Debates of June 9th, 2025

Opposition Motion—Food Inflation and Budgetary Policy

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie South—Innisfil, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I request a recorded division.

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Pursuant to Standing Order 45, the division stands deferred until Tuesday, June 10, at the expiry of the time provided for Oral Questions.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I suspect if you were canvass the House, you would find unanimous consent to see the clock at 6:30 p.m., so we could begin committee of the whole.

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Pursuant to order made on Tuesday, May 27, the House will now resolve itself into a committee of the whole to study all votes in the main estimates and the supplementary estimates (A) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026.

I do now leave the chair for the House to go into committee of the whole.

(Consideration in committee of the whole of all votes in the main estimates and supplementary estimates (A), Francis Scarpaleggia in the chair)

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

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Pursuant to order made on Tuesday, May 27, the committee of the whole convenes today for the sole purpose of asking questions to the government in regard to the estimates. The first round will begin with the official opposition, followed by the government and the Bloc Québécois. After that, we will follow the usual proportional rotation.

Each member recognized by the Chair will be allocated 15 minutes, which may be used both for debate and for posing questions. Should members wish to use this time to make a speech, it can last a maximum of 10 minutes, leaving at least five minutes for questions to the minister or the parliamentary secretary acting on behalf of the minister. When members are recognized, they shall indicate to the Chair how the 15-minute period will be used, in other words, what portion will be used for speeches and what portion for questions and answers. Members who wish to share their time with one or more other members shall indicate it to the Chair.

When the time is to be used for questions, the minister's or parliamentary secretary's response should reflect approximately the time taken to ask the question, since this time will count toward the time allotted to the member.

The period of time for the consideration of the estimates in committee of the whole this evening shall not exceed four hours. I also wish to indicate that, in committee of the whole, comments should be addressed through the Chair. I ask for everyone's co-operation in upholding all established standards of decorum, parliamentary language and behaviour.

In addition, pursuant to order made on Tuesday, May 27, no quorum calls, dilatory motions or requests for unanimous consent shall be received by the Chair.

The hon. member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley.

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

Mr. Speaker, before we get started, I want to notify the Chair that I will be dividing my block up three ways.

Roughly 97% of Canadian oil gets to the U.S.A. by pipeline. Does the environment minister agree that Canada should build new pipelines to get Canadian oil to non-U.S.A. markets?

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

Mr. Speaker, we have been very clear as a government. Canadians want to see us build things. They want to see us build properly, taking into account the environment and making sure that we are consulting with indigenous peoples.

It is not for me, as the Minister of Environment, to choose which projects are there. That is something that is happening through conversations between the provinces and territories, and—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley.

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

Mr. Speaker, national consensus will be required from all provinces for pipelines to be built in Canada. Will consensus be required by all federal ministers as well?

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we have tabled the building Canada act. In that act, there is a process that is set out very clearly as to how decisions will be made. This is a moment to build on the unity that we saw last week between the Prime Minister and premiers from all across our country.

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

Mr. Speaker, will the Liberal government require consensus from first nations for an environmental certificate to be issued?

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, let us be really clear. Making sure that indigenous peoples are part of the process and that they are consulted is fundamental to the way that national interest projects will be chosen.

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

Mr. Speaker, British Columbia has already said no to oil pipelines, and it seems the Liberal government will obey that demand, regardless of the tariff crisis. Is this a veto?

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, once again, I will go back to the fact that, last week, we had a moment of incredible unity with the premiers and the Prime Minister together, sitting down and talking about how we build national interest projects. That is what we will be supporting, because that is what Canadians want to see from us.

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

Mr. Speaker, I know the Liberal government does not believe in a first nations veto, but does this apply to the approval of an environmental certificate under the “one project, one review” model or even Bill C-5?

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I do not understand where the member is going, because if he is trying to say that indigenous people should not be consulted as part of projects, I will say definitively that he is incorrect. Indigenous people must be part of the process and consultation—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government would reduce project approval from five to three years, but the environmental assessment already states that certificate decisions will be decided upon within one year of environmental assessment commencement.

Is there a reason that the one-year approval process laid out in the environmental assessment is being ignored?

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, what we have put forward in the building Canada act is a process by which national interest projects can be chosen, because we are in an extreme moment, facing the threat from the United States to our sovereignty and to our economy. We are meeting that moment through this act, and we will keep working to build.

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

Mr. Speaker, decarbonization will be a requirement for oil exports in non-U.S.A. markets.

Will this decarbonization requirement be applied to oil exports going to the United States?

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as a country, we have committed to getting to net zero by 2050. In fact, the provinces are all in that direction as well. This is something that we need to do to remain competitive as a country, as we are facing countries that are looking for clean technologies. Absolutely, I will not shy away from saying that we need—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

We will now move on to the hon. member for Portage—Lisgar.