Debates of Oct. 3rd, 2025

The Economy

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister said that he would be judged by the price of food at grocery stores as to whether or not he is successful. The data is in, and it does not look great. Due to the Liberals' hidden food taxes, Canadians are paying more than ever when they go to fill their fridge. The hidden carbon tax is applied to the production of food; the hidden plastic tax is applied to packaging, and the hidden tax known as inflation is applied to everything because of the government's out-of-control spending. All of these things add up, and Canadians are stuck with the bill.

Yesterday the Liberals blocked our Conservative motion to make food more affordable by scrapping these taxes. Why are the Liberals so hell-bent on making things tough for Canadians?

[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, let me be clear from the top: There is no tax on food.

Conservatives have obviously forgotten how fixed-income household budgets work. When families save money on their taxes, on gas at the pump, on child care, on school lunches and on dental checkups, they have more money to spend on groceries. All of these savings are Liberal Party and government initiatives, and all of them have been unanimously opposed by the Conservatives.

Why is it that every time Conservatives have a chance to stand up for Canadians, they get weak in the knees?

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I would invite the member to give that same passionate speech and those condescending talking points to the four million Canadians lined up at food banks in order to be able to feed their families. It is despicable and he should be ashamed.

Since the Prime Minister came to power, food prices have only gone up. Food prices are rising twice as fast as they did under former prime minister Justin Trudeau. Food insecurity is up by 128%, and one in four Canadians cannot even provide the very basic necessities of life for themselves. Meanwhile, the member opposite rolls his eyes and shakes his head as if I am saying something that does not matter to him.

Why does the government not—

[The Deputy Speaker, Tom Kmiec]

The hon. Secretary of State for Sport.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Secretary of State (Sport)]

Mr. Speaker, caring for Canadians means that we are putting forward actual measures that are going to support affordability, and we are also going to be honest with Canadians. We are not going to make up taxes like this made-up, “make plastic bags free again” motion the Conservatives put forward last week in order to pretend to care about food prices.

When the Conservatives read the Food Banks report, it would be really good if they read some of the recommendations. What the Food Banks report says is that we should strengthen our social safety net, build more affordable housing and support programs such as dental care, child care and the programs that are supporting lower- and middle-income families at the grocery store.

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon South, SK]

Mr. Speaker, every single dollar that the Prime Minister spends comes out of the pockets of Canadians in the form of higher Liberal taxes and inflation. The Prime Minister said he would be judged by prices Canadians pay at the grocery store. A visit to the supermarket confirms that sugar is up 19%, strawberries are up 18% and even salad dressing is up 13%.

This week, the Liberals voted against our motion to stop taxing food and remove their hidden food taxes. Why?

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

Mr. Speaker, let us be clear right off the top that there are no hidden taxes on food and that this is a phantom that is created by the Conservatives.

Do members know what is true? What is true is the fact that the Conservatives have voted against the very things that are supporting families in my riding, whom I hear from all the time. There are families who talk about making sure their kids are getting a good lunch in school. They talk about the dignity of Canadians' having access to dental care, which is up to five million Canadians now. They talk about our tax-free Canada child benefit, which is helping put groceries on the table. They talk about affordable child care, which is saving families more than $10,000 a year. That is our plan to help families.

[Dave Epp, Conservative, Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, with Thanksgiving just around the corner, let us reflect on some of the costs of the staples of the season: Apples are up 13%, sweet potatoes are up 8%, and chicken is up 10%. These increases are a direct result of the government's hidden food taxes: the industrial carbon tax, fuel standards regulations, the plastics ban and, especially, inflationary deficits.

Given these costs, what exactly are Canadians supposed to be thankful for this year as they struggle to put a turkey on their table and the necessities in their refrigerator?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Minister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, as all Canadians and the good people of Chatham-Kent—Leamington know, there is no tax on food.

Public Safety

[Greg Fergus, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Mr. Speaker, every October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month in Canada. This initiative aims to educate us all about the importance of good cybersecurity practices.

Can the parliamentary secretary tell us about the steps our government has taken to strengthen the cybersecurity of individuals and businesses in the face of increasingly sophisticated threats?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. Bill C‑8, an act respecting cyber security, is being debated today in the House. This legislation aims to secure Canada's critical infrastructure by bringing the Canadian telecommunications sector in line with other critical sectors of the Canadian economy.

This bill will allow us to notify operators of threats and vulnerabilities so they can protect their systems and more importantly so they can avoid falling prey to nefarious actions. In recognition of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, I hope that our colleagues across the aisle will support Bill C‑8.

