Bill C-10

An Act respecting certain measures related to COVID-19

This enactment authorizes the Minister of Health to make payments of up to $2.5 billion out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund in relation to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) tests.
It also authorizes that Minister to transfer COVID-19 tests and instruments used in relation to those tests to the provinces and territories and to bodies and persons in Canada.

Government Business No. 8—Proceedings on Bill C-10

[Anju Dhillon, Liberal, Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC]

Madam Speaker, these rapid tests are incredibly important, and as I mentioned in my speech, they are to be used to curb the spread, the transmission, of COVID. When someone is asymptomatic, it does not mean they are incapable of spreading the disease to others who are vulnerable, such as children, seniors and people with underlying health conditions. These are things we must take into account. Just because someone is asymptomatic does not mean they cannot infect someone and bring some real harm to their lives. People have ended up on ventilators and very sick, with long-term COVID symptoms that are ongoing, and it is up to us to be responsible and make sure we protect not only ourselves, but our loved ones and others around us to protect society, to make sure Canadians are safe and to be a community.

[Richard Cannings, NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

Madam Speaker, we are in the fifth wave of this pandemic and Canadians are fed up with all the restrictions they have been facing. These restrictions are in place for good reason, but we have to support the businesses and workers who have been suffering. Many of these sectors have fallen through big cracks.

I wonder if the member could comment on some of the sectors that everybody else and I have been lobbying for to get these changes that the government seems reluctant to make. I am talking about people like independent travel advisers, who are making nothing. I am talking about a lot of companies in the tourism industry that cannot apply for tourism supports because they are seasonal. Most tourism companies are.

Could the member explain why the government seems so slow and so reluctant to respond to their questions?

[Anju Dhillon, Liberal, Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC]

Madam Speaker, the government is not slow and it does recognize the need to protect our businesses, and we are protecting them, and we have been. Throughout the pandemic, our government provided supports to small business owners and independent operators to make sure they too could continue to survive. As my hon. colleague mentioned, it is important that we also continue to do things to stimulate our economy, but not at the risk of bringing further harm.

We saw experts and Dr. Tam mention that very soon—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon member for Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia may have a brief question.

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech.

I disagree with her. I think that the federal machinery of government is very slow. Often, the government is very slow in applying certain measures.

With Bill C‑10, the government is realizing that it can move quickly with the rapid tests and we are pleased, but there are other pressing issues, namely, the health transfers. I think it is high time the government started negotiating with the provinces to transfer the money.

Does my colleague agree with me on that?

[Anju Dhillon, Liberal, Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague. I will provide a brief answer because we are out of time.

We must listen to the experts. As Dr. Tam said, we were ready to reopen, but because of the omicron variant, we saw the number of hospitalizations, cases and deaths spike. No one was prepared for how huge this wave would be, but the government is here to reopen and to start getting things back to normal. It will take a bit of time, but it will happen.

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Vancouver Granville, BC]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak to Bill C-10.

COVID-19 continues to be part of our lives, which we all know, and testing and screening remain important tools. They allow us to rapidly detect and isolate new cases. They support contact tracing and they help prevent community outbreaks by breaking the chain of transmission. As we have been, we continue to be committed to supporting the provinces and territories' testing strategies. These are different from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but our job is to support.

A critical part of finishing the fight against COVID-19 is making sure that we continue to prevent outbreaks at schools and workplaces. The $2.5-billion investment to purchase and distribute rapid tests across the country that is contained in this bill would ensure the delivery of millions of rapid tests to provinces and territories and indigenous communities free of charge and continue to support screening programs through our various distribution channels. Rapid tests are safe, they are effective and they are easy to administer. They provide quick results and they will empower Canadians to make more-informed decisions to protect their health and the health of their loved ones.

As all members know, rapid tests represent only one element in the tool kit to fight this pandemic. This bill therefore represents a continuation of the kinds of measures that we have implemented and will continue to implement, measures that are based on the best public health advice and scientific evidence.

