Debates of May 6th, 2026

Finance

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

Mr. Speaker, it has been several days, if not weeks, since we asked the Conservatives to table a list of programs they would like to cut, things that they label “inflationary spending”. The possibilities are old age security, the Canada child benefit, the school food program, support to our workers, building the country, building major projects and building it strong. Which of these things are inflationary spending in the eyes of the Conservative Party?

Health

[Andrew Lawton, Conservative, Elgin—St. Thomas—London South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, once again the Prime Minister is padding the pockets of consultants, insiders and elites while Canadians pay the price for his costly credit card budget. The Liberals blew $300 million on PrescribeIT with nothing to show for it. They said they were going to axe the fax, but instead they just embraced the waste. Now we learn that the health minister paid the Liberal-appointed head of the program $900,000 per year. No wonder they shut down a committee investigation into it.

When will the Prime Minister cut the waste, cut the corruption and look out for ordinary Canadians for a change?

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

Mr. Speaker, we have a new winner: most empty slogans in one single question, which was just won by the member across.

The thing the Conservatives could deliver, the thing I think Canadians would appreciate, the thing that would add to the substance of this debate, is whether he will cut the empty slogans and table that list of things that they think are inflationary spending and that they would cut and deprive Canadians of.

Aerospace Industry

[Andrew Lawton, Conservative, Elgin—St. Thomas—London South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we also have a new record: the most hot air from a transport minister.

The Liberals rejected Conservative calls to axe all federal taxes on fuel and save Canadians 25¢ a litre at the pumps. Let us look at what the Liberals do have money for: $200 million for a gravel pit, or, sorry, a launch pad, when the only thing the Liberals are sending into the stratosphere is the national debt.

When will the Prime Minister let real Canadians get ahead instead of just Liberal cronies?

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about facts.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

We will listen to the Minister of National Defence.

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, establishing Canadian sovereign space launch capabilities is going to drive billions of dollars in investments. It is going to create good-paying jobs. It is going to increase Canada's sovereignty. It is going to reduce our economy's reliance on the United States. It is going to support a commercial space launch and re-entry industry that could be worth up to $40 billion. This is what we are investing in.

What I hear on the other side is what I heard from Harper, slash and burn.

Finance

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, while Quebeckers are cutting back on their groceries to make ends meet, we found out that the Prime Minister spent a cool $524,000 on food aboard his plane.

How can the Prime Minister still look Canadians in the eye and talk to them about inflation when he spends the equivalent of several years of a family's wages on a single flight, while adding to their grocery bills with his fuel tax?

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

Mr. Speaker, speaking of airplanes, the Prime Minister is in Mirabel this afternoon to announce the largest order in our country's history for airplanes designed, built and delivered by Canada. This is excellent news for Quebec. It is excellent news for the workers in Mirabel. It is a strong vote of confidence in the strength and vitality of the Canadian economy.

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the truth is that the Liberal government is collecting record taxes on gas and profiting from oil revenues. However, rather than easing the pressure on Canadians' wallets, that money seems to be disappearing into the pockets of Liberal insiders.

When will the Prime Minister stop treating the national budget like a credit card with no limit?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Minister of Government Transformation]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague talked about easing the pressure on Canadians' wallets. The first thing that we did when we took office was to cut taxes for 22 million Canadians. There is also the Canada groceries and essentials benefit, which is soon coming into effect. The first payments will be issued on June 5. That will mean up to $1,800 for 12 million of the most vulnerable Canadians in the country. We are not stopping there. There is also the Canadian dental care plan, the Canada child benefit and the 10¢-a-litre break on gas prices.

My colleague talked about the Prime Minister's travels. Canada has signed 20 trade and security agreements on four continents. These are contracts in Canada. There was a trade surplus in March. As my colleague was saying, this is also the biggest contract in the history of Airbus in Canada.

Small Business

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

Mr. Speaker, a month ago today, Donald Trump made utterly indefensible changes to his tariffs. Desjardins has shown that Quebeckers are the ones paying the price. Quebec is being hit twice as hard as the rest of the country.

A quarter of our manufactured goods are now affected. The employers of 170,000 Quebeckers have been targeted since April 6. That is why Quebeckers need a wage subsidy, to protect jobs and offer businesses some relief.

We have been asking for this for a month now. When is the government going to take action?

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

Mr. Speaker, we just announced one-time assistance. It consists of cashflow support for manufacturers and SMEs affected by the U.S. administration's unfair and unjustified tariffs.

Today, we have good news. As I just mentioned, the Prime Minister is in Mirabel right now to announce the largest aircraft order in Canadian history. The aircraft is one designed and built here in Canada by Canadians. We are extremely proud of that. That is going to help Quebec's economy.

