Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I want to join with my hon. colleague a little bit in advance, as it is only, of course, a week from now, to wish all hon. colleagues, and indeed all Canadians, a happy Easter. I wish all members two safe and productive weeks in their ridings. As to the industrial carbon tax, the member well knows that it cannot possibly be preventing investment, as Canada has achieved record outputs …
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moved for leave to introduce Bill C-25, An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act and to enact An Act to change the names of certain electoral districts, 2026. (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
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Mr. Speaker, I think that member, who was around in those days, is not really very nostalgic for the peak of 0.99% of GDP that was achieved under the Conservatives. This government is going to equip our members in uniform. We are going to give them raises. We are going to improve their bases. We are going to buy new equipment. We are going to create jobs, jobs and more jobs in the defence industry…
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Mr. Speaker, we understand that world events, supply chain challenges and other things have generated inflation, and we understand that it has had a deleterious impact on the ability of families to afford some basic essentials. That is precisely why this government put in place the Canada child benefit, dental care and pharmacare, and made child care agreements resulting in $10-a-day child care in…
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Mr. Speaker, it seems that the Conservatives never tire of standing up for the people who illegally occupied the main street of our nation's capital, refused to leave, were implored to leave by local residents and the police, and were asked politely but refused to leave this city and this capital that Canadians are so proud of. The real question is, why do the Conservatives continue to stand up fo…
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Mr. Speaker, that question has been asked several times and answered several times. I wonder if that member, who was growing up dreaming of being in the Parliament of Canada, is now having a reckoning with the fact that he is being handed some question by a 24-year-old in the leader's office and is being required to stand up in the House of Commons and read it. That is what is going on here.
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Mr. Speaker, step one is they have a 25-point lead in the polls. Step two is we have an election. Step three is a member loses his seat. Why is the Leader of the Opposition still in his seat?
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Mr. Speaker, here they go again. The immigration minister has brought a situation under control, a situation in which, last year, Canada's population actually declined. Canada's immigration system is admired, as our country is, the world over. The immigration minister is executing on a clear plan to bring down temporary resident numbers in this country. Shame on the member for picking on Ukrainian…
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Mr. Speaker, we will stand up every day and be proud of the Liberal track record in standing up for Canada and building Canada. What the Leader of the Opposition has been treated to today is a minister who is in control of this file and who has seen immigration levels and student visas go down. In fact, last year, for the first time ever, Canada dropped 100,000 from its population. Canada has one …
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Mr. Speaker, we quite literally just passed a bill, despite the obstruction of the Conservatives, that permits us to reduce the number of asylum seekers in Canada, just as we reduced the temporary population of Canada for the first time ever last year. I would repeat to this member that I work for the people of Canada. He does not work for the Leader of the Opposition. He should stand up and read …
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Mr. Speaker, of course, we will be answering all the questions from the opposition today, but I first want to express my sincere condolences and shock, frankly, as well as that of all members of the House, after the incident that occurred late last evening at LaGuardia Airport involving an Air Canada Express aircraft. On behalf of the Government of Canada, I offer my sincere condolences to the fam…
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Mr. Speaker, we will, of course, be answering all questions, but I first want to express my profound sadness and that of the entire House of Commons following today's accident at LaGuardia Airport involving an Air Canada Express aircraft. On behalf of the Government of Canada, I want to extend my deepest condolences to the victims' families and loved ones, the injured and their families, and every…
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Mr. Speaker, I was proud to be in Sault Ste. Marie not 10 days ago to meet with the United Steelworkers and representatives of Algoma Steel, who are proud to be deploying the most efficient and largest electric arc furnace in North America. They are going to be able to produce steel for our ships, for our homes, for applications all over the country and, surprise, also for a high-speed rail networ…
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Mr. Speaker, it is astounding to see the Bloc Québécois try to dodge the real issue of concern to all Quebeckers, certainly to those living in the Outaouais. I am talking about the economic apocalypse that the leader of the Parti Québécois wants to unleash on the Outaouais region. He looked into the camera and said “it is what it is” to the hundreds, if not tens of thousands, of public servants in…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister outlined all of the ways the levels of temporary Canadians, asylum seekers and others are going down, and going down quickly. It is very interesting to us that, after a week away to lick their wounds, the Conservatives returned to Parliament to punch down at some of the most vulnerable people in this world, including, on this most solemn of anniversaries, an amputee…
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Mr. Speaker, failed asylum claimants are not granted asylum and, therefore, cannot stay in Canada. The Conservatives need to stop punching down at the world's most vulnerable people. There are legitimate claimants and legitimate refugees on Canadian soil, including people fleeing the war in Ukraine, the anniversary of which we are marking today. The Conservatives should be ashamed of themselves fo…
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Mr. Speaker, I know why my colleague is in the House of Commons: Unfortunately, theatre school did not work out. The fact remains that, as the Prime Minister has said, as ministers have said and as every person responsible for this system has said, we have a technological implementation. This is a massive project to replace outdated systems. It is on budget and it is working. The bugs will be fixe…
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Mr. Speaker, aside from being entertaining, this question has been asked and answered many times. It is about modernizing the system, and there are no cost overruns. More than seven million Canadians are benefiting from it. It is a success story.
