House of Commons Hansard #72 of the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was border.
This summary is computer-generated. Usually it’s accurate, but every now and then it’ll contain inaccuracies or total fabrications.
National Framework on Sickle Cell Disease Act First reading of Bill S-201. The bill establishes a national framework on sickle cell disease to improve awareness, research, screening, diagnosis, and care standards, particularly for disproportionately affected racialized communities. 200 words.
Strengthening Canada's Immigration System and Borders Act Report stage of Bill C-12. The bill strengthens Canada's immigration system and borders by amending the Customs Act and Oceans Act to enhance border security and combat transnational organized crime and money laundering. While the Liberal government emphasizes its commitment to hiring 1,000 CBSA officers and modernizing immigration, Conservatives argue the bill is incomplete and fails to address staffing shortages, bail reform, and the chaotic immigration system. The NDP strongly opposes the bill, particularly its one-year bar on refugee claims and what it calls sweeping, unprecedented powers to cancel applications, which they deem a "Trump-style agenda." 15100 words, 2 hours in 2 segments: 1 2.
Business of the House Members debate the passage of Bill C-14, which Conservatives link to "fixing Liberal bail". The Liberal House leader offers to pass C-14 and moves to expedite Bills C-4, C-13, and C-12, and adjourn the House. 700 words.
Living Donor Recognition Medal Act Second reading of Bill C-234. The bill establishes a national medal to recognize living organ donors in Canada. Members from various parties support the initiative, highlighting the importance of acknowledging these heroes for their courage, generosity and profound humanity. Proponents believe this recognition will raise awareness and encourage more people to give, ultimately saving lives and reducing transplant waitlists. 3100 words, 25 minutes.
Andrew Lawton Conservative Elgin—St. Thomas—London South, ON
Mr. Speaker, it is difficult, day in and day out, to see the Liberals claim to have the solutions for the problems they have created. For the last 48 hours, Liberals have rejected 17 attempts by Conservative members to advance critical bail reforms, because they will not get off their desire to attack the religious freedoms of Canadians. Canadians want real reforms to bail, not Liberal obstruction.
When will the Liberals get serious about real crime instead of thought crime?
Ruby Sahota LiberalSecretary of State (Combatting Crime)
Mr. Speaker, the member for Elgin—St. Thomas—London South has been the main culprit who has been filibustering all the crime bills at the justice committee this season. The Conservatives have been talking about cats and dogs when hate crimes have gone up over 70% in this country. The reason we brought this bill was to help protect those worshippers. We are doing everything on this side of the House to protect Canadians and to protect public safety, and they have been opposing, they have been stalling and they have been blocking it.
Andrew Lawton Conservative Elgin—St. Thomas—London South, ON
Mr. Speaker, I will not allow the secretary of state to point fingers, when the very communities she is claiming to be speaking for have been the ones to cry—
JusticeOral Questions
The Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia
I think we are going to hear that line many more times if it continues to be too noisy on this side.
The hon. member for Elgin—St. Thomas—London South, from the top, please.
Andrew Lawton Conservative Elgin—St. Thomas—London South, ON
Mr. Speaker, the secretary of state is pointing fingers because she does not want to look at the millions of fingers that have been pointing at the Liberal government for allowing these problems to fester. Even today, Liberal members of the justice committee said that the Minister of Justice would come before committee only if we agreed to wave through their divisive and toxic Bill C-9.
Why are the Liberals putting conditions on transparency and accountability, and obstructing their own legislation? Why will the Minister of Justice not appear before committee, and why will he not stand up now instead of pointing fingers?
Ruby Sahota LiberalSecretary of State (Combatting Crime)
Mr. Speaker, it is just a fact that the member for Elgin—St. Thomas—London South has been blocking all crime bills at the justice committee since the beginning of the current Parliament. He has been talking about his pets instead of talking about the safety of Canadians.
This is a clear pattern that we are seeing from the Conservatives; they have been weak on crime since they got here. They have been blocking the bail reform bill. They have been blocking protections for peaceful worshippers. They will not allow the police to have the powers they need to stop extortionists and pedophiles.
