Debates of June 13th, 2025

Marine Transportation

[Aaron Gunn, Conservative, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, thousands of good-paying Canadian jobs were lost this week when BC Ferries announced the purchase of four new ships not from shipyards here in Canada, but from shipyards owned by the Chinese Communist Party. This is despite BC Ferries receiving more than $36 million in taxpayer money from the Liberal government, taxpayer money that is now subsidizing jobs in China, a country that has kidnapped Canadian citizens and has unjustly tariffed our farmers and our fishermen.

Will the Liberal government stop pretending it is helpless, show leadership and demand that these ships be built in the best country in the world, right here in Canada?

[Mike Kelloway, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport and Internal Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I share the concern and I share the outrage. The reality is that this particular project is under provincial procurement standards, regulations and oversight, but when it comes to this federal government and to everyone in this chamber, it is going to be Canadian first, always.

Natural Resources

[Warren Steinley, Conservative, Regina—Lewvan, SK]

Mr. Speaker, having no pipelines means no jobs for hard-working employees at Evraz steel in Regina. How can the Liberals get pipelines built if they are looking for a consensus? What does consensus mean? Will they use Canadian steel to build these pipelines?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and 13 premiers got together and agreed on five criteria to get projects of national interest built. If the hon. member across the aisle wants to get people working in Saskatchewan, he should support the one Canadian economy bill.

[Warren Steinley, Conservative, Regina—Lewvan, SK]

Mr. Speaker, can members imagine driving to work every day wondering if that is the day they are going to get laid off? For 10 years, the Liberals have had antidevelopment policies, like Bill C-69, Bill C-48, the emissions cap and the industrial carbon tax. These hard-working men and women deserve a much better answer than that.

Will the government be like the old government? Is the new guy the same as the old guy, with no pipelines? Pipelines deserve to be built in this country. They run our economy. Will the Liberals use Canadian steel in pipelines?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I said, if the hon. member wants to get people working again, the one Canadian economy act is designed to get projects of national interest built. That would get steelworkers back to work. That would get aluminum workers back to work. That would get forest products industries back to work. Please support the bill.

National Defence

[Giovanna Mingarelli, Liberal, Prescott—Russell—Cumberland, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this week, the Prime Minister announced that Canada's new government is rebuilding, rearming and reinvesting in the Canadian Armed Forces, and with the increase in defence investment, Canada will achieve NATO's 2% target. Canada will lead with values the world respects, the resources the world wants and an economy that leads the G7.

Can the President of the Treasury Board share with the House why these investments are so important?

[Shafqat Ali, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, I want to welcome the member for Prescott—Russell—Cumberland to the House of Commons.

This new government has done what Conservatives never could. We now have a plan to meet our NATO 2% commitment half a decade earlier than scheduled. We promised Canadians the new Liberal government would take bold and decisive actions. It is a promise made and promise kept.

Oil and Gas Industry

[Ellis Ross, Conservative, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, economists and most bankers know that investments go to countries where they are welcomed. For 10 years, the Liberal government has sent clear messages that investments in oil pipelines are not welcome in Canada unless they are destined for the United States at a discount. What is next, Canada's mineral resources?

Surely the Prime Minister knows that no one is building a pipeline in Canada with Liberal anti-energy laws in the books, or is it the Prime Minister's plan to keep Canadian oil and gas in the ground?

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

Mr. Speaker, in Saskatoon, the Prime Minister and 13 premiers got together to talk about how we build projects of national interest. Those projects of national interest will include roads, pipelines, transmission lines and renewable resources. If the hon. members on the other side of the House wants to see many projects built, they should support the bill.

Natural Resources

[Ellis Ross, Conservative, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, diversifying our trade has been the goal of the current Liberal government, but an article posted last night by The Economist states that the United States will be granted first right of refusal on Canadian minerals.

Before going to Washington, Mr. Carney asked officials to list the Canadian products that Mr. Trump needs the most. Rare earth elements and critical minerals topped that list. It looks like the Liberals want to give first right of refusal on our critical minerals, limiting our ability to sell to the world and to diversify our economy.

Is the Prime Minister negotiating guaranteed access to Canada's minerals to United States—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, John Nater]

Order.

I would just remind members not to use other members' proper names.

The hon. Minister of Energy has the floor.

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

Mr. Speaker, mining is crucial to our economy, and with Canada facing American tariffs, we must support mine workers. That is why we will speed up permitting of new mines by cutting red tape and approving projects within two years. This will be in Canada's national interest. This will make Canada stronger. This will make us more sovereign.

