Debates of Oct. 21st, 2025

Finance

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

Mr. Speaker, again, let us look at facts. Our economy is not shrinking; our economy grew. It added jobs. Interest rates are down, and inflation is within targeted rates.

On November 4, we are going to table a budget. We are going to spend less. We are going invest more in capital projects. We are going to invest in nation-buiding projects, infrastructure and housing. We are going to build the strongest economy in the G7.

We are not going to take any lessons from someone who has never worked in the economy.

[Ned Kuruc, Conservative, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

Mr. Speaker, over the past weekend at Halloween events in Stoney Creek, the crippling cost of living was the hot topic at my booth. New inflation data confirms that all three core inflationary measures are above target. Grocery inflation is up 4%, and rent inflation is up nearly 5% in the last year.

Liberal deficits are driving inflation. The more Liberals spend, the more it costs Canadians at the grocery store.

Will the Liberals get their inflationary deficits under control to make life more affordable for Canadians?

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

Mr. Speaker, I do not know where the party opposite has been, but we know where the Leader of the Opposition has been. He spent the last week peddling dangerous far-right conspiracy theories about law enforcement in our country. He should apologize.

While the Leader of the Opposition has been attacking the rule of law, Canada's new government spent the last week announcing a new suite of affordability measures, measures to strengthen the rule of law, crack down on crime and keep Canadians safe. This will be included in our first budget.

I urge Conservative MPs to speak up, stand up and call on the leader opposite to apologize.

[Matt Strauss, Conservative, Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON]

Mr. Speaker, what Canadians care about is the cost of living, and the more the Liberals deficit spend, the more it costs Canadians at the grocery store. New inflation data today confirms this. All three core inflation measures are above target. Rent is up 5% over the year, and groceries are up 4% over the year.

After 10 years of the Liberals' deficits, the cost of living in this country cannot take any more, so will the Liberals stay on focus and get their inflationary deficits under control to make life more affordable for Canadians?

[Rechie Valdez, Liberal, Minister of Women and Gender Equality and Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism)]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians trust that our government has their back. Why is this? It is because we are making life more affordable and have cut taxes for 22 million Canadians. This is allowing Canadians to put more money back into their pockets.

Speaking of food, there is good news: Our government is making the school food program permanent. This is going to put $800 back into Canadians' pockets and actually feed healthy meals at school. In addition, 5.5 million low-income Canadians will automatically receive federal benefits through CRA tax filings.

These are real, tangible benefits for Canadians.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Côte-du-Sud—Rivière-du-Loup—Kataskomiq—Témiscouata, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last week in Montmagny, Rivière‑du‑Loup and Témiscouata‑sur‑le‑Lac, I met families who are struggling to make ends meet. This should not be the case in a country like ours.

However, Quebec is seeing inflation rise to 3.3% because of this inflationary Liberal government. As a result, gas prices are out of control, rents have gone up 10% in the past year, and the cost of groceries has skyrocketed. Prices are soaring everywhere, and families are unable to pay their bills.

Will the Liberals finally get their inflationary deficit under control and make life more affordable for Canadians and Quebeckers?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Minister of Government Transformation]

Mr. Speaker, the short answer is yes.

However, the question is coming from a member who has voted against every single support we have put forward in recent years. He has little credibility.

Speaking of credibility, we know that there are still reasonable Conservatives in this country who find the Leader of the Opposition's vicious attacks on the rule of law and the RCMP unacceptable. We know this because we read about it in the newspapers. For example, we read what their former colleague Alain Rayes had to say. We hear what they are saying on the radio and on television, and we read what they are saying on social media.

Here, when it comes time to speak out against the unacceptable Leader of the Opposition, the response has been crickets. Silence means consent. Will anyone stand up and call out what is unacceptable?

International Trade

[Helena Jaczek, Liberal, Markham—Stouffville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be part of a new government that has championed trade diversification since day one. We have broken down internal trade barriers within Canada, and we have signed new trade agreements with Ecuador and Indonesia. We are moving at a pace and an intensity that Canadians expect of us.

Can the Minister of International Trade update the House on our government's latest action to expand and grow our trade relationship with the United Kingdom and on what it means for Canadians?

[Maninder Sidhu, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, there is good news: Today we tabled legislation to expand the CPTPP trading bloc to welcome our partners from the United Kingdom, which is a major step forward for Canadian trade. Why the U.K.? The U.K. is Canada's third-largest trading partner. Last year alone, it represented $28 billion of Canadian exports. That is billions of dollars of Canadian products produced by Canadian workers in communities across Canada. This is yet another step forward in our trade diversification efforts.

Automotive Industry

[Arpan Khanna, Conservative, Oxford, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after the Prime Minister failed to negotiate a win with Trump, Canada's auto industry was hit yet again with devastating news this morning. Over 1,200 highly skilled auto workers at the CAMI Ingersoll plant are being laid off by GM indefinitely. This adds to the 2,200 job losses in Oshawa and the 3,000 announced in Brampton.

