Debates of Dec. 10th, 2025

Government Appointments

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have wanted to know who came up with the idea of radical open doors, liberal immigration that overwhelmed our health care, housing and job market. It turns out it was Mark Wiseman, the Prime Minister's corporate crony, long-time Liberal elite and head of the Century Initiative, whose stated mission is to triple the population of Canada to 100 million people, a policy that is designed to profit multinational corporations by driving wages down and housing costs up.

Why is it that every time somebody comes along with an idea that harms Canadians and drives up their cost of living, the Prime Minister gives them a promotion?

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

Mr. Speaker, I wish to reiterate my thanks to our outgoing ambassador to the United States of America, Kirsten Hillman, who has furnished incredible, loyal and very insightful services to the people and to the Government of Canada. I think our country owes her a debt of gratitude.

Once again, the policy that the member opposite refers to has never been and will never be the policy of the Government of Canada.

Government Priorities

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, every time a Liberal insider does damage to Canadians, drives up their cost of living, they get a reward. It is not just with Mr. Wiseman; it is the Prime Minister himself. His policies are driving up grocery prices for the year to come, and what did he do as punishment for himself? He gave himself an $800,000 privately chartered flight to Egypt, where there were meetings happening in which he had absolutely no role other than a photo op.

Why is it that Canadians need to line up at food banks so he can go jetting around the world for photo ops?

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

Mr. Speaker, I know that in the spirit of the holiday season, the Leader of the Opposition is surely not suggesting that the Prime Minister not attend as auspicious an event as the ceremony with respect to peace in the Middle East and Gaza, and join multitudes of other world leaders at that occasion, representing and making Canadians proud for his attendance at that event.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister was conspicuously irrelevant at that meeting, where he played no role whatsoever in the agreement, yet he charged Canadians $800,000 for a privately chartered jet. Apparently, his own prime ministerial jet was not good enough for him. He does this while he imposes an industrial carbon tax on farm equipment, on fertilizer and on food processors that has driven 2.2 million Canadians to a food bank.

Why is the Prime Minister being the Grinch of the grocery store, charging taxpayers for flights when Canadians cannot eat?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's work on the world—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

I cannot hear. Also, I would like to mention to the hon. member for Oakville West that I could hear her all the way from here.

If we could keep it a little lower, we will now go to the hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs.

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Oakville East, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's work on the world stage with his counterparts to bring an end to the conflict in the Middle East is extremely important. He is continuing to be engaged on the peace plan in the Middle East. The plan, in fact, reflects Canada's long-standing position that Hamas should have no role in the governance of Palestine, and the ceasefire provides an opportunity for the Prime Minister and other world leaders to continue to work on humanitarian aid for the benefit of all.

The Economy

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's refusal, even though he is in Ottawa, to answer my questions directly is not in keeping with the Christmas spirit.

This is at a time when he has driven up the cost of living so much that 2.2 million Canadians are lined up at food banks and food prices are going to drive an extra $1,000 onto the grocery bills of Canadians next year, after he imposed higher taxes on farm equipment, fertilizer, food packaging and more.

Will the Prime Minister, instead of being the Grinch of the grocery store, reverse these taxes so that Canadians can have an affordable, delicious Christmas?

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

Mr. Speaker, while the member opposite talks about imaginary taxes, Canadians know exactly what is going on, and it is related to climate change.

Our thoughts are with the cattle farmers in the western provinces this year, who have faced unimaginable loss of crop and loss of cattle as a result of drought. That is driving up the price of beef, something that we cannot actually control right now.

What can we control? We can make sure that Canadians have extra money in their pockets. That is what Canadians are counting on, that we will be here for them in these tough times.

Government Appointments

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is considering appointing Mark Wiseman as ambassador to Washington.

Mark Wiseman is one of the co-founders of the Century Initiative, a policy that aims to increase Canada's population to 100 million people and is at the root of Quebec exceeding its intake capacity. He said that 100 million Canadians by 2100 should become federal policy “even if it makes Quebec howl”. He used the term “howl”, which is something dogs do.

Does the Prime Minister really think that Mark Wiseman can represent Quebeckers in Washington?

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

Mr. Speaker, as we just mentioned many times in the House, the policy to which my colleague refers has never been and never will be the policy of the Government of Canada.

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

Mr. Speaker, that still speaks to his policy.

Wise men say only fools rush in. The Prime Minister already made an appointment last week that turned all of Quebec against him. We are just trying to give him a chance not to make the same mistake twice. When Mark Wiseman talks about imposing immigration policies on Quebec, even if it makes them howl, he is showing his contempt not only for Quebec, but also for democracy.

There are 44 Liberal members from Quebec. Will one of them stand up and tell the Prime Minister to appoint someone else?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Minister of Government Transformation]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the House, for the sixth time today, that the policy the member is referring to is not a Government of Canada policy, and it never will be.

If she wants to talk about culture, I can tell her that I am very proud of our Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and this government, which has invested $4.1 billion in official languages, among other things, and $770 million in culture. The only thing we asked of the Bloc Québécois was to make requests in anticipation of the budget. However, it did not make a single suggestion regarding the cultural industry.

