Sitting 87 — February 23, 2026

The sitting was dominated by debate on the Build Canada Homes Act (Bill C-20), which would establish a new Crown corporation to build affordable housing, and by Conservative attacks on the government’s management of asylum-seeker health benefits and the Cúram pension software project. The central political argument was whether the solution to the housing crisis is more federal bureaucracy or less government intervention.

The Build Canada Homes Act (Bill C-20) would create a Crown corporation with a mandate to build affordable housing, deploy flexible financing, and promote factory-built construction. The government argued it would streamline federal efforts and deliver homes at scale, citing partnerships with Ottawa, Quebec, Nunavut and British Columbia. The Conservatives opposed the bill as a fourth housing bureaucracy, arguing it duplicates the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the Canada Lands Company and the housing department, and that the Parliamentary Budget Officer estimates it would build only about 5,200 homes per year. The Bloc Québécois said it would vote against the bill, arguing it infringes on provincial jurisdiction and that the money should be transferred directly to Quebec. The NDP criticized the lack of a dedicated allocation for rent-geared-to-income housing. No amendments were moved during the debate.

Earlier in the sitting, Private Members’ Business saw second-reading debate on Bill C-237, which would amend the Fisheries Act to harmonize recreational groundfish fishing seasons across Atlantic Canada and impose mandatory reporting. The sponsor, Jonathan Rowe (CPC), argued it would restore fairness for Newfoundland and Labrador, where the food fishery is limited to weekends, while other Atlantic provinces fish seven days a week. The Liberals and Bloc Québécois opposed the bill. Robert Morrissey (Lib.) said it would eliminate regional stock management and threaten commercial fisheries, and that no fishing associations outside the sponsor’s riding were consulted. Maxime Blanchette-Joncas (BQ) said Quebec fishers and associations are unanimously opposed, and that a one-size-fits-all calendar ignores local science and economic realities. A recorded vote was requested.

During Oral Questions, the Conservatives focused on two themes: that the interim federal health program gives rejected asylum claimants better benefits than Canadians, citing a Parliamentary Budget Officer projection of nearly $1.5 billion in annual costs; and that the Cúram software project for Old Age Security payments has ballooned from $1.75 billion to $6.6 billion, leaving 85,000 seniors with delayed payments. The government answered that it has already introduced co-pays and Bill C-12 to curb asylum misuse, that the OAS conversion is complete and under budget, and that the $6.6 billion figure covers multiple future phases, not a single cost overrun. The Bloc Québécois also pressed the Cúram issue, and the NDP asked when pharmacare negotiations with provinces would begin.