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Mr. Speaker, that is political grandstanding, plain and simple. We made the transition from an outdated system dating back to the 1970s and modernized it. There were no cost overruns. The computer system was updated. Yes, there have been a few cases, cases that the member opposite has been slow to bring up. If the member knows of people who are affected by this situation, he should let us know and…
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Mr. Speaker, this question has been asked many times and answered many times, but I will answer it once again. Why are they getting so worked up? The transformation of information technology in government is indeed complicated. However, this is a success story. We were able to replace an outdated system with an updated system that will modernize services and benefits for more than seven million Ca…
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Mr. Speaker, over seven million Canadians benefit from the OAS and have never had any problem with the new, modernized system. Obviously, a few glitches are to be expected when transitioning from 60-year-old software to a modern system. There are glitches and we are fixing them. The number of glitches is going down every day. When glitches happen, we encourage people to contact Service Canada or e…
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Mr. Speaker, asylum seekers who come to this country who are legitimate ones, those who are found to be—
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Mr. Speaker, the first thing I would say is that the Conservatives call them “bogus” asylum claimants. There are actually a great number, in fact millions, of legitimate asylum claimants all over the world. Our country has distinguished itself over its history as being a welcoming place for legitimate asylum claimants, and we will always be a welcoming place. When people arrive here from war-torn …
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Mr. Speaker, in addition to our humanitarian obligations, in many cases treaty obligations, as Mr. Harper found out when the Supreme Court ordered him to restore health benefits to asylum claimants for their well-being, in our case, we have managed the number of asylum claimants down. We have passed a law in the House to move that number down, and we are about to pass a law to take benefits down f…
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Mr. Speaker, I have a couple of points. There is no censorship agenda. We will keep our kids safe, including safe from child pornographers. The convoy was an illegal occupation of the downtown of our capital that people wanted gone. The member supported it with his leader. Shame on them, bringing donuts to people occupying our nation's capital.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to assure all Canadians that asylum seekers who come to this country are judged for their legitimacy. If they are found to be legitimate refugees and asylum seekers, as in all compassionate countries and all signatories to international agreements, they are permitted to stay. Those who are not found to have respected those criteria are asked to leave. The government has made ve…
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Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 56.1, I move: That, notwithstanding any standing order or usual practice of the House, during consideration of Bill C-14, An Act to amend the Criminal Code, the Youth Criminal Justice Act and the National Defence Act (bail and sentencing), today, the motion for third reading of the bill may be made in the same sitting following the concurrence at report stag…
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Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties, and if you seek it, I believe you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: That, notwithstanding any standing order or usual practice of the House, Bill C-15, an act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on November 4, 2025, be disposed of as follows: (a) it be an instruction to the Standing Commi…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask for consent to adopt the following motion: that, notwithstanding any standing order or usual practice of the House, during consideration of Bill C-14 today, the motion for third reading of the bill may be made in the same sitting following the concurrence at report stage of the said bill, and, should third reading of the bill take place on Friday, February 13, 2026…
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Mr. Speaker, obviously, seniors need their pensions, and we are working hard to provide pensions to some 7.4 million people in Canada. The two ministers repeat this every day to reassure the public, but the opposition comes back with the same lines every day. If members of Parliament have information, they have already been invited to provide it, and we will help these people. People can also cont…
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Mr. Speaker, foreign interference at any level and transnational repression at any level of our democracy are absolutely unacceptable. We have taken careful note of the recommendations of the Hogue commission, and I and my colleagues will be responding more fully in due course. As the member pointed out, we have taken steps to protect Canada from our adversaries and to provide more information to …
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Mr. Speaker, I will answer my colleague's question by saying this: The entire nation has obviously been grieving since the horrific events of Tuesday, and nowhere is that grief more deeply felt than in the community of Tumbler Ridge itself. The residents have come together to support each other in this time of indescribable pain, and, obviously, we want to assure them they are not alone. The Minis…
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Mr. Speaker, foreign interference in our democracy at any level is unacceptable. The government has obviously carefully taken note of the—
Read full speech →Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties, and if you seek it, I believe you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: That, notwithstanding any standing order or usual practice of the House: (a) immediately after the adoption of this motion, the House observe a moment of silence for the tragic events in Tumbler Ridge, B. C.; (b) the Prime Minister, a member of the off…