Since the start of this pandemic, Health Canada has put in place rapid, innovative and agile measures to ensure prompt access to medical devices to respond to the needs of Canadians. The department has worked closely with public health partners to ensure that applications for COVID-19 testing devices are prioritized to meet urgent public health needs. These measures have allowed Health Canada to authorize over 100 testing devices, including 10 self-tests and 27 tests that can be used in a point-of-care setting.

Health Canada is also expediting the review of all treatments for COVID-19. The department has rapidly authorized several clinical trials in Canada, including for some vaccines being developed right here in Canada, without compromising on strict standards for the safety of clinical trial participants. Clinical trial regulations allow the investigation of new drugs or new uses of drugs while affording protection to participants and requiring the proper collection and retention of outcomes.

As of February 9, 115 clinical trials for COVID-19 drugs and vaccines have been authorized in Canada. Health Canada has authorized five drugs to treat COVID-19, including Remdesivir for hospitalized people, as well Paxlovid and three biologic treatments for non-hospitalized folks who have mild or moderate COVID symptoms and are at risk of developing severe disease. The Government of Canada has procured many of these treatments and continues to engage proactively with domestic and international companies to negotiate advance purchase agreements and ensure timely access in the procurement of treatments.

As we know, vaccination is one of the most effective tools that we have to combat the pandemic, and along with the availability of rapid testing, it will play an important role in protecting our supply chains and helping us to get to a point where the pandemic is behind us. Governments have an important responsibility to protect the health and safety of their citizens. That is what we have done since day one. This responsibility becomes especially critical in the face of a public health emergency such as the one we are in right now.

Since the beginning of this pandemic, the government has committed to making decisions that are based on science and based on the advice of public health officials. The government has implemented many critical measures to protect the health and safety of Canadians, including federal public servants. As the employer of the federal public service, it is the government's role to set the conditions for those employees to be safe when they are called upon to provide those services. Last October, we implemented a policy requiring that all employees of the core public service, including the RCMP, be vaccinated. This requirement applies to all employees, whether they are working remotely or working on site. It also applies to contractors who require access to federal government work sites.

Having a fully vaccinated workforce means that not only are work sites safer, but so are the communities in which these public servants live and work. It also means better protection for Canadians who are accessing government services in person, including, in particular, the more vulnerable members of our communities.

The vaccination requirements within the transportation sector have helped to protect our transport system from the impacts of omicron by reducing the frequency and severity of the COVID-19 illness among transportation workers. As we have done throughout the pandemic, we have worked closely with our partners in the transportation sector, including industry, to implement the vaccine requirements and to ensure the overall safety of the transportation system. These partners have played an invaluable, critical role in ensuring that people, goods and services continue to move in a safe and secure manner. Transportation workers have done their part by getting vaccinated and helping us all get through this pandemic.

I want to reiterate that the Government of Canada's top priority is the health and safety of all Canadians. To protect Canadians, the government has taken every measure at its disposal to protect citizens. I know that it has not been easy. The pandemic has had an undeniable impact on Canadian businesses, large and small. Canadians have been patient. They rolled up their sleeves. They did their part to protect themselves, to protect others, and they got vaccinated.

We recognize that this pandemic has created anxiety and additional stress for many Canadians. While we are all fatigued, we are also hopeful for what is to come. We are not where we were at the beginning and we can look forward to a brighter future. The measures that we have put in place, opportunities to be able to access rapid tests like the ones we are making available through this bill, will make it possible for us to look toward a bright future.

[Stephen Ellis, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Madam Speaker, my colleagues across the aisle seem to think tests are of great import. They talk a lot about the science. My question is this: What is the danger with a rapid test that has a very, very poor sensitivity rate?

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Vancouver Granville, BC]

Madam Speaker, my colleague notes a very important point here. I think it is important for us to recognize that this is one tool in the arsenal and it is not a silver bullet, but rapid tests make it possible for us to have a baseline of information that we may not have had otherwise. It gives us an additional piece of information from which to make informed decisions. They add a layer of information that then makes it possible for individuals to make decisions for themselves.

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech and for his work on the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security. It is a pleasure to work with him.

I will ask him the same question I asked his colleague just a few minutes ago. We are more or less in favour of this bill. It is rather simple and short. Quebec and the provinces are in need of rapid tests, but they also have other health care needs. The health care system has been weakened by the pandemic. Our health care system took a direct hit from the first wave. The system is in serious need of funding, and the federal government has responsibilities there.

