Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Winnipeg North.
We are facing a very serious situation. I very much appreciate that the Liberal member put forward the motion for this emergency debate. This is obviously an urgent matter for those people, those families waiting in line that we see on television.
I imagine that these people hope that, in this House, we will have a respectful discussion where we will share ideas, present the issues and encourage the government to take action. We could also highlight various facets of the problem so that we will come to a better understanding of what needs to be done.
As part of this serious debate, I wish to make some suggestions. I remember my conversation with the mayor of Kitimat, Mrs. Monahan. She had just learned that all the schools in Kitimat were to be closed.
I was speaking with the mayor of Kitimat on the phone who had just learned about the closing of a mill and the loss of 500 jobs, which is pretty much an economic disaster. She told me she had just heard 10 minutes before that schools were having to be closed in Kitimat because of high absenteeism. I was thinking of the families who are now having to look after their kids at home in the midst of that situation.
I am thinking of the nurses who work with the homeless people in our communities, people like Cathy Crowe in Toronto underlines how many homeless people are likely to be very severely affected by this virus as it spreads through the shelters.
I was thinking of the chief from northern Manitoba who met with me and the member for Churchill and only hours after that conversation received a phone call that one of the family members had passed away and had to return immediately home.
These are immensely personal situations that we are dealing with. I think at this particular time we all have to work together. One of things that we have to do together is to ensure that the vaccines that are available are distributed as quickly as possible.
I had the opportunity to chair the Toronto board of health for many years and so I have a little familiarity with what is involved. I am hearing from the people in the public health sector that one of the problems they are facing is that they really do not have the resources to deliver the vaccinations on the ground and they are having to reallocate from other parts of their budget and other parts of their activity.
I remember thinking about what happens when we have a weather disaster, a flood or an ice storm. We actually have a system in place where 90% of the funding is going to be provided by the federal government. In other words, if one is a local decision maker, one can say, “We don't have to worry about the money. It's going to be taken care of. Let's get this plan going and move as quickly as we can to try to prevent as many problems as possible”.
This would be my key proposition to advance. It is time for the federal government to step forward and say, “We're ready to backstop the financial requirements of the delivery of the vaccine so that people can get the help as quickly as possible”. I sincerely request the government to accept that suggestion in good faith.
I believe that if the government were to talk to some of the provincial officials, and I know they are having these conversations because so have I. And I can say they are worried about the costs and they are not able to do as much as they might be able to do if they knew the federal government would stand behind them.
If we can prevent tens of thousands of people from becoming sick, I know I will be able to sleep better at night knowing we did everything that we could.
Therefore, we propose that the government inform the provinces and territories that the funds will be available to deliver the vaccine to families, clinics and doctors. My second suggestion is that more advertising is needed. That is definitely true.
We have too many people who just do not have the information they need. They walk up to me on the street and ask me questions. I am not a medical expert, so I am not really in a position to answer some of the questions they are asking me. I am not going to try to lay them all out here in the time I have available. I think the members in the chamber know what I am talking about.
Therefore, I would hope that a very significant increase in the investment that we are making on informing people could be done as quickly as possible. That may mean adjusting some of the priorities. We have ad buys from the government out there. Perhaps we can make some switches and put some of this important public health material into the advertisements right away.
I am not trying to be critical because decisions are made about ad buys months ahead of time, but perhaps something could be done so that more of the questions could be answered, so that people will know what to do because they are at a high level of anxiety right now.
I would also suggest to the government that it is essential for MPs to be engaged with the government, as a Parliament, on a daily basis on this issue.
I think we have to put this particular crisis into the top priority in our work around here in the days and weeks to come. I would hope that we can find a way to do this that produces results for Canadians.
If we see what we normally see in the midst of this health crisis, as people are going to funerals, as young lives are being lost, people are going to become very disappointed in all of us. I would ask the government and I would ask all the parties to accept the propositions that we are bringing forward in good faith. I think it is a time for a level of engagement and commitment from Parliament, the likes of which we do not often require and we do not often see.
I undertake to ensure that the NDP will provide concrete ideas and suggestions. At times, we may have some constructive criticism. If we see that something is not working as it should, we will point it out in a non-partisan way.
Madam Speaker, thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to participate in this emergency debate.
I can only think about this really as a family member, as a grandfather. The best call I had today was that my daughter, who has a four-month-old baby, was able, finally, to get her vaccine this morning. That made me feel good for a whole lot of reasons and we have millions of Canadians out there who are looking to feel that same security.
Let us get on the job and make that happen. Let us ensure that it is not something that we have to pay $2,000 or $3,000 in order to get that protection for our families. Let us ensure everybody gets the protection they need.