Debates of Oct. 10th, 2025

The Economy

[Connie Cody, Conservative, Cambridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister said that Canadians should judge him by the cost at the grocery store. Well, they have, and he has failed.

In Cambridge, the food bank saw over 23,000 visits last year, a 114% increase. One-third of those visits were children and youth, and 43% were first-time users. Families that have never used the food bank before are now lining up for food. Even people with jobs cannot afford groceries because the Prime Minister continues to take their lunch money to wine and dine abroad.

If this is what success looks like to the Prime Minister, what does failure look like?

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance and National Revenue and to the Secretary of State (Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, in addition to the 60,000 net new jobs added to the Canadian economy, we have now announced more affordability measures for Canadians that will put money in their pockets.

A national school food program, made permanent in perpetuity, will benefit Canadians to the tune of $800 per year. It is helping put food in the hungry bellies of kids all across Canada. I cannot understand how the Conservative Party can try to lecture us about food bank lineups and then stand up and vote over and over in the House against feeding hungry children.

[Connie Cody, Conservative, Cambridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, that was not an answer.

The government took food off Canadian tables and then built a bureaucracy to take credit for giving some of the crumbs back. Liberals talk about all of these programs, but if they were working, a third of the people using food banks in Cambridge would not be children.

In my community, I have met parents who are working full time and are still skipping meals so their kids can eat. They are not failing; they are being failed, so on their behalf, I will ask this: Why is it no longer a guarantee that a full-time job will put food on the table for families?

[Leslie Church, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Secretaries of State for Labour]

Mr. Speaker, we know that income insecurity touches a lot of people in Canada. It is one of the reasons that today we announced that the national school food program, a program that is going to help feed nearly half a million kids, is being made permanent. That program is going to save families up to $800 a year.

We are also making progress on another important driver of income insecurity, and that is housing. We are going to be building affordable housing at a scale not seen since World War II.

If the members opposite care about affordability for families, they need to get on board and help us build housing, bring down rent and bring down costs. That will help—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, John Nater]

The hon. member for York Centre.

Employment

[Roman Baber, Conservative, York Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, just before the Prime Minister left Brookfield, he made sure that Brookfield's headquarters left for the United States. The Prime Minister loves creating jobs in the United States. That is why youth unemployment rose in September to 14.7%. In Ontario alone, 17,000 young people lost their jobs. In fact, the youth employment rate is sitting at a level not seen since 1999, with a brief exception for the pandemic.

With young people unable to find work, the Prime Minister wants to send $1 trillion of investment to the United States. Why?

[Leslie Church, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Secretaries of State for Labour]

Mr. Speaker, Statistics Canada, this morning, told Canadians that last month, this new government created over 100,000 new full-time jobs. That is progress.

This government is committed to building a strong Canadian economy, the strongest one in the G7. That involves creating major projects and building affordable housing. These plans are going to help employ tens of thousands of people and create career-starting jobs for all Canadians. At the same time, we are investing in apprenticeships and we are investing in co-ops. Why will the members opposite not vote in favour of these plans?

Automotive Industry

[Roman Baber, Conservative, York Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, she should tell that to the 15% of young people in Toronto who cannot find a job.

With $54 billion of net investment fleeing Canada, the Prime Minister is leaving Canada's automotive workers destitute. With job losses at GM and Stellantis, we now learn that auto tariffs are here to stay.

Christmas is just around the corner, but thousands of Ontario's auto workers are on the chopping block. Why did the Prime Minister sell out Ontario's auto workers?

[Ali Ehsassi, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade]

Mr. Speaker, Canada currently enjoys the best deal among U.S. trading partners. This is not up for debate.

However, as the member would like to see us do, our government is committed to ongoing negotiations and to securing greater tariff relief for all of our industries. We are laser-focused on protecting Canadian businesses and Canadian workers. Trade discussions are ongoing, and we will not apologize for it.

Forestry Industry

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

Mr. Speaker, Canadians would not need food banks if not for failed Liberal policies.

Year over year, youth unemployment is up 1.2%. B.C.'s forestry workers are worried they may be next. Almost 10 years ago, the foreign affairs minister was to come up with a framework within 100 days. The new Prime Minister promised to negotiate a win. Instead, softwood lumber tariffs have doubled.

Why will the Prime Minister not fight for Canadian lumber mills, the jobs they create and the families?

[Claude Guay, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, we have announced amazing programs to help the forest industry. We have $700 million to help them with liquidity, $500 million to help them with the transformation and $50 million to help workers in the industry.

We will not rest until we help all of our industries affected by tariffs.

Rail Transportation

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

Mr. Speaker, the people of the Gaspé have been abandoned by Via Rail, which refuses to reinstate the service it used to provide there, despite the $1.3 billion it receives in federal assistance for things like operating regional routes, and despite the $355 million that Quebec has spent on repairing the rail line as far as Port‑Daniel. Via Rail takes money from Ottawa to serve the regions, but it refuses to provide the service and fulfill its obligations to the people of the Gaspé.

Will the government call on Via Rail to reinstate service between Matapédia and Port-Daniel as soon as possible?

