Debates of June 9th, 2025

A message from Her Excellency the Governor General transmitting supplementary estimates (A) for the financial year ending March 31, 2026, was presented by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and read by the Speaker to the House.

Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the supplementary estimates (A), 2025-26.

Opposition Motion—Food Inflation and Budgetary Policy

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary East, AB]

moved:

That, given that,

(i) the Prime Minister said he will be held to account by prices Canadians pay at the grocery store,

(ii) under the Liberal government, food inflation continues to rise, forcing families to eat less nutritious foods,

(iii) Canadian families will pay $16,834 for food this year, an $800 increase from last year,

the House call on the government to present a fiscally responsible budget before the House adjourns for the summer, that reverses Liberal inflationary policies so Canadians can afford to put food on the table.

Mr. Speaker, since this is my first time rising to my feet in this 45th Parliament, I want to take the time to thank some important people. First and foremost, I want to thank the great people of Calgary East for giving me, for the third time, the opportunity and great honour to represent them in the House of Commons and to represent all Canadians and, most importantly, Albertans, who are screaming out loud that once again the government is attacking not only Alberta but our energy sector. I also want to thank my entire campaign team, all the volunteers and everyone who put in all the hours to help me get re-elected.

I want to congratulate you, Mr. Speaker, on your new role as Speaker.

I heard, door by door, in my constituency and in many others that the cost of groceries today is not only alarming but devastating for most families, which are just barely getting by. It did not take very long for the Liberals to expose that this guy is much worse than the old guy, Justin Trudeau. It is because he is already spending more than Justin Trudeau did, and things are only going to get worse.

We have to remember the Prime Minister said that he is a man with a plan, so let us look at his track record. He might say he is new, but had been advising the old guy for the last five years. What happened in the last five years? Canadians were hit after the Liberal government doubled the national debt and caused the worst inflationary crisis in Canadian history. Along with that, Canadians were hit with the most rapid interest rate hikes in Canadian history. Food bank usage doubled under this guy in his advisory role to Justin Trudeau. There is no way he can get away with saying that he is new here; he is the one who helped cause all the pain and suffering among Canadians over the last five years, the worst in Canadian history, in fact.

Let us take a look at what happened with all the spending of Canadian taxpayer money the government did.

After doubling the national debt and printing massive amounts of money, inflation soared. With inflation, came food inflation. If we look at the government's record since the Liberals took office in 2015, we see that food inflation has grown 38%.

Here are some new, alarming statistics about household groceries: Vegetable oil is up 50%, butter is up 45%, chicken breast is up 41%, ground beef is up 40%, milk is up 33%, bread is up 30% and eggs are up 28%. The average family this year will spend about $17,000 at the grocery store on average. That is $800 more this year that they will have to spend.

We hear all across the board that families are already suffering because the Liberal government, under the current Prime Minister's advice, doubled housing costs, which made more of a Canadian's paycheque go toward housing.

Before I continue, I want say that I am splitting my time with my new, great colleague from Richmond—Arthabaska.

After the Liberal government, under the current Prime Minister's advice, doubled housing costs, whether for mortgages or rents, more and more of each Canadian's paycheque is going toward housing. What does that do? It puts a strain on Canadians' paycheques, because wages have not gone up; they have not kept up with inflation. The government did a great job of driving Canadian investment out of Canada, which has meant paycheques are not as powerful as they used to be.

With all the money-printing and borrowing, the Liberals also had to raise taxes to collect from Canadians. Therefore, not only did they double housing costs, which has meant that for some families, up to 80% of their paycheque goes toward housing, but they have left less and less for other essentials and goods.

What are Canadian families doing now to compensate? Well, they are taking on more debt. Credit card debt is up. More and more families are now borrowing money from loved ones and friends, and they are not able to pay those debts back.

