Conservatives and Bloc Québécois MPs signalled a combative session ahead for the Liberal government, pressing at the first Commons Finance Committee meeting for a summer budget and delaying review of a key affordability bill, reports Blacklock’s Reporter.Conservative MP Jasraj Hallan introduced a motion urging the Minister of Finance to table a full budget before Parliament adjourns for the summer, citing concerns over economic uncertainty and a lack of fiscal transparency.“Given that Canadian families and small businesses have to budget before they spend, and given the economic uncertainty facing Canada, that it be reported to the House that the committee calls on the Minister of Finance to table a budget before Parliament closes for the summer,” Hallan told the committee.“This Prime Minister said he was a man with a plan,” he said. “Taxpayers are desperate to know what are the state of Canada’s finances.”.The government has postponed release of the 2025 federal budget until fall. Hallan said this delay reflects a refusal to provide a “clear and transparent” financial direction.Bloc Québécois MP Jean-Denis Garon echoed the criticism, arguing that delivering a budget should have been the finance minister’s first priority.“There was only one thing for the finance minister to do, prepare a budget,” Garon said. “We know the Minister makes a lot of announcements but doesn’t really finish what he started. If there are some Budget Estimates that would be great.”“How do you say cherry-picking in French?” he asked. “Liberals decided they would just cherry-pick what they liked.”.“If Liberals want to table their election platform all at once, let them do it in the House,” Garon added. “But if they want to cherry-pick and table tax cuts without knowing how we are going to pay for them and then later have some sort of financial reporting that will hide what things are really like, I don’t agree with that.”The dispute came as Liberal MPs sought support for swift passage of Bill C-4, An Act Respecting Certain Affordability Measures, which proposes a $5.8 billion income tax cut.“This is our first meeting,” said Liberal MP Ryan Turnbull, Parliamentary Secretary for Finance. He said voters had granted Liberals a mandate to govern.“They voted for us,” said Turnbull. “They put us in our seats, and by us I mean the Liberal Party members who formed government. Granted, a minority Parliament, a few seats short of a majority, but a strong mandate for a minority government nonetheless.”.“I think it’s a bit unfortunate that we’re starting out this way given the fact we have C-4 legislation to consider which I think should be the priority,” said Turnbull. He argued the committee should not be “spending a lot of time” on Conservative motions.Commons committees held their first meetings this week to elect chairs and adopt procedural rules. Conservative MP Michael Barrett said opposition parties are ready to assert their influence.“The opposition has a majority on committees,” Barrett told the House last week. “There is a real opportunity for opposition parties to ensure we hold the government to account.”
