House of Commons Hansard #133 of the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was elections.
This summary is computer-generated. Usually it’s accurate, but every now and then it’ll contain inaccuracies or total fabrications.
Bail and Sentencing Reform Act Members debate the Senate’s amendments to Bill C-14, which targets bail and sentencing reform. Liberals propose adopting specific changes while rejecting others as redundant. Conservatives, including Larry Brock, criticize the government for relaxing surety restrictions. The legislation seeks to enhance public safety and further address repeat violent offenders while maintaining judicial discretion and Charter protections. 4200 words, 25 minutes.
Food and Drugs Act Second reading of Bill C-265. The bill creates a pre-approved list of therapeutic products to streamline special access. Supporters argue it reduces administrative burdens. While cross-party support exists for the objective, the Conservatives seek amendments to ensure safety and prevent drug diversion, while the Bloc emphasizes provincial jurisdiction. The House has referred the proposal for committee review. 7700 words, 1 hour.
Protecting Victims Act Third reading of Bill C-16. The bill strengthens protections against gender-based violence, targeting coercive control and femicide. Conservatives criticize clause 63, fearing it allows judges to bypass mandatory minimums. While supporters emphasize victim support and modern updates, the debate focuses on whether the legislation's judicial discretion creates an inappropriate "get-out-of-jail" card for serious offenders. 8200 words, 2 hours.
Strong and Free Elections Act Report stage of Bill C-25. The bill, titled the strong and free elections act, amends the Canada Elections Act to address foreign interference, disinformation, and AI risks. Government members argue these updates strengthen democratic integrity, while Conservative MPs critique the bill for allegedly failing to close loopholes regarding foreign financing, while also questioning its effectiveness in preventing interference during nomination contests. 3400 words, 1 hour.
Strong and Free Elections Act Third reading of Bill C-25. The bill amends the Canada Elections Act to address ballot flooding and foreign interference. While the government moves to impose time allocation, the Bloc Québécois criticizes the quashing of debate. Conservatives generally support the provisions aimed at election integrity but argue further amendments are necessary to close remaining loopholes regarding foreign funding for third parties. 4200 words, 35 minutes.
Adjournment Debate - Employment Garnett Genuis criticizes the government for ignoring youth unemployment, proposing a plan to unleash the economy, fix immigration, invest in vocational training, and increase housing availability. Jennifer McKelvie defends the government's approach, citing existing investments in summer jobs, skills strategies, and new initiatives for recruiting skilled trade workers. 1300 words.
François-Philippe Champagne LiberalMinister of Finance and National Revenue
Mr. Speaker, I know it is Wednesday and the Leader of the Opposition is looking for good news. Let me help him. For Germany, it is 1.1%; Italy, 0.6%; Japan, 0.8%; and the United Kingdom, 1.1%. For Canada, it is 1.7%. That is the growth projection for 2027. This is what the OECD said just recently.
On this side of the House, we are going to fight for Canadians, because every day is a good day to fight for Canadians.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, these are more illusions from the other side of the House of Commons.
Canada is the only economy in the G7 that has shrunk over the last two quarters and over three out of the last four quarters, the only economy smaller today than a year ago. Today the Governor of the Bank of Canada described the Prime Minister's economy as “weak” nine times. That translates into seniors who are forced to lose their home and live in a parking lot, according to a story by CTV.
Will the Prime Minister stand up now and announce that he will reverse the Liberal policies that caused the mess?
Tim Hodgson LiberalMinister of Energy and Natural Resources
Mr. Speaker, while the Leader of the Opposition chooses to cherry-pick points, what we know is that the head of the Bank of Canada said that our economy continues to show real resilience in the face of illegal and unjust tariffs and in the face of two economy-destroying wars.
Canadians want us to focus on building. That is why we are building transmission. That is why we are building new hydro. That is why we are building new LNG. That is why we are building new nuclear.
Maybe the Leader of the Opposition should get out of the clouds and start helping us build.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is hiding in the clouds and refusing to answer questions about the recession that he created here in Canada. The only thing he has been building is the sole recession in all the G20. There are 20 industrialized nations in that group; 19 of them are not in recession, and one of them is in recession.
That translates into stories from the United Way, where 40% of Canadians are losing sleep because they worry they cannot pay their bills, and 60% have anxiety over their financial situation. Will the Prime Minister finally take responsibility and answer to them?
Mélanie Joly LiberalMinister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is a serious man who knows business and understands the economy. Right now he is working with all the first ministers, basically all the premiers of our provinces and territories, to make sure that we are dealing with the impacts of the trade war, which is never alluded to by the Leader of the Opposition.
