Debates of June 16th, 2026

The Economy

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has said affordability is the best it has been in decades, but normal, hard-working, everyday Canadians know that is simply not true. Meat Loaf famously once sang Two Out of Three Ain't Bad, but, surely, three out of four is not good. That is certainly true when it comes to economic decline, but that is exactly what the Prime Minister has given us. He has given us three out of four quarters of negative economic growth, making us the only G20 nation in a recession.

What is the Liberals' response? They are downplaying it as nothing more than just a technicality.

Will the Prime Minister reverse his costly policies that caused this crisis so that Canadians can afford to live again?

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

Mr. Speaker, I can see on the Conservatives' faces today that they are not very happy, but let me bring them good news, because the country wants good news.

In fact, in 2025, Canada received the highest level of foreign direct investment. That is Canada. We have the second-fastest growth in the G7. We have made generational investments in housing, infrastructure, productivity, innovation and defence. We are going to build Canada strong.

Let them get on board. We are going to build this country.

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

Mr. Speaker, we have a new top export out of this country. It is announcements and MOUs.

Not that long ago, Canadians used to dream of buying a home. Now, under the Liberal Prime Minister, many are starting GoFundMe pages just to pay for essential items for life. In the last five months, 15,000 Canadians had to ask strangers online for help to pay for basic things. Food banks are overwhelmed and families are one emergency away from begging people for help.

If the Prime Minister thinks his plan is working, he is badly out of touch with those paying the price. Will he finally admit that his affordability plan has failed, or does he now think GoFundMe—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. Minister of Finance.

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

Mr. Speaker, Canadians do not want another clip. They do not want just another question. They want action. That is exactly what we have done on this side of the House.

Canadians are concerned about the cost of rent, the cost of food and the cost of gas. That is exactly what we have tackled. We have made record investments in affordable housing, we have just sent the groceries benefit to more than 12 million Canadians and we have suspended the excise fuel tax on gas.

We understand what Canadians want, and we will deliver for Canadians. Every day is a good day to fight for Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister said here in the House that the cost of living is the best it has been in a decade, but that has not been Canadians' experience. According to a CBC article, some people have even resorted to starting GoFundMe campaigns to pay for basic necessities. Roughly 15,000 crowdfunding campaigns have been launched to help people pay for their groceries, rent and even some medical emergencies.

After 11 years of reckless Liberal spending, Quebeckers now have to resort to asking for charity to survive. Will the Liberals finally admit that they greatly accelerated the current crisis?

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

Mr. Speaker, what the people watching at home today are seeing is the Conservatives' hypocrisy.

Where were the Conservatives when we launched the Canada child benefit, the national school food program, the Canada disability benefit and the Canada groceries and essentials benefit? Where were they when we launched the Canada-wide early learning and child care program? Where were they when we launched the Canada workers benefit?

They were nowhere to be found, but we were there for Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals rise here to talk to us about programs when we are asking them to stop doing what is not working and to make decisions so that Canadians can finally make ends meet.

Let us look at one of their programs. Their groceries program will pay out $16.50 twice a year to Canadians who earn $53,000, yet the cost of groceries has increased by $1,000 in one year for a family of four.

Will the Prime Minister reconnect with ordinary people, review these policies and cancel all their spending over the past year that has plunged Canada into a recession?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Minister of Government Transformation]

Mr. Speaker, in response to my colleague, I would say that what is not working is the Conservatives. They stand up and pretend to show empathy, but when it comes time to vote for concrete measures that help their constituents, they vote against them at every turn.

I encourage my colleague to do some math. In his riding, the Canada child benefit, which he voted against, paid out $80 million to 13,245 families. He should do the math, and then we will see if he can stand up and tell me that this has no impact on the lives of his constituents.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister claims that affordability is the best it has been in decades, but he should say that to the faces of the 1.5 million jobless Canadians, the 60% of people who are anxious about their finances and the 15,000 people who now use GoFundMe to pay for basics.

Liberal taxes and inflationary spending hike the cost of living. Antidevelopment laws drive out jobs, innovation and $1 trillion in investment, like in the last five quarters. Canada is the only G20 country in a recession.

When will the self-identified European PM reverse his costly recession policies so that Canadians here at home can afford to thrive, not just survive?

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

Mr. Speaker, my colleague, the Minister of Finance, is not the only person who has good news today. I want to let members know that the 2,000 workers at Woodfibre LNG are working hard, and they will be producing new LNG in 2027. By the way, the 1,000 workers at Cedar LNG are also working hard, and they will be producing new LNG in 2028. More good news is that the sunrise project is going to start turning sod in a couple of weeks for another 1,000 workers.

Maybe the Conservatives can get on board and start helping to build.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that more Canadians than ever before need food banks and have to choose between eating, heating and driving. In a year, the PM spent $1 million on inflight cushy caviar catering for him and his cronies. That is enough to feed a family of four for 55 years. On one trip, he spent 175,000 tax dollars, which is 92% more than most people make in a year, if they have jobs at all.

