COVID-19 Pandemic Committee on June 1st, 2020

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I call this meeting to order.

Welcome to the 14th meeting of the House of Commons Special Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic.

This will be a hybrid meeting. Some members will be participating via video conference and some will be participating in person.

In order to ensure that those joining the meeting via video conference can be seen and heard by those in the chamber, two screens have been set up on either side of the Speaker's chair, and members in the chamber can listen to the floor audio or to interpretation using their earpiece at their desk.

Before speaking, please wait until I recognize you by name, and please direct your remarks through the chair.

For those joining via video conference, I would like to remind you to leave your mike on mute when you are not speaking.

Also, please note that if you want to speak in English, you should be on the English channel. If you want to speak French, you should be on the French channel. Should you wish to alternate between the two languages, you should change the channel to the language that you are speaking each time you switch languages.

Should members participating by video conference need to request the floor outside their designated speaking times, they should activate their mic and state that they have a point of order. Those in the Chamber can rise in the usual way.

Please note that today's proceedings will be televised in the same way as a typical sitting of the House.

We'll now proceed to ministerial announcements.

I understand that there are none.

Now we'll proceed to the tabling of documents.

Mr. LeBlanc has a document he wants to table.

Go ahead, Mr. LeBlanc.

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

Mr. Chair, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, a report entitled "Democracy Matters, Debates Count: A report on the 2019 Leaders' Debates Commission and the future of debates in Canada”.

Mr. Chair, on behalf of all of us, I want to thank the Right Honourable David Johnston for his continued service.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Good.

We'll now proceed to the presenting of petitions, for a period not exceeding 15 minutes.

I would like to remind members that any petition presented during a meeting of the special committee must have already been certified by the clerk of petitions.

For members participating in person, we ask that you please come to the front and drop off your certificate at the table once the petition has been presented.

In presenting petitions, the first presenter today is Mr. Genuis.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'm pleased to be presenting a petition in support of Bill S-204. This is a bill in the Senate, put forward by Senator Salma Ataullahjan.

It would make it a criminal offence for a person to go abroad and receive an organ for which there has not been consent by the donor. It also creates a mechanism by which someone could be deemed inadmissible to Canada if they were involved in organ harvesting and trafficking.

This bill is designed to confront and address the horrific practice by which, in certain cases—for instance, inside China—minority communities or dissidents may be targeted and have their organs removed as they're killed and used for transplantation.

Petitioners are supportive of Bill S-204, and they want to see it passed as soon as possible.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Our next petition will go to Mr. Viersen.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Chair, I am presenting a petition today signed by Canadians who are concerned that Bill C-7 removes safeguards from the current euthanasia regime, including the mandatory 10-day waiting period.

Mr. Chair, these people who are signing this petition would like to see an improvement in assisted living, not assisted dying.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

We'll now go to Ms. Zahid.

[Salma Zahid, Liberal, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I would like to present an e-petition signed by over 40 people. It asks that the Government of Canada recognize the Republic of Somaliland as an autonomous state that may result in foreign investments, direct access of development aid, foreign aid for disaster relief and infrastructure development investment loans.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Now we'll proceed to Statements by Members for a period not exceeding 15 minutes.

Each statement will be for a maximum of one minute. I remind members that if they exceed that time limit, they will be interrupted.

Our first statement goes to Monsieur El-Khoury.

[Fayçal El-Khoury, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Mr. Chair, I thank the government for the way it has managed this global crisis and its impact on Canadians. It has acted in a robust, rapid and very effective way.

Our Prime Minister has been awarded the medal of honour, courage and humanity worldwide. Canada is one of the few countries that has acted in the best interests of its citizens and maintained their dignity in these uncertain times.

While addressing Canadians, our right honourable Prime Minister showed us leadership, the importance of transparency, and integrity. He kept us united. His top priority was saving lives, along with finding realistic solutions regarding the economic impact on our daily life. Because of his outstanding leadership, we're admired across the world, which is another distinguished privilege of being Canadian.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

We'll now go to Mr. Epp.

[Dave Epp, Conservative, Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON]

COVID-19 has emptied food banks across Canada, even in an agricultural community like Chatham-Kent, so Wes Thompson and James Rasmussen, along with Alysson Storey, Randi Bokor, Maureen Geddes, Chris and Terry Johnston, Jason King, Fannie Vavoulis and Brent Wilken, grew an idea into the community's largest-ever food drive.

Project manager Moréna McDonald estimates that over 3,000 volunteers ended up helping in the May 16 Miracle. Residents put non-perishable foodstuffs on their doorsteps, with drop-off centres organized for rural areas. Volunteer groups travelled predetermined routes while maintaining physical distancing.

