Debates of Nov. 25th, 2025

The Economy

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I guess the answer is yes. Liberals believe babies should just enrol in the school food program that they offer.

It is ludicrous that the Liberals are referring hungry babies to a school food program. It is outrageous that, in a country like Canada, parents are having to make a decision between paying their bills and being able to afford the basic necessities of life for a baby. This is literally life and death, and these Liberals stand over there and shrug their shoulders.

When will the Prime Minister stop his inflationary spending and make life affordable for Canadians again?

[Anna Gainey, Liberal, Secretary of State (Children and Youth)]

Mr. Speaker, I think we understand that any parent struggling to feed their child is one parent too many. My colleague opposite knows that Canada has historically relied on imports of baby formula, which means Canadians have been impacted by external pressures. As a country, we do have to move from reliance to resilience, and I would also point out that the Canada child benefit, which members opposite continue to vote against in budget after budget, puts up to $8,000 tax-free in the pockets of parents. This will help with the cost of baby formula.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this Liberal government is the most costly in Canadian history. Every dollar spent by the Prime Minister comes straight out of Canadians' pockets.

The government allowed the National Research Council of Canada to spend more than $60,000 in public money on patio furniture. Meanwhile, people are struggling to put food on the table. Everyone likes to enjoy the sunshine, but this is not something the government should be doing on the taxpayers' dime.

When will this Liberal government stop throwing money around?

[Karim Bardeesy, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, all government organizations are expected to strictly follow the procurement process we have outlined. That is why our government is conducting a comprehensive review of potential savings within the government.

Furthermore, we know that the National Research Council of Canada does very important work for Canada's economic growth.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, food prices have increased almost 40% faster in Canada than in the United States. According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, who the Liberals want to fire in the coming days, hidden taxes will drive up the cost of gas by as much as 17¢ a litre. The Liberals had an opportunity to lower the cost of food for Canadian households.

Why is the Prime Minister maintaining a hidden 17¢-a-litre tax on fuel that only makes food more expensive?

[Sophie Chatel, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, we are looking for solutions to lower the price of food. Real solutions are based on real facts.

Last week, the vice-president of Costco appeared before the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food. He said that climate change is the cause of food inflation. When the harvest is good, prices are lower. When the harvest is not good because of climate change, food gets expensive.

Our government is working on real solutions.

Carbon Pricing

[Sandra Cobena, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is the most expensive in Canadian history. A father in Newmarket, who is an engineer, said to me that they cannot cover the living costs. He can only pay for the mortgage, utilities and taxes. Food, transportation and insurance are out of pocket.

While Canadians struggle, the Liberals keep a punishing fuel tax that adds up to 17¢ more per litre at the pumps, hiking the costs of parents driving to work, of the farmers and of the truckers who bring the food to our shelves.

Why is the Prime Minister clinging to this fuel tax and doubling down on reckless inflationary spending?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, instead of the members opposite focusing on fake taxes, they should support things that actually put a few extra bucks in the pockets of hard-working Canadians.

As a former single mother and a person who lived paycheque to paycheque for most of my life, I can tell the House that what helps parents, what helps families, is having money in their pockets. When we index things such as the Canada child benefit to inflation, that puts money in the pockets of Canadians. They can then use it to buy the things they need. It is pretty simple, but it is really hard for these Conservatives to understand.

The Economy

[Sandra Cobena, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals say the cost pressures on Canadians are fake. I have another note from someone else in Newmarket who said that, as the cost of living increases and their salaries do not, they are being driven into poverty. Four out of five Canadians list food as their number one worry when paying their bills. Statistics Canada confirms that beef is up 17%, baby formula is up 6% and coffee up 34%.

This is not fake. They should knock on some doors and get a reality check from the people they claim to represent. The Liberals dismiss the struggles of Canadians, but I ask why?

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

Mr. Speaker, it really seems to me like the member opposite missed her chance to vote for a tax cut to benefit 22 million Canadians, including constituents in her riding.

The member spoke about engineers. Just this morning, I met with the International Union of Operating Engineers. There are 18,000 here in Ontario. We talked about the importance of early learning and child care, because they need that not only to recruit and train new engineers but also to benefit the families who depend on it for affordable child care so they can go to work.

Natural Resources

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it has been reported that the government is considering lifting the tanker ban to support an east-west oil pipeline. The problem is that some Liberal MPs, and even cabinet ministers, do not support this proposal.

Who speaks for the government? Will the minister finally clear it up today whether the government is going to do what Conservatives have called for all along to scrap the emissions cap and lift the tanker ban so that Canadian resources can get to market?

[Tim Hodgson, Liberal, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, we are going to do what we need to do, which is build Canada strong.

The Prime Minister has been clear: Major projects will only proceed with rigorous environmental assessments and clear contributions to Canada's climate change objectives.

Women and Gender Equality

[Tatiana Auguste, Liberal, Terrebonne, QC]

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow is Economic Abuse Awareness Day, a Canadian initiative that is now observed worldwide.

Economic abuse, such as restricting access to money, sabotaging employment or forcing debt, is a common form of gender-based violence. It robs people of their independence and limits their ability to build secure and fulfilling lives.

I am proud to have voted for a budget that introduces measures to combat economic abuse. Could the Minister of Finance remind those who voted against the budget what they opposed?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her excellent question and for her leadership on this issue. Preventing economic abuse means ensuring access to information and financial resources.

