Sitting 140 — September 21, 2026

The sitting was dominated by third reading of Bill C-10, the commissioner for modern treaty implementation act, which would create an independent officer of Parliament to audit and report on federal implementation of modern treaties. The central argument was accountability: supporters said an independent commissioner would force departments to honour constitutionally protected agreements, while Conservatives said the bill creates another bureaucracy with no power to compel action when the Auditor General's reports are already ignored. Earlier, the House debated Bill C-266, a national framework on skilled trades and labour mobility.

Bill C-10 was co-developed with modern treaty partners, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Rebecca Alty (Liberal) said, and would give the commissioner authority to conduct reviews and performance audits, require departmental information and report directly to Parliament. The Bloc Québécois supported it: Marilène Gill (Bloc) said treaty partners had asked for such a watchdog for over twenty years and that the government, not the commissioner, must deliver, while Sébastien Lemire (Bloc) noted the bill exists because follow-up was never done. The NDP's Leah Gazan supported it but accused the Liberals of violating treaty rights through the Alberta energy memorandum and clean water legislation. Green leader Elizabeth May also supported it. Conservatives opposed: Jamie Schmale, Brad Redekopp, Tako van Popta, Billy Morin, Marc Dalton and Garnett Genuis argued the bill merely names and shames, lacks teeth, duplicates six existing bodies and shifts responsibility away from ministers; Genuis said accountability belongs in Parliament, not a new office. No amendments were made at committee. The bill passed third reading on division.

Bill C-266, sponsored by Parm Bains (Liberal), would require the minister to develop a national framework on skilled trades and labour mobility, consult broadly, table a report within a year, report annually and undergo review within five years, without replacing provincial certification. Bains cited support from Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Polytechnics Canada, the Canadian Construction Association and the Mechanical Contractors Association. Jessica Fancy and Taleeb Noormohamed (Liberals) framed it as removing credential barriers; Glen Motz (Conservative) supported the goal but blamed Liberal inaction on housing and major projects. Kelly McCauley (Conservative) called it paperwork that would accomplish nothing and raised trafficked workers on federal projects. Christine Normandin (Bloc) opposed it as federal interference in exclusive provincial jurisdiction over training and credential recognition, warning harmonization could weaken Quebec standards. Bains requested a recorded vote.

Oral Questions were dominated by affordability and the trade war. Pierre Poilievre (Conservative) repeatedly pressed the Prime Minister on jobs, grocery and fuel costs and the deficit, citing the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and constituents; Mark Carney pointed to tax cuts for 22 million Canadians, the groceries and essentials benefit, GST relief for first-time homebuyers and 200,000 net new jobs. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne promised a bill later that day on gas costs, which Conservatives said merely copied their idea. A second cluster covered countertariffs: Conservative members cited firms in Brockville, Bradford, Windsor, Vaughan and Beauce facing layoffs and added costs, while Ministers Mélanie Joly, Dominic LeBlanc and Steven MacKinnon defended countertariffs as necessary leverage and accused the Conservatives of wanting to capitulate. Other exchanges covered airport privatization, housing starts, seniors, Stellantis job losses, rail costs and labour, where Don Davies (NDP) accused the government of preparing legislation to undermine the right to strike and Patty Hajdu said the right to strike would be respected.