Debates of Sept. 23rd, 2025

Collège Sainte-Anne

[Anju Dhillon, Liberal, Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, 52 students and three teachers from Collège Sainte-Anne, in Lachine, are visiting Parliament today.

Founded in 1861 by the Sisters of Sainte-Anne, this institution is one of the oldest schools in Quebec. For nearly 165 years, Collège Sainte-Anne has trained students who have contributed to—among many other things—innovation, entrepreneurship and remarkable scientific achievements that have had an impact not only in Quebec and Canada but also around the world. The teachers at Sainte-Anne teach with dedication and energy, arming their students with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in the career of their choice.

I am delighted to welcome them so they can take a closer look at how democracy works. Maybe some of those students are future members of Parliament. Whatever paths they take, I wish them every success and much happiness in their lives.

Prime Minister of Canada

[Dan Muys, Conservative, Flamborough—Glanbrook—Brant North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised the fastest-growing economy in the G7. Instead, we have the fastest-shrinking economy, with higher unemployment, record household debt and the most expensive housing. It is another Liberal broken promise. He told Canadians to judge him by grocery prices, and they are rising even faster today, which is another Liberal broken promise.

The Prime Minister promised to “build, baby, build”. Instead, it is “block, baby, block”. Housing starts are projected to drop 13%, which is another Liberal broken promise. He promised “elbows up” tariffs against the U.S. and then removed them without a deal, which is another Liberal broken promise. He promised to “spend less” and “invest more”. Spending is way up while the deficit is doubling and $63 billion in investment has fled Canada. It is another Liberal broken promise.

Broken promises are the only thing the Prime Minister has delivered.

Cricket in Canada

[Iqra Khalid, Liberal, Mississauga—Erin Mills, ON]

Mr. Speaker, cricket has come to Ottawa. Today we are joined by Canadians representing over 300,000 women and men who play cricket across our country and millions who watch and cheer the sport.

Today is the third annual cricket match between Canadian parliamentarians and the Commonwealth diplomats, when they will square off and pitch for peace. Today is more than just about sports. It is about building friendships across the world celebrating cricket's growth here in Canada. For many MPs, senators and diplomats, today will be their first time playing cricket, but it will not be their last. I want to thank all the representatives of cricket who have joined us from coast to coast to coast. I thank Hassan Mirza, president of Canadian College and University Cricket, for his leadership and help in putting this together.

Canada needs to invest in our young cricketers representing us all over the world. We are hopeful that we can continue to pitch for peace to build a stronger nation.

Resource Development Strategy

[Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Conservative, Hastings—Lennox and Addington—Tyendinaga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister claims to be pro resource development, but mere months ago he was praising the authoritarian government in Beijing for understanding “engineering solutions to issues around emissions” and its willingness to “engage in the global commons in and around climate”. He was happily giving the ambitious leadership of the Chinese Communist Party this high praise while it was doing the exact opposite of responsible environmental stewardship by constructing several new coal power plants, but as we are increasingly seeing with the Prime Minister, he prefers platitudes over planning and progress.

Coupled with his personal connections to Brookfield securing a $250-million loan to the Chinese state-owned bank, Canadians are increasingly realizing that the Prime Minister is not only a walking conflict of interest but also an anti-energy leader in Canada, and his behaviour proves it.

Alliance des Ukrainiens de Québec

[Steeve Lavoie, Liberal, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this summer, I had the privilege of meeting, in my riding, representatives from Alliance des Ukrainiens de Québec, an organization that plays a key role for its members and for our entire community. This meeting was an opportunity to listen to their reality, their needs and their aspirations, but especially to see once again the strength and resilience of the Ukrainian community here in Quebec.

As the member for Beauport—Limoilou, I feel very strongly that Canada has the moral and political responsibility to support the Ukrainian people, internationally and here at home. My government has already taken tangible measures to welcome the displaced families, strengthen the cultural partnerships and ensure ongoing humanitarian and military aid.

Beyond official gestures, it is the human connections and local initiatives, like those brought forward by the Alliance, that give true meaning to our solidarity. I want to reiterate that our government and I will remain an ally to this cause.

Firearms

[Aaron Gunn, Conservative, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it looks like the Minister of Public Safety accidentally told the truth. Yesterday we learned, through leaked audio, that the minister privately acknowledged what Conservatives have been saying publicly for years, which is that the Liberals' attack on law-abiding firearm owners with their gun confiscation scheme is politically motivated and will do nothing for public safety. It is completely unenforceable and a giant waste of nearly $1 billion of taxpayer money, at a time when violent crime has surged and gun crime, in particular, under the Liberal government, is up 130%.

We already know that the minister does not know what an RPAL is and that he does not know that his own government decriminalized hard drugs in B.C. How many more failures, scandals and embarrassing moments does one man need to have before Canadians get a new Minister of Public Safety?

Local Business in Bay of Quinte

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

Mr. Speaker, this summer, an extraordinary business in my riding of Bay of Quinte achieved a fantastic milestone. Sprague Foods hit 100 years of operation. Founded in 1925 as a seasonal cannery in Prince Edward County, the company has grown, through five generations, into the only remaining cannery in the region. From preserving local vegetables and producing soups now found on shelves across Canada, Sprague Foods has stayed true to simple, natural ingredients while adapting to changing markets.

At a time when buying Canadian-made products is more important than ever, Sprague Foods is a key partner in supporting our local economy with good jobs and food security. On behalf of myself and the entire House, I congratulate Sprague Foods on the past century and say cheers to 100 more.

I would also like to acknowledge the Canadian Armed Forces that we have here today for army appreciation day. I thank them for all their service.