The community collected an amazing 678,000 pounds of food. They accidentally exceeded by over 20% the record in the Guinness World Records book for collected food in a single day. Chatham-Kent has restocked their food banks and reaffirmed their community pride. It's an honour to represent such a community.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

We'll now go to Mr. Sarai.

We have a point of order from Mr. d'Entremont.

[Chris d'Entremont, Conservative, West Nova, NS]

As much as I like seeing my friends on the big screens, there are no big screens yet, so we don't know who's on and who's not on. I was wondering if there was going to be a TV coming up soon here, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

There is a technical issue, and it is being worked on. We're working on it as we go through. The other alternative is that we suspend until we fix it. If it's okay, we'll just continue. I think we can all hear the members who are speaking. This is one of the realities of a virtual or hybrid system.

Our next statement will go to Mr. Sarai.

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and mabuhay to all the Filipino Canadians across this country.

In June across Canada we recognize Filipino Heritage Month to raise awareness and celebrate the Filipino community. Here in Surrey Centre, and across Canada, the Filipino community makes important contributions to our cities and has helped shape Canada into the vibrant multicultural society that we all know and love today.

Now more than ever, during these challenging times we must come together as Canadians to celebrate the rich heritage and history of our Filipino neighbours. Throughout June, please join me in celebrating our fellow citizens of Filipino descent by recognizing all the incredible ways in which they have contributed to making Canada a better place for all of us.

Happy Filipino Heritage Month.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Mr. Perron.

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Good afternoon, Mr. Chair.

Today is World Milk Day, and I would like to recognize the exceptional work and dedication shown by everyone in the industry. They ensure we have a nutritious, high quality product every day.

Let's take part in the local consumption movement and rediscover the exceptional products of our dairy producers and processors. Enjoy the yogurts, cheeses and other products because it's true that milk is good.

I would also like to thank Bruno Letendre, outgoing chair of the Producteurs de lait du Québec, and I congratulate the new chair, Daniel Gobeil.

The dairy industry has been sacrificed several times in trade agreements. The government's broken promises are piling up. The payment of compensation is still uncertain. Action must be taken. The first step must be the direct allocation of import quotas to processors, and the second must be the full payment of the promised compensation. We demand a formal commitment from the government.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

We'll now continue with Mr. Iacono.

[Angelo Iacono, Liberal, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Mr. Chair, June is Italian Heritage Month. The situation is special this year, since Italy has been hard hit by COVID-19, with more than 30,000 deaths.

Like me, many Italian Canadians still have family and friends in Italy, and the news has sometimes been very difficult to take, yet that has not detracted from the great co-operation that exists between Canada and Italy.

Today I would like to highlight the solidarietà italiana in our community. During the pandemic, Canadians of Italian descent have been united to support anziani, our famiglie and our amici in Italy by participating in the fundraising campaign COVID-19 AiutiAMO l’Italia to support the Italian Red Cross response activities.

I send a special salute to to my cugino Giuseppe, who is still on the road to recovery from COVID-19.

[Member spoke in Italian]

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

We'll continue with Mr. Kram.

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

Mr. Chair, I would like to acknowledge all of the organizations in Saskatchewan and across Canada that are working hard to help small businesses adapt to the challenges of the current pandemic.

In particular, I would like to thank the Regina Downtown Business Improvement District, or RDBID. As soon as the pandemic hit, RDBID launched a daily electronic newsletter to keep their members informed of support programs, local initiatives and local success stories. They have used their social media channels on a daily basis to promote takeout and delivery services, online and curbside services offered by restaurants and retailers. They have also launched a number of their own initiatives to help businesses access e-commerce. Through persistent communication and a lot of long hours, RDBID has helped businesses in downtown Regina to weather the storm. Because of their hard work, downtown Regina will come through this pandemic better than ever.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Mr. Lauzon now has the floor.

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, QC]

Mr. Chair, high-speed Internet will be to the 21st century what electricity was to the 20th: an essential service.

We are currently experiencing a drastic change in our morals, our consumption patterns and our socialization habits. We are turning to the Internet to read the news, contact our friends and complete our purchases.

Isolation associated with COVID-19 has only accelerated this trend. Unfortunately, not all regions of Canada have reliable, affordable, high-speed access.

I would like to reassure the citizens of my riding about the efforts that we are making as a government, but also about the work I've been doing as a member of Parliament since 2015 to connect the 41 municipalities of Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation.

Aside from this essential service, our students, seniors, entrepreneurs and telework are very important to the regions. We have heard you, and I will continue to fight for you, so that you can have access to affordable high-speed Internet.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

We'll now go on to Mr. MacKinnon.