Debates of Dec. 4th, 2025

The Economy

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

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the verdict will be overturned. I will explain what we consider to be important expenditures. For us, an important expenditure leads to job creation. It is an expenditure that enables a single mother to send her child to day care where the child will be fed through a school food program. For us, an important expenditure is something that gives young Canadians the dignity of a job, an opportunity, a future. That is what an important expenditure is for us. They call it inflationary spending because they would cut all spending.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals think it is funny when we remind them that the Prime Minister told Canadians to judge him by the price of groceries. Prices have doubled in 10 years. The plan is a failure and Canadians are not seeing any results. That makes sense because the Liberals are using the same recipe and hoping for different results.

I am not sure if the Prime Minister has had to choose between two items at the grocery store, but that is the reality for Canadians right now. I do not expect a response and I do not expect results because the Prime Minister's answer is, “Who cares?”

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Minister of Government Transformation]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives keep talking about inflationary spending. We ask them what inflationary spending they would cut. During the election campaign, the Leader of the Opposition was asked if he would cut the Canadian dental care plan, which is helping more than one million Quebeckers and six million Canadians. He said that the program did not even exist, but I can assure the House that in his own riding, there are tens of thousands of his constituents who were able to go to the dentist for the first time in years because of this program.

Is that what the member means by inflationary spending?

[Sandra Cobena, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister wanted to be judged by prices at the grocery store, and eight months later, Canadians are judging and they are hungry.

The food price report released today shows that the reality of Canadians is only getting worse. In 2015, a Canadian grocery bill was $163 a week. Under the Liberals, it has more than doubled, to $340. That is a grocery bill of $17,600 a year.

Liberal taxes increase the cost of growing, transporting and selling food. When will the Liberals cut their inflationary spending and senseless taxes so Canadians can afford to eat?

[John Zerucelli, Liberal, Secretary of State (Labour)]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives say they care about affordability, but their voting record says something very different. The Conservatives vote against every measure designed to help Canadian families. Let us take one example. Parents receive a payment every month called the Canada child benefit, which is a real help with groceries, a real help with clothing and a real help with the everyday costs of raising children in this country. They voted against it every time. It is crazy. Saying one thing and doing another is the Conservative Party.

[Sandra Cobena, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when Canadians tell the government they cannot afford food, its response is that they are taxed to death and cannot afford groceries but should cheer up: It has a program for them; they should be grateful and have never had it so good.

Eighty-six per cent of Canadians list food as their largest financial worry. The food price report confirms grocery prices are set to increase by up to 6% next year. That is $1,000 more just to feed a family.

The Prime Minister asked to be judged by prices at the grocery store. Well, prices are set to reach historic highs. Will the Prime Minister admit his record is a failure?

[John Zerucelli, Liberal, Secretary of State (Labour)]

Mr. Speaker, we will stand by our record every day in the House of Commons. They are the ones who have to be embarrassed about their track record of voting against dental care, which is putting money in the pockets of real Canadians; the Canada child benefit; and a tax cut. They voted against all of it: Build Canada Homes, reducing the cost of homes and automatic tax filing so people get real benefits.

That is their record. That is what they have to stand behind.

Indigenous Affairs

[Terry Duguid, Liberal, Winnipeg South, MB]

Mr. Speaker, this week, the Assembly of First Nations met here in Ottawa to advance economic sovereignty, and ministers from our government were at the table because reconciliation requires real partnership and real results.

Can the Minister of Northern and Arctic Affairs outline how our government is turning commitments like section 35 and the duty to consult into action, ensuring first nations are not just consulted but leading major projects and driving prosperity across the north?

[Rebecca Chartrand, Liberal, Minister of Northern and Arctic Affairs and Minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency]

Mr. Speaker, this week, the Assembly of First Nations met in Ottawa, and many of us here were at the table with it. That shows we are moving along together with first nations.

We are backing indigenous-led growth and solutions. That is why more than half of CanNor's economic activity is indigenous-led. We are creating hundreds of jobs right now, like those at First Kaska Construction in Yukon. Our government is also ensuring that section 35 of the Constitution is fully respected.

We are ensuring that first nations are not just consulted, but are co-owners of major projects—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. member for Montmorency—Charlevoix.

The Economy

[Gabriel Hardy, Conservative, Montmorency—Charlevoix, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister asked to be judged by the price of groceries. Once again, not only is he not keeping his promises, he is failing miserably at it. His policies are making Canadians poorer, while making him and his friends richer. When the Liberals came to power 10 years ago, groceries cost $159 per family per week; 10 years later, it is $338 per week, or $17,600 per year.

When will the Liberals stop their inflationary spending so that Canadians can feed themselves and live comfortably?

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

Mr. Speaker, Quebeckers elected 44 representatives in Quebec so that we could take care of the economy in the face of U.S. tariffs.

Our plan is working. GDP growth is at 3.2%. Inflation is under control at 2.2%. In September, 60,000 jobs were created. In October, 67,000 jobs were created. We have the strongest growth in the G7.

We still have a lot to do, we know that, but we are growing the economy while protecting our social safety net.

[Gabriel Hardy, Conservative, Montmorency—Charlevoix, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the latest report on food prices for 2026 reveals that, while 2025 was tough, 2026 is going to be even worse. According to the report, families will spend 112% more on food than they did 10 years ago, 86% of people are eating less meat because it has become too expensive and, next year, families will have to pay $1,000 more for groceries, the largest increase ever recorded in Canada. Meanwhile, food inflation is rising 48% faster in Canada than in the United States.

