Bill C-15

Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 1

An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on November 4, 2025

Part 1 implements certain measures in respect of the Income Tax Act and the Income Tax Regulations by
(a) expanding the rollover for small business corporation shares;
(b) expanding the list of expenses recognized under the Disability Supports Deduction;
(c) exempting the Canada Disability Benefit from income;
(d) aligning the taxation of investment income and active business income earned and distributed by controlled foreign affiliates with the rules that currently apply to Canadian-controlled private corporations;
(e) extending the deadline for making certain charitable donations eligible for tax support in the 2024 tax year;
(f) increasing the limit under the Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption so that it applies on up to $1.25 million of eligible capital gains, applicable to dispositions that occur on or after June 25, 2024, with indexation of the limit to resume in 2026;
(g) exempting the first $10 million in capital gains on the sale of a business to a worker cooperative and amending the corresponding exemption for sales to an employee ownership trust;
(h) removing the tax-indifferent investor exception to the synthetic equity arrangement anti-avoidance rule;
(i) improving the efficiency of the Home Accessibility Tax Credit;
(j) implementing the Personal Support Workers Tax Credit;
(k) enhancing the SR&ED program by increasing the annual expenditure limit and taxable capital phase-out thresholds for the enhanced 35% SR&ED credit, extending the enhanced credit to eligible Canadian public corporations and restoring the eligibility of SR&ED capital expenditures;
(l) extending the Mineral Exploration Tax Credit for individuals who invest in eligible mining flow-through shares for two years to March 31, 2027 at the current rate of 15%;
(m) expanding the eligibility of the Critical Mineral Exploration Tax Credit to bismuth, cesium, chromium, fluorspar, germanium, indium, manganese, molybdenum, niobium, phosphate, tantalum, tin and tungsten;
(n) amending the Canada Carbon Rebate for Small Businesses;
(o) extending the full credit rates for the Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage investment tax credit to 2035;
(p) expanding the eligibility for the clean technology investment tax credit to support the generation of electricity and heat from waste biomass;
(q) expanding the eligibility for the clean technology manufacturing investment tax credit to investments in eligible polymetallic projects and to additional qualifying materials;
(r) providing a refundable investment tax credit to qualifying corporations and trusts for investments in certain clean electricity property;
(s) amending the alternative minimum tax to exempt certain trusts for the benefit of Indigenous groups;
(t) precluding a corporation from qualifying as a mutual fund corporation where it is controlled by or for the benefit of a corporate group;
(u) extending the period during which agricultural cooperatives can distribute tax-deferred patronage dividends paid in shares to their members until the end of 2030;
(v) narrowing the rules related to reporting by trusts;
(w) providing the Minister of National Revenue with the authority to waive the withholding requirement for payments to certain non-resident service providers;
(x) allowing the sharing of information for the purposes of administering and enforcing the Canada Labour Code as it relates to the misclassification of employees;
(y) reforming Canada’s transfer pricing rules;
(z) reinstating the accelerated investment incentive and immediate expensing for certain qualifying assets;
(z.1) providing an accelerated capital cost allowance of 10% for new eligible purpose-built rental projects;
(z.2) providing immediate expensing for new additions of property in respect of productivity-enhancing assets;
(z.3) introducing a temporary non-refundable tax credit applicable where an individual’s non-refundable tax credit amounts exceed the first income tax bracket threshold; and
(z.4) implementing a number of technical amendments to correct inconsistencies and to better align the law with its intended policy objectives.
It also makes a related amendment to the Excise Tax Act .
Part 2 repeals the Digital Services Tax Act and the Digital Services Tax Regulations and makes consequential amendments to other legislation.
Part 3 amends the Excise Tax Act , the Underused Housing Tax Act , the Select Luxury Items Tax Act and other related texts to implement various measures.
Division 1 of Part 3 implements certain measures in respect of the Excise Tax Act and a related text by
(a) clarifying that supplies of osteopathic services rendered by individuals who are not osteopathic physicians are taxable under the Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax;
(b) extending the Enhanced (100%) Goods and Services Tax Rental Rebate to qualifying cooperative housing corporations and student residences built by universities, public colleges and school authorities; and
(c) allowing input tax credits for redeemed coupons to be available only for payments made exclusively in the course of commercial activities.
Division 2 of Part 3 amends the Underused Housing Tax Act to end the underused housing tax in respect of 2025 and future calendar years. It also subsequently repeals the Underused Housing Tax Act and the Underused Housing Tax Regulations .
Division 3 of Part 3 amends the Select Luxury Items Tax Act to end the luxury tax in respect of subject aircraft and subject vessels. It also makes the Select Luxury Items Tax Regulations to provide greater clarity on the tax treatment of subject items.
Part 4 amends the First Nations Goods and Services Tax Act to, among other things,
(a) establish an opt-in framework for interested Indigenous governments to levy a value-added sales tax, under their own laws, on fuel, alcohol, cannabis, tobacco and vaping products within their reserves or settlement lands; and
(b) make process-type improvements and machinery of government changes to streamline the administration of taxes under that Act.
It also makes consequential amendments to the Excise Tax Act and to the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act .
Part 5 enacts and amends several Acts in order to implement various measures.
