House of Commons Hansard #161 of the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was debt.
This summary is computer-generated. Usually it’s accurate, but every now and then it’ll contain inaccuracies or total fabrications.
Bill C-41—Proposal to Apply Standing Order 69.1—Speaker's Ruling The Speaker rules that Bill C-41’s provisions on medical assistance in dying share a common element, so the bill will receive one second-reading vote rather than separate votes under Standing Order 69.1. 500 words.
Alleged Mis-characterization of Members' Remarks —Speaker's Ruling The Speaker rules that allegations about remarks made in debate are a point of order, not privilege, and finds the Halifax member’s criticism of an opposition position did not breach House rules. 500 words.
Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 2 Report stage of Bill C-31. The bill implements measures from the 2025 budget, including expanded benefits and automatic tax filing for eligible low-income Canadians, business investment incentives, and changes to defence procurement, air passenger complaints, housing finance and pesticide reviews. Government members say it supports affordability and economic resilience; opposition members raise concerns about delayed passage, fiscal management, expanded ministerial powers and insufficient transparency and oversight. 50000 words, 5 hours in 2 segments: 1 2.
Respecting Families of Murdered and Brutalized Persons Act Report stage of Bill C-235. The bill allows judges to extend parole ineligibility from 25 to 40 years in narrowly defined cases involving the kidnapping, sexual assault and murder of the same victim, with reasons and appeal rights. Supporters say it can reduce repeated trauma for victims’ families; the Bloc raises constitutional concerns based on Supreme Court precedent. The House passes the bill at third reading. 5600 words, 45 minutes.
Joël Lightbound LiberalMinister of Government Transformation
Mr. Speaker, when it comes to affordability, this government has delivered with a tax cut for 22 million Canadians, the Canadian dental care plan, the Canada child benefit and the Canada groceries and essentials benefit.
What is the Bloc Québécois waiting for to get behind these initiatives?
Yves-François Blanchet Bloc Beloeil—Chambly, QC
Mr. Speaker, we are waiting for them to work.
This morning, we presented the Bloc Québécois's expectations for Thursday's budget. We invite the Minister of Finance to act on them.
Will he respond to the tariff crisis, set aside a $2-billion reserve for job losses and offer an advance to offset the countervailing duties paid for by our forestry companies?
Will he respond to the housing and homelessness crises and really help tenants?
Will he extend the Reaching Home program to combat homelessness and finally respond to Pauline Marois's demands?
Will the government finally grant our requests and finally provide real solutions to real crises?
Joël Lightbound LiberalMinister of Government Transformation
Mr. Speaker, over the past year and a half, our government has been working for Quebec.
In case the member missed it, I would like to remind him that we reached a historic $10-billion infrastructure agreement with Quebec, for housing in particular.
I want to point out that Quebec was the first province to partner with Build Canada Homes, which will build housing across Quebec.
As for homelessness, we are on the same page as the Government of Quebec in our efforts to put an end to homelessness across the country once and for all.
Michael Chong Conservative Wellington—Halton Hills North, ON
Mr. Speaker, I asked this question twice last week but did not get an answer. It is an important question because it speaks to the fiscal credibility of the Prime Minister , so again I will ask it.
Last budget, the Prime Minister established a fiscal anchor of a declining deficit to GDP. The PBO projects that the government will not keep to this fiscal anchor. Will the government keep to this fiscal anchor in the upcoming budget?
Wayne Long LiberalSecretary of State (Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Institutions)
Mr. Speaker, in the last election, Canadians elected a leader with economic and business credentials that can lead our country and can rebuild, retool and pivot our economy. Let us look at some economic signs, despite the fact that the Conservatives do not want to hear them. We have the best net GDP in the G7, wages are outpacing inflation, and we have one of the fastest- growing economies in the G7 and the best credit rating in the world.
On this side, we are laser-focused on building a strong economy. The other side of the House can continue to talk our country down.
