Debates of Dec. 3rd, 2025

Automotive Industry

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, that answer is unbelievable. We have a minister who did not read a contract, who admits he did not read the contract, and he was promoted to become the finance minister. The Liberals talk about a job guarantee for workers in Brampton, and there clearly is not. As Christmas approaches, 3,000 assembly workers in Brampton are out in the cold collecting EI.

The Liberals talk about some contracts and other things, but they are doing nothing to get the workers back into their plants. They talk about extended EI. I have met with those workers. They want to be in the plant. They want their jobs back.

What are the Liberals doing to get the jobs back for those workers?

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, here is what is believable: It is 37,922 jobs through 15 procurement projects across this country and $106.3 billion of investment in our defence sector. The opposition should clamp down on the negativism, help build this country forward, get behind our defence sector and get behind our defence industrial strategy. Let us grow this economy for our people and our future.

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

Mr. Speaker, after being ordered to hand over their multi-billion dollar subsidy deal with Stellantis unredacted, the Liberals refused, with senior officials blaming the company, stating that Stellantis had outlined every redaction they had felt to be necessary and that they were, “comfortable with the redactions they proposed.” The problem is that Stellantis has now gone public, saying it never asked for the documents to be blacked out.

Will the minister tell us why her officials lied to committee and Canadians?

[Buckley Belanger, Liberal, Secretary of State (Rural Development)]

Mr. Speaker, once again, they are calling down Canada. They are calling down Saskatchewan. As the Leader of the Opposition pontificates from the comfort of Stornoway, our leader, the Prime Minister of Canada, is busy fighting for every inch of trade opportunity in this changing world.

The men and women on this side of the House are helping win that fight, and Canada is going to continue that fight, with or without the opposition.

Forestry Industry

[Mark Strahl, Conservative, Chilliwack—Hope, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised Canadians he was going to negotiate a win with the Americans and that he could handle Donald Trump. Well, not only has he failed to get a deal, but softwood lumber tariffs have tripled under his watch and he has unilaterally abandoned legal challenges against these tariffs. Now, another mill on Vancouver Island is closing, killing nearly 1,500 direct and indirect jobs. They do not want handouts; they want to keep working.

When will the Prime Minister finally keep his promise to get a lumber deal so forestry workers stop losing their jobs?

[Tim Hodgson, Liberal, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, as we said, we are in a trade war. It is hurting the people of Crofton, and it is hurting the entire forestry industry. That is why we were on the phone with company officials, talking about how to retool the factory, and that is why we were on the phone with the Minister of Forests in B.C., looking at fibre solutions.

The Conservatives complain; we do the work. We are standing with the forestry sector.

[Aaron Gunn, Conservative, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, devastated, gutted and heartbroken are just three of the emotions I felt after learning that 375 Canadians would be losing their jobs with the closing of the Crofton mill. These are Canadians with mortgage payments and with young families, Canadians who were already struggling with the rising cost of living before receiving this terrible news.

The government promised to support our workers and secure market access for our goods. Instead, lumber tariffs have tripled, and thousands of Canadians have lost their jobs.

If the Liberals' so-called plan is really working, can they guarantee that no more mills in Canada will close as a result?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative member needs to take several seats.

In my riding on Vancouver Island, people know that we are supporting the softwood lumber industry. Whereas the Conservatives' plan is to get out of the way and to do nothing, our government is investing in—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The member may keep going, but not from the top.

[Stephanie McLean, Liberal, Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in my riding of Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke and on Vancouver Island, folks know that the government has the back of the softwood lumber industry and its workers, whereas the Conservatives would do nothing. Their plan is simply to get out of the way, whereas we are providing real support.

[Tamara Kronis, Conservative, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Mr. Speaker, 375 workers at our local Crofton mill are losing their jobs 10 days before Christmas: 150 jobs gone in Chemainus and 165 jobs gone in 100 Mile House. Thirty-one B.C. towns have been gutted so far because the Liberals broke their promise to get a deal.

What is the Prime Minister's take on stalled talks? "Who cares?”, he said; there is no “burning issue”. Well, the people who lost their jobs yesterday care, and their families know this is a burning issue. After these latest losses, why should anyone trust the Prime Minister to get a softwood lumber deal?

[Jill McKnight, Liberal, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the softwood lumber industry is incredibly important to British Columbia, and we stand with the workers, the 375 individuals. We are here to stand with them. British Columbia knows the importance of this industry, and the federal government is going to invest in it to support it.

Natural Resources

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Ponoka—Didsbury, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this morning the radical ex-minister of the environment, and Greenpeace stuntman, said, “I sincerely doubt that the new pipeline will ever get built.” As the head of the Liberal “keep it in the ground” caucus, he has continuously poured cold water on the MOU, saying that there is no project, no route, no consensus and no private sector proponent. The former minister knows what the Prime Minister will not admit: that the west coast tanker ban makes any project impossible.