Oil and Gas Industry

[Branden Leslie, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have flip-flopped on pipelines more than a fish out of water. The Prime Minister claims he wants to make Canada an energy superpower, but talk is cheap. If he is serious, he must repeal a decade's worth of the Liberals' anti-energy laws: the no new pipelines act, toss it; the shipping ban, send it out to sea; the job-killing oil and gas production cap, scrap it; and the industrial carbon tax, kick it to the curb.

When will the Prime Minister realize that we will never get a new pipeline built in this country without repealing the disastrous Liberal anti-energy laws?

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has been clear, and we have been clear: To be an energy superpower, we need to make sure that we are low-risk, low-cost and low-carbon.

When Conservatives were in government, they did not get projects built, because they did not do environmental assessments and they did not consult with indigenous peoples. If the Conservatives want to see things built, and built properly, I hope that they will support us in working on projects of national interest that support our country.

[Branden Leslie, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, that sounds a lot like the cheap talk that I mentioned. The Prime Minister said that he will support a pipeline if there is consensus, but his environment minister is spinning an entirely different story.

This week, I asked her point-blank to define “consensus”, and she shrugged her shoulders and said, “what consensus”. I am happy to tell the minister what it means. Polling shows that three-quarters of Canadians support an east-west pipeline, with premiers' also backing the idea. If that is not consensus, what is?

Will the Prime Minister set the record straight, define consensus for Canadians and tell us who, if anyone, holds a veto over a new pipeline project?

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, if the member would like to remember the conversation on Monday evening, he will remember what I actually said, which was that we saw an amazing moment of Canadians' coming together, with premiers and our Prime Minister all talking about how we can do what Canadians have asked us to do, which is to build a strong Canada. The division we see is from the Conservatives.

We are going to work in favour of what Canadians want to see, which is to build a strong, united, sovereign Canada.

[Jonathan Rowe, Conservative, Terra Nova—The Peninsulas, NL]

Mr. Speaker, because of the government's economic failures, Newfoundland and Labrador is once again dependent on equalization payments from the west. Newfoundland's employment has been entangled with the west for decades. We understand that when the west does better, all Canada does better, but in order for the west to succeed, it needs to get its resources to market.

Will the current Liberal government repeal Bill C-69, which stops new pipelines; repeal Bill C-48 that blocks our shipping exports; and remove production caps so all of Canada can prosper?

[Joanne Thompson, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, I will echo what so many of my colleagues have said today: We are focused on building the economy in Canada, working with premiers in provinces and territories and building a strong Canada so that provinces like mine and the member opposite's, Newfoundland and Labrador, which is rich in natural resources, will be part of the projects that we will get built in record time and that will benefit everyone in this country.

Public Safety

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Speaker, after a decade of failed drug policies, increasing deaths and revolving-door prisons, the soft-on-crime Liberals still do not get it. Another drug bust in Williams Lake has resulted in a repeat offender's being caught with so-called safe supply. He was arrested in the morning and released the very same day.

If the minister will not take repeat offenders off the street for good, will he at least stop giving them free drugs to sell?

[Jacques Ramsay, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, the strong borders act would combat organized crime, protect the integrity of our immigration system and equip law enforcement with the tools it needs to strengthen our border. Bill C-2 would also contribute to our crackdown on fentanyl trafficking with important measures to support law enforcement, such as improving inter-agency intelligence sharing and empowering law enforcement to intercept and search shipments suspected of smuggling illegal drugs.

Mental Health and Addictions

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Tyler Dunlap was 17 years old; Sidney McIntyre-Starko, 18; Evelina Baldelli, 16; Kamilah Sword, 14; Elliot Eurchuk, 16; Mathis Boivin, 15; Darian Clayton-Fleet, 18; Nikkia Sugar, 15; Katherine McParland, 19; Logan Williams, 16; Chayton Point, 13; and Brianna MacDonald, 13.

The leading cause of death for youth in my province of British Columbia is overdose. These are kids, and they are dying. If this is not a crisis, what is?

[Vince Gasparro, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Secretary of State (Combatting Crime)]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's new government takes the issue incredibly seriously. The fact of the matter is that the global rise of fentanyl has torn through our communities and our families. That is why the government has committed to hiring 1,000 new CBSA workers and 1,000 new RCMP personnel to take the fight to the bad guys.

Public Safety

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

Mr. Speaker, auto thefts are up 46%, and violent crime is up 50%. Just yesterday, York Region police arrested four suspects in a violent auto theft in Vaughan, where two of them were repeat offenders. This is a result of failed Liberal laws like Bill C-5 and Bill C-75.

Even the mayor of Vaughan and the chief of York Regional Police are calling for an end to catch-and-release madness. Would any Liberal who thinks this is acceptable kindly explain this to the residents of King—Vaughan?