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 .

Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 1

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

Mr. Speaker, this is ironic coming from a member who sat around, along with the leader of the Conservative Party, with Stephen Harper. When we look at Stephen Harper's record of low productivity, he will recognize that it was a disaster. He did not do anything for the productivity of Canadians during that miserable 10 years, and the member sat around in that caucus.

On the deficit situation, we are, in fact, when it comes to the debt, number one on a pro-rated basis in the G7. We are number two in the G7 on the deficit situation.

We have a new Prime Minister who has a background that is going to help get the job done. Why was the member such a failure when he was part of government back then?

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, that question highlights the financial illiteracy that pervades the House. The fact of the matter is that, if we go to Statistics Canada's labour productivity data, we will see that, over the course of the 1990s and the early aughts, right to 2015, a good part of 25 of the last 35 years in this country, labour productivity consistently marched upward. What we have seen, though, in the last 10 years, particularly in the last five, is that labour productivity has stalled, if not declined, in some years.

As far as the debt goes, I would add, for example, that the Province of Ontario has a larger debt than the State of California, so the member is wrong when he talks about net debt.

[Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc, Beauharnois—Salaberry—Soulanges—Huntingdon, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I know that one of my colleague's values involves opposing the federal government's centralization of health and social services.

Does he agree that money could have been found in the budget to increase health and social service transfers? Every province in Canada is struggling to provide quality services because they have to do more with less.

Does my colleague agree with me that the government could have reduced certain expenses in order to increase transfers to Quebec and the provinces for health and social services?

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to ensuring federal transfers to the provinces for health and social services, I think the most important thing is economic growth and long-term prosperity. Economic growth is the best way to ensure long-term prosperity. We need to increase our productivity.

There is nothing about that in the budget, and I think that is a serious problem in Canada.

[Scott Anderson, Conservative, Vernon—Lake Country—Monashee, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we have heard from the Liberals numerous times that somehow the problems we find ourselves with today are Stephen Harper's fault.

I wonder if my colleague could tell us if we should blame these problems on, let us say, Mackenzie King, or is this a newer problem?

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the record of the Liberals over the last 10 years has been the worst economic record in this country since the Second World War period. That is an incontrovertible fact. If members look at the labour productivity tables, for example, what will they see is that labour productivity has flatlined over the last number of years.

Even with Statistics Canada's recent upward revision in GDP numbers, per capita GDP has flatlined over the last number of years, all while our economic peer group has seen per capita GDP go up. We are falling behind, which is why we are falling behind in global league tables on a range of measures such as productivity, growth, and so many other measures.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today we have the opportunity, or maybe the misfortune, to speak to Bill C‑15, which aims to implement part of what was in the federal budget. Budget implementation bills are always interesting. In theory, the goal of a budget implementation bill is to implement what is in the budget. However, sometimes other measures are included as well.

The government sometimes uses this opportunity to include all sorts of other measures in these bills that are not really related to the budget. That is something the Liberals used to decry when they were in opposition, but now they are doing the same thing. The bill before us is 650 pages long. These 650 pages contain 80 legislative measures that amend a total of 49 laws.

I predict that in a few weeks, maybe shortly after Christmas, the Liberals will start complaining that it is taking too long for the bill to get passed, that we are receiving too many witnesses, and that we are spending too much time studying it. However, they introduced a bill that is 650 pages long and that includes the equivalent of 80 legislative measures, which is practically 80 bills that amend 49 laws. We cannot be expected to adopt all of that without giving it proper consideration.

I want my colleagues to be aware that we will need time to study this bill, because it will have many repercussions. We have already determined that certain elements of this bill are problematic. Among other things, the government has made its direction fairly clear in recent weeks, with its focus on oil and the extension of the carbon storage tax credit until 2041. This tax credit was not supposed to be extended for so long, but it continues. What is more, it is not just being extended. The amounts are also being increased for the period from 2031 to 2036.

The bill also amends the Canadian Energy Regulator Act to facilitate the export of liquefied natural gas and allow for 50-year export licences.

This is all perfectly consistent with what the government has been doing in recent months. One of the things it did recently was eliminate electric vehicles subsidies. The government had promised to reinstate them, but never did. It also got rid of the EV sales mandates, or at least paused them. No one knows when this measure will be reinstated either. It eliminated the consumer carbon tax. People in English Canada no longer pay a carbon tax. People in Quebec never paid it, because we have our own model.

Basically, the government is completely aligned with the oil companies' priorities and completely aligned with what the Conservatives want, so much so that it has even announced a new pipeline. That is just crazy. These are the kinds of things this government is doing. It is sad, knowing that people elected this government to stand up to Donald Trump. That was more or less the Liberal slogan, how they characterized themselves. They kept saying “elbows up” and that it was important to be strong to stand up to Donald Trump.