While he makes families spend over 120% of their income on rent and food alone, when will the PM cut inflationary spending and his luxury, high-flying lifestyle so that Canadians can afford to live and young Canadians can hope for their futures?

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

Mr. Speaker, Canadians watching are somewhat confused, because every time we propose a measure to help vulnerable Canadians, like the groceries and essentials benefit, dental care or the Canada child benefit, the Conservatives vote against it. When we are attacked with an unjustified, illegal trade war, what do Conservatives say? They say we are throwing a hissy fit. When we put more measures in place and when the Prime Minister goes abroad to bring back jobs and investment, the Conservatives are against them.

I ask again, what are the Conservatives for?

Democratic Institutions

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, another day, another example of anti-democratic behaviour from this Prime Minister. Today, he is muzzling the opposition to pass Bill C-22, which contains serious privacy violations. Yesterday, he shut down the debate on Bill C-30, which allows him to approve pesticides that were previously banned by Health Canada.

It is simple. Since June 1, the Prime Minister has moved time allocation on no fewer than nine bills. This Prime Minister is muzzling all the parliamentarians who want to do their jobs.

Does he realize that his majority does not give him the right to subvert democracy?

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

Mr. Speaker, I know the Bloc Québécois needs to change the subject, but unfortunately, we have to talk about the Bloc Québécois leader's decision to obey his political masters in Quebec City and oppose Alto, oppose its 51,000 jobs and oppose the largest reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from a single infrastructure project in Canadian history.

The Bloc Québécois is reneging on its election promise to support Alto, in obedience to the Parti Québécois.

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, bad projects do not deserve support.

The Prime Minister has a majority. He spends the majority of his time travelling, but he also has a majority in the House. All of his bills are guaranteed to pass. All he is doing with these repeated time allocation motions is preventing MPs from doing their job. All he is doing is trying to push things through so quickly that civil society does not realize what is happening. The reason the Prime Minister is rushing so much is to keep people from noticing the deregulation and abuse of power hidden within his laws.

Why is the Prime Minister incapable of respecting Parliament and democracy?

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

Mr. Speaker, we make no apology for working tirelessly on Canadians' priorities, on affordability, on delivering major projects and, yes, on major, unifying projects of national interest such as high-speed rail, which the Bloc MPs oppose, despite having supported it prior to the last election.

What are they telling their constituents? The Bloc members made a solemn promise to support high-speed rail, but after receiving instructions from Mr. Plamondon, they are now against it. They need to explain their about-face.

Privacy

[Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc, Beauharnois—Salaberry—Soulanges—Huntingdon, QC]

Mr. Speaker, shutting down debate on Bill C-22 is an abuse of power.

Everyone agrees that an overhaul is needed of this bill, which makes it easier to spy on people intrudes on their privacy.

It forces companies to collect data on citizens and hand it over to the police. It forces telecommunications companies to track people at all times, without their consent.

Basically, the federal government wants to create a backdoor into all of our phones.

How can the government quash debate in order to rush through a bill that goes this far?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Minister of Government Transformation]

Mr. Speaker, to pick up on what the government House leader said, I will not apologize for acting quickly for Quebeckers and Canadians.

We have demonstrated this over the past few months, such as with a $10‑billion infrastructure agreement with Quebec to build public transit and deliver the infrastructure that our cities need.

We will also not apologize for moving forward with a major project for Quebec, namely the high‑speed rail project.

I also note that the Bloc Québécois is taking its cues from its political masters in Quebec by opposing this project that is so essential for Quebec and its economic development.

Access to Information

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's independent Information Commissioner said she was disappointed with the Liberal changes to access to information. Disappointed is an understatement, considering that yesterday, the President of the Treasury Board could not even respond to the question, and last week, he could not even find the right page. Will he rescind the changes, yes or no?

[Shafqat Ali, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, we believe that transparency and accountability are fundamental to a strong democracy. As the President of the Treasury Board, I am committed to ensuring that Canadians can access government information in a timely and effective manner. We have launched a consultation paper as part of the process to make the access to information system better. My colleague's comments were part of those consultations.

Fisheries and Oceans

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, in the midst of a very tough job environment, the government repeatedly chose to give public subsidies to a company responsible for firing Canadian workers and hiring illegal workers instead. Despite being found guilty, the subsidies kept rolling in.

Can the fisheries minister tell us if Ichiboshi L.P.C. is still eligible for public subsidies from her department, yes or no?

[Joanne Thompson, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, I can assure all members of this House that when I make decisions as the fisheries minister, they are always balanced, with information through the department and consultations with people in the communities. I am not going to comment on conspiracy theories, but I will say I am proud of the work we do in the department.

Democratic Institutions

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Sturgeon River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it has been two years since legislation was passed to establish a foreign influence registry. Two years later, the Liberals have missed every deadline to get the registry up and running. On what date will the foreign influence registry finally be fully operational?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, several weeks ago, this House, as well as the Senate, passed a motion declaring Anton Boegman as the commissioner for the transparency registry. We are working toward the establishment of the regulations, and the commission will be up and running in the upcoming weeks.