Arpan Khanna Conservative Oxford, ON
Mr. Speaker, under the Liberals, food prices have doubled and Canadians are struggling to get by.
There are now 2.2 million food bank visits in a single month, with one in 10 of those users being a senior. Paul, a 70-year-old from Woodstock, was forced out of retirement and is now working night shifts to stock shelves just so he can survive. The seniors who helped build this country are now the people struggling to afford to live in it.
Will the Liberals not finally stop driving costs up so our seniors could afford to eat and to retire with dignity?
Adam van Koeverden LiberalSecretary of State (Sport)
Mr. Speaker, let us remember when the Grinch tried to steal Christmas. He drove all the way up to the top of Mount Crumpit because he had everything he needed and was going to throw away the gifts the Whos deserved because he thought they did not deserve to have nice things.
That is kind of like the Leader of the Conservative Party. For 25 years he has had dental care because he has had a job here in the House of Commons, so he votes against dental care for nine million Canadians. He has secure housing; he lives comfortably at Stornoway in government-owned housing, so he votes against affordable housing for millions of Canadians.
My Christmas wish is that the Leader of the Conservative Party would come back in January with a heart that has grown three sizes and that he would try to help a Canadian for once in his 21-year career.
Arpan Khanna Conservative Oxford, ON
Mr. Speaker, we were once promised that hard work meant a great life, but with the Liberals, that promise is gone.
Ryan, a single father from Thamesford, works extremely hard but is struggling to put food on the table. He is struggling to put gas in his car, and he is struggling to keep his house warm for Christmas. Just like millions of other Canadians, he is now relying on a food bank to feed his family.
With grocery prices going up $1,000, will the Liberals finally stop their reckless inflationary spending and scrap their hidden food taxes so citizens like Ryan can afford to eat once again?
Ryan Turnbull LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance and National Revenue and to the Secretary of State (Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Institutions)
Mr. Speaker, we know that “Bah humbug” is just a name for the opposition leader's management style. Thank God the human emotion of joy is not deductible, because the Conservatives would find a way to claw it back right before Christmas. They will not help us feed children in school. They will not help us build affordable housing. They will not help us give and to deliver to families a well-earned tax break before Christmas. What is next, the Christmas tree? Are they going to try to take that away too? Even the Grinch had the good sense to give people their presents back before Christmas.
When will the Conservative Party stand up and actually support Canadians? They said they were “Canada first”, so why do they put Canadians last every chance they get?
Carol Anstey Conservative Long Range Mountains, NL
Mr. Speaker, while Canadians cannot afford the basics, the Liberal Prime Minister spent nearly $800,000 on a private jet.
In Newfoundland and Labrador we have the highest unemployment rate in the country, at more than 10%. Families are stretched thin. “Canada's Food Price Report” shows that the grocery bill has more than doubled since 2015, rising from $159 a week to $338. Next year families are expected to pay even more.
When will the Liberals stop their inflationary spending and cut the industrial carbon tax and their new fuel tax so Canadians can afford to eat?
Joanne Thompson LiberalMinister of Fisheries
Mr. Speaker, I am so pleased to stand and address their misinformation, their imaginary taxes and their general disengagement from what matters in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Budget 2025 is about investment. It is about building this country. It is about investment in rural Newfoundland and Labrador, like the rest of the country: roads, bridges, schools and hospitals. It is about support for 46,000 families in the province who need the Canada child benefit, indexed to inflation.
The member voted against all these—
The EconomyOral Questions
Carol Anstey Conservative Long Range Mountains, NL
Mr. Speaker, that answer is not acceptable, and I am going to tell you why.
A woman in my riding shared a moment that she said she will never forget. She was in the grocery store and saw a senior couple standing at the meat counter. The elderly wife looked at her husband and quietly said, “I know I need to buy something, but I do not know what to buy because everything is so expensive.” The woman who witnessed this exchange told me she went to her car and cried. She never thought she would see seniors in Newfoundland and Labrador struggling like that.
