COVID-19 Pandemic Committee on May 20th, 2020

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Madam Chair, a competent finance minister can not only help colleagues to implement programs but can also make sure the costs of these programs are understood and communicated.

Does the finance minister or the government have any clue as to what our deficit is going to be this year?

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

Madam Chair, through you, I would like to again tell the honourable member that we are focusing on Canadian individuals and businesses at this time, and we will continue to provide these supports with the CEBA program, the wage subsidy and all the other measures that we've been bringing forward to support Canadians during this economic emergency.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Madam Chair, all of us in this House are very committed to helping Canadians. That is not the question.

The PBO estimated this year's deficit at $252 billion. Can the minister confirm that number?

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

Madam Chair, I would like to inform the honourable member that we know that over eight million Canadians have had access to the CERB at this time, over two million Canadians have had access to the wage subsidy, and we are also providing over 600,000 loans with the CEBA program.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

I believe that the Department of Finance is filled with highly competent and skilled people. Is the minister telling this House that the finance department is incapable of producing a budget?

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

Honestly, our finance department has been working 24 hours a days, seven days a week to provide supports for Canadians to individuals, workers and businesses.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Madam Chair, when can the people of Canada expect an economic update from the government?

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

Madam Chair, again, while it would be impossible to provide a clear economic projection at this time, we will continue to be open and transparent about the actions we are taking for Canadians.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Madam Chair, I was a finance executive for many years and I know that preparing budgets is complicated. Is the finance minister no longer producing economic updates? Is he saying that he can't figure out the numbers, or is the government leaving that to the PBO?

When will the government stop letting down Canadians and provide an economic update?

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

Madam Chair, honestly, we have been providing support for Canadians, workers and businesses throughout this crisis and we will continue to do so because we believe we are in a strong fiscal position. We will help these businesses to recover when it is time.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

On Saturday the CBC reported that “a senior government official said internal modelling suggests it will take several years at least before Ottawa's fiscal track returns to pre-pandemic levels.” Is the minister privy to her own department's modelling?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Mississauga—Malton, ON]

Madam Chair, as the member opposite knows, the situation is incredibly fluid and dynamic. We're examining all of the relevant economic factors, but our number one priority remains investing in Canadians and their well-being economically, and also in terms of their health.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Will the federal debt reach $1 trillion this year?

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

Madam Chair, again I would like to provide the honourable member with the fact that we are in an emergency situation. Currently we are providing supports for Canadians, businesses and workers, and we will continue to do so.

[The Acting Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

There are 10 seconds left. Does the member have a quick question?

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Yes. Does the government know what the debt is going to be this year?

[The Acting Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

We will have a brief answer from the minister.

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

We are working on supporting Canadians at this time.

[The Acting Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

We will go now to the honourable member for Markham—Unionville.

[Bob Saroya, Conservative, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I would like to take a moment to thank the front-line workers from coast to coast to coast who are putting themselves at risk to save lives. I have seen it first-hand in Markham. My community has been hit hard by COVID-19, as several seniors homes have reported deaths from the virus. On Friday, the Markham Stouffville Hospital declared an outbreak. When I dropped off PPE at some of these locations, front-line workers told me they have been working seven days a week. I am truly thankful for their dedication, Madam Chair.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

[Bob Saroya, Conservative, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Madam Chair, hopefully I will get my five minutes from here onward.

I have spoken to many business owners, including owners of Tim Hortons and McDonald's, and the employees are worried about taking too many shifts and losing access to CERB. This is creating labour shortages.

Can the government commit to making CERB more flexible so that hard-working employees are no longer punished?

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

Madam Chair, I also have in my riding very hard-working people, many of them working at relatively low wages and in difficult circumstances. I also want to salute them, through you, Madam Chair.

I also want to add that we were and still are in an emergency. That's why we put CERB in place, the Canada emergency response benefit, which is helping eight million Canadians at this very time, with a total of 12 million applications. We knew from the start that this would be an emergency measure and we are looking forward to making it evolve, as we should, as the situation evolves.

[Bob Saroya, Conservative, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Madam Chair, the question was about whether people want to work. Because of the $1,000 threshold, people are not taking jobs. Therefore, businesses are short of labour. Can something be done so that businesses and employees can go side by side?

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

Madam Chair, although we understand that this is a very important benefit for millions of Canadians and their families, we also understand that many workers will want to take a job if a job is available, because we all understand that unemployment is high in Canada. It will remain high for a little while, so we have full confidence that Canadians will be able to find jobs if the opportunities exist.