It does not take much to realize how much more expensive things are at the grocery store. We all remember how far $200 used to go at the grocery store. We could easily get a week or maybe two weeks of groceries before this government took over. Now $200 does not get us very far or many bags of groceries. In fact, $200 might even be two bags of groceries that last two to three days. Families and single moms are making some very tough decisions. They are having to buy less nutritious food for their kids, and for the first time in Canadian history, one in four Canadians is skipping meals because they cannot afford groceries. A third of those people are children.

On top of all that, we are seeing more and more food bank usage. In fact, it is the most in Canadian history. More than two million Canadians are going to a food bank in a single month. These stats do not sound like a first-world country. It is not the kind of country that my family or other people moved to or grew up in. Canada used to be one of those countries where people could put in hard work and get by. They could, on one income, afford their housing costs and groceries and put their kids in tutoring or sports, but after 10 years of the incompetent Liberal government, Canadians cannot do the same anymore.

There are double-income earners going to food banks, with stats we have never heard before. People who used to volunteer at food banks are standing in line at food banks for food. That is the record of the Prime Minister's advice over the last five years and what the Liberal government has done to Canadians and the reputation of Canada. It has diminished under the government over the last 10 years.

When we talk about grocery prices overall, we have to acknowledge the productivity crisis and the competition crisis the government created. As I said before, it drove away half a trillion dollars of good Canadian investment. That meant jobs, people and equipment. Good Canadian money ran away from Canada because the government made it impossible for anyone to want to invest here. In fact, Canada looks closed for business.

Trying to kill one of our most important industries, the energy sector, signalled this to the world: If the Liberal government cannot even support our most important industry and puts barriers up and tries to choke it, what hope does any other industry have? What is the effect of that? It affects our farmers. The industrial carbon tax and the carbon tax the government had before made it more and more expensive for our farmers to farm. The fertilizer tax the government put in and the cap are the types of bad policies that drove investment away and made things more expensive here, because if it is more expensive to produce or farm, then obviously it is going to be more expensive at the end of the day.

We need to get rid of the bad bills and make Canada open for business again. We need to get rid of Bill C-69, Bill C-48 and the oil and gas cap to show the world that we are serious and are open for business and so that one of our most important industries can help contribute to making Canada the great country it once was before the Liberals. It will give Canadians the most powerful paycheques, which will have an effect on other industries, like housing, and on competition overall, as with groceries.

We know Canadians are paying some of the highest grocery bills in the world. Canadians are paying the highest cellphone bills in the world and the highest banking fees in the world because investment keeps fleeing because of the incompetent policies from the Liberal government. That is not to mention that, overall, after the government doubled the national debt, it put strain on Canadians. In fact, as I said, now Canadians are borrowing more and more. They have more credit card debt and debt overall.

That is why Canadians needed a plan. The Prime Minister promised one but did not deliver. He is just like the old guy. They could have delivered a plan through a budget this spring, because Canadians need to know how much worse things are going to get. If we already know the Prime Minister is spending more than Justin Trudeau, how much higher are taxes going to go? What is the government's plan to get the economy going, if it is not going to get rid of Bill C-69, Bill C-48 or the oil and gas cap? Canadians need to know. They deserve to know.

We are once again calling on the government to release a spring budget and be clear and transparent with Canadians on what kind of plan it has. We have already said before that the Liberals have already started to steal some of the Conservatives' ideas. Why not steal all of them so that Canadians can actually get back the country we used to have?

Once again, it is time for the government to be transparent and deliver a budget this spring. If it really wants to lower the cost of groceries, it needs to bring more competition into this country.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I spent a lot of time in this House listening to this member deliver speeches; I spent many hours over the fall session. One would think, having listened to this, that we have not just gone through an election. I heard the member talk about a “corrupt government” on a number of occasions, which are the exact same words he used for years preceding his speech today in the House.

My question is very simple: If the member is right about everything he is saying, why is he still sitting on that side of the House?

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, these are the same Liberal ego and hypocrisy.

