Debates of Oct. 21st, 2026

The Economy

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, there certainly is hardship in Canada. We should not ignore that fact. What we should do is work together and not politicize the hardship of Canadians. The member knows that. All members know that, or should know that.

We have six million Canadians receiving the Canada child benefit. We have 6.5 million Canadians receiving dental support. We have 400,000 children receiving the support of the school food program. We have 900,000 children and their families receiving the support of the child care program. We will continue in that vein on the basis that we represent our constituents and always have.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the member said to not politicize a food affordability crisis, a crisis that lies clearly at the feet of the Liberal government. In its 10 years, food prices are up 30%. The number of Canadians being forced to a food bank has doubled. In my riding, in Okotoks, in one quarter, the food bank served 26,000 people. Shockingly, 30% of those people had full-time jobs, but they still were forced to a food bank because Liberal policies have made feeding their families unaffordable.

Will the Liberals check their egos at the door and eliminate taxes to make sure Canadians can put food on the table?

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, if he is going to cite Food Banks Canada and its report, he should look at the recommendations. The recommendations are clear. The groceries and essentials benefit is something the organization called for. This government enacted it, and 12 million Canadians are now receiving it. The organization also called for, among other things, housing. We have a serious focus on housing and the building up of critical infrastructure. In particular, the report called for expanding energy options in this country so Canadians can have access to cheaper energy.

I invite the Conservatives to put aside partisanship in the same way that Premier Ford has, in the same way that Premier Smith has, in the same way Stephen—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. member for Oshawa.

[Rhonda Kirkland, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after 11 years of the Liberal government, Canadians are paying more and getting less every single time they visit the grocery store. According to today's Food Banks Canada report, Canada had over 2.3 million food bank visits in March of 2026. That is an increase of over 200,000 visits since March of last year, yet the Liberal government continues to insist its economic plan is working.

Will the Liberals finally acknowledge that relying on food banks has become a reality for too many Canadians, or are the Liberals just too out of touch to admit it?

[Leslie Church, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Secretaries of State for Labour]

Mr. Speaker, I want to start by acknowledging and thanking representatives of the Daily Bread Food Bank for being on the Hill and meeting with parliamentarians yesterday. It is one of the biggest partners in this study. Its report asks us, and provincial governments in particular, to build a future where no one goes hungry, and that is what we are committed to doing.

That report talks about the importance of income security. It talks about the groceries and essentials benefit. It talks about the Canada disability benefit and the Canada disability tax credit. It talks about the Canada workers benefit. What do these measures have in common? The opposition voted against them.

[Rhonda Kirkland, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Conservatives will support measures that keep Canadians' money in their own pockets. Just yesterday, the Liberals were the only party in the House to vote against acknowledging that Canada is in an affordability crisis. Meanwhile, families in Oshawa are living it. Over 3,600 people rely on the food bank in Oshawa every month. It has been forced to limit visits and close its doors to people who need it, because the resources are not there.

How can the government claim to have a plan to fix Canada's affordability crisis if it does not even admit there is a problem?

[Leslie Church, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Secretaries of State for Labour]

Mr. Speaker, I think the problem Canadians have is that they see through the rhetoric on the other side of the House, which would cut the income security programs that a report such as this calls for and that are supporting Canadians right now.

If the member stands up and again votes against the national school food program, a program that is in 80% of public schools in this country, that is what Canadians have learned to expect of the opposition when it comes to the supports we are delivering for Canadians and Canadian children.

Canadian Identity and Culture

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, let us not forget that the Liberals turned their backs on Quebec culture by waiving the levies for U.S. online streaming platforms to please Donald Trump.

In exchange, the government promised $600 million for the cultural sector, which has yet to see a single penny. The levies were supposed to take effect last spring. That means that, since last spring, our cultural sector has received nothing: neither the levies nor the $600 million. The only thing our cultural sector has received from Ottawa so far is bad news.

When is the government going to take action?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday, it will be coming very soon.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have said this before, but it bears repeating: The future of our culture depends on requiring American streaming platforms to pay levies. However, every time we talk about it, the minister descends into partisanship. That is a shame because the levies were the result of long-term work carried out across party lines. We have no problem saying that in Quebec, the amendment to the Broadcasting Act was seen as a good move by the Liberal government. However, the Prime Minister made it effectively meaningless by scrapping the levies.

Will the minister stand up today and announce that he has the courage to tell the Prime Minister that he made a mistake by scrapping the levies?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that my colleague is accusing me of partisanship when I funded the poutine festival in his riding.

