Debates of Dec. 9th, 2025

Government Priorities

[Sonia Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as we wrap up the fall session, I rise to reflect on the work we are advancing together.

This fall, the government has been working on strengthening health care, including simplifying the residency pathway, so Canadians in every community can access a family doctor, and introducing the PSW tax credit to support personal support workers.

Budget 2025 also invests in communities like Brampton, including $25 million in TMU's new medical school, the first built in the GTA in more than a century. We are also supporting state-of-the-art AI infrastructure at the University of Toronto. Investments like these have the potential to strengthen and streamline health care.

As we enter the holiday season, I wish everyone in Brampton South and across Canada happy holidays and a happy new year.

Cost of Living

[Mike Dawson, Conservative, Miramichi—Grand Lake, NB]

Mr. Speaker, in 2012, the Liberals accepted the resignation of Minister Bev Oda over a $16 glass of orange juice.

Welcome to Mark Carney's Canada in 2025, where every Canadian now drinks $16 orange juice. The Prime Minister told Canadians that he would be judged by the prices at the grocery store. Well, let us judge. Families in Miramichi are trying to survive on about $300 a week for groceries. With Christmas only a few days away, families in my riding are putting items back on the shelf in silence. People in Miramichi are being forced to choose between heat or meat.

They say that if you're not at the table, you're on the menu. This Christmas, Canadians are not being invited to dinner. The Liberal government is leaving them only misery and tariffs to eat.

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

I will point out that the member mentioned the proper name of another member in his statement, and that is outside the rules. We have to use titles or riding names.

The hon. member for Beauport—Limoilou.

Dominican Missionary Adorers

[Steeve Lavoie, Liberal, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, over the past few months, I have had the opportunity to meet a number of extraordinary women who are making a real difference in their community. This year, we are proud to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Dominican Missionary Adorers, who are right in the heart of my riding, in Beauport—Limoilou.

Founded in 1945 by Mother Julienne du Rosaire, the organization has been an essential part of our community for eight decades. Through their active involvement, their compassionate commitment and their contributions to the community's well-being, these women have supported generations of citizens, promoted social development and encouraged initiatives that foster solidarity. Their long legacy is a testament to their ongoing service to the individuals and families in our community.

In celebrating this 80th anniversary, we pay tribute to an institution that remains a pillar of Beauport—Limoilou and a lasting source of inspiration.

Natural Resources

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Grande Prairie, AB]

Mr. Speaker, before the Prime Minister was elected, he said that half of all oil reserves should stay in the ground, but two weeks ago, when signing an MOU in the province of Alberta, he said that he is now supportive of a proposal to build an oil pipeline between Alberta and a northern British Columbia port. Now that he has returned to Ottawa, he is telling his “keep it in the ground” caucus not to worry, because this project is never going to get built. The Prime Minister has become a master at telling one group of people one thing and another group of people the complete opposite.

Today in the House, Liberals are going to have an opportunity to finally tell Canadians where they actually stand. Will they vote “yes” to the very words the Prime Minister wrote in the MOU to support a pipeline, or are they going to vote “no” and clearly reject a proposal to build a pipeline that would finally cut Canadian dependence on the United States?

Canadian voters and investors are watching. What is it going to be? It is simple: Do Liberals support this pipeline or not?

Men's National Cricket Team

[Iqra Khalid, Liberal, Mississauga—Erin Mills, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today we welcome team Canada's national cricket team to the House, athletes who have shown that Canadian cricket is world class. Cricket in Canada has roots going back nearly 200 years, and it was Canada's first national sport. That legacy is not just history. This team is carrying it forward.

In 2025, team Canada went unbeaten through the Americas regional qualifier to earn its place at the 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, our second straight qualification. With a new wave of homegrown talent and thriving local and national leagues, cricket is flourishing all across the country. Every year, cricket enthusiasts from across Canada come to Ottawa to raise awareness, advocate for the sport and play cricket with parliamentarians.

Team Canada is proving that Canadian cricket is stepping onto the world stage with ambition and a future that Canadians can cheer for.

Natural Resources

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, Canada needs a pipeline to the Pacific Ocean so we can sell more of our products overseas, somewhere other than the U.S. It will make our economy more independent and strengthen the Canadian dollar and the purchasing power of all Canadians.

The Prime Minister has always been against it, but he flip-flopped last week in Alberta. When he came back to Ottawa, there was a rebellion among his MPs.

I took the words straight from his agreement. Is he going to vote against his own words, or can Canadians believe what he says?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, a memorandum of understanding is not something one can pick and choose from.

The Leader of the Opposition took a few words from the agreement, but not all of them. He forgot to mention the stronger industrial carbon price. He forgot to mention methane regulations. He forgot to mention carbon neutrality by 2050.

The Conservatives need to eat the whole meal, not just the meat.

Carbon Pricing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, eating the whole meal would be great if only Canadians could afford to buy the meal.

He is talking about a carbon tax that still applies to farm equipment, to fertilizer and to those who deliver food. This has caused food inflation to the point that it now costs $17,000 a year to feed a family of four.

Why will he not cut hefty taxes on groceries so Canadians can feed their families?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, there is no carbon tax on Canadian farms that emit less than 50 kilotonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. That is the first point.

