Debates of March 10th, 2026

Natural Resources

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canada cannot control global events or leaders, but Liberals control the policies that drive up costs here at home. The energy minister brags about pipelines to the U.S. but spins about Canadian pipelines. Here are the facts. Two export pipelines to Europe and Asia were killed by the Liberals. They bought the costly TMX, which mostly goes to the U.S., without a path for the company to build. There is no progress on their promised Pacific pipeline and nothing from the Major Projects Office. The federal industrial carbon tax, which the U.S. does not have, costs Canadian businesses.

Why will the PM not repeal his anti-development laws and taxes so Canada can fuel allies abroad and bring affordability home?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure what they have been doing, but we have been working with the Government of Alberta. We have been working with the Government of Alberta to see the Pathways project built. We have been working with the Government of Alberta to look at options to the west coast. We have been looking, with the Government of Alberta, for new nuclear and for new renewables. They should get on board too.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, that is spin, spin, spin, because here is the deal. Last year, the Prime Minister promised a Pacific pipeline yet kept all the laws and regs that block building. The Liberals brought in Bill C-5 to work around their own red tape. Conservatives worked to improve and pass it, but there have been no results so far. The feds have not started their indigenous consultation. No private sector company will touch a pipeline alone under Liberal laws. Seventy-five per cent of Canadians want pipelines. The world wants Canadian energy, but Canada cannot ship it because of the Liberals.

When will the PM get out of the way, scrap his anti-development agenda and give Canadians certainty and affordability here at home?

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

Mr. Speaker, I assume the member opposite is, then, suggesting that the Premier of Alberta get out of the way. I guess she is suggesting that Minister Jean get out of the way. I guess she is suggesting that Minister Neudorf get out of the way. They are all working with us to build Canada. Maybe the Conservatives should try that too.

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Swift Current—Grasslands—Kindersley, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has been in office for a year already and, like a good old Liberal, has only re-announced projects that were already approved. There have been no new energy projects proposed, let alone built. The Major Projects Office has been reviewing the Kitimat project for 180 days already. Meanwhile, Germany built an entire LNG terminal in only 194 days. Conservatives wanted shovels in the ground this week. We previously tried to pass the Canadian sovereignty act to make us stronger at home and support our allies, but the Liberals voted against that.

Why will they not cancel their anti-development policies and get things done?

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

Mr. Speaker, while the Conservatives built nothing, here is what we did. LNG Canada phase one is shipping today. Cedar LNG is under development. Woodfibre LNG is under construction. Tilbury is expanding. LNG Canada is ready to go. Ksi Lisims is ready to go. We could keep going. We are building. They do nothing.

[Gabriel Hardy, Conservative, Montmorency—Charlevoix, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in the past four decades, two wars have plunged the world into a major energy crisis. Our allies are looking for reliable suppliers. Canada has 10% of the world's oil reserves and a wealth of natural gas, uranium, and hydroelectricity. It is clear that Canada should be a world leader in energy.

The reality is that we do not even have the infrastructure to export our resources to our allies who need them. Parliament gave the Liberals exceptional powers to accelerate major projects, but so far nothing is being done.

Why is the Liberal government continuing to allow Canada to be a country full of unrealized potential?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade]

Mr. Speaker, we agree with our opposition colleague that it is important to build a strong economy in Canada. The good news is that the Conservative Party helped adopt Bill C-5, which, in fact, enabled the government to accelerate the construction of major projects, including major energy infrastructure projects like the ones our colleague just mentioned.

I was in Contrecœur, near Montreal. Other ports are in the works. There is good news coming in the next few weeks and I look forward to having our colleague's support.

[Gabriel Hardy, Conservative, Montmorency—Charlevoix, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there is good news on the horizon, but once again, press releases are not projects. Germany managed to build a liquefied natural gas export terminal in 194 days. What was Canada able to do in 194 days? It made announcements.

If we developed our resources, we could create wealth, fund our public services, make our constituents wealthier and invest in the transition to other forms of energy.

The world needs what we have, and families are struggling to make ends meet. When will the Liberal government stop talking and start approving projects to export our resources and make society more prosperous?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade]

Mr. Speaker, at the risk of echoing our colleague the Minister of Finance and National Revenue, I must say that we have good news for the hon. member.

This week, the Prime Minister was in India, where we signed an agreement worth over $2.5 billion for energy exports. We worked with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to approve the Bay du Nord project off the coast of that province. We also approved NexGen's uranium mine in Saskatchewan.

We are getting work done while the Conservatives are busy criticizing.

Internal Trade

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Okanagan Lake West—South Kelowna, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister says Canada should strive to be our own best customer. Well, Conservatives could not agree more, and that is why we want a one Canadian economy where a craft brewer in the Maritimes, a distiller in Ontario or a vintner in the Okanagan can sell to any adult Canadian anywhere in this country. However, the Prime Minister's Canada Day deadline of last year to fix this has come and gone, leaving beer, wine and spirits stuck behind trade barriers.

Will the government finally live up to its own rhetoric, support our common-sense Conservative bill and allow Canadians to finally be our own best customer?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank our colleague for his consistent work in terms of removing barriers to interprovincial trade. As he knows very well, the federal government removed all our exemptions to free trade in Canada by legislation supported by the Conservatives in June. I know he has been, and he should be, as pleased as we are that the governments of Ontario and of Nova Scotia recently signed an agreement to allow direct-to-consumer sale of alcohol. I am meeting interprovincial trade ministers later this month, and we will absolutely go further.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Okanagan Lake West—South Kelowna, BC]

Mr. Speaker, producers in my riding find it easier to ship a bottle of wine to London, England, than to London, Ontario. Trade walls are blocking the growth of producers across this great country. The Prime Minister tells Canadians that we need to focus on the things we can control. Parliament has control over Canada Post and interprovincial shipping.

