House of Commons Hansard #78 of the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was prices.
This summary is computer-generated. Usually it’s accurate, but every now and then it’ll contain inaccuracies or total fabrications.
Opposition Motion—Food Affordability Members debate Canada's high food inflation, the highest in the G7. Conservatives attribute rising grocery costs to Liberal "hidden taxes" on farmers, fuel, and packaging, advocating their removal and increased competition. Liberals contend global factors like climate change and supply chain disruptions are primary drivers, highlighting immediate relief through the Canada groceries and essentials benefit and long-term food security strategies. Other parties emphasize grocery sector competition and the Bloc calls for OAS benefit increases. 48800 words, 6 hours in 2 segments: 1 2.
Use of Federal Lands for Veterans Liberal MP Alana Hirtle moves a motion for a committee to study using underused federal lands for veteran services and housing. Liberals call it a strategic approach for future veteran needs. Conservatives and NDP criticize it as a delay, urging immediate action and highlighting government failures. The Bloc questions the House instructing a committee. 8500 words, 1 hour.
Warren Steinley Conservative Regina—Lewvan, SK
Mr. Speaker, these are not my words; the Liberal finance minister said he would have grocery prices under control by Thanksgiving of 2023. Even my kids know that we should do what we say we are going to do. Why can the finance minister not figure this out? It is time for the Liberals to make sure Canadians can afford to put food on the table.
Will the finance minister keep his word to Canadians so they can afford to feed their family?
Peter Fragiskatos LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration
Mr. Speaker, up until recently, the Conservatives have been frequently quoting Food Banks Canada. They have stopped, and I wonder why. I wonder if it is because the organization has suggested a key recommendation that the government is now fulfilling, which is the groceries and essentials benefit of almost $1,900 for a family of four.
What about other supports that the Conservatives are against? There is the $10-a-day child care program, the permanency of the national school food program, and the Canada child benefit sustained for middle-income and low-income families. That is what the government is about. That is what we will fulfill for this country.
Shelby Kramp-Neuman Conservative Hastings—Lennox and Addington—Tyendinaga, ON
Mr. Speaker, since 2023, the finance minister has promised to stabilize food prices. Instead, Canadians continue to face out-of-control grocery costs, something anyone who shops in our communities sees every single day. A temporary rebate will not fix the root cause: poor economic policy. The last time rebates were used, Canada ended up with the highest food inflation in the G7.
Why now should Canadians trust the finance minister to actually lower grocery prices?
Stephanie McLean LiberalSecretary of State (Seniors)
Mr. Speaker, it is funny that on the one hand the Conservatives chide the groceries and essentials benefit, but on the other hand they are upset that it is not for everyone.
When I was the Minister of Service Alberta and had just had my new baby, I suddenly started getting child care benefit cheques that I did not need, but families that did need the money were not getting as much. We are ensuring that the families that need the money are getting the money they need, like the families in Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke. Single seniors are going to get an extra $950 a year to help pay for toilet paper, lettuce and coffee.
Those are the families that need the money. Those are the families the Conservatives are fighting against. Tell me why.
Shelby Kramp-Neuman Conservative Hastings—Lennox and Addington—Tyendinaga, ON
Mr. Speaker, Bill C-19 would not lower food prices, but we will not block a small rebate for the people who actually qualify for it.
Over the past three years, the prices of beef, lettuce and baby formula have all surged. Even basic student staples like Kraft dinner and canned beans are more expensive. Canadians need leadership that delivers. That means eliminating the industrial carbon tax, removing the fuel standard tax and strengthening competition in the grocery store.
When will the government start governing responsibly and lift these burdens so Canadians can afford groceries on their paycheques?
Rechie Valdez LiberalMinister of Women and Gender Equality and Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism)
Mr. Speaker, let us break down affordability for an average young family of four in a year. The Canada groceries and essentials benefit would deliver nearly $1,900. That same family can receive the Canada child benefit, which provides $7,000. It is also saving $16,000 for affordable child care, $730 for dental care and $800 for the national school food program, and it will get $840 because we cut taxes for Canadians. That is up to $50,000 of savings. None of this would even exist if the government were a Conservative government.