When will the Prime Minister finally take these struggles seriously and make life affordable for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador?
Joanne Thompson LiberalMinister of Fisheries
Mr. Speaker, I am going to deal in facts.
Supports for seniors are indexed to inflation. Housing supports help seniors find affordable places to live. There are supports for families and communities in Newfoundland and Labrador. The school food program, which another member from Newfoundland and Labrador called “garbage”, feeds children. There is $800 a year for a family of two in savings. I can go on and on.
The Conservative members vote against everything that supports families and seniors.
Steven Bonk Conservative Souris—Moose Mountain, SK
Mr. Speaker, across Saskatchewan, families are being crushed by soaring grocery prices. I recently spoke with a farm family, people who feed this country and the world. After paying their bills, they now rely on a local food bank to get by. This should never happen in a country like Canada. The Liberal government should be ashamed that there are now 27 cases of scurvy in Saskatchewan because people cannot afford healthy food after 10 years of Liberal inflation and higher taxes.
How does the government defend its record when farm families need food banks and when Canadians are now being diagnosed with scurvy?
Buckley Belanger LiberalSecretary of State (Rural Development)
Mr. Speaker, as with any serious disease, the government will respond to this. We will work with all the officials involved, including our provincial counterparts.
The House leader, who has a very kind heart, said to be kind when he answered the questions in some of your interventions. I am going to wish you all the gift of greater tolerance for all people. In the new year, I wish the Conservatives would place the priorities of Canada above your own political agenda. In this new year—
The EconomyOral Questions
The Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia
The hon. secretary of state knows he must address the House through the Chair.
The hon. member for Pierrefonds—Dollard.
Sameer Zuberi Liberal Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC
Mr. Speaker, in the great north Arctic, families face some of the highest costs of living for housing and basic necessities. In just a few months, the new government has announced several affordability measures for Canadians, as well as for those in the north.
Can the Minister of Northern and Arctic Affairs share how our government is working, including through Bill C-4's affordability measures, to deliver financial relief to the northern communities that need it most?
Rebecca Chartrand LiberalMinister of Northern and Arctic Affairs and Minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency
Mr. Speaker, for the first time in generations, we are making historic investments in housing and infrastructure across the north, building homes, roads and community facilities. We are investing in clean energy, better Internet and stronger transportation links, all in partnership with indigenous communities.
Bill C-4 would deliver tax cuts, GST housing credits and enhanced benefits so families can heat their homes and feed their children. This is generational change for the north.
Kyle Seeback Conservative Dufferin—Caledon, ON
Mr. Speaker, yesterday at committee the finance minister condescendingly said that he was a lawyer and would be happy to explain the Stellantis contract.
Well, one does not have to be a lawyer or even an accountant to know that 4,475 jobs is fewer than 8,000 jobs. The incompetent Liberals signed a contract with Stellantis that was going to pay Stellantis billions of dollars, and it guaranteed 4,400 jobs, when Stellantis at the time had 8,000 jobs. This allowed Stellantis to fire 3,000 workers and ship the jobs down to the United States.
How do the Liberals explain this unbelievable level of incompetence?
Karim Bardeesy LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, we signed that deal on behalf of the government for every worker, every employee and every member of that community. Stellantis broke that deal. In our opinion, it is in default. We are going to get that money back, or the jobs are coming back, period.
Kyle Seeback Conservative Dufferin—Caledon, ON
Mr. Speaker, yeah, except when Stellantis was at committee, its president said it is not in default of the contract. It is probably relying on the section in the contract that said it would guarantee 4,475 jobs, when at the time, the company had 8,000 jobs, and 4,475 jobs is about 3,500 fewer than 8,000. I know that is hard for the Liberals to comprehend, and that is why they feel as though when Stellantis fired 3,000 workers it was not in default.
Guess who benefits again from this. It Donald Trump and America, where all those jobs went, along with a $13-billion investment from Stellantis. What—
Automotive IndustryOral Questions