(The House divided on Motion No. 18, which was agreed to on the following division:)
House of Commons Hansard #20 of the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was c-5.
House of Commons Hansard #20 of the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was c-5.
This summary is computer-generated. Usually it’s accurate, but every now and then it’ll contain inaccuracies or total fabrications.
The Application of Standing Order 69.1 to Bill C-5 Jenny Kwan argues Bill C-5, which addresses domestic trade barriers and infrastructure project acceleration, contains unrelated matters and asks the Speaker to divide it for separate votes under Standing Order 69.1(1). 800 words.
One Canadian Economy Act Report stage of Bill C-5. The bill, An Act to enact the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act and the Building Canada Act, aims to reduce interprovincial trade barriers and expedite major projects deemed in the national interest. Members debated amendments to Clause 4 concerning project approval, oversight, and exemptions from other laws. While parties largely support reducing trade barriers, concerns were raised about the bill's impact on indigenous rights, environmental protection, provincial jurisdiction, and the process used, with some criticizing the government's approach and lack of transparency. 34500 words, 6 hours in 3 segments: 1 2 3.
Voting Pattern for Report Stage of Bill C-5 Members raise a point of order regarding the grouping of amendments for voting on Bill C-5, arguing that motions concerning different subjects should be voted on separately. 600 words.
Criminal Code First reading of Bill C-218. The bill amends the Criminal Code on medical assistance in dying, raising concerns about MAID becoming available solely for mental health challenges starting in March 2027. 400 words.
Voting Pattern for Report Stage of Bill C-5—Speaker's Ruling Speaker rules on points of order regarding Bill C-5, upholding the non-selection of report stage amendments not submitted in committee by a deadline, but granting separate votes on two other motions. 500 words.
The Application of Standing Order 69.1 to Bill C‑5—Speaker's Ruling Speaker rules on Bill C-5 point of order, agreeing with the member for Vancouver East to divide the vote at third reading because the bill's two parts lack a common element, despite the request being made late. 900 words.
The Deputy Speaker Tom Kmiec
I declare Motion No. 18 carried.
The question is on Motion No. 19.
If a member participating in person wishes that the motion be carried or carried on division, or if a member of a recognized party participating in person wishes to request a recorded division, I would invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair.
Mark Gerretsen Liberal Kingston and the Islands, ON
Mr. Speaker, I believe if you seek it, you will find consent to apply the results from the previous vote to this vote, with the Liberals voting nay.
Chris Warkentin Conservative Grande Prairie, AB
Mr. Speaker, we agree to apply the vote, with the Conservatives voting against.
Marilène Gill Bloc Côte-Nord—Kawawachikamach—Nitassinan, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois agrees to apply the vote and will be voting in favour.
Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC
Mr. Speaker, the NDP agrees to apply the vote and will be voting in favour.
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
Mr. Speaker, the Green Party also agrees to apply the vote and will be voting in favour.
Nathaniel Erskine-Smith Liberal Beaches—East York, ON
Mr. Speaker, I hate to be the exception, but I vote yes.
The Deputy Speaker Tom Kmiec
If a member participating in person wishes that the motion be carried or carried on division, or if a member of a recognized party participating in person wishes to request a recorded division, I would invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair.
Mark Gerretsen Liberal Kingston and the Islands, ON
We ask for a recorded vote, please, Mr. Speaker.
Steven MacKinnon LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties, and I think you will find that there is unanimous consent to adopt the following motion:
That, notwithstanding any standing order, special order or usual practice of the House, Bill C-5, An Act to enact the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act and the Building Canada Act, in Clause 4, be amended by replacing, in the English version, line 21 on page 15 with the following:
“(3) The Minister must, not later than 30 days before the”
The Deputy Speaker Tom Kmiec
All those opposed to the hon. minister's moving the motion will please say nay. Hearing no dissenting voice, it is agreed.
The House has heard the terms of the motion. All those opposed to the motion will please say nay.
(Motion agreed to)
Steven MacKinnon LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, there have been consultations among the parties and I think you will find unanimous consent for the following motion:
That, notwithstanding any standing order, special order or usual practice of the House, Bill C‑5, An Act to enact the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act and the Building Canada Act, in Clause 4, be amended by replacing lines 5 to 7 on page 10 with the following:
“with the government of the province or territory in which the project will be carried out, and obtain its written consent if the project falls within areas of exclusive provincial or territorial jurisdic-”.
The Deputy Speaker Tom Kmiec
All those opposed to the hon. minister's moving the motion will please say nay. Hearing no dissenting voice, it is agreed.
The House has heard the terms of the motion. All those opposed to the motion will please say nay.
(Motion agreed to)
Steven MacKinnon LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
moved that Bill C‑5, An Act to enact the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act and the Building Canada Act, be read the third time and passed.
Chrystia Freeland LiberalMinister of Transport and Internal Trade
Mr. Speaker, Canada is at a critical moment. U.S. tariffs are battering our country and threatening to push the world economy into a recession. Hard-working Canadians are losing their jobs, businesses are losing their customers and investors are holding back.
A few weeks ago, I travelled to Saskatoon with the Prime Minister and my colleagues, the Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs and One Canadian Economy and the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources. We met with the premiers of the provinces and territories. We discussed our plan to strengthen Canada's economic foundations, including through a unified domestic market. We agreed that we need to work together to build Canada.
We agreed to move together quickly to get this done. That is why it is so essential for us to press ahead with a project that costs nothing and can be accomplished at the stroke of a pen: delivering free trade in Canada. According to a 2019 study by the IMF, the impact of these internal barriers is equivalent to imposing a 7% tariff barrier on ourselves.
