Debates of Dec. 1st, 2025

The Economy

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, we vote against measures that feed bureaucracy rather than children and families.

Since the school food program was created, the number of young children who need to use food banks has doubled, and 90% of children receive nothing from this program, even if we believe the government's own figures. Every time the government spends more, it costs people more in food inflation, on top of the taxes on food.

Why is the government forcing Canadians to pay more for bureaucracy instead of paying for food?

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

Mr. Speaker, my colleague just mentioned Canada's national school food program. We could also mention the Canada child benefit and automatic benefits. There is no bureaucracy in these programs, but they provide direct assistance to moms and dads who are experiencing food insecurity, which, yes, is all too widespread in our society.

Why are this leader and his party so bent on voting against measures that help people experiencing food insecurity?

Carbon Pricing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, today Algoma announced it is laying off 1,000 steelworkers, nearly a third of its workforce, in the Soo. Our thoughts are with them. The Prime Minister looked them in the eye and promised he would protect their jobs, negotiate a win and have a deal by July 21, but it was a bait and switch that is costing people their livelihoods. On top of that, the Liberals are hammering the steel mill with a higher industrial carbon tax.

Is it not bad enough that the Prime Minister broke his promise on trade? Why is he going ahead with an industrial carbon tax that will kill even more steel jobs?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions]

Mr. Speaker, obviously, our thoughts are with the workers affected by the unjustified and unjustifiable tariffs imposed by the White House.

We will continue to work with them as Algoma Steel goes through a difficult situation, to say the least. My team and I have been in contact with Algoma's leadership team. We absolutely have every confidence in the Algoma workers as they are going through this hardship. We will make sure we support them as they are developing new products and accessing new markets. We will fight for these jobs.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, more promises and more Liberal thoughts will not put food on the tables of those out-of-work steelworkers.

They are not alone. The Liberal food cost crisis is growing, according to today's Feed Ontario report, which reveals that food bank use is up 13% in one year and 165% since the current Prime Minister became the economic adviser to the Liberal government. There have been 8.7 million visits in one year to Ontario food banks while the Prime Minister hikes carbon taxes on food production.

Why is he driving more people into hunger with higher taxes?

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

Mr. Speaker, every step of the way, the Conservatives fight against the supports Canadian families talk about needing. In fact, they just asked a question about workers who are facing job losses at Algoma Steel, yet when they had a chance to vote for the expansion of EI for easier access, longer duration and more generous benefits, they voted against it.

How do the Conservatives, in any way, have the right to stand up and talk about the needs of Canadians when they stand in the way of the supports those very Canadians need?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the support those Canadians want and need is a paycheque. They want to be able to afford food, and they should be able to. In a country with this much farmland and this much wealth, our people should be able to eat.

However, according to the latest report by Feed Ontario, there has been a 165% increase in food bank use in Ontario alone since the Prime Minister joined the government, yet he wants to go ahead with an industrial carbon tax on farm equipment, food processors and fertilizer, which will drive up the cost of food.

Why does the Prime Minister get fat on his tax havens while he taxes people's food?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is amazing to hear the Leader of the Opposition, because the first thing we did was make sure Canadians could have more money in their pockets. We, in fact, reduced taxes for 22 million Canadians. What is most disturbing for Canadians watching at home is that, at every step of the way, when we were there for families, for workers and for Canadians, Conservatives stood in the way. He is the leader who voted against Canadians.

On this side of the House, we believe in Canada. We are going to grow this country. We are going to work for families. We are going to protect our workers. We are going to build Canada.

Housing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister did not just break his promises on food. He also did on housing. He said he would double homebuilding, but, today, a report out from the Missing Middle Initiative shows that housing starts are down 34% across 34 Ontario municipalities, and condo starts are down 51%. However, the Prime Minister is going ahead with a Liberal industrial carbon tax on the steel, aluminum, glass and other inputs required to build homes. It is a tax on homes, all while he hides his millions of dollars in a Bermuda tax haven.

Why does the Prime Minister hide his money abroad while taxing homes here in Canada?

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

Mr. Speaker, if the Leader of the Opposition and the Conservatives actually cared about affordable housing, they would have voted for a budget with $13 billion for affordable housing. They could have voted for $1 billion to fight homelessness and build supportive housing. The Conservatives have stalled the first-time homebuyers' GST break since June. They have no credibility on affordable housing.

Climate Change

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the oil deal between the Liberals and Alberta is climate betrayal. Canada is walking away from the global fight for the environment. The Liberal member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie confirmed this yesterday on Tout le monde en parle. He said, “If we are being honest with Canadians, we can no longer meet our 2030 targets. With the recent announcements, it's not possible”.

Will the Liberals be as honest as that member and admit to the public that they have no intention of meeting their targets?

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

Mr. Speaker, the agreement reached last week is a major step forward for climate change and the environment in Canada. The deal includes carbon capture. It includes renewable energy intertie projects across western Canada. It includes nuclear energy, and it also includes a clear process and clear conditions for the Province of Alberta to meet.

This is a major step forward for our environment. The rules are clear, and Alberta has committed to implementing its environmental plan.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it pains me to see the Liberals compromising their values like this. The oil deal with Alberta will position Canada as one of the world's worst environmental offenders for decades to come. It confirms that the Liberals have sold out all of their principles to the same oil companies that are the majority shareholders of the Conservative Party.

