Debates of June 9th, 2026

Canadian Identity and Culture

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

Mr. Speaker, let us take a look at the Prime Minister's recent record. The Prime Minister is turning his back on culture in favour of digital giants like Netflix and Amazon. The Prime Minister is abandoning the fight against climate change in favour of the oil companies' American shareholders. The Prime Minister is handing control of pesticides over to multinational agrochemical companies.

No prime minister has ever deregulated so extensively for the benefit of large foreign corporations. Is selling out to the highest foreign bidder what he means by building Canada strong?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois always opposes everything. It is opposed to major investments in culture, including francophone and Quebec culture. It voted against major investment tax credits for the electricity sector in the last budget. It opposes the agreement with Quebec announced last week that includes $10 billion in investments across all sectors, particularly in health care and public transportation.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the first thing the Prime Minister sacrificed in the trade war with Washington is francophone culture.

This reminds me of how Winston Churchill was advised to cut funding for the arts in the middle of a world war. Churchill asked, if not for the arts, then what are we fighting for?

What the Prime Minister has sacrificed to Donald Trump is what sets the Quebec nation apart: our culture, in our language. This is how the Quebec people expresses its existence. How can he treat it as a mere bargaining chip?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it is sad, but it seems to me that the Bloc Québécois has not read the latest budget. It includes more than $750 million for culture: Canadian culture, Quebec culture, francophone culture, including funding for Telefilm Canada, the Canada Media Fund, the National Film Board of Canada, the Canada Council for the Arts, and Radio-Canada.

We have also just added $600 million for culture.

The Economy

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, in addition to being an embarrassment for the Prime Minister that he is the only leader in the G20 to cause a recession—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

An hon. member is quite far back in the corner and I can still hear him. There is something wrong with that equation.

The hon. Leader of the Opposition can start from the top.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, having the only recession in the G20 is not only an embarrassment for the Liberal Prime Minister, who has been wrong on every economic issue of the last decade. It also has a serious human cost for Canadians. Yesterday, at the Calgary airport, I met an electrician who told me that despite working non-stop, he had to move back in with his mother because he cannot afford the cost of Liberal inflation and now the Liberal recession.

We know Liberal insiders are getting rich off tax havens, handouts and consulting contracts, but why is it always the hard-working people, like this electrician, who have to pay the bill?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the opposition leader was at the Calgary International Airport. Yesterday, I was here with other members of Parliament at the installation of the Governor General.

She said our project is a “common project”. The Premier of Alberta said, “the current Prime Minister has worked very constructively with our government to craft an Alberta...MOU”. It has already attracted tens of billions of dollars in investment for new pipelines, natural gas, data centres, electricity and much more.

That is how we build the province, and that is how we build this country.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the question was about an electrician who had to move back in with his mother, despite the fact that he has worked hard, he got his licence, he shows up for work every single day and, unlike the Prime Minister, he pays his full tax bill here in Canada. He is paying the price of the Liberal recession. Canada is the only country in the entire G20 that is in a recession.

Will the Prime Minister reverse the disastrous, costly, inflationary Liberal policies that put this electrician back in his mother's basement and our country into a recession, or will he just sit there and smirk?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition should talk to the national president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, who has systematically applauded our approach to building big projects in this country, including the largest electrification of mobility in the history of this continent, which is a high-speed rail project that will employ more electricians than this guy could meet in 15 years.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, did he say 15 years? This thing will not even be under construction for 15 years.

In the meantime, Liberal insiders and sleazebags will be stuffing their pockets with the tax dollars of Canadian electricians. Already, 13 vice-presidents have received $2.3 million in bonuses for a train that will not even be under construction for over a decade. If it ever comes under construction, it will cost $8,000 a family.

Why does he always plunder the pockets of workers to help the Liberal insider elites?

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

We should be careful of the words we use if we want to maintain the kind of decorum that Canadians expect from us.

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

Mr. Speaker, the core difference between the people on this side of the House and the Leader of the Opposition and the people who read his questions is that we believe Canadians can do it. We believe Canadians can create a project that will add 51,000 jobs to our economy, including thousands of electricians. We believe we can add billions to our national economy with a transformative high-speed rail project. This includes, by the way, one that is going to be proposed in Alberta.

We believe in the future of this country. He does not.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, apparently they do not believe in their Prime Minister's ability to answer questions and defend his own economic record.

We believe Canadians could do a lot of things, too, if the government would just get out of the way.

Unfortunately, the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy found new evidence that the Liberal recession, the only recession in the G20, is affecting Canadians. There has been an 8% increase in consumer insolvencies and a 10% increase in bankruptcies.

This Liberal government's policies are forcing Canadians into bankruptcy. Will the Liberals reverse the costly deficit policies that caused this recession?