I invite the Liberals to steal this idea. They could do so today. Will the Prime Minister focus on what we can control, steal my bill, finally tear down these walls for all Canadian consumers and producers, and free the beer?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade]

Again, Mr. Speaker, our colleague has highlighted consistently one of the important challenges in having free trade across Canada. As he well knows, the regulation of the sale of alcohol is within the hands of provincial and territorial governments. However, his idea of changing section 19 of the Canada Post Corporation Act to incentivize provinces to allow it and to co-operate with the Government of Canada is a good one. I will happily raise it with provincial ministers later this month, and I look forward to working with him on this important issue.

[Brad Vis, Conservative, Mission—Matsqui—Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, despite the Prime Minister's promising to eliminate all federal barriers to interprovincial trade by Canada Day 2025, that promise has proven to be an illusion. In many cases, it is still easier for British Columbian distilleries to sell their products to Washington state than to Nova Scotia.

Can the Prime Minister provide a specific date when it will be easier for British Columbian distillers to sell in Canada versus in the United States?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade]

Again, Mr. Speaker, I indicated to our colleague that we have called an urgent meeting of interprovincial trade ministers following the Prime Minister's meeting with first ministers at the end of January. That is happening in a few weeks. We are going to seek to make progress in collaboration with provinces.

I would ask our colleague to note that it was Ontario and Nova Scotia, two champions for the removal of interprovincial trade barriers, that signed an agreement to allow direct-to-consumer sales of alcohol. I will happily raise it with provincial ministers and do what is necessary for the Government of Canada to be a partner.

[Brad Vis, Conservative, Mission—Matsqui—Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the problem is that the Liberal government misled Canadians when it made the promise that interprovincial trade barriers would actually be eliminated in Canada by 2025. The CBC reported in January that interprovincial trade is still like a 9% tariff on the Canadian economy, accounting for $210 billion of lost goods.

I will ask the question again. Can the Prime Minister provide a specific date, not just when alcohol will be free to trade but when all services and goods will be free to trade in Canada among provinces to build our country up?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade]

Mr. Speaker, our colleague would remember very well the votes that happened at the end of June when we passed Bill C-5, which removed all federal barriers to interprovincial trade in Canada. He is highlighting something with which we agree: the important GDP boost of removing all these barriers.

The vast majority of these barriers have always been in the hands of provinces and territories. We thought it was important for the Government of Canada to eliminate our exceptions to free trade in Canada. We did that, and now we are going to work with the provinces to get the job done.

National Defence

[Eric St-Pierre, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians elected a new government with a mandate to build Canada strong, keep our country safe and expand our international partnerships. In a rapidly changing world, our government is focused on what we can control.

Can the Minister of National Defence tell the House about the progress we are making in our defence partnerships around the world?

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is a Pacific country and we are proud to strengthen our partnership with Australia. Last week, we were in Australia to strengthen our relationship and increase our co-operation in the areas of military exercises and procurement. That includes training our forces on the Arctic over-the-horizon radar system.

We are quickly expanding our defence partnerships around the world.

Natural Resources

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands—Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have recently learned that the Liberal government provided a $206-million loan below market rate and nearly $150 million in subsidies to a wind farm in Nova Scotia linked closely to former Liberal MPs. Meanwhile, a similar project secured $240 million in private sector funding at no cost to the taxpayer. The difference between the two, of course, is the closeness to the Liberal government.

Why did the Liberals provide this sweetheart deal to their well-connected friends at the expense of Canadians?

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

Mr. Speaker, the project is about clean energy. It is about local jobs and economic growth. It was approved through the independent process at the Canada Infrastructure Bank, led by non-partisan officials.

Even the Progressive Conservative government of Nova Scotia is backing the project and supporting it, and it is easy to see why. It is creating clean energy. It is creating good jobs for Nova Scotians and strengthening the local community. It is a great project.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands—Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, members will have to excuse me if I do not take the Liberals' word for it. They call themselves a new government, but they are the same Liberals who 10 times have been found to have broken Canada's ethics laws. They always deny it, and they always defend the indefensible. What we are talking about here is hundreds of millions of dollars going to a sweetheart deal for well-connected Liberal insiders.

The solution is very simple. Instead of just saying, “Trust us”, the Liberals can do the right thing and release to Canadians all the information about the decision that led them to give this sweetheart deal to well-connected Liberal insiders.

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

Mr. Speaker, Nova Scotians need action, and they need clean energy, not political games from the Conservatives here. They have the support of the Progressive Conservative government in Nova Scotia to advance this project and fund it. Officials at the Infrastructure Bank have supported the project. These are good jobs, energy reliability and choice for Nova Scotians.

[Leslyn Lewis, Conservative, Haldimand—Norfolk, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Liberal insiders connected to former Liberal MPs received a $206-million loan below market rate from the Canada Infrastructure Bank and nearly $150 million in subsidies for a Nova Scotia wind farm project. Canadians are tired of Liberal insiders getting rich off taxpayer dollars while millions of Canadians are lined up at food banks every single month.

When will the Liberals finally make life more affordable for Canadians instead of lining the pockets of Liberal-connected insiders?