Debates of May 26th, 2026

The Environment

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, if we are going to talk about what I stand for and what I am working on, I will say that last week we launched our electricity strategy. This is something that Hydro‑Québec asked for when it told us that it wanted an investment tax credit. That was a major request, and not only will it help strengthen the domestic electricity grid, but it will also help expand interprovincial interties. That is also what we have done with the Province of Alberta, with the interties that it will have with neighbouring provinces.

We will continue to do a great job of cutting emissions and growing our country.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of the Environment, Climate Change and Nature is clearly no stranger to greenwashing. The Prime Minister's climate betrayal will cost him the member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie. However, there are still about 15 Liberals who believe the Prime Minister is concerned about the environment. They wrote him a short letter saying they are concerned about the pipeline deal. The reality is actually what the Prime Minister said to the media. He made it clear that there are 160 other MPs in the caucus.

With a response like that, there will soon be one fewer MP. What are the other 15 waiting for to follow him out the door?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am extremely proud to be part of this team. Despite the comments made by my opposition colleague, I know that we will achieve net zero by 2050. I know that we will protect 30% of Canada's land and water by 2030. I know that we will work with Canadians to find a strategy that will enable us to achieve our goals—not a strategy that divides us, but one that unites us.

We will get there, and that is how we will build Canada.

Finance

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent—Akiawenhrahk, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there is nothing more important than having enough to eat. Unfortunately, Canadian families are struggling. Every month, 2.2 million Canadians are visiting food banks, one-third of them children. Food prices are rising twice as fast as inflation, and Canada has the worst food inflation in the G7. That is the result of 10 years of Liberal management.

Will the Prime Minister finally put an end to his costly budgets so that Canadians can make ends meet?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Minister of Government Transformation]

Mr. Speaker, the opposition member is right in saying that some Canadians are struggling to make ends meet. What is difficult to explain is why this member votes against measures to help Canadians every chance he gets. Take, for example, the Canada groceries and essentials benefit. On June 5, 12 million Canadians will get a cheque to help them with the cost of groceries.

Another example is the Canadian dental care plan, which helps 20,000 people in the member's riding. He voted against that plan. Finally, I will mention a flagship measure, the Canada child benefit. The member voted against $73 million in his riding—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. member for Louis-Saint-Laurent—Akiawenhrahk.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent—Akiawenhrahk, QC]

Mr. Speaker, if all of these wonderful promises had worked, then Canadians would not be having such a hard time putting food on the table. That is what is happening after 10 years of rhetoric. The Liberals say nice things and claim that everything is fine, when Canadians are experiencing the exact opposite. One in four families is experiencing food insecurity. The cost of basics is rising for Canadian families. The price of housing has reached record highs. The cost of gas jumped 29%. That is what Canadians are experiencing every day.

Will the Prime Minister understand that spending money that we do not have racks up debt for our children and fuels inflation?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Minister of Government Transformation]

Mr. Speaker, I just listed the programs that provide direct assistance to the people in the riding of Louis-Saint-Laurent—Akiawenhrahk. The member voted against these measures every chance he got over the past 10 years. We will not take lessons from him on how to help the most vulnerable Canadians and Quebeckers.

What sets us apart on this side of the House is that, yes, we believe that we need social programs and direct assistance for Canadians, but we also have a vision for the future that involves building major projects. Take, for example, the announcement regarding the Port of Québec, which will become the sixth international container port. There is also the Contrecoeur project, the Nouveau Monde Graphite mine, the high-speed train and training for young trades workers across the country. That is this government's vision for building a strong economy.

[Jason Groleau, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the story never changes with this Liberal government: more costs, more taxes, more spending and most of all, less money in the pockets of Canadian families. Today, the Liberals' inflationary deficits have landed us in $1 trillion worth of debt. This Prime Minister is just another spendthrift Liberal.

My question is simple: When is the Prime Minister going to stop blowing up the deficit and maxing out the credit card of people living in Beauce?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out that the first thing we did as a government was to lower taxes for 22 million Canadians. Help with groceries is also on the way for 12 million Canadians and will lower their weekly costs.

I do not believe that my colleague supported the Canada child benefit, even though it is helping 11,400 families in his riding. Another 29,000 constituents of the Beauce community are also receiving dental care, a program that my colleague voted against.

Taxation

[Rosemarie Falk, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster—Meadow Lake, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are not proposing measures that will make life more affordable for Canadians. We know that their policies are driving up inflation and making life more expensive. Families are paying more for gas, groceries and housing. Now, Global News is reporting that many Canadians are spending more than their entire income on food and rent. Canadians were promised relief by the Prime Minister, but he has delivered more costs, more taxes and more debt on the national credit card.

Conservatives have a real plan to deliver relief by removing all federal fuel taxes for the year. On what date will these Liberals finally adopt it?