Ultimately, it is not surprising that members are defecting from the Conservative Party to the Liberal Party, since they are both pursuing the same policies. The real question is this: Why are there not more Liberals following the example of the member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie and resigning?

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

Mr. Speaker, does the Bloc Québécois know what the people in British Columbia are not saying? They are not saying that they need the Bloc Québécois to stand up for them.

We have a clear path in British Columbia. We are creating jobs and opportunities. We are ensuring that we work collaboratively with B.C. first nations. We are creating renewable energy and electricity grids. B.C. is the big winner when it comes to creating opportunities, jobs and major projects in Canada. We were elected to build Canada. That is what we are doing.

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, he is calling oil a renewable energy source.

Quebeckers did not vote for a climate betrayal. Many of them even voted Liberal out of fear of the Conservatives. Today, the Liberals are betraying them with a conservative oil deal with Alberta. Quebeckers elected 44 Liberal MPs and got betrayed. Alberta elected two, and all its wildest oil dreams are coming true.

What is the point of electing members from Quebec who do not stand up for the interests of Quebeckers?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions]

Mr. Speaker, the 44 members from Quebec are very proud to defend this government and to stand up for the interests of Quebeckers because, during the last election, Quebeckers told us that they wanted us to be able to protect them from what was happening in the United States.

Given the changing geopolitical context and given that the United States is also making its own decisions regarding energy policy, we need to be able to be our own sovereign nation. That is why we decided to sign such an important agreement with Alberta.

Housing

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, once upon a time in Canada, one could work hard, earn a decent living and build a better life. In the decade of Liberal policy, that bargain has been blown to pieces.

A CTV report this weekend showed that even families earning $200,000 are being driven out of Toronto because they cannot afford a basement rental, a home or anything else. Last year, 35,000 households fled the GTA, not because they wanted to, but because they had to.

Is “move somewhere cheaper” the new official government slogan of the Liberals for Canadians who cannot afford to stay in their homes?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is hypocrisy to hear this from the Conservatives. All of a sudden they are concerned about affordable housing.

Building starts are up across Canada this year versus last year. If we look at year to year, we are moving up. We are investing $13 billion in Build Canada Homes, which is focused on non-market housing and market housing that leverages it.

We are getting no support from the Conservatives to scale up affordable housing at an unprecedented rate, and we would expect that if they are going to speak out here about it.

Public Safety

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that we would never support any of the policies that doubled home prices over the last decade.

However, families are not just leaving Toronto because it is expensive. They are leaving because it is dangerous. We have needles in parks and crack pipes on the subway, and everybody is just supposed to pretend that all of this is normal.

Does the government understand that public safety failures, the cost of housing, the cost of food and the cost of everything else are pushing Canadians out of their own communities after 10 years of Liberal failures?

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

Mr. Speaker, it would be really nice if the Conservatives would read the reports that they quote in the House of Commons. Food banks Ontario talks about the importance of increasing base rates for social assistance, making sure that people living in poverty have sufficient social supports and investing in income supports for Canadians, like we have done through the Canada disability support payment. The kinds of recommendations coming out of these reports fly in the face of the individualism we hear from over on the other side.

What Canadians know is that sometimes people face hard times, and when they do, they want their country to be there for them.

The Economy

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

Mr. Speaker, while the Prime Minister shelters his personal profits in Bermuda without paying taxes, he is forcing the Canadian middle class to pay hidden taxes every time they buy groceries.

The Observatoire québécois des inégalités reports that 20% of workers are experiencing food insecurity. That figure has doubled in four years. Even people with a job can no longer afford food and rent.

Why is this Prime Minister so proud of running up a record deficit and imposing historic spending that makes life even more expensive for Canadians? It is even harder for people to put food on the table.

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

Mr. Speaker, once again, I would like to emphasize that no parent should struggle to feed their children.

I was in Nova Scotia this weekend. I had the opportunity to meet with mothers, with women who run day care centres and take care of our children. They told me just how much our investments are doing for their families, whether it is because of lower day care costs or because they are receiving the Canada child benefit. They are very happy with these investments, which opposition members vote against every single time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I will give an example of what 10 years of Liberal governance is doing. Thousands of Quebeckers are choosing to eat less in order to keep a roof over their heads.

The Observatoire québécois des inégalités also reported today that food insecurity has nearly doubled in four years under this Liberal government. This is affecting one in three renters. Severe food insecurity has jumped 63% in three years. That means people are skipping meals, losing weight and suffering from extreme deprivation. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister is asking young people to make sacrifices.

How many young people will this Prime Minister sacrifice to keep making Brookfield richer at Canadians' expense?

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

Mr. Speaker, this is a serious issue.

My colleague forgot to mention that the first thing we did as a government was to lower taxes for Canadians. Twenty-two million Canadians are now paying less tax.

The second thing that the Conservatives voted against—and it is important that people tuning in watch when these Conservatives ask questions—is measures to build housing. Affordable housing is the foundation of affordability.

If they were serious and genuinely concerned, each and every one of them would rise to support budget 2025.

Carbon Pricing

[Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Conservative, Hastings—Lennox and Addington—Tyendinaga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, at a time when families are under unprecedented financial pressures, Canadians expect their government to put them first. While the Prime Minister travels abroad, meeting with dictators and autocrats, Canadians here at home are struggling to make ends meet. In parts of Ontario, food bank visits have increased by over 250%.

This budget was an opportunity for the government to lower the cost of living by eliminating the industrial carbon tax. Instead, it callously increased it. Why?