This House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance meeting was part of its pre-budget consultations for the 2026 federal budget. The committee heard from a wide range of witnesses, including National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak of the Assembly of First Nations, Paul Deegan of News Media Canada, Dana Stephenson of Riipen Networks, Sylvia Martin-Laforge of TALQ, Josh Gladstone of the Assembly of First Nations, Firdaus Kharas as an individual, Kate Higgins of Cooperation Canada, Aaron Vansintjan of Food Secure Canada, Barbara Barrett of the Frontier Duty Free Association, Alain Strati and Kyle Irving of the Canadian Media Producers Association, Natan Obed of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, Victoria Pruden of the Métis National Council, Sean Longboat of the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres, Renaud Gignac of Investors for Paris Compliance, Barry Appleton as an individual, Stephen Beatty as an industry consultant, and Carla Vicente of Hitachi Energy Canada.
National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak and Josh Gladstone described a widening $360-billion infrastructure gap for First Nations, with 38 active long-term drinking water advisories and a housing crisis requiring over 157,000 new homes, and criticized the lack of a federal strategy to close these gaps by 2030. They called for a benefit-sharing framework for resource development, inclusion in the proposed sovereign wealth fund, and a First Nations-led vision for adult learning and youth upskilling, arguing that provincial transfers for health, education, and social services do not reach First Nations communities.
Paul Deegan requested that the Canadian journalism labour tax credit be maintained at 35% and that the local journalism initiative be renewed, while also proposing four no-cost measures: setting aside 25% of federal news spend for news media, closing a tax loophole for digital advertising on foreign platforms, declaring no copyright exception for text and data mining by AI companies, and stopping government procurement from AI companies that use news content without consent.
Dana Stephenson recommended a five-year national applied AI and SME productivity work-integrated learning pathway, using proven federal infrastructure to help small businesses adopt digital tools while creating paid placements for learners, noting that 85% of participating employers report increased productivity and 76% of participants receive job offers.
Sylvia Martin-Laforge made six recommendations, including renewing and expanding the action plan for official languages, establishing dedicated funding envelopes for English-speaking Quebec, binding transparency provisions in federal-provincial agreements, implementing part VII regulations with measurable outcomes, creating a targeted investment stream for community policy capacity, and adapting federal program design to Quebec’s structural barriers.
Firdaus Kharas recommended that Canada not fund any major disease response unless at least 25% is dedicated to prevention and behaviour change communications, that cutbacks to Global Affairs Canada be stopped and its allocation increased, and that 25% of spending on creative industries be redirected to digital and mobile platforms where audiences are.
Kate Higgins called for a protected core minimum of $5.5 billion annually for poverty-focused overseas development assistance and a minimum floor of $962.7 million annually for humanitarian funding, arguing that international co-operation is a strategic investment that builds economic partnerships and prevents costly crises.
Aaron Vansintjan proposed a buy Canadian food procurement strategy with a 30% local food target in federally funded institutions, a massive expansion of the local food infrastructure fund to $500 million per year, and investment in co-operative and non-profit food distribution to counter corporate concentration and support small farmers.
Barbara Barrett requested a targeted technical amendment to the Excise Act, 2001, to shift the point of excise duty collection from the manufacturer to the border for land border duty-free stores, aligning them with other export channels, arguing that the current system embeds a cost that U.S. competitors do not carry.
Alain Strati and Kyle Irving urged the government to honour its commitment to increase and make permanent funding for the CBC, to front-load the Canadian film or video production tax credit through partial prepayment, and to make a dedicated $50-million permanent investment in Canadian children’s programming, while expressing deep concern about the pause on implementing the Online Streaming Act.
Natan Obed called for the return of an indigenous chapter in the budget with distinctions-based sections and made seven recommendations, including an income-tested $7,500 refundable tax credit for low-income residents in Inuit Nunangat, a new federal program replacing the Inuit child first initiative, federal legislation for the Inuit Nunangat university, a national Inuit identity card, a $1-billion Inuit Nunangat fund over five years, $55 million for justice infrastructure, and $150 million over seven years to eliminate tuberculosis.
Victoria Pruden requested $3.8 million over three years for economic development capacity within the Métis National Council and its governing members, and $5.2 million over five years for housing policy coordination, emphasizing that distinctions-based, co-developed investments have produced measurable results and that Métis governments are best positioned to design and deliver programs for their citizens.
Sean Longboat, noting that core funding for friendship centres has been stabilized, called for continued program funding and targeted investments in mental health and addictions, housing and homelessness, violence prevention, and indigenous-led emergency management, highlighting that friendship centres generate $1.17 in local economic activity for every dollar invested.
Renaud Gignac proposed a temporary tax on the windfall profits of oil and gas companies, which he estimated could raise between $9 billion and $46 billion this year, and a climate damages recovery act modelled on tobacco compensation agreements to generate $3 billion to $6 billion per year for 25 years from major emitters to fund adaptation.
Stephen Beatty argued that Canada needs a national automotive strategy to either retool plants and regain competitiveness under a renewed CUSMA or transition manufacturers and workers out of the sector, warning that without decisive action, Canadian vehicle assembly will decline rapidly due to tariffs.
Carla Vicente recommended prioritizing a made-in-Canada grid supply chain, strengthening grid planning capabilities, pairing investment with regulatory certainty and workforce development, and expanding clean economy investment tax credits to include critical grid technologies like transformer manufacturing, which are currently excluded.
After the witnesses’ testimony, a Conservative member moved a motion to suspend clause-by-clause consideration of Bill C-30, citing concerns about privacy and Bill C-22. The chair ruled the motion out of order as it did not relate to the committee’s mandate. The member challenged the chair’s ruling, which was sustained on a vote of six to five.
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