Debates of May 26th, 2026

Justice

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

Mr. Speaker, respecting democracy means not only avoiding interfering in referendum questions, but also avoiding interfering in the people's answer. A clear majority is 50% of the votes plus one. As the Prime Minister knows, all his laws are passed with a majority of 50% plus one. His own majority is 50% plus one. Even his own parliamentary secretary for justice said that the rule is 50% plus one. That is democracy, except for referendums apparently, because of the Clarity Act.

Will the Prime Minister stop this drift away from democracy?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we need to respect democracy, we need to respect the laws of Parliament and the decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Under the Clarity Act, the House of Commons must consider the following factors to establish the definition of a clear vote: “the size of the majority of valid votes cast in favour of the secessionist option [and] the percentage of eligible voters voting in the referendum”.

It is not 50% plus one.

[Rhéal Fortin, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there is no place in a democracy for a law that does not respect the will of the people as expressed by a majority of 50% plus one vote. There is no place in a democracy for a law that overturns the will of the people by claiming, after the fact, that the question or the result was not clear enough. There is no place in a democracy for a law that flouts the rules of the ballot box when the outcome is not what the government wanted. We must steer clear of this slippery slope to authoritarianism.

Will the Prime Minister finally make up his mind and repeal the undemocratic Clarity Act?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we obey the laws of Canada. The Clarity Act is clear, but we respect the will of Quebeckers, which is to build a strong and resilient Quebec within a strong, resilient and independent Canada.

The Economy

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is fond of blaming the rest of the world for the terrible economy he has created here at home, but the other G7 countries face tariffs and high oil prices, and none of them have anywhere near the level of household debt here in Canada. By far, Canadian households, with $1.77 of debt for every dollar of income, are far more indebted than any other country: in fact, a third higher than the second-worst. I quote Equifax: “[The] missed payment level highlights severe financial strain in high-priced markets, with mortgage delinquencies [up] 52 per cent in Ontario and 36 per cent in [B.C.]”.

If people are doing so well under his leadership, why are they missing their mortgage payments?

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

Mr. Speaker, while that leader is focused on podcasts, fitness videos and empty-parking-lot press conferences, on this side of the House we are focused on delivering affordability for Canadians. We just paused the federal excise tax on gas, 10¢ a litre. We cancelled the consumer carbon tax, which is 18¢ a litre. Combined, that is 28¢ a litre in savings for Canadians.

It is time for that leader to put down the kettlebells and help us build Canada strong.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, come on, the Prime Minister could have done better than that. If he is going to hide under his desk and get someone else to speak in his favour, he has to get something better than that. That was about as good as his economic policies.

He owes Canadians answers. The reality is that we have the highest household debt of any G7 country, by far, and we have seen that in the first quarter of this year, there has been a 19% increase in year-over-year delinquencies. Canadians cannot make their minimum payments.

Instead of smirking and hiding behind his back bench, will the Prime Minister stand up and announce he will reverse course so Canadians can pay their bills?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, this afternoon I had lunch with Sean Strickland from Canada's Building—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

I did not hear who the minister had lunch with, because there was too much noise on this side.

The hon. Minister of Jobs and Families can start from the top.

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, since those guys do not know how to pick up a cheque, in fact, I paid for lunch and I took Sean Strickland, president of Canada's Building Trades Unions, out for lunch because we want to hear their ideas about how we make sure that these good, union jobs, which, by the way, employers need all across the country, come to fruition.

Canada's Building Trades Unions' operating engineers, who are here in Ottawa today, are all so excited about the plan to build Canada strong and get major projects off the ground using good union labour that provides great-paying jobs, something that I know they are going to—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are skipping lunch because they cannot afford to pay their bills, while this Prime Minister and the Brookfield class skip their tax bills.

Meanwhile, here at home, here is the reality. Equifax is out this week with a new report. This is the organization that checks the credit scores of individual Canadians. It says, “insolvency volumes have increased to levels not seen since 2009”, 18 years ago.

