Evidence of meeting #10 for COVID-19 Pandemic in the 43rd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was economic.
A video is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Lianne Rood Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
Mr. Chair, the Liberal government is letting down Canadian farmers. Stakeholders are unanimous: Government support for Canadian agriculture has been woefully inadequate. As a result, fruit and vegetable producers are cutting back their production by as much as 25%. This will have a profound impact on our food security.
Does the government know how much grocery prices will increase and the impact a smaller harvest will have on Canadian families as we have to rely on imported food?
Marie-Claude Bibeau LiberalMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Mr. Chair, I'd like to thank my colleague for giving me the opportunity to speak about the agricultural sector, an essential sector, and to thank all the workers, from farms to grocery stores.
In Canada, we have risk management programs to assist producers in all sectors. I invite producers to enrol, particularly in AgriStability, and to start by using the online calculator to find out how much they are eligible to receive.
Conservative
Lianne Rood Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
Mr. Chair, the U.S. President made remarks about considering terminating trade deals that would require the United States to import cattle. This is extremely concerning for Canada's cattle industry.
Has the Minister of Agriculture spoken to her American counterparts regarding the remarks the U.S. President made on banning the import of Canadian beef, and will she stand up for Canadian cattle producers?
Liberal
Marie-Claude Bibeau Liberal Compton—Stanstead, QC
Mr. Chair, let me assure my colleague that I will always stand up for our producers across the country. I speak regularly with the Secretary of Agriculture, Mr. Perdue. I can assure you that we are doing everything needed to keep our food supply chain wide open, especially between Canada and the United States.
Conservative
Lianne Rood Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
Mr. Chair, amid this pandemic the government has decided to evade Parliament and fundamentally alter our firearms laws with an order in council. The ban was based on many misconceptions that could have been brought to light through debate and expert testimony. Instead, the government circumvented Parliament and is setting a dangerous precedent for our democratic process.
Can the Prime Minister explain to my constituents why their voices and the voices of millions of Canadian law-abiding firearm owners were effectively muted by the government through its order in council?
Bill Blair LiberalMinister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Mr. Chair, I would like to advise the member that the law in Canada requires that the only way to prohibit any firearm is under section 117.15 of the Criminal Code. This has been the law in Canada since 1998. It was introduced by a Conservative government which required that all weapons to be proscribed had to be done by order in council. It was also a process that was used quite vigorously by the Harper government, so the member might be familiar with that action.
I would also remind the member that we promised Canadians we would prohibit these weapons.
Conservative
Lianne Rood Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
Mr. Chair, high-speed Internet access is a necessity. In my rural riding of Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, many of my constituents are seeing skyrocketing connectivity costs amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Some constituents have told me they're spending over $500 a month on Internet. While those in big cities are having data caps waived and costs frozen, the same is not true for rural Canada.
Why does the government think it's acceptable for my constituents to wait 10 years to get high-speed Internet access?
Liberal
Maryam Monsef Liberal Peterborough—Kawartha, ON
Mr. Chair, I appreciate my colleague's question.
We too believe that access to high-speed Internet is an essential reality in the 21st century. We had a plan before the pandemic, with $6 billion in investments set aside to make it happen. It was the first plan of its kind for our country, by the way. That plan continues to be informed by the changes and the challenges that COVID has brought forward. We're going to work with all willing partners to move forward as quickly as possible to connect as many Canadians to high-speed Internet as we can.
Conservative
Lianne Rood Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
Mr. Chair, small businesses are the backbone of our rural communities. Travel and tourism are huge economic drivers in my riding of Lambton—Kent—Middlesex. Small businesses rely on the May to September tourism season and are facing uncertainty about the success of their businesses as current aid programs don't work for seasonal businesses. The borders remain closed and tourists are forced to stay home, which is deeply affecting these businesses.
Can the minister tell us what the government's path forward is for opening our borders, and will the government promote domestic tourism to make up for the loss of our international tourists?
Mélanie Joly LiberalMinister of Economic Development and Official Languages
Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague for this important question.
Of course we know that the tourism sector is hard hit, and we need to be there for tourism operators and different tourism entrepreneurs. That's exactly why we came up with some important measures, such as the wage subsidy and the $40,000 CEBA loan, and also a new fund through the minister for the regional development agencies. This is to make sure that businesses that are falling through the cracks have access to funding.
If my colleague has specific cases in mind in her riding—
Conservative
Scot Davidson Conservative York—Simcoe, ON
Mr. Chair, months ago I alerted the Minister of Health to the lack of personal protective equipment available at River Glen Haven, a nursing home in my riding. It's a nursing home now in crisis. It has 62 residents and 27 staff who have tested positive, and 14 have died to date. I want the minister to understand, Mr. Chair, through you, that this is a nursing home that we grew up with in our community. I used to take Christmas cards there when I was in grade 3, and cards to vets. It's very important to our community.
I'd like to know what this government is doing currently to protect residents and staff of long-term care homes. How will they be provided the personal protective equipment they need?
Patty Hajdu LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Chair, I share the member's horror at what's happened across our country in long-term care homes. The fact that so many of our seniors have perished through COVID-19 is truly a national tragedy.
As the member opposite knows, we've been working very closely with provinces and territories to make sure that long-term care homes have the personal protective equipment they need. We've also worked with the long-term care association to understand how that equipment is or isn't getting to their door.
I'll also remind the member that personal protective equipment is really only one layer of defence. We've been working with provinces and territories to ensure that they have the people they need and the financial resources they need to make changes that will protect all of the seniors in our lives.
Conservative
Scot Davidson Conservative York—Simcoe, ON
Mr. Chair, we just had a call come out for gowns at the nursing home. They cannot source gowns right now. This is a crisis situation, and we are in need of them.
What is Canada's current stock on PPE, including gowns, in the national inventory? What is available in Canada right now?
Liberal
Navdeep Bains Liberal Mississauga—Malton, ON
Mr. Chair, my honourable colleague is absolutely correct in his assessment that we are making efforts to procure the necessary PPE as well as build up domestic capacity.
With regard to gowns, I'd like to say that we have made significant orders in the millions. Right now, we have close to 600,000 gowns that have been received and we're working with the provinces and territories to make sure we distribute them in an equitable manner.
Conservative
Scot Davidson Conservative York—Simcoe, ON
Mr. Chair, if there are that many in Ottawa now and the minister can tell me the location, I will gladly take some back to this nursing home when I leave.
Liberal
Navdeep Bains Liberal Mississauga—Malton, ON
Mr. Chair, I understand the concern raised by the member opposite. We know the situation is very dire and challenging, particularly in our long-term care facilities. That is why we are working very closely with the provinces and territories to make PPE—
Conservative
Scot Davidson Conservative York—Simcoe, ON
Mr. Chair, 81% of deaths have occurred in long-term care homes. Is it time now for this government to commit to a national public inquiry into long-term care homes?
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
Mr. Chair, I think the member opposite has heard both me and the Prime Minister speak about the need to review how seniors are cared for in long-term care homes. We look forward to doing that work in partnership with the provinces and territories which, as the member knows, have the jurisdiction to deliver—
Conservative
Scot Davidson Conservative York—Simcoe, ON
Mr. Chair, I was out in the riding this week and I had many small business people and individuals trying to source PPE and paying exorbitant costs for it. I had business owners paying $2 and $3 each for surgical masks that they have to give out to their customers to get their businesses open.
I wonder what this government is doing currently about price gouging on PPE. Also, will the government commit to taking HST off PPE?
