House of Commons Hansard #54 of the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was billion.
This summary is computer-generated. Usually it’s accurate, but every now and then it’ll contain inaccuracies or total fabrications.
Food and Drugs Act Second reading of Bill C-224. The bill aims to restore the traditional definition of natural health products, reversing Bill C-47 changes that regulated them like therapeutic drugs. Conservatives argue this increased costs, as Health Canada already had sufficient powers for safety. Liberals express concern C-224 would make it harder to trust NHP safety, advocating more oversight. The Bloc highlights Health Canada's failure to enforce existing regulations before C-47's changes. 8200 words, 1 hour.
Budget Documents Distributed to Members Members debate a question of privilege regarding alleged incomplete budget documents distributed during the lock-up and in the House, with the Liberal MP stating the official tabled budget was complete and lock-up documents are a courtesy. 600 words.
Financial Statement of Minister of Finance Members debate the government's Budget 2025, with Liberals framing it as a "generational budget" investing in housing, infrastructure, and public safety. Conservatives criticize the "staggering $78-billion deficit" and rising national debt, arguing it fails to address affordability and relies on "creative accounting." The Bloc Québécois expresses disappointment over health care transfers and support for industries. Concerns are raised about the budget's impact on future generations and economic growth. 39100 words, 4 hours in 2 segments: 1 2.
Criminal Code First reading of Bill C-257. The bill amends the Criminal Code to create a new offence for the wilful promotion of terrorism or terrorist groups, aiming to close a legal gap while protecting Charter rights with specific defences. 200 words.
Parliamentary Budget Officer Conservative MP Kelly McCauley raises a question of privilege, stating the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) has been denied access to information on budget measures, including the "comprehensive expenditure review." He argues this obstructs Parliament's ability to hold the government accountable and constitutes contempt, asking the Speaker to find a prima facie case. 2900 words, 20 minutes.
Mark Carney LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, budget 2025 is a budget of generational investments. It is a budget that is going to grow our economy. According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, the current fiscal policy is considered sustainable over the long term.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, this is multi-generational debt.
Canadians deserve affordable groceries. In fact, the Prime Minister promised that he would be judged by the price of groceries. Today, Statistics Canada released data showing that food inflation is almost double the Bank of Canada's target. It is increasing 40% faster here than in the United States, all because of Liberal taxes.
The Prime Minister is using a credit card with no limit to finance his deficit. Does he expect Canadians to pay for their groceries that way too?
Mark Carney LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, I have good news. We are creating jobs, and inflation is dropping. The inflation rate has been within the Bank of Canada's target range for almost two years in a row.
We are growing the economy, reducing inflation and building Canada's future.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's costly deficit gambles our future on the national credit card, and it drives up food, housing and tax bills. In fact, the Parliamentary Budget Officer has revealed, in his recent report, the Prime Minister has doubled Justin Trudeau's deficit and he has brought in the biggest deficit in Canadian history outside of the pandemic, which is $16 billion bigger than he promised only seven months ago.
Why is the Prime Minister breaking his word and forcing Canadians to pay higher inflation today and higher taxes tomorrow for his costly credit card budget?
Mark Carney LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, today is a good day. Inflation is down 2.2%. For almost two years, it has been running within the Bank of Canada's target. This is a good month. Unemployment is down again, and jobs are up again.
Today is a historic day. The Leader of the Opposition and his colleagues have an opportunity to vote for generational investment to build this economy strong.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, maybe it is a good day for the Prime Minister and his Brookfield buddies, who are dodging their tax bills, but it is a terrible day for the Canadian people, stuck paying record-high grocery bills.
In fact the Prime Minister said he would be judged by prices at the grocery store. Today, Statistics Canada revealed that grocery price inflation is almost double the Bank of Canada's target, rising 40% faster in Canada than in the United States of America, the direct result of the Liberal industrial carbon tax on farmers, of the food packaging tax and of the fuel standard tax.
The Prime Minister puts his budget on the national credit card. Does he expect Canadians to pay for their groceries the same way?
Mark Carney LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, the rate of inflation is down. Job creation is up. Ambition and confidence in this country are sky-high.
We believe in Canada. We are investing in Canada. Today is the opportunity for every member of the House to join us.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is not investing in Canada; he is dodging his taxes by putting his money outside Canada, while the Canadian people cannot afford to eat, to heat, or to house themselves.
Inflation is now nearly twice the target rate when it comes to the measurement of food, rising 40% faster in this country than south of the border. We have 100% more people lined up at food banks than in 2019, as the Prime Minister continues to raise taxes on farmers and on food packaging.
The Prime Minister thinks he can put his budget on a limitless credit card. Does he really expect that Canadians are going to buy groceries the same way?
Mark Carney LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, again this month, just as it was last month and just as it has been every month while I have been Prime Minister, Canadian wages have grown faster than the rate of inflation. Canadians are getting ahead. We are creating jobs despite the attack on this economy by the Americans and despite the obstruction by the opposition.
This is an opportunity to build our country. The vote is today. Stand up and be counted.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister was right by Surrey the other day, handing out tax dollars and doughnuts in a photo op, but he refused to take questions on the 330% increase in extortion that Liberals caused with soft-on-crime laws and open border policies. They have allowed extortionists out of prison by eliminating mandatory prison sentences, and they have allowed foreign gangsters to have visitor visas and kill our people in the streets.
Why is it that the Prime Minister had time, when he was near Surrey, to hand out doughnuts but not to stand up and protect Canadians against extortion?
Mark Carney LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, there is an opportunity to stand up and protect Canadians against extortion, against home invasion, against gun crime and against online harm to children. We are putting the legislation in front of the House. The opposition has a chance to support it. We will protect Canadians.
