Debates of June 11th, 2025

Carbon Pricing

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, six days before the election, the Prime Minister sent out cheques, paid for by Quebeckers, to almost everyone in Canada except Quebeckers.

The Quebec National Assembly was unanimous: The Liberals need to reimburse us now. Quebeckers are also suffering due to the cost of living. They should not have to hand over $450 to families in Alberta or $300 to Ontarians in the form of fake carbon rebates. The Liberals owe us $814 million. If they do not pay us back, that is theft. Are they going to steal our money, or are they going to pay us back?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, my Bloc Québécois colleague knows I hold him in high esteem, but I think he is pushing his luck a bit today.

As he knows full well, Quebec's system is quite different from the federal system. Currently, Quebec's price per tonne is $59, whereas the federal price is $95. That means that, for years, Quebeckers paid half as much for carbon pricing as all other Canadians were paying. He never mentions that.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister, whom I hold in high regard, knows full well that Canadians were not paying the carbon tax when they got their cheques.

The Prime Minister himself confirmed that he had eliminated the carbon tax on April 1 but that he had nevertheless issued the quarterly cheque for the period from April to June at the end of the month. If tax revenues were not used to cover those cheques, who paid for them? The Liberal Party called the cheques a transitional measure. We are calling them a gift to Canadians at the expense of Quebec taxpayers. Will the Liberals pay back the $814 million they owe Quebeckers?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, I sincerely believe that we are comparing apples and oranges here.

The Quebec system is based on a cap-and-trade mechanism, not a pricing mechanism. The federal system, on the other hand, is based on a mechanism that sets a price per tonne, which sends a signal to the market and consumers to reduce their emissions. These are two completely different systems. The federal government has long recognized Quebec's leadership and, for several years, we have recognized that the Quebec system is equivalent to the federal system.

Finance

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister said that he will be judged by prices at the grocery store shelf. Judgment has been rendered, and by his own metrics, the Prime Minister has failed. For the third month in a row, food prices have skyrocketed. Apples, oranges, rice, chicken and beef are all up by more than 20%, and the Prime Minister's response is to pour more fuel on the inflationary fire, with half a trillion dollars in new spending. That is more than Trudeau.

Will the Liberal minority government listen to the majority of this House and put a budget on the table, so Canadians can put food on theirs?

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

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I just want to say that over 22 million Canadians are receiving a tax credit as we speak, and I certainly hope that the Conservative member over there realizes that this is exactly what Canadians called for in the election: targeted support that will help them in these times.

I will also point out that the kind of spending the Conservatives are talking about is on the things they have been advocating for years. They should be happy that we are investing in our armed forces, for example. Are the Conservatives saying that the Canadian Armed Forces do not deserve a raise?

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are struggling to put food on the table now, and it is because of the Liberals' inflationary spending. We all knew these were going to be the same old tax-and-spend Liberals, but we had no idea the Prime Minister was going to be worse. He promised Canadians he would cap increased spending at 2%; he has gone over 8%. That is putting Canadians in trouble, and they are the ones paying the price. We now have the highest food inflation in the G7.

Will the Prime Minister table a budget and end his inflationary spending so Canadians can afford to feed their families?

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

Mr. Speaker, every step of the way, we have worked to make sure that Canadians' costs go down and Canadians have more powerful paycheques, something the Conservatives have said time and again, and they have actually voted against it. Whether it is things like reducing the cost of child care, ensuring school food programs or increasing the Canada child benefit, which, by the way, is pegged to inflation so that families have what they need as they are raising their children, the Conservatives have voted against it. They should put their money where their mouth is and support a comprehensive policy that supports families.

[Harb Gill, Conservative, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after years of Liberal inflationary spending, Windsor families are struggling to keep up. Rent is unaffordable. Grocery prices are going through the roof. Many parents are skipping meals so their kids can eat. The Prime Minister says he wants to be judged by what Canadians pay at the grocery store. I can assure members that the Prime Minister will be judged harshly, as Canadians will be paying more than $800 this year on food alone.

It should not be this hard to feed a family in Canada. Will the Liberal government table a budget this spring that actually reverses its inflationary policies?

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

Mr. Speaker, Canadians elected a new government to build a strong Canada and to protect programs that serve families. Families are strong when kids are healthy. Our national school meal program is delivering meals to hundreds of thousands of kids this year. It saves parents up to $800 per year. We are committed to making this permanent. We made this commitment in the campaign, and I call on the member opposite to support us.

[Jim Belanger, Conservative, Sudbury East—Manitoulin—Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister said he wants to be held to account for what Canadians are paying at the grocery store, so let us do just that. Families in northern Ontario are struggling because of rising prices. Since the start of 2025, grocery prices in Canada have increased rapidly. The Prime Minister promised to cap government spending at 2%. Instead, he is increasing it by 8%.

Will the Liberals table a budget that reverses their inflationary policies so Canadians can afford to put food on the table?