Can my colleague tell me when his government will start negotiating with the provinces and Quebec regarding health transfers?

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Vancouver Granville, BC]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question and for her work on the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security. It is a pleasure to work with her as well.

We recognize that we need to work with the provinces and territories to improve our health care systems. We will work together. We all know that COVID‑19 has added another dimension. We will have to look ahead and consider how we will work together to improve and strengthen our health care systems. We will work quickly with the provinces to do so.

[Sherry Romanado, Liberal, Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne, QC]

Madam Speaker, I would like my colleague to elaborate a little bit in terms of the need in his home province for these rapid tests. I myself know that in the province of Quebec it was pretty tough to get them during the Christmas holidays when the peak of omicron was hitting the province.

Why is it so important to support the provinces and territories with respect to the need for these rapid tests and for them to be able to deploy them?

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Vancouver Granville, BC]

Madam Speaker, access to rapid tests in British Columbia has been virtually impossible over the course of the last little while. I can say from personal experience that over the course of the Christmas holidays it was a source of anxiety for many of my constituents who wanted to know, at the very least, whether they were going to be able to take some kind of test for their small and limited Christmas holiday gatherings to be safer and to give them even a limited sense of confidence regarding the decisions they make.

We know these tests are not perfect, but giving folks the ability to know if in fact they have tested positive, to go for secondary testing and to access the supports they need is critical. In our province of British Columbia, being able to have access to rapid tests is going to make a world of difference for schools, community organizations and so many others who will be able to benefit as a direct result. I am very hopeful that we will be able to move the bill forward and get rapid tests into the hands of the folks who need them in British Columbia, and Vancouver Granville in particular.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Madam Speaker, before I begin, I would like to say that I will be splitting my time with the member for Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d'Orléans—Charlevoix. This large riding is home to many communities. It is also a very beautiful riding that I have been able to visit a few times.

I would also like to take this opportunity to point out that this is the evening of February 14 and I would like to say hello to my girlfriend. I want to let her know that I am here for a good reason today, which is to participate in this important debate.

Why is this debate important?

We are debating Bill C-10, which is not to be confused with the government’s defunct broadcasting bill. In fact, this Bill C-10 seeks to allow the government to spend $2.5 billion to buy and distribute rapid tests to the various Canadian provinces, and obviously to Quebec, which we wish were not a province.

We might be tempted to say that this seems fairly uncontroversial and few people people would object to having access to tests. Such a position would be irresponsible.

However, this goes far beyond simply being for or against spending $2.5 billion on rapid tests. I think that debate would be a short one, or at least it would be for us. That may be why the government did not want us to study the bill in depth and chose to issue a gag order. That may be why it did not want us to dig deeper. If we were to dig deeper and look closer, we might start questioning why the federal government needs to pump extra money into the provinces and Quebec, which need it to deal with the pandemic.

We are talking about an additional $2.5 billion, which seems to have come out of nowhere, and the federal government is swooping in with this money like Santa Claus or a superhero. They want to show just how wonderful, generous and excellent they are. We all know, however, that that money is our tax money. It did come from somewhere, namely our own pockets. We are all paying.

Quebec's health care system is short on money, and the same is probably true for the health care systems in the other Canadian provinces. That is why this bill calls for deeper consideration. Even though the federal government keeps bragging about how amazing it is, every time we ask if there is going to be more money for the health care system, it tells us it spent money like never before during the pandemic.

First, I do not know if that is something to brag about. I think spending like never before is not something to boast about. What the government should be boasting about is fixing problems. Unfortunately, they are still not fixed. The pandemic is still here. I do not blame the government entirely. I think this is a global issue.

That does not change the fact that underlying problems resurfaced with the pandemic, are still not fixed and will have to be addressed someday. For example, we could talk about vaccination capacity, which is nearly non‑existent. We used to have a thriving pharmaceutical industry in Quebec a few years ago. It has all but disappeared. Traces of it remain in my riding and on the north shore in Montreal, but it is nothing compared to what it used to be.

