Debates of Nov. 21st, 2025

Questions Passed as Orders for Return

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, if the government's responses to Questions Nos. 409, 410, 411, 412, 413, 414, 415, 416, 417, 418, 419, 420, 421 and 422 could be made orders for return, these returns would be tabled in an electronic format immediately.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, John Nater]

Is it agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, John Nater]

[For text of questions and responses, see Written Questions website]

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I would ask that all remaining questions be allowed to stand.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, John Nater]

Is it agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

The House resumed consideration of the motion that Bill C-15, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on November 4, 2025, be read the second time and referred to a committee, and of the amendment.

Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 1

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the fine work that my colleague and friend does.

I want him to provide his thoughts on the Prime Minister talking about building Canada strong and making Canada the strongest of the G7 countries. What does that mean for him and his constituency?

[Brendan Hanley, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Northern and Arctic Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, this is an important question. There are so many examples of how important the investments in the budget are for the Yukon.

Let me point out just one example. It is the $1-billion Arctic infrastructure fund. It is about building and expanding transportation assets in the Arctic. It is about airstrips. It is about deepwater ports, all-season roads and sealift infrastructure that would support both civilian and defence purposes.

This is all about investing in infrastructure and investing in productivity. I cannot tell members how pleased people are in my riding and the entire Yukon to see this commitment to innovation, productivity, infrastructure and, going forward, building Canada and the north strong.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have a great deal of respect for my colleague.

We know that friendship centres are lifelines for indigenous people in urban communities, providing food, housing, safety, culture and belonging. The pressure on them is beyond the breaking point. Their core funding runs out in March, and this budget does not talk about sunset programs like funding for friendship centres.

Will my colleague do everything possible for the federal government to get to the table and renew funding for friendship centres because of the critical role they play for indigenous peoples?

[Brendan Hanley, Liberal, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Courtenay—Alberni, who is a dear colleague of mine and a good friend. We have worked together on many issues we have in common.

I take note of the issue he raised. I know that friendship centres are also incredibly important in my riding. I will certainly commit to finding out more about this funding and how we can go forward to resolve this problem, ensuring that services and resources for the needs of the indigenous people in my riding are honoured.

[Jacob Mantle, Conservative, York—Durham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister had a clever slogan during the election: spend less, invest more. I know the Liberals are fond of slogans, and it was a good one, even in my opinion. Spending less sounds good and investing more sounds good. I want to believe the Prime Minister when he says that.

I think a lot of Canadians wanted to believe the Prime Minister when he said that. In fact, I think a lot of Canadians believed that promise, along with his promise to negotiate a win with the U.S., which we are still waiting for. That is probably why many Canadians voted for this Prime Minister. Let us give the Prime Minister the benefit of the doubt for a minute, believe him and assess his promise to spend less and invest more.

Is the Prime Minister spending less on operating expenses? No. The Parliamentary Budget Officer says, in fact, that the average deficit over the next five years will be double what was projected last year in the fall economic statement. The Parliamentary Budget Officer says, “This deterioration primarily reflects new ‘day-to-day’ operating measures and increased provisions for liabilities.” That does not sound like spending less.

The PBO goes on to say:

Absent measures since the [fall economic statement] and measures announced in Budget 2025, the day-to-day operating balance would be in a surplus position over 2026-27 to 2029-30. New operating measures since the 2024 FES and in Budget 2025 shift the day-to-day operating balance from a surplus to a deficit position....

“From a surplus to a deficit” does not sound like spending less either. In fact, it is the exact opposite. The PBO says we are spending more. Perhaps that is why the government is so mad at the PBO and is looking to fire him: He is telling the truth to Canadians. Well, thank God the PBO is here to tell the truth to the Canadian people, because we sure are not getting it from the government.

