COVID-19 Pandemic Committee on May 20th, 2020

[The Acting Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie has the floor.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Madam Chair, despite the pandemic, municipalities are maintaining essential services for our fellow citizens. Yet they are currently on the brink of financial disaster.

Recently, the mayors of Quebec's major cities, along with the FCM and the UMQ, have made several requests for assistance. Mayor Plante says she is going to end up with a huge bill and she does not know where she will find the money.

Because cities do not have the option of running deficits, I ask again: where will Mayor Plante find $250 million to $500 million?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Madam Chair, I thank my colleague for his question. It is a very important issue.

I spoke with Mayor Plante on Friday. I agree with her and with the mayors across the country that municipalities continue to play an essential role, especially when it comes to reopening our country. Municipalities, public transit and everything else will be essential for us.

That is why we encourage municipalities to work with the provinces. We are prepared to work with the provinces to support municipalities.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Madam Chair, it is very nice to hear that, but we are anxious to see a solution and money for the municipalities. This is urgent.

As for public transit, we have seen a collapse in ridership and in the revenue of public transit companies. In Montreal, the losses are more than 90%. Cities will need public transit for the recovery, just like our economy.

Since public transit companies do not have access to the wage subsidy, what will we do to help them pay their employees so that they can be there to provide the services that people need?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Madam Chair, once again, I fully agree that this is a very important issue for our country. Our government is prepared to work closely with municipalities. The issue of public transit is absolutely essential to the recovery of the economy.

I also want to note that it is very important that municipalities continue to work with the provinces, which have the primary responsibility for municipalities. The federal government will be there as well.

I encourage all members of Parliament to have talks with the provinces.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Madam Chair, speaking of dragging feet, for two years, Quebec mayors have been waiting for Quebec and Canada to sign the agreement on social housing. In fact, Quebec is the only province that has not yet signed this agreement. In the meantime, $1.5 billion is waiting to be spent in Quebec to build social housing.

My question is simple: what is happening?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec, QC]

I am very grateful to the member opposite for allowing me to talk about housing and to say how strong the first record of the Canadian government on housing has been.

For example, we have invested $55 billion, which, among other things, has made it possible to reduce homelessness by 50% in Canada, including Quebec, of course. We have lifted 530,000 people out of housing conditions that are unacceptable for a developed country like Canada.

We look forward to signing this agreement with the Government of Quebec to ensure that Quebeckers get their full share.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

We do not need a fight about our flags right now; we need social housing. Thousands of people are on waiting lists. Send the money to the Government of Quebec, we will invest it in the AccèsLogis program and we will solve the problems by next year.

Right now, we all recognize that health care workers are putting their lives on the line and making sacrifices to care for the sick and the elderly in particular. Some of these workers are refugee protection claimants who arrived recently, mainly through Roxham Road. Those people have no status, but they are risking their lives for us and for our seniors.

What is the government going to do to give them status as quickly as possible so that they can stay in Quebec and Canada?

[The Acting Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. minister has 35 seconds to respond.

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec, QC]

I would need a lot more time to be as empathetic and eloquent as my colleague on this issue. Yes, it is extraordinarily important to say that all workers in Quebec, particularly in long-term health care, have a very difficult but also a very important task, which is to take care of our seniors. We are very grateful to them.

We in the Government of Canada will continue to work very hard with Quebec to ensure that everyone can provide these important services in a way that is safe for everyone.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Madam Chair, as members of Parliament, we all have an obligation to Canadians, whether in our ridings or here in Ottawa. However, many people—including the Liberal Party, first of all, and the Bloc Québécois—are opposed to a return to Parliament on May 25.

Yes, to be honest with my colleague Mr. Blanchet, the Bloc Québécois has put economic conditions on reaching an agreement. However, the only condition we should consider for a return to Parliament is public health.

For the time being, as we can see, it is easy to have more members come and do our job and ask our government colleagues questions. They have had a big smile on their faces from the beginning, because they are fine with the way we are working right now, but there are other things to do.

