Debates of May 5th, 2026

Finance

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Wow, Mr. Speaker. Canada's prosperity depends on the high-speed rail project and our young people will be the ones to benefit from it, but in the meantime, we have a problem. They are living in poverty and struggling to make ends meet. The fact of the matter is that Canadians are struggling because the cost of living is too high and the Liberals are continuing to impoverish law-abiding taxpayers.

Let us not be fooled. The deficit has risen exponentially on this Liberal Prime Minister's watch. Will he finally admit that these half measures on the fuel tax are not enough? Why is this Liberal Prime Minister more interested in protecting his tax revenue than in—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. Secretary of State for Children and Youth.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is true that just a week ago, in the spring economic update, we announced an investment of $6 billion to recruit, train and hire 100,000 skilled trades workers in Canada. That includes Quebec. We are building major projects. We are building Canada strong across the country. We will continue to provide career opportunities for young people for the future.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L’Érable—Lotbinière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when we say that it is all just an illusion, there is a glaring example of that.

When we go and talk to young people in our ridings, we do not see that enthusiasm, because right now, young people are still lining up at food banks. Young people are still unable to find housing because they have no money; they cannot make ends meet. All of that is because this costly Prime Minister, who is just another Liberal, has chosen to increase the debt by another $1 trillion since he was elected.

When will he stop spending money on the credit card?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Minister of Government Transformation]

Mr. Speaker, I am not exactly young anymore, but with all due respect, I am closer to being young than my colleague.

What young people are telling me is that they want good jobs and opportunities for the future. That is what we are doing with an economy that is the second strongest in the G7 and with job creation through major projects, such as the Port of Montreal's Contrecoeur expansion, the high-speed rail project that my colleague mentioned earlier, the container terminal project at the Port of Québec and the Nouveau Monde Graphite project. We are supporting those major projects through a workforce training program. Between 80,000 and 100,000 training spots will be offered to ensure that young people have good opportunities to build Canada.

[Jacob Mantle, Conservative, York—Durham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last week, Parliament's budget watchdog said the Liberals are engaging in a trade-off with the spring economic update. She called it potentially a spend now, pay later situation.

We have all seen this scheme: just five easy payments, $19.95, and someone can have the newest thing. They just put it on their credit card, and they pay for it later. It sounds like spend less, invest more is really just spend now, pay more later.

Can the Minister of Finance tell us how much Canadians will pay in the future for all the debt spending he is doing today?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Finance and National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, in fact, my colleague has a selective memory because the PBO actually confirmed that the government is on track to reduce the deficit. The PBO addressed the current fiscal policy as “sustainable” under the IMF framework.

We are building this country at a speed and scale not seen in a generation. We are supporting our young people. We are supporting our industry. The Conservatives should just stop complaining and build Canada strong with us.

[Jacob Mantle, Conservative, York—Durham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, these top-line numbers sound good, but just pull back the curtain and it is a bit of a different story. We can take the debt-to-GDP ratio. That does not include massive provincial debts, and on the asset side, it includes the CPP and the Quebec pension plan.

Is the Minister of Finance telling Canadians today that he will allow foreign creditors to raid the pension plan and shortchange retirees?

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

Mr. Speaker, despite that party's best efforts to mislead Canadians about the economy, the spring economic update indicated that our economy is strong. He talked about the PBO. Let us listen to the PBO: “The Canadian economy continues to demonstrate resilience, with most indicators better than anticipated in Budget 2025.”

Canadians have no time to listen to a leader who has never worked a day outside of this House. They have tuned him out.

Let us build Canada strong.

Indigenous Affairs

[Lori Idlout, Liberal, Nunavut, NU]

Uqaqtittiji, May 5 is Red Dress Day, a day to honour the memory of missing and murdered indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people and to reaffirm our commitment to ending this national crisis.

Could the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations please update the House on the work our government is doing to build a stronger, safer country for indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people?

[Rebecca Alty, Liberal, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations]

Mr. Speaker, ending the crisis is of utmost importance. We are strengthening protections through legislation to crack down on human trafficking and gender-based violence, and through critical investments in shelters, supportive housing and healing centres like the Deh Gáh Got’îê First Nation's shelter in the Northwest Territories or the Aqqusariaq recovery centre in Iqaluit, which is set to open soon.

We will continue to work in partnership with survivors, families and communities to address the root causes of this violence and build a safer country for all.