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

Mr. Speaker, I know it is Tuesday and the Leader of the Opposition is looking for some good news. I have some for him. As the Prime Minister announced, the Canadian economy created over 80,000 jobs. We have the second-fastest growth in the G7 and we are attracting record investments in Canada. We believe in Canadian workers and Canadian industry.

We believe in a prosperous Canada, and every day is a good day to fight for Canadian workers.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, apparently, he does not believe in the Prime Minister's ability to answer questions. The Minister of Finance has spent the last 10 years announcing the worst growth results. Now he is telling falsehoods. He says that Canada's growth puts it in second place. Under this Prime Minister, Canada is in last place. It is the only G7 or G20 country that is bankrupt. Today, Equifax Canada reported a 39% drop in the number of new companies.

When is the government going to get out of the way and end this recession?

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

Mr. Speaker, I will take no lessons from the Conservative leader. The only job he has had in the past 10 years is being here, in the House. Canadians know that we, on this side of the House, are building a resilient economy, a more prosperous economy, the strongest economy in the G7.

Even the International Monetary Fund recently said that Canada is in the strongest position fiscally. On this side of the House, we believe in Canadians. We believe in Canada's destiny, and we will fight every day to build a more prosperous Canada for all Canadians.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, why can the Prime Minister not even defend his economic record? Perhaps it is because Equifax Canada also reported today that the national 60-plus-day delinquency rate for financial trades has risen by 11%.

Under the Prime Minister's leadership, the bankruptcy rate is higher than it has been in 15 years. Not only are we the only G20 country in a recession, but Canadians are declaring bankruptcy.

Will the Prime Minister reverse the costly Liberal policies that are causing these bankruptcies?

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

Mr. Speaker, to hear the Leader of the Opposition talk, it seems like he takes pleasure in the prospect of bad news. The reality is that there is plenty of good news. I am going to give him some.

There are 200 new jobs at Tenaris in Sault Ste. Marie. We have just secured more than 300 jobs at Kruger in Trois-Rivières. We have also just secured 240 jobs at Kap Paper in northern Ontario. We have ensured that 400 new jobs will be created at Siemens Canada. The agreement we just signed with Saab and Bombardier for the GlobalEye represents 3,000 new jobs.

I could keep going.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, my question was for the Prime Minister. It is no wonder that he cannot stand up and answer. He has been wrong on every economic issue of the last decade. He was wrong on carbon taxes, wrong to say he wanted to keep half of our oil and gas in the ground, wrong to oppose pipelines and wrong to push money-printing deficits, which caused inflation. Now he is wrong again.

Only he, out of the G7 countries' leaders, has caused a recession. Just the other day, I met a hairstylist in the ByWard Market who does not know how she is going to pay her rent, because wages are flat and costs are rising. Will the Prime Minister stand up and explain to her why he is the only leader in the G7 to have caused a recession?

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

Mr. Speaker, we have great news. In May, there were 88,000 new jobs, led by jobs for young people. Young people are getting new jobs, and so are women across the country. We have other projects I can cite, and I am convinced that the Leader of the Opposition will rejoice. There are 300 new jobs with Hitachi in Varennes, Quebec. With Alstom, there are new jobs in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville. There are also new jobs in Vancouver at Providence Health Care, 768 new jobs for that project. At Hanon Systems in Vaughan, there are 300 new jobs. I have dozens of examples like that.

Oil and Gas Industry

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, one week after 300 mayors, civil society is now speaking out against the Liberals' pro-oil stance. One hundred and twenty-two environmental groups, including 49 from Quebec, signed a letter today. They are here with a clear message: no new pipelines. They are saying no to any project that threatens the climate, endangered species, indigenous relations or the sovereignty of governments. It would be a betrayal of all Canadians who still believe in the fight against climate change.

Will the Prime Minister end his pro-oil and gas stance?

[Nathalie Provost, Liberal, Secretary of State (Nature)]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague is asking us a really important question. I commend all the activists who, like us, are fighting for clean air and clean water.

However, it is also fundamental for us to be an autonomous economic power. That is why we are working on several fronts at once. We will work to meet our 2050 climate commitments. The methane regulations, the electrification strategy and the nature action plan are all strategies to get there. What we are going to do is produce cleaner and cleaner energy.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, regarding the agreement with Alberta for a new pipeline, environmental groups are pointing out that we have seen this movie before. It is called “Trans Mountain”. Taxpayers paid nearly $40 billion for a new pipeline to transport dirty oil. In return, the oil sector made absolutely zero effort to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. They actually rose sharply. Canada basically became an oil developer at Quebeckers' expense. The film was a flop.

Will the Prime Minister finally acknowledge that we do not want to see that movie ever again?