House of Commons Hansard #9 of the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was chair.
This summary is computer-generated. Usually it’s accurate, but every now and then it’ll contain inaccuracies or total fabrications.
Business of the House Steven MacKinnon moves motion agreed to by Members to change House Standing Orders for the 45th Parliament regarding committee composition, appointment, and procedures for suspending sittings during late-night votes. 400 words.
Strong Borders Act Second reading of Bill C-2. The bill aims to strengthen border security, combat organized crime, fentanyl trafficking, money laundering, and enhance immigration system integrity. Proponents say it provides crucial new tools for law enforcement. Critics raise concerns about its omnibus nature, lack of provisions on bail and sentencing, insufficient resources, and privacy implications of new powers, including lawful access and mail inspection, arguing it requires thorough, detailed work in committee. 44700 words, 6 hours in 2 segments: 1 2.
Main Estimates, 2025-26 Members debate Public Safety and Transport estimates. Discussions include concerns about correctional service decisions, bail reform, gun control (including the buyback program), and border security (Bill C-2, CBSA/RCMP hiring). They also discuss efforts to strengthen the economy and create a single Canadian market by reducing internal trade barriers, investments in national transport infrastructure like ports and rail, and issues with air passenger rights. 31800 words, 4 hours.
Jean-Denis Garon Bloc Mirabel, QC
Mr. Speaker, steel and aluminum tariffs are doubling, and 2,000 forestry jobs have been lost. The trade war is heating up. Our industries and workers need support. We need a budget.
Yesterday, the throne speech was adopted on the condition that at least a budget update would be adopted. Today, the Liberals are being asked to respect their own throne speech.
Will they keep their word for once and immediately table an economic update with relief measures?
François-Philippe Champagne LiberalMinister of Finance and National Revenue
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.
Measures are already in place to support various sectors of the Canadian economy. We had already planned to implement measures to deal with the tariff war, as my colleague said. On this side of the House, we have always been clear. We will fight against tariffs, we will protect our workers and our industries, and we will build a Canada together.
I am sure that my Bloc Québécois colleagues are happy to build a strong Canada.
Shelby Kramp-Neuman Conservative Hastings—Lennox and Addington—Tyendinaga, ON
Mr. Speaker, for years the Liberals have promised families that they will lower the cost of groceries, telling Canadians that relief is coming soon, and for years they have failed families. The Prime Minister himself said that he will be judged by the price of groceries. The cost of everything, from beef to oranges, is up by over 25% since the beginning of this year alone.
With an additional half a trillion dollars in spending adding more fuel to the food and inflationary crisis, why can the Prime Minister not even table a budget?
Patty Hajdu LiberalMinister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario
Mr. Speaker, since 2015, child poverty is down by 38%. That is because of programs such as the Canada child benefit. That is because of programs such as affordable child care, which is available all across the country.
We are working with families. We are working with youth and children, and we will continue to do that work together. We hope the opposition gets on board.
Shelby Kramp-Neuman Conservative Hastings—Lennox and Addington—Tyendinaga, ON
Mr. Speaker, there is nothing to get on board with. Unlike the government, Canadians actually have to budget their money in order to survive. They cannot tax and spend their way out of hunger. After their rent, mortgage and utilities, they are left with fewer dollars than ever to buy the food their families need, and those few dollars are not going as far as they used to. Canadians are at their wits' end, and they expect and deserve a plan that delivers relief.
Will the government exercise a modicum of competency and table a spring budget?
Patty Hajdu LiberalMinister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario
Mr. Speaker, competency would be not voting against legislation, bills and programs that actually put food in the stomachs of kids, such as the Canada school nutrition program, which is feeding over 400,000 children this year, in partnership with provinces and territories.
Every time there is a measure put forward by the government to ensure that kids have food, parents have child care or parents have the money they need to raise their kids, the opposition party has voted against it.
Let us be honest, the opposition party is not there for families.
Carol Anstey Conservative Long Range Mountains, NL
Mr. Speaker, Bridges to Hope is a vital food bank in Newfoundland and Labrador that is being forced to double its size due to a 30% increase in demand. This surge reflects the harsh reality that more and more families cannot afford groceries. The cost of beef is up 34%. Oranges are up 26%, and coffee is up 9%. Canadians do not have any hope for relief without a clear fiscal plan.