[Mike Kelloway, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport and Internal Trade]

Mr. Speaker, like the member, our government supports and believes in the importance of passenger rail service.

Via Rail is committed to returning to Gaspé as soon as the rehabilitation work on the rail infrastructure has been completed and service can resume safely all the way to Gaspé.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Via Rail receives $1.3 billion from Ottawa to provide regional connectivity, yet nothing has been spent on improving services in eastern Quebec.

In Rimouski, the train comes barely three times a week, at about 2 a.m. This is completely disconnected from the reality of a regional capital and especially the reality of residents who need to travel for medical treatment, school or to see family members.

Since this government is paying Via Rail to serve the regions, will it insist that Via Rail quit ignoring eastern Quebec?

[Mike Kelloway, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport and Internal Trade]

Mr. Speaker, again, rail is important to us. It is important to the people of Gaspé. It connects all of us to jobs, recreation and other things.

We are committed to rail rehabilitation. We will continue to be committed to rail rehabilitation. Why? It is because it is the right thing to do to build Canada strong.

Public Safety

[Gabriel Hardy, Conservative, Montmorency—Charlevoix, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Quebeckers have always been proud to live in safe communities. However, the most recent statistics show a significant rise in crime, particularly violent crime and home invasions.

Tourism is important in Montmorency—Charlevoix. Tourists tell us time and time again how safe they feel in my region. The rise in crime is a worrying trend. Prevention is important in health, but it is also important when it comes to crime. Allowing criminals back on the street time and time again puts public safety at risk.

Why does the government insist on downplaying violence?

[Patricia Lattanzio, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians deserve to feel safe in their communities. We agree on that. Our government will crack down on repeat violent offenders with new legislation to strengthen the bail system, sentencing and the efficiency of our courts.

We are working closely with the provinces and territories to reform bail and sentencing in order to give police and Crown prosecutors more substantive tools to keep violent offenders off our streets.

[Gabriel Hardy, Conservative, Montmorency—Charlevoix, QC]

Mr. Speaker, that was yet another answer about the future.

We all know the expression about crocodile tears. The Liberals caused the problem, and now they are saying that their hearts go out to the victims of that problem.

Canadian and Quebec families do not want empty words and superficial compassion. They want meaningful action against crime and strong, effective and ambitious measures that will truly ensure the safety of the public, as well as the safety of victims across Canada.

[Jacques Ramsay, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are good at playing with numbers. Here is a statistic: In the United States, there are three times as many homicides as in Canada, particularly involving guns. We should ask ourselves a question: Why are all the Conservatives' measures copied from American measures that we know do not work?

Canadians want Canadian methods for fighting crime. There is a good reason for this. It is because we are better than others.

Our government is working to improve this. I hope that the Conservatives—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, John Nater]

The hon. member for Vaughan—Woodbridge.

Justice

[Michael Guglielmin, Conservative, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, weak Liberal bail laws like Bill C-75 require courts to release repeat violent offenders at the earliest possible opportunity and under the least onerous conditions. Just days ago, a man in York was violently injured during a home invasion, and one of the accused was already out on bail for crimes as serious as attempted murder.

The Prime Minister promised Liberals would flip-flop on bail, but that was just the same old Liberal trick; everyone knows it, the one where they promise one thing but do nothing. Liberal bail laws are still on the books six months after the Prime Minister took power.

Will the Prime Minister scrap Liberal bail, or get out of the way so we can do it for him?

[Patricia Lattanzio, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I think it is time for a quick criminal law lesson for the member opposite. As the Conservatives know, Canada follows the rules of common law, so the principle of restraint they keep citing was already law way before Bill C-75, as confirmed by the Supreme Court in the case of Antic in 2017.

In our laws, it is clear that an accused person may be denied bail when detention is necessary for the protection of the safety of the public. That is section 515, paragraph 10 of the Criminal Code. I do not have my code with me here today, but I will be happy to email the article to my colleague.

[Michael Guglielmin, Conservative, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we will take no lessons from the Liberals on bail reform, when because of their laws, in places like Vancouver, the same 40 criminals were arrested 6,000 times in one year. The Liberals claim they are consulting on bail reform, but Canadians are not waiting for meetings; they need action now. Since weak Liberal laws have been put on the books, violent crime is up 50%. Innocent people are dying. Bailey McCourt was murdered just hours after her abuser was released on bail. How many more victims will it take?

Will the Prime Minister do the right thing, scrap Liberal bail and stop obstructing, or will he get out of the way so we can do it for him?

[Patricia Lattanzio, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I have risen already on the issue before, and the members opposite say to let them do the work. Should we let them do the work? The Conservatives adopted six crime bills during their time in government, and every single one of them was struck down by the Supreme Court, including the most recent one in 2023 in the Hills decision. The member opposite should do his homework and get informed.

Let me assure the House that on this side of the House, we are working on serious bail reform in collaboration with the provinces, the territories and law enforcement. It will be fully constitutional on repeat violent offenders. This is the kind of leadership—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, John Nater]

The hon. member for Richmond Centre—Marpole has the floor.