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Secretary of State (Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, we met with the owners of Canada in the last election and clearly laid out our plan to cut taxes, to build homes, to build one Canadian economy and to protect Canadians against tariffs. Elections are job interviews, and Canadians resoundingly hired our Prime Minister. They fired the former member for Carleton.

Employment

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals clearly get excited when they are talking about their own jobs, but half a million unemployed students this summer are concerned about theirs. The CBC is reporting that Canada faces the worst youth unemployment crisis in decades.

Students need jobs to pay for their education and gain vital experience and skills. Liberal inflationary spending and immigration failures are creating a generational unemployment crisis, approaching half a million unemployed students. How many more young Canadians need to go unemployed before the Liberals reverse course?

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

Mr. Speaker, I have great news for youth this summer: over 6,000 more jobs through Canada summer jobs. That is great news for all our constituents.

Canada summer jobs is an important program to help young people get the skills and experience they need for the next steps in their career. That is over 76,000 jobs this summer, and we certainly look forward to hearing about the youth experience all across our country.

Labour

[Terry Sheehan, Liberal, Sault Ste. Marie—Algoma, ON]

Mr. Speaker, members of Canada's Building Trades Unions are here in Ottawa this week. They represent thousands of workers who are building Canada strong.

Can the Secretary of State for Labour please update the House on what this government is doing to support these very important construction workers and the unionized labour across this great country?

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to join the hon. member from the Sault in welcoming some of the most important unions and skilled trades to Ottawa today. These unions represent over one million good-paying jobs.

Our one Canadian economy plan will fast-track major projects so we can build across this country, brick by brick, with good Canadian steel and aluminum. It is time to build big, build bold and build now. Canada's building trades will get it done, and this government will always have their backs.

Housing

[Tamara Jansen, Conservative, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the AG delivered a damning report that exposed the truth. After 10 years of the Liberal government's housing promises, only 309 homes have been built under the federal lands initiative. It set a target of 4,000 and what Canadians got was smoke and mirrors: inflated numbers, misleading reporting and a government more focused on press releases than people.

Can the minister explain how, after a decade of delays, this scandal has left single moms and young families still without a place to call home?

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

Mr. Speaker, those units remain under development. They will be developed. They will be built. Those homes will be delivered as promised.

We would appreciate the support of the other members of the House for all of these housing initiatives going forward, of which we have many. We have the most robust housing agenda in the history of this House. We expect robust support for that plan.

[Tamara Jansen, Conservative, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

Mr. Speaker, according to yesterday's AG report, the government built nearly 40% of its so-called affordable homes in the wrong places. We cannot make this up. Here is the truly shocking thing: It did not base affordability on income, not on what people actually earn. Instead, it used current market rent in the middle of a housing crisis. That means low-income families, seniors and newcomers cannot even afford the homes that were supposed to help them.

After 10 years of failure, will the minister admit that this plan has completely failed the people who need it most?

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

Mr. Speaker, I will caution the member opposite that there are no wrong places to build housing in Canada. We are focused on building housing across this country. We are focused on building affordable housing across this country. The reason there are new ministers here like me is for our new plan to deliver affordable housing all across Canada in communities that need it.

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora—Kiiwetinoong, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals promised to sell surplus government properties to build 4,000 housing units by 2028, but a scathing report from the Auditor General has shown that after five years, they have only built 309 of those units.

Canadians are facing a housing crisis and the government is sitting on 5.9 million square feet of space. When will the Liberals finally fulfill their promise to Canadians and get more homes to market?

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

Mr. Speaker, we are going to deliver the homes that are put forward in that plan. We are also going to use lands across Canada to build more affordable housing. Our goal is to roll out more affordable housing than this country has ever seen before in the years ahead, and we expect the support of the members opposite. This is going to be a partnership across Canada, on federal lands, with our community partners.

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora—Kiiwetinoong, ON]

Mr. Speaker, TD Bank has cast doubt on those Liberal goals, saying that housing starts are actually going to decline next year rather than increase, as the minister would have us believe.

The Auditor General's report also found that the Liberals are failing to meet targets, failing to collect relevant data and failing to provide detailed, transparent reports. This is, on all accounts, a complete failure. Even their own Liberal member for Ottawa Centre has said that the government is not doing enough on housing, yet all of the ministers responsible for this crisis are still in cabinet. Why?

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

Mr. Speaker, we are focused now, in this new government, on delivering housing. We are going to deliver the housing that Canadians elected us to deliver. We ran on the commitment to have the most aggressive housing plan the country has ever seen, and we are going to deliver on that plan.

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

Mr. Speaker, in 2018, the government announced that it would create 4,000 affordable housing units by converting federal lands and buildings. To date, 309 units have been created, which is less than 50 per year.

In my riding, the Coopérative de développement immobilier de Charlevoix is launching a project to build affordable housing to help businesses attract and house workers. This initiative will create 24 units in one year in Charlevoix; meanwhile, the government is creating 50 per year across Canada.

Is the government better at building bureaucracy than it is at building housing?