House of Commons Hansard #163 of the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was s-5.
This summary is computer-generated. Usually it’s accurate, but every now and then it’ll contain inaccuracies or total fabrications.
Connected Care for Canadians Act Second reading of Bill S-5. The bill requires health information technology vendors to adopt common standards and prohibits data blocking, aiming to let patients and authorized providers securely share medical records, improve care coordination and support research. Members broadly endorse interoperability but raise questions about privacy, cybersecurity, implementation costs, vendor oversight, innovation and provincial jurisdiction, particularly Quebec’s. Conservatives support the goal while calling for scrutiny of implementation and accountability; the Bloc opposes the bill without stronger protections for provincial authority. 36300 words, 4 hours in 2 segments: 1 2.
Financial Statement of Minister of Finance Members debate Budget 2026, which the Liberal government presents as a plan for economic growth, affordability, housing, sovereignty and cultural investment. Conservatives criticize its deficits, borrowing and accounting framework, while the Bloc raises concerns about Quebec’s health transfers, asylum costs and jurisdiction. The NDP questions spending priorities, and the Green Party and Bloc criticize climate measures. 13200 words, 2 hours.
Steven MacKinnon LiberalMinister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, as that member knows, Canada has among the most stringent ethics requirements in the world. Those requirements are followed rigorously by the Prime Minister and all members on this side of the House at all times.
Gabriel Hardy Conservative Montmorency—Charlevoix, QC
Mr. Speaker, Telesat has over $3 billion in debt that is coming due soon. The company itself is saying that it does not think it will be able to pay its creditors.
Hold on a minute. They have a card up their sleeve. Mr. Goldberg, the CEO of Telesat, is a good friend of the Prime Minister. What is the result? The government just awarded Telesat the largest contract in the company's history. This contract is worth $2.3 billion, and there was no competitive bidding process.
Can the Prime Minister explain how a company led by one of his buddies can obtain billions of dollars from Canadians without any competition?
Steven MacKinnon LiberalMinister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, Canada has some of the highest standards, rules and laws when it comes to ethics. The Prime Minister follows them rigorously, as do all members on this side of the House and, I assume, all members in the House.
Gabriel Hardy Conservative Montmorency—Charlevoix, QC
Mr. Speaker, there are other facts to consider. We know that the CEO of Telesat is a long-time friend of the Prime Minister. He attended the Prime Minister's swearing-in and went to visit him in England. They even run marathons together. How nice for them.
The Minister of Artificial Intelligence is also a buddy of Mr. Goldberg's, but he had to recuse himself from matters involving Telesat to avoid a conflict of interest. Apparently, the Prime Minister is under no obligation to do the same.
Can the Prime Minister guarantee that he never participated, directly or indirectly, in the discussions that led to a $2.3-billion contract being awarded to one of his buddies? If he did, that would be illegal.
Steven MacKinnon LiberalMinister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, Canada has among the strictest ethics standards, rules and laws in the world. We adhere to them rigorously, and we always will.
John Brassard Conservative Barrie South—Innisfil, ON
Mr. Speaker, Telesat was not legally bankrupt, but it was facing severe financial distress, insolvency warnings and an immediate risk of defaulting on its massive debt obligations. The Prime Minister's buddy Dan Goldberg, the CEO of Telesat, received 2.3 billion Canadian tax dollars just as $1.71 billion U.S., or roughly $2.3 billion Canadian, in debt was coming due on December 6. Is it a coincidence? Perhaps.
To the Prime Minister, does “masters of our own destiny” apply only to his club of well-connected Liberal insiders taking care of themselves while those not in the clubs, such as hard-working families, seniors and single-income moms, pay the price?
Steven MacKinnon LiberalMinister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, Canada has the most stringent standards, laws, disclosure requirements and regulations in the whole world.
Canada will always have extremely high, if not the highest, standards of ethical behaviour for public officials. That will continue to be the case, and we will continue to live by those standards.
John Brassard Conservative Barrie South—Innisfil, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have two questions.
Can the Prime Minister explain why hard-working, taxpaying Canadian families, seniors and single-income moms gave $2.3 billion to his CEO friend and Liberal Party fundraiser at Telesat with a big government contract just as a nearly identical amount of debt was approaching maturity?
I would also love to have the Prime Minister answer this one. Can he also explain what safeguards were put in place to ensure that these tax dollars are not being used to relieve the company of his lifelong buddy, a well-connected Liberal insider and fundraiser for the Prime Minister, of its financial pressures near insolvency?
Steven MacKinnon LiberalMinister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, Canada has among the highest ethics—
Public Services and ProcurementOral Questions
Steven MacKinnon Liberal Gatineau, QC
Mr. Speaker, Canada has among the highest ethics standards in the world. Those will continue to be maintained and vigorously adhered to.
Jason Groleau Conservative Beauce, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is completely lacking in transparency. At the Major Projects Office, employees work for the government but are paid by private companies that could benefit from decisions that are, shall we say, favourable to them.
Who pays whom? Who decides what? Who keeps an eye on all these people? Who benefits? Above all, who is lining their pockets? The Liberals refuse to answer simple questions like those. Then they ask Canadians to trust them.
What is the Prime Minister hiding from us?
Dominic LeBlanc LiberalPresident of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade
Mr. Speaker, I understand why our colleague is spouting phrases like “lining their pockets”. He is desperately hoping to make it onto the evening news tonight. He should think twice before using words that he knows full well are not true.
He referenced the Major Projects Office. Yes, employees from the private sector are seconded to work at the Major Projects Office.
