Debates of Nov. 6th, 2025

Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

It is my duty to lay before the House, pursuant to subsection 23(5) of the Auditor General Act, the fall 2025 reports from the commissioner of the environment and sustainable development.

Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), these reports are deemed permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development.

Foreign Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), and in accordance with the policy on the tabling of treaties in Parliament, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the treaty entitled “Agreement between Canada and Ukraine on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters”, done at Kyiv on August 24.

Government Response to Petitions

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

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8)(a) I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to three petitions. These returns will be tabled in an electronic format.

Scrutiny of Regulations

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, New Tecumseth—Gwillimbury, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour of presenting, in both official languages, the first report of the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations, entitled “Review of Statutory Instruments”. If the House gives its consent, I intend to move concurrence in the report later today.

Criminal Code

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-255, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (mischief—religious property).

Mr. Speaker, I rise to table my private member's bill, an act to amend the Criminal Code as it relates to mischief to religious property. I would like to thank my colleague, the member for Thornhill, for seconding the bill.

Over the past 10 years, there has been an alarming increase in incidents of mischief committed against religious property in Canada. Churches, synagogues, mosques and other places of worship continue to be vandalized. The proposed legislation seeks to shift the financial burden caused by vandalism from the victim to the criminal. It would also expand the scope to cover all mischief directed at places of worship, not just hate-motivated mischief.

While some of the punishments proposed in the bill are novel, there are strong similarities to the measures addressing vandalism of war memorials already in the Criminal Code.

I hope all members will join me in supporting Canadians of all faiths.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Scrutiny of Regulations

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, New Tecumseth—Gwillimbury, ON]

Mr. Speaker, if the House gives its consent, I move that the first report of the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations, presented to the House earlier today, be concurred in.

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

All those opposed to the hon. member's moving the motion will please say nay. It is agreed.

The House has heard the terms of the motion. All those opposed to the motion will please say nay.

(Motion agreed to)

Goods and Services Tax

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier—Gloucester, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the people of Ottawa—Vanier—Gloucester have started a petition.

I am pleased to present a petition signed by 1,765 Canadians regarding the eligibility rules for the GST new housing rebate for first-time homebuyers.

The petitioners note that the rebate is based on the purchase agreement date rather than the closing date, which unfairly excludes many first-time homebuyers of preconstruction homes, who will pay GST upon closing.

They are calling on the Minister of Finance and National Revenue to base eligibility on the closing or possession date to ensure fairness and consistency for all first-time homebuyers.

Opioids

[Brad Vis, Conservative, Mission—Matsqui—Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, today I rise on behalf of my constituents to present four petitions.

The first is on behalf of angered parents at Abbotsford Traditional School. B.C. Housing is proposing a safe consumption site across the street from the school playground. Parents do not want this to happen, and they have called upon the Government of Canada to cease all funding to B.C. Housing until it respects the rights and the innocence of children.

The second petition I would like to present today is on behalf of residents in Mission—Matsqui—Abbotsford concerning the B.C. decriminalization project. This project has been in place for a number of years now, and residents of British Columbia are concerned that the number one cause of death for youth is drug overdose and drug toxicity. Parents and citizens of British Columbia are calling upon the Government of Canada to cease its special agreement with my province, in order to save lives, and to take a different approach that focuses on recovery, not on giving free drugs to people who need hospitalization and care in a safe facility.

Charitable Organizations

[Brad Vis, Conservative, Mission—Matsqui—Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the third petition I would like to present today is on behalf of gurdwaras and churches in Abbotsford that are calling upon the government to reject recommendations 429 and 430 in the finance committee report last year. Churches and gurdwaras in my riding do incredible work to house the poor, to feed people and to take care of the sick. We want them to continue that good work and not lose their charitable status in the process.

Human Trafficking

[Brad Vis, Conservative, Mission—Matsqui—Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the final petition I am raising today is on behalf of British Columbians who are concerned about the overwhelming increase in human trafficking. We need to strengthen our laws in Canada, and petitioners are calling upon the Government of Canada to mimic legislation in the United States, which would have harsher penalties and capacities to stop the evil people who traffic young people and workers in our country.

