Debates of Sept. 19th, 2025

Finance

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

Mr. Speaker, I know Paul Martin. I worked with Paul Martin. The MP is not Paul Martin. I can assure him that the Conservative Party is not the party of fiscal responsibility. It is the party that had an outrageously expensive spending proposal in its platform, which was rejected in the last election.

We are building the strongest economy in the G7. We are going to get the budget into operating balance. We are going to work to create opportunities in this country. Paul Martin would be proud of that.

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comparison, but I did not hear an answer in all of that. In last year's fall economic statement, the budget deficit was $62 billion. A deficit of $62 billion was so embarrassing that the finance minister had to resign that morning rather than deliver the bad news.

I will ask the current finance minister again, how much is this year's budget deficit, and how high does it have to be before he resigns from embarrassment?

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance and National Revenue and to the Secretary of State (Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance have made it abundantly clear that Canada's new government has a renewed focus on fiscal discipline and that budget 2025 will have strong fiscal anchors.

Budget 2025, in fact, will refocus government spending on operations while making transformational investments in housing, defence and infrastructure. Those generational investments will get a return for Canadians. That return comes in the form of good-paying jobs for generations to come. That is how we build Canada strong. That is what Canadians voted for.

The Economy

[Chris Lewis, Conservative, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I received an email to my office recently. Part of it said that the person went to Kingsville to buy some apples and picked out six apples of average size. The price was $8.50 for six apples. They left the apples and left the store without making a purchase.

The Prime Minister is another bait-and-switch Liberal with more broken promises. After half a year to bring down food prices and the deficit, will the Prime Minister commit today to getting inflation under control, or is his message to my constituents “How do you like them apples”?

[Leslie Church, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Secretaries of State for Labour]

Mr. Speaker, this week I had the pleasure of meeting with the Canadian Teachers' Federation. One of its top priorities is the national school food program: healthy meals for over 400,000 kids, saving parents up to $800 a year in groceries. Every single province has signed on.

Conservatives claim to care about food security, but at every opportunity, they vote against teachers, families and kids who know that providing healthy meals in schools is the right thing to do.

Employment

[Kathy Borrelli, Conservative, Windsor—Tecumseh—Lakeshore, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Windsor has an unemployment rate of 11.1%, the highest in Canada. The Prime Minister came home empty-handed after tariff negotiations, causing people to tighten their purse strings because of the economic uncertainty that the Liberal government has caused. The women's unemployment rate has increased by 12%, and now more people cannot afford rent, gas and food. Everyone worries about being the next person to get a pink slip.

Which of my colleagues from across the aisle will bring their silver spoons to Windsor to—

[The Deputy Speaker, Tom Kmiec]

The hon. parliamentary secretary has the floor.

[Tim Louis, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade]

Mr. Speaker, 2.6 million Canadian jobs rely on exports to the United States, and Canada has the strongest trade deal of any U.S. partner. Our government is working closely with both the U.S. and Mexico to modernize our supply chains and support Canadian exporters. We are focused on maintaining the benefits of CUSMA, preventing future tariff threats and expanding market access.

Standing up for Canada is what Canadians expect us to do. Standing up for Canada is what our government is doing.

[Helena Konanz, Conservative, Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Prime Minister promised to be elbows up. Instead, he is elbows down. The Liberal statistics show that EI use among women aged 25 to 54 is up 12% in one month. Women are calling me and asking where to find a job that will cover rent or groceries. Liberal economic mismanagement is putting women out of work.

When will people in the B.C. interior see more job openings, not fewer?

[Leslie Church, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Secretaries of State for Labour]

Mr. Speaker, this is a government that continues to support measures like child care, a school food program, dental care, a tax cut for 22 million Canadians and eliminating the GST for first-time homebuyers. We have a plan to make life more affordable and to create the jobs that are going to create a secure future for families across the country.

Conservatives, at every opportunity, vote against these measures. Why?

Natural Resources

[Terry Duguid, Liberal, Winnipeg South, MB]

Mr. Speaker, during the summer, I heard, loud and clear, from workers and investors across Canada that we have what the world needs. They support the goal of our becoming a clean and conventional energy superpower to build our future prosperity.

Can the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources share how the government is advancing energy and natural resources projects with indigenous rights holders across Canada and diversifying our exports so that we win this trade war?

[Corey Hogan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, we are putting “one project, one review” into action. B.C. and the federal government have jointly approved the new Ksi Lisims LNG export terminal, led by the Nisga’a Nation and built with the first nation's own pipeline. This project will be the second-largest private investment in Canada's history and will export low-carbon LNG powered by renewable electricity.

We have doubled the indigenous loan guarantee program, and we are working with our G7 partners to establish a critical minerals production alliance. These measures and more are what will enable Canada to become an energy superpower and win this trade war.

Housing

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora—Kiiwetinoong, ON]

Mr. Speaker, housing starts have actually declined 16%.