Yves-François Blanchet Bloc Beloeil—Chambly, QC
Mr. Speaker, at a time when the Prime Minister seems to be in a precarious position at best, he may be due for some soul-searching.
He was elected on a promise that he would quickly get rid of the tariffs imposed on Quebec and Canadian products, yet these tariffs have increased. Not only that, new tariffs have been added.
Will the Prime Minister admit that his strategy has failed?
Mark Carney LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, Canada has the best agreement with the United States, and over 85% of Quebec goods and services and Canadian goods and services are tariff-free.
Yves-François Blanchet Bloc Beloeil—Chambly, QC
Mr. Speaker, there are so few who people who believe that, it seems likely that the Prime Minister does not believe it either.
He was also supposed to restore free trade as soon as he got elected. If he had, he would not need to pretend that we have the best agreement in the world, when there is no agreement.
Will the Prime Minister admit that his trade negotiation strategy with the United States, whose president does not even return calls, is a failure?
Mark Carney LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, first of all, the President of the United States returns my calls because I have his phone number, unlike the others.
Today, there is an opportunity to invest in Quebec, in the Contrecœur project, in the second Saguenay wharf, in the Matawinie mine, in Hydro-Québec, in the future of Quebec and in the future of Canada, by supporting us.
Yves-François Blanchet Bloc Beloeil—Chambly, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is obsessed with cellphones. We made six non-negotiable demands of the government. Let us spare him yet another failure.
Is he prepared to make a formal commitment right now to put an end to the discrimination against seniors aged 65 to 75, increase health transfers by 6% per year and provide credit to young families to purchase their first home, all just to perhaps have a chance to save his own skin?
Mark Carney LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, by supporting this budget, members could protect transfers for seniors, which total $80 billion. The budget includes major investments in Quebec, including huge investments in the cultural sector and significant transfers for seniors. That is the choice that members will have to make in the House today for Canadians.
Melissa Lantsman Conservative Thornhill, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' spending is spiralling out of control, and they will do anything to keep Canadians from noticing. Parliament's budget watchdog has found that the Prime Minister is using fiscal tricks to hide how much money is being wasted here in Ottawa. He says there is less than a 10% chance that the Liberals will meet their own spending targets. They are the same targets the Liberals have blown through again and again. The warnings keep piling up, the waste keeps growing and the government's commitment to responsibility keeps shrinking.
The real question is, what are the odds that the watchdog gets fired next, just for telling Canadians the truth?
François-Philippe Champagne LiberalMinister of Finance and National Revenue
Mr. Speaker, it is only Monday and we already have good news: Inflation is down, employment is up and we have presented a generational investment budget to Canadians. We are going to invest in building this country. We are going to invest in protecting our sovereignty. We are going to empower Canadians. We are going to grow this economy at the second-fastest rate in the G7, because we believe in Canada.
Canadians are going to see whether the Conservatives believe in Canada, because today, we will have a vote. Let us hope we are going to walk together. Canada needs to grow—
Melissa Lantsman Conservative Thornhill, ON
Mr. Speaker, Canadians cannot afford groceries, they cannot afford rent and they cannot afford their mortgages, yet the Liberals want us to support the reason why. Most Canadians would say, “No, thanks.”
Going back to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, let us remember that this is the same watchdog who called Liberal spending “stupefying”, “shocking” and “unsustainable”. Now he says the government has abandoned any restraint at all. No wonder the Prime Minister wants him gone.
How many more watchdogs and how many more damning reports will it take for the government to stop maxing out the credit card with its reckless spending?
François-Philippe Champagne LiberalMinister of Finance and National Revenue
Mr. Speaker, I know it is a big budget. I am afraid they may have missed a chapter. Let me help them. Someone called Kevin Page, who served our nation, said:
We need to focus on economic growth. We need capital investment to boost innovation, improve our infrastructure and diversify trade. We live in dangerous times, and we must meet our NATO spending targets.
I believe Parliament should approve the budget plan....
These are the words of a former parliamentary budget officer.
We believe in Canada. Let us hope and let us see if the Conservatives will support Canadians.
Sandra Cobena Conservative Newmarket—Aurora, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Budget Officer rang the alarm on Friday. He told Canadians there is just a “7.5% chance” the Prime Minister will meet his own fiscal promise. The Liberals have twisted the definition so badly that he now recommends an independent expert body to police the numbers as he has uncovered a $94-billion reallocation in the budget. What is the Liberals' response? It is not a correction, but an effort to silence the watchdog and replace the referee, rather than play by the rules.
Will the Prime Minister tell Canadians why anyone should trust his fiscal rules when he has no intention of keeping them?
Patty Hajdu LiberalMinister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario
Mr. Speaker, I am the member of Parliament for a region that has many small communities. I can tell the House that those small communities all across northern Ontario are looking forward to the investments this budget would make in small and rural community infrastructure and projects like the Crawford mine, just outside of Timmins, which is going to create thousands of jobs. These northern Ontario Canadians know they have so much to offer, and they are imploring the members opposite to vote for them in this evening's vote.
Sandra Cobena Conservative Newmarket—Aurora, ON
Mr. Speaker, of course the Liberal government shrugs off its own experts when the truth is not convenient to it. One day after the budget dropped, Fitch Ratings rang another alarm, warning that the Liberals' reckless spending is eroding Canada's finances and putting pressure on our credit rating. Budget 2025 would blow the deficit up to $80 billion and push our general deficit far above the AA credit rating median. It also reminds us that the Liberals have a strong track record of breaking every fiscal anchor they set.
How many more fiscal watchdogs need to blow the whistle before the Prime Minister reins in his reckless spending?