Will the Prime Minister finally table a budget that addresses the cost of living crisis and ensures Canadians can put food on their tables?
Patty Hajdu LiberalMinister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario
Mr. Speaker, we have talked about the reduction in child poverty, but for adults between 18 and 65, it has gone down by 26% since 2015. That is in large part because of the programs that we have put in place to help families. We want to talk about reducing costs of food. The Canada school food program reduces costs of groceries on average by $800 a year for every family.
Let us see if the Conservatives can get on board with programs that really help families.
Carol Anstey Conservative Long Range Mountains, NL
Mr. Speaker, “Canadians will hold account by their experience at the grocery store.” These are the words of the Prime Minister. Single mothers go to the grocery store and walk out with two bags of groceries, enough for two days, and it costs them $100. Now the Liberals are bringing in a half a trillion in new spending, increasing it by 8%, when they had promise to cap it at 2%.
Once again, will the Liberals table a spring budget that reduces inflation and cuts taxes so Canadians can afford to feed their families?
Joanne Thompson LiberalMinister of Fisheries
Mr. Speaker, it is very important in St. John's, and in Newfoundland and Labrador, that we protect children. The school food program was such an important initiative, and I found it so disappointing that the opposition voted against it.
I hope that, when there is an opportunity to vote to support this program, which puts food in children's bellies, the opposition and the member across will vote to support food for children.
Scot Davidson Conservative New Tecumseth—Gwillimbury, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has admitted that he does not do his own grocery shopping. He does not even know how much a family of four spends on groceries. He either does not know or does not care that Canadian families are struggling to put food on the table because of the Liberal government's failure to tackle inflation. Under the Liberals, the most expensive vehicle to operate in Canada is now the shopping cart.
Will the Liberals put forward a budget plan that would lower inflation, so that Canadians can feed their families?
Patty Hajdu LiberalMinister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario
Mr. Speaker, either they cannot hear or this is willful ignorance of their own past behaviour. What we see repeatedly is the Conservative Party voting again and again against families. Whether it is the Canada child benefit, the national school food program or dental care, which are providing support to families all across the country while alleviating costs and improving the health of Canadians, they vote against it. They are voting against families every single time.
Scot Davidson Conservative New Tecumseth—Gwillimbury, ON
Mr. Speaker, it was the Prime Minister who said that Canadians will hold them accountable based on their experience at the grocery store.
The experience is a nightmare, and Canadians are getting fed up. Under the Liberal government, food prices have skyrocketed, but instead of offering a real budget plan, the Liberals are plowing ahead with a half trillion dollars in new spending. Hard-working Canadians are having to foot the bill for the government's runaway deficits every time they shop for groceries.
How is this acceptable?
Patty Hajdu LiberalMinister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario
Mr. Speaker, how is it acceptable that, when a government offers the Canada child benefit, which lifts almost 500,000 children out of poverty, the opposition votes against it, and that they muse about cutting that program if they were ever to gain office?
It is no wonder that Canadians chose us in the last election. They know who has their backs. They know who is fighting for them. These kinds of narratives do not match the reality they see from Conservatives.
Éric Lefebvre Conservative Richmond—Arthabaska, QC
Mr. Speaker, the cost of groceries has skyrocketed. Unfortunately, 10 years of Liberal inflationary deficits have forced a record number of Canadians to use food banks. Unfortunately, I ran into a friend of mine from high school, François, there. He works, and he makes a budget, but he is unable to make ends meet. Children from my riding, in Victoriaville, go to school with an empty lunch box. There is nothing inside. Thank goodness we have organizations that take care of them.
Will the Liberals finally table a budget to reduce inflation, lower taxes and put food on the table for our children?
Joël Lightbound LiberalMinister of Government Transformation
Mr. Speaker, on April 28, Canadians rejected the kind of regression that the Conservative Party would have brought to Canada.
We see it today. The Conservatives would have had no qualms about cutting programs that Canadians and our communities depend on, whether it be the Canada child benefit or the Canadian dental care plan, which was just expanded to cover people between the ages of 18 and 64 and has already helped millions of Canadians across the country.
