COVID-19 Pandemic Committee on June 2nd, 2020

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Chair, like all Canadians, I am deeply grateful for the extraordinary work that the Canadian Armed Forces are doing in long-term care facilities in Quebec and Ontario. Thanks to their reports, we've seen that the situation was even worse than we feared. The work our military is doing is extraordinary.

We will continue to support them, but we know that having military personnel in our long-term care facilities isn't a long-term solution. Therefore, we are going to work with Quebec to find better long-term solutions.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Chair, now that Bell Canada has decided to partner with Ericsson to deliver its 5G network, the Liberals will undoubtedly ban Huawei, but the Liberal inaction on Huawei is just another example of this government's weak leadership. Instead of deciding for himself a year ago, the Prime Minister is forcing the business community to make the decision for him.

Why couldn't the Prime Minister have shown some backbone and banned Huawei a year ago?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Chair, our approach every step of the way has been to listen to experts, to work with allies and to listen to the counsel of our security and intelligence community, which has been looking into this issue. We know we need to make sure that Canadian businesses, Canadians and Canadian infrastructure are protected at the same time as we remain competitive in the world. That has guided our approach on this from the beginning.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

The fact of the matter, Mr Chair, is that it hasn't.

The former public safety minister, Ralph Goodale, promised in this House over a year ago that an answer on Huawei would be coming. Here we are, it's June 2, 2020, and they still haven't made a decision.

On another topic, Mr. Chair, the President of the Treasury Board wrote to cabinet last week and said that transparency is important even in a time of crisis. I guess the Minister of Infrastructure didn't get that letter. She's refusing to tell us how much of a bonus she gave to the departing head of the Canada Infrastructure Bank. At a time when Canadians are struggling, it is disgusting that the Liberals are paying out bonuses to someone who accomplished nothing.

Will the Prime Minister have a little respect for taxpayers and tell us exactly how much of a bonus the CEO of the Canada Infrastructure Bank received?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Chair, the mandate of the Canada Infrastructure Bank is to find innovative ways to finance some of Canada's biggest infrastructure projects by leveraging private capital. The remuneration range of the former CEO has been in the public domain for more than two years. The opposition is looking backward. We're moving forward.

The bank is moving into its next phase of development, now under the leadership of the new board chair, Michael Sabia, and will play an important role in the recovery when the time comes.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Chair, only to a Liberal would an innovative approach to building infrastructure mean building absolutely nothing. The CEO of an infrastructure bank who accomplished zero completed infrastructure projects should not be receiving a bonus.

I didn't ask a question about the remuneration. I didn't ask a question about the salary. This individual received a bonus. How much was that bonus?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Chair, as I said, the remuneration range of this former CEO has been in the public domain for more than two years. In regard to further payments, we do not comment on personal HR and financial information of individuals in government.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Chair, again, I did not ask about the remuneration. I asked about the bonus.

The Canada Infrastructure Bank was a Liberal scheme designed to protect the investments of private investors and put all the risk onto taxpayers. Even with that model, do you know how many projects they completed? Zero. Yet, the individual in charge of that received a bonus from the Prime Minister. Apparently, to the Liberals, he was doing a good job.

They might try to claim that it's arm's length and that they can't divulge this information, but we know that Minister Champagne personally intervened in the decision regarding the bonus of the Canada Infrastructure Bank's CEO.

It's a simple question. How much did that individual receive?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Chair, five years ago, when we first got elected, we had to turn around the underinvestment that Stephen Harper's Conservatives had made in infrastructure across the country. Even during the depths of the 2008 recession, the investments they made were for things like doorknobs and signs. They went into debt and didn't have anything to show for it.

We're going to continue to move forward on historic investments in infrastructure to build up this country. We're using innovative means like the infrastructure bank to do that.

[The Acting Chair, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

The honourable member for Beloeil—Chambly has the floor.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Chair, well before 1867, in what became Quebec, in New Brunswick, in Acadia, in Ontario and in the west, lay the seeds of what later became the provinces of Canada and Quebec. It can therefore be inferred that Canada is a creature of the provinces and that the provinces are not creatures of Canada.

Could the Prime Minister read his answer to this question: who pays for the health transfers to the provinces?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Chair, we have a country with a number of levels of government working together to serve Canadians. In times of crisis, but also in good times, Canadians expect that their governments will work together to provide the services and the care that they need. That is exactly what we are doing.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Let me remind the Prime Minister that all the provinces and Quebec are asking for increased and recurring health transfers that are unconditional and sustainable.

Who pays for the all-too-meagre benefits made available to the seniors of Quebec and Canada?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Chair, we have worked with Quebec and the other provinces to make sure that we invest in health transfers. We have made transfers of $500 million, that's half a billion dollars, because of the recent COVID-19 crisis. We will continue to work with the provinces in the long term. But, for the moment, we are working on the emergency situation in which we find ourselves.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Chair, the Conservatives have backtracked on the wage subsidy, and I congratulate them for that.

Who pays for the part of the wage subsidy program that will be going into the coffers of the Liberal Party of Canada?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Chair, since this crisis began, we have made investments to protect jobs and workers, including accountants, human resources managers and receptionists. We are in the process of ensuring that people with all kinds of jobs in all kinds of organizations will be able to keep those jobs.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Chair, it is comforting to know that they are a little richer now, but some companies are under threat because the Liberal Party is a little richer.

Who is going to pay for the fact that one company has been chosen by a closed call for tender? One company has been awarded a private contract, probably a foreign multinational, probably for 2021, while we are perfectly capable of doing the work in Quebec and in Canada.

Who is going to pay for this gift to a private company that will be doing the Government of Canada's work?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Chair, we are in a crisis. We are in the process of helping workers and helping Canadians by means of measures like the Canada emergency response benefit, the Canada emergency wage subsidy and with the assistance to companies,

We will continue to do what we must do to help workers all across the country so that we can come out of this crisis together.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Fundamentally, my impression was that, in a crisis, civil society turns to the state to find and implement solutions. I see that, in this case, and in all its operations, the Government of Canada takes money, about 20% of which comes from Quebec, and gives it to a private company, possibly a foreign company, so that it can tell us what will happen, although the first wave will have come and gone for a year already.

Is the Prime Minister telling us that he is incapable of doing his job?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Chair, Canadians expect their government to look after their health and the health of the economy. That is exactly what we are doing. We are here for workers, we are here for families, we are here for our seniors and for our students. We will continue to be here throughout this pandemic and as the economy reopens. That is what Canadians expect of us and we will meet their expectations.

[The Acting Chair, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Mr. Blanchet, you have about 40 seconds left.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Chair, as I see it, the Prime Minister is contracting out his job with taxpayers' money, a part of which is going into his party's bank account for the next election.

Is that the only explanation of his role he has for the residents of Quebec, a role that is currently protected by a crisis?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Chair, all across the country, including in Quebec, people are worried about their jobs because of the crisis that the pandemic is causing. We are providing a wage subsidy to organizations and to companies to ensure that people will receive their paycheques in order to support their families and pay their rent. That is what people expected from this government as a priority.

[The Acting Chair, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

We will now go to the honourable member for Burnaby South, Mr. Singh.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Chair, people are fed up with pretty words from people in power. The Prime Minister has the power to do something about the anti-black racism that Canada is faced with. Will the Prime Minister end racial profiling in Canada against black people once and for all?