Debates of June 9th, 2025

Finance

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, a tax cut for 22 million Canadians is exactly the kind of support that Canadians are asking for, and that is why they elected us. They know that when things are difficult for Canadians, they can count on the Liberal government to be there for them, whether it is to help raise healthy children, make sure their kids get a good breakfast in the morning or make sure that they too can afford child care so that they can continue to grow and earn great livings across this country. We will be there for Canadians.

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Ponoka—Didsbury, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is official: the new Liberal Prime Minister refuses to present a spring budget even though Canadians have been without one for over a year. In that time, students have had budgets, families have budgets, small businesses have budgets, towns and cities have budgets, provinces and territories all have budgets, banks have budgets and I am pretty sure Brookfield has a budget.

Why does this government not have a budget? The last guy thought budgets balanced themselves. Does the new guy think budgets just draft and table themselves?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Finance and National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, the member failed to mention one: Canada will have a budget in the fall of this year. That is one thing he forgot to mention to Canadians.

What is responsible to do is the first thing we did when we came to this House, which was to lower tax for 22 million Canadians. That is something the Conservatives failed to mention. Canadians at home who are watching know that with our motion, and the Conservatives voting for the bill, by July 1 their taxes will come down. That is what Canadians expect; that is what we deliver.

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, Kamloops—Shuswap—Central Rockies, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians from Field, B.C., in the Rockies to the ranchlands of Kamloops tell me that family budgets are being destroyed by Liberal inflationary spending. The Prime Minister wants to be held to account by what Canadians pay at the grocery store. Today, we are debating our Conservative motion, calling for a budget as soon as possible.

Will the Liberal government table a budget and reverse its inflationary spending so that Canadians can afford to put food on the table?

[Stephanie McLean, Liberal, Secretary of State (Seniors)]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise in this House for the first time as the member for Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke.

This government is doing important work to ensure that we are protecting vulnerable Canadians, including vulnerable seniors, and that is why we continue to stand up for seniors. We are restoring eligibility to age 65 with the old age security program, and this is an important step to defend vulnerable seniors from falling into poverty. This policy also helps to protect low-income seniors who depend heavily on OAS and GIS—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman.

National Defence

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, after the lost Liberal decade of Justin Trudeau and company, our military is gutted, and Canada has been left weaker, poorer and defenceless. For 10 years, the Liberals failed to take our national defence and security seriously, instead relying on our allies to defend Canada's sovereignty. The Canadian Armed Forces is facing a devastating recruitment crisis and does not have enough soldiers, sailors and aircrew, and only half of our military equipment is serviceable.

Why should Canadians believe the Prime Minister will fix what his Liberals have already broken?

[Jill McKnight, Liberal, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, today is a good day for Canada. This morning, the Prime Minister announced a $9.3-billion investment in Canada's defence, which means we would achieve NATO's 2% target this fiscal year.

This is the largest investment in defence since the end of the Second World War. On this side of the House, we are thankful to those who serve, past and present.

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, nobody believes them. After 10 years of the Liberals, our warships are rusting out, our fighter jets are worn out, and our troops are burnt out. Today, the Canadian Armed Forces is short 13,000 troops, due to the Liberals' recruitment and retention crisis. An additional 10,000 personnel are under-trained and non-deployable. Over the past decade, the Liberals lapsed $12 billion in defence spending and cut $2.7 billion from the military over the last year.

Why would our troops believe anything the Liberal government says, since the Liberals are responsible for breaking our military?

[Jill McKnight, Liberal, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, today is a great day for Canada. Our allies and our partners around the world are watching.

I find it surprising that the Conservatives want to talk about supporting and equipping forces when they are the ones who cut Canada's defence spending to below 1%. On this side of the House, Canada's new government is investing now to re-equip, rebuild and bolster our armed forces and our defence industrial capacity. We will ensure Canada remains strong, sovereign and secure.

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after 10 years of Liberal rule, our fighter jets are at the end of their service life, our ships are outdated and our troops are exhausted. We are short 13,000 troops. Recruitment and morale among our military personnel have never been lower. Over the past decade, the Liberals have slashed $12 billion from defence and cut the military budget. The Liberals have turned their backs on our armed forces.

How can the government responsible for this fiasco claim to be improving it?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives may have turned their backs on the Canadian Armed Forces, but our government certainly has not.

Today we are announcing historic investments in defence. We are going to properly equip the Canadian Armed Forces. We are also going to build ships, aircraft and other equipment in Canada. We are going to create jobs in Quebec and across the country, and we are going to protect our sovereignty.

Finance

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot—Acton, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Ottawa just announced $9 billion in new defence spending starting this year. In the current global context, the Bloc Québécois agrees that we must invest in defence, but that is another $9 billion that the Liberals are asking us to blindly support without a budget or even an economic update. No one will know how that spending will be financed or how big the deficit is at the time of voting.