Division 1 of Part 5 enacts the High-Speed Rail Network Act , which establishes a legislative framework to facilitate the implementation of a rail network that allows for the carrying of passengers at high speed between Quebec and Ontario. That Act, among other things,
(a) deems the construction of the railway lines that are to be part of the high-speed rail network to have been approved under section 98 of the Canada Transportation Act ;
(b) provides that the construction, operation, decommissioning and abandonment of each segment of the high-speed rail network, and any incidental physical activity, is subject to the Impact Assessment Act ;
(c) permits certain land to be subject to a notice of right of first refusal or a notice of prohibition on work;
(d) amends the expropriation process in relation to the high-speed rail network;
(e) provides that Indigenous knowledge that is provided in confidence in relation to the high-speed rail network is treated as confidential; and
(f) makes certain Parts of the Official Languages Act applicable to certain entities, including those that operate a railway that is part of the high-speed rail network.
The Division also makes a consequential amendment to the Access to Information Act .
Division 2 of Part 5 amends the Canada Post Corporation Act to repeal the power to make regulations prescribing rates of postage and the terms and conditions related to the payment of postage and instead provide the Canada Post Corporation with the authority to establish those rates and terms and conditions and provide for exceptions.
Division 3 of Part 5 provides, among other things, that an aggregate amount not exceeding $11.5 billion to fund the operations and activities of Build Canada Homes and an aggregate amount not exceeding $1.515 billion as a contribution of capital to, or to purchase shares in, Canada Lands Company Limited may be paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
Division 4 of Part 5 amends the Canada Infrastructure Bank Act to increase the aggregate amount that the Minister of Finance may pay to the Canada Infrastructure Bank to $45,000,000,000.
Division 5 of Part 5 amends the Red Tape Reduction Act to, among other things, authorize, subject to certain conditions, ministers to grant temporary exemptions from the application of provisions of certain Acts of Parliament and instruments with the aim of facilitating the design, modification or administration of regulatory regimes to encourage innovation, competitiveness or economic growth in the clean technology or financial technology sector.
Division 6 of Part 5 amends the Public Service Superannuation Act to, among other things, expand the eligibility for early retirement available to certain contributors employed in operational service to new groups of contributors.
Division 7 of Part 5 amends the Public Service Superannuation Act to authorize certain contributors to exercise a temporary early retirement option during a period for which a workforce reduction initiative is in effect. It also makes a related amendment to the Income Tax Regulations .
Division 8 of Part 5 amends the Farm Credit Canada Act to, among other things, provide for a review of the provisions and operation of that Act within five years after the day on which the amendment comes into force and every 10 years after that.
Division 9 of Part 5 repeals the Consumer-Driven Banking Act and enacts a new Consumer-Driven Banking Act to ensure that individuals and businesses can safely and securely share their data with the participating entities of their choice. That Act addresses, among other things, accreditation, national security, data sharing, security safeguards, consent, authentication, liability, complaints, administration and enforcement and screen scraping. The Division also makes related amendments to the Access to Information Act , the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada Act and the Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1 .
Division 10 of Part 5 amends the Trust and Loan Companies Act , the Bank Act and the Insurance Companies Act to extend the period during which federal financial institutions governed by those Acts may carry on business.
Division 11 of Part 5 amends the Trust and Loan Companies Act , the Bank Act and the Insurance Companies Act to, among other things, modernize prudential limits by repealing certain provisions that impose limits on federally regulated financial institutions with respect to debt obligations and borrowing, consumer and commercial loans and investments in real property and equity.
Division 12 of Part 5 amends the Bank Act , the Trust and Loan Companies Act and the Insurance Companies Act to allow for the electronic delivery of certain documents to shareholders, members and policyholders without their consent, while ensuring that they receive paper copies if they request them.
Division 13 of Part 5 amends the Trust and Loan Companies Act , the Bank Act and the Insurance Companies Act to increase the equity threshold related to the public holding requirement from $2 billion to $4 billion and to make changes to other provisions that include that threshold.
Division 14 of Part 5 amends the Trust and Loan Companies Act , the Bank Act , the Insurance Companies Act and the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Act to, among other things,
(a) clarify the powers of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions in respect of the adherence by federally regulated financial institutions to their policies and procedures to protect themselves against threats to their integrity or security;
(b) provide the Superintendent of Financial Institutions with powers to issue directions of compliance in respect of unsafe or unsound practices in the conduct of the affairs of those financial institutions; and
(c) provide that the Superintendent of Financial Institutions is not prevented from disclosing information to any federal government agency or body for purposes related to the Superintendent’s regulation or supervision of financial institutions.
Division 15 of Part 5 amends the Bank Act to raise the amount of funds that can be withdrawn immediately from a retail deposit account after the deposit of a cheque or other instrument and to remove the delay for the withdrawal of funds deposited by a cheque or other instrument that is not deposited in person.
Division 16 of Part 5 amends the Bank Act to, among other things,