Canadians sent me to this House; my constituents sent me to this House, and I will continue to be their voice. In fact, more Canadians, over eight million Canadians, voted for the Conservatives and their plan. If that member was so sure, why did the Liberals start stealing our ideas? As I said before, if they really wanted to, they should take all of our good ideas so we can get Canada back on track.

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this morning, the Conservatives moved a motion on the cost of food. Of course, we agree that the government should table a budget. We already voted on that last week.

As for the cost of food, I would like the member to tell us what meaningful measures could be put into place. I would like to know what he thinks about the following: Does he believe that the gradual implementation of a code of conduct for the grocery industry will help this situation?

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague and congratulate him on coming back to the House.

There are a number of things that can be done. We can get rid of the industrial carbon tax. The Liberal government can stop attacking our farmers, so that we can bring down the cost of what it costs to farm in this country. We need to increase competition, and we are only going to do that if we get rid of the red tape and all the barriers that the government created. Getting rid of bills like Bill C-69 and Bill C-48, the oil and gas cap, would be a signal to the world that we are serious. We can lower taxes on businesses and corporations and lower personal taxes so that we can bring more competition into this country, which the Liberals have driven away. Those are some of the concrete steps we can take to lower the grocery bills.

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, Kamloops—Shuswap—Central Rockies, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank our shadow minister for finance, the member for Calgary East, from the Marlborough area, where I have family as well. I have been to his riding and seen the great volunteer work that is done to provide food for people who cannot afford to live under the systems and governance of the Liberal Party.

Could the member expound a little further on the need for food banks and volunteer groups to support people just so they can put food on the table for their children?

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my great colleague, who is a great pancake-flipper when he helps out at my Stampede breakfast every single year. Not only his daughter but his granddaughter lives in my riding.

I will answer his question in a different way, with my own personal experience. I came from small business. We were home builders before this. We were building homes at a time when there was a common-sense Conservative government. We had lower taxes, and we saw an energy industry that was supported, which meant that more houses were being built and more people were moving to Canada. There was more competition, and because more was getting built in this country, there were good, powerful paycheques. What did that do? It helped the small businesses. We used to run an after-school program for at-risk youth. We took zero dollars from any government, because it was funded by small businesses. Small businesses support their communities; they always want to give back. That is why we need to support small businesses.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in 2023, big grocery stores saw record profits of $6 billion, an 8% increase in profit, double what it was pre-COVID. However, this place is starting to look like a corporate boardroom. We will never hear Liberals or Conservatives talk about corporate greed. Does my colleague agree that big grocery needs to pay an excess profit tax?

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, we need more competition. We need more grocery stores. It is as simple as that.

[Éric Lefebvre, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Calgary East for his inspiring speech. As a business owner, he understands the importance of budgeting and tracking expenses to know how to direct a company.

Why did I choose to rise in the House today? The reason is that the Prime Minister and his minority government—let us not forget—are refusing to comply with the demand of the majority of the House and table a budget in the spring. I would like to remind the government of this. Out of respect for the institution of the House of Commons, out of respect for Canadians, who budget, but who unfortunately are struggling to make ends meet after 10 years of an inflationary Liberal government, out of respect for our children who are currently learning abut the importance of budgeting at school and out of respect for all business owners who budget in order to be good managers, I want to say, loud and clear, this morning that it is important that the government table a budget this spring, not in the fall.

The Liberals will go a year without a budget. They will manage our country without tabling a budget. It is unbelievable. What a lack of rigour. The government announced half a trillion dollars in spending without tabling a budget. To top it all off, the Prime Minister made the King read a promise in the throne speech about how the government would cap spending at 2%, but then two hours later, the government introduced a bill to increase spending by 8%. The Liberals themselves showed Justin Trudeau the door because he was not a good manager. With the arrival of Donald Trump's tariffs, the good Canadian banker appeared like a saviour. He said "elbows up" when it comes to the Americans, while promising to impose dollar-for-dollar tariffs. He anticipated $20 billion in revenues to be redistributed to those affected by the tariffs. Apparently, the banker is also a magician. He made the retaliatory tariffs disappear, and we lost the $20 billion in revenues he promised in his election platform.