I would like to know why the Prime Minister, during the current pandemic, is phoning prime ministers and presidents around the world for support for a seat on the UN Security Council. Does he consider a seat at the UN more important than a seat in Ottawa?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

The Prime Minister of Canada understands that this is a historic moment for Canada and for the world, and he understands the importance of Canada's voice in this historic moment.

After World War II, Canada did some important work in creating the postwar international order. Canada must and can do similar work now. That is why the Prime Minister is making those calls.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

The Deputy Prime Minister is not really answering my question. In my opinion, the priority is Canada. That is why we are here today and why we want to come back more often.

I would like to ask the Minister of Public Safety a question about the border. We hear in the media that a number of couples in which Canadians are married to Americans cannot be together because of border restrictions. However, border officers have also been given a document that mentions possible exemption scenarios. There would be some flexibility.

Could the minister clarify this and tell us how many Canadians cannot be with their spouses right now?

[The Acting Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

We will go to honourable Minister Blair.

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

Madam Chair, I think this is a very important question. As the member knows, our government has made an effort to flatten the curve. We've had to take a number of extraordinary measures at our borders, including restricting non-essential travel.

While Canadian citizens and permanent residents are always admissible and are required to quarantine upon entry, foreign nationals, of course, are subject to travel restrictions. For any individuals to be eligible to travel to Canada, they have to demonstrate that their travel is in fact essential.

We recognize that many people are making significant sacrifices. It is not our intention in any way to separate families, but the border officers are faced with situations that have to be decided on a case-by-case basis. It depends entirely on the information provided to the border officer, who determines whether or not the travel is indeed essential.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

The Prime Minister knows that highway 344 in the Oka region is currently blocked by the Mohawks of Kanesatake. Families in the Oka region are having to take long detours because the Mohawks are maintaining their barricade.

Is there any way the federal government can talk to the Mohawks and make them listen to reason?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Indigenous Services]

Madam Chair, let us first set the record straight. It is not a barricade, it is a safety checkpoint. The safety of indigenous communities is critical. I have been informed that the band council has set up road checkpoints to protect the residents from COVID-19 in the context of the reopening plan launched by the Government of Quebec.

I am aware that this situation raises concerns both inside and outside the community. Indigenous Services Canada, my department, is working with the appropriate authorities, including the band council, the Government of Quebec and the Sûreté du Québec, to find a fair and safe solution to this situation.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Madam Chair, we now see that the order in council that was issued to ban firearms in Canada is specifically for purging black weapons. We see that some .22s are banned from Canada simply because they are black, while the same .22 calibre firearm, when it is brown, is not banned.

Can the minister explain the purpose of banning everything black when we know full well that a .22 calibre firearm is not an assault weapon?

[The Acting Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The honourable minister has 27 seconds to respond.

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

Again, Madam Chair, that is absolutely incorrect. We have not banned any .22 rifles. The weapons that we banned are all consistently weapons of military design. They have no place in civil society, they are not used for sporting or hunting purposes, and they are now prohibited.

[The Acting Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I just want to remind members that there are opportunities for questions and that they don't need to help the minister or help their colleagues at all.

We will go to the honourable member for Saskatoon West.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Madam Chair, when the government rolled out programs to help individuals and businesses deal with COVID-19, it pegged the cost of those programs at $151 billion.

Can the government confirm that those are still the estimated costs of the program?

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Madam Chair, I want to share with the honourable member that we have many programs that are currently supporting businesses, individuals and Canadians, and we will continue to prioritize these Canadians during this economic emergency.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

I'm glad to hear there are many programs, and we've all been working with them. I'm assuming that you've been collecting them and I am asking if the government has collected together the costs of these programs and could provide estimates of these costs.

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

We are in very extraordinary times and we will continue to support Canadians. It would be impossible to provide a clear economic projection at this time, but we will continue to be open and transparent about the actions we are taking to support families, individuals and businesses.