What kind of policy has Donald Trump implemented in the United States? He has completely abandoned the energy transition in the U.S. What is the Liberal government doing here? It is completely abandoning the energy transition. A few weeks ago, I met with people from Quebec's transportation electrification sector. They are deeply concerned about the course that the government is taking. They are afraid that the entire transportation electrification industry that has developed in Quebec is at risk. That is a serious concern. All of this came about because of a Liberal government that got elected by making false statements and then decided to adopt the Conservatives' political agenda and do Donald Trump a favour.

I have another good example of the methods the Liberals are using. I am talking about Bill C-5, which is now an act meant to speed up so-called major projects and allow them to circumvent laws. Under this act, if a project pleases the government, it no longer needs to comply with legislation. It is exempt and gets fast-tracked through the process without the public having a say and without the proponent needing to obey environmental rules and laws.

In the bill before us, the government is doing the same thing it did in Bill C-5, except that it is is giving itself even more power. The government did not even make an announcement about it, and it will not be studied in detail in committee. Talk about hypocrisy.

What is more, there are no oversight measures. When Bill C-5 was studied in committee, we ensured that a special committee would be responsible for monitoring its implementation and that the project selection process would be transparent. There will be mechanisms in place to ensure that things function somewhat better. We are still concerned, but at least there are a few small mechanisms in place to monitor the progress of these projects.

Page 300 of Bill C‑15 includes something rather peculiar. I will go over it quickly. It states:

...a minister may, by order, for a specified validity period of not more than three years and on any terms that the minister considers appropriate, exempt an entity from the application of

(a) a provision of an Act of Parliament, except the Criminal Code, if the minister is responsible for the Act;

(b) a provision of an instrument made under an Act of Parliament, except an instrument made under the Criminal Code....

Basically, if the government thinks that doing so will help technology companies and foster innovation, then it can tailor the application of legislation to reward its own friends. Personally, I find it mind-boggling that the government is basically giving itself powers to circumvent laws in a completely arbitrary manner, as we saw with Bill C‑5. Now, the government is doing the same thing quietly, in secret, with Bill C‑15. There was no mention of this in the budget statement, and there was no democratic debate in society at large. It is really worrisome to see the authoritarian direction the government is taking. It boasts about standing up for the rule of law, while undermining it through a back door. The direction this government is taking is very worrisome.

That is not all. Bill C-15 contains one element that we find deeply disurbing, particularly since it is coming from a government that was elected to stand up to Donald Trump. This bill formally repeals the Digital Services Tax Act, which required web giants to pay a portion of their taxes in Canada. This law provided for a 3% tax on revenue, because we know that these companies often report their income in a physical establishment located in another country, such as the United States or elsewhere. This practice allows them to avoid paying taxes in Canada even though they bring in enormous revenues, because everything is done on the Internet.

We decided that the solution was to tax revenue generated here, rather than taxing based on the physical location of the company, which was problematic. Since Europe had decided to impose a 3% tax, that is what we proposed at the negotiating table. This measure obviously met with a lot of resistance from Donald Trump and the Americans. What did the Canadian government do? First, it announced that the tax would be put on hold and that the Liberal Prime Minister would not implement it. Now, this bill goes even further and rescinds the tax completely, so that is the end of standing up to web giants.

We have been speaking out on this issue for years. I sometimes get the impression that we are crying out in the wilderness here in Ottawa. Unfortunately, this is a major problem for our culture and our media. This advertising revenue, which is essential to Quebec's—and to a certain extent Canada's—cultural vitality, is going somewhere else entirely. The government is not even imposing taxes on it, even though it is money that is going abroad. This advertising revenue is leaving the country and harming our industry. I find that unfortunate. The Liberal government claims to defend Canada, but really it is not doing anything at all to defend Quebec's interests in this regard. On the contrary, it is once again capitulating to the Americans and to the U.S President's bullying tactics.

Worse still, the government officials got nothing in return. They had said they would get something in return, that they knew how to handle the situation. In the end, they gained nothing on this issue or any of the other issues on which the Canadian government backed down. Nothing was gained. It is sad because the 3% tax on the revenues of web giants was expected to bring in $7.2 billion over five years. That kind of money could go a long way to helping our struggling media companies and cultural sector.

The reality is that the Canadian government has money. It is offering Radio-Canada $150 million. Meanwhile, TVA, Noovo, Bell Media, local papers, Cogeco Média and Coops de l'information are cutting jobs. All our media outlets are dying, but the Liberals are indifferent. That is the reality, yet the media is essential to maintaining our democracy.

