Debates of Sept. 17th, 2025

Justice

[Fred Davies, Conservative, Niagara South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Daniel Senecal raped and choked a 12-year-old boy in my riding. He was sentenced to 18 months but was released six months early. While on parole, this monster attacked and sexually abused his next victim, little E, a three-year-old little girl, almost killing her and leaving her fighting for her life before the firefighters arrived on the scene.

Failed Liberal justice policies have allowed repeat child sex offenders to be let out early. Will the Liberals introduce changes to the Criminal Code today and bring home justice for victims like little E?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, I sincerely thank my hon. colleague for raising this question on the floor of the House of Commons. Such horrific acts can be met only with condemnation from members of Parliament on both sides of the aisle.

As we seek to move forward with legislation, we will be restricting conditional sentence orders when it comes to sexual crimes and sexual crimes against children. We will do what we can to make sure that we work with provinces so that they can fund their systems properly, as well as to ensure that we work together to keep Canadians safe.

My hope is that crime and horrific circumstances such as these will not be used as partisan fodder. I will work sincerely with my colleague opposite to advance the kinds of changes that will keep children safe in this country.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative leader has announced that he would put an end to the wave of violent crime created by the Liberals by adopting a “three strikes and you're out” law. This law would prevent criminals who have been convicted of three serious offences from getting bail, probation, parole or house arrest. What is more, it would keep violent criminals behind bars longer to keep them away from their victims and off our streets.

Does the Prime Minister need some good ideas for fighting crime? If so, will he adopt the opposition leader's law?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to good ideas, I can assure my colleague opposite that I have been taking them from law enforcement, from provincial governments and from stakeholders in the public safety space since the day of my appointment to this position.

We will be introducing legislation that would strengthen Canada's bail system, making it harder for repeat violent offenders and for those who commit serious crimes with organized criminal organizations, including auto theft and home invasion. The Conservatives will have to wait a matter of weeks before this legislation comes forward. My hope is that they will support the common-sense measures that would help keep communities safe in every part of this country.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in recent years, we have witnessed the implementation of Bill C-5, which amends the Criminal Code and allows sentences to be served at home, and Bill C-75, which makes it very easy for offenders to be released on bail. These bills were put in place by the former justice minister, David Lametti, who is currently an adviser to the Prime Minister's Office.

Will the Prime Minister listen to David Lametti, or will he listen to reason and listen to the Conservatives?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, this is the second time this week I have received a question about a piece of legislation that the questioner has seemingly not read. Bill C-5, among other things, actually restricts the use of conditional sentencing orders for serious crimes, such as attempted murder and advocating genocide. We want to continue to put measures in place that will have harsher sentences for repeat violent offenders. We will also advance reforms that would make it harder to get bail for people who pose a public safety threat.

I would ask that all members of the House pull the partisan rhetoric out of such a serious issue as public safety and get together to advance reforms that will protect—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. member for Thornhill.

Housing

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised Canadians that he would build 500,000 homes a year, doubling housing starts. Instead, housing starts are down 16%, and his $13-billion brand new bureaucracy might someday, maybe, build a grand total of 4,000 homes. That is 1.6% of what we already build. It is a rounding error.

Is this really the government's housing strategy: to hope that Canadians do not know basic math?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives seem a little confused, so let me help here. First, the projects that we announced were just the start. Second, they can support up to 45,000 new affordable homes. Third, we have many more projects on the way.

This is not the first time the Conservatives have gotten the numbers wrong, so I would like to invite them to take a moment and rework their talking points. We have no intention of slowing down. It is time to build.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, only in Liberal land do we solve the housing crisis by blowing $13 billion on a fourth bureaucracy after the first three already failed. Those numbers are right.

Who is leading the master plan? It is the former mayor of Vancouver. He doubled rents and jacked up home prices by 150%. Just to make the circus more complete, he handed a key role to his buddy from Toronto, the same person who slapped a 700% hike on development charges and oversaw home prices double when she was there.

Is this really the definition of success for the minister?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada]

Mr. Speaker, once again we hear the Conservatives trashing local officials and government. It is unbelievable. They are talking about mayors, they are talking about councillors and they are talking about public servants, rather than looking at themselves. Many of us who have served at the local level have dealt with Conservative governments that did nothing for affordable housing and did nothing to improve affordability for Canadians.

We are taking action and working with our partners at the local level.

[Tamara Kronis, Conservative, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised to double housing starts, but they are down 16%. It is no surprise when we see who is in charge. The housing minister oversaw a 150% surge in home prices and doubled rents in Vancouver, while the new $13-billion housing czar helped hike Toronto homebuilding taxes by 700%.

When will the Prime Minister admit that all he is doubling are gatekeepers and deficits?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I will just remind the members opposite that we are focused on building affordable housing at a scale never seen before, certainly not by Conservative governments, which vacated the field on affordable housing for their decade in power. That set us back enormously.

