Debates of Oct. 5th, 2026

Housing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I said I would do nothing to bail out Liberal, condo-owning insiders.

The Prime Minister wants to force hard-working young people who cannot afford a home to pay taxes to bail out multi-millionaire investors who speculated and lost. Maybe that is why 56% of those who do not own a home revealed in a survey to Habitat for Humanity International that they never will.

Again, the question is for the Prime Minister. If he cares enough about those aspiring young people, when will he get government taxes and red tape out of the way so that youth can afford homes?

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

Mr. Speaker, not only are we cutting red tape, working with local governments to make it faster to build and reducing development charges dramatically, we have also had a first-time homebuyer break on the GST. The Conservatives fought it all last year. They fought against giving first-time homebuyers an opportunity to save on their first home purchase. We went to the next step with a GST break for all Canadians on new homes. Did this have support from the other side? No.

Again and again, they say one thing. One might think they care about affordable housing, but they do not give a hoot about it. They never vote for it.

The Economy

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, if the Prime Minister cared about it, he would stand up and answer the question himself. Instead, he is worried that he might accidentally say affordability is the best it has been in over a decade. He is totally out of touch, while Canadians are out of money.

As the MNP report that was released today said, more than two in five Canadians report being $200 or less away from insolvency, more than half say they do not have enough savings to support themselves if they are unemployed for six months and a third believe they would not be able to cope financially for three months if they had an unexpected event.

Will the Prime Minister look them in the eye and say affordability is the best it has been in over a decade?

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

Mr. Speaker, I know the member of Parliament is now an Albertan MP, but in Ontario, I was so excited to announce with Minister Calandra the extension of the Ontario early learning and child care agreement with Canada that will retain child care at an average of $19 a day per child in Ontario for the next four years. That is a savings of $9,000 per child per year for families.

That is the kind of affordability that families are looking for. This is a reliable affordability partnership at all levels of government. It is something I think the member of Parliament just does not understand.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, an article in Le Journal de Montréal entitled “The rising price of diesel costs him an extra $2,000 a day to run his machines” reports that one Quebec farmer is expecting to pay $200,000. Consumers who buy food will be paying that cost as well. No one is blaming the Prime Minister for global oil prices, but here in Canada, we pay 24¢ a litre more than in the United States and 32¢ more than the global price.

Is the Prime Minister going to vote for our Conservative plan to lower costs today and become more self-sufficient in the future?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Minister of Government Transformation]

Mr. Speaker, the real question is this: When he was the member for Carleton, why did he vote against 13,513 of his former constituents who were receiving the dental benefit and against 21,600 children?

In his new riding, why does he oppose allowing 27,320 children to receive the Canada child benefit or allowing 17,380 of his constituents to use the Canadian dental care plan?

My colleague talks loudly here in the House, but when the time comes to vote on the right side and for his constituents, he stays seated.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are as totally out of touch as Canadians are totally out of money. That is why the Prime Minister cannot answer questions from the Canadian people.

For example, diesel prices have hit record highs. Nobody blames the Prime Minister for the war in Iran or the war between Ukraine and Russia. However, what we blame him for is the fact that diesel is 24¢ a litre more expensive in Canada than in the U.S. and 32¢ more expensive than the worldwide average.

Will the Prime Minister vote for our plan this Wednesday to save Canadians on fuel and make us self-sufficient at home?

[Tim Hodgson, Liberal, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, we work with our allies to try to bring diesel prices down. Diesel prices have gone down 6% over the last three days because of coordinated ally action.

While the Conservatives talk down things, they are apparently sleeping. We are building 6,000 new jobs in LNG Canada phase one. We are building 140,000 new jobs from the new Pacific link pipeline. Maybe they should wake up and start to build with us.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, he says there is coordinated action to bring down global energy prices. It turns out that he has not been able to take any action at all, despite wrongly telling the media he would release 24 million barrels of oil. It turns out he does not have 24 billion barrels of oil. He does not have one barrel of oil, because Canada is the only G7 country without an above-ground strategic oil reserve.

We have a plan, though, to take all tax off diesel, to produce more of it here at home and to store up a strategic reserve so that we can actually profit from reducing prices around the world. Will the government adopt our plan?

[Tim Hodgson, Liberal, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, he asked us to wake him up, so I will give him a bit of good news. Diesel production in Canada is up 16% this year. We are operating at maximum capacity. We export diesel.

Why do they not start trying to help build Canada instead of talking Canada down?

Taxation

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the problem is that there are very large markets in Canada where people cannot get Canadian-made diesel. That is why, particularly in the Lower Mainland of B.C., Canadians have to pay the premium of buying back Canadian petroleum products from the U.S. that are marked up at higher prices. Add to that the dozens of cents of taxes the government imposes, and Canadians are paying among the highest prices in the world for diesel.

Will the government accept our plan to get rid of those taxes, incentivize diesel production here at home and become energy self-reliant?

[Tim Hodgson, Liberal, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, it is time to wake up the Leader of the Opposition and let him know we are building energy self-sufficiency. It is called LNG Canada phase two. It is called the Pacific link. It is called the sunrise expansion. It is creating thousands and thousands of jobs in Canada and improving our energy self-sufficiency.

