Debates of Jan. 27th, 2026

The Economy

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister now has sweeping powers to approve major projects, powers made possible with the help of Conservatives on this side of the House, and yet with all that authority and all those promises, there is nothing done. There is no progress on resources, no pipelines and no action on internal trade barriers.

The formula is not complicated; when Canada builds more and exports more, Canadians earn more and life gets more affordable. When does the action start? When do the shovels hit the ground? When do paycheques start growing for Canadians?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade]

Mr. Speaker, our colleague knows very well that the government was elected to build a Canadian economy that is more resilient, and the government was elected to get major projects done. That is exactly what the Prime Minister and my colleagues have done.

Maybe the member missed the announcement with the Premier of Ontario on important investments, for example, in nuclear energy in Darlington. Perhaps she does not understand that we are investing in port infrastructure as important as Contrecoeur or Prince Rupert.

There is good news coming in the next number of weeks, and I know the member will celebrate with us.

Innovation, Science and Industry

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the member is right; we do see the announcements. We just do not see the action.

The minister is very good at running up the word count but terrible at filling in the details. The Prime Minister says he wants to build, and that is good. We agree, so we have done the heavy lifting for him. We put a plan right here in the House of Commons: Repeal the laws that block development, reward businesses and workers that invest in Canada, and protect Canadian innovation.

The choice is simple: The Liberals can actually vote to build today, or yet again they can vote for all talk and no action, just like he did.

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Minister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, we had a very important debate last year about the purported Canada sovereignty act. It is called a general election. The Conservatives put that to the people. We put the Prime Minister's plan to build Canada strong, to build it up with our aluminum, with our lumber, with our steel, and with our unionized men and women across this country. Guess which plan Canadians selected.

We expect a little more intellectual energy from the other side of the House. In the meantime, we are going to continue building this country very strong.

[Raquel Dancho, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that thousands of manufacturing jobs have been lost in the last eight months. Those are the cold, hard facts for thousands of Canadian families under the Prime Minister's leadership.

Our party supported Bill C-5 because the Liberals promised growth and development, but despite the sweeping powers the Prime Minister has, no new projects have been approved, and not a single barrier has been taken down. Meanwhile Canada is losing investment, innovation and jobs to the U.S., driving down incomes and making life less affordable for Canadian families.

Conservatives have made a real proposal with a Canadian sovereignty act to remove federal barriers to development, reward Canadians who build and invest here, and protect and raise our incomes here at home. Will the Liberals support it?

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

Mr. Speaker, we will always be there to defend our people working in advanced manufacturing. Again yesterday, I was with Premier Ford. We announced what we would be doing to protect our auto workers.

I would like to remind my colleague, with whom I have a good relationship, to make sure that she understands how many jobs we have created since the beginning of September. Actually, it was 54,000 jobs in September, 67,000 in October, 60,000 in November and 8,000 in December, and we will continue to grow the economy and create jobs across the country.

[Raquel Dancho, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Mr. Speaker, innovators and investors do not make decisions based on government rhetoric; they make them based on predictability, incentives and whether a country is serious about supporting growth in this country.

Right now the government's lack of innovation strategy is pushing capital south, taking jobs, research and opportunities with it. This weakens Canada's economic sovereignty and makes life more expensive for Canadians.

Since the government has no innovation plan of its own, will it support a Canada sovereignty act to stop the bleeding of innovation and jobs to the U.S. and support real growth for Canadian workers?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am sure that my colleague was very busy during Christmas, but she may have missed that Canada is going to be the second fastest-growing economy in the G7. That is a fact. We are building this country.

Yesterday I had good news, and I have more good news. In addition to helping 12 million Canadians with real help with food, with groceries, there is more than what we announced yesterday. We are going to make structural changes to make Canada food-resilient. We are going to invest in food security. We are going to invest in our country. We are going to make Canada strong together.

The Economy

[Billy Morin, Conservative, Edmonton Northwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, The International Monetary Fund reported today that Canada can grow GDP by 7%, $200 billion, by removing internal trade barriers that act like a 9% tariff. Photo-op MOU speeches and pizza parlour visits with premiers have not reduced interprovincial trade barriers. The Prime Minister's rhetoric does not match reality, and life is becoming less affordable for everyday Canadians.

Will the government support a Canadian sovereignty act, which would incentivize and give bonuses to provinces that build across Canada and repeal federal measures that block and penalize the development of natural resources?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad our colleague referenced the important report from the International Monetary Fund, which confirms exactly what the Prime Minister and the government have been saying for many months: Working with provinces to remove interprovincial trade barriers is one of the most significant things we can do to grow the Canadian economy, so I want to thank the Conservatives for having supported in June legislation that removed every federal barrier to internal trade in Canada.