Human Rights

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in this week of remembrance, as we think of our veterans, this petition is particularly appropriate. Members of the public have asked their members of Parliament to bring forward the following for the House of Commons to consider.

In 1948, Canada signed and also led the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We pledged to achieve, in conjunction with the United Nations, promotion of the universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. These calls, the petitioners note, were echoed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the adoption by Canada of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. At the same time, globally, Canada is upholding, we hope, the basic calls for justice, equality, freedom, security, well-being and the prevention of conflict and war.

Petitioners call upon Parliament to consider that with the closing of the Pearson Centre, of course named for a late, former prime minister, the only Canadian prime minister to ever achieve the Nobel Peace Prize, without campaigning for it, I should note, we need a new centre to pursue excellence for peace and justice, based on research; non-partisan education; and training in conflict resolution, diplomacy and peace operations for Canadian civilians, police and military personnel in the context of multilateralism and in the international community, where Canada has traditionally taken the leading role.

Questions on the Order Paper

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

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

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Is it agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

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

The House resumed from November 5 consideration of the motion that this House approve in general the budgetary policy of the government and of the amendment.

Financial Statement of Minister of Finance

[Éric Lefebvre, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by saying that I will be sharing my time with the member for Calgary East.

The Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance have presented a reckless and irresponsible deficit budget. To be clear, I cannot support this budget as it now stands. Canadians deserve an affordable budget for an affordable life. Unfortunately, there is nothing for ordinary Canadians in this budget.

The Liberals decided to continue to rack up debt for future generations to pay off. They are continuing to spend with a deficit of more than $78 billion. That is going to cost $1,900 per Canadian. To be clear, this deficit is unacceptable.

In the December 2024 economic statement, the Liberals projected a $43.2‑billion deficit. During the election campaign, the Prime Minister promised that the deficit would not exceed $62 billion. The day before yesterday, the Liberals broke their promise. The Prime Minister broke his promise. Who will pay the price? Future generations. It is important to point out to Canadians how much the Liberals will add to the national debt in the coming years.

This year, 2025-26, they will add $78 billion. They have already forecast a deficit of $65 billion for 2026-27, $64 billion for 2027-28, $58 billion for 2028-29, and $57 billion for 2029-30. That means a total of $322 billion will be added to Canada's debt over the next five years. Our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will have to pay off this debt. I have to say that I would not be surprised if this deficit increases even more.

That is the legacy the Liberals want to leave our children. That is the legacy they want to leave our grandchildren. This is their idea of a generational budget? It is disgraceful. They are basically maxing out four, five or six credit cards and leaving the bill for our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren to pay off, yet they have the nerve to call this a generational budget.

We cannot allow the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance to throw dust in our eyes. They can divide the deficit into as many columns as they wish, be it two, three, four, five or six columns, but no matter how many times they divide it, at the end of the day, the columns get added up and produce one big deficit. That is what we have here.

Members will recall that when the Liberals came to power, Canada's deficit was $700 billion. It has now ballooned to almost $1.400 trillion, and it will keep growing over the next five years by more than $300 billion. Our party has been talking quite a lot about the fact that the current deficit means costs and sacrifices for future generations. After 10 years of Justin Trudeau's deficits, Canadians are paying the price, and the current Prime Minister's government is still the same government.

Now let us look at the interest on the debt. It will be $55.6 billion for fiscal year 2025-26, and it will only continue to grow as hundreds of billions of dollars are added to the national debt over the next few years. The interest on the debt will be $60 billion in 2026-27, $66.2 billion in 2027-28, $71.4 billion in 2028-29, and in excess of $76 billion in 2029-30. At this point, I am certain that it will keep rising and it will be even more catastrophic.

