Debates of April 22nd, 2026

The Economy

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Secretary of State (Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, while that party is focused on anything but, we are focused on making life more affordable for Canadians from coast to coast to coast. We just launched the groceries and essentials benefit, which will put up to $1,400 in the pockets of working families. In fact, last week, we paused the federal excise tax on fuel, saving Canadians 10¢ a litre when they fill up. If we combine that with the cut in the consumer carbon tax, that is a 28¢ savings per litre that we are offering Canadians. That side can continue with the podcast tour, the bluster, the rhetoric; we are going to focus on making life more affordable—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last month, on March 25 specifically, the Prime Minister said that the cost of living in Canada is the best it has been in over a decade.

However, the price of groceries continues to rise, rent continues to go up, gas prices are now $2 a litre in almost every region of Quebec and, in the past five years, home prices have increased by 67% in Quebec. Young Quebeckers cannot even think about buying a new home.

Do the Prime Minister and the members of his government really think that the cost of living is at its best right now?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Minister of Government Transformation]

Mr. Speaker, we are acutely aware of the circumstances, so much so that the government adopted a range of measures to help Canadian households that are facing a cost-of-living crisis.

I could mention the Canada groceries and essentials benefit of up to $1,800 per family. Another example is the reduction of the excise tax on gas, which has reduced the price of gas by 10¢ a litre, and let us not forget the tax cut for 22 million Canadians.

These are one-time measures and immediate supports, but we are not stopping there. The government is moving forward with structural programs like the Canada child benefit, the Canadian dental care plan and others.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the fundamental question is not what band-aid solutions the government is coming up with to try to fix the problem. It is whether the Prime Minister truly believes what he said on March 25 when he claimed that cost of living is the best it has been in a decade.

Does the Prime Minister or anyone in his government really believe that? I do not want to hear about the government's countless band-aid solutions. I want to know whether he actually believes what he says.

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Minister of Government Transformation]

Mr. Speaker, I just want to point out how mind-boggling it is to hear the member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles talk about band-aids when we consider that the Canada child benefit sends $82 million a year to 13,000 families in his riding and that the Canadian dental care plan helps 25,142 people in his riding to go to a dentist.

They may be band-aids for the Conservative Party, which is completely out of touch with the reality of Canadians, but they are certainly not band-aids for us on this side of the House. This is effective assistance that Canadians need.

Climate Change

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today is Earth Day, but it does not really feel that way here in Parliament. Yesterday, sources confirmed that the government is pressing ahead with its obsession over a new oil sands pipeline. It is testing the ground for a pipeline that would transport an additional one million barrels of dirty oil every day from Alberta to Vancouver. That is one million more barrels every day, while southern Quebec is battling floods that have become almost an annual occurrence due to climate change.

Is it not time for the Liberals to come back down to earth?

[Nathalie Provost, Liberal, Secretary of State (Nature)]

Mr. Speaker, we have been celebrating Earth Day for 56 years. It is an important day for us. All Canadians love nature. All Canadians recognize just how important the earth is. It is our little spaceship that will take us far.

We have launched a strategy to protect nature. It is a powerful strategy that will enable us to conserve 30% of our land and water by 2030. We are working in many other ways; we will get there, and that is how we will build Canada strong.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Earth Day should not just be acknowledged. Thanks to the Liberals, Earth Day must now be a day of resistance. Yesterday, we learned that the Liberals are moving ahead with their new dirty oil pipeline out west.

That is not all. Last Thursday, we learned that Canada hit a brick wall in 2024 with its greenhouse gas reduction targets, and it is because of the oil companies. The year 2024 also marked the end of the MP for Laurier—Sainte-Marie's tenure, before he left his ministerial role and his leader scrapped his climate plan. I cannot imagine what the coming years will bring.

If there are still any pro-environment Liberals out there, what are they waiting for to speak out against this?

[Nathalie Provost, Liberal, Secretary of State (Nature)]

Mr. Speaker, we are working on several fronts. We find ourselves in a particularly different global context, and we are acutely aware that environmental issues are facing headwinds all over the world.

That is why we are trying to adopt new strategies to achieve our goals. Canada's strategy to protect nature is one example. The auto strategy is another. We continue to work with young people today. We were on Parliament Hill. We want to equip young people and develop their capacity to work. These young people are committed to the environment, and we will build Canada on that foundation, but alongside nature.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today is Earth Day, and we have a message. To everyone who still believes in climate change: Do not give up; keep up the fight.

We do not have to accept a new pipeline out west. We do not have to accept that Canada is giving up on reducing greenhouse gases. We certainly do not have to accept that the Liberals are giving billions of dollars of our money to the oil and gas companies, including $1 billion for Bay du Nord alone.

If this Liberal government wants to stamp out the fight against climate change, does it realize that we will not let it do that?

[Nathalie Provost, Liberal, Secretary of State (Nature)]

Mr. Speaker, we need to be able to work on multiple fronts. As part of Canada's strategy to protect nature, we will work to keep nature natural. That is important. Our government has done tremendous work in that respect.

We will continue to work with indigenous peoples as well. They are there to help us ensure our sovereignty, but they are also there to help us steward nature, and we are not going to succeed in the long run without them.

We will also build things right. Our thinking on how to build major projects must include nature conservation, and we are going to do that. That is how we are going to build our country.

