Debates of May 28th, 2026

The Economy

[Maninder Sidhu, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, our international efforts are about bringing results home for workers here in Canada. I will talk about our trip to China in January and the $7 billion dollars of agriculture access to China for our farmers across the country. That is more access for our canola growers, our beef farmers and our seafood sector. Collectively that is over 500,000 jobs being supported for workers and farmers across the country.

That is not all. Recently we met with Malaysia's AirAsia CEO. That brought a deal worth $15 billion, which will result in 30,000 jobs across the country.

All our international efforts are about bringing jobs home for Canadians.

[Warren Steinley, Conservative, Regina—Lewvan, SK]

Mr. Speaker, what an out-of-touch answer that was. How arrogant can the Liberals get? Seriously, the topic on Tuesday on the most listened-to radio show in Saskatchewan was whether it is okay to steal food from grocery stores. Is stealing and microlooting okay in the breadbasket of Canada? After one year of the Liberal Prime Minister, Canadians are struggling so much that they need to steal food to feed their family.

The Prime Minister did tell young people that they would have to make sacrifices. Was becoming a criminal to feed their family one of those sacrifices?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that the member stands up to vote against the very things that would help members in his province. For example, parents are now paying $10 a day for child care, saving up to $6,900 per child per year through early learning and child care. The member has voted against the spring economic update, through which young people, apprentices, are going to get income top-ups as they take their training and become Red Seal tradespeople. He has voted against Canada summer jobs. He has voted against food programs. He has voted against indexed benefits.

What would the member vote for? That is what his constituents are wondering.

The Environment

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Liberal member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie announced that he is leaving politics. He is leaving politics because he had little to no influence on the Prime Minister's pro-oil decisions. He pointed out that, during the last election, the Liberal platform mentioned “climate change” 28 times but did not mention “pipeline” once. Voters were outrageously deceived. As the member himself said, “I can tell you that I'm not the only one who's uncomfortable with what's happening”.

I wonder, where are the others and why are they hiding?

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I also want to ask the Bloc member a question. It was the leader of the Bloc Québécois who did an about-face when he supported oil drilling and fracking on Anticosti Island, and perhaps the entire party felt the same. Has the Bloc Québécois changed its views? Its leader supported that.

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the reality is that 60 Liberal members formed an environmental caucus. Now that the new pipeline has been announced and the member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie has resigned, they are nowhere to be found. One of the caucus co-chairs even said that the mandate of the environmental caucus is not to promote environmental issues. We could not make this stuff up. Just think: Their aim is not to promote environmental causes, but simply to bring members together for some good conversations. Wow.

This reminds me of the old hot stove league. Is that why they are defending policies—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. minister.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I would love to introduce my colleague to the members of the Liberal environmental caucus who are fighting climate change, as are all 173 members on this side of the House. Our government will continue to fight climate change. We will continue to protect the environment. Our government remains committed to that.

Finance

[Jason Groleau, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister cost Canadians $195,000 in gourmet meals on three flights alone. Life is good for the Prime Minister. It makes no difference to him since he is not the one paying. Meanwhile, 34% of Canadian workers have to go into debt just to eat properly.

Will the Prime Minister stop adding luxury meals, paid for by Canadians, to his inflationary deficits?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Minister of Government Transformation]

Mr. Speaker, over the past year, we have seen something unprecedented: Canada has signed 20 trade and security agreements around the world and 56 critical mineral agreements. We are breaking records when it comes to foreign direct investment in Canada. A recent example of this is the order for 150 Airbus aircraft to be built in Quebec.

This is the result of the work the Prime Minister and ministers are doing abroad. They are bringing good jobs and good investment back here to Canada. I think this is exactly what the people of Beauce and Quebec are expecting.

[Jason Groleau, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I'm sure our Prime Minister has never heard of our local wine, Harfang des Neiges. Why does the Prime Minister need a luxury meal for his official trips? This is taxpayers' money spent on $195,000 worth of food for just three flights. Imagine that, folks. Is a little chicken or a nice lasagna not good enough for the Prime Minister?

When will the Liberal Prime Minister stop breaking the bank at the expense of the people of Beauce?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Minister of Government Transformation]

Mr. Speaker, what is fascinating when I hear my colleague's question is that he would break the bank for the people of Beauce by depriving over 30,000 of his constituents of the Canadian dental care plan. He would deprive thousands more families of over $80 million per year from the Canada child benefit, and the list goes on.

When it comes to lowering the cost of living for Quebeckers and the people of Beauce, we will not take any lessons from this member.

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

Mr. Speaker, while 2.2 million Canadians have been lining up at food banks in just one month, our Prime Minister has spent more than $520,000 on inflight meals provided by luxury caterers.

This year, 22% of Canadians have lost weight because they cannot afford enough to eat. Meanwhile, 40,000 feet up in the air, our Prime Minister is being served beef tenderloin with bordelaise sauce, veal cutlets, Scottish salmon, crème brûlée, and fine wines.

When the Liberals tell Canadians they have to make sacrifices, do the Prime Minister and his inner circle consider themselves Canadians, or do they think they are above that?

[Caroline Desrochers, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives think that if they repeat their message day after day, Canadians will eventually believe that they truly care about affordability. On this side of the House, we are working on real measures to tackle the affordability issue.