Allow me to put this into context. Interest on the debt currently sits at $55.6 billion and now exceeds the amount the government spends on the Canada health transfer for all provinces, which is $54.7 billion. Interest payments on the debt are costing more than all the money given to health care systems across the country. The government would rather take that money, throw it away and give it to the big bankers instead of investing it in our health care. The health care system is very important to my constituents, and I am certain that all Canadians feel the same way. Unfortunately, the government is spending less money on the health care system than it is on interest payments on the debt.

It gets even crazier. On Thursdays, Canadians pay taxes on their paycheques, and every time they make a purchase, they pay more taxes, such as the GST. The total amount of GST collected across the country in one year is $54.4 billion. This means that the total amount Canadians pay in GST across the country each year is not even equal to what is paid in interest on the debt.

We cannot support a budget like this. The government keeps leading Canada down a path where taxpayers will have to hand over billions of dollars to bankers for decades. Over the past two days, I have spent about 10 hours studying this budget. I noticed that the government has announced about 12 new programs. It is one thing to come up with new programs, but I want to know which ineffective programs will be cut. Programs are being added, another layer is being added, but nothing is ever taken away. That is the Liberals for you. The government is adding programs, adding spending, adding bureaucracy and adding waste. Eventually, Canadian taxpayers always get stuck with the bill. We have to eliminate Liberal waste and clean house. That is what we are proposing, yet the Liberals persist in adding new programs and new structures.

Take, for example, Build Canada Homes, a new development structure that was added. That is great. How many more public servants are being hired? Also, if we divide the total amount by the number of units the Liberals announced in their budget, we get a cost of $3.2 million per unit. At a price like the one proposed under the new Build Canada Homes program, I have no doubt that entrepreneurs will be lining up in Richmond—Arthabaska to offer their services. It is completely disproportionate. What concerns me is the continued waste and recklessness.

The Liberal government has abandoned even its weak fiscal anchors. Maintaining a declining debt-to-GDP ratio is no longer a priority for this government. The debt-to-GDP ratio continues to rise at a rate of almost 2%. This is simply irresponsible.

The Liberal government no longer has any fiscal anchors. This is not a serious budget. We cannot live with such huge deficits. On our side of the House, we made proposals to the Minister of Finance and National Revenue, but he turned a deaf ear. For instance, we hoped to see the hidden taxes on food scrapped, the taxes on jobs reduced, housing built, money invested in energy, and the inflationary taxes eliminated. None of that is in the Liberals' 2025 budget. We asked the government to limit its deficit to $42 billion, as set out in its last budget update. It was not us who proposed that figure; the government put it in its last budget update. It said it would be no more than $42 billion. Now it is $78 billion. The government is still spending recklessly.

Rest assured, Mr. Speaker, that I will continue to analyze this budget and the public finances and that I will always be there for the people of Richmond—Arthabaska and for all Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would argue that a false argument is being presented by the side opposite. When we look at how we are investing in Canada with Canadians, we are determined to build the strongest economy in the G7. That is the goal, and we will achieve that goal with the Prime Minister.

When we talk about the debt, we should recognize that Canada has the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7. When we talk about the deficit, Canada has the second-lowest deficit in the G7. Only Japan has done better. We are one of two countries in the G7 who have a AAA credit rating.

Why does the member opposite not agree that it is time to build Canada strong? Why did the Conservatives not move an amendment?

[Éric Lefebvre, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague across the way should be embarrassed to stand up here. He should be embarrassed to face his children and his grandchildren. We actually asked the Governor of the Bank of Canada about the G7 yesterday. I would invite the member to go listen to the testimony at the Standing Committee on Finance.

We Conservatives are going to keep trying to put money back in the pockets of Canadians, who are currently struggling because of the Liberals' mismanagement.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his first speech on the budget. He talked about recklessness and waste. I agree with him on that and on several other points. I would like to know whether he shares my opinion on one thing in particular.

We already knew that oil companies were getting tax credits to the tune of $83 billion until 2035. This budget extends those credits until 2040. Now, oil companies will be getting $100 billion in the form of tax credits.