The Economy

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's food inflation is the highest in the G7 for the fourth straight month, but the PM wrongly claimed affordability is the best it has been in over a decade. Well, gas was a buck a litre in 2015. It is up 62%. Diesel is up 93%. A trillion dollars in brains, businesses and jobs has fled Liberal red tape and roadblocks. Most Canadians cannot afford to eat, house themselves, drive and put savings aside anymore. Young Canadians are losing hope. The middle class is almost gone. The rich, like the PM, keep getting richer.

How can the PM ignore Canadians' struggles and lecture them about just how good they have it?

[Stephanie McLean, Liberal, Secretary of State (Seniors)]

Mr. Speaker, the government is controlling what it can. We know there are a lot of factors outside our control, but what we can control is ensuring that youth get a head start with the Canada summer jobs program, that Canadians get help with the fuel excise tax, that apprenticeships get a $75‑million injection in training and that Canadians get a groceries and essentials benefit that gives them up to $1,400 per year for a family of four to put food on the dinner table.

We are giving Canadians a boost today and a bridge to tomorrow, while the Conservatives fight—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. member for Lakeland.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians should be able to afford essentials themselves. That is the job of the government. The PM says he is like Canadian war hero Sir Isaac Brock. Well, people ration food in wartime, but the Liberals make Canadians ration it in peacetime, do they not?

Since 2015, the cost of beef is up 69%, baby formula is up 84%, eggs are up 44%, and the PM has cut only one-third of Liberal fuel taxes for one-third of the year yet keeps his federal industrial carbon tax, fuel standard and other red tape that hikes costs for growers, shippers and Canadians at the grocery store.

We are a year in. When will the PM drop photo ops and one-third measures, and cut taxes on food and fuel so Canadians can afford to thrive, not just survive?

[Anna Gainey, Liberal, Secretary of State (Children and Youth)]

Mr. Speaker, this feels like a good moment to remind Canadians that we made the national school food program permanent in the last budget. This is an investment that will ensure that over 400,000 additional children receive access to nutritious meals at school. It represents a savings of up to $800 per family.

We are there for Canadians. We understand that they need supports. This is one of many, including dental care, the Canada child benefit and other measures to support Canadians.

[Tamara Jansen, Conservative, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I took an Uber last Saturday to the Vaisakhi parade in Surrey, and I got to talking with the driver. He told me he had lost his job to AI and now he is driving long hours just to make ends meet. He said that after all the costs of keeping his car on the road, he is making next to nothing. He hardly sees his little boy, who is in kindergarten, yet the Prime Minister told Canadians that affordability is the best it has been in a decade.

Is this really what the Prime Minister thinks “better” looks like?

[Jill McKnight, Liberal, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I also attended that Vaisakhi parade in Surrey last weekend, and it was a tremendous opportunity to be in the community.

For nearly three decades, I ran a small business. I know the challenges that SMEs and entrepreneurs face. I have been there and know how close the margins can be. Things like the savings on fuel and diesel can make a difference for those drivers. It can put money back in their pockets, and it is just one part of the measures we are taking to support Canadians.

[Tamara Jansen, Conservative, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the fellow I mentioned and his family definitely do not agree with the Prime Minister that affordability is the best it has been in over a decade. As a matter of fact, he admitted it has gotten so bad in Canada that he is wondering whether he should even stay. It is no wonder Canadians are talking about leaving. It now takes over half of median household income just to own a home in Canada, and food inflation is the highest in the G7.

How many more hard-working Canadians have to leave this country before the Prime Minister wakes up and admits his housing and affordability policies are failing?

[Jill McKnight, Liberal, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are getting support with affordability with the measures we are taking right now. They are getting support with the school nutrition program. We are making changes to support first-time homebuyers. We have brought in the groceries and essentials benefit. We have removed the federal excise tax on fuel until September 7.

These are measures that are supporting Canadians. My question is why the member from British Columbia is not also supporting these measures to make a difference for Canadians.

[Grant Jackson, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Mr. Speaker, while the Liberals continue to ignore the affordability concerns of Canadians, the reality for families is getting worse. Monday's data shows that here in Canada we continue to carry the highest food inflation in the G7, a badge of shame that we have held for four months in a row. Beef costs 69% more, and the price of chicken is 43% higher than it was in 2015. Working-class families, young Canadians and seniors all feel that inflation every time they leave the grocery store.

When are we finally going to see action from the Liberals to increase domestic food production to bring down the cost of food in this country?

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

Mr. Speaker, Canadians need real relief right now, and we are delivering. I have great news. The very first Canada groceries and essentials benefit is going to Canadians right across the country this June. That means an additional $1,900 for a family of four to help them with support on everyday essentials. From grocery support to child care and dental care, we are there. Of course, members already heard today that we are lowering the cost at the pumps by 28¢ per litre.

This is really going to help everyday Canadians. We are going to continue to do that because we are trying to build this strong country, and we are going to do that with the help of Canadians as well.

[Grant Jackson, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister continues to peddle half measures and broken promises as the answer to the affordability crisis the Liberals created. They have had years to act. Canadians are in need of results, but what they get are recycled speeches and illusions, while food inflation remains the highest in the G7 and the Prime Minister pretends affordability has never been better.

With food bank and soup kitchen use in Brandon over capacity month after month in the heart of Canada's breadbasket, when are the Liberals finally going to recognize that when the region that grows the food cannot even afford it, the rest of the country is in crisis?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that the hon. member disagrees with child care, dental care, the Canada child benefit, the national school food program, the Canada groceries and essentials benefit, an increase in health transfers, the OAS, eliminating the carbon tax, a tax break for 22 million Canadians, the productivity superdeduction, investments in domestic processing for the breadbasket of Canada, an increase in AgriMarketing, and the advance payment program.