A 2016 report by Trevor Tombe and Lukas Albrecht in the Canadian Journal of Economics found that removing all barriers to internal trade and labour mobility could lower prices in Canada by up to 15%. A 2016 study by the Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce found that lifting barriers to internal trade could boost productivity by up to 7%.
Free trade in our own country makes sense. For our businesses, it means a bigger domestic market and less red tape.
For workers, this means more opportunities, more jobs, the freedom to pursue their careers anywhere in the country without barriers that penalize them, and the assurance that their qualifications will be recognized no matter where they live. This fundamental freedom to move and work will strengthen individual autonomy and the national social fabric.
Now that the LCBO is not stocking American wine, it makes more sense than ever to be sure that Nova Scotia and B.C. wines can be found on its shelves. A registered nurse qualified in Saskatchewan should be able to get right to work if her family moves to Newfoundland to be close to aging relatives. A plumbing firm in Winnipeg should as easily be able to expand to do jobs in Kenora as it can in Brandon. A trucker should be able to drive from the Halifax Harbour to the port of Vancouver without buying permits to cross between provinces and wasting precious time making technical adjustments after he rolls across each provincial line.
Freer internal trade and easier labour mobility will also help boost our housing industry, including the construction of the modular homes we need to build more homes faster and more affordably.
Ultimately, the decision to build one Canadian economy out of 13 is a decision to trust one another. It is about deciding that the delicious steak that people eat in Calgary is surely good enough to serve in Charlottetown, and that the dental hygienist whose patients in Moncton adore her can be counted on to do the same excellent work when she moves to Quebec City.
The wave of patriotism that has swept across our great country over the past few months has been truly inspiring and invigorating. Let us seize that moment and turn that love of Canada that we all have into action by trusting each other and creating one single Canadian economy from coast to coast to coast.
That is why we introduced this bill. We want to eliminate domestic trade barriers and build one Canadian economy. For far too long, senseless barriers have curbed trade. It is time to mutually recognize provincial and territorial regulations to facilitate trade by Canadian companies throughout the country and allow skilled workers to seize opportunities, wherever they may be.
What is really great is that today, momentum is growing across the country to build one Canadian economy. Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Manitoba have all already passed legislation to remove barriers to internal trade. British Columbia has introduced its historic economic stabilization act. Quebec is advancing its own legislative reforms. Also, I do want to take a moment to salute the leadership of Alberta on this important issue.
The provinces are working together. Memoranda of understanding between Ontario and other provinces, including Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, P.E.I., Manitoba and Saskatchewan, as well as powerful regional agreements, like the new west partnership, signal new levels of co-operation and a commitment to bring down barriers to internal trade. Our provincial colleagues get it. They are doing the work.
This legislation that we are voting on today, together, is about all of us, members of Canada's national Parliament, joining the provinces in their hard work and doing the federal government's fair share. This bill is an important step towards free trade in Canada.
I want to be clear. Even after today's historic vote, there will be more work to be done, and it is incumbent on all of us to maintain the momentum, to get to truly free trade and truly free labour mobility across our great country, to really build one Canadian economy.
That is why, on July 8, the Committee on Internal Trade will meet in Quebec City to push this effort forward and why, on July 15 and 16, my Department of Transport is bringing together leaders from across the country for a two-day hackathon in Toronto to cut red tape for truckers.
I encourage all members of the House to support this work and deliver on the promise of a truly unified economy.
These are not partisan goals. In fact, colleagues on the other side of the aisle have been championing some of these issues for some time, and I am grateful to them for their work and for their support of this legislation.
That is because this bill is about nation-building priorities. This is a bill that will be good for every region, every business and every Canadian. This is a bill about Canadians trusting each other and working together as Canadians. It is about us doing what Australia did three decades ago, through mutual recognition. That action in Australia pulled that great country together and made every single Australian a little more prosperous. It is high time that we as Canadians do the same thing. I am so delighted and so proud that that is what we are doing with this legislation.
What a delicious irony it will be for all of us, as Canadians, to respond to the tariffs imposed from abroad by finally tearing down the tariff and trade barriers that we have imposed on each other. Let us get this done once and for all. Let us come together and deliver free trade in Canada. Let us do this together.
Todd Doherty Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
Mr. Speaker, I have one question. Last fall, our hon. colleague resigned from the former government's cabinet because she felt she had lost confidence in former Prime Minister Trudeau's fiscal negligence.
How does the minister rationalize this new Prime Minister's fiscal negligence, which is even worse than Justin Trudeau's?
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
Mr. Speaker, I did what needed to be done in December. It was a hard thing to do, but it was the right thing to do for our party and for our country.
I was very proud, in the past election, to campaign under the banner of our new Prime Minister. I am very proud to be advancing legislation that will do what I said in my resignation letter we needed to do, and that is build Canada in response to the U.S. tariffs.
Claude DeBellefeuille Bloc Beauharnois—Salaberry—Soulanges—Huntingdon, QC
Mr. Speaker, I think the minister is well aware that the Bloc Québécois supports the first part of the bill, which the minister also supports.
I have a more technical question for her. Once the bill is passed, we believe that Quebec dairy producers and slaughterhouses could quickly be federally licensed. Basically, we would no longer have to rely on the federal government and they would quickly receive a licence.
Can the minister tell me approximately how long it would take for slaughterhouses to become federally licensed once the bill has received royal assent? What is the timeline?
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the Bloc Québécois for supporting this part of the bill.
I would like to point out that Premier Legault is in agreement. When we were in Saskatoon, he very clearly stated that the meeting was constructive. As he said, “We will continue to support Quebec's grand economic ambitions, create good, well-paying jobs and strengthen our economy in the face of Donald Trump's threats.” We agree.
Slaughterhouses are definitely one of the things that can really grow Quebec's economy. The member—