Debates of June 11th, 2025

Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26

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

Mr. Chair, does the minister know how much the federal Liberal government has sent to BC Ferries so far this year?

[Tim Hodgson, Liberal, Markham—Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Chair, I am not sure that is relevant to my main estimates.

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

Mr. Chair, is the minister aware that BC Ferries intends to purchase four new vessels from a Chinese Communist Party state-owned enterprise?

[Tim Hodgson, Liberal, Markham—Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Chair, I am assuming that is a question for the Premier of British Columbia. The best I understand is that it is not an agency of the federal government.

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

Mr. Chair, the minister is a senior minister, and he grew up in British Columbia. Has he ever taken a ferry?

[Tim Hodgson, Liberal, Markham—Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Chair, I have taken many ferries across from Tsawwassen. I have taken them from Horseshoe Bay, and I have taken them up from Port McNeill.

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

Mr. Chair, if the government wants to build big projects, why is the government letting B.C. give away a major project for unionized Canadian steel and shipbuilding workers?

[Tim Hodgson, Liberal, Markham—Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Chair, the hon. member seems to be confused. BC Ferries is a Crown corporation of the B.C. government, not of the federal government.

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

Mr. Chair, if this were resource infrastructure instead of ferries, would the minister accept Beijing's state-owned firms' undercutting Canadians?

[Tim Hodgson, Liberal, Markham—Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Chair, we are not going to deal with hypotheticals. That is clearly not the case, so why would we talk about it?

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

Mr. Chair, does the minister believe that Canadian taxpayer dollars should be supporting Chinese state-owned enterprises at the expense of Canadian workers?

[Tim Hodgson, Liberal, Markham—Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Chair, I am not sure what that has to do with the main estimates.

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

Mr. Chair, if the minister is going to keep passing the buck, maybe I should ask the housing minister, who is a senior minister from British Columbia and the former mayor of Vancouver. It is astonishing that no minister of the government is capable of denouncing the deal.

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

Mr. Chair, as my colleague just stated, the B.C. government is responsible for the decision. BC Ferries is a Crown agency of the B.C.government.

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

Mr. Chair, the more the ministers dodge, the clearer it is that the government is soft on Beijing. The minister is a former MLA, and when he was an MLA, he never claimed that BC Ferries was provincial when he was asking the federal government for money.

When will the government stop passing the buck?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Chair, it is an issue of B.C. jurisdiction, and in Canada, we respect jurisdiction among federal, provincial, territorial, local and indigenous governments. We work in partnership, but this is the B.C. government's jurisdiction.

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

Mr. Chair, would the minister put conditions on the almost $40 million transferred to BC Ferries?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Chair, the member opposite needs to be a little more specific about what transfer she is speaking of.

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

Mr. Chair, on election night, the Prime Minister committed to creating an industrial strategy that makes Canada more competitive. How does handing over Canadian shipbuilding jobs to Beijing make Canada more competitive?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Chair, Canada will be more competitive when we focus on one Canadian economy: all 13 of our provinces and territories with the federal government, working in partnership on major projects and building housing across this country.

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

Mr. Chair, how does the minister not believe that the contract should go to Canadian shipbuilders? There is a Seaspan shipbuilding yard in Vancouver. How can the minister ship the jobs of the people he represents to Beijing?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Chair, again, the member opposite is talking about a B.C. government decision, not a federal government decision, and certainly not one related to the Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Chair, the minister spoke earlier about the importance of critical minerals in Canada. Can he confirm that all critical mineral development currently under way or planned will be subject to Canadian regulations, priorities and benefits, not directed by foreign governments or foreign laws?

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

Mr. Chair, we will develop our critical minerals in a way that benefits Canada. We will work with our allies to develop those critical minerals where it is appropriate and in Canada's interest.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Chair, to be clear, is there any scenario where a foreign government would be allowed to select, fund or control Canadian mining or processing projects on Canadian soil without full Canadian oversight and control?