Is that not a fine example of the government's wastefulness and recklessness? What does my colleague think?

[Éric Lefebvre, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has great wealth in its natural resources. We have wealth beneath our feet. We need to develop our natural resources. That is how we will build a strong Canada.

[Richard Bragdon, Conservative, Tobique—Mactaquac, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Quebec, who delivered a very good speech with a lot of very important messages for Canadians.

Our country has a major affordability problem right now.

We need to see more being done to address the issues of affordability for everyday Canadians, including our seniors. There was nothing in this budget that addressed the needs of seniors throughout this country. Many of them are on fixed incomes and cannot afford to make ends meet. It is getting increasingly more challenging for them every day that goes by.

Can my colleague address the issue of the often forgotten in our country, namely our seniors?

[Éric Lefebvre, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there is nothing in this budget for our seniors. Let me tell the House what is in this budget.

Conservatives are in favour of cutting taxes. Where are the Liberals choosing to cut taxes? They are choosing to cut taxes on luxury boats and yachts instead of helping our seniors. That is what the Liberals are choosing to do. They will have to live with their choices.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, is anyone really better off in Canada than they were before? Will this budget make life any more affordable or safer?

We thought Justin Trudeau was the worst money manager in Canadian history. The current Prime Minister makes him look like Scrooge, because he just delivered the most expensive budget in Canadian history outside of COVID. In fact, he will double Justin Trudeau's deficit, if members can believe that. It is unfathomable that in this budget, the Liberal government just slammed, on top of all the other taxes and expenses, another $5,400 of costs onto Canadian households. It is an empty-promise budget.

Is anyone better off? I am looking at the 2.2 million Canadians waiting in a food bank line every single month, 700,000 of whom are children. I am thinking about the seniors who have to choose between eating and heating, or the single mom who goes to the grocery story and sees that Liberal inflation on food has made everything more expensive. In fact, food inflation is twice the bank's target and is growing 50% faster in cost here than it is in the U.S. That single mom has to choose what she can pick out for her kids this week, whether it is nutritious or not, because more nutritious food is more expensive under the Liberal government. Will she have to sacrifice and go hungry so her kids can be fed?

When we look at this budget, there is absolutely nothing inside it for the everyday Canadian. I remember that when I moved here with my family, people could get by with just one income. In elementary school, I remember getting a paper route to help out at home. We did not come here with much. We lived through very harsh poverty. We used to stand in line for low-income bus passes. However, there was a hope. With hard work, back then people could have an affordable life. They could afford groceries and housing, and most importantly, they could live in safe neighbourhoods.

After 10 years of the government, which doubled housing costs, doubled food inflation, doubled food bank usage and increased crime by 55%, Canada is not Canada anymore. It certainly does not feel like it, because the government has done the most irresponsible thing with the safety of Canadians and their money.

The Prime Minister had the gall to stand up in front of young Canadians and tell them they would have to sacrifice more so he could spend more, and, boy, will he spend a lot of money. In fact, if the deficit is doubled, it can only be paid in a few ways. He will raise taxes again, or it will be paid through the silent tax, inflation, which will make sure that all the things Canadians buy will be more expensive afterward.

How much more do young Canadians have to sacrifice? Let us look at the affordability crisis the government has created.

Young Canadians who do the right thing, work hard, go through school and graduate cannot find a job, cannot move out of their parents' basement and certainly cannot afford anything. They cannot meet the milestones of their life that are so important and that we used to consider the Canadian dream, such as going to school, getting a good job, getting married, buying a home and having kids.

All of that is being sacrificed because the Prime Minister thinks it is more important that his banker buddies get paid more on the interest on the debt that the government has put on top of Canadians. In fact, it is so bad that his banker and bondholder buddies get more money than what goes to the provinces in health care transfers. The money his banker buddies get is more than what Canada collects in GST revenues.