Notwithstanding this trade war, last month we were able to create 88,000 jobs across the country, particularly for young people and for women. Not only that, but we are also going through a trade surplus, the highest since January 2025, which was before the trade war.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, the question was for the Prime Minister, and we do not need more excuses about the rest of the world. The other G20 countries face tariffs from the United States. None of them are in recession. Mexico is right next door to the United States and more integrated with the American economy than Canada is, and it is not in recession. Only this Prime Minister has delivered a recession.
We have solutions. Will the Prime Minister accept our ideas of eliminating the industrial carbon tax, getting rid of the newly renamed consumer carbon tax, having no tax on gas for the rest of the year and no tax on capital gains reinvested to grow our economy? We have positive solutions to reverse his recession. Will he stand up and accept them now?
David McGuinty LiberalMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, what is weak is the narrative. The Leader of the Opposition knows that his handful of tax changes are not going to contend with the economic challenges we are facing in the United States. They are not going to contend with the Ukrainian war. They are not going to contend with the gulf war.
The Leader of the Opposition cherry-picks all the time. He does not talk about us being up 88,000 jobs last month. He does not talk about unemployment being down. He does not talk about foreign direct investment being the highest in 20 years. He does not talk about cutting taxes. He does not talk about our increased capital gains eligibility. In fact, what is interesting is that there is no plan coming from that side—
Christine Normandin Bloc Saint-Jean, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister keeps granting concession after concession to Donald Trump. By July, the PM had already scrapped the digital services tax on U.S. tech giants. In August, he dropped Canada's retaliatory tariffs. This week, he cancelled the levy on American online broadcasters, and he did all of this without getting anything in return.
The Prime Minister met with Quebec and the provinces today, and rumour has it that he brought up their boycott of American alcohol. Did the Prime Minister ask them to follow his lead and grant further concessions?
Steven MacKinnon LiberalMinister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, obviously, the government is more than ready to enter into trade negotiations, but why are the Bloc Québécois members asking these questions? It is because they had a very bad day yesterday after their fierce opposition to the high-speed rail project. The mayors of Quebec's big cities have denounced the Bloc's position. Even Le Journal de Montréal has criticized their position, saying they have shot themselves in the foot.
I can confirm that they have indeed shot themselves in the foot.
Christine Normandin Bloc Saint-Jean, QC
Mr. Speaker, for CUSMA, the Prime Minister's concessions to the Americans go even further. Through Bill C-5, he has granted himself the power to suspend laws in order to build new pipelines. The big winners are the shareholders of oil companies, 60% of whom are American. Under Bill C-30, he is granting himself the power to re-approve banned pesticides. The big winner is Bayer, which sells Monsanto's American seeds and pesticides.
The Prime Minister is concentrating power in his own hands, but it is the Americans who are benefiting from it. Is that really his definition of Canada strong?
Steven MacKinnon LiberalMinister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, I will provide the definition of Canada strong. It is a Canada that knows how to achieve great things, that knows how to build projects using Quebec and Canadian labour, Canadian materials, Canadian steel and Canadian aluminum. It is a society that knows how to dream, that takes charge of its own future, and that creates opportunities for its young people.
That is what it means to build Canada strong. Unfortunately, the Bloc Québécois knows nothing about this, has never made decisions on this, and is not involved in this.
Martin Champoux Bloc Drummond, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals love to dream big, but when it comes to taking action, it is a whole different story. French-language culture is the main victim of the Prime Minister's capitulations.
Scrapping the digital services tax means a loss of $1.4 billion per year, and waiving the levies on streaming platforms means that billions more will be left on the table. More importantly, this means abandoning a permanent solution to cultural issues and replacing it with temporary public funding that is subject to the whims of Canadian governments. Ottawa is permanently abandoning a decade-long fight to make web giants contribute.
When he was appointed, did the minister know that he was being mandated to destroy our culture?
Canadian Identity and CultureOral Questions
Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs Québec
Liberal
Marc Miller LiberalMinister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages
Mr. Speaker, while the Bloc Québécois spends its fourth decade here in Ottawa getting absolutely nothing done, we are taking action. In the most recent budget, we invested $750 million in the National Film Board of Canada, CBC/Radio-Canada and Telefilm Canada.
Now, Bloc members are turning their noses up at $600 million per year. They did not read the press release. We are taking action. We are investing in Quebec and Canadian culture.
Aaron Gunn Conservative North Island—Powell River, BC
There used to be a promise here in Canada, Mr. Speaker, that if a person worked hard, paid their taxes and followed the law, they could afford a home, groceries and a decent standard of living. Now, after 10 years of the Liberal government, for most Canadians that promise no longer exists. According to a new survey from the United Way, 60% of Canadians now feel anxious about their finances, 38% struggle with food insecurity, and 40% are losing sleep.
When will the Prime Minister acknowledge that his policies of more spending, more debt and jet-setting around the world are just not delivering real results?
Stephanie McLean LiberalSecretary of State (Seniors)
Mr. Speaker, Vancouver Islanders in the member's riding and mine deserve facts. Labelling the economy without context does not help workers or businesses.
