Kerry Diotte · TranslatePolitics.ca

Government Orders

Bail and Sentencing Reform Act

2026-06-10

“You always take the criminal's side instead of protecting victims.”

Government Orders

Business of Supply

2026-05-28

“You're right. The Americans already said they don't like this tax. We shouldn't make them mad. We need them to buy our stuff.”

“Why does this government keep piling on new taxes when Canadians are already having trouble affording rent and food? This luxury tax won't help. It'll actually hurt us twice by risking trade with the US too.”

“Speaking for all Canadians is a bit much. I want people to keep their small pleasure of streaming shows. The government trying to take that away is bad.”

“You talk about other countries. Who cares. It's not a good thing that other countries also overtax their citizens. The United States is our biggest trading partner. We should be making trade easier with them. This tax will make it harder. It will be very bad.”

“Canadians pay too much for everything. The government wants people to pay more to use Netflix. This is a tax. I don't like taxes. The government should not make people pay more. Big companies will just charge people more money. The government just wants to take people's money. The government should not make things cost more. The government makes bad decisions that hurt people.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are stretched thin. They are paying more for groceries, more for gas, more for rent, more for everything. Now the Liberals want them to pay more to stream their favourite shows and movies online. With this new policy, the CRTC is ordering online streaming services like Netflix and Disney to pay more of their annual Canadian revenues to fund Canadian content. It is not the first time the Liberals have tried to do this. Under the Liberals, the CRTC introduced a 5% tax on revenues. That tax is being challenged and is still before the courts. Now it wants to increase the tax from 5% to 15%, and that is wrong. Let us call it what it is: This is a streaming tax. A tax is a tax is a tax. Canadians know exactly what happens next. Big corporations simply do not absorb new costs. They pass them on to consumers. That means higher monthly bills for Canadian families who are already struggling with the cost of living crisis the Liberal government created. The Liberals can try to dress this up in bureaucratic language. They can call it a contribution, and they can call it modernization, but Canadians know better. If it walks like a tax and costs like a tax, it is a tax. Canadians can smell a rat, and they can smell a tax too. This Liberal tax will drive up the cost of living for all Canadians who have to shell out for online streaming services. This is just another example of a government that believes Canadians are somehow undertaxed. Conservatives have always believed in letting Canadians keep more of their own money in their own pockets. By contrast, the Liberals are always the ones with their hands in Canadians' pockets. We have repeatedly called on the government to remove all taxes on gasoline and diesel at the pumps to give some measure of tax relief to beleaguered Canadians. Unfortunately, the Liberals have only responded with half measures, including taking off a few cents a litre in taxes, but we know more can be done. After 11 years of the Liberal government, life has become more expensive. Mortgage payments have doubled for many families. Food inflation has hammered household budgets. Food bank usage has doubled since 2019 to nearly 2.2 million visits per month. One in four Canadian kids now go to school hungry. Canadians are struggling. At the same time, interest rates have soared. Why? It is because the government fuelled that inflation with its reckless spending. The Prime Minister has doubled Justin Trudeau's deficit, which was $31 billion. This allegedly new and improved leader has a projected deficit of $65 billion. Now the Liberals want to make our entertainment more expensive too. Canadians use streaming services because they want choice, convenience and affordability, and the Liberals are threatening all three. The Liberals have already pushed through the Online Streaming Act. Conservatives warned that bill would open the door to more government control, more CRTC interference and more costs for consumers. We were right. The Liberals claimed ordinary Canadians would not be affected, but now we see the consequences. We see the higher costs. We know there is more red tape. Ultimately, we know it is due to more government meddling. It is the same old Liberal platform: tax, spend, repeat. This decision also sends the wrong message to investors. Canada should be attracting investment, not driving it away. Businesses need certainty. They need competitiveness. They need a government that understands economic growth. Instead, under the Liberal government, all they get is endless regulation, escalating costs and unpredictable markets. Why would companies invest more in Canada when the Liberal government keeps moving the goalposts? Why would innovators choose Canada when they are punished with higher fees and heavier regulation? Conservatives believe in supporting Canadian culture, but we do not strengthen it by punishing investment, driving up costs and undermining economic growth. This decision creates uncertainty at the worst possible time. Canada's economy is already weak. Productivity is declining. Investment is lagging behind our competitors. Businesses are leaving. This 15% tax hike places Canada among the most expensive operating jurisdictions in the world for streaming services. Put simply, it discourages business investment in Canada and will further devastate Canadian film and television production hubs like Vancouver and Toronto. In the face of declining capital, the Liberals are responding the only way they know how, with another tax hike for already struggling Canadians. That is backward and Conservatives will stand against it. This decision also risks damaging Canada's relationship with the United States ahead of a CUSMA review. At a time when we should be reducing trade tensions, the Liberals are creating new trade irritants. The U.S. ambassador to Canada said, “CRTC’s decision to triple the tax rate on leading streaming services is making a bad situation worse. CRTC is targeting and taxing U.S. companies, putting up new, discriminatory trade barriers, and worsening the investment climate for American businesses.” That is exactly what the government is doing: making a bad situation worse. While we are on the topic, how are those trade talks going? I remember that, for the first Canada-U.S. trade deal under Justin Trudeau, there were discussions many months in advance. The true irony of this is that the new Prime Minister sold himself to Canadians as the man who could get a deal with Mr. Trump by July 2025. Obviously, that failed. I am pessimistic about his ability to get a new trade deal anytime soon, especially when his government is increasing tensions between our countries with more needless taxation. That is just irresponsible. The United States has already raised concerns about discriminatory digital taxes and regulatory measures targeting American companies. The Liberals should be working to strengthen North American trade, not weaken it. Our economy depends on stable and predictable trade relationships. The government should not be picking fights with our largest trading partner just to satisfy its ideological obsession with big government. It is not just American organizations that are against this tax hike. It has also faced criticism from Canadian domestic screenwriters and creators, including the Writers Guild of Canada. Conservatives believe in lower taxes. We believe Canadians should keep more of their own money. We believe government should spend within its means, instead of driving up its deficit and constantly reaching deeper into Canadians' pockets. We believe consumers, not bureaucrats, should decide what Canadians watch online. The streaming tax is costly, careless and completely unnecessary. That is why we are calling on the Liberals to reject the CRTC's decision. The government has the authority to act. It should eliminate this streaming tax before Canadians are forced to pay the price. Canadians cannot afford more Liberal taxes. They cannot afford more inflation. They certainly cannot afford another Liberal government cash grab disguised as cultural policy. Conservatives will continue fighting for affordability, for taxpayers and for common sense.