(a) prohibit the activation of certain capabilities for a personal deposit account in Canada without the express consent of the natural person in whose name the account is kept;
(b) permit a natural person in whose name such an account is kept to deactivate certain account capabilities;
(c) permit a natural person in whose name such an account is kept to adjust certain transaction limits on the account;
(d) require institutions to establish policies and procedures for detecting and preventing consumer-targeted fraud and mitigating its impacts; and
(e) require institutions and the Commissioner of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada to prepare annual reports on consumer-targeted fraud.
Division 17 of Part 5 amends the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation Act , the Bank Act and the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada Act to support the growth of federal credit unions, including by way of amalgamation or asset acquisition and by permitting them to engage in motor vehicle leasing in certain circumstances.
Division 18 of Part 5 amends the Special Economic Measures Act to, among other things,
(a) provide that the Minister of Finance must be consulted before an order or regulation identifying certain persons is made under subsection 4(1) of that Act;
(b) authorize the Governor in Council to make regulations requiring financial institutions to provide to the Minister of Finance information on property that is in their possession or control and that is owned, held or controlled by a person, including a foreign state, identified under that Act and information on profits realized from such property; and
(c) authorize the Minister of Finance to make an order directing a financial institution to pay such profits to the Receiver General.
It also makes related and consequential amendments to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act .
Division 19 of Part 5 amends the Pension Act to, among other things,
(a) set out in a schedule to that Act the amounts of the basic pension payable during the period beginning on April 1, 1985 and ending on December 31, 2025;
(b) authorize the Governor in Council to amend that schedule;
(c) define the term “province” for the purposes of paragraph 75(1)(b) of that Act; and
(d) update certain regulation-making powers.
It also amends the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act to provide that, beginning on January 1, 2027, certain benefits are to be adjusted only on the basis of the Consumer Price Index.
Finally, it amends the Department of Veterans Affairs Act and the Veterans Health Care Regulations to retroactively clarify the meaning of the term “province” with respect to the calculation of the accommodation and meals charge for the recipients of intermediate and long term care.
Division 20 of Part 5 retroactively amends the Veterans Well-being Regulations to specify that the first annual adjustment to certain amounts used in the calculation of the earnings loss benefit is to be prorated to the number of days remaining in the calendar year. It also authorizes the Governor in Council to make regulations respecting the earnings loss benefit under the Veterans Well-being Act , as it read from time to time before April 1, 2019.
Division 21 of Part 5 amends the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act , among other things, to specify that claims for awards made under Part II of that Act are to be dealt with and determined by the Minister who administers the Pension Act . It also enacts related provisions.
Division 22 of Part 5 enacts the Canada Development Investment Corporation Act , which continues the Canada Development Investment Corporation and sets out its purpose to assist in the creation and development of businesses, resources, property and industries of Canada by providing advice and support to the Government of Canada and by making investments and managing assets that advance Canada’s economic growth and development. The Division also makes a consequential amendment to the Access to Information Act .
Division 23 of Part 5 amends the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act to require that an organization disclose to another organization an individual’s personal information, at the individual’s request, if both organizations are subject to a data mobility framework.
Division 24 of Part 5 amends the Broadcasting Act to provide that it is to be construed and applied in a manner that is consistent with the right to privacy of individuals.
Division 25 of Part 5 amends the Human Pathogens and Toxins Act to, among other things, reaffirm that security of the public is a key purpose of that Act, provide that the Minister of Health must establish and update a registry that will replace Schedules 1 to 4, add requirements for persons who carry out activities in relation to high risk human pathogens and toxins, increase the maximum penalties to which a person who commits an offence under that Act is liable and establish an administrative monetary penalty regime for certain contraventions of that Act or its regulations.
Division 26 of Part 5 amends the Customs Tariff to amend the definition “obsolete or surplus goods” to allow for the refund of duties paid in respect of certain goods that are donated to a registered charity.
Division 27 of Part 5 amends the Export and Import Permits Act to authorize the Governor in Council to add articles to the Export Control List and the Import Control List for reasons related to Canada’s economic security interests.
Division 28 of Part 5 amends the Aeronautics Act to, among other things,
(a) authorize the Minister of Transport to make interim orders that give effect to international standards, agreements, conventions and arrangements;
(b) extend the effective period of interim orders;
(c) modernize regulation-making powers respecting the development of, and compliance with, systems, processes, procedures, programs, plans and documents in relation to aviation safety and security;
(d) provide that air traffic service providers and certain maintenance organizations may be found vicariously liable for offences or violations;
(e) authorize the electronic service of documents;
(f) prohibit interference with the operation of a remotely piloted aircraft system unless authorized by the Minister;
(g) modernize the administrative monetary penalties framework and increase the maximum amounts for penalties and fines; and
