The House is on summer break, scheduled to return Sept. 15

House of Commons Hansard #14 of the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was strategies.

Topics

line drawing of robot

This summary is computer-generated. Usually it’s accurate, but every now and then it’ll contain inaccuracies or total fabrications.

Albanian Heritage Month Act First reading of Bill C-209. The bill designates November every year as Albanian Heritage Month across Canada to celebrate the contributions and heritage of Albanian Canadians. 100 words.

Opposition Motion—GC Strategies Inc. Members debate the Auditor General's report finding GC Strategies was paid over $64 million with insufficient proof of work, particularly for the ArriveCAN app. A Conservative motion calls for the government to recover taxpayers' money within 100 days and impose a lifetime contracting ban on the company and its founders. The Liberal government acknowledges the findings, states it is taking action, including legal proceedings, and notes the AG made no new recommendations. Other parties support accountability and recovery but express skepticism about the timeline and government effectiveness. 57400 words, 7 hours in 2 segments: 1 2.

Statements by Members

Question Period

The Conservatives focus heavily on the ArriveCAN scandal, citing the Auditor General's report and $64 million paid with no evidence of work. They criticize ministers being promoted despite this and demand the money back. They also raise concerns about economic issues like inflation and the lack of a federal budget, government censorship laws, and foreign ship contracts.
The Liberals address the Air India crash and heavily focus on government procurement integrity, detailing actions against GC Strategies like legal action and barring future contracts. They emphasize accelerating economic growth, removing interprovincial trade barriers through the "one Canadian economy" act, fighting US tariffs, and supporting Canadians via tax cuts and social programs. They also mention national security and public safety.
The Bloc criticizes the Bill C-5 gag order and its impact on Quebec's jurisdiction. They accuse Quebec Liberals of stealing $814 million from Quebeckers on the carbon tax. They also condemn G7 invitations to human rights abusers.
The NDP criticize deepening military integration with the US on missile defence and condemn Bill C-5 for violating obligations and removing protections.

Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26 Members debate the government's main estimates, questioning the President of the Treasury Board on planned spending. Topics include the national debt, deficit, consultant spending (particularly on ArriveCAN), public service growth, housing initiatives, national defence, indigenous services, and social programs. The Minister highlights priority investments and efforts to manage spending, often referring to the estimates document. 13800 words, 2 hours.

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Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

8:15 p.m.

Liberal

Shafqat Ali Liberal Brampton—Chinguacousy Park, ON

Mr. Chair, all the details are included in the main estimates. I would advise my colleague to—

Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

8:15 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Tom Kmiec

The hon. member.

Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

8:15 p.m.

Conservative

Dave Epp Conservative Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON

Mr. Chair, does the minister want to capture potential differential interest rate savings between capital and operational financing?

Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

8:15 p.m.

Liberal

Shafqat Ali Liberal Brampton—Chinguacousy Park, ON

Mr. Chair, if my colleague has any specific questions, I could entertain him on the side, because it is very hard to give a—

Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

8:15 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Tom Kmiec

The hon. member.

Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

8:15 p.m.

Conservative

Dave Epp Conservative Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON

Mr. Chair, that was a very specific question. Is the minister capturing differential interest rate savings?

Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

8:15 p.m.

Liberal

Shafqat Ali Liberal Brampton—Chinguacousy Park, ON

Mr. Chair, we are here to discuss the main estimates 2024-25.

Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

8:15 p.m.

Conservative

Dave Epp Conservative Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON

Mr. Chair, public debt-servicing charges are forecast to increase from this year's $46.7 billion to $49.2 billion, then up to $55 billion by 2029. Are these projections based on a stable interest rate?

Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

8:15 p.m.

Liberal

Shafqat Ali Liberal Brampton—Chinguacousy Park, ON

Mr. Chair, what I can tell the member is that our debt ratio is 10.1%, and our total budget is—

Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

8:15 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Tom Kmiec

The hon. member.

Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

8:15 p.m.

Conservative

Dave Epp Conservative Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON

Mr. Chair, will interest rates ever rise again?

Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

8:15 p.m.

Liberal

Shafqat Ali Liberal Brampton—Chinguacousy Park, ON

Mr. Chair, that is up to the Governor of the Bank of Canada.

Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

8:15 p.m.

Conservative

Dave Epp Conservative Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON

Mr. Chair, given what we have witnessed here tonight, where should Canadians get the confidence that Canada will maintain its AAA rating?

Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

8:15 p.m.

Liberal

Shafqat Ali Liberal Brampton—Chinguacousy Park, ON

Mr. Chair, Canadians have confidence in this new government. That is why they elected this new government. That is why they rejected your leader.

Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

8:15 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Tom Kmiec

The minister must go through the Chair.

The hon. member.

Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

8:15 p.m.

Conservative

Dave Epp Conservative Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON

Mr. Chair, the Liberals say they want to supercharge our economy, yet they are responsible for continued trade irritants with the Americans.

Is the minister aware of the existence for 70 years of the binationally governed and binationally funded Great Lakes Fishery Commission?

Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

8:15 p.m.

Liberal

Shafqat Ali Liberal Brampton—Chinguacousy Park, ON

Mr. Chair, we have a Prime Minister who has a proven record of building economies and uplifting nations, not one or two nations, so he—

Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

8:15 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Tom Kmiec

The hon. member.

Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

8:15 p.m.

Conservative

Dave Epp Conservative Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON

Mr. Chair, the Great Lakes Fishery Commission is binationally funded through your treasury. Are you aware of it?

Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

8:15 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Tom Kmiec

The member must go through the Chair.

The President of the Treasury Board.

Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

8:15 p.m.

Liberal

Shafqat Ali Liberal Brampton—Chinguacousy Park, ON

Mr. Chair, I can ask the department to provide my colleague the information.

Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

8:20 p.m.

Conservative

Dave Epp Conservative Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON

Mr. Chair, is the minister aware of the internationally governed and internationally funded International Joint Commission?

Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

8:20 p.m.

Liberal

Shafqat Ali Liberal Brampton—Chinguacousy Park, ON

Mr. Chair, again, I would refer the member to the minister responsible for that file.

Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

8:20 p.m.

Conservative

Dave Epp Conservative Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON

Mr. Chair, that is an excellent answer. I will come back to that.

Where would one find in the main estimates how much money flowed to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission?

Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

8:20 p.m.

Liberal

Shafqat Ali Liberal Brampton—Chinguacousy Park, ON

Mr. Chair, the main estimates include $486 billion—