There are 22 nation-building projects driving over $125 billion in capital investment. There were 88,000 new jobs in May, exceeding market expectations. Wages are growing almost twice as fast as in the United States. Disposable income rose 2.3%. Household savings are above historic norms. These are the facts, but I have never met a Conservative who did not let the facts get in the way.
Aaron Gunn Conservative North Island—Powell River, BC
Mr. Speaker, I can tell the House that most people on Vancouver Island know one thing, which is that the economic policies of the Liberal government have been hurting young Canadians the most, young people who can no longer afford homes in the communities they grew up in, whose jobs have been shipped overseas or taken by temporary foreign workers, whose streets on which they play have been flooded with dangerous drugs and whose futures have been mortgaged this year alone with $80 billion in new debt.
When will the government reverse its policies and stop throwing the next generation under the bus?
Stephanie McLean LiberalSecretary of State (Seniors)
Mr. Speaker, young people know that this government is there for them. They know that because they have a majority of the new jobs that are being created. They also know that business investment has increased for the second consecutive quarter in Canada. They know that the IMF projects Canada will be the fastest-growing economy in the G7 in 2026-27. They know that this government has a plan that we are executing that has their backs for a good future.
Joe Rogan might be impressed by kettlebells and empty rhetoric, but in the words of the great Shania Twain, “That don't impress me much”.
Jacob Mantle Conservative York—Durham, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister calls it just a little economic weakness, just a settling-in period. Well, I am a little more simple. I will just call it what it is, a recession.
Today the United Way quantified for us that feeling that things are just not very good right now. Nine in 10 Canadians are experiencing financial anxiety, and CTV reported that fully employed Canadians are sleeping in campers to survive. This is a made-in-Canada problem. Mexico is in the same trade war with no recession. Even Russia, which is in a full-scale war and economically sanctioned, has no recession.
What is the excuse today?
Evan Solomon LiberalMinister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
Mr. Speaker, every single day the opposition plays the same song, gleefully running down our economy instead of building it up, instead of pointing out the 88,000 new jobs created in the May report, that the trade surplus is up 55%, the highest in 15 months, and that total exports reached a record high. That is not leadership.
We are building this country. We are investing in this country. We are supporting our workers. The Conservatives should give it a try.
Jacob Mantle Conservative York—Durham, ON
Mr. Speaker, every day they play the same game, claiming success for any small ray of sunlight but shirking responsibility for everything else. Canadians do not believe them. The United Way said today that 57% of Canadians, in all age and gender groups, believe the public finances are being poorly managed. Two-thirds of Canadians are anxious about the future. They do not believe in the job the Prime Minister is doing today, and they are not buying his promises for tomorrow
Will the Prime Minister finally get up and accept responsibility for his choices that are having devastating consequences for Canadians today?
Evan Solomon LiberalMinister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
Mr. Speaker, it would be a little more plausible that the opposition party cared about workers and cared about investment if it did not oppose every investment and every support for workers and for families. The Conservatives oppose dental care. They oppose affordable housing. They oppose investment in their own communities. We invest in Laval Tool and Mould, and they oppose. We invest in Jahn Engineering, and they oppose. We invest in Post Packaging, and they oppose.
Instead of opposing support, boosts and investment, they should get on board and start building.
Marc Dalton Conservative Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC
Mr. Speaker, after a decade of Liberal inflation and economic mismanagement, Canadians are the ones who are paying the price. A new United Way survey found that 60% of them are anxious about their finances and 40% are losing sleep trying to make ends meet. More than two million Canadians relied on food banks every month last year, and in Maple Ridge, food bank use has doubled in the past five years.
How much worse must it get before the Liberal Prime Minister reverses the costly policies driving Canadians into hardship?
Gregor Robertson LiberalMinister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada
Mr. Speaker, as a British Columbian like the member opposite, I will say that people in B.C. are optimistic about our future, like we are on this side of the House. We see major projects coming to B.C. that are going to boost our economy in B.C. We see rents coming down. We see affordability coming back to the table. We see benefits to British Columbians that the other side of the House has opposed every step of the way, whether to our youth or to our young workers. We are interested in taking action right across the country to support Canadians, grow the economy and deliver affordability, not being stuck in the mud.
Rachael Thomas Conservative Lethbridge, AB
Mr. Speaker, under the current government, Canada is in a recession, and it is the only G20 country for which that is true. After a decade of reckless Liberal policies and economic mismanagement, Canadians are ultimately having to pay the price. A new United Way poll found that 60% of Canadians now feel anxiety about their personal finances, and 40% struggle with food insecurity. This crisis was not created abroad. It was created because of Liberal policies right here at home.
How much worse does it have to get before the government reverses course and makes life more affordable for Canadians?