English Canada clearly has no idea what Quebec culture is. English Canadians do not care about it. In fact, they could not care less. Perhaps there is a reason the Liberals just appointed the member for Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs as Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages. That member is part of the West Island clique, which views any gesture to promote French as one gesture too many. Those folks are fed up with hearing that the French language needs to be protected. They do not like it when we stand up for French. What they want is for us to quietly go away. We will never allow that to happen. Excessive funding for English is not the solution. We must defend our culture and our identity. We will fight for Quebec.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, believe me, I will fight for Quebec too, and I will fight for the French language. I agree with the investments in CBC/Radio-Canada that my colleague talked about.

I would like to know what my Bloc Québécois colleague thinks about our budget and the investments that we are going to make in the Port of Montreal at Contrecoeur, in Hydro-Québec, in culture and for the French language. What do his constituents think of the federal investments in the Canada child benefit? What do they think about the Canadian dental care plan, which must certainly be helping 20% of them?

Will my hon. colleague vote in favour of this budget?

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I think it is clear to everyone that the Bloc Québécois is not going to vote for this bill any more than it voted for the budget. We voted on the budget, and the Bloc Québécois's position is clear.

The Bloc Québécois's demands were all denied by the government opposite, a minority government acting like a majority government. It is sad to see this government do absolutely nothing to defend our culture. Whenever it does do something, it always comes with a little Canadian flag. We have to sing O Canada at the top of our lungs or lose our subsidies. That is how it works in Ottawa.

We are not going to put up with that.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to highlight some labour productivity statistics that members of the House may not be aware of. This is from Statistics Canada, table 36-10-0480-01: In 2006, labour productivity was $56.8 per hour. In 2015, it was $61 per hour, an increase of $4.2 an hour. In 2024, it was $63.2 an hour, an increase of only $2.2.

It is clear that the record of the previous Conservative government on labour productivity for all industries, all sectors, was far better than that of the current Liberal government. I just wanted to make sure that was read into the record for the elucidation of members of the House who may not be aware of that.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague raises some interesting points.

What I heard him say is that productivity is calculated based on the average hourly rate; however, that rate did not increase significantly at the time and did not keep pace with the cost of living.

I could draw a parallel with Canada's immigration policies. In the past, Canada's immigration policies were designed to select people based on their level of education and their compatibility with the labour market. The idea was that these people would raise the overall standard. Unfortunately, there has been a complete change of direction by the federal government opposite. Now, the federal government's policy is to welcome as much cheap labour as possible. As a result, when we welcome people who are paid less than the average, it drags Canada down.

I do not mean that these jobs should not be filled. The government is simply taking the easy way out instead of looking at innovation, automation and job retention, with incentives for people who may want to stay in the labour market. These positions are filled by people who are more vulnerable and who will be paid less. Then they are weaponized when they are told they have to vote Liberal because they owe their citizenship to the Liberal government.

It is sad to see.

[Alexis Deschênes, Bloc, Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to commend my colleague's excellent speech. He basically expressed and illustrated a great irony.

The recent trade war with the Americans has led to a bit of a surge in Canadian nationalism. At the same time, the current government is making a lot of concessions. The Liberals say they want to defend Canadian sovereignty, but they are aligning themselves with American policies on the environment and when it comes to the taxes on digital giants. They want “autocratization”, that is, a greater concentration of power in the hands of cabinet ministers.

Does my colleague not think that this is yet another reason why Quebec needs to be independent now more than ever?

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I find my colleague's comments interesting.

The federal government is a bit like a wolf in sheep's clothing when it comes to culture. It keeps the community on a tight leash and tries to keep a close eye on everything. Those who misbehave will lose their subsidies. Everyone has to sing O Canada at the top of their lungs. The sector is being watched closely.

At the end of the day, what the government is doing is letting Quebec culture die a slow death. It says not to worry, that it will pay for palliative care and that it will be painless.

The reality is that we do not want Ottawa to just pay for palliative care. We want to live, we want to exist, and for that, we need our own country.

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Sturgeon River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak to Bill C-15, the budget implementation act.

The best that can be said of this budget is that it is not as advertised. The finance minister advertised the budget as a generational shift. The Prime Minister advertised the budget as bold. This budget does not represent a generational shift, and it most certainly is not bold. If anything, it is completely underwhelming. It represents more of the same. There are more of the same failed policies we have seen over the past 10 years from the Liberals, more spending, more debt and more broken promises.

Indeed, just about every fiscal and budgetary commitment the Prime Minister made to Canadians a few short months ago during the federal election has been broken with this budget. The Prime Minister said he was going to get the deficit under control and that he would preside over a government that reduced the level of debt. As recently as September 17, the Prime Minister said in the House, “We are going to have a declining level of debt.”

