The sitting was dominated by debate on the Canada-Indonesia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement Implementation Act (Bill C-18), which was passed at third reading, and by sustained Conservative attacks on the government’s handling of Iranian regime officials in Canada. The central political argument was whether the government had done enough to identify and deport members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and whether its trade diversification strategy was adequate given the ongoing tariff dispute with the United States.
The main Government Orders business was the third-reading debate on Bill C-18, the Canada-Indonesia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement Implementation Act. The bill would implement a trade agreement eliminating tariffs on more than 95% of Canadian exports to Indonesia, the fourth-most-populous country in the world, and covering goods, services, investment, labour and environmental standards. The Liberal government argued the deal was a strategic move to diversify trade away from the United States and open a market of nearly 300 million people for Canadian agriculture, aerospace, clean technology and nuclear energy. Conservatives supported the bill but criticized it as marginal, noting the projected economic impact was only 0.012% of GDP and that non-tariff barriers, such as residency requirements for beef cattle, could block actual market access. The Bloc Québécois supported the bill in principle but expressed reservations about investor-state dispute settlement provisions, the lack of binding protections for workers and the environment, and the absence of transparency in the treaty process. The Bloc member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot—Acton secured two amendments: one requiring a triennial review of the agreement’s operation and a report to the House, and another requiring an annual report on human rights conditions in Indonesia and the conduct of Canadian companies there. The Green Party opposed the bill, citing the risk that Indonesian company Paper Excellence could use investor-state provisions to challenge Canadian environmental or labour regulations. The bill was passed on division.
Oral Questions focused overwhelmingly on the presence of Iranian regime officials in Canada, with the Conservatives pressing the government on why only one of 239 individuals whose visas had been revoked had been deported. The Leader of the Opposition accused the Prime Minister of flip-flopping on Iran policy and on energy development. The government replied that 10,000 IRGC officers had been banned from entering Canada, 170 investigations were under way, and 28 individuals were actively being processed for removal. Ministers repeatedly urged the Conservatives to support government bills, particularly Bill C-9 (the combatting hate act) and Bill C-14 (bail reform), arguing these would strengthen tools against hate crimes and repeat offenders. A secondary theme was the cost of living and food inflation, with Conservatives blaming the industrial carbon tax and the clean fuel standard for driving up grocery prices, while the government cited studies showing the industrial carbon price had zero impact on food prices and pointed to the new Canada groceries and essentials benefit and tax cuts for 22 million Canadians.