We are now building back. We are looking forward. We are going to employ Canadians in building affordable housing at a scale that is unprecedented. We expect the members opposite to support our work.

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

Mr. Speaker, in Montmorency—Charlevoix, the housing crisis is very real. We are not the only ones affected. Families across Quebec are struggling. A recent study showed that families now spend more than 30% of their income on housing. Low-income families spend as much as 70%. The direct impact is a loss of $4.2 billion for the Quebec economy.

The Prime Minister promised to double construction, but housing starts are down 16%. That is not surprising, given all the bureaucracy and red tape developers are facing.

Will the Prime Minister start building homes, not bureaucracy?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Minister of Government Transformation]

Mr. Speaker, it is true that the housing crisis is hitting young Canadians particularly hard. That is why we not only eliminated the GST for first-time homebuyers, but also announced “build Canada homes”, together with my colleague, the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure. An initial investment of $13 billion will create the leverage to build thousands of affordable homes across the country.

Incidentally, I would note that, when my colleague's leader was a minister, only six housing units were built on his watch. We are going to build on a much larger scale. I would say that my colleague, the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure, is off to a good start.

Canada Revenue Agency

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my constituents have been telling me and my team how frustrated they are with the delays they experience when they try to contact the Canada Revenue Agency. We know that the dedicated employees of CRA provide invaluable services to Canadians, but the facts are clear: Demand has increased significantly in recent years and the system needs to be improved.

Can the Minister of Finance and National Revenue inform the House of the measures the government is taking to improve the CRA's service delivery?

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

Mr. Speaker, first, I want to thank my colleague for her excellent question.

The level of service provided by the CRA is unacceptable. That is why I asked the CRA to present a 100-day plan to improve the services that Canadians have a right to expect.

I also want to thank all of the CRA agents for their hard work. We will give them the technology, processes and support they need to deliver the highest level of service that Canadians have a right to expect.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the question is for the immigration minister.

New housing completions are at record lows, but the Liberals are welcoming unprecedented numbers of people under every immigration stream. On top of this, there are potentially millions of people who have expiring visas, and the Liberals do not even know if they will leave.

Why is the immigration minister letting in people faster than the Liberals are building homes to house people who are already here in Canada?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, our measures are working. Yes, they are working.

In the first quarter of 2025, Canada experienced the lowest non-pandemic demographic growth since the Second World War. We are continuing to implement our plan on immigration levels, a plan that reduces our temporary resident population by hundreds of thousands and reduces our permanent resident target by over 20%.

Our objective is clear: to make our system viable and attract the best talent.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the minister just claimed that there is no problem, that everything is okay. She is spreading misinformation, because the Parliamentary Budget Officer's report says that the Liberal's current immigration plan, the one that she just said is working, leaves a massive housing gap, because the minister is still setting levels way too high.

If Canada is to be a place where everyone can succeed, we need to ensure that everybody has a place to live and to call home, so why is the minister spreading misinformation while still welcoming unsustainable numbers of people to Canada when Canada is in the middle of a housing crisis?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, let me repeat it in English so she and other members of her party understand: Our measures are working. In the first quarter of 2025, Canada recorded the smallest non-pandemic population gain since the government started to keep records in 1946. We are following through on our immigration plan, and that is reducing our temporary resident number and our permanent resident number by 20%.

Our plan is clear: Bring sustainability to our system and attract best talent.

Our student and temporary worker admissions are down by 50%. Asylum claims are down by a third, and—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. member for Oshawa has the floor.

[Rhonda Kirkland, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we have a serious situation. The Liberals have welcomed unsustainable levels of international students to Canada every year but did not think about where they would live. Things are so bad that this year a CBC investigation uncovered extreme abuse by landlords, who were in some cases offering free or discounted rent in exchange for sexual services. This is not fair to anyone.

The Liberals broke the immigration system. When will the abuse end?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians gave our government a mandate just a few months ago: to return the international student program to sustainable levels, and we are doing exactly that.

Almost 90,000 fewer students arrived between January and June 2025, compared to the same period in 2024, and the latest numbers show 100,000 fewer study permit holders in Canada compared to the end of 2024.

We want to attract the best and the brightest talent to Canada. We will do that, but we will also protect the students who are here.

Natural Resources

[Ron McKinnon, Liberal, Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, our government will win the trade war thrust upon us, by making Canada an energy superpower, diversifying our exports and building the strongest economy in the G7, all while working with first nations rights holders. Selling our resources responsibly will generate revenues needed to deliver the programs Canadians rely on, while helping our allies shift away from higher-emissions fuel sources, and taking cards away from autocrats and giving them back to Canadians. It is a win-win.

Can the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources share an update with the House about Canada's work to achieve these objectives?