Let me ask the same question about the second promise, the promise to invest more. Is the Prime Minister investing more? No. Instead, the Prime Minister has dressed up normal operating spending and now calls it investment. Again, we have the PBO to thank for shining a light on the Prime Minister's attempt to cook the books. The PBO says, “the Government’s definition of capital investments is overly expansive.” The PBO goes on to say that 30% of what the Prime Minister says is investment is actually just day-to-day spending. That does not sound like investing more. In fact, it sounds like spending more.

Again, I wonder if that is why the government is so intent on driving the PBO out of office. The Liberals do not like the rules and do not want to play by them, so instead they will get rid of the referee.

We have heard similar promises before. For 10 years, we have had Liberals in power promising us that deficit spending would make us richer. If I had a nickel for every time I heard the word “investment”, I would not be a politician.

We were told that even though the government was going to spend more, it was going to exercise financial restraint at the same time. In fact, in the last federal budget, some 18 months ago because they needed extra time, the Liberals set out three key fiscal anchors: the first was to cap federal deficits at about $40 billion, the second was to maintain a declining debt-to-GDP ratio and the third was to shrink deficits to below 1% each year.

Unfortunately, budget 2025 breaks every single one of these goalposts. These goalposts were not selected out of thin air. In fact, it was the Liberal government that put them in place. In the 2024 budget, the Liberals said that reducing the federal debt-to-GDP ratio was “key not only for fiscal sustainability, but also to preserve Canada's AAA credit rating, which helps maintain investors’ confidence and keeps Canada's borrowing costs as low as possible.”

The same government that said last year that these goals were so important to our AAA rating now wants us to believe that they are not important and that we should therefore adopt some new fiscal anchors. I think Canadians can be forgiven for questioning why that is.

The deficit has ballooned to over $78 billion. Rather than lowering the debt-to-GDP ratio, budget 2025 will actually see it rise in this fiscal year and in the next several fiscal years. Last, deficits will not stay below 1% of GDP but will rise to 2.5% of GDP in this fiscal year. In fact budget 2025 shows that deficits will be above 1% of GDP well past 2030.

I know that the Liberals love to talk about our AAA credit rating, but what they do not like to talk about is what the credit agencies are saying today. In fact just after the introduction of this budget, Fitch, one of the international credit rating agencies, took note of the budget, unfortunately not in a good way, and said of Canada that “persistent fiscal expansion and a rising debt burden have weakened its credit profile and could increase rating pressure over the medium term.”

Fitch went on to warn the government, and I hope the Liberals are listening to this warning, that “the Canadian government has a track record of upward deficit revisions, with subsequent budget updates consistently worse than prior projections.... [F]ederal finances run a high risk of further deterioration.”

These are not my words, and they are not the words of the opposition; they are the words of our credit rating agency, upon which our AAA credit rating depends. That is a troubling analysis by the credit agency, because any change to that credit rating would be catastrophic and would lead to much higher debt interest charges for Canadians.

However, behind every number is a human story, a story of a family struggling to get by to make ends meet. I want to share just one of those stories from one of my residents, who wrote to me just after the introduction of the budget. His name is Ryan. He said:

I am writing to express my deep concern about the rising cost of living in our community....

I have lived in the same neighbourhood for more than a decade, and almost every essential cost of living has increased dramatically....

To illustrate this, I reviewed my own expenses from 2013 compared to 2025, and here are actual numbers from my household

This is how people budget: They keep track, and they assess. I hope the Liberals are taking notes.

Ryan said that groceries are up 200%; electricity, 133%; cable and Internet, 150%; vehicle insurance, 300%; fuel, 100%; water and sewer, 168%; accounting fees, 150%; and property taxes, 112%. He calculated that his personal cost of living has increased by 154% over the last 10 years. He said, “From my perspective, and from the perspective of many residents struggling with similar increases, this situation feels fundamentally unfair.” I agree; this is unfair to Canadians.

As of 8:45 this morning, every Canadian's share of the national debt is over $30,000; in fact it is $30,568. To that, add our provincial share. I am in Ontario, where that is another $29,282, for a total of just shy of $60,000.