Michael Chong Conservative Wellington—Halton Hills North, ON
Mr. Speaker, the net debt calculation the government used in its last budget is the IMF's net debt calculation, which includes the Canada pension plan. I am sure that Canadians listening would not like to know that the government's calculation involves using the assets of the Canada pension plan to offset its rapidly growing debt.
The Prime Minister came to office with a much vaunted fiscal resume, and again I ask the question, will the government keep to the fiscal anchors it established in the last federal budget?
Wayne Long LiberalSecretary of State (Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Institutions)
Mr. Speaker, when an economy is faced with challenges, we can do one of two things: We can blame everybody else and throw our hands up, or we can actually get down to building and to focusing on building a strong economy.
We just hosted the Canada Investment Summit, where over half a billion dollars was pledged to build Canada strong. We are doubling non-U.S. exports at a pace not seen in decades. Foreign investment is coming into our country at a level not seen in decades also.
We are focused on building a strong economy for Canadians—
Adam Chambers Conservative Simcoe North, ON
Mr. Speaker, a former governor of the Bank of Canada, David Dodge, has a simple rule: The government should be wary when it spends more than 10% of its revenue on debt service costs. The Parliamentary Budget Officer says that figure will grow to nearly 14% in just a few years, and in fact, debt service payments are the fastest-growing line item in the budget.
Does the government want this to be the fastest-growing line item in the budget? The Liberals' actions suggest they do not even care.
Ryan Turnbull LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance and National Revenue and to the Secretary of State (Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Institutions)
Mr. Speaker, Canada has the strongest fiscal position in the G7 and a AAA credit rating, which keeps our debt service costs low relative to our peers.
The Bank of Canada governor confirmed in the finance committee today that it is not just how much governments spend but what, specifically, they invest in. Let us look at our track record. What are we investing in? We are investing in increasing the productive capacity in our economy. We are investing in affordability measures for Canadians. We are asserting our sovereignty. We are assuring that we have self-reliance and independence for the future. Our budget 2026 is called “Masters of our Destiny” for good reason.
Adam Chambers Conservative Simcoe North, ON
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague very much, but let us spare Canadians the lecture.
When Paul Martin was the finance minister, he met every single deficit reduction target and fiscal anchor that was imposed. At the very first opportunity, the Prime Minister is choosing to break it. In fact, there has not been a finance minister in over a decade that has bothered to even care to keep the fiscal promise.
What good is a promise if the Prime Minister has no intention of keeping it?
Ryan Turnbull LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance and National Revenue and to the Secretary of State (Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Institutions)
Mr. Speaker, I am glad the opposition is very concerned with Thursday's budget, called “Masters of Our Destiny”. That budget will continue our progress investing in the things that matter to Canadians. What does it matter if Canada has a strong fiscal position if it is not willing to use it in an affordability crisis, where Canadians want their government to stand up and help them? That is exactly what we are focused on. God forbid the Conservatives should write the budget. It would be called “Prisoners of Pessimism”.
Tamara Jansen Conservative Cloverdale—Langley City, BC
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I shared a conversation around my family dinner table about how difficult life has become for young families like my daughter's, but some families face something far worse. A new report reveals that one in eight Toronto children relies on a food bank, and more than one in four surveyed families reported a child missing meals because they could not afford food. These are children going hungry while the government piles on debt and spends over $1 billion a week on just paying interest.
How many more children must go without supper before the Prime Minister makes affordability a priority?
Adam van Koeverden LiberalSecretary of State (Sport)
Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we not only thank the Food Banks Canada network for its important advocacy, but also read those reports and heed their advice. That is why in the third paragraph of the report that the member would have read, it says, “In recent years, we have welcomed and see hope in measures such as the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit, the National School Food Program”, which the member continues to deride, “Build Canada Homes and the Canada Disability Benefit.”
It is worth noting that all of the measures the food banks network is supporting and recommending that we are doing, they voted against.
Dominique Vien Conservative Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised to cut spending, but instead he doubled the deficit, which is now at a record high. While the Liberals are spending like there is no tomorrow, Canadian families are having to tighten their belts to make ends meet. According to a new report from the Salvation Army, one in three Canadians is skipping meals or cutting down on portion sizes.