I have good news: We are meeting the premiers in Ottawa on Thursday to discuss more of what we can do to grow the economy.

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we voted for Bill C-5 so the Prime Minister could approve projects quickly, but nothing has changed. I was in Yellowknife last week. Diamond mines used to be 20% of NWT's GDP. Only two mines are left, and one will close in March. In the last 10 years, 1,600 resource-related jobs have been lost, but our Canadian sovereignty act would repeal federal blocks and penalties to development and reward the territories, provinces, businesses and workers who build and invest right here in Canada.

When we export and build more, incomes go up and life becomes more affordable. Will the Prime Minister support it?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Minister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has one of the most vibrant, important and imposing mining sectors in the world. Toronto is one of the most important mining finance centres in the world. The Building Canada Act will permit us to accelerate work on mines like Crawford, on LNG projects, on critical minerals, on the Sisson mine in New Brunswick, on mines right across this country, on the minerals of the future and on nickel and the minerals that keep Canadians working. Minerals are going to be a core part of our economic plan going ahead.

Innovation, Science and Industry

[David Bexte, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canada used to be a nation of builders. We used to stand on our own two feet. Instead, Liberals are standing in our way when Canada should be strong, united and ready to build. Conservatives worked with the government to pass Bill C-5, handing it powers to approve major projects faster, but the PM's rhetoric has not matched reality. Not a single new project was approved, and not a single barrier was removed.

That is why today the Conservatives introduced a Canadian sovereignty act to repeal federal measures that block and punish development; reward provinces, workers and businesses that build and invest in Canada; and protect Canadian innovation—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. Secretary of State for Labour.

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

Mr. Speaker, we are proud to support our builders. We are proud to support the skilled trades. We are proud to support LIUNA, to support the carpenters, to support IBEW, and to support the ironworkers. We are building infrastructure. We are building major projects in the national interest. We are building homes. We are using Canadian steel and Canadian lumber in consultation with indigenous peoples.

We are expanding our trade, we are investing in innovation and we are building the strongest economy in the G7. When will the Conservatives get on board? When will they stop getting in the way?

Seniors

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, here we have yet another government IT fiasco. This time, the victims are seniors who have been struggling to receive their old age security pension since the new Cúram software was rolled out.

Some pensioners have been waiting for months—since May, in fact. They have not received any benefits for nine months. Other seniors have received overpayments, and even if they are not cashed, they will still have an impact on their future benefits.

What is the minister doing to finally fix this fiasco?

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

Mr. Speaker, every person in this country deserves to receive their benefits on time and error-free. Our department works very closely with individuals all across this country to make sure that if there are challenges in receiving their benefits that we fix those challenges and we get the benefits out the door as quickly as possible. We will continue this work to make sure those benefits are delivered quickly and properly.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this is the Phoenix fiasco for seniors. The worst part is that the federal government was warned about this in a public service union report back in June. The federal government has known since June that it is unable to make OAS payments properly. Even today, absolutely nothing has been fixed.

How much longer will pensioners have to wait before the Liberals take this problem seriously?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Minister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, allow me to be a bit skeptical about the member's outrage. Software bugs happen. In this case, we have very successful software that was able to update ancient software dating back to the 1970s. Seniors can now access self-service options online and over the phone, making payments even faster. If there are any problems, we will fix them, but—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. member for Mégantic—L'Érable—Lotbinière.

The Economy

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L’Érable—Lotbinière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has been in office for almost a year now, and despite his lofty rhetoric, fewer and fewer Quebeckers have enough money to pay rent. As a matter of fact, 20% of Quebeckers admitted having managed to pay their monthly rent on time at least once. In central Quebec, my region, it is nearly 30%. In Montreal, it is one in four renters. The Prime Minister promised to get things done at a pace not seen since World War II.

Can he tell us why the only things moving quickly are rising rents and rising grocery prices?

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

Mr. Speaker, I know that today is Tuesday, but we have more good news, because I think my colleague was not listening carefully yesterday. We have made a historic announcement with the Prime Minister of Canada: the Canada groceries and essentials benefit.

Twelve million Canadians, including people I know in my colleague's riding, are going to have more money in their pockets to help meet the cost of living. On this side of the House, we believe that building strong communities is the way we will build Canada strong, together.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L’Érable—Lotbinière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, allow me a little chuckle. This Minister of Finance was quoted in an article in 2023.

It states, “Champagne says these 5 new measures will stabilize food prices ‘soon’.”

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. member knows that members are not to be referred to by name.

The hon. member may continue.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L’Érable—Lotbinière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I was talking about the price of champagne.

This minister said that prices would stabilize. Why did he fail to mention that, for him, stabilizing prices meant that they would become increasingly more expensive until they were double what they are in the United States? This is the most expensive food inflation in the G7.

Why do these people never put their money where their mouth is?