The Economy

[Warren Steinley, Conservative, Regina—Lewvan, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister said he would be judged by the prices at the grocery store, but I find it interesting that the Liberals do not think there are any hidden taxes. There is the industrial carbon tax, the food packaging tax, the second carbon tax and their inflationary deficits, which make prices at the grocery store higher and higher.

Why will the Liberals not scrap their hidden carbon taxes so that Canadians can afford to put food on the table?

[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, Canadians know there is no tax on food, but all the food security experts in the country have been saying for generations that the answer to food insecurity is income security. That means jobs, but when the government announced the first round of major nation-building projects in the country, worth tens of thousands of well-paying jobs, the Conservative leader called those jobs “pathetic”. He called major nation-building projects worth tens of thousands of jobs for Canadians “pathetic”.

Members do not want to know what I think is pathetic.

[Warren Steinley, Conservative, Regina—Lewvan, SK]

Mr. Speaker, what an idiotic response. A thousand people just lost jobs—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Deputy Speaker, Tom Kmiec]

The member has to watch his words carefully in the House. I am just going to ask the member to retract the words, and he can restart his question.

[Warren Steinley, Conservative, Regina—Lewvan, SK]

Mr. Speaker, what a tone-deaf response that is. A thousand people lost jobs in Calgary. Under their failed Liberal policies, 86,000 people have lost their jobs. In Saskatchewan, 35% of people are food insecure, so he can go and tell them that he is going to take their jobs with the Liberals' energy policies.

My question is this: Will they scrap the hidden carbon tax and maybe have a heart for people who do not have jobs, so Canadians can put food on the table?

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

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite talks about having a heart. Let me tell members about having a heart for kids and our national school food program. That program is going to help half a million kids across the country. It is going to save parents up to $800 a year. The Conservatives voted against it.

If the member opposite wants to talk turkey and wants to talk about how supply chain costs are coming down, let us talk about how gasoline prices are down right now because we eliminated the carbon tax. Even the Bank of Canada does not think inflation is our core problem right now; it cut interest rates.

We are there for families; we are creating jobs. That is our plan—

[The Deputy Speaker, Tom Kmiec]

The hon. member for Richmond—Arthabaska.

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

Mr. Speaker, is the Prime Minister aware that every dollar he spends comes out of Canadians' pockets? Is he aware that Canadians are on a budget but that they still cannot make ends meet?

Is the Prime Minister aware that, since he took office, food prices have been rising steadily? Is he aware that over two million Canadians are using food banks every month?

Is the Prime Minister aware that, since the new government took office, food insecurity has increased by 128%? Is he aware—

[The Deputy Speaker, Tom Kmiec]

The hon. Minister of Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement.

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Minister of Government Transformation]

Mr. Speaker, I understand that my colleague is rather new in the Conservative Party but he has quickly learned the tricks, that is, repeating the same talking points using the same words as his colleagues. I give him credit for that.

In terms of his question, I have something to tell him. For the past 10 years, the party he is a member of voted against all measures to support Canadians, whether it be the Canada child benefit, the guaranteed income supplement or the school food program for children in schools. They voted against all of these measures to support Canadians.

On this side of the House, we know that we need to grow the economy and offer quality public services. That is exactly what we are doing.

Veterans Affairs

[Ron McKinnon, Liberal, Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, as we prepare to mark Veterans' Week and Remembrance Day, young Canadians are learning about the invaluable contributions our Canadian Armed Forces have made around the world and here at home. How is the Minister of Veterans Affairs increasing youth engagement this year to help the next generation understand what it means to serve?

[Jill McKnight, Liberal, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, last week, I unveiled the 2025 Veterans' Week poster at Pinewood Elementary in Delta, B.C., joined by members of the 4th Canadian Ranger Patrol Group and the 39 Canadian Brigade Group. This year's theme, “Canadian Armed Forces in the Americas”, recognizes the CAF's military supports across continents, from national security to disaster relief to humanitarian aid.

By helping young people understand more about who serves and why, we inspire the next generation of service and remembrance.

Agriculture and Agri-food

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last week, I asked why there is still a 35% tariff on Russian fertilizer when it is clear that it is causing neither a net decline in Russian exports nor a fall in the price paid worldwide for Russian product. In Canada, no meaningful displacement of Russian imports with domestic production has taken place, so the result is that eastern Canadian farmers pay more for imports from third countries, creating a shortage in their markets, which is then filled by a full-priced product from Russia.

No other G7 country imposes this burden on its farmers. Why does the Liberal government continue to do so?