Why do the Conservatives not stop talking Canada down and start trying to help us build?

Seniors

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we are in a new parliamentary session, but the same old problem with the Cúram software persists. Today we learned that there is still a backlog of nearly 33,000 old age pension claims from seniors. There is a backlog of 33,000 claims, even though the Bloc Québécois and the media have been questioning the government about this for more than eight months. Some 33,000 seniors are still caught up in this IT fiasco.

How many more cases will it take before the government finally launches an independent public inquiry into Cúram?

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

Mr. Speaker, the benefits delivery modernization program is the largest IT transformation ever undertaken by the Government of Canada. It aims to provide Canadians with a modern, seamless experience when it comes to old age security, the Canada pension plan and employment insurance.

The member of Parliament is correct. The numbers are going down, and we continue to work to make sure that every senior can get their benefits in a timely fashion.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are refusing to answer and refusing to launch an inquiry on Cúram, even though the project has already racked up $5 billion in cost overruns and there are still more to come since there is still a backlog of 33,000 old age security files. The Liberals are not only refusing to be transparent but they also have the nerve to call this a success story and they want to use this same software for employment insurance.

Before they get tens of thousands more people involved in this IT fiasco, will the Liberals finally realize that an inquiry is needed?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Minister of Government Transformation]

Mr. Speaker, those numbers are way off base. That is not at all what it cost to implement this old age security software, which serves 7.7 million seniors. It works.

It is true, however, that there is a backlog, but it has been reduced by more than half in recent months. Every effort is being made to ensure that seniors who are entitled to old age security are getting the correct amount of benefits on time. We will continue this very important work for Quebec seniors.

Justice

[Frank Caputo, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Shane Ertmoed killed 10-year-old Heather Thomas about 26 years ago. Her family continues to serve a psychological life sentence, while Mr. Ertmoed himself gets a 60-day temporary, unescorted absence in order to take cooking classes, cooking classes that Heather will not get to take.

I am going to look right at the Prime Minister and ask this: Will he commit to repealing, to removing, Liberal parole so this cannot happen again, yes or no?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, the incident that my friend opposite speaks about is abhorrent, and we condemn it in all possible terms, but let me just be clear: The Parole Board of Canada makes decisions independently. We as a government have made significant changes to the criminal justice system, and we will continue to listen to victims and ensure that the right changes are in place. We will continue to work with survivors, victims and the organizations that work with them in order to strengthen our parole system.

[Frank Caputo, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my question was for the Prime Minister, yet the public safety minister answered. This is all talk and no results. I am meeting with Heather's mom and her counsel on Thursday.

If the Prime Minister believes in what the public safety minister just said, will he meet with Heather's mom and her counsel this Thursday and say what the minister just said? Does the Prime Minister have the guts to stand up and say it, yes or no?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, issues around public safety should not be politicized. What is important is that every member of the House, every single one of us elected to office, has a responsibility to ensure that we support victims. That is exactly what our government has been doing. We are working with representatives of survivor groups, with survivors and with their family members to ensure that we have the right changes to the criminal justice system, including parole. That is the commitment we make today, and that is the commitment that every single one of us on this side of the aisle makes to Canadians.

[Jamie Schmale, Conservative, Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Tim and Mona Deslippe lost their son Nathan to a brutal murder in London, Ontario, in 2016. Nathan's killer beat him to death in what the courts say was a prolonged and violent attack before the murderer dragged his body to the bathtub, took a shower and a selfie as well. The killer was sentenced to life with no parole for 14 years, yet Tim and Mona have already had to respond to multiple requests for escorted temporary leave, which have revictimized the family over and over again.

When will the government fix its broken Liberal parole system and, after 11 long years, put victims first?

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

Mr. Speaker, as the Minister of Public Safety has said, we are open to reform. We have made more reforms to the Criminal Code of Canada than any government has.

The act that the members were speaking of was last changed by the Conservative government, so it is not a Liberal act. In fact, it is a Conservative one.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, media in the Quebec City region have reported that, in the past month alone, more than 10 cars and six residential buildings have been set on fire, possibly by organized crime, in a bid to gain control of the drug market. Even in my riding of Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, a teenager allegedly stole a vehicle before attempting to ram police officers in order to escape.

Since the Liberals took office, criminals no longer fear the consequences of their crimes. Our Conservative action plan aims to keep Canadians safe.

Will the Liberals adopt it?

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

Mr. Speaker, before I answer, I would like to thank my colleague for this question.

It is very important to recognize that we need to implement the new legislation that the House passed during the last parliamentary session.

We have put forward a series of different laws that tackle, very specifically, crimes such as arson and violent crimes involving auto theft. We are seeing nationally the rate of crime actually coming down. We have worked very carefully with our partners, with the province and with law enforcement, and we are going to continue to do so.

The only body that seems not to be collaborating in the effort to adopt stronger laws to produce safer communities is the Conservative Party of Canada. If Conservatives would like to collaborate with us—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles.