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Elizabeth May

Green 1:30 p.m.

“I want big foreign companies to pay more tax. They make billions!”

Abdelhaq Sari

Liberal 1:30 p.m.

“I want the government to promote my preferred language and culture.”

Grant Jackson

Conservative 1:30 p.m.

“I'm against the CRTC's decision to raise taxes on streaming services. It will make streaming services more expensive for Canadians. It's the Liberals' fault.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, it is, once again and always, a privilege to rise on behalf of my constituents in Brandon—Souris. I rise in support of the Conservative opposition day motion today, which is in direct response to the announcement made by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission last week. Quite simply, we need to reverse the CRTC's ridiculous tax hike on streaming services, because Canadians cannot afford one more increase to the cost of living caused by the Liberals. It is really as simple as that. Hiking the streaming tax will also make Canada less competitive for our streaming and film industry, of which there is currently, and has been over the last number of years, growth in my home province of Manitoba. It has already threatened our currently tempestuous relationship with the United States. Only the Prime Minister and his Liberal get along gang can reject the CRTC's tax increase and save Canadians money by eliminating it permanently, which is exactly what we, as Conservatives, are asking for today. For those Brandon—Souris constituents who may not have been following this closely, the context of this issue is just as important as the tax hike itself. Liberal MPs voted, in 2023, to make their Online Streaming Act a law here in Canada. The act has been set up to serve three primary purposes, according to government members. First, the act brought online streaming platforms, such as YouTube, Netflix, Spotify and all the rest, under the authority of the CRTC and therefore made them subject to similar Canadian broadcasting rules to those we use for television and radio. Second, the act allowed the CRTC to force streaming companies to fund and support Canadian content and its creators through additional taxes, such as the one we are debating today. Third, it also gave the CRTC powers that mandated Canadian content be promoted and discoverable in Canada, which I will not have time to speak to today. In any case, that is just a bit of background or context for viewers at home as to how we got here. Just one week ago, with the power granted to it by the Liberal government, the CRTC announced that it is tripling the tax for online streamers and platforms from 5%, which it had already imposed after the law was passed, up to 15%. Now, Canadians would be forgiven for being a bit confused as to why the Liberals would be upping the tax already. They may know that the original 5% tax is currently being challenged in the courts by online streamers, which is a case that has not been decided on, nor has any tax at that 5% actually been paid to date. Before the courts have even ruled on a 5% tax that the Liberals allowed the CRTC to create, the Liberal-backed CRTC has ploughed ahead with tripling the tax, making it even higher. As many of my Conservative colleagues already warned earlier today, and in years past, I might add, this use of power by the CRTC will have harsh consequences for Canada, and we are sincerely skeptical as to whether we will see any real benefit. Despite these warnings, here we are anyway. This online streaming or Netflix tax is a creation of the CRTC, but it also reflects the type of government intervention that attempts to lead a horse to water and force it to drink, whether the horse is thirsty or not, which we have seen time and time again from this tired, costly Liberal government over the last 11 years. As my colleagues have rightly pointed out, nothing prevents streaming companies from tagging Canadians with this 15% tax increase on their monthly bills either, as if we had a need for something else to cost us more in our daily lives. Have members noticed their streaming service bills going up? I bet they have, and after this is imposed, they are going to get worse, not better. Not only will Canadians pay more, but the imposition of a 15% tax increase would also make Canada among the most expensive places to operate a streaming service in the world. With less competition, fewer options and increased costs, it sounds like a Liberal deal to me. Why would streamers and online streaming companies bring their business to Canada, to a market that will be less profitable for them, increasingly taxed and more meddled about with through government intervention? Netflix's recent investment in Vancouver is a great example. It created more than 450 jobs. These are the kinds of benefits that Canadians may lose should the Liberal government fail to use its power to stop this streaming tax hike and allow more costs within this industry. Canadians, due to left-wing government intervention in the marketplace and a lack of competition, already pay some of the highest fees in the digital space, from streaming to cell packages and home Internet. Now the CRTC wants streaming services to cost more to prop up programs that most Canadians do not want to watch. This not only sends a message to streamers and larger streaming companies, but also has a serious potential to weaken Canada's already fragile position in trade negotiations. We have already seen comments that it is going to have just that effect. As we fast approach a review of our CUSMA agreement with the United States, whose streaming companies undoubtedly make up a majority of the target the CRTC is trying to hit with this tax, it feels completely out of touch with the renegotiations and the challenging circumstances in which we find ourselves. We do not have to look far to see its impact. In response to the CRTC's decision, the U.S. ambassador to Canada has already said that this initiative “is making a bad situation worse.” At a time when Canada needs strength, why are the Liberals so determined to put Canada in the worst possible negotiating position? It is a deeply troubling stance from the government. I sincerely hope it is not due to its own shameful political ambitions. The fact is that a significant amount of the content that Canadians consume is from other countries, including the United States. That is not likely to change. The CRTC wants to ignore this reality and force Canadians to watch solely Canadian content and have them pay top dollar while doing so, but that is not a free marketplace and it should not be the government's role. To be clear, Conservatives are committed to protecting and championing Canadian culture in every way. We are pro a Canadian national identity, which is why we have disagreed with grounding national symbols like the Snowbirds and removing Terry Fox from the passport. To that end, we know what makes Canadian content special, and we need to ensure that affordability and economic growth are at the centre of how we spur that content, not forcible government regulation and taxation. For 10 years now, the Liberals' approach of over-regulation, coupled with this CRTC announcement, is starting to feel like Groundhog Day. Liberals create a problem and then create a tax that they say will make everything better. Conservatives know this is an inherently flawed way to achieve an objective. We only need to look at the last 11 years to see the result. For the higher cost of living because of the carbon tax, we can thank a Liberal. For the higher housing costs due to outlandish requirements, taxes and red tape, we can thank a Liberal. For the higher fuel prices from an intentional depression of the oil and gas sector by taxation, red tape and oppressive environmental regulation, we can thank a Liberal. Now the Liberals want our streaming services to pay three times the tax, which will undoubtedly be passed down to Canadian consumers, so when our streaming bills go up in the coming months, we will know exactly what to do: We can thank a Liberal.

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Hon. Kevin Lamoureux

Liberal 1:40 p.m.

“I want to change the subject. I don't want to talk about the CRTC's tax hike on streaming services. Instead, I'm going to accuse the Conservatives of not caring about Canada and claim they are surrendering Canada's sovereignty to the United States. I'm going to talk about Donald Trump for some reason. I don't want to answer the question.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, it is important to recognize that the CRTC stands alone. It is at arm's length from and independent of the government. That is a very important thing to note. The other thing I would highlight is that it is somewhat shameful to see Conservative member after Conservative member surrender Canada's sovereignty as they advocate on behalf of Donald Trump and the United States with respect to the whole idea of applying something to protect the Canadian arts industry, something that, by the way, other G7 countries have done. The Conservatives are saying no to not only Canada having the opportunity to protect its industries, but also possibly even those other G7 countries. Why is the Conservative Party not recognizing the importance of Canadian sovereignty on the issue of the arts?

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Grant Jackson

Conservative 1:40 p.m.

“I'm calling the Liberal's claims ridiculous. I'm going to defend my party and say we support film industries in all provinces. I'm going to bring up the topic of oil and gas and criticize the Liberals for not approving pipelines. I'm going to say the Liberals are the ones surrendering sovereignty to the U.S. by keeping us reliant on their refineries. I'm here to support free and independent industries, both in arts and culture and in oil and gas.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the entire premise of that member's question is ridiculous. We encourage supporting growth and competitiveness in Canada's film industry, which this tax hike is going to make worse. We support the Manitoba film industry. We support the Ontario film industry. We support competitiveness in the British Columbia film industry. The only party in this place that surrendered sovereignty to the United States on anything is the Liberals. They are keeping us reliant on U.S. oil and gas refineries in the south by refusing to approve pipelines to new markets so that Canadians can have more competition in the oil and gas industry and reassert Canadian sovereignty. That is the Liberal record, and the record of that member, for the last 30 years. It is shameful. We are supporting a free and independent arts and culture industry and a free and independent oil and gas industry in this country.

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Mario Simard

Bloc Québécois 1:40 p.m.

“I want the government to support Quebec's culture. Quebec's culture is important and needs to be protected. I don't like that the Conservatives called us a trade irritant. I want more francophone MPs to stand up and support this motion. It would be bad if any francophone MP supports the Conservative motion.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, Quebec's greatest treasure is its culture. It is the thing that has kept us afloat in a sea of anglophones. It is expressed in our music and in our films. It represents our collective imagination. Faced with the American steamroller, we need support to maintain this culture. We are a francophone drop in an anglophone ocean, and it is insulting to hear the Conservatives refer to us a trade irritant. I did not hear Quebec's Conservative MPs say much about this motion this morning, and I can guarantee that the leader of the official opposition is going to speak to it later. Few francophone members are going to stand with him on this; it would be a disgrace for any francophone MP to support this motion.

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Grant Jackson

Conservative 1:40 p.m.

“I don't like that the Bloc is upset. I want them to not be insulted. I think all Canadians care about affordability. I want Canadians to not pay a three-times increase in the cost of streaming services. I want the government to not damage affordability. I want the Liberals to stop damaging affordability today.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure there was much of a question in there for me. I am sorry that my colleague from the Bloc feels offended or insulted. That is certainly not the premise. I am assuming that streaming service users in Quebec, just like in every other province, are concerned about the rising prices and affordability measures that are affecting every province across the country. Why would they want a three-times increase in the cost of streaming services? That would impact affordability measures in Quebec just like it would everywhere else. The Liberal government has raised the cost of everything else in this country. Canadians, Quebeckers, Manitobans, western Canadians and Atlantic Canadians alike cannot afford another affordability measure being damaged by the Liberal government. It is shameful that the Liberals are doing it. It should be put to a stop today.

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Amarjeet Gill

Conservative 1:45 p.m.

“The Liberals should stop hurting businesses and creators with their streaming tax. I want the government to help businesses and innovators succeed.”

Grant Jackson

Conservative 1:45 p.m.

“I am saying the Liberals want businesses to need the government to succeed. I want more competition. I want less meddling from the CRTC. I want the government out of the market. I want the Liberals to vote for less meddling today.”

Hon. Pierre Poilievre

Conservative 1:45 p.m.

“I don't like the Netflix tax. I want to get rid of it. I want to cut other taxes too. I think the government is making life expensive. I want to shrink government. I want more production in Canada. I want less borrowing and debt. I want Canadians to have more control.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to oppose a new tax on Netflix imposed by the Liberals and supported by the Bloc Québécois. I am rising today to oppose the Liberal Netflix tax increase. We, as Conservatives, want this to be a country bursting with opportunity and promise, a country where young people can again afford homes and start families, where parents can give their kids the best food and the best start to life, and where seniors can retire in peace and tranquility, knowing that they can afford to live out their days, which they worked so hard to prepare for. However, after 10 years of the Liberal government, we have witnessed the biggest decline in the standard of living of any generation since the Great Depression, the first generation of youth who could not afford homes. We have the largest number of Canadians relying on food banks, up over 100% in just seven years, and we have had the worst economic growth in the G7 for over a decade. The Liberals have given us the worst household debt and the worst food price inflation, and instead of changing course, as the Liberal Prime Minister promised in the last election, it turned out that that was all an illusion. It has been more costs, more taxes, more debt and more of the same. He is just another Liberal. How did we get to a point where Canadians cannot afford to live? The answer is governments that block production with taxes and red tape and then print money to fund the resulting shortfall. The easy money is introduced into the economy as debt. Spending more borrowed money faster means higher prices, especially when we are buying fewer produced goods. That has only given Canadians the highest household debt in the G7, a third higher than the second-closest country. Canada's household debt is now nearing record highs, and that debt is colliding with moderately higher interest rates. This, according to Equifax this week, has led to a point where “insolvency volumes have increased to levels not seen since 2009, up 18.8% year-over-year,” the “delinquency rate climbed 32 per cent year-over-year” and “Q1 saw insolvency rates hit a 17-year high, partly due to escalating financial strain on mortgage holders.” Three million Canadian households will see their mortgages roll over into higher rates over the next two years. The Prime Minister's inflationary deficits and taxes have forced Canadians to borrow for the essentials. One reason we spend more than we produce is because we do not have enough investment to produce and increase the production of our economy. According to RBC, in a report released about a month ago: Over the past decade, Canada’s net outflow of investment exceeded $1 trillion, the most significant capital exodus in...Canadian history. For every dollar invested in Canada from abroad, two dollars exited. Canada accounted for nearly 10% of global outward foreign direct investment over the past decade, having exported more capital than any country on Earth save [except for] the U.S. and China. These are two economies that are nearly 10 times our size. The Liberal Prime Minister ran away from this economic record, even though he was the adviser who convinced Justin Trudeau to implement it. This Liberal Prime Minister promised that, if he were elected, he would do the opposite of everything he had written about and said, everything his party had done in the preceding decade. We know now that that too was an illusion. It has been more debt, more taxes, more slow growth, more fleeing investment and more of the same. Today, the Liberal Prime Minister was off to New York to expand his favourite export, speeches. Once again, his speech was filled with more of his seemingly sophisticated but highly contradictory buzzwords. On the one hand, he says that we are in the middle of a rupture with the United States, while on the other, he says he wants to, in his words, “make America great again”. His elbows were again flapping up and down in the rhetorical chicken dance, as he cannot seem to decide if integration with the U.S. is a strength or a weakness. He has argued passionately for both positions in the last three months alone. Beyond the illusions, contradictions and the repetitive MBA-isms he states in these buzzword-laden speeches, he is ultimately on exactly the same track. All that matters is the results, not the illusions. Let me go on with the present tense about investment in Canada, according to the RBC report, which says, “Canada now ranks last among G7 nations in investment in both machinery and equipment and intellectual property.” According to Statistics Canada, from the end of the first quarter of 2025 to the last quarter of that same year, overall real business investment dropped by 0.4%, but investment in productive capital fell much more, with industrial machinery and equipment investment down a shocking 15%. The Prime Minister likes to brag about foreign direct investment, claiming that we have taken the most in the world, but Statistics Canada revealed what that was. It was foreign takeovers. These are paper transactions and not investment in new machines or hiring new workers. They are foreign corporations taking control over Canadian companies that are now trading cheap because of our weak dollar and our undervalued business environment. This is not to expand business, but simply to take control out of Canadian hands and put it mostly in American hands. I guess this is what the Prime Minister meant when he said that the Americans wanted to break us to own us. He is ensuring, through his policies, that is happening more and more. According to Statistics Canada, more than half of the total foreign direct investment inflows into Canada were simple paper transactions, mergers and acquisitions. Meanwhile, in the first four quarters of the Prime Minister's time in office, $109 billion of Canadian investment fled and more than $20 billion more left Canada than came back. That is Canadian dollars building mines, pipelines, businesses and technology abroad, paying foreign workers' salaries. If the Prime Minister really believes that he had made Canada such an attractive place to invest, then he should look in the mirror and ask why he has invested 90% of his personal assets outside of Canada, most of it in the United States. The answer, of course, is that he does not want his personal net worth to depend on the same weak economy, high taxes and red tape he imposes on the rest of our country. Weirdly, today in his speech, he even encouraged American investors to seek more of our pension fund money. Why on earth would we want the Prime Minister to go to the United States and encourage American investors to pillage our pension funds for investment we desperately need at home? According to Statistics Canada, a majority of Canadian pension fund money is now invested outside of Canada. Another question is: Why, despite the illusions, announcements, grand speeches in fancy foreign settings does investment continue to flee our country and why does it find more attractive welcome around the world? It is because the Liberal Prime Minister has carried on the same policies that he advised Justin Trudeau. Every single antidevelopment law Trudeau brought in remains in place today. The higher taxes on energy, investment and income remain in place. In fact, there are 500 economic projects now awaiting approval by the federal government, and the Prime Minister just announced that he is going to increase the industrial carbon tax sixfold on steel, aluminum, concrete, fertilizer and more. Government greed is again on display with the Liberal-appointed CRTC, using powers under the Liberal Online Streaming Act to triple the Netflix tax to 15%. For Canadians already paying high Liberal inflation on the goods they buy, high Liberal taxes on their paycheques, high Liberal taxes on their gas to get to and from work, and then higher Liberal taxes on the beer they drink to take the edge off when they get home, when they sit down and turn on their favourite program on Netflix, Crave or Disney+, they will again pay higher Liberal taxes to pay for it. The Liberals tax labour, energy, investment, beer, and now, cultural products. We Conservatives want to cut all taxes to make life more affordable for everyone. Today, we rise, as Conservatives, consistent with our overall approach of having a smaller government with bigger citizens, an affordable government for an affordable life. We want to cut taxes, obviously, on work, investment, energy and homebuilding, but we also want to fight this latest Liberal tax hike to give Canadians a break. Let them choose freely what they like to watch when they are at home recreating with their families. Let us get rid of the Netflix tax. Let us make this a country that is based on production and not borrowing, on paycheques and not debt, and on affordability and not exorbitant government inflation. We want to give Canadians back control of their lives with a promising future filled with opportunity. Let us get it done.

