Debates of Sept. 25th, 2026

Women and Gender Equality

[Marie-Gabrielle Ménard, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Women and Gender Equality and Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism)]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my very determined colleague, who is proud to serve in a government that includes 71 female members. These women are determined—I use this word for want of a slightly stronger one—to continue to advance gender equality.

Now that Parliament is back, I am of course going to call on all members of Parliament to work on this issue.

To date, we have invested nearly $1 billion to advance this issue. What would help most is to support social programs that primarily benefit—

[The Deputy Speaker, Tom Kmiec]

The hon. member for Ponoka—Didsbury.

Public Safety

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Ponoka—Didsbury, AB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, there were headlines in all major newspapers across Manitoba. For the second time in a year, there is a blockade on a public road that prevents licensed, regulated hunters from accessing public Crown land. There are no provincial closures on this road or on the land.

The province has done the science and set the quotas. Hunters have the legal authority to hunt during hunting season. The only people acting out of order here are those imposing the blockade. Imagine the standard that is being set.

Why will the minister not instruct the RCMP to maintain law and order in northern Manitoba?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, unlike the party opposite, we have every confidence in the RCMP to do their job. It is their responsibility to ensure that laws are adhered to, and I have every confidence that those in Manitoba will execute and discharge their duties as required.

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Ponoka—Didsbury, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the RCMP is the government's mandate. There is a blockade on public infrastructure and public land blocking licensed hunters during a short hunting season. Some of these hunters have waited years for this opportunity. Canadians have a charter right to freely travel, and there is no provincial designation restricting access to Crown land or the roads in the area in question.

The RCMP will not deal with it, likely because the NDP minister in Manitoba and the Liberal minister here in Ottawa condone the blockade. These are the same Liberals who are hell-bent on taking away our hunting rifles and our right to fish for salmon. Are they trying to take away our right to public land too?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, let me just repeat that the RCMP has operational independence, and in Manitoba they are contracted to do their job in Manitoba. I will assure the member opposite that the RCMP discharges their duties within their operational requirements. I can assure the member opposite and everyone in this House that the RCMP is the police of jurisdiction that can take care of this.

National Defence

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Parkland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, as Remembrance Day approaches, military chaplains representing many faiths are deeply concerned about government instructions issued over the summer directing them not to reference God in prayer or spiritual reflections. This instruction defies a unanimous motion passed by the House in November 2024 that affirmed the rights of chaplains not to be restricted or punished for referencing God in prayer or reflections.

I have raised this issue with the Minister of National Defence. Will he explain why this instruction was issued over the summer and confirm that chaplains will face no consequences for carrying out their sacred duties?

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Armed Forces is strengthened by the diversity of its traditions and the backgrounds and beliefs of its members. The policies to support diversity are a moral and ethical responsibility of the Royal Canadian Chaplain Service, the chief of the defence staff and CAF leadership. In their commitment to care for all, they have made a decision that the spiritual health and well-being of CAF members are vital to operational effectiveness, and they have, of course, brought in guidelines that do not ban private or personal faith.

Families, Children and Social Development

[Doly Begum, Liberal, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we know that access to good, nutritious food can make all the difference in a child's day. Kids deserve to learn on a full stomach so they can reach their full potential, not to mention the obvious benefits to families with lower grocery bills.

Can the secretary of state tell us what our government has done to ensure access to good food programs across Canada?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Scarborough Southwest for her excellent advocacy.

Nutritious meals at school do indeed help kids reach their full potential. They also help ease the pressure on grocery costs for families.

With federal investments, school food programs are now reaching 400,000 more students across Canada. In Ontario, this means approximately 242 additional schools are serving meals this year, bringing the total participation of Ontario schools to 92%. The other side foolishly calls this bureaucracy. We call this more children learning and thriving.

Correctional Service of Canada

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac, ON]

Mr. Speaker, CORCAN is the inmate skills development wing of Corrections Canada. Last year, it employed 608 individuals, at a cost of $66 million, to educate only 1,056 inmates. That is an annual per-student cost of $62,000, about half the cost of tuition at Harvard University.

What kind of education did the inmates get? They were taught rudimentary tasks like shovelling manure, picking apples and sewing pillowcases, none of which will help them to find jobs upon release.

Why does the government allow CORCAN to achieve so little at so great a cost to taxpayers?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, let me just assure my colleague. I have had the opportunity to visit many prisons in the last year and a half. I have also had a chance to look at the core programming undertaken by CORCAN and the training that is undertaken and given to individuals, and I have had the chance to look at the remarkable success, including from ensuring there is training in construction. Just last month, I had the opportunity to visit an institution in Saskatchewan with Her Excellency the Governor General. We saw the actual impact CORCAN has on individual inmates, and it will prepare them for a life of employment once they get out of prison.

The Environment

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, indigenous peoples and environmental groups warned that Bill C-5 lets the government override environmental protections and constitutionally protected indigenous rights in the name of the so-called national interest, but apparently that was not enough. Now with Bill C-39, the Liberals are expanding their power to fast-track major projects and weaken those same protections.

After a summer of wildfires burned homes to the ground, why does the government keep bending the rules for corporations while trampling on indigenous rights and putting our environment at risk?

[Jaime Battiste, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations]

Mr. Speaker, I want to be clear in the House that we acknowledge that constitutional rights are important. We acknowledge that consultation must take place, but we also must be able to get to answers in a quick and timely way.

We know that what we are doing with Bill C-5 will advance indigenous interests, with meaningful equity, meaningful partnership and meaningful participation from indigenous communities. I ask the member opposite to take a look at the legislation.