When the Liberals came to power, the debt stood at $700 billion. After 10 years of Liberal governance, the debt now stands at $1.4 trillion. We thought it was impossible to have a prime minister who spends more than Justin Trudeau, but the Liberals have managed to find one who spends far more. Interest on the debt will amount to $49 billion, or 10% of the total budget. That is more than the government transfers to the provinces for health care. This is unsustainable. The Parliamentary Budget Officer predicts that interest on the debt will reach $70 billion in 2030.

I did a little research: In 2014‑15, Quebec's former finance minister, the current federal MP for the riding of Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, took 42 days to present a budget. He said this: “The government is giving itself the means to achieve its objectives and return to a balanced budget.... This is not an obsession. It is an obligation.” The current federal member of Parliament said that in 2014‑15. I invite the Prime Minister to have a good talk with his MP about how to achieve ambitious budget targets.

What are the consequences of Liberal mismanagement? It creates inflation. A family of four is expected to see their annual grocery bill increase by $800. Currently, nearly a quarter of the country's population is experiencing food insecurity.

In 2024, food banks marked another unfortunate milestone when Canadians made two million monthly visits. That is double the number of visits just five years ago. For 18% of people who use food banks, employment is their main source of income. That means that one in five users is working and still relies on a food bank. That is the reality.

One of these two million is my friend and former high school classmate François. François works and sticks to a budget, but he still cannot make ends meet. He goes to a food bank, which is where I ran into him. A former employee heard me speak in the House and wrote me last week to tell me that she lives alone and that she is having a very hard time making ends meet. She has to pay rent, make payments, pay bills, and then eat if there is any money left over. Imagine talking about eating if there is any money left over. That is the reality.

I was a municipal councillor for seven years, during which I never heard anyone talk about homelessness in Victoriaville. Over the past 10 years, it has become a major issue. Kids are going to school with empty lunch boxes. Some of them have not had breakfast before going to school. We are lucky because we have organizations in our ridings that are there to help them. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the organizations that provide food aid to our constituents.

What does the Prime Minister have to say to Canadians as the price of food continues to skyrocket? Beef is up over 30%; oranges are up 26%; apples are up 18%; rice is up 14%; coffee is up 9%; and infant formula is up 9%.

In conclusion, I have to admit that I am worried. I am worried about the Liberal government blindly and irresponsibly managing the country we are so proud of without a budget. I am worried because young people are being asked to dream and bring about the prosperous future they dream of. That is what they are being asked to do, but this government has been managing the country without a budget for a year now.

What I have seen since arriving here is a government that is bringing in half a trillion dollars in new spending without a budget. That is irresponsible. As the opposition, we will do everything in our power to ensure that the government responds to the demand of the majority of the House. Let me remind members that this is a minority government. The majority of the House has asked that a budget be tabled this spring. We are going to keep a careful watch on this government. We are going to be there to stand up for Canadians and to ensure that this government is finally a responsible government.

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I welcome my colleague to the House of Commons.

The member just spoke about the fact that Canadians decided to elect a government that will work for them and that will ensure that families and young people can buy homes. We have just introduced legislation in the House of Commons that responds to what Canadians have been calling for, an economy that works for all Canadians.

I would like to know whether my colleague will support this bill. It is what Canadians have asked for. We are here. We are back in government. Of course, we are a minority government, but Canadians gave us an important mandate to build an economy that works for all the provinces of Canada.

Will my colleague support this bill?

[Éric Lefebvre, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, let me begin by saying that I hope the Liberal government continues to steal good Conservative ideas, such as cutting taxes for Canadians and eliminating the GST for first-time homebuyers.