Justice

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal abuse of power continues.

After Bill C-5, which gives the federal government the power to circumvent all laws for its major projects like pipelines, now we have Bill C-15. The Liberals are enshrining the right for all their ministers to break any law under the guise of innovation. That is not all. Liberal senators' Bill S-4 also allows them to circumvent the law.

If the Liberals can decide everything without obeying the law and without consulting anyone, can we still call this a democracy?

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

Mr. Speaker, of course we can call this a democracy. We are here to debate it publicly. That is the very definition of democratic debate.

As for Bill C-15, it contains very important tools for advancing our economy, advancing Canadian innovation and ensuring that we can achieve great things together, so that Quebec can reach its goals and Canada can reach its economic and other goals.

We look forward to debating it further with the member and with the entire House of Commons.

Natural Resources

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has a problem. A pipeline to the Pacific is very popular with Canadians. Canadians want to stop the practice of selling Canadian oil at a massive discount to the United States when billions of customers lie just on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, but the Prime Minister has never believed in selling more Canadian energy. He wrote an entire book about leaving Canada's natural resources in the ground. He cheered on the decision to cancel the northern gateway pipeline, and his caucus does not support one either.

Is the real reason he voted against his own MOU yesterday that he has no intention of actually getting a pipeline built? He just needs to pretend long enough, until the next election.

[Corey Hogan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, we support a pipeline. We support the whole MOU, which is a careful balancing of the economy and the environment and gets us away from the United States as a primary trading partner. This is great news. It is also an MOU that balances the interests of indigenous peoples and other jurisdictions.

We do not support, and we are happy to vote against, games played by the opposition that make a pipeline less likely. That the Leader of the Opposition would do this is ridiculous. It lets Alberta down, but I should not be surprised. Being elected in Battle River does not an Albertan make.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, voting against the Prime Minister's own MOU does not a pipeline build. Getting that MOU through his own caucus should have been the easy part of the process. This self-declared master negotiator could not even do that. Instead, his MOU piles on new conditions and red tape, ties approvals to other projects, hikes the industrial carbon tax and hands unconstitutional vetoes to other levels of government. It is clear he could not even get it through his own caucus.

If the Prime Minister could not do that, why should Canadians believe he can get a pipeline through all his new hoops and hurdles?

[Stephanie McLean, Liberal, Secretary of State (Seniors)]

Mr. Speaker, I was in Rachel Notley's New Democrat government when, in partnership with the federal Liberals, we got the first pipeline to tidewater built in generations. This is a pipeline that helps pay for schools, hospitals and environmental investments and supports good union jobs. Now, as a Vancouver Island MP, I support our Prime Minister's vision to build Canada strong with indigenous peoples, the provinces and the environment. The Conservatives want to ram things through, never mind indigenous people and never mind the environment. Our thoughtful approach ensures that no Canadian is left behind.

Government Priorities

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday we found out the Prime Minister spent almost $800,000 on a one-day taxpayer escape to Egypt to take a photo and not sign an agreement. Struggling Canadians are lining up at food banks and skipping meals, while the Prime Minister takes their money and skips town.

We know it is second nature for the Prime Minister to live large on other people's dime, but can he at least stand up today and explain to hungry Canadians why he treats their tax dollars like his personal travel fund?

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

Mr. Speaker, once again, I know the hon. deputy leader of the Conservative Party is not suggesting that the Prime Minister of Canada should not have joined with dozens of his international counterparts for as auspicious an event as the commemoration of a ceasefire in the Middle East, an issue upon which, I might add, she has had a lot to say over the last little while.

The Prime Minister of Canada represents Canadians proudly, and Canadians are proud when our Prime Minister attends these events and does incredible business with his counterparts from all around the world.

Taxation

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I will tell the member that the agreement was signed despite the Prime Minister, not because of him.

I would also like to remind the Prime Minister that Toronto food banks got over four million visits last year. They are going to get even more when the price of groceries rises $1,000 per family next year.

Will the government kill the industrial carbon tax, the packaging tax and the new fuel tax so that Canadians can afford food, or will he hop on another plane and avoid answering questions in this place altogether?

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

Mr. Speaker, the opposition wants to talk about nonsense taxes that do not exist on food instead of supporting the very things that Canadians have told us, time and again, that they want.

They want a Canada child benefit that is indexed to inflation. They want seniors' benefits that are indexed to inflation. They want to make sure, as do all mothers, that children get healthy food in schools. However, the Conservatives do not. They want to stand in the way of the very things that Canadians know will help them at this time.

[Leslyn Lewis, Conservative, Haldimand—Norfolk, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised to bring down the price of groceries. In Haldimand—Norfolk, where I live, a family reached out to me in desperation. Despite a decent income, they said that they could barely afford groceries for their family and their household.

When the Liberals took office in 2015, the average weekly grocery bill was $159. A decade later, it has more than doubled, to over $338.

When will the Prime Minister cut the hidden food taxes so that Canadians can afford to feed their families?