House of Commons Hansard #35 of the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was commissioner.
This summary is computer-generated. Usually it’s accurate, but every now and then it’ll contain inaccuracies or total fabrications.
Commissioner for Modern Treaty Implementation Act Second reading of Bill C-10. The bill establishes an independent Commissioner for Modern Treaty Implementation to ensure federal accountability for treaty obligations. Liberals argue it is a vital, co-developed step for reconciliation, trust, and economic prosperity, urging quick passage. Conservatives oppose it as unnecessary bureaucracy, stating it duplicates the Auditor General's work, lacks enforcement power, and highlights the government's failure to sign new treaties. The Bloc supports the principle but seeks stronger enforcement powers. The Green Party urges swift, non-partisan passage, emphasizing Indigenous partners' long-standing advocacy. 56100 words, 7 hours in 2 segments: 1 2.
Steven MacKinnon LiberalMinister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and many of his colleagues are at the White House today to advance the interests of Canadians. I know that the entire country wants our Prime Minister to keep moving forward on this file, to protect jobs, to build Canada strong and to create opportunities.
I hope the Leader of the Opposition supports him on that.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised a victory, but there is no victory. He promised a deal, but there is no deal. Now he is promising to push $1 trillion in investment out of Canada and into the United States, with nothing in return. When we talk about $1 trillion in investment, we are talking about mines closing in Quebec and reopening in Pennsylvania; we are talking about paper mills closing in British Columbia and reopening in Washington state; we are talking about factories in Ontario closing and reopening in Michigan.
Why did the Prime Minister sell out Canadian workers during his visit to Washington?
Steven MacKinnon LiberalMinister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, that is absurd.
The Prime Minister was there to promote Canadian interests, including commercial interests. Canadians are also proud to be major investors who reap profits abroad in order to bring them back to Canada and pay for Canadian pensions.
I do not know what the Leader of the Opposition is talking about, but it seems that he does not want the Prime Minister to be successful today, which is shameful.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised Canadians he would negotiate a victory. He promised to have a deal by July 21, 2025. There is still no deal and still no victory, and American tariffs have actually doubled.
Today, the Prime Minister made his biggest concession of all. He promised to push $1 trillion of investment out of Canada into the United States of America, which will drive down Canadian wages and Canadian jobs.
Why is it that when the Prime Minister goes for lunch at the White House, it is Canadian workers on the menu?
Steven MacKinnon LiberalMinister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and his colleagues are at the White House today advancing Canada's interests: advancing Canada's trade interests and advancing our interests in foreign policy generally. I know the hopes of all Canadians accompany our Prime Minister to those meetings, where he very clearly defends the rights of Canadian workers and the Canadian economy. I sure hope the Leader of the Opposition is among those Canadians.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister casually said, “Half a trillion dollars in the last five years alone” of Canadian investment has left for the U.S. Then he said, “probably one trillion in the next five years if we get the agreement that we expect to get.” In other words, he made a massive trillion-dollar concession before the deal was even signed and without getting anything in return. This $1 trillion of exit investment means closing mines and factories in Canada and opening them in the U.S.
Why did the Prime Minister sell out our workers on his visit to Washington?
Steven MacKinnon LiberalMinister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, we do not need Donald Trump's permission to open mines, roads and infrastructure in Canada. That is exactly what we are going to be doing, building Canada with Canadian labour, Canadian steel, Canadian aluminum and Canadian lumber.
If the member is referring to the Maple 8, the pension funds that Canadians are so proud of and invest in, which invest all over the world and take their profits back to Canada to pay Canadian pensions, I say to bring that on too.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, the government has already admitted that we have a problem with Canadian pension money leaving Canada to create jobs in other countries. It even created a Brookfield-run program to bring it back.
However, today the Prime Minister promised the President that Canadian government policies would drive a trillion dollars out of our economy and into the American economy over the next five years. That is twice as bad as what happened over the last half decade. That means lost jobs and lower wages for Canadians who already cannot pay their bills.
Again, why did the Prime Minister sell out Canadian workers in his visit to Washington?
Steven MacKinnon LiberalMinister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, do members know how Canadians feel when they see the Prime Minister and ministers in the Oval Office defending Canada? They feel pride. They feel pride that the Prime Minister is standing up for our country, standing up for our workers, standing up for our steel industry.
These crazy hare-brained schemes that the Leader of the Opposition comes up with just to get in the news cycle are, quite frankly, a little embarrassing.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, all the hyperventilating in the world will not change the fact that the Prime Minister casually bragged in the Oval Office today that a half-trillion Canadian investment dollars had left for the States in the last five years and then promised that a trillion more will leave in the next five years.
That will mean mines closing in Quebec and opening in Pennsylvania. It will mean mills closing in B.C. and opening in Washington state, and factories closing in Ontario and going to Michigan.
Why is it that the Prime Minister sells out Canadian workers, Canadian jobs and Canadian investments when in the White House?
Steven MacKinnon LiberalMinister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, we have said all along that Canada will look after its own people with our own projects, our own labour and our own material. We will be opening mines. We will be opening ports. We will be opening railways. We will be opening our Arctic. We are going to continue to build this country and get a fair, good trade deal for Canada.
