Debates of Oct. 6th, 2026

Public Services and Procurement

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

Mr. Speaker, my colleagues have given a number of examples of how we are supporting Canadian jobs, Canadian materials and Canadians throughout our procurement process. If the Conservatives want to support perhaps the most quintessential of Canadian investments, they could get out of the way of Alto high-speed rail going from Quebec City to Toronto and now also studying very closely the possibility of high-speed rail between Edmonton and Calgary. Will the Conservatives stand up for—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

Women and Gender Equality

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, October 1 is the start of Women's History Month. It is an opportunity to reflect on how far we have come.

There was a time when women were not even allowed—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

There is too much noise. I cannot hear what is being said.

The hon. member for Rivière‑des‑Mille‑Îles can start over.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, October 1 is the start of Women's History Month. It is an opportunity to reflect on how far we have come.

There was a time when women were not even allowed in the House of Commons. Today, we have the largest women's caucus in Canadian history, with 71 female members of Parliament who are passionate advocates for their communities. We have come a long way, but there is still much work to be done.

Can the minister explain how our government is building on this progress for the next generation of women and girls?

[Rechie Valdez, Liberal, Minister of Women and Gender Equality and Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism)]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question. Across Canada, women are making history. They are entrepreneurs, public servants and community leaders. Our government is working to break down barriers and open more doors. Over the past year, we have invested about $1 billion to create more opportunities for women and girls across the country. When women succeed, Canada succeeds.

Health

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Riding Mountain, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the cost of the $300-million PrescribeIT scandal just went up again. Conservatives have obtained the termination letter sent to Michael Green, the disgraced CEO in charge of the Liberals' PrescribeIT failure. According to the letter, Mr. Green was awarded a million-dollar severance package, including another massive performance bonus. The million-dollar package was approved by Canada Health Infoway. The health minister's official is a member of Canada Health Infoway's board.

Did the minister's official vote to reward Michael Green with more tax dollars after he already wasted $300 million?

[Marjorie Michel, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, as this matter is before the courts, we have no comment. More broadly, we look forward to seeing the outcome of the Infoway third party audit and organizational review. We will base our next steps on those results.

[Matt Strauss, Conservative, Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON]

Mr. Speaker, she has parliamentary privilege, so she can answer questions like that, no matter what court they are in front of. This is Canadians' money. Canada Health Infoway has blown $300 million on its failed PrescribeIT program. Taxpayers got nothing—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

This time, it is this side.

The hon. member may begin from the top.

[Matt Strauss, Conservative, Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON]

Mr. Speaker, they spent $300 million on PrescribeIT. In response to my question on June 8, she announced she would halt the $50 million she planned to give Canada Health Infoway this year. On June 18, her spokesman, Alexandre Bergeron, told The Globe and Mail that they actually are going to give the $50 million away to this totally incompetent organization after all. Which is it and why?

Why will she not permanently save Canadians this money?

[Marjorie Michel, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, we remain committed to ensuring value for taxpayer money. Infoway has received no funding this year. Health Canada is currently examining the next steps. As I said, more broadly, we look forward to seeing the outcome of the Infoway third party audit and organizational review before considering the next steps.

[Matt Strauss, Conservative, Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Canada Health Infoway CEO who oversaw this disaster, Michael Green, was paid $1 million a year to do nothing of value. Conservatives have obtained his termination letter. It says that Canada Health Infoway plans to give him another year's worth of salary and $200,000 in performance pay, and continue his car allowance for this year. Michael Green now claims that he was fired in order to prevent him from testifying at the health committee.

Is this why she is still thinking of giving Canada Health Infoway another $50 million? Is it to buy silence from this incompetent CEO?

[Marjorie Michel, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, as with the previous answer, Infoway has received no funding this year, and now Health Canada is assessing the next steps.

Natural Resources

[Braeden Caley, Liberal, North Vancouver—Capilano, BC]

Mr. Speaker, during the recent by-elections, Canadians made clear that we must rapidly diversify our exports. To do that, our government is working to make Canada a clean and conventional energy superpower to new markets while protecting the nature we treasure.

In North Vancouver—Capilano, home to the largest port in Canada and across B.C., we keenly feel the opportunity to create good jobs and investment for our communities. Last week, the Prime Minister was in B.C. We saw the largest private sector investment in our province's history.

Can the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources update this House on what the government has done to achieve that goal?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by welcoming the member to the House. The people of Vancouver are fortunate to have this member.

Last week, I was with the member, first nations chiefs, project proponents and the Prime Minister to announce that LNG Canada phase two now has shovels in the ground. This $33-billion investment will be the second-largest LNG facility in the world. It will use 15,000 tonnes of new Canadian steel. It will generate 6,100 new jobs, and we are just getting started.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is all talk and no results.

The Liberals announced that they are eliminating seed research at the Indian Head research farm, jeopardizing local jobs. Many groups, like the Grain Growers of Canada and the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, have all condemned this decision.

Now, the minister will claim that this work will continue at another site, but here is the problem. The site at Indian Head has over 100 years of data, unique soil conditions and local staff with decades of expertise and knowledge. This research is worth hundreds of millions of dollars for the Canadian ag industry. In the meantime, the government found millions of dollars for foreign aid for projects, like gender-just rice farming, that deliver no benefits for Canadians.

Why is the government sacrificing Canadian research and jobs for Liberal waste?

[Heath MacDonald, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, we have been doing research in this country for 140 years through the federal government, and we are going to continue. There are 17 sites right across the country, with one in every province.

Let me inform the hon. member that I am pleased to say that the operations of the seed increase unit will be continuing at the Indian Head research centre for the 2027 growing season, including forage and wheat.

We are not doing less research. We are doing more precise research. We are doing more sustainable research. We are doing research with academia right across the country, and we are going to continue to do research for agriculture.

Indigenous Affairs

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, several first nations have not consented to the Liberals' fast-track of the Pacific link pipeline, but when asked about indigenous opposition, the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations said it was not an either-or between pipelines or indigenous rights. Well, constitutional rights are not optional.

If the Liberals are planning to bulldoze this pipeline through without the free, prior and informed consent of impacted indigenous peoples, will this just be another pipeline to the courts?

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

Mr. Speaker, under the Building Canada Act, there are two parts to the consultation. First, there is the consultation around listing, which has been extensive. The second part will be around the project. The member will be welcome to participate in the public inquiry at the Canadian Energy Regulator, if she would like.

Democratic Institutions

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the government has a responsibility to protect Canadians' democracy and sovereignty. We now know that Republican operatives are working with Alberta separatists to break up our country. Albertans have also had their personal data stolen and are being targeted by extremist foreign actors from the U.S. and Russia. This is threatening public trust in our democratic institutions.

What exactly is the government doing to stop foreign actors from interfering in our democratic processes and to protect Albertans and Canadians from these threats?

[Eleanor Olszewski, Liberal, Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience and Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I, too, am deeply disturbed by this reporting and I am concerned about the future of democracy as well.

Alberta's future belongs to Albertans, and so to Albertans watching, that is why it is so important to make our voices heard, to vote on October 19 and to vote decisively to remain in Canada.

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

That brings question period to an end.

The hon. member for Berthier—Maskinongé on a point of order.

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would just like to urge everyone to be mindful of something. Several times during question period, the interpreters said that they would have to stop interpreting because there was too much background noise. Perhaps you could issue a reminder at the start of question period tomorrow. We need to be mindful of this because it is important to protect the hearing health of our interpreters and ensure that francophones are able to follow the debates in the House.