The irony is that, recently at least, the federal government keeps trying to tell us how Quebec should run its health care system. When there is a disaster and everything is going wrong, it is easy for it to say that it could have done better. However, when we look at things properly, we might wonder if it really would have done better.

Consider one of the things the federal government is supposed to look after in case of a pandemic or catastrophe: the national equipment stockpile. It is not as though the pandemic was something that nobody could have ever predicted, and yet when the government opened up the stockpile, it turned out all the equipment was expired. Imagine if Quebec hospitals managed things like that. It would be a bad situation.

We really cannot count on the federal government, nor can we count on it to fund our health care system adequately. Quebec's health care system was really put to the test. A lot of people say the system is struggling. It is in trouble. Things are bad.

If we want to get to the root of the problem, we need to talk about the federal government's financial contribution. In 1958, the federal government covered 50% of health care costs. In 2022, it covers about 22%. There is a big difference between 50% and 22%. They are not even close. Even so, the federal government will not stop talking about how great it is. When we ask the government when it will give us money for health care, it says it has spent more money than ever during the pandemic. When we look at the actual numbers, the federal government's share of health care funding has been shrinking steadily. That is a fact. Let us look at the real numbers. The government says it is putting more money into health care. Sure, it has increased funding annually in constant dollars, but if we look at the proportion of health care costs, the answer is no. It has not kept up. The government did this knowingly.

Members will recall the budgets of Paul Martin and Jean Chrétien from a time not all that long ago. I had not yet been elected, of course, but that did not stop me from taking an interest in politics. At least I was born already. It is not such a distant memory for many people. Members will recall both Paul Martin and Jean Chrétien, rubbing their hands together, practically giddy, when they realized they could balance their budgets by reducing transfers. As a result, on the receiving end of that plan, the provincial and Quebec governments have been struggling ever since. They have had to bring in their own austerity measures, because the federal government is starving them of funds.

Jean Chrétien liked to brag about it. In interviews not so long ago, he said that making budget cuts made him look good, and that the world was angry with Quebec. Unbelievable. That is when people began seeing the problem.

When people go to the hospital and have a hard time getting good care, they get angry and upset. The Quebec government manages health care, but people forget that a large part of it was funded by Ottawa. I say “was” because that “large part” keeps shrinking, and this is causing more and more problems.

The Bloc Québécois is calling for an increase in health care funding to 35%. We are not even asking for 50%, but 35%. It is not huge, but it would make a huge difference in the care people receive. It would make quite a difference.

Instead of patting itself on the back every time it spends $5, the government should sit down at the table and tell us what it can do to really change things and address existing problems. That is where the government should be heading, rather than looking for every possible way to starve and drain the provinces and the Quebec government, all of which need help. The feds brag about working miracles, when all they are doing is sticking band-aids on a wound that is not healing.

Naturally, with all these cuts to the federal government's contribution year after year, our health care system suffered during the pandemic. Every time that a slightly stronger wave arrives, or every time that case counts rise, the health care system becomes overloaded and can take no more. We could talk about this to all health care workers, who have had enough. They would like to be heard a little and helped. That is why we are speaking out today. We are telling the federal government that it is time to come to the table.

I was elected in 2015, and I believe that the Bloc Québécois has talked about health transfers constantly since then. It is a big problem, and it will only get bigger, because health care costs continue to grow, yet the federal government's contribution continues to shrink. That is not right, and that is why the Bloc Québécois has been joined by Quebec and all the provinces of Canada in asking the government to increase health care funding. Sometimes Ottawa is hard of hearing when Quebec speaks, and even more so when the Bloc Québécois speaks, but once in a while, the message does get through.

All that is to say that we are not giving up. For that reason, we have proposed a summit on health care, so that the federal government comes to the table and we finally solve the problem.

[Damien Kurek, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

Madam Speaker, the question around rapid tests has been a significant one.

In the province of Alberta, it actually took the provincial government taking their own initiative and requiring, I believe and I could be corrected, an exception from Health Canada in order for them to even procure these rapid tests. I find it interesting that we are debating this. It is an important tool to fight COVID, yet it seems like it is maybe a little late when these have been called for, for a very long time.

I wonder if the member would have further comments on that.