We have eliminated the gas tax. We have introduced the Canada groceries and essentials benefit and the Canada national school food program. We are accelerating the construction of affordable housing. We are protecting jobs in the industries most affected by tariffs. We are promoting training programs.

The Conservatives voted against all those measures. No one believes that the Conservatives are there to help the most vulnerable. Let us be serious.

They should get to work.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to investing in agriculture, the Liberal government turns a blind eye. When it comes to investing in research centres dedicated to agriculture, not only does it turn a blind eye, but it turns away entirely. The future of Canadian agriculture is now preparing for the next generation. The closure of seven research centres in Canada reduces our ability to innovate and prepare for the future of agriculture.

The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food needs to show leadership.

Will he reverse his decision before it is too late?

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

Mr. Speaker, from the very beginning, I made it clear that we would work with the provinces, the territories, academia and the private sector to ensure that we have strong, effective research centres across this country. We have 17 of them across the country. We have been doing research for 140 years, and we are going to continue. We have been working with Laval. We have been working with the University of Saskatchewan. We have been working with the University of Alberta. We have been working with the governments in those provinces.

We are going to continue to build research in this country because it is needed, but we are going to do research for industry, not for the opposition.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, agriculture is just a drop in the bucket for the Liberals, who are spending $6.6 billion on the Cúram program, $19 billion on consultants, and $100 billion on a high-speed train that will ruin entire farming communities in Quebec and Ontario.

Saving $23 million a year by closing seven research centres in Canada is completely unacceptable. This decision is a direct attack on our country's food security. It is not too late to fix this mistake.

Why do the Liberals historically always let Canada's agricultural communities down?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is always said that politics is a bit of theatre, but that was pretty good, I must admit.

Let me say this. We are going to continue to build the agriculture community in this country. We know how important it is. There are going to be good-news announcements coming up very shortly in reference to research.

We are working extremely hard. We are granting an exemption for the use of strychnine in Alberta and the Prairies. We are moving to change the mandates of the CFIA and the PMRA. We are adding pasture rentals to AgriStability, enhancements to the APP and new funding for AgriMarketing, and we are introducing the productivity superdeduction.

We are just getting started.

Steel and Aluminum Industry

[Terry Sheehan, Liberal, Sault Ste. Marie—Algoma, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the American tariffs on steel are completely unjustified and illegal. The House knows that. They are affecting my community of Sault Ste. Marie and the surrounding area. They are making people anxious and creating very difficult decisions for people to make right now.

Recently, the Minister of Industry was in the Soo to make a very important announcement on how she would have the backs of workers and of the industry. Can she update us on her plan to support the workers and the industry and to make a major milestone investment at Tenaris?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank our fantastic MP for Sault Ste. Marie—Algoma for his hard work.

I know that the community and the town have been going through really tough times because of the unjustified and illegal American tariffs against our steelworkers, but there is good news. Notwithstanding U.S. protectionism, our plan is working, because in Sault Ste. Marie last Friday, we were able to announce 200 new jobs, a $76-million investment by the federal government, and Tenaris' own investment.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Riding Mountain, MB]

Mr. Speaker, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, 74,000 rejected asylum claimants remain eligible for luxury health benefits like physiotherapy and counselling under the Liberals.

One of those rejected asylum claimants was Fawad Ahmad. After leaving Afghanistan, he went to the United States, where he choked his wife and threatened to choke her again if she called the police. He then entered Canada and claimed asylum, but was rejected.

Can the health minister explain why rejected asylum claimants who choke their wives get better health benefits than law-abiding Canadians?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said the last number of days, the Parliamentary Budget Officer confirmed what we already know and that is this health program provides limited, temporary, essential health coverage for vulnerable people. The cost is tied to volumes.

The good news is our volumes have gone down by 59%. Taxpayers will save over $200 million annually because of the IFHP changes that we have instituted.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Riding Mountain, MB]

Mr. Speaker, maybe the Liberals need a taxpayer-funded counselling session to understand why Canadians are furious.

After leaving Afghanistan, Fawad Ahmad went to the United States where he choked his wife and threatened to choke her again. He later entered Canada and claimed asylum, but was rejected. Yet the Liberals kept him eligible for taxpayer-funded luxury health benefits like physiotherapy and counselling.

Will the health minister finally admit this is wrong, or does she believe rejected asylum claimants deserve better health benefits than Canadians paying the bill?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, what Canadians need to know is that, because of a Liberal budget and because of a Liberal bill, Bill C-12, and as confirmed by the Parliamentary Budget Officer, there will be $400 million in savings, $200 million plus another $200 million, in the interim health care coverage, because asylum numbers have gone down and because we brought forth Bill C-12 to curb exactly those situations.

[Burton Bailey, Conservative, Red Deer, AB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the minister confirmed she has no clue where nearly 30,000 rejected asylum claimants with active deportation orders are. These people are wanted by the government and are hiding from authorities, therefore they are breaking the law. Yet all of them are still entitled to better health care than Canadians.

It is more costs, more waste, more corruption and more of the same. This Prime Minister is just another costly Liberal. Why does this Liberal government continue to let thousands of fake refugee fugitives freeload luxury health coverage on the backs of struggling families?