Debates of Nov. 28th, 2025

Ethics

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L’Érable—Lotbinière, QC]

Madam Speaker, before becoming Prime Minister, the president of Brookfield moved his offices from Canada to New York City. Before becoming Prime Minister, the president of Brookfield created three investment funds, including one located on the second floor of a bicycle repair shop to avoid paying taxes in Canada. That is called tax avoidance. Now that he is Prime Minister, the former president of Brookfield is raking in profits by making government decisions that benefit his own company.

Why does the Prime Minister keep acting like the president of Brookfield by putting his own interests and those of his friends ahead of the interests of Canadians who are the ones paying for all this?

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

Madam Speaker, I sympathize with the members of the official opposition. They do not know whether they are coming or going. Every day, we are practically being harassed by the members opposite, who are demanding economic growth and results.

This morning, we have the proof. The economy grew 2.6%. That means jobs and economic development for our regions. The results are there. We are building Canada and we will continue to do so.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie South—Innisfil, ON]

Madam Speaker, the Prime Minister's trust may be blind, but the math is not. This week, we found out from Brookfield's chief operating officer that the Prime Minister stands to make millions in carried interest payments from his company's success related to the climate and infrastructure schemes he set up. Many, if not all, of the public financial instruments, funds and policies the Prime Minister started pushing when he was pulling Trudeau's strings as his economic adviser in 2020 align with Brookfield's strategy and success.

How is it ethical when the Prime Minister is using the power of his office to benefit him and his company?

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

Madam Speaker, yesterday, I met with operating engineers from all across the country who came to talk to me about the investments we are making in building Canada strong. They are so excited about the work for their members. As the proud mother of an operating engineer, I could not be more thrilled as well. These are great jobs for young people and tradespeople all across the country. This is how we build a country strong. We invest in the workers of today and tomorrow.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie South—Innisfil, ON]

Madam Speaker, Brookfield's COO also confirmed that the umbilical cord between the Prime Minister and his company will stay attached until 2034, because the fund the Prime Minister set up will mature then. That means if it does well, he does really well.

Here is the problem. He knows full well what is in his blind trust and is using the power of his office to promote policies that benefit his company and him. AI, modular housing, carbon capture, nuclear and the transition model of public risk for private returns he set up while advising Trudeau will make him millions.

How is this ethical, if not illegal?

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

Madam Speaker, Canada's GDP growth last quarter was 2.6%, blowing out economists' projections. That is what growing Canada strong looks like. It is an investment in the potential of the country. It is an investment in right now. We have the highest rate of women ever in the workforce. Do members know why? It is because we have an affordable child care agreement.

Yesterday, Saskatchewan signed an extension of five years, at $1.5 billion, to make sure that we not only get women into the workforce but keep them there. I have one more thing: $10-a-day has been achieved in Saskatchewan.

That is real action. That is partnership with provinces and—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Alexandra Mendès), Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for St. Albert—Sturgeon River.

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

Madam Speaker, the Prime Minister has vast conflicts of interest with Brookfield. That is why the Ethics Commissioner specifically told him not to meet with Brookfield. Despite this, the Prime Minister secretly met with the chief operating officer of Brookfield in October.

I have a simple question. Why did the Prime Minister violate the clear direction of the Ethics Commissioner?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Madam Speaker, when members resort to personal attacks and deal in conspiracy theories, it speaks to a larger issue.

The member from the province of Alberta is unable to celebrate the agreement we have achieved. His own premier is celebrating in public about the opportunity to protect the environment and create good jobs. If he will not stand up for Alberta, I, as somebody from the east coast who spent five years there, absolutely will.

The GDP number for the past quarter, which we saw go up 2.6%, means good jobs for people and food on the tables for families. We are here to create jobs. It is a shame the Conservatives are opposed to that.

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

Madam Speaker, this is not a conspiracy theory. The Ethics Commissioner told the Prime Minister not to meet with Brookfield and then he did so.

This is a Prime Minister who was the chair of Brookfield and who stands to make tens of millions of dollars in future bonus pay and from stock options. Not only did the Prime Minister clearly violate the direction of the Ethics Commissioner, but he attempted to cover it up by not disclosing the meeting.

Is this the Prime Minister's idea of ethics?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Madam Speaker, I think my colleague left his tinfoil hat in the men's room before he attended question period today. He is here talking about things that do not matter to the people at home as much as things like doctors, jobs and lower taxes do. Frankly, it is a shame that members of this House of Commons are simply not focused on the priorities of Canadians. The GDP increased 2.6% in the past quarter. The last jobs report showed 67,000 new jobs. Every month since the Prime Minister has held that office, wages have increased faster than inflation.

We are going to stand up to build an economy that can stand on its own two feet, advance major projects and create jobs for people at home. I wish they would support it.

Intergovernmental Relations

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

Madam Speaker, this is no time to celebrate. The Canada-Alberta oil deal announced yesterday is climate betrayal.

We were worried that the Liberals might announce one new pipeline in the west. Instead, they announced that there could be several, in addition to the Trans Mountain expansion, to extract at least 1.4 million more barrels of oil per day. The Liberals are also openly threatening to impose their oil fantasy on British Columbia in one of the worst documented cases of predatory federalism. This is exceptionally aggressive, in terms of both climate change and respect for the provinces.

How can elected officials who claim to be progressive—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Alexandra Mendès), Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. government House leader.

