TranslatePolitics.ca

Recent debates

8 latest topics

06-18 Spring Economic Update 2026 Implementation Act 57 statements 06-18 Spring Economic Update 2026 Implementation Act 19 statements 06-18 Arab Heritage Month Act 5 statements 06-18 The Economy 15 statements 06-18 Government Priorities 2 statements 06-18 Government Priorities 2 statements 06-18 Housing 12 statements 06-18 The Environment 2 statements

Adjournment Proceedings

2026-06-18 Sitting 139 Showing 1–4 of 4

A brief end-of-session debate where members wished each other well for the summer break and thanked staff. The Liberal member praised the government's summer jobs program. No real discussion of any substantial issues.

Official Hansard ↗

Garnett Genuis

Conservative 3:15 p.m.

“I'm extending generic best wishes to everyone, then I'm pivoting to my real topic. I think the upcoming Alberta debate over Confederation is very important, but I want my province to stay in Canada. A lot of my constituents agree. I want the rest of the country to listen to Albertans' concerns about how the federation is working. Now I'll transition again. I think young Canadians are facing a worsening employment crisis, and it's harder for young families to afford their first home. We Conservatives have a lot of ideas to fix this. We want to unleash the economy, fix immigration, fix training, build homes where jobs are, and shake up parental leave to make life easier for young working families. We put out a detailed jobs plan and and work-life plan - but the government keeps ignoring us. So I'll complain about lack of cooperation and ask them to reconsider. I'm basically just plugging our Conservative policy plans and trying to pressure the government to adopt them.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I want to extend my best wishes for the summer to all colleagues from all sides. We have fought hard for our constituents, for our convictions and to advance the common good of this country. I want to share my best wishes with all colleagues, as well as the various staff and people in this institution who support the important work that we do. In addition to thanking and wishing best wishes to all colleagues and support staff here, I want to note that this will be a very important summer in my province because we will be discussing and debating the question of Alberta's place within Confederation. I can tell the House that I firmly believe in the importance of a strong Alberta within a united Canada. I believe that is the position held by the majority of my constituents. I look forward to talking to people and listening to them over the summer. I would encourage colleagues from all parts of the country to also listen to, respect and try to understand the concerns Albertans have. Many Albertans, including those who support a united Canada, have concerns about the way our federation has operated and want to look for opportunities to improve things for the good of the whole country. Coming back to the question I had originally asked and that I am following up on, I am deeply concerned, as we go into the summer, about the challenges facing young Canadians and young Canadian families when it comes to finding employment, starting out in life and believing they can have a better future and that they can pass a better future on to the next generation. We have a worsening employment crisis. It is getting increasingly harder for young people to find their first job, and for young families to afford their first home and be able to afford to take those critical steps forward in life. In recognition of that problem, and in an effort to be constructive, we have, as the Conservative Party, put forward constructive proposals to try to make life better for young people seeking jobs and for young families. Last fall, we announced the Conservative youth jobs plan to unleash the economy, fix immigration, fix training and build homes where the jobs are. This plan, if implemented by the government, would help young people have hope that they can have jobs and opportunity going forward, afford homes and have the standard of living their parents had. We have also released a work and family life plan to support young families. This plan includes vital reforms to parental leave to make it easier for parents who are trying to start a family, maintain a connection to work and earn an income at the same time. I am very proud of the work we have done as a Conservative opposition, focusing on what matters to Canadians and on putting forward constructive proposals to make people's lives better. We have asked the government, in a spirit of goodwill and co-operation, to take these ideas forward and adopt our Conservative youth jobs plan and the parental leave reforms we have put forward. Unfortunately, in many cases, we have seen the government choose to move in the opposite direction, for instance, by defunding grants to students at vocational institutions who are trying to gain the vital experience they need for jobs. We have always sought to be productive and constructive by putting forward these good ideas and asking the government to adopt them. Therefore, as we face these ongoing challenges, an affordability crisis and a youth unemployment crisis, will the government take a serious look at what we have put forward, including the Conservative youth jobs plan, parental leave reforms and the need to reform training to connect Canadian young people with Canadian jobs? Will the government look at our ideas, take them seriously and consider implementing them as part of the budget so we can finally reverse the trajectory that we have seen and give young people hope for jobs, homes and opportunity in the future?

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

Yasir Naqvi

Liberal 3:20 p.m.