Let us take a look at the Prime Minister's top officials. We have the housing minister, who brought a 150% increase to the price of homes when he was a mayor. We have a new head of a $13-billion housing bureaucracy, a Toronto city councillor who saw a 700% increase to building taxes.

Is it any wonder that housing starts are down and bureaucracy is up, with these two leaders running point?

[Jennifer McKelvie, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians made it clear in the last election campaign that it was time to build, and that means building more housing at a pace that has not been seen in generations.

That is why we have launched “build Canada homes”, which will be focused on building and financing affordable housing at a scale not seen in generations. This includes the first tranche of projects: six sites on Canada federal lands that will create 4,000 units. We are also releasing $1 billion for supportive housing and $1.5 billion for the Canada rental protection fund.

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora—Kiiwetinoong, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are only building more bureaucracy to try to address the housing crisis that they created. At $13 billion to build 4,000 homes, that is $3.2 million per home. It is clear that the more things change, the more they stay the same with the Liberals. It is more bureaucracy, higher deficits and slower homebuilding. We also know that 100,000 construction workers could be out of a job because of the Liberal plan. The Liberals are creating more jobs for bureaucrats in Ottawa and job losses for Canadians across the country.

Why is the Prime Minister continuing with this failed approach?

[Jennifer McKelvie, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, “build Canada homes” will bring together the right people with the right mandate under one roof.

Importantly, a focus of “build Canada homes” will be to use modern construction methods with Canadian skilled trade workers and Canadian materials. The six sites that we have mentioned are just the first tranche of projects, which will build 4,000 new homes. We are looking to build hundreds of thousands of homes for Canadians.

We look forward to the proposals and the applications from the members opposite for supportive housing in their communities.

[Sukhman Gill, Conservative, Abbotsford—South Langley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised to deliver double the number of homes built in Canada, but instead it is down by 16%. It is no surprise. Just look at who the Prime Minister put in charge. The housing minister oversaw a 150% surge in home prices and doubled rent prices when he was the mayor of Vancouver. He even stated on record that home prices should not go down. Now we learn that 100,000 construction jobs could be lost. It is jobs for bureaucrats in Ottawa and job losses for construction workers.

With records like these, why should Canadians believe the government will ever build affordable homes?

[Jennifer McKelvie, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, our new government has a credible and ambitious plan to tackle the housing crisis and to build at a scale not seen since the Second World War.

We are going to get affordable homes built with “build Canada homes”, which will be using Canadian skilled trades, Canadian materials and modern methods of construction. This is building on the work we have already done to stimulate the housing economy by getting the federal government back into the business of building affordable homes, by cutting the GST for first-time homebuyers and by cutting municipal development charges.

We look forward to doing that work with all members.

[Jason Groleau, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is still hurting families. On July 15, the Liberals quietly announced that the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, or CMHC, premiums would go up by 3%. Instead of reducing the premiums like we suggested, they increased them. That means that the cost of housing per Canadian family will increase by $500. That is unacceptable.

When will this government think about Canadian families instead of constantly causing inflation?

[Jennifer McKelvie, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, CMHC is getting to work on building supportive housing and affordable housing. We have financing that is being released at a scale that has not been seen in generations. We know CMHC has a proven track record of delivering. We have seen that over the last 10 years with affordable housing and supportive housing that is being built in this country at a scale not seen before.

[Jason Groleau, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, speaking of out-of-control spending, it gets worse. The Liberal government announced it is building 4,000 new housing units at a cost of $13 billion. I must be dreaming, because that is $3.2 million a unit. Something is not adding up.

Give the contracts to the people of Beauce. In Beauce, with $3.2 million, they can build 15 units, not one. In Beauce, with $13 billion, they would not build 4,000 housing units, they would build 60,000.

Can anyone explain to me why, with the Liberals, it is going to be 15 times more expensive?

[Jennifer McKelvie, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is facing a housing crisis. During the last election campaign, Canadians made it clear that the time has come to build housing. This means building housing at a pace not seen in generations.

That is why we have launched “build Canada homes”, a program focused on building and financing affordable housing at scale to meet the needs of Canadians by bringing together all aspects of housing. This includes the first six sites to be developed, which will create 4,000 homes with a total potential for—

[The Deputy Speaker, Tom Kmiec]

The hon. member for Cowichan—Malahat—Langford.

Marine Transportation

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

Mr. Speaker, the former transport minister was dismayed when I asked her about the Liberals funding BC Ferries to build four new ships at a Chinese state-owned shipyard back in June. Turns out, her office knew about the deal weeks earlier, according to The Globe and Mail yesterday.

Canadians deserve transparency on the reported national security concerns with this deal. The Liberals promised “buy Canadian”. When will they stop investing in China's economy and cancel the billion-dollar loan?

[Jennifer McKelvie, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, we share in the disappointment that BC Ferries has gone forward with this procurement. It is important to note that no Canadians bid on this work.

We are now laser-focused on buying Canadian. What we need to do as a government is ensure that work is being done by Canada, in Canada, by Canadian workers, using Canadian materials. It is time to build. It is time to buy Canadian.