House of Commons Hansard #109 of the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was majority.
This summary is computer-generated. Usually it’s accurate, but every now and then it’ll contain inaccuracies or total fabrications.
Military Justice System Modernization Act Report stage of Bill C-11. The bill seeks to modernize the military justice system by transferring jurisdiction over sexual offences to civilian courts, a move Liberals describe as crucial institutional reform. Conversely, Conservatives and the Bloc argue the legislation removes essential options for victims. They advocate for amendments to ensure victim choice between systems, contending that the government is ignoring concerns regarding capacity within civilian police and failing to listen to survivor testimony presented during committee. 32800 words, 4 hours.
Government Business No. 9—Changes to Standing Orders Members debate Government Motion No. 9, proposing expanded committee sizes to ensure a government majority. Liberal members argue this reflects parliamentary tradition, while opposition MPs, including Andrew Scheer and Yves Perron, contend the change stifles accountability and ignores election results. Critics argue the government seeks to evade scrutiny on key issues, and John Brassard introduces an amendment to preserve the composition of specific oversight committees. 19100 words, 2 hours.
National Framework on Skilled Trades and Labour Mobility Act Second reading of Bill C-266. The bill proposes a national framework to harmonize skilled trades certification and improve labour mobility. Liberals argue it will boost economic efficiency. Conservatives, however, accuse the government of attacking trades workers through recent funding policies, while the Bloc Québécois rejects the legislation, claiming it constitutes federal encroachment on Quebec jurisdiction regarding labour training. 7700 words, 1 hour.
Jason Groleau Conservative Beauce, QC
Mr. Speaker, a buddy is a buddy.
The Liberals' inflationary deficits are costing Canadians dearly. Canadians will pay $55.6 billion in interest this year alone to the Prime Minister's banker buddies. That $55.6 billion even exceeds the cost of the Canada health transfer. The Bank of Canada has been clear that the high interest rates are a direct result of the Liberal debt.
The fiscal update is next week. Will the Prime Minister put an end to the Liberals' inflationary deficit, yes or no?
Steven MacKinnon LiberalMinister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, as I just indicated to the member's colleague, we are more than willing to hear what cuts the member opposite might propose, and we look forward to receiving his suggestions.
Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic—L’Érable—Lotbinière, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have already cribbed many of our ideas.
The Liberal Prime Minister has completely lost control of public finances. He has added $90 billion in new spending. We are paying $55.6 billion a year just in interest on the debt. That is more than what the GST brings in. It is more than health care transfers. What this means for the public is that money is not going to patients or families. Every family is already paying $3,300 a year just in interest.
Next week, during the fiscal update, will the Prime Minister change course, or will he doom Canadians to pay even more for his Liberal spending?
Steven MacKinnon LiberalMinister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, we are a bit puzzled over here. Is dental care an inflationary expense? Are school meal programs an inflationary expense? Is support for Quebec workers and industries that are feeling the pinch from the U.S. tariffs an inflationary expense? What exactly are these inflationary expenses?
Where is the document that the member intends to table to provide a detailed list of the inflationary expenses he would like to debate here in the House?
Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic—L’Érable—Lotbinière, QC
Mr. Speaker, there is 90 billion dollars' worth of new spending. The list is too long to read in 30 seconds.
The Liberal Prime Minister can say everything is fine, as he did on March 25, but he is living in a fantasy world. Federal spending is at its highest level since 1996. Two-thirds of new spending is not even being used to invest, but rather to keep the Liberal government machine running. The result is higher debt, higher inflation and higher interest rates. That is what the Bank of Canada says. Every dollar wasted means a dollar less in Canadians' pockets.
When will the Liberal government finally get its spending under control and give families some breathing room?
Steven MacKinnon LiberalMinister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, perhaps a multiple choice question would help the member. Is it the Canada child benefit? That is $6 billion. Is it Canada's national school food program? That is $400 million. Is the Canada groceries and essentials benefit an inflationary expense? The Canada workers benefit is $3 billion. The old age security program is $7.5 billion.
Which of those choices do the member and his leader see as inflationary spending?
Bernard Généreux Conservative Côte-du-Sud—Rivière-du-Loup—Kataskomiq—Témiscouata, QC
Mr. Speaker, it seems that many people do not realize that it is easy to announce one program after another, but, at the end of the day, it all goes on the government's credit card, with no real limit. However, there is, in fact, a limit. An unpaid credit card balance at the end of the month means interest charges. It always means more spending and more deficits. The interest charges amount to over $3,300 a year for every family.