Climate Change

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, watching the recent investment summit, I had a sense of déjà vu. At COP26, then UN special envoy on climate finance, our current Prime Minister, announced the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero. The world's largest banks and investment firms committed over $100 trillion for the transition to net zero. Five years later, the only net zero is the investments promised by these firms.

How will the investments promised at the recent Toronto summit differ from the Glasgow promises?

[Sherry Romanado, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, we do not need to choose between strong environmental protections and building major projects efficiently. We can and must do both. That is why we are working with provinces and territories to cut duplication and make assessments more efficient, while upholding Canada's world-leading environmental standards and respecting indigenous rights. On top of this, we introduced environmental mapping in our nature strategy to integrate conservation and project planning, to keep nature protected and to build Canada right. Our focus remains on building well, streamlining processes and cutting duplication, not corners.

Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to table, in both official languages, on behalf of the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP, the departmental plans for 2025-26, the departmental plans for 2026-27 and the departmental results report for 2024-25.

Public Safety and National Security

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec Centre, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the sixth report of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security in relation to Bill C-221, an act to amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act with regard to the disclosure of information to victims.

The committee has studied the bill and has decided to report the bill back to the House with amendments.

Trans-Canada Highway

[Gaétan Malette, Conservative, Kapuskasing—Timmins—Mushkegowuk, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present more signatures on a petition calling on the federal government to designate Trans-Canada Highway 11 as a project of national interest.

These signatures were collected at the White Birch General Store, one of many local businesses helping people across northern Ontario add their voices to this important cause. Every signature matters. It shows the continued support from our communities for a safer and more reliable Highway 11 segment of the Trans-Canada Highway. I will continue bringing their voices to the House.

Chinese Canadians

[Michael Ma, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today, with the member of Parliament from Port Moody—Coquitlam, to present an e-petition on behalf of over 2,400 Canadians seeking to designate February as Canadian Chinese heritage month. I stand, with national support from coast to coast, with many organizations and cities across the country joining our movement.

The contributions of Chinese Canadians over the past 230 years deserve recognition. Our government's message this year has been about building Canada strong. Chinese Canadians have been doing so since before Confederation.

Internal Trade

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Okanagan Lake West—South Kelowna, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on behalf of the good people of Okanagan Lake West—South Kelowna to present e-petition 7258, in support of my private member's bill, Bill C-262 in order to allow beer, wine and spirits produced by Canadian producers to be shipped by Canada Post or other trusted carriers to anywhere in the country. This is in recognition of the work done by Ron Kubek of Lightning Rock Winery in Summerland.

As I mentioned earlier, President Trump has put a ban on Canadian importations. Now is the time for the government to act and to help out producers such as Ron Kubek and all the great small family wineries, distilleries and breweries across this great country.

Invasive Species

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

Mr. Speaker, in our first week back, I am privileged to rise again and present a petition on behalf of residents in the town of Georgina and in Brock township on Lake Simcoe about an invasive species known as water soldier. It was discovered in 2024 in Cook's Bay and has continued to spread across Lake Simcoe. It is a threat to human health and to animal health in the lake, as well as to native aquatic plant species in the lake.

The petitioners are calling on the government to designate sufficient resources toward remediation and to identify water soldier as an invasive species. Last, they are calling on the federal government to nominate a single party to represent the federal government on this issue.

Canadian Armed Forces

[Jeff Kibble, Conservative, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present on behalf of the great people of Cowichan—Malahat—Langford on beautiful Vancouver Island.

The first petition is from members of the Malahat Legion Branch 134 and residents across Vancouver Island who note that over 2,400 Canadian Armed Forces members have died on Canadian soil since 1914 in the line of duty in peacetime. Petitioners ask the government to designate October 22 each year, starting this year, as peacetime service and sacrifice memorial day, and they also ask that the national flag be lowered in recognition of those who have sacrificed

Petitioners offer special thanks to the members of the Malahat Legion for their service to our community.

Workers' Rights

[Jeff Kibble, Conservative, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from members of the Public and Private Workers of Canada and from the United Steelworkers from the recently closed Chemainus pulp and paper mill.

The petitioners note that hundreds of Vancouver Island forestry workers laid off since March 2025 are among the thousands from British Columbia. They note also that the extra 20 weeks of EI that was announced in June 2025 was not applied equally to them and expired in April 2026. The petitioners also note that the $50-million workers support fund announced in August 2025 has still not been released in British Columbia.

Petitioners are asking the government to approve that the B.C. labour market development agreements with the federal government be released immediately, and to extend EI extensions until April 2027 so they may be applied equally to all the laid-off workers from that facility in my riding.

Southern Resident Killer Whales

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise virtually in the House to present a petition of deep concern to constituents. It relates to the very pressing issue of the critically endangered population of southern resident killer whales.

The petitioners note that with the expansion at Roberts Bank, which is a very devastating ecological project, as well as the increased oil tanker traffic, there is a need to protect whales. Their habitat shrinks when they are in an acoustic environment, when there is noise and there are vessels too close.

I know I have summarized. However, unusually, the key action component of the petition I am presenting has been acted upon, so I now add a note of thanks. The petitioners ask for the same distance requirements that Washington state put into place: that recreational and whale-watching vessels stay 1,000 metres back from this threatened population. In fact, the Government of Canada has now adopted the same regulations as Washington state. It is a rare occasion to present a petition and also thank the Government of Canada for acting on it.