Could the Liberals finally do the responsible thing and show us the state of our public finances?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Minister of Government Transformation]

Mr. Speaker, I want to emphasize what my hon. colleague said, that the Bloc Québécois agrees with rearming the Canadian Armed Forces and supports today's historic announcement about meeting the target of 2% of GDP set by NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. That represents $9.3 billion in defence spending that is needed to defend Canada's sovereignty and protect Canadians. I thank the Bloc Québécois for agreeing with this ambitious proposal for the country.

I would also like to point out that I was at the Davie shipyard this weekend. It was celebrating its 200th anniversary. It contributes to Canada's sovereignty by building high-quality ships right here at home, in Quebec.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the $9 billion in spending is in addition to the $26 billion over five years in tax cuts. Add to that the $4 billion for the GST exemption for new homes. All that is in addition to the $38 billion more in appropriations for the cost of the federal government. That alone is more than Quebec's total annual health care budget.

The Liberals are asking us to support it without a budget being tabled. That is totally irresponsible.

Why is the government trying to hide the state of its finances from us?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Finance and National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, I think that my colleagues in the House just witnessed a historic moment. We heard the Bloc Québécois say that it wanted to build Canada strong. This is a historic moment for all parliamentarians.

We agree with the Bloc Québécois. We just made a generational investment in Canada's sovereignty, a generational investment in our industries, as the Minister of Industry just said, a generational investment in our workers. Employees at Bombardier, CAE, Davie and Marmen are celebrating today because Canada is going to invest in its sovereignty and in its industrial base.

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are hiding the state of Canada's finances from Canadians. The so-called brilliant banker, who said his strength was planning, is not planning on actually producing a budget for Canadians. Meanwhile, one million Ontarians used a food bank last year, a terrible new record, and unemployment in the GTA has now surged to almost 9%. Guess what. There is no budget.

How bad is the state of Canada's finances that the so-called brilliant planner is not planning to produce a budget for Canadians?

[John Zerucelli, Liberal, Secretary of State (Labour)]

Mr. Speaker, we increased the CCB. We delivered $10-a-day day care. We put in place a national school food program. The federal minimum wage was increased. We have dental care and pharmacare.

All those programs have reduced child poverty by 38% since 2015. Seniors' poverty is down by 30% since 2015. They are all things the Conservatives voted against.

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we voted against all the policies that led to one million Ontarians using a food bank. The Liberals should all be ashamed of themselves that that is their performance. Meanwhile, TD Bank has now said that up to 100,000 Canadians will lose their job this year, and guess what. The government refuses to produce a budget. Bankruptcies in Canada have surged 20%. Guess what. The government is not going to produce a budget.

I will ask this again: What is so terrible about the state of Canada's finances that the so-called brilliant planner is refusing to produce a budget for Canadians?

[John Zerucelli, Liberal, Secretary of State (Labour)]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to talk about this list again because I think it is so important. We increased the CCB, delivered $10 day care and put in place a national school food program. The federal minimum wage has been increased. We have dental care and pharmacare.

All those programs have reduced poverty in all age groups. They are the things that Conservatives have voted against.

[Greg McLean, Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, that is a record stuck on skip, but Canadians are now facing the consequences of the Liberal government's economic drift.

Oxford Economics says that Canada is heading into a recession with 200,000 more job losses and unemployment reaching 7.7% this year. Full-time workers are turning to food banks in record numbers, and mortgage defaults are rising. Meanwhile, the Liberal government wants to spend a record half a trillion dollars with no plan.

Will the Prime Minister show some accountability to the Canadians who are going to be losing their jobs, do his job and table a budget?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, a tax cut for 22 million Canadians is exactly the kind of relief that Canadians are looking for on top of all the programs and supports for Canadians, whether they have children, are seniors or are low-income.

We expect with all of this concern that we will see support from the Conservative Party for things like our one Canadian economy bill, which is going to further enhance opportunities for Canadians to have well-paying jobs all across the country.

[Éric Lefebvre, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the Prime Minister that he is leading a minority government and that the majority of members of the House of Commons voted in favour of a spring budget.

This morning, during debate on the Conservative motion, I asked a question but did not receive an answer. I will try my luck here. I have two simple yes-or-no questions.

First, does the Prime Minister respect the institution of the House of Commons? Second, will he respect the will of the majority of elected members and table a spring budget?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Finance and National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, I have two answers for my colleague: Yes, we respect the House, and yes, there will be a budget in the fall of 2025.

We are working for Canadians. I know that my colleague is new to the House, but he has no doubt seen the big announcement that will please the constituents in his riding of Richmond—Arthabaska. I am talking about the tax cut for 22 million Canadians.

I am sure that the member will call his constituents and include this information in his householders to join us in celebrating a great moment for all taxpayers in his riding.

[Éric Lefebvre, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his answer. Unfortunately, the answer is wrong. He talked about a budget in the fall, when the House asked for a budget in the spring.

We are talking about an impending recession with a possible loss of 100,000 jobs, according to TD Bank. There are already full-time workers using food banks in record numbers. There is a rise in missed mortgage payments and a housing crisis across Canada. Canadians are worried. We need a budget to be tabled this spring.

When will the budget be tabled this spring?