The sitting was dominated by debate on the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit Act (Bill C-19), a government bill to increase the GST credit, and by oral questions that repeatedly returned to food inflation, the economy, and public safety. The central political argument was whether a temporary rebate was a genuine solution to high grocery prices or merely a band-aid that failed to address the underlying causes of food inflation.
The Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit Act (Bill C-19) would amend the Income Tax Act to provide a one-time 50% top-up to the GST credit in spring 2026 and a 25% increase in the credit for five years starting July 2026, at a total cost of $11.7 billion over six years. The government argued the benefit would help 12 million low- and modest-income Canadians cope with food costs, building on existing programs like the Canada child benefit and the national school food program. The Conservatives said they would support the bill but criticized it as a temporary rebate that would not lower grocery prices; they argued the real solution was to eliminate the industrial carbon tax and the fuel standard tax, which they said drive up costs throughout the food supply chain. The Bloc Québécois supported the bill but questioned why the payments were quarterly rather than monthly and why the measure was not included in the recent budget. The NDP did not deliver a speech during Government Orders. The bill passed third reading with all-party support and was sent to the Senate.
Oral Questions focused overwhelmingly on the economy and food inflation, with Conservatives repeatedly citing statistics that Canada leads the G7 in food inflation and that 2.2 million Canadians visit food banks monthly. They accused the government of failing to deliver on a 2023 promise to stabilize food prices and demanded the Liberals adopt a Conservative plan to cut the industrial carbon tax and fuel standard tax. Government ministers defended the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit as historic assistance, pointed to job creation and wage growth, and accused the Conservatives of obstructing other affordability measures and bail reform legislation. A secondary theme was public safety: Conservatives blamed Liberal bail laws (Bill C-5 and Bill C-75) for releasing repeat violent offenders, while the government cited its own bills—C-14, C-9, C-12, and C-16—and accused the Conservatives of obstructing bail reform. Questions on pensions, seniors, international trade with Taiwan, and agricultural research closures also appeared but were less prominent.
During Routine Proceedings, the Minister of International Trade tabled an investment treaty with the United Arab Emirates, and the Minister of National Defence tabled a defence equipment and technology agreement with Japan. Members presented petitions on caregiver recognition, protection of the Canadian flag, crime in Dauphin, rail service in Gaspé, flood mitigation in Abbotsford, religious freedom concerns related to Bill C-9, a national brain injury strategy, marine protected areas, attacks on Christians in Nigeria, Canada Post service cuts, farmland acquisition in Clearview Township, and further petitions on religious freedom. All questions on the Order Paper and notices of motions for papers were allowed to stand. Earlier in the sitting, Conservative House leader Andrew Scheer obtained unanimous consent to deem Bill C-223, an act to amend the Divorce Act, read a second time on division and referred to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.