When will the Liberals finally get their spending under control and cut it back so that Canadians can make ends meet?
Joël Lightbound LiberalMinister of Government Transformation
Mr. Speaker, I hold my colleague from Côte-du-Sud—Rivière-du-Loup—Kataskomiq—Témiscouata in high regard, but the International Monetary Fund is clear: Canada has the strongest fiscal position of any G7 country.
Nevertheless, I find my colleague's questions interesting. What do the Conservatives consider to be inflationary spending? Would it be, as their leader suggests, depriving 39,142 citizens in his constituency of the Canadian dental care plan, which saves them up to $1,200 a year on dental visits? Is it depriving the residents of his constituency of the $87 million received by 12,000 families through the Canada child benefit? Is it cutting the pay of men and women in the Canadian Armed Forces, as the Conservatives did for so many years?
We would like to know.
Bruce Fanjoy Liberal Carleton, ON
Mr. Speaker, Build Canada Homes is Canada's affordable housing builder, and it is already delivering real results. It is working with partners to accelerate the construction of affordable homes across Canada, including right here in Ottawa. In just a few short months, we are already seeing progress, with the fast-tracking of eight shovel-ready projects in growing neighbourhoods.
Can the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure please update the House on the momentum that the partnership between Build Canada Homes and the City of Ottawa is delivering?
Gregor Robertson LiberalMinister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada
Mr. Speaker, there is exciting news this morning here in Ottawa. I was proud to be at a construction site with the Prime Minister and the mayor to announce those eight shovel-ready projects. There will be over 1,100 homes. Over 90% of those are affordable homes by the Build Canada Homes' standard. This is great news. We are building at scale. We are prioritizing projects on the ground. We are building these deep partnerships, in this case at the City of Ottawa, and looking forward to continuing to build that good work.
Connie Cody Conservative Cambridge, ON
Mr. Speaker, just one year ago, the Prime Minister was telling everybody who would listen that he would get a trade deal with the Americans by last July. He set the deadline. He made that commitment. Now, the Prime Minister has surrendered as tariffs on steel have doubled, tariffs on lumber have tripled, and the tariffs on manufacturers got bigger. The workers and job creators in my community now know that the Prime Minister's promises were more empty words from just another Liberal politician.
He says our relationship with the U.S. is a weakness, but is the real weakness not the Prime Minister's constant over-promising and underdelivering when it comes to U.S.-Canada trade?
Evan Solomon LiberalMinister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
Mr. Speaker, all these guys do every day in the middle of a trade war is talk down the economy and tear down the country. We are doing the real work of investing in sectors and building it up. The Conservatives just want to tear it down.
Let me ask what they would tear down. Here is a list of projects we have invested in. We invested in Northern Transformer. It is in a Conservative riding; they do not want it. We invested in Sensor Technology in Collingwood; they do not want it. We invested in Axe Living in a Conservative riding; they do not want it.
Why will the Conservatives not listen to their own businesses and their own ridings and build Canada strong with us?
Fred Davies Conservative Niagara South, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is capitulating on U.S. tariffs. Tariffs on steel have doubled. Lumber tariffs have tripled, and new barriers continue to hit our manufacturers. Nowhere is this failure felt more than in my region of Niagara, where cross-border trade is the lifeblood of local jobs, supply chains and our communities. While he blames tariffs on the shrinking economy, he fails to show up, and Mexico actually has a seat at the table.
The Prime Minister is dragging his feet. When will he finally stand up and fight for the 2.6 million Canadian jobs that depend on U.S. trade and deliver the tariff relief he promised?
Ali Ehsassi LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade
Mr. Speaker, let me assure the member that we all stand at the ready.
Canada is at its strongest when governments, workers, businesses and industry are all pulling in the same direction. By strengthening our engagement, we are ensuring Canada is well-positioned. That is why, as the member is well aware, yesterday we announced the creation of the advisory committee on Canada-U.S. economic relations. This will serve as a forum for knowledge sharing, expertise and feedback on all issues.
Rob Moore Conservative Fundy Royal, NB
Mr. Speaker, we have the only shrinking economy in the G7. As the Prime Minister dithers, even Mexico is making progress on a deal.
Why does he seem to keep wanting to drag this on? Why is he not fighting for the 2.6 million Canadians whose jobs rely on trade with the U.S.?