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

Mr. Speaker, no one is going to refuse the support, but it is poorly targeted. To quote the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec, “For businesses whose survival is currently in jeopardy, this is not enough.”

When support measures leave the most vulnerable businesses behind, I would not call that a success. That is a failure. As Desjardins has shown, the businesses most at risk are disproportionately those in Quebec. Quebeckers are the ones at risk.

When will a wage subsidy be introduced to protect them?

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

Mr. Speaker, a one-time boost of $1.5 billion is not insignificant. It also comes on top of the one-time assistance we have provided to the forestry industry and other industries in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada.

I would be remiss if I did not draw attention to the Bloc Québécois's silence in response to the aircraft order. The first thing they should have done today was rise in the House and congratulate this government and Airbus on that order. The second thing they should be doing is support Alto, which will help industries and SMEs across Quebec.

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette—Manawan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the SMEs at risk of closing because of the tariffs do not need more loans. They need wage subsidies and direct support, without incurring debt. We do not want to be the bearer of bad news, but the crisis is far from over. Businesses are currently surviving thanks to contracts signed before the new tariffs took effect. Under the new tariffs, they are no longer competitive, and there will be no new contracts. The current crisis has not peaked. It is just the beginning, and the federal government must act now.

Will the government improve its support measures to protect small businesses, please?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Minister of Government Transformation]

Mr. Speaker, we will always be there to support the workers and businesses affected by the U.S. administration's illegal and illegitimate tariffs. We have been there from the beginning and we have stepped up our efforts even more recently with the $1.5 billion that was announced by the Minister of Industry on top of the $5 billion that had already been announced, specifically to help our businesses and our small and medium-sized enterprises affected by tariffs. We will always stand by the workers.

Finance

[Branden Leslie, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians were told the Prime Minister was a financial mastermind, but it turns out he is just more of the same. He is simply Justin Trudeau with a better LinkedIn account. He found the government credit card and treated it like a hotel mini-bar, grabbing whatever he wanted and sticking Canadians with the bill. The Prime Minister acts like the government can spend endlessly without consequence, but it is clear that families are paying the price through higher taxes, higher inflation, higher interest costs and higher prices for gas, groceries and housing.

When will the Liberal Prime Minister stop running up the tab so Canadians can afford to live again?

[Rebecca Chartrand, Liberal, Minister of Northern and Arctic Affairs and Minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians sent the new Liberal government here to get things done, and that is what we are doing. The Manitobans I am talking to want to talk about affordable child care; grocery rebates; automatic tax filings, which remove barriers for northern remote communities; cutting taxes at the pump; and creating a national school food program, so children do not go hungry. The member opposite needs to stop misinforming Canadians and recognize what we are actually doing.

[Branden Leslie, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I wish the minister would come to my riding to talk to the people who are sick and tired of the government overreaching and spending more money than it has year over year. The reality is that the Prime Minister is just the same, except he is a sequel. We all know what sequels are; they are worse than the first.

This year, Canadians will spend over $58 billion just to pay interest on our national debt. That is more than the GST brings in and more than the federal government transfers to provinces to deliver health care.

When will the Liberal Prime Minister stop making excuses for higher bills, stop the government bloat and stop driving up the cost of living for Canadians?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is extremely important to talk about what we do invest in, and farmers are what we are investing in. We have invested more than $1.5 million toward initiatives that will help farmers and processors. We have the productivity superdeduction to boost productivity and encourage innovation. We also recently announced $27 million for the youth employment and skills program. These are important programs that are going to help our farmers, producers and ranchers across the country, and we will continue to support them.

Taxation

[Rhonda Kirkland, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister of illusions delivers more of the same, including more costs and more carbon taxes, because he is just another Liberal. Last week in Oshawa, gas hit 189.9¢. Before these Liberal illusionists start blaming global factors yet again, let us be clear that, under the Conservatives 12 years ago, when world oil prices were the same, gas in Oshawa was almost 50¢ cheaper. This is a Liberal legacy.

When will the Prime Minister stop delivering illusions and instead adopt our plan to reduce all the gas tax for the entire year?

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance and National Revenue and to the Secretary of State (Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps I should say that, if we are focused on illusions, the Conservatives are delusional. I am thinking of a group therapist I could refer to them.

While Conservatives wail and scream in the House every day and claim to care about affordability, our government is taking tangible measures and steps toward cutting taxes and alleviating the cost of living pressures on Canadians. We have suspended the excise tax on fuel, cut the consumer carbon tax, cut the income tax for 22 million Canadians, capped the excise tax on alcohol, cut taxes for mineral and critical mineral exploration, cut taxes for businesses to invest in—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. member for Oshawa.