Sitting 58 — November 21, 2025

The House continued its multi-day debate on Bill C-15, the budget implementation act, with Conservative MPs delivering sustained criticism of the government's fiscal management. Opposition members pointed to warnings from Fitch Ratings about the erosion of federal finances and the Parliamentary Budget Officer's assessment that the government had abandoned its previous fiscal anchors. Liberal speakers defended the budget as a generational investment plan that would build Canada's economic sovereignty in an era of global trade disruption, highlighting measures such as the national school food program, middle-class tax cuts, and defence spending increases.

Question Period saw the opposition focus on the Prime Minister's extensive international travel, with Conservative MPs tallying 28 trips covering over 150,000 kilometres and arguing that these missions had yielded few concrete results for Canadian workers facing U.S. tariffs. Government ministers countered by pointing to a $1-billion critical minerals investment commitment from the UAE and recent trade agreements with Ecuador and Indonesia. The Bloc Québécois raised concerns about forestry sector layoffs, the government's climate record after skipping COP30, and the cancellation of the digital services tax. The softwood lumber dispute with the United States featured prominently, with the government announcing a take-note debate to be held the following week.

The day also included second reading debate on Bill C-236, the Addressing the Continuing Victimization of Homicide Victims' Families Act, known as McCann's law, which would allow courts and parole boards to consider an offender's refusal to disclose the location of victims' remains when making sentencing and release decisions. Members from all parties expressed sympathy for victims' families and indicated general support for the bill's objectives, while the Liberal parliamentary secretary raised procedural questions about the bill's mechanics.