Sitting 132 — June 9, 2026

The sitting was dominated by debate on Bill C-20, the Build Canada Homes Act, which the government moved to rush through third reading via a time-allocation motion. The central political argument was whether the bill would create a needed Crown corporation to accelerate affordable housing construction or would add an unnecessary layer of federal bureaucracy that would deliver few results.

The government moved a time-allocation motion to limit third-reading debate on Bill C-20 to five more hours. The minister argued the housing crisis required urgent action and that the new Crown corporation would centralize federal efforts, leverage private capital and partner with provinces. Conservatives opposed the motion, arguing the government had already created three other federal housing agencies and that the new bureaucracy would produce only a fraction of the homes promised. The Bloc Québécois raised concerns about regional construction costs and the need for flexibility. The motion was adopted on a recorded vote.

At third reading of Bill C-20, the government argued the Crown corporation would have the operational autonomy to build affordable housing at scale, citing partnerships with Quebec, British Columbia and New Brunswick. Conservatives countered that the Parliamentary Budget Officer estimated the agency would add only about 5,200 homes per year, far below the 500,000 annual target the Prime Minister had promised, and that the money would be better spent cutting taxes and reducing regulatory costs. The Bloc Québécois said it would support the bill because of an agreement with Quebec, but criticized the government for slow delivery and for creating a new layer of bureaucracy that had stalled existing projects. The NDP raised concerns that some projects for vulnerable people were being held up by the transition. The bill remained under debate at the end of the sitting.

Oral Questions focused almost entirely on the economy, with the opposition repeatedly stating that Canada was the only G20 country in a recession and citing rising insolvencies and bankruptcies. The government answered by pointing to 88,000 jobs created in the previous month, strong foreign direct investment and a trade surplus, arguing the economy was being transformed. A secondary theme was the high-speed rail project, which the opposition called a costly “white elephant” with 13 vice-presidents receiving bonuses before any track was laid; the government defended it as a job-creating nation-building project. The Bloc Québécois pressed the government on its decision to waive streaming-platform levies, accusing it of abandoning Quebec culture.

In Routine Proceedings, Conservative MP Frank Caputo moved an instruction to the public safety committee to split Bill C-22 into two parts, arguing that Part 1 (timely access to data) was broadly supported while Part 2 (lawful access and surveillance) was highly contentious. The government opposed the motion, accusing Conservatives of filibustering. The Speaker later ruled that a Conservative complaint about a parliamentary secretary misleading the House on economic data did not meet the threshold for a prima facie privilege case, calling it a dispute over facts. In Private Members’ Business, debate continued on Bill C-232, a Conservative bill that would require dangerous offenders and those convicted of more than one first-degree murder to be held in maximum security; the government and Bloc opposed it on rehabilitation and constitutional grounds.