Taxation

[Carol Anstey, Conservative, Long Range Mountains, NL]

Mr. Speaker, despite the illusions with the Liberal Prime Minister, it is more cost, more carbon taxes and more of the same. He is just another Liberal who is completely out of touch. The Liberals tell us that gas prices are up to $1.83 only because world oil prices are at $100 a barrel. In 2014, under the Conservative government, oil was also $100 a barrel, yet gas was only $1.38. The Liberal government is the problem. Taxes pile up, the loonie drops and Canadians get gouged at the pump.

When will the Liberal Prime Minister stop the illusion, adopt our plan and scrap all gas taxes for all of the year so Canadians can afford to live again?

[Joanne Thompson, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, I want to remind the member opposite of the very good news from a week ago, almost $1 billion for small craft harbours. Let me also remind the member opposite that this is very important to her constituents, because they tell me how much it matters. I would advise the member to put down the notes she has been reading over and over, the same notes, and listen to her constituents. She will find that they support what we are doing on this side.

[Carol Anstey, Conservative, Long Range Mountains, NL]

Mr. Speaker, that simply does not answer the question. Families in Newfoundland and Labrador deserve better than her talking points. They know that the math does not add up. Oil prices are the same as they were a decade ago, but the price at the pump is skyrocketing because of a weak dollar and higher Liberal taxes. Our economy is struggling. Our dollar is devalued. Therefore, energy and food cost more. This is a made-in-Canada cost of living crisis fuelled by the Prime Minister.

Enough with the excuses and the illusions. When will they adopt our plan, remove all of the taxes on all of the gas for all of the year, unblock our oil and gas production—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. Minister of Fisheries.

[Joanne Thompson, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, I would advise the member opposite to read the spring economic update. In that update, she will find a list of supports that mean real support for Canadians, particularly in her riding: help for young people and apprentices, real dollars to help our young people get through programs, continued support for families and for seniors, and also continued support to help grow our rural communities. I would advise the member to read the document and to stop these nonsense notes.

Finance

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Airdrie—Cochrane, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister sold himself as a financial expert, but since taking office he has doubled the deficit and he is adding $1 trillion to the debt. Despite the illusions, it is more cost, more taxes, more debt, more on the national credit card and more of the same that we got from Justin Trudeau. Canadians are paying more for groceries, housing and everything in between.

When will the Liberal Prime Minister stop the credit card budgeting so that Canadians can afford to live?

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

Mr. Speaker, Conservatives say they speak for Alberta, but they are offside with Alberta's business community. Business Council of Alberta president Adam Legge said that our spring economic update will support skilled labour, advance the Major Projects Office, strengthen defence procurement and improve our financial position.

Alberta Conservatives should stop repeating their leader's Conservative talking points ad nauseam and start paying attention to the people of the province they were elected to represent.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Airdrie—Cochrane, AB]

Mr. Speaker, do you know what Albertans see as the problem with the Liberal government? Every promise of change has turned into another charge on the national credit card. Canadians are now paying more: more at the grocery store, more for housing and more in taxes, all to cover for reckless Liberal overspending.

When will the Liberal Prime Minister get serious and end his costly credit card budgeting so that Canadians can afford to live?

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

Mr. Speaker, my fellow Edmontonians on the Conservative benches should listen to the people they represent. Edmonton Chamber of Commerce president Doug Griffiths said, about the spring economic update, that he was “excited to see that—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

I could not hear the hon. minister.

The hon. minister can start at the beginning.

[Eleanor Olszewski, Liberal, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, my fellow Conservatives should listen to the people they represent. Edmonton Chamber of Commerce president Doug Griffiths said he was “excited to see that the federal government is taking a bullish stance on Canadian projects, and signalling confidence in Canada's economic potential to the rest of the world.” I hope Conservative MPs remove their partisan blinders and support our plan.

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora—Kiiwetinoong, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are on track to add $1 trillion to the national debt. This is the cost of a decade of Liberal credit card budgeting. Now the Liberal Prime Minister, despite his illusions, has added more taxes, more costs and more debt, more of the same. He is just another Liberal. As a result, they are going to be paying more on interest payments this year than on health care.

Will the Liberal Prime Minister finally get serious and cancel his credit card budgeting so that Canadians can afford to live?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is disappointing to hear a northern Ontario member of Parliament run down the very things that he himself knows northern Ontario leaders and workers have been advocating for, for years, such as investment in infrastructure, investment in major projects, investment in mining and investment in the kinds of things that create great-paying jobs, and on top of it, they are endorsed by people who are training skilled trades workers across the country, like Canada's Building Trades Unions, the IBEW and the colleges in his own riding, which are excited and enthusiastic about building those very well-paying jobs with Canadians. I am disappointed in his advocacy, or lack thereof.