The sitting was dominated by debate on Bill C-12, the Strengthening Canada's Immigration System and Borders Act, a government bill that replaced the earlier and more controversial Bill C-2. The central political argument pitted the government and its supporters, who said the bill was needed to secure borders and fix a broken asylum system, against Conservatives, who said it was a half-measure that did not address the root causes of crime and immigration backlogs created by the Liberals themselves.
Bill C-12, debated for most of the day, would amend several statutes to give the Canada Border Services Agency new powers to inspect outgoing goods, allow the Minister of Health to rapidly control fentanyl precursor chemicals, give the Canadian Coast Guard a security mandate, and tighten asylum rules by making claims ineligible if made more than one year after arrival or 14 days after an irregular entry. The Liberals argued the bill would restore integrity to the immigration system and give law enforcement tools to fight organized crime, fentanyl trafficking and money laundering. Conservatives supported sending the bill to committee but said it lacked mandatory minimum sentences for fentanyl traffickers, failed to repeal the Liberal bail reforms in Bill C-75 and Bill C-5, and did not address the 296,000-case asylum backlog. The Bloc Québécois said the bill was a step in the right direction but criticized the government for recycling promises to hire 1,000 CBSA officers without having hired any. The Green Party opposed the bill, arguing it was substantially the same as Bill C-2 and still offensive to privacy and refugee rights. The NDP did not take a clear position in the debate recorded.
Oral Questions focused on the inflation rate released that day, which showed food prices up 4% and all core measures above the Bank of Canada's target. The Conservatives accused the government of driving up the cost of living through inflationary deficits, while the government replied that it had cut taxes for 22 million Canadians, that inflation was within the Bank's target range, and that it was delivering programs such as dental care, pharmacare and the national school food program. A second major theme was the announcement that General Motors was laying off 1,200 workers at the CAMI plant in Ingersoll; the Conservatives accused the Prime Minister of breaking a promise to protect auto jobs, while the Minister of Industry said the government was in contact with GM, Unifor and the Ontario government to bring a new model to the plant. A third theme was the Auditor General's report on the Canada Revenue Agency, which found that only 33% of calls were answered and that 83% of answers given were incorrect; the government said it had a 100-day plan to improve service. The government also used question period to demand that the Leader of the Opposition apologize for calling the RCMP "despicable," a charge the Conservatives dismissed as a distraction.