With millions of jobs at stake, when will the Prime Minister deliver results instead of the same speeches, excuses and failures?
Ali Ehsassi LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade
Mr. Speaker, once again, allow me to emphasize that we stand at the ready.
For the past several months, we have been consulting with the provinces, consulting with the territories, consulting with businesses and consulting with labour leaders, so everyone is fully aware that we are doing as much as can be expected and we will be acting very strongly. The member can rest assured that we will only agree to a very good deal.
Kyle Seeback Conservative Dufferin—Caledon, ON
Mr. Speaker, it has been seven months since there has been a formal meeting or negotiation to exchange offers to remove these American tariffs. What is worse is that it is now being reported that this is a Liberal strategy, which has led to the loss of tens of thousands of Canadian jobs, the closure of the Brampton auto plant, the closure of steel mills and the closure of pulp and paper mills. This has had a devastating effect on Canadians, and now there are expanded tariffs on all manufactured goods, which will make it worse.
What do these Liberals have to say to the Canadians who have lost their jobs as a result of their strategy of delay?
Maninder Sidhu LiberalMinister of International Trade
Mr. Speaker, we are going to continue to focus on trade diversification.
I would like to share some facts for those that are watching at home. Non-U.S. trade is up by 17%, which is a record in 2025. Fact number two is that the Port of Vancouver moved 170 million metric tons of cargo, which is the highest amount in the port's history. That is more shipments to China, Japan and South Korea. Let us go to the other side of the country. The Port of St. John's just reported a 30% jump, which is another historic record.
This is how we build Canada strong and open opportunities for workers across the country.
Kyle Seeback Conservative Dufferin—Caledon, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal answer to the tens of thousands of Canadians who have lost their jobs about their strategy of delay is tell them to not worry about their EI, not worry about their families and not worry about how they are going to pay their mortgages because they signed a free trade deal with Ecuador, which is a rounding error in Canada's GDP.
If these Liberals are serious, they will explain why they decided their strategy is to not negotiate to try to get a deal on the tariffs that affect the 2.6 million Canadians whose jobs are tied to trade. When will they go back to the negotiating table to protect those jobs?
Tim Hodgson LiberalMinister of Energy and Natural Resources
Mr Speaker, what we have said is that we will not do a bad deal. What we will do is control our own destiny. We will build.
Let me give the member some examples: $8 billion to 5 Wing Goose Bay, a new wind farm in New Brunswick, a new intertie in New Brunswick, a new port in Montreal, a new graphite mine in Quebec and a new nuclear reactor in Ontario. I could keep going.
That is how we build Canada strong.
Dan Mazier Conservative Riding Mountain, MB
Mr Speaker, Canadians are learning that the Liberals spent $300 million on a software program called PrescribeIT. The Liberals promised PrescribeIT would replace fax machines for prescription drugs, but instead, less than 5% of prescriptions went through the program. Now the Liberals are quietly shutting down PrescribeIT, hoping Canadians won't notice that their money is gone.
Given that taxpayers funded a program that they do not own for a service that never worked, my question is simple: Where did the $300 million go?
Marjorie Michel LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, as my colleague knows, since this issue was discussed at the Standing Committee on Health, the government decided a few years ago to use the PrescribeIT program in collaboration with the provinces and territories. When we evaluated the program, it was not being used by the provinces, so the government stopped the funding.
Dan Mazier Conservative Riding Mountain, MB
Mr. Speaker, $300 million spent on PrescribeIT is making ArriveCAN look like pocket change. The Liberals paid Canada Health Infoway to design the program, which then paid Telus Health to develop the program, which then may have outsourced the work offshore. The CEO of Canada Health Infoway could not even tell the health committee how much the government paid him for this failure, claiming he did not know his own salary. Canadians got nothing from PrescribeIT.
The $300-million question is, who got rich?
Marjorie Michel LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, as my colleagues are well aware, the program was put in place in the provinces and territories, so the money has been spent. However, doctors did not use the program enough for us to continue, so we ended it.
Burton Bailey Conservative Red Deer, AB
Mr. Speaker, yesterday it was revealed that Canadians paid over $275 million on health care for 130,000 rejected refugee claimants in the past 10 years. When bogus refugees and scammers are benefiting from a health care system they do not pay into and are receiving additional care that Canadians do not, such as vision care, counselling, home care and physiotherapy, something is wrong.
When will the Prime Minister put Canadians first and stop scammers from taking advantage of our system?