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Oral Questions

Finance

2026-05-04

“I am criticizing the Liberals for spending too much money. They have increased the national debt by a lot. This is bad for us. Liberals are not responsible with our money. I want the Prime Minister to stop spending so much money. It is making things more expensive for everyone.”

Statements by Members

Opioids

2026-04-28

“I want people in Edmonton to feel safe. The government's consumption sites are not working. We need to help people get off drugs instead of just giving them a place to do drugs.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I chose Edmonton as my home more than 40 years ago. It is a great city. It is friendly and full of honest, hard-working people, but lately, Edmonton is struggling. People are afraid to ride city trains and buses. Many are afraid to go downtown. They read about violent crime and see used needles in the streets. It is all because this great city has been plagued with a drug epidemic. There have been 613 drug poisoning deaths just between January 1 and the end of November 2025. Fentanyl is the killer. Last year, it accounted for 75% of opioid deaths compared to just 15% in 2024. Clearly, the Liberals' supervised drug consumption sites do not work. People do not need a place to do drugs; they need a place to get off of drugs. Instead of consumption sites, we need to help those struggling with addictions to get off the streets, get off the drugs and become productive members of society.

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Government Orders

Government Business No. 9—Changes to the Standing Orders

2026-04-27

“You're just trying to stack the committees with your people so your party's scandals don't get investigated.”