Andréanne Larouche Bloc Shefford, QC
Mr. Speaker, some retirees are being deprived of their old age security benefits because of errors in the Cúram software. The minister is telling us to give her their names and that they will help them.
There are 500,000 new applicants every year. If we are to believe the minister's figures from yesterday, figures that are constantly changing, and if it is true that only about 2% of files are problematic, that still means that 10,000 retirees could be affected.
When will she help them instead of downplaying their problem?
Patty Hajdu LiberalMinister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario
Mr. Speaker, this is not an easy fix. The department is in the process of modernizing systems that are more than 60 years old so it can better serve more than 7.5 million people every year.
If the member opposite is aware of any instances where seniors are having difficulty accessing their benefits, I would ask her to please share them with me so that my department can resolve these issues as quickly as possible.
Andréanne Larouche Bloc Shefford, QC
Mr. Speaker, at first, the Liberals did not think there was any problem with pensions. They called it fearmongering. The following week, there were about 30 cases, or 0.2% of the files. Yesterday, that rose to 2% of claimants, which could mean up to 10,000 cases.
The Liberals are still treating this like it is no big deal. This government is so accustomed to providing poor services to the public that 10,000 retirees potentially being deprived of their pensions is no big deal.
Why does this government never take anything seriously?
Stephanie McLean LiberalSecretary of State (Seniors)
Mr. Speaker, yes, these delays are too long, but more than 98% of all claimants received their benefits without delay.
The department is actively working to quickly resolve any issues clients may encounter. We continue to improve the benefit delivery process.
Laila Goodridge Conservative Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB
Mr. Speaker, three years ago the Minister of Finance promised Canadians that he would stabilize food prices, yet Canada now leads the G7 in food inflation. The price of lettuce is up nearly 40%, coffee is up 33%, beef is up 27% and baby formula is up 13%. The Liberals' solution is a temporary rebate that would neither address the root cause of why food inflation is so much higher here nor bring down the cost of any food.
Why should Canadians trust that the minister's new program would help them, when the last led to the highest food inflation in the G7?
Rechie Valdez LiberalMinister of Women and Gender Equality and Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism)
Mr. Speaker, speaking of affordability, I know how it felt to pay over $2,000 a month for child care when I was raising my two young kids.
The good news is that, today, families are saving over $16,000 per year thanks to the affordable child care that our government put in place. Our national early learning child care is also about giving families more choice. This is empowering parents, especially mothers, who can choose to go to work and who can choose to run their business. This is helping them contribute to our economy and is building Canada strong.
Laila Goodridge Conservative Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB
Mr. Speaker, the problem is that the Liberals' solutions, their programs, are just not working. They are making it so that one in three kids is in the line at the food bank; there are 700,000 children accessing a food bank every single month. Food inflation is twice as high as when the Prime Minister took office a year ago and twice as high as what it is in the United States.
The question is simple: Will the Liberals just listen to Conservatives, steal our idea and support our motion to introduce a food affordability plan, eliminating the industrial carbon tax, eliminating the fuel standard tax and increasing competition amongst grocery stores?
Patty Hajdu LiberalMinister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives would need to start having some good ideas for us to steal them. We are always interested in good ideas on this side of the House.
The member for Fort McMurray—Cold Lake just said that nothing is working in her province. Let me tell her that the national school food program is feeding 58,000 children in her province. In fact, parents in her province are saving up to $13,700 per child per year through early learning and child care. There have been 46,000 spaces created since 2021.
Clearly, the member has not spoken to the families in her riding and—
The EconomyOral Questions
Marilyn Gladu Conservative Sarnia—Lambton—Bkejwanong, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals promised stable food prices, but Canadians got the opposite. Lettuce is up 40%. Coffee is up 33%. Beef is up 27%. Canada now leads the G7 in food inflation, which has doubled under the current government and is twice the U.S. rate. The Liberals' grocery summit did not work. Their rebates will not cut prices. Their taxes drive costs up. There are 2.2 million Canadians relying on food banks.
Will the Liberals support our food affordability plan to scrap the industrial carbon tax and the fuel standard tax, and to boost competition?
