Debates of Dec. 9th, 2025

Natural Resources

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

Mr. Speaker, we will take no lessons from a minister who conducts indigenous consultations over Zoom, and we absolutely will oppose a carbon tax in all of its forms.

The Prime Minister has told his “keep it in the ground” caucus that the pipeline will never happen, while he promises Albertans that it might. Today, he can finally come clean with Canadians and provide crystal-clear clarity. He can support our motion, which is based on his MOU, and vote to cancel his tanker ban and green-light a new pipeline.

Why does he not get out of the way, stop obstructing the pipeline and vote for our Conservative motion?

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, what we are hearing from the member opposite is exactly the problem with this MOU. It discounts several things. One is that in a federation we work together. We work with provinces and we work with indigenous communities to make things happen. Getting out of the way is only a strategy if we want to get nothing done. The way to get things done is to work together, and for every single member from British Columbia on the other side of the House, I ask how they can support a motion that ignores British Columbia and British Columbians completely. They should be ashamed of themselves.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, today is a monumental day for Canada's energy sector and for my province of Alberta. We will see if the Liberals stand behind the Prime Minister's promise to build a pipeline for Canada, or if he will do as his predecessor did and submit to his “keep it in the ground” caucus. Families in my riding are worried that the Prime Minister is paying lip service once again and that these are empty words, and it is no surprise as to why, after how the government has destroyed the natural resources sector over the last decade.

Will the Liberals stop obstructing a pipeline and vote for our motion, or will Alberta have its hopes dashed again?

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

Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. member should tell her constituents that the government was elected to do big things and that we are focused on making the largest infrastructure investment in Canadian history. We are going to be building bridges, community centres, hospitals and transit, with thousands of good-paying jobs, with Canadian steel, Canadian lumber and Canadian aluminum, and with Canadian skilled trades workers, but the Conservatives have voted against every single part of this. They voted against building houses, voted against major projects and voted against opportunities for youth. When will the Conservatives get on board?

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister continues to talk out of both sides of his mouth. He has mastered his predecessor's art of saying one thing in one province and another thing in another. Albertans want the truth. In a pathetic display of misrepresentation, his own Calgary MP could not even defend the leading sector and source of livelihoods for Calgarians.

Will the Prime Minister stand in the House and tell the nation, tell Alberta, tell Calgary and tell the member for Calgary Confederation that his government will not blame anyone else and not put this on anyone else and that he will ensure a pipeline is built?

[Maninder Sidhu, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, the MOU is about building Canada strong with the people of Alberta. I was born in Calgary. I talk to Albertans every single day, and they know that our Prime Minister is bringing Canadians together to build big things and to build a stronger economy. Meanwhile, the Conservative leader has spent 20 years in the House, including as a minister, and has built nothing. He continues to divide Canadians and continues to play political games. Now is not a time to play games. It is time for serious leadership and to step up and build Canada strong.

[Billy Morin, Conservative, Edmonton Northwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is talking out of both sides of his mouth on pipelines and tanker bans. Behind closed doors, he whispers to the Liberal “keep it in the ground“ caucus that the pipeline will never be built, while signing an MOU to build one for Canadians. The Liberals say they are for a tanker ban, but then the Prime Minister promised to override it in the MOU. The Prime Minister promises indigenous communities a seat at the table for a pipeline, but has ignored them for the last eight months and is cutting them out of the tripartite decision-making table.

Will the Liberals stop obstructing the pipeline by voting for their own MOU?

[Mandy Gull-Masty, Liberal, Minister of Indigenous Services]

Mr. Speaker, I want to speak to what the Conservative Party claims this motion speaks to. While on one hand they speak to half the sentence of respecting consultations for indigenous people, they are also speaking out of the other side of their mouth to the jurisprudence that would allow these projects to move forward. I want to understand what they are doing. Are they consulting or pushing projects forward? That is the concern of indigenous people. That is what they are bringing to the table. That is what we are looking at when they come and work with us in partnership, and that is the future that they want to decide on with us.

Regional Economic Development

[Chris d'Entremont, Liberal, Acadie—Annapolis, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister said he would be judged by—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

I was afraid this would happen.

We will not take it from the top, but the member may continue.

[Chris d'Entremont, Liberal, Acadie—Annapolis, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the minister responsible for ACOA knows well that fisheries, forestry and agriculture remain at the heart of Nova Scotia's economy.

When the Atlantic economic panel was announced two weeks ago, were representatives from these sectors included? Can the minister tell us how he plans to ensure that these important industries will have a way to contribute to the panel's work?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the former Conservative shadow minister for economic development in Atlantic Canada for finally being permitted to ask a question about Nova Scotia in the House of Commons. It speaks volumes about the Conservative Party that since the member joined the government, it has yet to replace him and goes without a voice from Atlantic Canada representing the economic interests of Atlantic Canada.

Yes, we rely on these traditional industries that he cited in his question, but we have appointed a private sector-led panel of business leaders to shoot the path forward on energy, on defence and on clean tech to ensure we have good-paying jobs—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. member for Thornhill.