This budget has nothing to help Canadians who are fearing for their life these days. Violent crime is out of control. It is up 55%. Gun crime is up 130%. Extortion, which has really affected the South Asian community, is up 330%. The Liberals could not even say “extortion” in this budget.

Canadians will not feel any safer now. Whether they are sitting at home, sitting in their car or walking their kids to school, every Canadian is saying they are scared. Under the government, which has soft-on-crime policies, criminals have more rights than victims. The budget changes none of that.

The Prime Minister is notorious for breaking every single promise. He said he was the guy to deal with President Trump. In fact, his elbows went missing and Canada's tariffs went up. Every place that he or his Minister of Foreign Affairs goes, tariffs go up and Canada's ranking in the world gets lower. He went to China; the tariffs went up. He said he could deal with Trump; again, the tariffs doubled. If the Prime Minister really had his elbows up, Canada would have a better deal and a better standing in the world, but obviously we do not. He said he would spend less. In fact, he doubled the deficit and put more debt on Canadians' heads.

Every single broken promise is more expensive for Canadians, who are already struggling under the government. Young Canadians have lost the dream of home ownership. Yesterday there was another broken promise, and the Governor of the Bank of Canada proved it. The Liberal government continues to say we have the fastest-growing and strongest economy in the G7. I asked the Governor of the Bank of Canada what he thought about it. He said that, in fact, Canada does not have the fastest-growing economy in the G7; Canada has the fastest-shrinking economy in the G7, and our economy is collapsing. That is why we are seeing that Canada also has the second-highest unemployment rate in the G7.

Why is that? It is because the Liberal government, with its antidevelopment, anti-energy laws, drove $600 billion of good Canadian investment to the United States. Under the current Prime Minister alone, $60 billion of good Canadian investment in jobs, talent and machinery has gone to the United States. The Liberals do not want anything to be built here. The only thing they are building in this country is more bureaucracy. That is on the taxpayer's head.

The Liberals need to get rid of these anti-energy laws that will not let anything get built. They have these so-called investments, but we are not seeing more investment coming into Canada from the private sector. It does not pay to invest here in Canada under the Liberal government. That is why pipelines are being built outside, and nothing is getting built here. That is why our unemployment rate is going up and youth have no hope that they are going to be able to find a job after they graduate.

What we need to do, and what the Leader of the Conservative Party will do when he becomes Prime Minister, is unleash our economy by getting rid of all the antidevelopment laws in Canada from the Liberal government. We will get rid of the industrial carbon tax, Bill C-69, Bill C-48 and the oil and gas cap so that our food prices come down. We will have good Canadian jobs, and Canadians will be able to get good paycheques once again in this country.

We will strengthen the justice system so that Canadians can feel safe again, by reversing the same laws that give repeat violent offenders bail. We will give them jail and not bail so that they stay where they belong, behind bars, and Canadians can feel safe once again.

We will give Canadians affordable housing once again. Let us remember that, under the Conservative government, it was half the cost for housing, and it was a lot cheaper to get food. One paycheque used to do. We will bring back that same Canada, where hard work will give a good paycheque, with low taxes, so Canadians can afford homes and food, and they will have hope. On top of that, Canadians will be able to live in a safe community once again.

With that, I move:

That the amendment be amended by deleting all the words after the words “the government's budget statement” and substituting the following:

“since, instead of presenting an affordable budget so Canadians can have an affordable life, it presented a budget that fails to:

a) consider that every dollar the Liberal Government spends comes out of the pockets of Canadians in the form of higher taxes and inflation;

b) bring down the deficit to the level Liberals promised in their last fiscal update, which promised $42 billion last year;

c) scrap hidden taxes on food, including the industrial carbon tax on farmers, the food packaging tax that adds billions in costs, and the fuel standard tax that adds 17 cents per litre to diesel and gasoline for farmers;

d) end the inflation tax by bringing down the cost of government instead of printing money to pay Liberal bills; and

e) include a plan for any oil and gas pipelines that would strengthen our nation's economy and get our resources to market.”