The second point is that the impact of the industrial carbon tax on food prices in Canada is virtually zero, according to the Canadian Climate Institute.

Natural Resources

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, Canada needs a pipeline to the Pacific to sell $30 billion of our energy overseas, outside of the U.S. market, making us more independent and self-reliant, and our dollar, and therefore Canadians' purchasing power, stronger. The Prime Minister always opposed the pipeline, which his party killed, but last week he flip-flopped and promised, in a deal while he was in Alberta, that he would build such a pipeline. I took the very wording right out of that deal and put it into a motion before the House of Commons. He experienced a massive rebellion in his own caucus.

If he is going to vote against his own words, how can Canadians ever believe his words?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as the Canadian national cricket team knows, we have to play the whole T20. It is not just a couple of overs. It is not just the pipeline. It is not just Pathways. It is an industrial price on carbon that goes to $130 effective. It is reductions in methane. It is net zero by 2050. It is building Alberta strong and Canada strong, durable, sustainable and—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I took the wording for the motion right out of the Prime Minister's deal. If he votes against the motion, he is voting against a pipeline to the Pacific; he is voting against overriding the discriminatory and anti-Canadian ban on shipping our energy abroad; he is voting against consultation with first nations people and the British Columbian government, and he is even voting against his own beloved carbon capture and storage, all of which I took word for word right out of his own deal.

If the Prime Minister is in favour of pipelines only when he is in Alberta, but against them when he is in B.C. and Ottawa, how can Canadians keep track of where he stands on anything?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to welcome the fact that to my hearing, for the first time ever in the House, the Leader of the Opposition has acknowledged the constitutional right of indigenous people to full, free and fair consultation. This is the first time he has ever acknowledged the role of the provinces in these pipelines, but he has not yet acknowledged the need for an industrial carbon price or the reduction in methane, two things the Premier of Alberta acknowledged and signed off on wholeheartedly, as part of a complete meal.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, not only do we acknowledge the obligation to consult with our first peoples, but we put it right in the motion. It is right there for the Prime Minister.

We put it right there so the Prime Minister could vote for the words that he put in the agreement, but let us be honest: He never planned to honour the agreement. He whispered quietly to the “keep it in the ground” Liberal caucus, “Don't worry; there will never be a pipeline. We'll delay it until after the election, and then, God forbid, if we win, we would kill it altogether.”

Why can the Prime Minister not say one thing to all Canadians and champion the pipeline with us today?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the MOU between the Government of Canada and the Province of Alberta is about a pipeline. It is about carbon capture and storage. It is about interties with the clean electricity grid of British Columbia. It is about artificial intelligence data centres. It is about an industrial carbon price that works. It is about methane regulations that bring methane down 75% so we can have the lowest-emission, low-risk, lowest-cost oil in the world and build this country.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, we put the interties proposal right in the motion, right out of the Prime Minister's deal. We put the carbon capture right in the motion, right out of his deal. We put the pipeline and the overriding of the oil shipping ban right in the motion. It came right out of the deal that he signed. Now it is clear that the only thing the Prime Minister really cares about is that it does not include an industrial carbon tax that would drive jobs out and drive grocery prices up.

Why is it that the Prime Minister wants a carbon tax without a pipeline, when what we really need is a pipeline without a carbon tax?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the grand reveal has been made.

I am not a lifelong member of the House, so I do not know all the rules, but I do not think there is a limit on the size of motions. In fact since the MOU is already translated, it would be very easy to take the entire MOU, in both official languages, and propose them, if the members opposite would support everything that the Premier of Alberta has done.

The Environment

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this morning, the former environment minister and former heritage minister, who is still very much a member of the Liberal caucus, published a letter that his replacements are clearly not very happy about. In it, he describes the agreement between the Prime Minister of Canada and the Premier of Alberta as a significant step backwards and a rollback.

I need to know. Will the Prime Minister choose the environment and his own caucus, or will he choose oil company shareholders?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the government is choosing Canadians and the future of Canadians, which means good jobs and a sustainable and prosperous economy, with major investments in all forms of energy, including a clean and prosperous future for Quebec.

Justice

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's comments are more cute than accurate.

Let us talk about the religious exemption. Does the Prime Minister agree or disagree with his justice minister, who seems to agree with the Bloc Québécois? I want to know where he stands personally, and I think the public has a right to know that.

Will the Prime Minister serve the interests of religious minorities or will he serve the interests of the majority of Quebeckers?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the opposition member is referring to Bill C-9, which seeks to protect access to religious places, such as temples, synagogues, churches and mosques.

I know that the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights is currently discussing possible changes to this legislation.

Transportation

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, is Adil Charkaoui among the religious leaders who must be protected?

It is like we are back under Justin Trudeau's government. We have learned that someone close to the Prime Minister, someone close to the Liberal Party of Canada, has lobbied for Driver Inc., drivers who are a danger on our roads.

I would like the Prime Minister to tell me whether he will serve the interests of friends of the Liberal Party or the interests of Canadians, their lives and their safety.

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, unacceptable words are always unacceptable. That is absolutely clear.

We are working, and we will always protect truckers. We will always protect rights. That is why the government is tightening the rules for truckers.