(h) establish a regime for the voluntary provision of information related to aviation safety and security and set out limits on the disclosure and use of information provided under that regime.
It also makes a consequential amendment to the Access to Information Act and a related amendment to the Budget Implementation Act, 2019, No. 1 .
Division 29 of Part 5 amends the Canada Transportation Act to provide the Minister of Transport with the authority to make interim orders to give effect to international standards or ensure compliance with Canada’s international obligations.
Division 30 of Part 5 amends the Judges Act to increase the number of salaries authorized for judges of the Court of Appeal for Ontario and judges of unified family courts in the provinces. It also reduces in a corresponding manner the number of salaries authorized for judges of superior courts in the provinces other than appeal courts.
Division 31 of Part 5 amends the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada Act to create a Schedule 2 to that Act, allow the Minister of Justice to add territorial bodies to that Schedule and to allow the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada to provide support services and facilities to those bodies.
Division 32 of Part 5 amends the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 to provide for the establishment of the Environmental Protection Tribunal of Canada and the transfer of the functions of the Chief Review Officer and review officers to that Tribunal. It also amends the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada Act to enable the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada to provide the Tribunal with any necessary support services and facilities and makes consequential amendments to other Acts.
Division 33 of Part 5 authorizes the taking of various measures with respect to the divestiture and dissolution of all or any part of the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation. It also makes consequential amendments to other Acts and repeals the Freshwater Fish Marketing Act .
Division 34 of Part 5 repeals section 16 of the Government Annuities Improvement Act .
Division 35 of Part 5 repeals sections 195 and 196 of the Naskapi and the Cree-Naskapi Commission Act .
Division 36 of Part 5 amends the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act to deny the provision of financial assistance to qualifying students in relation to designated educational institutions outside Canada that are private and for-profit and offer courses at a post-secondary school level. It also amends that Act to empower the Minister of Employment and Social Development to suspend or deny the provision of financial assistance in certain circumstances in order to align with a provincial suspension or denial.
Division 37 of Part 5 amends the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act to
(a) clarify that all regulations made under that Act are to be made on the recommendation of the Minister of Finance;
(b) clarify that paragraph 36(3.01)(b) of that Act applies to donations that are not charitable donations; and
(c) prohibit the disclosure of reports, or the information contained in them, related to discrepancies in information discovered in the course of verifying the identity of persons having beneficial ownership or control of an entity.
It also amends the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Regulations to
(a) clarify that paragraph 138(5)(b) of those Regulations applies to donations that are not charitable donations; and
(b) clarify the application of those Regulations to mortgage administrators, mortgage brokers and mortgage lenders.
Finally, it makes a consequential amendment to the Access to Information Act .
Division 38 of Part 5 amends the Borrowing Authority Act to increase the maximum amount of certain borrowings.
Division 39 of Part 5 amends the Canada Business Corporations Act , the Canada Cooperatives Act and the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act to provide an additional ground on which the Director appointed under the Act in question may dissolve a corporation or a cooperative, as the case may be, namely, when the Director is notified that it is a “listed entity” as defined in subsection 83.01(1) of the Criminal Code .
Division 40 of Part 5 amends the Building Canada Act to add to the information that must be included in the public registry of national interest projects the extent to which each project can contribute to clean growth and to meeting Canada’s objectives with respect to climate change.
Division 41 of Part 5 amends the Canadian Energy Regulator Act to set the maximum duration of licences for the exportation of liquefied natural gas at 50 years.
Division 42 of Part 5 amends the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 to, among other things, remove the mandatory five-year limit for agreements made under subsection 9(5) or 10(3).
Division 43 of Part 5 amends the Competition Act to remove the requirement that the substantiation of representations about the environmental benefits of businesses or business activities must be done in accordance with internationally recognized methodology. It also amends that Act to exclude the application of the provision respecting those representations from proceedings before the Competition Tribunal that are initiated by a person other than the Commissioner of Competition.
Division 44 of Part 5 enacts the National School Food Program Act , which sets out the Government of Canada’s vision for the National School Food Program. That Act also sets out the Government of Canada’s commitment to maintaining long-term funding to be provided to the provinces, the territories and Indigenous peoples for the ongoing implementation and maintenance of the Program.
Division 45 of Part 5 enacts the Stablecoin Act , which imposes duties on persons that create stablecoins and make them available for purchase, directly or indirectly, by persons in Canada. That Act sets out the objects of the Bank of Canada in respect of stablecoin and requires the Bank to maintain a public registry of stablecoin issuers. That Act also addresses, among other things, the redemption of stablecoins by issuers, the reserve of assets that issuers must maintain to fulfill their redemption obligations and the policies that they must establish. The Division also makes consequential and related amendments to the Access to Information Act , the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and the Retail Payment Activities Act .