I hope the Liberals continue to steal good Conservative ideas. However, the problem right now is that the Liberals are not making any budget cuts. How are they going to balance the budget? That is the big question.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on his speech.

Throughout the election campaign, the Prime Minister talked about Donald Trump and the disaster that was coming. Now the Liberals are putting forward measures without presenting a budget, which makes no sense. We completely agree on that. It is even more troubling because the fiscal framework the Liberals presented during the election campaign was not realistic. They were supposed to implement it with the $20 billion that they were going to recover through retaliatory tariffs, but we have since learned that there will be no retaliatory measures.

In Bill C-4, the Liberals have included a tax cut and a GST exemption that will amount to roughly $30 billion. Where are they going to get that money? Are they going to slash health transfers?

I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on that.

[Éric Lefebvre, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his excellent question.

This may be one of the few times that I agree with my Bloc Québécois colleague, but when it happens, I will say so. I agree with him because the government was expecting to get $20 billion in revenue from retaliatory tariffs, and now it is talking about $600 million. Suppose the Liberals manage to get $1 billion. They will still be $19 billion short of what they promised in their election platform. Where are they going to get the remaining $19 billion to fund the various measures they are putting in place?

My colleague asked an excellent question, and that is why we need a budget now, this spring.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the average Canadian family will pay $16,834 for food this year, which is about an $800 increase from last year. That is $15 more weekly than last year, bringing a grocery tab to $324 each week. How will the government's policy, in trying to help Canadians, make an impact when its proposed tax cut will probably only be worth two weeks of groceries for Canadians?

[Éric Lefebvre, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians will be forced to buy low quality food that is not nutritious for children and does not help them grow. That is the saddest part. Young children need good food to develop healthy bodies. People need to be able to buy fruit and vegetables, meat and milk to properly feed their children, but they currently have to compromise on the quality of the food that they buy to feed their children, and that is extremely sad.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Secretary of State (Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, good morning.

[An hon. member]

Oh, oh!

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Kennebecasis, NB]

Thank you for the comment on the tie, from across the House. I appreciate that. I had to go buy some new ties for my new role.

First and foremost, Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate you in your new position. I also want to congratulate all new members, on both sides of the House. To new members, enjoy this experience; it is a privilege to be in this House. I know everybody comes here with the best intentions, to work for their constituents and represent them in this beautiful place. Congratulations to everybody on both sides of the House.

I will say just a few words about my wonderful riding, Saint John—Kennebecasis. It used to be called Saint John—Rothesay but is now Saint John—Kennebecasis. It comprises Saint John, the beautiful town of Rothesay and now the town of Quispamsis, so I have three communities in my riding, and they sent me back with a very strong mandate. If someone had told me in 2014, when I was president of the Saint John Sea Dogs Hockey Club, that I would be a four-term member of Parliament, up here almost a decade, I would have said they were crazy, but here we are.

The riding, under our government, has flourished. Port Saint John is, I think, the fastest-growing port, certainly in Canada right now, for containers. It is an economic stimulus for the region. The port's containers went from 90,000 TEUs, container equivalents, to now almost 250,000, projected to go up to 800,000 in the next few years. The port's growth is nothing short of amazing. We have DP World, CPKC and Americold, which is building a cold storage facility. The port is providing hundreds and hundreds of amazing jobs for our community.

The port's growth would not have happened without our government's investment. It has invested in phase 1 of the redo of the west side terminal and over $200 million in both phases. It is a classic example of how government investment, the investment of taxpayers' dollars, can create private industry and business coming in. Because of that investment, DP World came in; we have gone from two cranes to six cranes. Because of that taxpayer investment, CPKC now calls on the port of Saint John, and Americold is building a 50,000-square-foot storage facility. It is a classic case, through trade corridor, of how government investment can help a community and create economic growth.