Will the Prime Minister announce that he will reverse the inflationary, debt-ridden policies so that Canadians do not go bankrupt?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, last week I was in Marathon, Ontario, to talk about mining. There is a mining boom in northern Ontario, something I think these guys are not aware of. Do members know what came up over and over again? It was gratitude for a government that is taking seriously the investment into natural resource extraction in northern Ontario, that is helping provinces in the country get natural resource projects off the ground, and that is taking seriously the need to invest in the skilled trades workers, who, by the way, create the great jobs with pensions in hard-working environments, which is something I think that member does not really understand.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, 3.1 million Canadians will renew their mortgages over the next two years into much higher rates after this Liberal government, in particular this Liberal Prime Minister, advised people to take on extra debt with the promise that rates would be low for long. Now, the chickens are coming home to roost, with rate increases that threaten more and more people with the loss of their homes. In the first three months of this year, 1.5 million Canadians missed a payment on a credit card or a mortgage.

Will the Prime Minister announce that he is reversing the inflationary high-tax policies so Canadians keep their homes?

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

Mr. Speaker, instead of the Leader of the Opposition lifting kettlebells, maybe he should come to Kitimat and see where we are building new LNG facilities. Maybe he should come to Dease Lake, where we are building the biggest mines in the world. Maybe he should come to Darlington, where we are building new nuclear reactors. Maybe he should come to Nova Scotia, where we are building new projects. Maybe, instead of talking down Canada, he should start coming to see how we are building Canada.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, he is bringing down Canada. It does not help the Canadians who cannot pay their bills for that minister to get up and take credit for projects that were approved 14 years ago, nor does it help when the Prime Minister of Canada refuses to even stand on his feet and defend his disastrous economic record at a time when our households are by far the most indebted anywhere in the G7 because the Liberals block projects, because they have raised taxes and because they have caused inflation and the highest housing costs in the entire group of seven nations.

Will the Prime Minister reverse these inflationary policies before Canadians lose their homes?

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

Mr. Speaker, we know why this member asks all the questions. It is to save him writing the questions out for all the other members of the bench who do not get to ask the questions. While we are asking questions, when is that member going to answer why he would refuse saving Canadians thousands of dollars on child care? When is he going to justify his opposition to reducing taxes for Canadians? When is he going to justify his opposition to creating the Canada child benefit? All of these things save Canadians thousands of dollars. Why is he against them?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the reason I am asking a few extra questions is that the Prime Minister only shows up once a week, and he will not get out of his chair and answer them.

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

I would ask the opposition leader to be careful of that. We are getting very close to the edge there.

The member may continue.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I know the Prime Minister is very fragile. He is not used to taking any difficult questions, but the reality is that Canadians cannot pay their bills. In the first year in office, he has driven up household delinquencies by 18%. He has given Canadians the worst household debt in the G7. Delinquencies have climbed by 32% year over year, and in Q1 we saw a 17-year high due to financial strains in Canadian household finances. Will the Prime Minister get off the backs of Canadians so they can pay their bills?

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

Mr. Speaker, in the first year of this Prime Minister's tenure, we have the number one leading economy in the G7 for foreign investment. In this Prime Minister's first year, we have approved major projects. We have approved mines. We have approved building. We are training young Canadians, and we are building this country brick by brick. The blame Canada brigade can sit down and take a seat.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, we have the number one economy in terms of debt for households, the number one economy in the cost of housing and the number one economy in the cost of food inflation. Those are the only metrics on which this government is leading. We are number two when it comes to unemployment, with the unemployment rate being a third higher than in the United States. Now we see the delinquencies and the missed payments leading to a potential bankruptcy crisis, while the Prime Minister sits and hides behind his back bench. Will he stand up, own up, take responsibility and announce the reversal of policies so Canadians can pay their bills?

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

Mr. Speaker, let us do a comparison. On this side, we have a world-class statesman and a world-class business and economic leader. On that side, they have empty-parking-lot press conferences with slogans, gimmicks and props.

On this side of the House, we are going to build the strongest economy in the G7 and the most resilient economy in the G7. We are cutting taxes. We are investing in Canada.

It is time for the member to stop the fitness videos and help us build Canada strong.

The Environment

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, CTV News reported that the member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie is considering leaving the Liberals this week, and the Minister of Industry is giving him a reason to do so. She is defending the Liberal's shift to oil by saying that we are in a global energy crisis that is affecting gas prices.

First, a new pipeline ten years from now will have no impact on the price of gas today. Second, does she realize that she is confirming what the member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie has been clearly saying, that the Liberals are abandoning the environment to sell more oil?