Motions in Amendment

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I usually begin a speech by saying it is an honour or a pleasure to stand to speak to the bill before us, but I am so deeply appalled and offended by what has been going on in this place since June that I have a hard time speaking without the rage making my voice tremble.

Bill C-15, the omnibus budget bill, is offensive at every level. It is very much an omnibus bill. A budget implementation bill is supposed to implement a budget and not contain surprises, things that were not in the budget and were not even mentioned. However, we are presented with them here and it is all supposed to be fast-tracked. It was fast-tracked by a UC motion, and it was done on Friday the 13th when I was unable to object to the fast-tracking of this bill. I do not regret going to Tumbler Ridge. It was important to be there together with the other party leaders, but I deeply regret that the governing party chose that moment to put forward a unanimous consent motion to fast-track the review of this bill at report stage and third reading.

It is, as we have heard and as Canadians have heard, a bill of over 600 pages. I remember the omnibus budget bill of spring 2012, Bill C-38. I was appalled when Stephen Harper tried to push it through and did in fact push it through. It took longer to debate, in fairness, but it was over 400 pages. The omnibus budget implementation act of spring 2012 was over 400 pages. Here we have the omnibus budget bill to budget 2025-26 and it is over 600 pages, with much of it, as I said, unanticipated. It touches on more than 20 different laws, bills as diverse as anything we have heard of. It deals with the fast-tracked expropriation of lands next to Alto high-speed rail. I support high-speed rail, but I think we needed more time to study this in the House.

We have changes made here to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. My attempts to put forward amendments to that in the finance committee were summarily defeated, but we never properly discussed them. The public has not heard as much as a peep about the things in this budget implementation act, Bill C-15, which would change things for the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, weakening environmental protections, particularly around a practice that has been under way since 1988. The act has been around for a long time.

To change it to say we want equivalency with the provinces so that we do not duplicate is a good thing, but it needs to be reviewed now and then. This bill says, no, we are never going to review it. That is it. There is no sunset on that. Equivalency goes forward. A lot of environmental law experts would have liked to testify to that. They would have liked to testify at the environment committee about that, but no amendments occurred to the changes to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act that are included in Bill C-15.

It is egregious, as we have heard from other speakers here tonight, and I should remember the names of the members who spoke so eloquently to the changes that are being made to veterans' rights. I know the member for Vancouver Kingsway mentioned it. We have here in this bill retroactive changes to avoid legislative changes to help our veterans in long-term care have access to the reimbursements to which they are entirely entitled. We are doing a quickie on that one.

Before they can turn around, members will find that this bill also includes a number of time machines. We never had time to talk about it in this place, but Bill C-4, which is currently before the Senate, in part 4, changes privacy rights under the Elections Act. That is a doozy, by the way. We never got to debate that in this place. The bill will enter into force when the Senate is finished with it, and it will enter into force 26 years ago, because it enters into force in the year 2000. Things are being done in this place that should scandalize the members of the House, because they are profoundly anti-democratic. They represent power grabs.

Bill C-5, which was rushed through in June, of course, was the first time any prime minister in Canada has ever used the King Henry VIII clause to say that if something in the bill breaks other laws we have already passed, that is okay. I was not prepared for this to show up when I was reading this monstrous bill and to find in division 5, well over 500 pages in, that Bill C-15 put forward the notion that, unlike in Bill C-5 where the cabinet as a whole could break other laws, an individual minister, at his or her discretion, in areas within his or her jurisdiction, could exempt any entity from the application of any law except the Criminal Code.

I want to thank the hon. member for Newmarket—Aurora, who put forward the amendments in committee that would make this less bad, but in case anyone's wondering, spoiler alert, I am not going to vote for this. It is less bad, but it is still pretty awful. I cannot vote for a bill that would say that any minister can exempt an entity from acts except for a listed few, even though the ones listed are good.

