Sitting 137 — June 16, 2026

The sitting was dominated by debate on the Combatting Hate Act (Bill C-9), which the government pushed toward final passage over Conservative objections that it would weaken religious freedom. The government also advanced Bill C-26, a housing-supply transfer to provinces, under a programming motion that limited further debate. Oral Questions focused on the economy, privacy, and the government’s use of time allocation.

The Combatting Hate Act (Bill C-9) would create new Criminal Code offences for obstructing access to places of worship and for displaying hate symbols, add a stand-alone hate-motivated offence with higher penalties, and remove the long-standing good-faith religious-text defence from the hate-promotion offence. The Senate amended the bill to add the noose to the list of prohibited symbols. The Liberals and Bloc Québécois supported the bill, arguing it would give police clearer tools and protect vulnerable communities, including Jewish and Black Canadians. The Conservatives opposed it, arguing the removal of the religious defence would chill lawful religious expression and that existing laws were sufficient if enforced. Several Conservative members cited concerns from faith leaders and civil-liberties groups. The government used time allocation to limit debate, and the bill passed its final Commons vote on a recorded division.

Bill C-26, an act to authorize payments from the consolidated revenue fund to improve housing supply, would allow the Minister of Finance to make $1.713 billion in payments to provinces and territories, with the amount and timing at the minister’s discretion. The Liberals argued the funds would help provinces reduce development charges or sales taxes on new homes, citing Ontario’s plan to rebate the HST on new homes up to $1 million. The Bloc Québécois supported the bill as an unconditional transfer respecting provincial jurisdiction. The Conservatives opposed it, arguing it gave the minister a blank cheque with no targets, no reporting requirements, and no guarantee of results. The government moved a programming motion (Government Business No. 11) to limit further debate and deem the bill passed at all stages without committee study; that motion was adopted on a recorded vote.

Oral Questions saw the Conservatives press the government on the economy, citing rising food-bank use, a recession, and Canadians resorting to crowdfunding for basics. The government replied by listing its programs—the Canada child benefit, the school food program, the disability benefit, and the groceries benefit—and accused the Conservatives of voting against them. On privacy and democratic institutions, the Bloc Québécois and Conservatives criticized the government for imposing time allocation on nine bills since June 1, including Bill C-22 (lawful access) and Bill C-30 (pesticides), arguing it muzzled debate. The government defended its use of programming motions as necessary to pass priority legislation. Other themes included housing, public safety, Indigenous affairs, and veterans’ issues.