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

Madam Speaker, does my colleague want to talk about respecting provincial jurisdictions?

Let us talk about Quebec's development ambitions, which include mines, critical minerals, renewable energy and clean energy. Our approach is paying off, with 2.6% growth in the last quarter. What does that mean? It means that in my esteemed colleague's riding, moms and dads can have ambitions for their children's future. It means good jobs in all regions of Quebec.

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

Madam Speaker, the Liberal's ridiculous pipeline announcement yesterday betrays the climate and betrays voters who thought that voting Liberal would be greener than voting Conservative. It betrays the Liberals who went into politics to help the environment, and it betrays the victims of increasingly frequent natural disasters who expect their elected officials to behave responsibly.

The question today is not why the member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie left cabinet. The real question is how the other Liberals justify staying in this government.

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

Madam Speaker, we are strong here on this side of the House. Why? It is because we are steadfast. Unlike the Bloc Québécois, we are steadfast in keeping our election promises. What were those promises? We promised to build Canada, to respect jurisdictions and to work with the provinces to meet their economic objectives. We also promised moms and dads in Canada that their children would have an economic future as strong and bright as our own. That is what we are doing. We are keeping our promises.

I would invite the Bloc Québécois to do the same.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Côte-Nord—Kawawachikamach—Nitassinan, QC]

Madam Speaker, Quebeckers know what it feels like to be steamrolled by Canada.

Today, British Columbia is experiencing its own night of the long knives. The Alberta Liberals left British Columbia out of an agreement they reached to impose a pipeline on B.C. in the name of the national interest. Quebeckers had better be careful, because the federal government has been mulling over the idea of forcing us to accept a pipeline across the St. Lawrence River for more than a decade.

If this is how the Liberals are acting today, will they do the same to Quebec?

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

Madam Speaker, this morning, I heard some good news about the economy. Canada's economy grew 2.6%. What I did not hear was people from British Columbia saying that they needed the Bloc Québécois to stand up for them.

We will work with the Province of British Columbia. We will work because we have a duty to consult and respect the first nations of British Columbia. That is what we are going to do. We will be able to achieve all of this without the help of the Bloc Québécois, which wants to break up our country.

Ethics

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Clarke, ON]

Madam Speaker, the Prime Minister's priorities are clear. He has gone from elbows up to putting his hands in the air and saying “Who cares?” when it comes to negotiating for Canada. However, he is still working hard for the interests of Brookfield.

We learned in the recent budget that the Liberals are giving $500 million to the European Space Agency. Guess who owns 50% of the U.K. campus where those funds are going. Members guessed it right: Brookfield.

Why does the Prime Minister continue to put his financial interests above the interests of Canadians?

[Ali Ehsassi, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade]

Madam Speaker, let me remind the member that we are doing very well. We woke up to tremendous news this morning. He can rest assured that our government is entirely focused on building our economy and supporting industries and workers who require our help. We were elected to build Canada, and that is exactly what we are doing.

The Economy

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Clarke, ON]

Madam Speaker, we continue to hear these old, tired lines from the so-called new government. The Liberals tell us again and again that Canadians have never had it so good. Here is the reality. Food bank usage is at record rates, with over two million visits per month. Meanwhile, Brookfield's stock has gone up by over 20% since the Prime Minister got elected. Maybe that is just a coincidence.

Why do Canadians have to continue to suffer while Liberal elites get wealthier?

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

Madam Speaker, let me remind the member, who comes from the same province that I do, that we are helping invest in the new Darlington nuclear project in Bowmanville. It is a project that is going to build four new small nuclear reactors, the first of its kind in the G7. It is going to provide clean, reliable electricity to power 1.2 million homes. It is going to reduce our carbon emissions. It is going to create 18,000 good-paying, quality jobs for the people of Ontario.

Why do the members opposite not get on board and support a plan that is actually growing our economy 2.6% this year?

Ethics

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

Madam Speaker, to get elected, the Prime Minister promised to negotiate a win, but now that the election is over he says, “Who cares?” Canadians were promised a Churchill, but what we got was a Chamberlain.

He appeased the U.S. President by dropping the digital services tax. He appeased the U.S. President by withdrawing our softwood lumber challenge. However, appeasement did not get us any trade peace. We thought we got nothing, but in fact he just got nothing for Canadians. Brookfield got an $80-billion nuclear deal. Is that coincidence or cause and effect?

Why does it appear that the Prime Minister continues to put his private interests ahead of those of 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)]

Madam Speaker, it is really challenging to take the Conservatives at their word when they are trying to purport to care about Canadians. They vote against everything with the word “care” in it: dental care, child care, pharmacare and even health care infrastructure to build hospitals in my community in Durham Region where the member is from. They will not even support that.

If they want to show that they care, they should step up to support major projects in this country, like the new nuclear project at Darlington that will create 21,700 jobs in our region. The member voted against it.

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

Madam Speaker, Canadians and Conservatives care about the integrity of the highest office in the land, the Prime Minister. Conflict of interest rules are clear for members of the House. They are to arrange their private affairs in a manner to avoid real or apparent conflicts of interest.

An $80-billion nuclear deal for Brookfield, $500 million to the European Space Agency to benefit Brookfield and undisclosed meetings with Brookfield executives raise serious issues of conflict of interest. Why does it appear that the Prime Minister continues to put his private interests ahead of those of Canadians?