I will read a short list. The 2025 budget allocated $150 million for CBC/Radio-Canada, $150 million for Telefilm Canada, $127 million for the Canada Media Fund, $48 million for the Canada Music Fund, $26 million for the National Film Board and an additional $600 million for the audiovisual sector.

Two things are true about this list: Every Quebec member on this side of the House voted for it, and every member of the Bloc Québécois voted against it.

The Economy

[Sandra Cobena, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there are 2.4 million food bank visits in a single month. That is the highest ever recorded in this country, and one in three is for a child. What greater failure of a government's economic record is there than that a parent who works all day still cannot provide for their children? After more than a year and a half under the Liberal Prime Minister, Canadians are working harder but falling further behind.

Will the Prime Minister explain why, in a country such as Canada, honest work is no longer enough to provide for one's family?

[Anna Gainey, Liberal, Secretary of State (Children and Youth)]

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to ask why members opposite can stand in the House on this issue without answering the question as to why they vote against school food. Why do they vote against dental workers?

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

We should allow the secretary of state to answer the question. We want to hear the answer.

The secretary of state, from the beginning, please.

[Anna Gainey, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

Mr. Speaker, time and again, we take action on this side of the House. The government has advanced a national child care strategy, dental care and a national school food program, among other efforts to help Canadians make ends meet. Members opposite continue to vote against these things that have direct impacts on the people in their communities who rely on things such as checkups at the dentist and affordable child care. It makes no sense.

[Sandra Cobena, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the member says that they are working, but the reality is that whatever they are doing is, in fact, not working, not when there are 2.4 million visits to a food bank in a single month and one in three of them is for children. I would encourage the member to stop measuring success by how many Canadians need government assistance, and start measuring by how many no longer do.

Therefore I ask again, why, after 11 years of the Liberal government, honest hard work is no longer enough to provide for one's family.

[Anna Gainey, Liberal, Secretary of State (Children and Youth)]

Mr. Speaker, the national school food program is reaching an additional 400,000 children across this country with nutritious meals. That is 80% of public schools across this country that are benefiting from this support. Again, why do the members opposite vote against things such as breakfast for children in elementary schools, dental care and other things that help families make ends meet?

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

Mr. Speaker, earlier this year, the Prime Minister said that affordability is the best it has been in over a decade, but despite the Prime Minister's promise, Canadian families are in trouble. In Yukon, food bank visits are up 24% from 2025. In the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, food bank visits are up 29% from 2025, and 32.5% of food bank visitors are children.

Will the Prime Minister admit that food banks are now the sad reality for too many Canadians, or is he really that out of touch?

[Joanne Thompson, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, apart from the suite of supports that my colleagues have outlined already today, we are also diversifying our trade partners, supercharging major projects, investing in workers, drawing down costs and keeping the needs of Canadians foremost in every decision.

The other side of the House is just playing politics today. Why do the Conservatives not come along with the projects that are actually making a difference for this country and in people's lives?

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is so strange to hear this Liberal government boast that everything is just fine and life is good thanks to them. Today, Food Banks of Quebec reported that its network receives over 3.2 million requests a month from families, seniors and children. The food insecurity crisis is for real.

Let us put partisanship aside. Can the government use our Conservative plan to lower the cost of living?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Minister of Government Transformation]

Mr. Speaker, I find this line of questioning absolutely fascinating coming from a member and a party that consistently, at every opportunity, vote against measures that are actually helping their constituents.

Take the Canadian dental care plan, for example, which is helping thousands of his constituents in Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier. Other examples include the Canada child benefit, the Canada groceries and essentials benefit, the national school food program and the list goes on.

It is time for the members across the way to back up their words with action and start voting in favour of measures that will help their constituents.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, what they have done is not working. The Liberals keep telling us that they have introduced a whole suite of measures but, as I was saying, they are not working. It is time for them to come back down to earth.

This morning, the Food Banks Canada report shows that food insecurity is getting worse across the country. In Quebec, more than one-third of those seeking help actually work full time. Why not adopt our proposal to abolish all federal taxes on diesel in order to bring down the cost of groceries and give Canadian families some breathing room?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Minister of Government Transformation]

Mr. Speaker, if the member believes these measures are not working, then he should explain that to the 24,366 children and their families who receive $80 million annually through the Canada child benefit. He should also explain it to the 23,855 people in his riding who now have access to dental care through the Canadian dental care plan, a program he voted against. He should tell them that the program does not work, that it is not important, that the dental care that they and every Canadian should have access to makes no difference, and that the support this program provides is somehow not working.

I urge him to come to his senses and, at the very least, start voting in the interests of his constituents.