Sitting 120 — May 8, 2026

The sitting was dominated by debate on Bill C-11, the military justice system modernization act, with the central political argument turning on whether victims of sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces should retain the choice to have their case heard in a military court rather than being automatically transferred to the civilian system. The government also gave notice of time allocation on Bill C-30, the spring economic update implementation act, while private members' hour was devoted to Bill C-265 on therapeutic product access.

Bill C-11, the military justice system modernization act, would remove Canadian Armed Forces jurisdiction over Criminal Code sexual offences committed in Canada, transferring those cases exclusively to civilian authorities. It would also change appointment processes for senior military justice officials and expand victim supports. The government argued the bill implements the core recommendation of former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour, who called the victim's choice between systems a "false choice." The Conservatives, Bloc Québécois and NDP opposed the removal of amendments adopted at committee that would have allowed victims to choose which system hears their case, and that would have added a sunset clause and an inspector general for sexual misconduct. Parliamentary Secretary Sherry Romanado stated she personally supported keeping the sunset clause and hoped the Senate would restore it. Conservative James Bezan said the bill would remove accountability for perpetrators because civilian courts have a higher threshold for prosecution, and accused the government of ignoring victims who testified. The Bloc Québécois supported the bill in principle but condemned the government for using its new majority to strip all opposition amendments. The bill passed third reading on a recorded division.

Bill C-265, a private member's bill introduced by Liberal Marcus Powlowski, would amend the Food and Drugs Act to require the health minister to create and maintain a pre-approved list of non-marketed therapeutic products for serious or life-threatening conditions, allowing physicians to order them directly without case-by-case approval. The sponsor said the current special access program forces doctors to repeatedly reapply for drugs already proven safe and effective abroad, causing dangerous delays. Conservatives supported sending the bill to committee but raised concerns that it lacked explicit exclusions for controlled substances such as pharmaceutical-grade heroin, and that the presumption of approval for joint treatment plans by two clinicians could allow rubber-stamping. The Bloc Québécois supported the bill while stressing the need for consultation with provinces and Quebec. The bill was referred to committee.

Oral Questions was dominated by the monthly jobs report, with Conservatives repeatedly citing 47,000 full-time jobs lost in April, a 6.9% unemployment rate, and youth unemployment at 14.3%. They accused the government of reckless spending and demanded it get out of the way so investment and job creation could resume. Government parliamentary secretaries responded that Canada has the strongest fiscal position in the G7, that the deficit had been reduced by $11 billion, and that the government was making generational investments in skilled trades, infrastructure and defence that would create hundreds of thousands of jobs. Other themes included the future of the Snowbirds demonstration team, with the government saying the minister would provide an update in Moose Jaw on May 19; the Cowichan land-title ruling, where the government declined to discuss its litigation strategy but said it had appealed; and the Mercosur trade deal, where the government said it was listening to ranchers' concerns.