It is embarrassing, today, to see them proposing things that would set Canada back. They should support us with the estimates.
Mario Simard Bloc Jonquière, QC
Mr. Speaker, Rémabec in my region announced that it is laying off 2,000 workers indefinitely. The Bloc Québécois would first like to express its solidarity with the families affected.
For years, we have been saying that the forestry industry needs a liquidity program. For years, we have been saying that we need to support secondary and tertiary processing to create more added value in the forestry industry. For years, we have been saying in Ottawa that we need a program that allows for and promotes the use of wood.
Two thousand jobs have been lost in my region. When will the government wake up?
Mélanie Joly LiberalMinister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions
Mr. Speaker, it goes without saying that the forestry industry is important. The Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and I will be working on this issue.
It will also be a pleasure to work with the Bloc Québécois member to protect and create jobs in his riding and across Quebec, especially in the regions affected by the tariff war, as is the case for the forestry industry.
In the meantime, we will work on solutions. We are ready to discuss this with my colleague because we have solutions that can be made available, particularly through Canada Economic Development for Quebec regions.
Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay Bloc Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot—Acton, QC
Mr. Speaker, the layoffs in the forestry industry are an indication of what is going to happen with steel and aluminum if Ottawa does not change its current approach, which is to do nothing at all. We know that it is not what they are known for, but maybe the Liberals could be proactive for once. They need to proactively offer cash to the industry and create a wage subsidy to prevent a wave of layoffs.
Tariffs doubled yesterday. Could Ottawa take action for once before plants start closing and jobs start disappearing?
Mélanie Joly LiberalMinister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions
Mr. Speaker, unlike my colleague who likes to complain, especially when asking his questions, our goal is to find solutions. I will be pleased to work with him because there are solutions on the table and provisions to help businesses manage their cash flow. That is why, today, I was with the CEOs of the steel industry to talk to them about what is possible.
Let us work together and be constructive.
Rob Moore Conservative Fundy Royal, NB
Mr. Speaker, Atlantic Canadians are suffering under a Liberal government that has allowed housing costs to double and housing inflation to rise faster in Canada than in any other G7 country. In Halifax, homelessness has doubled in just the last two years. Over 1,100 people in the city are homeless, and 123 of those, at least, are children. These children do not want more government bureaucracy; they want a place to call home.
When will the Prime Minister understand that doing more of the same is actually going to make the problem worse?
Gregor Robertson LiberalMinister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada
Mr. Speaker, homelessness is a huge challenge right across the country. We face a huge challenge in tackling it with affordable housing. We need to be working with the cities, towns and indigenous communities to make sure we are delivering.
There is a reason we have a new government here, with a new cabinet, that is focused on building Canada and focused first and foremost on building affordable housing for the people who need it the most.
Rob Moore Conservative Fundy Royal, NB
Mr. Speaker, it is the same old government with the same old failed solutions. The housing crisis did not just happen; it is the direct result of 10 years of Liberal government mismanagement. After only a decade, rent in Canada has doubled, the amount required for a down payment to buy a home has doubled and mortgages have doubled. The dream of owning a home in Canada is slipping away for many Canadians.
When will the minister understand that doing more of the same and having the same failed policies is not going to result in a solution for Canadians?
Wayne Long LiberalSecretary of State (Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Institutions)
Mr. Speaker, I am blessed to have the opportunity to answer questions in the House, but the member opposite would have a lot more credibility if he had not voted against the rapid housing initiative, the federal co-investment fund and the housing accelerator fund that his community wanted.
The Conservatives hold themselves up as stewards of housing. They are not. They voted against every housing initiative that we put forward to help Canadians.
Marc Dalton Conservative Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC
Mr. Speaker, housing has become unaffordable under the Liberal government. According to CMHC, over half of Canadians are struggling to pay down their mortgage, 63% are worried about defaulting, 17% have missed a payment and 26% are using credit to pay off credit. In the greater Vancouver area, homeowners are stressed out and are not sure how they are going to make ends meet.
Will the Minister of Housing acknowledge that Liberal economic incompetence has created this crisis and that we are halfway through the year and still have no budget?