On this notion of regulatory sandboxes, as far as I'm concerned and despite the fact that committee members were told in finance committee by Treasury Board officials that regulatory sandboxes are normal and routine and that we should all be used to them by now, I cannot support it. They come from the U.K., the Tory government and the Bank of England, where regulatory sandboxes were initiated in order to innovate financial instruments, services and products and were exempted from laws to be able to innovate and experiment.

I do not mind it so much, although innovation in financial instruments is what led to the collapse of the housing market in the U.S. by bundling together worthless mortgage papers and calling it a product, but it is more dangerous when they are playing with our health and environment.

We do not have any way of really regulating what is going on, even with the admirable work of the member for Newmarket—Aurora. The hon. member for Vancouver Kingsway referred to it as a “backroom deal”. No doubt that is what happened. It makes this slightly less awful. It would mean that before a minister exempts an entity from the application of a law, there must be a 30-day public consultation period. Unlike the original version of this act that said that the minister will make it public as soon as it is “feasible” but with no timeline on that, thanks to amendments in committee it is now within 30 days that it must be made public. However, that does not allow me to vote for this bill.

The hon. member for Vancouver Kingsway also pointed out, and I will certainly vote for those amendments, that this bill would do away with the digital services tax. While that was not as much of a surprise, given the budget, as other things, and I think regulatory sandboxes were never foreshadowed, certainly in the election campaign, we were told it was “elbows up”. It was subsequent to that, but before the budget, that our elbows dropped when Donald Trump said that he did not like the fact that Canadians were bringing in a digital services tax.

We were doing that in concert with colleagues through the European Union. We need to get a hold of these digital giants that are ripping off our private information for their own profit. We need to have a way of holding them to account. They are eroding our democracy and attacking our public media and newspapers.

I remember a prominent Liberal and respected former minister in this place, the hon. Lloyd Axworthy, who called it “bootlicking” when Trump said that he did not like the digital services tax and the Prime Minister said that we will get rid of it really quickly. I am too nice to say that, but I can quote Lloyd Axworthy saying it.

I find it deeply worrying that we now have to pass an omnibus budget bill in quick fashion, because it has to be done by later tonight. We all know that is the plan. It is going to be whizzed through, because they whizzed through that process in the unanimous consent motion of February 13.

I find this bill deeply offensive. There would be changes to CEPA without proper analysis and study and changes to the digital services tax without us even debating in this place the fact that we are repealing a law that we passed to bring it into effect. We would lose the oversight under the Red Tape Reduction Act. One would have never expected us to bring in the right for any individual minister to exempt an entity from a law, which still remains in place in this bill but with more safeguards and somewhat more transparency.

When I consider all the things that comprise this giant, over 600-page bill, I am offended. I will vote no, and I urge my fellow members to make it less bad by supporting the amendments from the hon. member for Vancouver Kingsway.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, coming out of the election, whether it was the Prime Minister or the government of the day, we made some significant commitments to Canadians. We have, for example, the one Canada economy, Bill C-5, which the Green Party voted against. We have the issue of the budget, which is a major aspect of any government. It establishes priorities. The Green Party is voting against the budget implementation bill.

My question is on a third point, which is the idea of increasing international trade opportunities. A great deal of resources and efforts are moving in that direction as we build stronger infrastructure within Canada. We are also complementing that by looking for additional trade that goes beyond the Canada-U.S. borders. I am interested in the member's thoughts on the issue of international trade and if Canada is moving in the right direction from her perspective.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I would say this quickly to my hon. colleague from Winnipeg North. As he knows, I am the only opposition party member who voted for the budget itself. I largely did that because the budget, on page 348, committed that the eligible uses for investment tax credits would not include “enhanced oil recovery”. It was 10 days after I voted for the budget that the memorandum of understanding with Alberta said to forget that thing written in the budget. I know it is not in disappearing ink as I still see it here in the budget, but the reverse has been promised to Danielle Smith of Alberta.

I support that we friendshore. I support what the former deputy leader Chrystia Freeland said, which is that democracies need democracies, not dictators. Therefore, it bothers me if our international trading partners are Saudi Arabia—

[The Deputy Speaker, Tom Kmiec]

I have to continue questions and comments.

The hon. member for Northumberland—Clarke.

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Clarke, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the member and I disagree on many things. However, two things we share is that we both support trains and the environment, so my question will deal with both.

One of the concerns I have with high-speed rail is the environmental impact it will have, especially given the relatively brief amount of time. Could she share any concerns? Part of it is in my riding and there are some very sensitive areas there.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, as has also been pointed out by another colleague from the member's bench, some of the high-speed rail will impact sensitive areas. The problem with building everything fast is this.

I can say it in French. I asked a Bloc Québécois colleague what the French word for “bulldozer” is. It is the same word.

We are seeing a lot of bulldozing over process, procedure, democracy and ecosystems. It goes hand in hand.