“Thanks staff. I like you. Thanks other guy. I like Alberta. Let's go there. We should create jobs for youth. My government spent money on things. We will give money to provinces for vague reasons. Then they will do things. I hope that works out.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, let me start by wishing you a restful summer. I know it has been a very busy sitting. I want to thank the entire House of Commons staff for their remarkable work in supporting us in the important work we do on behalf of our constituents. It is a great honour for me to serve Ottawa Centre. Some hon. members: Oh, oh! Yasir Naqvi: Mr. Speaker, there is a lot of cheering. It feels like the last day of school. That is how my kids felt this morning, by the way, as we were leaving home. This is a similar feeling. I also want to thank the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan for his hard work. I know he works extremely hard on behalf of his constituents. I know he is a very engaged father. I have often seen him around here with his children. In particular, I want to thank him for really making clear how much he believes in this country and how much he believes in a strong Alberta within a very strong and united Canada. I thank him for that. The member is absolutely right. I am from Ontario, but it is incumbent upon all of us to make an effort to understand Alberta better, better understand the concerns of Albertans and how they are feeling, and make sure that we work together to keep them as part of this country. I think we are stronger as a country when we all work together. In this place, one of the most important things I have learned is to really pay attention to what others are saying. That allows us the opportunity to learn about this beautiful, vast country of ours, because we come from our different corners. Listening to the debates that take place in this particular House allows us to to be better champions of Canada and to better understand, love and respect this country. I look forward to that opportunity. I would like to ask the hon. member if there would be an opportunity for some of us from provinces like Ontario to go and spend time with him so that we can speak to Albertans, our fellow Canadians, as one. I would look forward to that opportunity, if he could please reach out. The member raised a very important issue about youth employment. Colleagues know we are living through precarious times right now. There is a lot of anxiety in the country because of the unjustified trade war we are in, the protectionism we are seeing in the world and the wars that are taking place. They have an impact on our country, our economy and people's livelihoods. Of course, they have an impact on young people as well. That is why I think it is incumbent upon all of us, regardless of which political background we come from, to share those ideas. I respect the member for putting forward ideas that will help boost youth employment. That is not a partisan issue. I think it is an aspiration that we all share, and it is important that we all work together. However, on our side, as a government, we are seized with the issue. We have been working hard to make sure that we create those opportunities for young people. This year's spring economic update reaffirms a new investment of $6 billion to recruit, train and hire up to 100,000 new Red Seal skilled trade workers in the next five years. This will create opportunities for young people in skilled trades that are so needed across the country, and it will align with Canada's housing infrastructure and defence needs, where a tremendous amount of investment is being made. We are also making major investments in our workers, with initiatives such as the labour market development agreements with the provinces and territories. These labour market development agreements are provided by the federal government through funding and coordination at the national level to ensure consistency and alignment. Provincial and territorial governments will then have the flexibility to design and deliver the programs and services best suited to the needs of their local labour markets. We are investing about $2.9 billion in those agreements. I also want to take a moment to talk about Canada's summer jobs, which are extremely important, including in my riding. I see my time is up.

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

Garnett Genuis

Conservative 3:25 p.m.

“Thanks for the nice words. Come visit Alberta and talk to the people there. The government should do the things in that report. We need new solutions like the Conservative plan.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his kind words. Indeed, I would welcome him, and all members of this House from all parties, to come to Alberta this summer. Let me know. I would be happy to host. Members could spend some time talking to people in our province to understand some of their concerns. These are precarious times, but youth unemployment is very high here compared to in peer countries, and compared to what we have seen historically. I would draw the attention of the government to the 10th report of the human resources committee. It is a unanimous report that identifies specific policy problems in this country that need to be addressed, including high taxes, high red tape, hiring costs and failures in immigration policy and training policy. These are things we need to talk about. When folks on the government side talk about this, they often highlight the continuing existence of programs that have already existed for a very long time. What we need are new solutions, like the Conservatives' youth jobs plan that would make a difference. I would encourage the member to refer to that report.

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

Yasir Naqvi

Liberal 3:25 p.m.

“I want to cheer for a program that spends money in my riding. 600 jobs created. See, the government spends money and it helps young people. We need to spend money so young people can network. We should spend money on more things. Summer jobs are very important. The government should spend more money on trades. That's what I think.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member again for the work he is doing. I briefly want to talk about the Canada summer jobs program, because I know it benefits young people across the country in all our respective constituencies. In my riding of Ottawa Centre alone, almost 600 jobs have been created. I run into young people who have taken part in the program in the past or are part of the program now, and it helps them to create networks and opportunities. Now they are starting to do important things in their lives. We need to make sure those opportunities exist, whether in the not-for-profit sector or with private enterprise. That is important work. I want to highlight that I think investment in skilled trades is so important. There are so many young people who want to be part of skilled trades, and the investment we are making through our government in that regard is going to create a huge benefit. Once again, I wish a happy summer to everyone. I look forward to continuing this important work.

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

What they said. What they meant.

Recent debates