[Buckley Belanger, Liberal, Secretary of State (Rural Development)]

Mr. Speaker, there is more good news, as the Minister of Finance likes to point out. The good news is that canola sales to China are happening. Uranium sales to India are happening. Canada is eliminating interprovincial barriers. We are building a great Canadian economy. The best news is that we are standing alongside Saskatchewan to continue building the Saskatchewan economy.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Prime Minister falsely claimed to Canadians that “affordability's the best it's [ever] been in over a decade”. We are 11 years into the Liberal government, and one in four Canadians is living in a food-insecure household. Two million Canadians are visiting a food bank each month, and over 13,000 residents in Niagara Falls need the services of our food bank, Project Share.

Conservatives have a real plan to give Canadians relief from Liberal inflation by removing all federal fuel taxes for the rest of the year. On what date will these Liberals adopt it?

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, there are Canadians, certainly, who are experiencing hardship, but they will not find a plan for their future on the Conservative side, with all due respect. The member talks about food prices. The hon. Leader of the Opposition talked about food prices. There is no plan, in fact, on that side. They want to cut every support that goes towards that: the school food program, the Canada child benefit, dental care, child care. The list goes on. This is the Conservative approach: to throw whatever they can at the wall and catch a few headlines. It will not work.

Canadians need a serious government. That is exactly what they have. We will continue to do this work.

Emergency Management

[Jessica Fancy-Landry, Liberal, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Mr. Speaker, wildfires do not wait for us to be ready. I am reminded of the wildfires in my riding of South Shore—St. Margarets. The government recognizes the need to work together as a nation to be prepared so that we can protect all Canadians. That is why the government has committed $316 million through budget 2025 to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre to lease firefighting aircraft to establish a surge capacity.

Can the Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience update the House on how we are better preparing for the upcoming wildfire season?

[Eleanor Olszewski, Liberal, Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience and Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada]

Mr. Speaker, we made a commitment to bolster our wildfire aerial capacity—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

I know that was a bit jarring, but the hon. minister may continue.

[Eleanor Olszewski, Liberal, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what we have delivered. Contracts are now in place to lease 10 additional wildfire aircraft that will support provinces and territories, starting this wildfire season. In line with our government's buy Canadian policy, each of the companies leasing aircraft to CIFFC is a Canadian firm. This investment will protect lives, homes and communities for years to come.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, every week Canadians get up to another headline about the immigration minister botching her job. Corruption runs rampant in her department. Criminals walk away with discount sentences. She is issuing 215,000 new work permits while Canadian kids cannot find jobs, with no plan to deport the temporary residents who will not leave. Today, we learn that she is covering the premium health care costs of nearly 74,000 people whose asylum claims have already been rejected as fraudulent.

How does it feel to be failing so publicly and so repeatedly on a file that is so important?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I am actually very glad to receive this question today because the Parliamentary Budget Officer verified, today, what we have known all along. That is that the reasons for the costs are tied to volumes, and volumes are coming down. We have substantially reduced the asylum numbers by 60%. Within three years, there will be $200 million in annual savings from changes to the supplemental coverage that we have put in place. We are taking action and it is working.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when Canadians know that nothing she is doing is working and half the people sitting beside her are saying the same thing out loud, it stops being opposition criticism and it starts being a pattern with the minister. She cannot handle the hard questions from across the aisle. She needs to get a grip on what is actually happening in her ministry.

The minister refused to answer a question yesterday. On Thursday, she has four hours at committee to make it right. Will she be there for the full four hours, or will we finally get somebody who is competent at their job?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know what that member does not understand. I have said yes. I will be there for the four hours. There is nothing magical about that. That is exactly why I am here.

Let me continue, though, about the Parliamentary Budget Officer. Let me remind people that claimants are not just service users. They are also taxpayers. The people she is talking about are real human beings. We give them work permits. In 2023, the budget officer confirmed, the amount that went into general revenue for this population equated the amounts that they were getting.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Riding Mountain, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I am really glad that the hon. member brought up the Parliamentary Budget Officer, because she just released a damning report revealing that nearly 74,000 rejected asylum claimants remain eligible for luxury health care benefits under the Liberals' interim federal health program. This includes rejected asylum claimants who are listed as wanted for failing to show up at their removal proceedings, yet under the Liberals, all of these claimants still qualify for luxury health benefits like physiotherapy, counselling and home care.

Why are the Liberals providing better health care to rejected asylum claimants than to hard-working Canadians?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Minister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the minister has just gone through and, this Thursday, will again be going through extensive questioning. She will be defending results that have achieved incredible results in one year of government. We have reduced the number of temporary Canadians. We have reduced the number of asylum seekers. We have saved money for Canadians.

The real question is why Conservatives are against providing health care to some of the most vulnerable people on this earth, including claimants from Ukrainian war zones?