Juanita Nathan

Madam Speaker, it is an honour to rise and speak about this subject today, which is of crucial importance to all Canadians. We are all aware that recent changes on the global stage have made life more unpredictable, more complex and, for too many people, more costly. Our largest trading partner has imposed tariffs on our imports, significantly impacting Canadian workers and businesses from coast to coast to coast. Conservatives may not want to call these tariffs what they are, but on this side of the House, we understand the impacts they are having on Canadian families, businesses, exports and workers. Conflict and instability in the Middle East have led to an increase in fuel prices around the globe. Conservatives may want to blame Canada and Canadians for the challenges we face, but on this side of the House, we are positioning Canada to thrive within a rapidly changing world. Facing these circumstances, Canadians do not need slogans, and they do not need social media influences. They need relief, and relief is what our government has delivered. Through carefully considered measures, we are strengthening our country's sovereignty and economic resilience while supporting Canadians through these challenges. Since day one in March 2025, we have worked to save Canadians hard-earned money. On July 1 of last year, 22 million Canadians, more than half the country, had their income taxes lowered when we cut the first income tax bracket from 15% to 14%. This represents an annual tax savings of $420 for individuals or up to $840 for two-income families. To help support Canada's most vulnerable people, we introduced automatic federal benefits filings, starting with the 2026 tax year. This change will automatically give up to 5.5 million low-income Canadians the benefits they qualify for by the 2028 tax year. We also removed the goods and services tax on new homes costing up to $1 million for first-time homebuyers, and we lowered it on new homes priced between $1 million and $1.5 million. This move gives more Canadians, especially young families, the chance to live the Canadian dream of owning a home. Speaking of young families, they know the importance of good food during school days. We made permanent the national school food program, a program derided by Conservatives as “garbage”, to provide meals for up to 400,000 children across Canada. This program saves participating families with two school-age children approximately $800 annually on groceries. Food is essential, but it has grown more costly. To help more than 12 million Canadians manage their grocery budget, we introduced the new Canada groceries and essentials benefit, which provides a family of four with up to $1,890 this year and about $1,400 annually for the next four years. Single Canadians will have a benefit of up to $950 this year and about $700 for the next four years. Food is fuel for learning minds and working bodies, but groceries do not make their way into stores on their own. Canada is a vast nation, and moving people and products is a necessity that requires fuel of a different kind. We know that consumers are facing higher gas and diesel prices at the pump, and businesses have their profitability impacted by the increased cost of getting goods to market. I know that in my riding of Pickering—Brooklin, this is true. Although the factors that led to these high fuel prices are not within Canada's control, Canadians expect a strong response. We are focused on what we can control. That is why we introduced Bill C-38, the Canadian fuel affordability act, which is currently being studied. Bill C-39 is being debated in the House and will be debated later on today as well. Bill C-38 would build on the temporary suspension of the federal fuel excise tax that we introduced earlier this year, bringing the tax on gasoline, aviation gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel to zero cents per litre. For Canadians filling up their cars, it means a tax cut of 10¢ per litre on gasoline, a savings of about five dollars on a typical 50-litre fill-up, and four cents per litre on diesel fuel. While this cut was originally set to expire last month, Bill C-38, if passed, would extend that suspension of the federal fuel excise tax until January 31, 2027, after the holiday season. Regular rates would then be reduced by 50% through March 31, 2027, inclusive. Higher energy prices are a concern not just here at home but in every part of the planet. We are fortunate to be rich in many natural resources and to be the fourth-largest exporter of crude oil in the world. This is why the Prime Minister has said, “Canada has what the world wants.” This summer, the executive director of the International Energy Agency said that Canada has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become a global energy exporting superpower. The leaders of our G7 peer nations are asking us to step up and supply the world with the sustainable, reliable energy they need to power their economies. This is an opportunity we are leaning into and seizing with intention. That is why we recently announced that Pacific link, an oil pipeline that will bring Albertan oil to ports in British Columbia, will be listed as a project of national interest under the Building Canada Act. Designating the Pacific link pipeline as a project of national interest means it will get built faster, reducing Canada's dependency on U.S. markets as buyers for our oil by giving us a new ability to export to Asian customers. Once completed, the Pacific link will allow us to ship an additional one million barrels of oil each day across the Pacific. While we are prioritizing measures to help Canadians during this difficult time and working to create the right climate to grow the economy and foster investment, we have never wavered in our focus on fiscal responsibility. The International Monetary Fund forecasts that our country will be the second-fastest growing economy in the G7 groups of nations this year and in 2027. Canada's sovereign debt continues to command the highest rating, a AAA credit rating, from Fitch, from Standard & Poor's and from Moody's, the three main debt rating agencies. As we know, this exemplary credit rating allows Canada to issue debt to investors on the best possible terms. As well, as noted in April's spring economic update, Canada is on track to reduce its deficit in 2025-26 by $11 billion more than originally forecasted in the last federal budget. This gives us an advantage when it comes to investing in the supports and services that matter to Canadians. Canadians are strong and resourceful, and in times of adversity, they expect a strong, resourceful response from their government. The measures I have mentioned are just some of the actions we have taken to protect and promote Canadian interests while positioning the country for future growth and prosperity.

Madam Speaker, the reason we are speaking about this over and over is that we hear questions about diesel over and over during QP. I wanted to caution my colleague across the aisle that international comparisons on average diesel prices should be interpreted with caution. Diesel prices in many countries are influenced by government subsidies, administrative pricing regimes or other forms of state interventions. As a result, global averages that combine both market-based and non-market prices are not a like-for-like benchmark for assessing Canadian diesel prices. A more meaningful comparison—

Madam Speaker, as Canada continues to build a stronger, more resilient and more independent economy, the government is taking practical steps to reduce costs today while investing in long-term prosperity. We are extending the fuel tax relief on one of the measures, helping families, workers and businesses navigate the global economic uncertainty. The sovereign fund we have created will be invested where people can benefit from the interest on it and make money. With respect to the question my colleague is asking, I have no answer at this point.