It will be thanks to the Prime Minister.
Christine Normandin Bloc Saint-Jean, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's meeting with Donald Trump was supposed to be about tariffs, but the goal was to eliminate them, not add more. To date, the Prime Minister has not had any wins in Washington, but he has suffered two defeats in the past seven days: new tariffs on our softwood lumber and, since yesterday, tariffs on trucks, which threaten Paccar in Sainte‑Thérèse. That is zero wins and two more defeats for the Quebec economy. Members will recall that, during the election, the Prime Minister boasted about his negotiating superpowers.
Where are those superpowers now?
Steven MacKinnon LiberalMinister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, what Canadians saw today is a Prime Minister who stands up for our industries, for our forestry industry, our steel and aluminum industry, and yes, our manufacturing industry, including heavy trucks.
Our Prime Minister is working to reach very complicated trade agreements and move forward with them. We already have the best trade regime in the entire world. The Prime Minister is trying to move things forward. I hope that this member and all of Parliament wish him to succeed.
Christine Normandin Bloc Saint-Jean, QC
Mr. Speaker, I can hardly imagine that we are any further ahead today on tariffs. The Prime Minister's press conference with Donald Trump focused less on the economy and more on the president's whims, such as sending the National Guard to Chicago. Meanwhile, here at home, tariffs are going up, not down. Workers in industries like lumber and truck manufacturing are worried about their future. Today was a test for the Prime Minister.
Do the Liberals really think the Prime Minister passed that test?
Steven MacKinnon LiberalMinister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, we understand the anxiety these workers are experiencing, and that is why we have announced major action to defend our workers in the key sectors the member mentioned.
I should add that the Bloc Québécois seems to take pleasure in these things, whereas we are dealing with a trade regime the United States is forcing on the entire world. We have already achieved the best possible trade regime in the world. We hope to improve it, once again in the interest of our strategic sectors and our workers.
Yves Perron Bloc Berthier—Maskinongé, QC
Mr. Speaker, all the parties voted to protect supply management in future trade agreements, but the Liberals seem to want to go back on their word.
The media has reported that they are discussing new concessions with Washington on the allocation of American milk import quotas. This is all the more worrying given that Donald Trump has just stated that an agreement with Canada would include dairy products.
Protecting supply management means protecting it in its entirety. It does not mean maintaining the system, but weakening it by giving the Americans a piece of the pie.
Will the government keep its word and refuse to make any concessions?
Steven MacKinnon LiberalMinister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, I will say it once again. We voted for a law that prevents the government from negotiating on supply management. Supply management is not on the table, and spreading fear will not change that.
Supply management is not on the table.
Melissa Lantsman Conservative Thornhill, ON
Mr. Speaker, this is the news coming out of the White House today for many Canadians.
Canadians put their faith in the Prime Minister because they believed that he would fight for them, for their jobs, for their paycheques and for their families. However, these were false promises.
Months after he promised a deal, we still have no deal. Instead, we have the fastest-shrinking G7 economy, we have 86,000 more people out of work, and now a trillion dollars is flowing out of Canada, with tariffs that are higher, not lower.
Does the Prime Minister realize that his broken promises have real consequences for Canadians?
Karim Bardeesy LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, that is exactly why we are working to protect jobs, to create jobs, and to keep and attract the best talent here in Canada.
We have a number of responses. We have the strategic response fund that is working across sectors. We are building major projects with Canadian steel and Canadian lumber. Our Build Canada Homes project is bringing tens of thousands of homes across Canada, using Canadian products, Canadian workers, Canadian union labour. We will always be there for our workers and our—
Melissa Lantsman Conservative Thornhill, ON
Mr. Speaker, none of that is working, because 86,000 Canadians are out of a job today.
The Liberals must know that this is not about politics; it is about people, people who believed the Prime Minister when he said he would stand up for them. He danced around with his elbows in the sky, and he promised every Canadian that he would fight. This is about workers who have seen their shifts cut, their costs rise and their hope fade, all because there is a trillion dollars southbound instead of being invested here in Canada.
All they wanted was for the Prime Minister to keep his word. Why will he not do it?
Carlos Leitão LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind everyone that this trade war was started by the United States. It was the United States that started it.
How are we responding? We are helping our businesses. Two weeks ago, I was at Hitachi in Varennes: 500 jobs. Before that, I was in Sorel: 300 jobs. We are hard at work.
Jasraj Singh Hallan Conservative Calgary East, AB
Mr. Speaker, today is the big day. The Prime Minister is in Washington begging with his elbows down, chasing a trillion dollars of Canadian investment jobs to the U.S.
He promised to sign a deal by July 21. It is October. Instead he caved to the president's demands on countertariffs and digital services taxes. Now Canadian workers, businesses, manufacturers and farmers all got hit with double U.S. tariffs, and the Prime Minister probably got stuck with the lunch bill too.
Will the Prime Minister stop begging and negotiate an actual win for Canada against U.S. tariffs?
Patty Hajdu LiberalMinister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario
Mr. Speaker, Canadians were under no illusion that this was going to be easy, but they chose a Prime Minister who—