I think there are some problems with this omnibus bill.

I agree with my colleague that we should study it. We want rail across Canada, but we need to know what we are getting into.

[Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc, Vallée-du-Haut-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciated the speech by my colleague, who is the leader of the Green Party and the only Green Party member in the House. Her voice is very important.

Bill C‑15 gives a lot of power to ministers and the executive branch to suspend all laws, aside from the Criminal Code.

Does my colleague think that is a clear signal that anything to do with environmental legislation or the protection of species at risk is being set aside by the Carney government to pass—

[The Deputy Speaker, Tom Kmiec]

I must interrupt the hon. member. Members cannot use the Prime Minister's name in the House.

I will let the hon. member finish her question.

[Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc, Vallée-du-Haut-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, you are absolutely right. It must be the late hour. I am tired.

Does my colleague think that, through Bill C‑15, the current Liberal government is signalling a lack of interest in the environment and in environmental protection?

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I completely agree with my esteemed colleague from the Bloc Québécois. It is clear. The proof is there. We have no indication that the current government will uphold environmental laws protecting endangered species.

It is clear from Bill C-5 and Bill C-15 that those things do not matter. The only thing that matters is the bulldozers.

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Clarke, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to rise in this House, as it is every time. I would like to start, if I could, by giving a quick congratulations to both my son and my daughter, who made it to Speechfest at their school. They obviously got that oratory ability from their mother, not from me. I congratulate James and Maggie.

Of course, the substance of today's debate is the budget implementation act. I will be focusing on an area that particularly affects my riding of Northumberland—Clarke, and that is the Alto high-speed rail. My speech will mostly just be a direct conveyance of the comments that I have received from my riding on the potential impact of the expropriation and the abridgement of the private property rights of many of the property owners along the route.

Just so that people understand, the idea of having a high-speed rail service from Montreal to Quebec City, Ottawa and Toronto, stopping in Peterborough, the great city of Peterborough I might add, is an encouraging thing. That is a positive thing. If people could make it from Ottawa to Toronto in two hours, that is a positive thing, but there are significant challenges. I will go through some of the concerns that some of my residents have raised.

Number one is the impact it would have on their property. In some cases, there are individuals who have farms that have been their family's property for multiple generations, some going as far back as Confederation. That would end. Their property would be bisected, in many cases, by the proposed route. We still do not know what the final route is. I thank the minister for being direct and saying that the final route will be announced before the end of this year. That is positive.

What is not positive is that the minister, to my questions at committee, was not able to give any specific or concrete answers to questions such as these: When will expropriation begin, and how much notice will be given? Members can imagine being one of the residents of Northumberland County who has owned a farm through multiple generations and seeing a bill that proposes that, within a year, they will go from owning their property, which their family has owned for the last 150 years, to a point where it will be expropriated. The least the government could have done was give a defined process to these individuals before announcing the potential expropriation of their property. This should have been announced all at once, so people would be given notice and given a process.

The minister repeated over and over that this would just be common sense. Common sense is not quite good enough for someone whose entire life is wrapped around a rural community. That is where I have lived my whole life. It might be the same in urban communities, but I know for a fact that, in rural communities, people are very much defined by the property they own, the dirt that is underneath their feet. For someone to literally pull that rug from underneath them is a very scary proposition. In addition to that, for those folks who were not directly affected, the indirect impacts could be huge.

Therefore, like I said, I completely agree that being able to jump on a high-speed train going from Montreal to Toronto in three hours, or whatever the time will be exactly, is positive. What is not positive is if someone lives north of the proposed route and they need to get to Northumberland Hills Hospital, which is in the great city of Cobourg. Their drive could go from a 30- or 40-minute drive to two or three hours. The minister could not even tell me, and nor will Alto as of yet, where the crossings will be.

Let me explain. In my area, quite a few people live north of where the route would be, but there is a lot of the infrastructure for those various communities, including the Northumberland Hills Hospital, Highway 401 and, actually, the VIA train, and there are major routes that link those to the rest of the community.

They would put a steel fence all the way along the proposed route, which the minister said is only 60 metres, but it is still 60 metres. Regardless, even if it were just one metre, it is the idea of bisecting a community. Instead of driving directly to that hospital when their child has a fever or their dad has had a heart attack, people would then have to drive that extra time, which we do not know. It could be half an hour. It could be an hour to the east or the west to get to the hospital. It could literally mean the difference between life and death.

That is at the very extreme, but there are also other inconveniences that people in my riding, and in much of rural Quebec and rural Ontario, will have to deal with. There will be many instances where there are students on one side of the high-speed rail and their school on the other, which would lead to extended bus rides. It could go from a 10-minute bus ride to an hour bus ride. These are obviously a couple trips a day that we are now extending.

