Debates of Sept. 15th, 2025

Public Safety

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, it is encouraging to see there is alignment between the Conservative opposition and the Liberal government when it comes to improving public safety, including through the adoption of stronger laws to help build safer communities. I have good news for my colleague. We will be introducing legislation during this parliamentary session to strengthen bail reform in this country, to have harsher sentences for repeat violent offenders and to make sure that we have support to help keep communities safe with direct investment in law enforcement. I look forward to working with my hon. colleague and members on both sides of the aisle to advance public safety in this country.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised to fix the Liberals' broken criminal justice system and did nothing all summer. Meanwhile, seven shootings have occurred in Vaughan in less than three weeks. A father, Abdul Aleem Farooqi, was shot dead protecting his family. Families across Canada are terrified.

Repeat violent offenders are still on our streets because of weak Liberal laws like Bill C-5 and Bill C-75. It is another Liberal broken promise, another Liberal bait and switch, because the Prime Minister is just another Liberal. When will his broken promises stop?

[Ruby Sahota, Liberal, Secretary of State (Combatting Crime)]

Mr. Speaker, the tragedy the member refers to is one that has impacted my community greatly, and my sincere sympathy goes out to the family. We are going to make sure that repeat violent offenders are kept behind bars.

This summer, I consulted with many police agencies across the country. A lot of their recommendations are going to be seen in this bill. However, provinces have to do their part to fix the broken justice system. They have to invest in Crown prosecutions, and they have to make sure that there are enough judges to hear the trials.

Labour

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised to grow the economy, but it is shrinking. Since he took office, tens of thousands of jobs have been lost, but the Liberals are on track this year to bring in the most temporary foreign work permits ever. It is so bad that a former Liberal immigration minister just said that they admitted they let industry become, “addicted to temporary work”, and he is right. Amid the PM's pledge to cut the public service, even the Liberals are using TFWs to fill federal government jobs.

We have talked about buying Canadian. Why is the Prime Minister not making people hire them?

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

Mr. Speaker, temporary foreign worker use is down by 70% in this country. Less than 1% of our workforce is temporary foreign workers. In fact, in Canada, Canadians come first for any available jobs, which is why the department has rigid rules for employers who are looking to fill vacancies with workers from other countries. If employers abuse the program, they receive serious penalties, including being banned from the use of this program.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Vincent Ho, Conservative, Richmond Hill South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, only a Liberal prime minister could promise to secure our border and fail in just six months. Over the summer, asylum claims from illegal U.S. crossings spiked dramatically, piling onto a staggering backlog of nearly 300,000 unprocessed claims. Many of these are likely bogus, yet claimants are immediately entitled to work permits, health care and benefits on the backs of Canadian taxpayers. It is another broken Liberal promise, another bait and switch, because he is just another Liberal Prime Minister.

How much longer is the Prime Minister going to keep our border open and let it become a backdoor, unplanned stream of economic migration before he finally takes action?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, while the opposition is concentrating on making assumptions and speaking about things that are not there, let me tell members that, with the asylum system, our numbers are down 40%. We have also introduced Bill C-2, which will strengthen our border, and this legislation is in front of the House. We campaigned on it, and Canadians gave us a mandate. So did Conservatives, and we hope that the Conservatives will help us pass it.

[Sukhman Gill, Conservative, Abbotsford—South Langley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals promised to fix Canada's immigration system and broke that promise. Up to 500,000 people have overstayed their visas in Canada. Canadians cannot find work, health care is overwhelmed, housing is out of reach and crime rates are soaring because of the Liberals' reckless policies.

The Liberals continue to maintain high levels of immigration and will not even remove those who are non-citizen criminals convicted of serious crimes. The Liberals had all summer to find these non-citizen criminals and remove them. Why did they not?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I know that Canadians are concerned. Our government has been working tirelessly. We understand that we need to see a return to sustainable immigration levels that fit our capacity and serve our growth, which is exactly why we are focused on our levels plan with reducing both temporary and permanent residents in this country, and we are seeing results. We are bringing population to sustainable levels and decreasing the pressures on housing and services.

We are focused on solutions on this side of the House. There is legislation in front of this Parliament, and we hope that the Conservatives will support it.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, let me get this straight. The Prime Minister promised to grow the economy, but it is shrinking. He promised he would create jobs, but Canadians are losing them. We are in a health care crisis and a housing crisis, but the Liberals still issued record numbers of TFW permits this summer. They continue to allow the asylum system to be abused, and they still have not removed countless non-citizen criminals.

Why does the immigration minister still have her job?

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

Mr. Speaker, temporary foreign workers make up less than 1% of our total workforce. In fact, this is a program where employers must demonstrate that they vigorously and actively looked for Canadian workers because Canadian workers come first.

If an employer is found to have violated this program, there are severe penalties. There is also a tip line so that if any Canadian or any member of Parliament feels there has been an abuse, this can be reported to officials and it will be investigated.