Will the Prime Minister finally cut his inflationary spending and eliminate the federal diesel taxes to help Canadians save money?
Anna Gainey LiberalSecretary of State (Children and Youth)
Mr. Speaker, we thank the Salvation Army for its report this morning. We are aware of the challenges Canadians are facing, particularly when it comes to the cost of living. That is why we have put in place measures to make life more affordable and reduce poverty. We will continue to be there for Canadian families.
Dominique Vien Conservative Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC
Mr. Speaker, clearly, their measures are not working. Visits to food banks have now reached 2.3 million. That is unprecedented. We are learning that one in five young people has to go into debt to pay for basic necessities.
Meanwhile, the government is spending billions of dollars on bureaucracy, consultants and corporate welfare. The Conservatives want to cut that spending and suspend the GST on fuel to save consumers $1,000.
Will the Liberals borrow the Conservatives' idea?
Anna Gainey LiberalSecretary of State (Children and Youth)
Mr. Speaker, we continue to take action on affordability and help Canadians. We cut fuel taxes. We cut taxes for 22 million Canadians. We introduced the Canada groceries and essentials benefit for 12 million Canadians. We continue to support the school food program and affordable child care. We are doing all this while growing our economy and creating good jobs for Quebeckers and Canadians across the country.
Gabriel Ste-Marie Bloc Joliette—Manawan, QC
Mr. Speaker, we have been asking the Liberals for weeks to condemn Bill C-39. It was the National Women's Liberal Commission that had the courage to take the lead. These Liberal women submitted a brief condemning the Prime Minister's overreach. They are demanding that all powers to exempt or abbreviate environmental assessments be reported to Parliament, be subject to independent review and be time-limited. They are also speaking out against the government's intention to approve projects before the assessments are complete.
Will the government finally listen to reason and listen to the voices of Liberal women?
Julie Dabrusin LiberalMinister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, I want to once again reassure everyone that we have not made any changes to the environmental assessment standards. We are protecting the environment. It is very important to continue to do that.
However, we need to build major projects, such as clean electricity projects. We have to be able to do that. We have to be able to help Hydro-Québec, for example, so that we can double the capacity of our electrical grid. We will do this work, and we will do it right so that we protect the environment.
Gabriel Ste-Marie Bloc Joliette—Manawan, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal women also denounce the temptation to create “manufactured urgency”. Any claims of urgency should be independently verified before they justify an exemption.
The National Women's Liberal Commission is right on the money. It clearly sees that the Prime Minister is exploiting the tariff crisis, which is temporary, to give himself excessive permanent powers, powers that allow him to bypass environmental assessments and indigenous consultations in order to build pipelines. Women are always the first to suffer when there is authoritarian overreach.
Will the government listen to them?
Julie Dabrusin LiberalMinister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, I am going to say something again because I think it bears repeating.
We continue to respect the environment and ensure that we protect it in everything we do. However, we must undertake major projects for the environment to secure clean energy and achieve a net-zero economy.
That is what we are doing. We are going to do it, and we are going to do it right. We are going to do it while protecting the environment and pursuing major projects, such as clean energy.
Shuv Majumdar Conservative Calgary Heritage, AB
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister blames this economy on the president's tariffs, and then turns around and says that we can wait the president out for another two and a half years. Both cannot be true. These tariffs are either serious enough that he walked away from negotiations and left Canadians to absorb the costs, or mild enough to wait it out until 2029. He should tell that to the steelworker whose shift was cut, tell that to the lumber town for which the mill was the town and tell that to the two million families living with uncertainty.
Will he pick a lane today, or will he keep exploiting the pain of our people for by-election politics?
Tim Hodgson LiberalMinister of Energy and Natural Resources
Mr. Speaker, what our Prime Minister has been doing is helping create jobs in this country when they are not doing it, like the 8,000 jobs in—