Seven weeks ago this morning, I had my first baby girl, and that has changed my life dramatically, with increasingly less sleep. However, it also keeps me up at night that the federal government, by its actions, has handed my daughter a credit card bill of $30,000. Before she has even taken her first steps in life, she has a federal debt.

However, I do believe there is hope for an affordable Canada. First, the government must return to its senses and drop the accounting gimmicks. Most important, it must treat every tax dollar with the humility and the sanctity of trust that it demands. Canadians work hard for every dollar they earn, and I want a future for my daughter and for all Canadians that is full of opportunity, not debt. That is a Canada I will fight for.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, it is interesting that when I listened to Premier Doug Ford, a Conservative, he in essence said that we should pass the budget. He was pleased that it actually passed, because he believes that we need a team Canada approach.

The Prime Minister is out and about securing more markets for Canadians. Exports are very important; we are a trading nation. We make up 0.5% of the world's population, yet we contribute 2.5% to world trade. Therefore when an individual like Premier Doug Ford says that this is a good budget that should pass, and that we should have a team Canada approach, what would the member say to him?

[Jacob Mantle, Conservative, York—Durham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the other side loves to talk about a team Canada approach. While we all want Canada to succeed in its trade negotiations, especially with the United States, I have seen nothing of a team Canada approach from the government. It provides no information to Canadians about what the state of our negotiations is. In fact the chief negotiator for the Government of Canada was at the Standing Committee on International Trade on Monday, and he said that there are no negotiations ongoing with the United States right now.

Could the member tell me what the state of our negotiations is? What is the state of the most important relationship we have in the world?

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on the birth of his new baby. It can sometimes be quite challenging, but it is wonderful. I know something about that.

The Liberal member criticized my Conservative colleague for not voting in favour of the budget. I have to say that I could also criticize him for the same thing but for different reasons. Obviously, the Bloc Québécois is appalled by the budget. We submitted our requests for Quebec, but they were all denied, and then the Liberals were surprised that we did not vote in favour of the budget.

That said, the Conservatives' position surprises me. The budget that was introduced denies the importance of the fight against climate change and opens the door to oil companies and pipelines. That is the direction that this government has been taking since it got elected.

Why are the Conservatives continuing to vote against the budget when it supports a Conservative vision?

[Jacob Mantle, Conservative, York—Durham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I may not agree with all of my Bloc colleague's points on the budget, but one thing I do agree with him on is that the government did not negotiate with the Bloc members. It did not speak to them. It did not take their demands seriously.

Canadians gave the government a minority mandate. I have heard, and I am sure the members opposite have heard, a desire from Canadians for Parliament to work together, but that was not on display with the government's budget. It did not take any of the opposition's criticisms seriously; in fact it rammed the budget through. Therefore I sympathize with the Bloc members, who did not get a fair negotiation with the government.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank our hon. colleague from York—Durham for already making an impact here in Parliament.

The member spoke of the generational nature of this budget in terms of the generational debt that it is levying against our future and our kids' future. One of the things I want to mention is that we are now spending more on servicing our debt than we are on health care transfers to our provinces. We are gripped in the middle of a mental health crisis, an opioid crisis in which more Canadians have died since 2016 than died in World War II.

I want ask our hon. colleague this: Is it is just woeful negligence, or ignorance, on the part of the Liberals?

[Jacob Mantle, Conservative, York—Durham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would hazard to say it is both. The Liberals do not seem to know how to budget, and they do not seem to know how to keep promises. They told us in 2024 that fiscal restraint was important, but in 2025 they doubled the deficit. That is a debt that everyone's children and grandchildren will have to pay. In fact we spend more on interest payments now than we do on health care transfers and than all the money the government collects in GST.

I hope government members will take that to heart and get our budget under control.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, first I want to congratulate my colleague on his newborn baby. That is such a blessing.

