Sitting 147 — October 7, 2026

The sitting was dominated by two things: the government's omnibus Building Canada Strong Act, debated at length in Government Orders, and a Conservative opposition motion on diesel prices that framed much of question period. The central political argument was whether the government's push to accelerate major project approvals — one project, one review, one year — represents genuine economic renewal or a concentration of power in the minister's office that weakens environmental assessment, indigenous consultation and workers' right to strike. The Bloc Québécois and New Democrats attacked the bill as a bulldozer; the Conservatives said it was more announcements without results; Liberals defended it as necessary in a trade war.

The Building Canada Strong Act, Bill C-39, would amend roughly 21 statutes to coordinate federal reviews, set a one-year decision clock once an application is deemed complete, allow cabinet to designate regions of national interest, and shift assessments for pipelines and nuclear projects to the relevant regulator. It also rewrites Canada Labour Code rules around section 107, requiring a special mediator's report, a national-interest assessment and an actual strike before the minister can intervene. Liberals, including parliamentary secretaries and ministers, argued this creates guardrails and protects the right to strike while cutting duplication. The Bloc's Alexis Deschênes and Jean-Denis Garon argued the bill lets the minister set assessment terms, appoint committees and exempt proponents from laws such as the Fisheries Act and Species at Risk Act, and noted the removal of the five-year sunset clause from the earlier Building Canada Act. The NDP's Don Davies said part 3 entrenches the broadest strike-intervention power in the G7 and cited union opposition from the Canadian Labour Congress, Unifor and CUPE. Conservatives, including Costas Menegakis, Dan Mazier and Garnett Genuis, said the bill repeats Bill C-5's promises without a single shovel in the ground, and questioned why transportation projects get no statutory deadline. Elizabeth May said the bill was "deceitfully drafted" for burying the sunset-clause repeal. The bill was still under debate when the sitting ended.

The Ukrainian Heritage Month Act, Bill S-210, would designate September as Ukrainian heritage month, marking the first recorded Ukrainian arrival in Canada in September 1891. Bloc, NDP, Conservative and Liberal members all spoke in support, citing the 1.3 million Ukrainian Canadians and Russia's ongoing invasion. Yvan Baker, the sponsor, described his grandparents' immigration. A recorded vote was requested, and the House agreed by unanimous consent to adjourn debate to 6:30 p.m. to move to government business.

Oral Questions were consumed by three recurring themes. On affordability, Pierre Poilievre repeatedly cited a 10% rise in Thanksgiving meal costs and asked when Canadians would afford groceries; the Prime Minister and ministers pointed to the groceries and essentials benefit reaching 12 million Canadians, tax cuts and $20,000 per family in support. On housing, Poilievre cited a Habitat for Humanity survey showing Canadians most likely to have given up on home ownership and challenged the Prime Minister's affordability figures; Mark Carney said rental and housing affordability had improved every month and cited 140,000 more jobs and 3.8% annualized growth, while Liberal parliamentary secretaries cited falling rents and Build Canada Homes.