Why does the Prime Minister refuse to get rid of his taxes on food so Canadians can eat healthy food at an affordable price?

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

Mr. Speaker, my colleague is engaging in wilful blindness because he is selectively choosing the figures he wants to report. The reality is that inflation is down to 2.2%. The reality is that wages are up by 3.3%. This means that people have more money to deal with the cost of living.

For our part, as a government, we are ensuring a strong social safety net and cutting taxes. We are there with our various programs, including school nutrition. We will be there for Quebeckers across the province.

[Connie Cody, Conservative, Cambridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, prices at the grocery store were how the Prime Minister was to be judged. From Trudeau's crisis to the rebranded, not-so-new Liberal cabinet, Canadians are seeing costs go from bad to worse.

Today's food price report shows that Canadians are bracing for the largest grocery increase in years, nearly $1,000 more. Under a decade of the Liberals, families have gone from spending $159 a week on groceries to $338. That is more than $17,500 a year.

Families are stretched to the limit and so are food banks. When will the government rein in its inflationary spending and cut the costs it piles onto farmers, truckers and processors so that Canadians can afford to eat?

[Leslie Church, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Secretaries of State for Labour]

Mr. Speaker, we have a national school food program that is going to save parents up to $800 a year, a dental care program, a tax cut for 22 million Canadians, early learning and child care and a Canada child benefit. The Leader of the Opposition stood up in the House today and called them “costly promises”. Members opposite called them “photo ops”. They called them “garbage”. They called them “socialist programs”.

This is a case of saying the quiet part out loud. When someone tells us who they are, believe them. Canadians know who is fighting for them.

[Connie Cody, Conservative, Cambridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, their programs do not feed seniors. When the Liberals claim their taxes are imaginary, I think of a senior woman in my community, one who told me she can barely afford to eat and that some days she wishes she simply would not wake up, because living with this indignity is harder than dying.

That is what 10 years of soaring food prices and punishing taxes have done to Canadians: not imaginary but real, not theoretical but human. Families are being crushed by fuel costs, fertilizer costs and the industrial carbon tax, yet the Prime Minister looks at Canadians suffering the same way he looks at Brookfield balance sheets: as numbers, not people.

When will the Prime Minister prioritize making food affordable—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

[Leslie Church, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Secretaries of State for Labour]

Mr. Speaker, when I talk to seniors in my riding, they talk to me about the Canadian dental care program. They say that it is life-changing, that it is getting them dental care they have not had for years or for the first time. They talk to me about the New Horizons program and how we are supporting projects that improve their quality of life. They talk to me about the $5 billion that budget 2025 is putting into new hospital infrastructure for urgent care.

The member opposite is spewing nonsense. If she wants to stand up for seniors, she should have voted for the budget when she had the chance.

[Grant Jackson, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Mr. Speaker, when the Liberals came to office in 2015, the average Canadian grocery bill was $160 a week. A decade later, it has more than doubled to $338 a week. That is $17,500 a year, and the food price report for next year confirms that Canadians will pay $1,000 more, which is the largest annual increase ever. Instead of axing taxes and spending, which increase the cost of growing, transporting and selling food, these Liberals actually raised them in budget 2025.

When are the Liberals going to read the room and get prices down, so Canadians can afford to eat?

[Rebecca Chartrand, Liberal, Minister of Northern and Arctic Affairs and Minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency]

Mr. Speaker, that member opposite is from my home community. If he was talking to Manitobans, he would know that they want $10-a-day day care. They want the school food program. They want investments in housing and infrastructure. If he was talking to Manitobans, he would know that Manitobans support our budget, so he should be supporting our budget as well. These are generational investments like never before. He needs to get onside.

[Grant Jackson, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I would invite the minister to get outside the Perimeter Highway in Winnipeg every once in a while to come into our communities in Manitoba. Here are a few facts for her: Families in Manitoba are being squeezed harder than ever thanks to her Liberal government, with Harvest Manitoba reporting today that 60,000 Manitobans a month are accessing food banks, and almost 50% of them are families with young children. That is a record for that minister to be proud of.

Canadians do not need handouts fuelling dependence on bloated government programs. They need affordable groceries on their kitchen tables. When is she going to get out of the way and deliver that for Manitoba?

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

Mr. Speaker, there we have it. The members says “handouts” and “dependence” when talking about school food programs and about child care. He is trying to lecture my colleague from Churchill—Keewatinook Aski about not getting out enough.

That member needs to talk to more single mothers. That member needs to talk to more young people, more steelworkers, more aluminum workers and more auto workers about the government's standing up, supporting and building this country. That member needs to get out more.

Automotive Industry

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

Mr. Speaker, Stellantis is investing $13 billion of its own dollars into the United States to create 5,000 auto jobs. Meanwhile, the Liberal government gave Stellantis $15 billion taxpayer dollars, and they fired 3,000 auto workers. Let that sink in for a minute.

This is what happens when incompetent Liberal ministers do not read contracts. This is not an investment; it is a corporate rip-off. It took $15 billion and fired the workers. How does this incompetent minister sleep at night?

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

Mr. Speaker, we take things very seriously when it comes to investing taxpayers' money, and when it comes to Stellantis, we had a deal. They broke it, and we will make sure that we get our money back, period.