Firearms

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I must admit that I have never seen anything like this.

On Monday, in a recording, a minister said that his program will not work. On Tuesday, he announced that he is going ahead with the program.

He was right in the recording: It is a waste of $700 million. This money is being taken from our border and police services to go after hunters and sport shooters, which will endanger the lives of Canadians.

When will the Prime Minister fire this minister?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, let me just take this opportunity to talk about the compensation program we launched today. The pilot will take place in Cape Breton. I want to thank my colleagues from Cape Breton for their support. I also want to thank the police chief, as well as those who are going to step forward and apply for the rebate.

This is smart policy. We are moving forward on it. I fully believe that we will be able to implement this throughout the country over the next year.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, he said exactly the opposite in the recording.

He admitted that seizing $750-million worth of weapons will not work. He even offered to bail his tenant out of jail. He broke the Liberal promise to hire 1,000 border agents, even though 80% of the firearms used to commit crimes cross the border illegally. He lost track of 600 dangerous foreign criminals on our streets and does not even know what a firearms licence is. He is incapable of protecting Canadians.

When will the Prime Minister fire him?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, public safety is not about binary choices. We can do both. We can ensure that guns are off our streets by ensuring that people who turn in their firearms can get compensated for prohibited weapons. That is what we are doing with the launch of our gun buyback program today.

We will continue to make smart criminal justice reforms to ensure that criminals are off our streets and that bail is tougher to get for repeat violent offenders.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I have to admit, in all my years here, I have not seen this before.

On Monday, a minister says that his program will not work. On Tuesday, he says he is going ahead with the program, a program that will take $750 million away from frontline border and police services to go after Grandpa Joe's hunting rifle. It is a waste of money that police say they will not implement and that the minister was caught on a recording saying the government will never implement. He even promised to bail his tenant out of jail if he breaks the law.

When will the Prime Minister fire this minister?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, let us be clear. If Grandpa Joe is using AR-15s to go hunting, we have to have a much more serious conversation about hunting.

What we are going forward with are 2,500 prohibited weapons, like the AR-15s that are killing people around the world, including those in mass casualty incidents in Canada. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to have a real conversation about crime, he also has to have a real conversation about guns.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the minister did have a real conversation about guns. He was caught on tape admitting that his program will not work because it will go after legitimate hunters and sport shooters rather than after the 80% of guns used in crime that come illegally across the border.

He admits that his $750-million program will not work. He offered to bail his tenant out of jail if he breaks the rules. He lost track of 6,000 foreign criminals in our country. He admits he does not know what a gun licence is. More than half of Canadians do not feel safe under his watch.

Will the Prime Minister do the only thing that will secure our country and fire this incompetent minister?

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

Mr. Speaker, we cannot be serious about public safety if we are not serious about gun crime.

My hon. colleague on the other side of the House raises concerns about the illegal flow of guns across the border. When he was in government, he made cuts that made it easier for illegal guns to come across the border. We are going to be adding 1,000 officers at the border.

He has also campaigned on a commitment to legalize assault-style weapons and claims they are used for hunting. There are hunters in my community I would love to introduce him to. They do not shoot deer with AR-15s.

Border Security

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, it seems the Liberal strategy is to say that the public safety minister is not incompetent enough to be fired because the Liberals have, by comparison, an even more incompetent Minister of Justice. I guess everything is relative.

To prove his incompetence, I am glad the minister brought up the issue of border security. We asked the government in an Order Paper question last week whether it would keep its promise of 1,000 new border guards. The Liberals got back, saying not only have they not hired 1,000 more, but they have no plans to do so.

It is more incompetence from the public safety minister. When will the Prime Minister fire him?

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

Mr. Speaker, with respect to the commitment to hire 1,000 officers at the border, I would point my hon. colleague opposite to the election campaign platform that Canadians across the country, including in the riding of Carleton, supported to make sure that we would defend our border against the flow of illegal guns and drugs coming into Canada.

For years, I have watched Conservatives brush away gun crime as something completely unserious, pretending that it is only law-abiding people who shoot guns in this country. The fact is, there are criminals who shot innocent people. We are going to do something about it.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, it is incredible. Only this minister, who ruined the immigration system and the housing market, could simultaneously repeat a promise while breaking it. It was last week that the Liberal promise of another—

[Some hon. members]

Prop.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

Yes, that is right; a Liberal promise is a prop.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. member knows that he cannot use a prop.

The hon. member has 15 seconds left. We will start the clock again.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it was just last week that the minister's own department revealed that the Liberals are breaking their promise on having 1,000 new border guards. Not only have they not hired the 1,000, but they have not even developed the plan to do so. That is the responsibility of the public safety minister.

He has broken the promise. Will he be fired?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, on April 28, Canadians gave this government a mandate to do many things, including hiring 1,000 CBSA and 1,000 RCMP officers. I am sorry, but it is obvious that the Leader of the Opposition does not understand the hiring process, nor the planning and work that go into hiring these 1,000 exceptional men and women who are going to serve this country.

I want to take this opportunity to welcome the leader back to the House. Maybe this is the time for him to get his security clearances so he can actually do his job properly.

Justice

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' intervention in the challenge to Bill 21 is a constitutional power grab, as their statements today showed.

For them, the problem is more than just secularism. For them, the problem is that Quebec can use the notwithstanding clause to pass laws that Ottawa does not agree with. The Liberals want to weaken this clause, the only tool that allows Quebec to not be subordinate to Ottawa and its courts. They want to transform the government in Ottawa into a superior government and the one in Quebec City into an inferior government.

Will they withdraw from the challenge and put an end to this constitutional power grab?