The sitting was dominated by debate on the government’s Protecting Victims Act (Bill C-16), with the central political argument revolving around which party was responsible for delays in passing crime legislation, particularly bail reform. Conservatives accused the Liberals of copying their private members’ bills while undermining sentencing, while the government blamed the Conservatives for filibustering and blocking its crime agenda.
The Government Orders’ main business was second reading of Bill C-16, the Protecting Victims Act. The bill would create a new offence of coercive control in intimate relationships, make the murder of an intimate partner automatically first-degree murder, criminalize non-consensual deepfake intimate images, and require mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse material. It also includes a “safety valve” allowing judges to impose sentences below mandatory minimums if applying the minimum would constitute cruel and unusual punishment, except for murder and treason. Conservatives supported the victim-focused measures, which they noted originated from their own private members’ bills (including Bill C-225 and Bill C-216), but opposed the safety valve, arguing it would effectively eliminate mandatory minimums for serious crimes like human trafficking and weapons offences. The Bloc Québécois welcomed the coercive control provisions and measures addressing court delays under the Jordan decision, but said the bill needed careful committee study. The government argued the bill would reinstate mandatory minimums and was part of a broader crime package that also included bail reform under Bill C-14.
Oral Questions focused overwhelmingly on food inflation and affordability. Conservatives repeatedly pressed the government to eliminate the industrial carbon tax and the fuel standard tax, arguing these were driving up grocery prices and forcing 2.2 million Canadians to use food banks. The government responded by highlighting its newly announced Canada groceries and essentials benefit, which it said would provide up to $1,900 for a family of four, and accused the Conservatives of voting against affordability measures. A secondary theme was the impact of Liberal policies on young Canadians, with Conservatives citing reports that Gen Z has virtually no disposable income and that home ownership among 30- to 34-year-olds has collapsed. The government pointed to its first-time homebuyer tax break and housing investments. Other questions covered problems with the new Cúram software for seniors’ benefits, the Driver Inc. trucking scheme, and the lack of approved major projects under the Major Projects Office.
In Routine Proceedings, the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs presented its 14th report on committee membership, which was concurred in. Several petitions were presented: against Bill C-9’s hate speech provisions on freedom of expression and religious freedom grounds; on natural health products regulations; on human rights in India; on humanitarian aid in Gaza; and on ending fossil fuel subsidies. All questions on the Order Paper were allowed to stand. During Private Members’ Business, the House debated Bill C-222, the Relieving Grieving Parents of an Administrative Burden Act (Evan’s Law), which would allow parents receiving EI maternity or parental benefits to continue receiving them if their child dies during the benefit period. The bill received broad cross-party support, with the sponsor, Liberal member Terry Beech, announcing that a path to a royal recommendation had been found and requesting a recorded vote.