This program has been around for over 50 years. It is transparent and rigorous, and the rules are always followed.
Terry Sheehan Liberal Sault Ste. Marie—Algoma, ON
Mr. Speaker, this week Algoma Steel marked a major milestone deal with Seaspan Shipyards from beautiful B.C. This deal is a record-breaker for Sault Ste. Marie producer Algoma Steel in polar steel, and it is going to begin pouring the steel in 2027. This comes at a critical time, as the unjust, unfair tariffs from the Americans have virtually shut down the market.
Can the Secretary of State for Defence Procurement please update the House on how the steelworkers in the Soo are going to benefit and how they are going to contribute to Canada's Arctic sovereignty?
Stephen Fuhr LiberalSecretary of State (Defence Procurement)
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member from Sault Ste. Marie for his strong advocacy for all the hard-working steelworkers in his community.
I do not know if the House knows this, but Canada is one of only a handful of nations that can design and build a heavy and medium-sized icebreaker. That is something we should all be very proud of. Our steel companies, like Algoma Steel, will now provide the steel we need to build these ships, strengthen our supply chains and keep more of our procurement dollars here in Canada.
Shannon Stubbs Conservative Lakeland, AB
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals promised to get projects built faster. Instead, they built an expensive office but will not tell Canadians which companies help pay its staff who may influence decisions about those companies' projects.
Yesterday, the Minister of Energy dismissed questions about potential corporate conflicts as “conspiracy theories”, but what is suspicious is the refusal to disclose which corporate interests pay government employees and which projects they assess. With both public and private financing involved, Canadians deserve transparency, not secrecy.
If there is nothing to hide, why will the minister not just name the companies?
Tim Hodgson LiberalMinister of Energy and Natural Resources
Mr. Speaker, the exchange program has been in place for over a decade. It has been used by governments on both sides to build this country strong. The Major Projects Office is creating jobs, thousands and thousands of jobs, in Alberta, in British Columbia and all across this country. Rather than talk down the office that is creating those jobs, why do the Conservatives not help celebrate the hard-working men and women who are working in that office to build Canada strong?
Shannon Stubbs Conservative Lakeland, AB
Mr. Speaker, that answer is exactly why the Liberals should clear this up, because the public interest must be protected in an office that advises on projects potentially worth $200 billion. However, the Liberals will not name the companies that help pay MPO staff, so Canadians cannot tell whose interests come first in government decisions worth billions of dollars. “National interest” is not an excuse to hide private interests when staff may assess projects that involve their employers and competitors.
Will the minister table the company names, salary arrangements and recusal records so Canadians can know exactly whose interests are protected?
Dominic LeBlanc LiberalPresident of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade
Mr. Speaker, the interests that are protected are those of Canadians by these hard-working men and women. Some of them come from the private sector, two-thirds come from the federal public sector, and some of them are loaned from other orders of government.
I had a conversation with the colleague who just asked the question at a committee this week. We undertook to provide the committee with all available information on this practice. We look forward to doing exactly that.
Brad Vis Conservative Mission—Matsqui—Abbotsford, BC
Mr. Speaker, in 2022, Arnold and Joanne De Jong were brutally murdered and tortured in their Abbotsford home by three men, one of whom had arrived in Canada on a student visa less than a month before the killings. Despite this senseless act of violence, a B.C. judge ruled that the killers could apply for early parole. Weak Liberal policies have created an environment where violent offenders feel emboldened and their interests are put ahead of victims' rights.
Can the Liberals explain how giving convicted murderers an earlier path to freedom protects the safety of Canadians?
Gary Anandasangaree LiberalMinister of Public Safety
Mr. Speaker, first of all, let me express my condolences to the family impacted by this horrific crime, but let me also say that since taking government last April, our government has brought in transformational legislation on criminal justice. That includes bail as well as sentencing reform. That includes ensuring the rights of victims. We will continue to ensure the safety and security of Canadians by bringing forward additional measures to support—
Steeve Lavoie Liberal Beauport—Limoilou, QC
Mr. Speaker, I recently organized a round table with my colleagues, the members for Louis‑Hébert and Québec Centre, to speak with Quebec region businesses about their needs and realities in light of the U.S. tariffs.
One question cropped up again and again during our discussions: today's unpredictability, which is making investment, production and diversification decisions all the more complicated.
Can the Minister of Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement and Quebec Lieutenant explain how our government is working to provide our businesses with greater predictability so that they can focus on their growth and diversify their markets?
Joël Lightbound LiberalMinister of Government Transformation
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Beauport—Limoilou for his question and for his leadership within Quebec City's business community.
Our government focuses on the things within its control, which includes improving our productivity, resilience and sovereignty. Among other things, this means the productivity mega deduction, which is available to businesses of all sizes across the country.
As the Bank of Canada said this week, the increase in business investments fostered by Canadian fiscal incentives, like the productivity mega deduction, is going to support productivity at work and production in Canada. We are talking about a $22-billion annual increase in the GDP and 80,000 jobs.
That is how the government is supporting businesses and building Canada strong.
Dalwinder Gill Conservative Calgary McKnight, AB
Mr. Speaker, since the Liberals took office, violent crime is up 35% and extortion is up 330%. Last month in Calgary, a man charged with robbery was released on bail. Just two days later, police found him with a firearm and arrested him again. Canadians have a right to feel safe in their homes and communities.
Will the government support the Conservatives' safe at home act and actually fix the bail system to keep repeat violent offenders off our streets?