Jill McKnight LiberalMinister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, I am confused by and concerned about the member's question. I am confused over the question not being about last week's important announcement. I am concerned that the Conservatives are missing the details of Canada's groceries and essentials benefit. It is a 25% increase to the GST tax credit for five years, with a one-time payment equivalent to 50% this year. It is $500 million to address supply chain disruptions and keep prices down.
This is important news, and we need to focus on what we are doing for Canadians.
Jonathan Rowe Conservative Terra Nova—The Peninsulas, NL
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance promised to stabilize food prices three years ago. What the Liberals have actually done is create the worst food inflation in the G7. Food inflation is now double what it was when the Prime Minister got into office. This is not a global phenomenon. Canadian inflation is double that of the United States. Now, instead of fixing the actual problem, they have added a temporary band-aid. A couple making minimum wage would not even be eligible for it.
Will the Liberal government please stand with our food affordability plan to make groceries affordable for all of us?
Joanne Thompson LiberalMinister of Fisheries
Mr. Speaker, let me remind the opposition member from Newfoundland and Labrador that the people in his riding reach out to me on a regular basis. They reach out to say, “Enough with the fear and enough with the obstruction. Let's work together.”
Let me remind the member that there will be $50,000 in savings or direct payments to a family of four in affordability measures. This matters. I ask the Conservatives to please work with us to do what the people of this country and our province want done.
Scott Anderson Conservative Vernon—Lake Country—Monashee, BC
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are telling us that soaring grocery bills are caused by external factors, as if the cost of living is going up everywhere. It is not. We have higher food costs than almost anywhere else in the G7. Meanwhile, the government piles on carbon taxes and red tape that make it more expensive to grow, transport and sell food. Let us be honest. These handouts are an admission of failure and a small band-aid for large, self-inflicted wounds.
When will the government stop blaming others and start scrapping the policies that are driving food inflation at the checkout?
Peter Fragiskatos LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration
Mr. Speaker, my colleague can look to Dalhousie University's food price index of 2026. He can look to the recent TD report. We know climate change is a key factor when it comes to the increase in the price of food. This is admittedly a challenge for this country. This is why the Canada groceries and essentials benefit is so important.
Let us move beyond the script for a moment. The Conservatives showed a spirit of collaboration to pass that benefit. Will they go one step further and support budget 2025? We have an opportunity now to collaborate in this moment. This is what Canadians expect. It is what Canadians deserve.
Eric St-Pierre Liberal Honoré-Mercier, QC
Mr. Speaker, recent aggression by major powers toward the Arctic region have underlined the importance of Greenland's and Denmark's sovereignty. This rhetoric is not happening in a vacuum. Indeed, if left unchecked, it threatens our NATO alliance and Canada's own Arctic sovereignty.
Can the Minister of Foreign Affairs share with the House how the government is working with our allies to protect the territorial integrity of Greenland and defend Canada's sovereignty?
Anita Anand LiberalMinister of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Speaker, this week, I will be travelling to Nuuk, Greenland, to formally open the Canadian consulate there. I will be meeting with my Danish and Greenlandic counterparts, where I will be reiterating the principles of state sovereignty, territorial integrity and co-operation amongst Arctic states, including the Nordic five. Here at home, we are investing more than $80 billion in Canada's defence and security, including Arctic security, and we will build Canada strong.
Adam Chambers Conservative Simcoe North, ON
Mr. Speaker, in 2016, Canadians built 2.3 million vehicles. Just last year, that number dropped to 1.2 million cars. Last week, there was more devastating news for Canadian auto families as General Motors laid off 1,200 employees.
When will the government stop telling people it is eventually going to be okay and start delivering results for Canadian auto workers?
Mélanie Joly LiberalMinister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions
Mr. Speaker, of course, our hearts and minds are with the auto workers, and we are there for them. Again, this morning, I was on the phone with Premier Ford and with Vic Fedeli, working on new opportunities to bring even more auto making to the country. That being said, what we never hear from the Conservatives is the fact that these auto workers are victims of the unjustifiable U.S. tariffs. Why are they not denouncing that? Why are we not all working as one team Canada? That is what auto workers want.