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Hon. Kevin Lamoureux

Liberal 1:45 p.m.

“The CRTC is separate from the government. Other countries have a fee to protect their arts. I think Conservatives want the US to control our arts. I want Conservatives to support Canadians instead of the US.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, it would take a lot of time to address that particular speech, but let us stick to the motion itself. Time and time again, I have heard from the Conservative speakers on this. First of all, we need to recognize that the CRTC is independent of government. The CRTC is the one that set the price. When we talk about having a fee on international streaming, Canada is not alone. Other G7 countries have done that. Time and time again, Conservative MPs stand up and surrender Canadian sovereignty on the important issue of protecting our arts industry. Why is the Conservative Party already starting to capitulate and advocate on behalf of the United States as opposed to taking a look at what is in the best interests of Canadians? It is time that the Conservative Party stand up for Canadians.

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Hon. Pierre Poilievre

Conservative 1:45 p.m.

“I think he talks a lot but knows little. The government lets the CRTC tax streaming. The government could stop that tax but it won't. Raising taxes on Canadians won't help our country. We should lower Canadians' taxes instead.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, never before in the history of Parliament has someone spoken so much and known so little. He does not even realize that it is impossible for any government agency to raise taxes without the approval of Parliament. Parliament exists today precisely because the Englishmen who created the tradition made it impossible for the Crown to tax what the people had not approved. This is an 800-year-old rule of Parliament. The government has given the legal power to the CRTC to impose a streaming tax and has the legal power to overturn that tax any time it wants. It needs to stop running away from its own policy decisions. The member says he is going to wrap himself in the Canadian flag. Give me a break. We do not defend sovereignty by raising taxes on Canadian consumers. We fight for Canadians by lowering their taxes.

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Mario Simard

Bloc Québécois 1:45 p.m.

“The government shouldn't subsidize oil and gas. We should stop funding oil and gas. That would have less debt and help people with inflation. Today's motion is bad for French-Canadians. We need funding to preserve French-Canadian culture.”

Hon. Pierre Poilievre

Conservative 1:45 p.m.

“I never supported corporate welfare for any industry. That includes oil and gas. Oil companies could make lots of money and pay more without the government in the way. The Bloc thinks consumer taxes are the only way to protect culture. I don't agree. We should let people keep their money to decide for themselves what culture to support.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member should do his research. I have never supported any form of corporate welfare for any industry. I will also let him know that the oil and gas sector is in no need of corporate welfare. It could be very profitable if we could get the government out of the way. Oil companies can pay more and contribute more to our economy, but we would have to get the Liberal government out of the way. Now let us talk about taxes. The Bloc Québécois believes that the only way to protect culture is to increase consumer taxes. Conservatives believe exactly the opposite. We believe that money should stay in consumers' pockets so they can decide what cultural content and programs they want to watch.

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What they said. What they meant.

Recent debates

Business of Supply

Elizabeth May

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Grant Jackson

Mario Simard

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Amarjeet Gill

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Hon. Pierre Poilievre

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Hon. Pierre Poilievre

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