The Economy

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I think it is safe to say, after all of that, that the Prime Minister regrets telling Canadians that he is going to be judged by the prices at the grocery store because these prices are skyrocketing, and it is only getting worse. Now one in 10 people in Toronto are using a food bank and even full-time job holders have to use one. Instead of getting full carts at the grocery store, Canadians get to watch trending TikTok videos about making what they are calling “poverty meals” out of ramen and hot dogs.

Can the Prime Minister seriously say with a straight face that this is the standard that he wants Canadians to live with?

[Anna Gainey, Liberal, Secretary of State (Children and Youth)]

Mr. Speaker, while the Prime Minister is delivering for Canadians, let us take a moment to reflect on the hypocrisy of the members opposite in the House. They voted against meals for children at school. They voted against 800 dollars' worth of savings for families through the school food program. They voted against dental care for seniors and for children. They voted against saving parents thousands of dollars on child care.

If the members opposite want to talk about judgment, they should start by looking at their own record.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after a decade in power, by saying “let Ottawa feed people's kids”, the Liberals have already admitted their failure. Let me put it in context for the minister. The number of people using a food bank in Toronto alone could fill the Rogers Centre eight times every single month. With the average grocery bill set to rise by $1,000 next year, the government's $11-a-year tax cut to those who need it most is not going to cut it. Therefore, no, we will not vote for it.

Instead of giving crumbs back to Canadians, why do the Liberals not cut the taxes off of food and let Canadians have a meal at home?

[Anna Gainey, Liberal, Secretary of State (Children and Youth)]

Mr. Speaker, there is no tax on food; we can start there. Canadian families with children under six are receiving up to $8,000 a year tax-free per child. This is a program that is tagged to inflation to meet and keep up with the cost of living. Members opposite, year after year, vote against investments like the Canada child benefit. It is shameful.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are not asking for more government programs. They are just asking for the dignity and respect of being able to provide for themselves and their families. Right now, Canadians are struggling more than ever to be able to afford things. I just received a phone call from an elderly gentleman in my riding who shared with me that he is now down to one meal per day. He is desperate. He is without hope. He is looking at the government and he is saying that it has abandoned him. He is looking for an answer.

Will the Liberals simply repeat their tired talking points about big government programs and the school food program, or will they actually provide a real solution to Canadians?

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

Mr. Speaker, if we listen to the Conservatives over there, there is no solution. The solution is to sink or swim. If a person cannot afford to feed their family, too bad, the state's not there to take care of them.

Here in Canada, we have always believed in taking care of each other. That is why we are known for our universal health care system around the world. We have built on that. We make sure that we take care of people who need food. We make sure that families who need extra help get the Canada child benefit. We make sure that the working poor get a working income tax benefit. Why? We believe Canada is stronger when it includes all of us.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, again, Canadians are not asking for more government programs or to be spoken to in the manner that the minister just did. They are simply asking to be respected and empowered to be able to provide for themselves. One of the best ways the government can do that is by taking unnecessary taxes off food. According to the latest report, food prices next year are going to go up by about $1,000 more per family.

There is a woman in my riding who recently reached out to me. She has four kids. She relies on the food bank. She feels desperate and without hope. She just wants the dignity of being able to provide for her kids.

Will the Liberals—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. Minister of the Environment and Climate Change.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I think members have heard it from this side, and we will keep on saying it. We are there to support Canadians. Members have heard about the many programs they voted against but that we are putting in place to support Canadians.

However, if we are going to rely on that food report, we should also look at what it said about, for example, the price of beef. It said, “Nearly a decade of drought in the leading beef producing area of Canada has resulted in the smallest number of cattle since the late 1980s. Reduced supply and consistent demand creates upward pressure.” The cost of food is going up because of climate change.

There is no tax on food, but we will be there to provide the programs to help Canadians.

Finance

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

Mr. Speaker, here is a resident the Liberals are not supporting. He wrote to me and said, “I have lived in the same neighbourhood for more than a decade, and almost every essential cost of living has increased dramatically.” He had the receipts for his groceries, which went from $200 a month to $600 a month. What did the Prime Minister say? He said we should judge him by the price of groceries at the store. Well, that is some judgment; it is some failure. Next year, it will get worse. Canadians will pay $1,000 or more, according to the food price report.

Given those struggles, will the Prime Minister end his inflationary spending, scrap the carbon tax and get rid of the new fuel tax?

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance and National Revenue and to the Secretary of State (Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, it is almost the holidays, with goodwill to all. The opposition leader says no, let us circle back next year after his leadership review. Meanwhile, hard-working Canadians wait for a well-earned tax break. They wait for a $50,000 tax cut for first-time homebuyers. Children wait for healthy meals at school. Families and seniors wait for affordable housing.

In addition to that, this member will not even stand up in the House and support the health care infrastructure fund; this would build a hospital in the Durham Region, which is badly needed for families. He should be ashamed of himself.