Regional Economic Development

[Natilien Joseph, Liberal, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is a nation of builders. That is why, earlier this month, the Prime Minister announced the first series of projects being referred to the historic Major Projects Office. It includes projects as diverse and ambitious as the expansion of liquefied natural gas production in British Columbia, the development of small modular reactors in Ontario, major mining projects in western Canada and the container port terminal project in Contrecœur, near my riding, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert.

Can the Minister of Finance inform—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

I have to interrupt the member.

The hon. Minister of Finance.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his excellent work.

The major project in Contrecœur will increase the port of Montreal's capacity by roughly 60%, giving eastern Canada the world-class infrastructure it needs to help us diversify our markets.

With the creation of the Major Projects Office, we are moving from vision to action by creating thousands of good jobs, connecting regions, unlocking new industries and building Canada into the strongest economy in the G7.

That is the way to build a country in the 21st century.

The Economy

[Rhonda Kirkland, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Mr. Speaker, allow me to remind the Prime Minister that on the day he swore in his cabinet, he said that Canadians would judge him by the cost at the grocery store. Well, the judgment is here and the verdict is failure.

Food inflation is now 70% above target. Another Liberal broken promise, another Liberal bait and switch, because the Prime Minister is just another Liberal.

Six months later, why are Canadians still being forced to choose between rent and groceries?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I will once again take this opportunity to let the opposition members know “build Canada homes” is up and running as a one-stop shop to build affordable housing in Canada. We are going to deliver like never before. We are going to ensure that, particularly for Canadians who are on low incomes, there is a billion dollars dedicated to transitional supportive housing for those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. We are delivering on affordability across the country.

[Connie Cody, Conservative, Cambridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister said, when he swore in his cabinet, that Canadians would judge him by the cost at the grocery store. However, with elbows flying up and down, the Liberal government did not roll up its sleeves and bring down grocery prices.

While the Prime Minister does his chicken dance, 5,000 people use a food bank in Cambridge. Canadians are getting crushed. Food prices are up nearly 40% and food inflation is 70% above target. This is another Liberal broken promise, another Liberal bait and switch because the Prime Minister is just another Liberal.

Is this sticker shock his promise to Canadians?

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

Mr. Speaker, I have good news for the member. This is a very real issue and that is why we have a very real answer on this side of the House. The very first thing the Prime Minister did for Canadians was reduce taxes for 22 million Canadians. Some 22 million Canadians have more money in their pockets to face the cost of living.

On this side of the House, we are not about slogans. We are not about jokes. We are serious about delivering for Canadians and we will continue to fight for Canadians at every step of the way.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent—Akiawenhrahk, QC]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about the problems that Canadians are facing every day. On the day that he was sworn in, the Prime Minister said that Canadians would judge him by the cost of groceries. Four months later, grocery prices are extremely high. Inflation is rising and so is the cost of everything. People who were already struggling are struggling even more because of this broken promise. Canadians are now realizing that the Prime Minister breaks his promises, just as all the Liberals have done over the past 10 years while mismanaging Canada.

Will the Prime Minister explain to Canadians why their grocery bills are going up as a result of food inflation?

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

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have met the Prime Minister and they have seen one thing: a Prime Minister who listens, a Prime Minister with vision and, most importantly, a Prime Minister who takes action.

The first thing that the new Liberal government did was to cut taxes for 22 million Canadians across the country. We recognized that we need to make a collective effort to help those who need it most. What is more, we also reduced the GST for homebuyers, and we introduced the most ambitious list for building Canada—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. member for Bay of Quinte.

National Defence

[Chris Malette, Liberal, Bay of Quinte, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this summer, I heard from folks in my riding of the Bay of Quinte about the cost of living challenges they face. For members of the Canadian Armed Forces, this is no different.

As our government makes a generational investment in our military, can the Minister of National Defence update the House on the support we are providing for our men and women in uniform?

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, we know that our forces and their families face challenges as they move across the country from posting to posting. That is why, this summer, we gave our forces a well-deserved and overdue pay raise. Our $2-billion compensation package is the largest in a generation. It means that untrained sailors, aviators and soldiers will receive a 20% pay raise. As the brave women and men of the Canadian Armed Forces answer the call to serve, they need to know we have their backs.

Marine Transportation

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Okanagan Lake West—South Kelowna, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised that he would be elbows up and buy Canadian. He broke that promise when he rewarded the Communist Chinese government a billion-dollar loan to buy ferries for B.C. as it tariffs our seafood and ag producers. That is not elbows up. It is another Liberal broken promise, another Liberal bait and switch, because the Prime Minister is just another Liberal. Newly uncovered documents show senior Liberals were only concerned about their political interests. They did nothing to cancel the contract and ensure that our shipbuilders could participate.

When will the Prime Minister stop rewarding Beijing, cancel this loan and buy Canadian?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I think I speak for all members of the House when I say that we are disappointed that BC Ferries made the procurement decision that it made. It is really unfortunate that no Canadian companies bid on the contract with BC Ferries. That is something that we have to all rectify, and we have to change that by buying Canadian. I agree with the member opposite.

On this side of the House, we are bringing forward a comprehensive buy Canadian program to make sure all of our agencies and departments are focused on buying Canadian.