In 2010 the Conservatives temporarily scrapped the 25% ferry import tariff, sending Canadian shipbuilding jobs to heavily subsidized foreign yards. The finance minister at the time said that the tariffs did not serve any purpose because the ships to which they applied could not be built in Canada. The tariff generated $118 million over six years, and the Liberals permanently scrapped it. That money could have been building capacity in Canadian shipyards.

Does my colleague agree that we need to bring back that tariff and create a deterrent, reinvest in Canadian shipbuilding capacity here in this country, keep jobs in this country and build ferries here?

[Jacob Mantle, Conservative, York—Durham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, what I do agree with is that we need to figure out what the government has done with the tariff revenue, because Canadians do not know. It has collected, so it says, billions of dollars in tariff revenue from countertariffs: tariffs against Chinese products and tariffs against American products.

These are tariffs that are taken out of Canadian businesses, so I would like to know where the money is going. Maybe it should go to help our industries that are suffering, but the government has not told us and will not tell us.

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

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to take a few minutes to review the measures in the 2025 budget that will impact my constituents in La Prairie—Atateken. Last week, while walking down Saint-Pierre Street in Saint‑Constant, I was able to see how the budget is addressing the concerns of the many people I spoke with.

I am going to start with Bill C‑4, making life more affordable for Canadians act and its flagship measure, a substantial tax reduction that lowers the tax rate for the first $57,000 of income from 15% to 14.5% and then to 14%, saving each taxpayer up to $420 per year.

Furthermore, there is a pressing demand for housing in La Prairie—Atateken. In five years, the median price of single-family homes has risen from $400,000 to $639,000. That is an increase of 57%. Despite this, demand for housing in the towns in my riding substantially exceeds supply, driving up prices. People know that La Prairie—Atateken is a great place to live, which is why they want to move there, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to do so.

The average age of new home buyers has risen from 26 to 36 in the last decade. Couples and young families with children are struggling to save the down payment required for this purchase. Fortunately, the affordability legislation will give first-time homebuyers a GST holiday and allow them to save up to $50,000 on the purchase of a brand new home. That is money they can put towards a down payment.

With Build Canada Homes, the government is also taking concrete action to address challenges to get housing projects built. This means things like cutting red tape, making it easier to access financing and allowing projects to be built on government-owned land. With investments totalling $25 billion over five years in housing, we are boosting home construction and making housing more accessible. The goal is to cut construction time in half, reduce housing prices by 20% and do all this with less polluting, domestic materials.

Sustaining housing and infrastructure for first nations is also present in the budget, with $3 billion affected for the construction of new lodgings, whether in urban or rural environments. Hence, a substantial amount of money will be made available for the Kahnawà:ke community, offering many possibilities for new houses.

Entering the job market is hard for young Canadians in La Prairie—Atateken and elsewhere. Fortunately, housing construction will require a new generation of builders and will generate several thousands of jobs.

The union training and innovation program, with its $75-million purse, will support apprenticeship training for the major trades. Red Seal certification will also allow them to ply their trade anywhere in Canada.

Other programs are also available to support our young people, including the Canada summer jobs program, which has been substantially increased, the youth employment and skills strategy and the student work placement program. These will allow more young people to get that first job experience under their belts and, I hope, gain the confidence and skills they need to embark on a rewarding, well-paid career.

The government is also launching the youth climate corps, a significant innovation that offers paid training placements that teach participants green skills. The youth climate corps will help respond to climate emergencies, support community recovery and contribute to initiatives that strengthen community resilience in La Prairie—Atateken and across the country.

We may have paid particular attention to young people, but we have not neglected seniors. We have made several commitments to them. I am particularly proud to announce three initiatives aimed at combatting the financial exploitation of people who are often less familiar with new financial tools. For seniors, the government will propose a code of conduct for banking institutions aimed at preventing financial exploitation. It is also creating the financial crime agency, which will be tasked with stopping organized crime and online financial fraud. Finally, the national anti-fraud strategy will reduce the risk of individuals falling victim to fraudulent schemes, which are unfortunately constantly evolving and becoming increasingly complex.

