Marcus Powlowski
Thunder Bay—Rainy River, Ontario · Liberal · Canada
“Mr. Speaker, if we as Canadians ask ourselves what things, what events, define who we are as a people, I think we would be hard-pressed to find anything more quintessentially Canadian than the triumphant moment when the captain of the Stanley Cup-winning team hoists the cup over his head.”
“Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the first report of the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying, entitled “Medical Assistance in Dying and Mental Disorder as the Sole Underlying Medical Condition: A Complex and Challenging Conversation Among Canadians”.”
“Mr. Speaker, I talked about this bill a month or so ago at some length, and I am certainly not going to try to repeat that right now. I would like to, first and foremost, thank everybody here for staying up and being here, and the many people who actually seem to have read and understood the legislation.”
“Let me start off with the SickKids hospital in Toronto. The Hospital for Sick Children is the number one ranked children's hospital in the world. I dare say, if our country ought to be good at one thing, it would be looking after the health of kids. I am really proud to have, at one point, actually studied at the SickKids hospital.”
“I would also point out that in the law itself there is a section that allows the minister to prohibit the use of a drug if they believe the use poses a risk to health. I have, as a result of the concerns, suggested and would entertain an amendment that it be three physicians rather than two.”
“Let me also mention tangentially RareKids‑CAN. They worked along with SickKids in drafting this bill. [ Translation ] I also want to thank my colleagues at Sainte‑Justine Hospital in Montreal who helped me a great deal with this bill. I especially want to thank the hospital's excellent chief pharmacist, Denis Lebel.”
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“We have a lot of natural resources, including critical minerals that are needed for the defence industry and for the green transition. Developing these resources will create jobs. It will also mean that, to the degree possible, we will no longer be as dependent on fair-weather friends. A priority for the government will be to help more critical mineral projects get to a final assessment decision within a two-year window. The budget proposes to provide $2 billion to create the critical minerals sovereign fund. The fund will make strategic investments in critical mineral projects and companies.”
“They are all ready and eager to start handling more container traffic, the big obstacle being a lack of CBSA facilities. I know that the port of Thunder Bay is in a very similar situation. Critical minerals are also something near and dear to the hearts of the people in my riding. Frontier Lithium and Mitsubishi are looking to open the first lithium mine in northwestern Ontario, with the refinery to be in my riding. In a recent speech to the mining community, the Minister of Natural Resources made a statement that I think is worth repeating; he said that we all remember the awful situation President Zelenskyy found himself in a few months ago at the White House, where he was told, “you have no cards to play”. We as a country have lots of cards to play.”
“On a related note, the budget announced over $600 million for CBSA. This is in addition to the previous $1.3 billion, and it allows CBSA to hire 1,000 new officers, which will in turn allow it to open new custom facilities in a number of ports along the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway. Currently, the only port on the seaway that allows customs clearance of container traffic is the port of Montreal, which creates a bottleneck: Boats go from Europe to Montreal in 10 days and then may end up waiting 10 days in order to clear customs. In addition, the lack of other inspection stations results in thousands of trucks on the 401 to the Trans-Canada Highway carrying containers that could be brought far closer to the destination directly by boat. I have spoken to the port authorities in Hamilton, Picton, Windsor and Goderich.”
“I will certainly try to use this money to build some of the things I would like built in my riding, for example, Fort William First Nation's chronic care home and a toll-free bridge between International Falls and Fort Frances. I would also really like some of the money to go toward things like hockey rinks. I, like a lot of Canadians, spend the winter watching my kids play hockey and drinking Tim Hortons coffee in aging arenas that need upkeep. Ports are also important. Thunder Bay is a port city, and as my favourite teacher in high school used to say, we owe our existence to the fact that we are an entrepot, which means a place where goods go from rail and trucks to boats, or vice versa. I am happy to say that the budget provides $5 billion to create the trade diversification corridors fund, which is money for ports, rail and roads.”
“We want to invest in building local infrastructure for things like roads, sewage and water, in order to build the homes Canadians need and want. We also need investment in road, rail and ports so we can efficiently get goods to market, which is increasingly important as our best trade partners have enacted all of their trade barriers. The budget projects that our capital investments will rise to nearly $60 billion in 2030, nearly double the $32 billion this year. Let us talk about some of the investments I like and that are good for my riding. Over 10 years, $51 billion will go toward the build communities strong fund to build local infrastructure.”
“Mr. Speaker, is it a time to invest or a time to be frugal? Maybe the right answer is that it is a bit of both. First, we are in the fortunate financial position of being able to invest, create jobs, build infrastructure and stimulate the economy. According to the IMF, Canada's net debt-to-GDP ratio in 2025, if we look at all levels of government, is by far the best in the G7. In addition, our deficit-to-GDP ratio is second only to that of Japan. As a result, the director of the IMF has said that Canada and Germany alone in the G7 are in the fiscal position to be able to invest in order to spur the economy, in what is otherwise a time of global economic downturn. Our government also wants to decrease spending while at the same time investing more. We want to invest in order to create jobs, both directly and indirectly.”
“Mr. Speaker, we get it. We do not agree on the issue of spending, but does the member not agree that the reality is that President Trump is going to be here for a while? The tariffs exist, much as we are trying to fight them. They are going to affect our economy. There is going to be a downturn in the economy. There are going to be more people on EI and more people relying on social assistance, which costs us money. Is this really a good time to start cutting spending, which would otherwise create those jobs that will stimulate our economy?”
“Mr. Speaker, I know tariffs have really affected the auto sector in the member's riding. In my riding, tariffs have really affected the forestry industry. She talked specifically about the regional tariff response initiative and how businesses and employees in her riding had benefited from this. Can the member give us some more specific examples of how that has benefited people in her riding?”
“Mr. Speaker, the member talked about believing in people. She talked about the importance of the creativity of our ancestors when they came to the country and about how they created this country. I agree with all of that, but what does she think of the fact that our budget would provide $1.7 billion for a suite of recruitment measures to recruit top-level scientists, innovators and doctors to our country? Is that a good idea, or is that, too, as she would say, ludicrous spending?”
“Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives seem to have a great deal of trouble finding anything good in this budget. I would point out that, in the budget, there is $5 billion over seven years, starting in 2025-26, to Transport Canada to create the trade diversification corridor fund. I, too, have a large bit of the Trans-Canada Highway running through my riding. Does the member not see a possibility that some of this money will go toward the Trans-Canada Highway and help his riding?”
“Mr. Speaker, many years of underinvestment in affordable housing for indigenous people and northerners has resulted in a serious gap in affordable housing for both of these groups. Can the Minister of Northern and Arctic Affairs tell the House how the new government is working with indigenous leadership to close the infrastructure gap, and how Build Canada Homes is turning that partnership into new homes for both northerners and indigenous people?”