Saint John—Kennebecasis sent me back. I am privileged to be here, four times. I know it is frustrating for the members opposite. Some of them have been sitting over there for almost 10 years now. I understand their frustration, but guess what. I have always said this: Elections are job interviews. That is what they are. We, I,Prime Minister Carney and the former leader of the opposition Pierre Poilievre, are literally putting our resumes out to our constituents—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, John Nater]

The hon. member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman on a brief point of order.

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the minister is not new to this place, and he should know that he cannot use proper names of those who are currently sitting in the House. I think he should retract that he mentioned the Prime Minister's name. He should also resign.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, John Nater]

The hon. member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman is correct. I would ask the member not to use proper names.

The hon. Secretary of State.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Kennebecasis, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I will not resign on that, but I will certainly withdraw that. It is all in good humour. Again, for people who are watching this on TV, obviously members go back and forth, and the rhetoric gets high, but there are also a lot of friends on both sides of the aisle here. I appreciate the good-hearted comment.

Let us talk about some economic facts. I know the party opposite likes to talk about food inflation and how prices are high, and it is easy easy to cherry-pick 10 items. I know beef has been listed a lot. I used to work for a company called Canada Packers, which sold beef. Beef, historically, is always high at this time of year, for what that is worth.

I think turkey prices have come down. I remember the former leader of the opposition talking about these multi-hundred-dollar turkeys. I bought a turkey at our grocery store here two weeks ago; it was $29.

Let us talk economic facts. Inflation, two years ago, was at 8.7%, and oh my gosh, the whole way up, it was our fault. There was this little thing called COVID. There was inflation in basically every country around the world, but it was our fault. It was our government's fault that inflation was happening. In two years, we have brought that down from 8.1%, I believe, to 1.7%. It is below the Bank of Canada's target rate.

Do we have a lot of work to do? Absolutely. Have prices come down like we want them to? No, they have not, but our economy is showing signs of life. We have a AAA Moody's credit rating. Workforce participation is 65.3%. In the U.S., it is 62.5%. There are a lot of good things happening in our economy. Real GDP just rose by 2.2% in the first quarter, surpassing expectations.

Look, there is nobody on this side of the House, there is nobody in the House, who is not saying we have more work to do as a party, as a government, as MPs. Do we need to hold grocery stores more to account? Absolutely we do, but our economy is growing, and our economy is going to thrive again under the leadership of our Prime Minister.

At door after door after door, people wanted our Prime Minister to lead this country. I think it goes without saying, with his economic background, his economic strength. They compared the two leaders. Straight up, they compared the two leaders, and they chose our Prime Minister. Sadly, the former leader of the opposition could not even hold his own riding.

Our economy is going to continue to grow. Right now, our government's main laser focus is to deliver for Canadians. We have moved forward with the plan to bring down costs so Canadians can keep more of their paycheques to spend where it matters the most. What I am talking about is the middle-class tax cut, effective July 1. It is going to have an impact on 22 million Canadians, saving families up to $840 a year.

We want Canadians to have more money to put back in their pockets. It was a great idea. I am glad the Conservatives have joined us in helping us move that legislation forward. This is because the majority of relief on this tax cut is going to go to Canadians with incomes in the lowest two tax brackets, which is to say those with taxable incomes under $114,750 in 2025.

Within that group of hard-working Canadians, nearly half of the tax savings would go to those in the lowest tax bracket, which is to say those who earn $57,375 or less in 2025. We can deliver these tax savings to Canadians expeditiously because, with the announcement of our middle-class tax cut, the Canada Revenue Agency has updated its source deduction tables for the July to December 2025 period so that pay administrators are able to reduce tax withholdings as of July 1.

That is a government of action. That is a government that is responding to Canadians' needs. Sometimes, when I listen to the members across, I would not think we had a throne speech just two weeks ago. I would not believe we were elected to government just on April 28.

We want to make sure that our budget is accurate. We want to make sure that we take the time. There is absolutely no doubt that when we deliver our budget in the fall, it is going to be accurate, it is going to be serious and it is going to be delivered by one of the best finance ministers we have had, Minister Champagne.