The Liberals have sold out our auto workers. Will the Prime Minister finally admit that he has lost control of the wheel and is driving our auto sector off the cliff?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions]

Mr. Speaker, I know my colleague comes from the region, and I look forward to working with him in finding solutions.

Obviously, we will fight for these jobs. Not only will we do that, but also, this morning, we were already on the phone with the company to be in solution mode. We were with the GM CEO, Unifor labour, Doug Ford and Vic Fedeli. Our goal is to bring back a new model to Ingersoll, and we are on it.

[Arpan Khanna, Conservative, Oxford, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have been talking to auto workers who are losing their jobs now because of the Liberals' failed policies. An auto worker in Ingersoll called me this morning and said that he does not know how he will pay for his mortgage, and he does not know how he will feed his family. There is a real sense of anxiety in our community. The Liberals blew billions on EVs, and now Canadian workers and their families are the ones who are paying the price.

Will the Liberals finally hit the brakes and stop selling out Canadian workers?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague is right in saying that there is real anxiety there. I agree, because I have been in contact with workers, and I feel it as well.

Our goal is to make sure that we are able to bring back jobs to Ingersoll, to work with the company, to work with the Government of Ontario and to work with the labour unions. Meanwhile, we will make sure that we continue to engage with the United States, because at the end of the day, we know that this is because of the unjustified tariffs of the president against the auto sector.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, this news out of GM today is another devastating blow for auto workers. It comes less than a week after Stellantis announced 3,000 layoffs as it moved production from Canada into the U.S.

The Prime Minister looked Canadians in the eye and promised that, in exchange for their votes, he would prevent auto sector job losses from happening. Well, they are happening.

If the government included a Canada-wide job protection plan in its $15-billion deal to Stellantis, it could simply invoke that clause. The minister who signed the contract should be able to answer this question: Did the Liberals include a job protection clause in the contract with Stellantis?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions]

Mr. Speaker, I know that the Conservatives have been wanting to see the contracts that are linked to the Stellantis plant, and we have said yes. The opposition on the committee will have access to the contracts, and they will discover that indeed we negotiated well and indeed Stellantis is on the hook.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, it has been a week, and all we have gotten from this minister is political theatre. She is bragging about who she gets on the phone. She is bragging about the tough talks she is having. Here is the thing: If the Liberals actually included a job protection clause in the contract, all they have to do is invoke it.

I am starting to get a terrible feeling. I am starting to worry that they signed a $15-billion deal with Stellantis and did not include a guarantee to protect those Canadian jobs.

Can the minister tell Canadians very clearly and explicitly if they included a job protection plan for all jobs at Stellantis when they forked over $15 billion?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions]

Mr. Speaker, I know that my colleague is trying to spook Canadians, but I would like to remind him that the support that was given to the company was linked to the production of batteries. Therefore, no money is spent—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Start from the top, please.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I know that my colleague is trying to spook Canadians right now, but what is really important to remember is that any support from the government was linked to the production of batteries. In that sense, our support would be linked to the moment production started happening. The production has not necessarily happened yet.

That being said, we will make sure that we hold Stellantis to account, because, obviously, jobs are important at the Brampton facility, and we will continue to fight for these jobs.

[Dalwinder Gill, Conservative, Calgary McKnight, AB]

Mr. Speaker, during the last election, the Prime Minister promised Canadians that he would get a deal with the United States, but since he was elected, tens of thousands of Canadians have lost their jobs and $54 billion in investment has fled the country. Last week, Stellantis announced its plans to move its Brampton plant to Illinois after the finance minister signed a deal giving them 10 billion taxpayer dollars.

Canadian auto workers want to know what job guarantees were in these contracts.

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade]

Mr. Speaker, our colleague has heard very well that the government will make these contracts available to the opposition. He can assert a series of fabricated conspiracy theories, but it does not make them true.

What is true is that our government is supporting a proud tradition of building vehicles and cars in Canada. There is over 100 years of Canadian workers building these cars. We are going to defend those workers, support those businesses and fight to ensure we get a deal with the United States that is good for Canadian businesses and Canadian workers.

Canada Revenue Agency

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent—Akiawenhrahk, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General has confirmed what Canadians have known for quite some time: The Liberal Canada Revenue Agency is completely off the rails. In June, only 5% of calls were answered within the standard time frame. Worse still, when callers did get through, the information they received was inaccurate four times out of five.

My question is for the revenue minister, who is an honourable man. Is he aware that this situation directly affects the most vulnerable among us, such as low-income earners, seniors, and those who cannot afford to hire an accountant?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Finance and National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, I have enormous respect for my colleague, and he knows it. I am sure he will be pleased to know that we have already taken action. We did not wait for the Auditor General's report. Several weeks ago, I asked for a 100-day service improvement plan because we want to provide good services to Canadians.

In addition—and I am sure he will spread this news in his riding—we even introduced a way to obtain benefits automatically, or, rather, will do so in the 2025 budget. This will be a huge help for the people who need it most, and it will help make life in Canada more affordable. I can see he is very happy—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. member for Louis‑Saint‑Laurent—Akiawenhrahk.