When it comes to health care, it is increasingly difficult to retain much-needed personal support workers, the very people we called “the guardian angels of the health care system” not so long ago. I am also pleased to see the $1,100 tax credit granted annually to personal support workers for the next six years.

Still on the subject of health, I also welcome the lowering of barriers to access the Canada disability benefit for low-income, working-age persons with disabilities. This affects hundreds of people in La Prairie—Atateken.

I also want to mention the dental care plan, which continues to grow as more and more Canadians become aware of this essential program. In a nutshell, Canadian residents with a family income of less than $90,000 are quite likely to qualify. I encourage residents of La Prairie—Atateken who believe they are entitled to receive this service to find out more by calling or visiting Service Canada at the Brossard office.

For our children, Canada's national school food program should enable thousands of children in my riding to enjoy healthy meals at school, giving them an equal chance at educational success and overall development. I would like to remind members that our party is making this program permanent this year, despite the incomprehensible and shameful opposition of the Conservatives, who went so far as to call this measure “garbage”.

In public safety, this government has taken several initiatives to ensure that Canadians feel safer in their homes and communities. I have spoken on several occasions in the House to praise the new investments and legislative tools now available to fight transnational gangs and organized crime at our borders and in our communities.

Today, I want to focus on initiatives that are less impressive but just as essential. For example, modernizing the Meteorological Service of Canada is imperative in light of the very real changes in our climate. Funding for the National Public Alerting System will allow for more accurate weather forecasting models and therefore more informed decisions to protect Canadians and their property.

Finally, I would like to say a few words about the economy. Companies in my riding are happy with budget 2025 because it offers several business opportunities. First, I want to mention the significant investments that will be made in national defence. It is important to remember that contracts should now be awarded locally rather than centrally, as has been the case in recent years. The fact that the Saint-Jean military base is nearby means that many companies in my riding of La Prairie—Atateken could soon be awarded service contracts.

Rather than focusing on any one sector in particular, it is important to focus on what is now known as the productivity superdeduction, which applies to all sectors of business, small, medium and large. The purpose of the superdeduction is to allow businesses to immediately write off a larger share of the cost of their new investments. That will encourage businesses to invest and grow. The deduction applies to scientific research and experimental development, as well as to capital assets, the cost of manufacturing or processing machinery and equipment, the cost of clean energy generation and energy conservation equipment and the purchase of zero-emission vehicles.

This is a $110-billion investment that the government is making over five years to stimulate the economy. These measures will make Canada one of the most business-friendly countries in terms of tax benefits. Investments create a virtuous circle by growing the economy, which increases the GDP and generates more revenue for the state, which enables it to maintain its social programs so that no Canadian is left behind.

Everyone in La Prairie—Atateken will benefit from this budget, which should encourage them to look to the future with confidence.

[Jason Groleau, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have some questions about the budget.

On page 96, it mentions the importance of temporary foreign workers in certain rural areas. I come from a rural area where the unemployment rate is the lowest in Canada, at less than 3%. The Conservatives have proposed renewing all temporary foreign worker permits in regions where the unemployment rate is below 5%. This is essential to our region.

I see this in the budget, and I would like to get some details on my colleague's proposal.

[Jacques Ramsay, Liberal, La Prairie—Atateken, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this is an issue that is close to my heart as well. In my riding, La Prairie—Atateken, there are also businesses that depend on temporary foreign workers. It is important to understand that our local workers also depend on these businesses that rely on foreign workers, so it is not a question of one or the other. We are building our economy together.

Our government is considering this issue. I believe that announcements will be made shortly, by sector and by region. I think we need a smart solution that benefits the places where it is needed.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to follow up on the question from my colleague who just spoke about temporary immigration.

I want to know what my colleague thinks about the request made, particularly by chambers of commerce, but also by many businesses, including some in my riding. They want a grandfather clause or some other measure to allow some sort of exception for temporary workers already on-site who speak French.