Madam Speaker, as I said before, as our government makes these large-scale structural transformations to create a stronger, more resilient Canadian economy, we are also taking more immediate actions to make life more affordable for Canadians. There are a few measures that we have taken since this new government formed in 2025. One of them is cancelling the federal consumer carbon tax, which was effective on April 1 and has directly helped Canadians save money at the pump. We have cut taxes for 22 million people, as I have already mentioned, by lowering the first marginal personal income tax rate from 15% to 14%. We have eliminated the goods and services tax for first-time homebuyers on new homes up to $1 million. We have reduced the—

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today at the third reading to speak in support of the private member's bill, Bill C-231, a bill that has benefited from thoughtful consideration and study at the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. I am proud to speak in support of Bill C-231, which proposes specific amendments to the Youth Criminal Justice Act, YCJA. Bill C-231 proposes to amend the YCJA to help youth with substance use disorders who come in contact with the criminal justice system to access treatment programs that will assist them in meaningfully rehabilitating and reintegrating into their community. More specifically, the bill proposes to clarify the instances when a young person in contact with the youth criminal justice system can be referred or ordered to participate in a treatment program and to enable, in certain cases, a youth justice court to defer sentencing to allow the young person to participate in a treatment program. In addition, the bill proposes to amend the YCJA to enable the youth justice court to include, in certain orders, the condition of attending a treatment program. The objectives of this bill align well with the objectives of the YCJA and the overall youth criminal justice system. The preamble to the YCJA calls on communities, families, parents and others concerned with the development of young persons to be active participants in the youth criminal justice system. The YCJA invites their involvement to prevent youth crime by addressing its underlying causes, to respond to the needs of young persons, and to provide guidance and support to those at risk of committing crimes. Bill C-231 enhances the YCJA's multipronged approach to problematic substance use and seeks to improve outcomes for young people with substance use disorders who come in contact with the criminal justice system. At second reading of the bill, some members shared personal stories, as well as stories from constituents in their ridings. These stories remind us that problematic substance use and mental health issues affect all of us, whether directly or directly. These heartfelt and informative discussions continued during the committee's study of Bill C-231. I want to thank committee members for their interest and active participation during the study of Bill C-231. Their candid and at times personal interventions helped nourish the committee's discussions regarding potential amendments. I want to thank the witnesses who came forward and shared touching stories as well as insightful views on topics related to problematic substance use. We had the privilege to hear from family members of the member for Mégantic—L'Érable—Lotbinière, who tragically lost his son, David last year. We heard from Caroline Levesque, who is David's mother and an early childhood educator, and Justine Berthold, who is David's younger sister and a nurse. During their testimony, they mentioned that too often the youth criminal justice system focuses on offences and punishments without looking into the underlying cause of a young person's offending behaviour. They spoke about the importance for the youth criminal justice system of having the right tools and said that enabling decision-makers to use these tools at the right time would improve the YCJA's ability to support meaningful rehabilitation and reintegration. The committee also heard from Angy Riendeau, a criminologist who highlighted the importance of early interventions when it came to preventing and addressing the risk factors that can eventually lead to persistent criminality in adulthood. She noted that the amendments in Bill C-231 would add to the intervention mechanisms already available under the YCJA to better help young people access treatment, specialized assessments, care and appropriate resources in a timely manner. The amendments that were made during the clause-by-clause study of Bill C-231 are consistent with the views that were shared during the witness testimonies. All the amendments proposed were adopted unanimously by committee members. This showcases the close co-operation that this bill has cultivated among members. To further the bill's objective of improving the YCJA's public health approaches to problematic substance use, many of the amendments that were made to Bill C-231 at committee relate to the language used in the bill. For example, the term “addiction” was replaced by “problematic substance use” to align with the more modern, less stigmatizing language used in the Controlled Drug and Substances Act. Certain clauses of the bill were also amended to refer to problematic substance use treatment programs or any other treatment programs. This is to avoid unintended interpretations that may restrict access to other types of treatment programs, including programs focused on mental health or on behaviour modification and skills development. This broader terminology would also allow the YCJA to remain flexible and relevant, should types of treatment available to young people evolve over time. Furthermore, multiple amendments were made to Bill C-231 at committee, seeking to clarify, and at times broaden, the instances where decision-makers under the YCJA can refer or order youth to participate in a treatment program. For example, a coordinating amendment was added to ensure that prosecutors, in addition to police officers, must consider whether it would be appropriate to refer a young person to a problematic substance use treatment program before starting or continuing judicial proceedings against the young person. Moreover, amendments were made to clarify the situations when attendance at a problematic substance use treatment program or any other treatment program may be ordered as a sentence or as a condition to an order. For example, an amendment was made to explicitly mention that attendance at such treatment programs can be ordered as a condition of probation and continual supervision. These amendments would ensure greater consistency in the YCJA sentencing framework when it comes to problematic substance use, especially in the context of the Canada overdose crisis and the toxic illegal drug supply. The federal government is committed to a comprehensive public health and safety approach that focuses on connecting people to vital services, destigmatization and supporting prevention, treatment and recovery. In closing, I believe significant improvements were made to Bill C-231 during its clause-by-clause study and that it is ready for passing in the chamber. I urge all members to support it at third reading.