We also have our farmers, who might have their co-op, which is where a lot of farmers get their seed and their fertilizer. They will then have their fields on the other side. Once again, that can be really challenging because they are not always driving their truck. They could be driving their combine or their tractor. How are they going to get around that? Anyone who has driven a combine or been behind one knows they do not go particularly fast. Are they going to take an extra two or three hours in the middle of harvest?

Those of us who live in rural Canada would get this. Farmers will work around the clock during harvest season because they are at the mercy of Mother Nature for when they can harvest. While it is admirable to save people in Montreal and Toronto a couple of hours back and forth, it is anything but admirable to make rural students in Ontario and Quebec add hours to their day on buses. It is anything less than admirable to make Canada less able to feed ourselves because our farmers are less efficient since they have to drive for hours and hours.

In some cases, their same fields will actually be bisected. They will have to harvest one side and then find a crossing. The minister would not tell me if it will be an hour away or two hours away. We would be reducing their ability to be successful and reducing our ability to feed ourselves as Canadians. These are substantial challenges as we go forward and look at some of these issues.

I just want to read a couple of comments, specifically with respect to some of these questions. These are comments from some of my residents who have emailed or sent notes on social media: “It is extremely shocking to hear the minister speak in this manner, showing so little consideration and an apparent lack of understanding of his own territory. Telling citizens to ‘go meet with Alto’ when these...are merely courtesy information sessions—where staff...take notes without any real decision-making authority—is deeply frustrating.”

This is well put, too. The minister, throughout my questioning, kept putting it back on the residents, kept saying for them to go to Alto. Who is in charge here? I understand that the minister is ultimately in charge and that he should have the ultimate say.

One of my residents actually sums it up very nicely when he writes, “Why is it up to the people who live in these affected areas to tell Alto which roads and amenities are essential? Should this not be part of their own research done in consultation with municipalities prior to choosing a route? I've attended Alto sessions. They have no answers, only vague promises to do right by rural residents. I find this entire process to be disingenuous and flawed.”

Another comment says, “Thank you for this. If you have any further opportunity to ask questions, it would be important that Alto consults regarding the impacts of road severances and travel times for emergency services after the route has been chosen so that townships and residents can give more precise feedback.” The comment continues, “In the video it sounds like they are simply relying on this phase and public consultations to tell them about that.” The person commenting thinks they should be doing extensive research into these matters before making decisions.

They go on and they talk about the various ways this will affect people's lives. We understand and, like I said, it is admirable that we should be making life more convenient for the citizens of Toronto and Montreal, but let us not forget about the citizens of rural Quebec and rural Ontario.

[John-Paul Danko, Liberal, Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I really appreciate the general acknowledgement that high-speed rail is a positive thing for Canada as a nation-building exercise, as a transportation corridor and as an economic building opportunity to use Canadian steel, Canadian labour and Canadian skilled trades.

I really take to heart his comments about the impacts on the communities he represents. I have worked in construction for 20 years. I have been a part of the planning process at the municipal level. What it really comes down to is building trust with communities in the proponent and also ensuring that, when there are mitigation measures that come forward, they are actually implemented and taken seriously.

How can we help the member make sure that this happens in his community?

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Clarke, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for the sincere question. The number one thing that will defeat fear is information. What we have been lacking, and what our residents have been lacking, is information.

We understand there are some commercial realities, but if the government is threatening to potentially take away people's farms, which have been in their families for four or five generations, sometimes since Confederation, the government owes it to those people to tell them when they will get notice, how much notice they will get and what potential compensation they will get. That is owed to people who will live on either side of this rail. They need to know how they will get to the hospital and where the crossings will be.

That information is not there. We cannot just forget about the people in rural Ontario and rural Quebec.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Bill C-15 continues a trend we have been seeing with this government. I have been trying to form an opinion on this omnibus bill, on all the laws that amend other laws, particularly with regard to the high-speed rail issue. My colleague mentioned that in his speech, and I will come back to it.

It is a bit absurd that we are talking about this when the Bloc Québécois proposed simple amendments, some specifically aimed at allowing victims of disasters to rebuild. There is a gap in this bill on that issue. The amendment was rejected by the Liberal Party, with the support of the Conservatives. The same thing happened with the provision limiting people's ability to challenge expropriations. The Liberals, with the support of the Conservatives, have made it so that land can be expropriated for the high-speed rail project without the landowners being given the same rights as those whose land is expropriated for other infrastructure projects.

In short, it is clear that the Bloc Québécois made some really good proposals to try to improve the bill. Why did the Conservatives refuse to acknowledge that these proposals would fill in the gaps?

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Clarke, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to work with any member of the House who is able to help me protect the rights of the residents in our communities and protect our property rights, which are so important.