easily visit the beautiful riding of Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes as a gateway to our great country.
We also saw $110 million invested in broadband. That funding was sorely needed at the time, and funding is again needed today. We see talk of broadband investment in this budget, but it will be paid out up until the year 2030. That is not going to do it. That is not going to do it for people who want to work from home or for people who do not otherwise have access to reliable Internet. There are all kinds of implications from that, whether it is just basic connectivity, social and cultural literacy or kids being able to do their school work, but it also affects people who want to operate their businesses. Most farms today rely on reliable broadband Internet, and when we try to bring industry into eastern Ontario and Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, one of the first questions we are asked is what the Internet connectivity is like.
Similarly, when we have an energy sector that is being disrupted through government inaction, we also see the slowdown in expansion of natural gas availability. That is another area where the federal government could choose to make investments. Natural gas availability would reduce reliance on the energy sources that the government is telling Canadians that they need to get off. Natural gas availability would help to change that behaviour.
What Canadians also know is that Conservatives will stand up for things that they have asked us to stand for. One is to scrap the carbon tax. In Ontario and in Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, we suffered under Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne's reign from exorbitantly high energy prices. It was unbelievable. We were mortgaging the futures of a generation of Canadians. Their futures were being sacrificed at the altar of supposed clean technology. All kinds of great tillable land were being sacrificed for energy production that only works when the sun shines and the wind blows, while the turbines were left idle in places like Niagara Falls. We know that hydroelectric power is not only one of the cleanest sources of energy but also a natural resource, and that spilled water is not a resource that should be squandered.
Those are items that are not included in this particular budget, but we know that the Liberals were happy to slide other things into their omnibus budgets in this Parliament, something they campaigned against in 2015. An end to omnibus budgets and omnibus bills was another promise made and broken.
I will circle back to one particular item that was included in the last budget: My constituents remain concerned about proposed changes to firearms laws. We see the government falsely responding to terrible tragedies by looking to punish licensed, law-abiding, fee-paying, responsible Canadians who have had criminal record checks done, are daily run through police databases and responsibly own firearms for legitimate purposes like hunting. We know that hunters are wonderful stewards of conservation and have taken great care to protect the lands that they enjoy while enjoying that activity.
Beyond all of those things, we have seen that this budget was an attempt, a gasp, by the government to cover up what has become one of the greatest political scandals in the history of our country. It is the cover-up budget that spends, spends, spends and breaks promise after promise after promise and seeks not to help Canadians as its primary goal but to distract them from the scandal and distract them from the Liberals' attempted interference in our judicial system. We have seen how the government treats those who dissent, and Canadians are rightly concerned and discouraged.
I was excited in the month of November and into December to run as a Conservative. I am excited to serve as a Conservative in these benches with dedicated, hard-working members under the leadership of the leader of the official opposition. I look forward to standing in October with the Conservatives as we present a real alternative to a government that is plagued by scandal and mismanagement and an inability to get the job done.
Canadians expect better from their government. They can look forward to better from a Conservative government this October.