Will the Prime Minister repeal the tanker ban so we can get our resources to market, or is the new pipeline really just a pipe dream?

[Tim Hodgson, Liberal, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite should speak with the Premier of Alberta, who seems very hopeful that we can work together. Rather than putting Canada down, we can work together to build this country in an environmentally responsible way in partnership with indigenous peoples. That is how we build Canada strong.

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Ponoka—Didsbury, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is not serious about building a pipeline. His former orange-jumpsuit minister has said that an MOU with Alberta was not an approval of a pipeline. He knows that a decade of his government's anti-resource-extraction laws has made it impossible to find a private sector proponent.

Just like the NDP Premier of British Columbia, the Prime Minister is hiding behind a tanker ban that blocks Canadian resources from getting to market and will block any future projects, all while U.S. tankers can sail freely through the very same Canadian waters.

Will the Prime Minister admit that the last decade of Liberal rule has been a failure, and repeal all the stupid, job-killing Trudeau laws?

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

Mr. Speaker, to listen to the members of Parliament from Alberta is to get a taste of real dejection: real dejection that a prime minister of Canada and a premier of Alberta put their signatures to a solemn document that creates major possibilities in renewable power, in electricity generation, in carbon sequestration, in resource development and in making Canada a renewable and conventional energy superpower. They are pretty disappointed about that.

[Billy Morin, Conservative, Edmonton Northwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister disrespected chiefs by shutting them out of the MOU consultations and discussions with Alberta. The Prime Minister talked down to first nation chiefs yesterday at AFN for 20 minutes about not breaking trust. Then he completely ignored all questions from Alberta first nations.

The Prime Minister is breaking trust with first nations, investors, Albertans, British Columbians, his caucus and his own cabinet on whether he will build a pipeline or not. Will he show real leadership by committing to a pipeline today, or will he just continue to divide Canadians?

[Jaime Battiste, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations]

Mr. Speaker, our government continues to respect and acknowledge the important work they are doing as first nations leaders across this country.

Our ministers have been busy all week listening to rights holders and going to the meetings. I, as a former Assembly of First Nations National Youth Council member and a former regional chief, know the important work that goes into the development of resolutions and all the different debates they have.

Our government is listening, and we look forward to building our country together with first nations.

Aerospace Industry

[Tim Watchorn, Liberal, Les Pays-d'en-Haut, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has a world-class aerospace industry, particularly in Quebec. Our aerospace sector will play an invaluable role in our efforts to build the strongest economy in the G7. It generates $15 billion in GDP and provides more than 40,000 jobs in Quebec.

The budget implementation act contains important measures to protect and strengthen our aerospace sector. Quebeckers want these measures to become reality.

Could the Minister of Finance remind those who are blocking and delaying the passage of the budget implementation act how they are harming Quebec's aerospace sector?

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

Mr. Speaker, budget 2025 really is full of good news. Just look at the smiles on the Conservatives' faces.

Our budget sends a clear message that the aerospace industry is a strategic national asset. Canada is one of the few countries in the world with a thriving aerospace industry, thanks to the talent, expertise and know-how of our workers.

In budget 2025, we are making generational investments in defence that will support the aerospace industry. In a dramatic turn of events, the Bloc, which claims to champion Quebec, is going to vote against Quebec's interests in the budget. That is a disgrace and an affront.

Housing

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday when responding to questions about the Parliamentary Budget Officer's report on housing, the Prime Minister lectured Canadians, saying, “they do not know numbers.” Then the housing minister said that the Parliamentary Budget Officer was just wrong on his numbers. Let me give them the numbers again. Can they solve the following equation?

The Prime Minister promised 500,000 new homes a year, but his housing bureaucracy will deliver only 5,200 homes per year; that is 99% less than promised, so can the minister tell us where the rest of the houses will come from?

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

Mr. Speaker, the PBO report assumes that none of the current affordable housing programs continue. That is what would happen if the Conservative Party were in government. It has never delivered on affordable housing before, and it never will again.

We are already working with provincial and territorial ministers to put together the next generation of the national housing strategy. It is a team Canada approach. We are doing the work to renew our investment in affordable housing, something the Conservatives will never do.

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

Mr. Speaker, if bureaucracies built homes, after 10 years we would all be living in a penthouse like the minister. What he fails to understand is that behind the numbers behind the crisis are real Canadians of the next generation, shut out of the Canadian dream to earn, to save and to own a home. In the GTA, housing starts are down 43%, and sales are down 65%.

When the Prime Minister told young Canadians that they need to sacrifice more, why did he not have the courage to tell them what he really meant was to sacrifice the Canadian dream?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is rich to hear this from the party that has stalled the first-time homebuyers' GST cut since June. That is five months that the Conservatives have been stalling up to $50,000 for first-time homebuyers so they can afford their first home. It was on the floor of the House starting in June; they have been delaying it.

If you want to deliver affordability for young Canadians, put your vote where your mouth is.