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Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois seems to have a problem with misquoting people today. Obviously, we take every case seriously. To reassure Quebeckers, Canadians and everyone who receives old age security, I want to reaffirm that we have modernized the computer system. If there are mistakes, we will correct them, and obviously, we invite our colleagues from all parties to give us the names of the p…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to tell Ms. Bolduc, who is obviously listening to us, and to the constituents of all the MPs here, that one case is indeed too many. We are going to resolve every last one. Ms. Bolduc and everyone else will receive every cent of the benefits to which they are entitled. However, that is beside the point. We have modernized government technology infrastructure that will serve Can…
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Mr. Speaker, the member for Beauport—Limoilou has done more for the tramway in his nine months here and in the House than anything the member has done in his 10 years in the House. I can assure him of that. Unlike that member, our government has been supporting the tramway project since 2018. To date, the federal commitment, as my colleague just said, amounts to nearly $1.4 billion, which clearly …
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Mr. Speaker, the Secretary of State just provided an update of the situation. This government modernization will allow seniors to register for OAS so that they can receive their benefits promptly and accurately. Obviously, if there are cases—and I think that if there were, members of the House would have heard about them—our colleagues are invited to share those with us. However, I can assure the …
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Mr. Speaker, there are seven million Canadians receiving OAS. The computer systems used to administer this program have been modernized. This improvement and modernization of government systems will enable seniors to register online instead of waiting at a Service Canada office or on the phone, for example. Those 85,000 people are still 85,000 too many, we agree, but the errors are being corrected…
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Mr. Speaker, Canada Post obviously works with many trucking companies across the country. The CEO of Canada Post assures us that the company in question had no ties with the Driver Inc. model. A statement of expectations, a code of conduct and the consequences of non-compliance are clearly spelled out for all suppliers under contract. As a government, we obviously expect Canada Post to meet those …
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Mr. Speaker, there is a plan in front of the House to create $1 trillion of investment in Canada. There is a plan before the House to continue to build the kind of infrastructure that my colleague just referred to. There is a plan before the House that would deregulate, that would free up, that would invest and that would make Canada the most attractive tax investment destination in the world. It …
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Mr. Speaker, today the House will likely decide to send a bill to the Senate that will provide up to $1,800 in support to Canadian families to help them cope with affordability issues, particularly with regard to food and essential goods. We urged the official opposition to support us on this. We are very pleased that they saw fit to do so. Today is a historic day for affordability in Canada.
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Mr. Speaker, today is a big day. Today is the day when, if all goes well, we will be passing historic assistance for Canadian families grappling with affordability issues with respect to food and essential goods. After much cajoling, the opposition finally decided to stop the games, stop the obstruction and allow this bill to move on to the Senate so we can get that aid to Canadian families now.
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Mr. Speaker, what the people in Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean, elsewhere in Quebec and across Canada really want is a plan: an economic plan, the Prime Minister's plan, the plan they voted for, the plan that is before the House. The Conservatives are filibustering the Prime Minister's economic plan. We managed to get Bill C‑19 passed so we can help Canadians. Now I urge the Conservatives to pass the bud…
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Mr. Speaker, I regret omitting the word “backward”, as in “bent over backward”, in an earlier answer.
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Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition knows full well that we have taken steps to help families. That is why he bowed to our demand to fast-track Bill C‑19, which will provide no less than $1,800 to Canadian families to help them deal with food and affordability issues.
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Mr. Speaker, I do not know, but the math I have is that $1,800 divided by 52 is a lot more than $10 a week. The Leader of the Opposition knows very well that this is substantial assistance for Canadians who are experiencing affordability issues. That is why he bent over when we asked him to accelerate and pass Bill C-19 and make sure that we can get that aid to Canadians right away.
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Mr. Speaker, well, the Conservatives are back from Calgary. They heard more old—
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Mr. Speaker, in Calgary the Conservatives heard more old hits than at the Elvis tribute show at the casino, and they came back and are repeating them just the way the leader writes it out for them in the back rooms: imaginary taxes and no plan for affordability. We have a bill before the House that would give up to $1,800 for families to afford the cost of groceries in this country. We know afford…
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Mr. Speaker, in fact, consultations were held and there will be more. We are consulting all the mayors and community stakeholders in the Lower Laurentians, across the entire region, as well as in Quebec and Ontario. Guess what? Canadians are excited about this new technology, this progress. Come on. My colleague is comparing an international airport to a small corridor that is 60 metres wide. Give…
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