In the face of that unequivocal statement, people would have expected to see some follow-through in this budget, but if they guessed that, they are wrong. Instead of a declining level of debt, the Prime Minister delivered with this budget a deficit that is an eye-watering $78 billion. It is double last year's deficit, which was $36.3 billion.

By the way, the deficit of $36.3 billion under the big-spending, debt-addicted Trudeau Liberals was too much for the then Trudeau finance minister, the member for University—Rosedale. She resigned in protest. However, here we have the so-called financial genius coming to the rescue, and he delivers a $78-billion deficit. It is not only a $78-billion deficit; it is the largest deficit in Canadian history, outside of COVID. It is quite an accomplishment, but for all the wrong reasons.

The so-called new government and the so-called new Liberals, just like the old Liberals, are delivering a sea of red ink. They plan to rack up one-third of $1 trillion of new debt over the next five years. They plan $330 billion in new debt, deficit after deficit, year over year, without any meaningful plan. There is no plan at all to get to a balanced budget and no plan to restore any semblance of fiscal responsibility with the so-called new Prime Minister and new government. It is Justin Trudeau 2.0. It is Justin Trudeau, but even worse.

We have seen the debt climb to $1.35 trillion. For a lot of Canadians, it seems like 10 long years, but in Canada's 150-year history, it has been 10 short years that the government has been in office. In those 10 short years, the Liberals have managed to add more debt than all of the previous governments combined. They have managed to more than double the debt they were left with when they took office in 2015 from the previous Conservative government, which delivered, in fact, a balanced budget.

In the face of this sea of red ink, it is not surprising that debt servicing costs continue to increase. The debt servicing costs for the fiscal year 2025-26 are $55.6 billion. To put $55.6 billion into some perspective, that is more than the government collects in GST. It is more than the government spends on health care. This is at a time when Canadians face record wait times, when six million to seven million Canadians do not have access to a primary care doctor and when somewhere in the neighbourhood of 17,000 to 30,000 Canadians are dying on a wait-list for specialist care. The government is spending more on servicing the debt than it is on health care.

If anything, it speaks to the completely misplaced priorities and the misplaced focus of the government. It speaks to how it has so badly screwed things up over the past 10 years. If we think that $55.6 billion is a big number, after the government throws in the $330 billion of new debt it is going to rack up over the next five years, that debt servicing cost is going to increase to $76.1 billion, but with the Liberals, who is counting?

What do the Liberals have to show for all of the spending, all of the deficits and all of the debt? They have a flatline in growth. Look at the GDP. At present, Canada's GDP per capita is 75% of the U.S.'s GDP per capita. When the Liberals took office, Canada's GDP per capita, relative to that of the United States, was about 90%. As the member for Wellington—Halton Hills North detailed, we have seen declining productivity. In fact, productivity grew at about half of the rate it did under the Harper Conservative government. In recent years, it has not increased; in fact, it has declined. It is no wonder that we see a productivity gap between Canada and the United States that is now at 30%.

The Prime Minister said that, under his watch, he would bring investment home to Canada. This was after we saw a flight of half a trillion dollars of investment out of Canada under the Liberals over the past 10 years. Instead of seeing more investment in Canada, we have seen, over the past six months, $50 billion of investment go directly to the United States.

In the face of that, what is the Liberal government's solution? It is more spending, more debt, more interest costs and no tangible measures to make life more affordable for Canadians who are facing an affordability crisis. Canadians, after all, have seen housing costs double, rent double and food prices double. We saw inflation at a 40-year high. The budget does nothing to address the cost of living pressures Canadians are facing. In fact, under the Liberals, overall, taxes have gone up on Canadians by 32%. Canadians are paying more and getting less under the Liberals.

In short, the budget is not a blueprint for a generational shift. It is a blueprint for a government that is presiding over and managing decline. It is a budget that does not meet the mark, and it ought to be defeated.

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

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately for the member, that is not what I am hearing. I am hearing that this budget meets the moment and it is a budget that we need. I am hearing it from some people in my community who were traditionally Progressive Conservatives and do not now see themselves in the party that is across the aisle.

In the context of everything the member just said in the last two or three minutes, I want him to reflect on the fact that, in addition to the tens of thousands of jobs that were created earlier in Canada this fall, we saw the job numbers for November today, with 54,000 jobs added in November alone. Unemployment is now down to 6.5%.

Could the member please, in the context of everything he just said, explain to us why, despite his doom-and-gloom scenario, the employment numbers keep going up and unemployment keeps going down?