The good news is that even the Conservatives should have been pleased. In the 2025 budget, we announced our plan to develop a voluntary code of conduct for the prevention of economic abuse. We will work with the Canadian financial sector to detect signs of economic abuse early.

Unfortunately, we saw some members vote against the budget in the House, when we should all be united against economic abuse.

Ethics

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands—Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians need to know that every decision the Prime Minister makes is in the national interest and not in his own financial interest.

Yesterday at committee, Brookfield confirmed that, every time Brookfield makes money, the Prime Minister makes money, and that the 1,900 companies that Brookfield owns are not covered by the Prime Minister's ethics screen. Every time the Prime Minister goes down to the White House, he does not come back with a deal for Canadians, but the last time he went, he did get an $80-billion deal for Brookfield.

Will the Prime Minister just give Canadians the confidence they deserve and sell his financial interest in Brookfield?

[Evan Solomon, Liberal, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, the opposition should stop the conspiracy theories. They should get out more, stop saying no and find out who is saying yes to Canada.

They do not even have to go far. Just this morning, I was in Kanata where Nokia said yes to Canada and the Ottawa-Gatineau area. They broke ground on a $340-million innovation centre. They employ 2,600 Canadians. They will employ 340 more.

The opposition should do what Nokia does: build in Canada, buy in Canada, believe in Canada.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands—Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it must be concerning for the minister that the Clerk of the Privy Council believed in the same conspiracy so much that he sold his shares in Brookfield knowing that he could not manage the conflict of interest in the role that he had, which is the same conflict that the Prime Minister has, and he is supposed to be managing the Prime Minister's conflicts.

Every time Brookfield makes money, the Prime Minister is making money. Even the chief operating officer of Brookfield itself admits this very thing. With 1,900 companies that Brookfield owns not being covered by the Prime Minister's ethics screen, why will he not just do the thing that Canadians need, give them the confidence they deserve and sell his shares in Brookfield?

[Maninder Sidhu, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, speaking of deals, last week it was Germany investing $1 billion in Canadian defence technology. A few days ago, it was the president of the United Arab Emirates securing $70 billion for our industries here, and just today in Ottawa, Finnish Nokia is investing $340 million, supporting thousands of jobs and exporting to over 115 countries.

The world is calling, and we are answering.

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Sturgeon River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's conflicts with Brookfield are everywhere. Yesterday the COO of Brookfield said that when Brookfield does well, the Prime Minister does well, so is it any wonder that the government is helping Brookfield do well, including fast-tracking a Brookfield-owned LNG project and handing half a billion dollars to a foreign space agency partnered with Brookfield?

Why will the Prime Minister not end his conflicts and fully divest himself from Brookfield?

[Evan Solomon, Liberal, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, conspiracy theories and imaginary taxes are both different ways to say no to Canada.

The Liberal Party is a party that says yes. Guess what: Just today, Nokia said yes to Canada. It invested $340 million in an innovation campus. That means good jobs: 2,600 jobs in Canada, with 340 more good jobs. Nokia broke ground today because it is building in Canada, buying in Canada and believing in Canada.

Housing

[Doug Eyolfson, Liberal, Winnipeg West, MB]

Mr. Speaker, on November 12, the Build Canada Homes program accelerated affordable housing projects across the country, including a major announcement at Naawi-Oodena in Winnipeg. Approximately 320 new homes, 40% of them below market and developed in partnership with Treaty 1 first nations, are now set to move forward. This is exactly the kind of progress my constituents in Winnipeg West are looking for.

Could the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure update the House on how the Build Canada Homes projects in Winnipeg and other cities will help deliver affordable homes more quickly?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada]

Mr. Speaker, our government is making generational investments in building the homes that Canadians need right now, and this month, Build Canada Homes took a major step in the redevelopment of sites for accelerating affordable housing in Winnipeg, in Ottawa and in Edmonton. This will add nearly 1,800 affordable homes across Canada, the housing that Canadians need.

Will the Conservatives in the meantime support the first-time homebuyers' tax cut? They are stalling it, preventing first-time homebuyers from accessing $50,000 in savings.

Ethics

[Gabriel Hardy, Conservative, Montmorency—Charlevoix, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when Brookfield makes money, the Prime Minister makes money. We are not the ones saying that. Brookfield's chief operating officer himself told us so yesterday at the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics. As if that were not enough, we learned that 95% of the businesses owned by Brookfield are not even covered by the Prime Minister's famous ethics screen. Worse yet, the two people who are supposed to be monitoring the screen do not even have access to the full list of the Prime Minister's investments.

Can the Prime Minister explain why Brookfield's interests align perfectly with the Liberal budget that was tabled last week?

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

Mr. Speaker, I see that the our friends across the way are continuing to spread conspiracy theories. As the member is well aware, having presumably complied with it for the first time, the code of ethics that governs members of Parliament, parliamentarians and senior officials in Canada is among the strictest in the world. The Prime Minister is the first to follow that code with rigour and professionalism.

Persons with Disabilities

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, once again the government is letting Canadian airlines violate the human rights of people with disabilities. This time it is WestJet, which put in place arbitrary weight restrictions, preventing people with motorized wheelchairs from flying. The result is that it is denying people with disabilities the right to travel safely for work, for education, or to visit loved ones.

When will the Liberals close loopholes in the Accessible Canada Act, uphold disability rights and hold corporate executives accountable when they violate these rights?