Sitting 20 — June 20, 2025

This sitting, the last before the summer adjournment, was dominated by report stage debate on Bill C-5, the One Canadian Economy Act—the government's signature legislation to streamline interprovincial trade and create a unified national economic framework. The day began with points of order from NDP member Jenny Kwan regarding the application of Standing Order 69.1, which she argued should have triggered a separate vote on the bill's free trade and labour mobility provisions. Bloc Québécois members Xavier Barsalou-Duval and Marilène Gill vigorously opposed the bill, with Barsalou-Duval calling it the worst legislation he had seen in nine years in Parliament and accusing the government of using a top-down approach that overrode provincial jurisdiction, particularly Quebec's. The Speaker delivered two rulings during the sitting—one on the voting pattern for report stage amendments and one on the Standing Order 69.1 question, both upholding the government's procedural approach.

The report stage debate saw multiple motions in amendment from the Bloc and Conservatives. Barsalou-Duval moved to delete Clause 4 entirely, while Chris Warkentin and Shannon Stubbs proposed targeted amendments to committee oversight provisions. Liberal members, including Kevin Lamoureux and Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, defended the bill as essential to unifying the Canadian economy in the face of the tariff war with the United States. The debate was notably acrimonious, with Bloc members comparing the Liberal approach to that of the Conservative opposition and accusing the government of pursuing pipelines and energy projects without adequate environmental or provincial consultation. NDP members, including Mario Simard and Don Davies, expressed concern that the bill's provisions for resource projects would undermine environmental protections and Indigenous consultation.

Question period reflected the end-of-session atmosphere, with exchanges on the Prime Minister's first four weeks in Parliament—Conservatives cataloguing what they termed broken promises on spending, taxes, defence, and the U.S. trade file. Housing Minister Gregor Robertson and Industry Minister Mélanie Joly defended the government's record on homebuilding and steel sector support. Public safety questions addressed repeat violent offenders and bail reform, while health questions focused on the bureaucratic barriers facing American doctors seeking to practise in Canada. The sitting concluded with the late-hour passage of the report stage amendments setting up third reading for the fall.