COVID-19 Pandemic Committee on June 4th, 2020

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Delta, BC]

Mr. Chair, I can assure the member we are working hard to make sure that jobs recommended by MPs are funded if they meet the eligibility criteria, and as I said earlier, I will follow up with the member's office directly.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

The municipality of Adstock is considering cancelling its day camps because four applications for summer jobs were rejected by the federal government.

There was a positive recommendation from the member of Parliament, but the government is not following that recommendation and is depriving kids of a day camp this summer. Why?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Delta, BC]

Mr. Chair, I can advise this committee that the Canada summer jobs program was oversubscribed this year. That tells us lots of employers are looking for young people to work. We're looking to see how we can support employers and go beyond the initial 70,000 jobs, but that more jobs are wanted is good news for our economy.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Chair, the recommendations made by members are not being followed.

The Amélie et Frédérick support organization in Neufchâtel had asked for a summer employee. The member for Louis-Saint-Laurent prioritized the request, but the Liberal government did not accept it.

The Lac-Etchemin Production du plateau solidarity food cooperative was asking for two positions. The member for Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis recommended them, but the request was not accepted.

Why is the federal government rejecting recommendations from members of Parliament?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Delta, BC]

Mr. Chair, I recognize we have leaned very heavily on MPs as we rolled out Canada summer jobs this year. We know MPs know their communities better than anybody else, and we have really appreciated their efforts to give us the best advice possible on what jobs should be filled.

As I said, we're working through these lists, and I will follow up with the member after this committee meeting to see if I can offer assistance.

[The Acting Chair, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Mr. Berthold, you have 30 seconds left.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Summer is coming. Young people are going to choose to take advantage of the CESB, the benefit for students. There is money for summer jobs that still has not been announced. There were three times as many applications from employers than summer job offers.

When is the minister going to free up the funds and finally allow young people to go to work this summer?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Delta, BC]

Thank you. Mr. Chair.

As part of our $9-billion investment in students, we created over 100,000 new positions for young people across the country. That's in addition to the 70,000 jobs in the Canada summer jobs program. We're looking at ways to find even more jobs, and I hope to have further details in the upcoming days or even weeks, but let me assure the member that it is good news for our country that jobs are available and that young people want to fill them.

[The Acting Chair, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

We'll now go to Mr. Hallan, MP for Calgary Forest Lawn.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Mr. Chair, Amanda suffers from a serious disease called cystic fibrosis. Because of her condition she is also vulnerable to severe COVID-19. Although she's one of the lucky 95 very ill Canadians who will receive the medication Trikafta through a special access program, she is concerned about the other 4,000-plus Canadians with cystic fibrosis who can't get the medication because of the lack of government approval and the minister's failure to listen to patients.

Conservatives have been calling on the government to delay changes to the PMPRB guidelines, changes that would likely make it harder for patients to get the medicine they need, and the government finally listened, but will the minister acknowledge there are still real flaws with the proposed changes?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

I think there is some confusion about the connection between the PMPRB and the access to Trikafta.

Vertex has not applied for distribution of Trikafta in Canada. I encourage all MPs to write to the company to encourage the company to apply for permission to sell the drug in Canada. Certainly we will be able to look at that drug in an expedited way, and we also are excited to have the company apply.

[The Acting Chair, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

We'll go back to Mr. Hallan.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I want to switch gears and continue with the tone my colleague Mr. Lake set.

Canadians sent us to this House to be their voice and uphold democracy and debate. Definitely this is an unprecedented time. We're going through a pandemic and many things have been brought to light, such as anti-black racism, systemic racism and questionable things this Liberal government has done to support Communist regimes such as China. With help from their allies from the NDP, they've ensured democracy and this House were shut down and turned into what my colleague called a fake Parliament.

They propped the Liberals and dropped democracy. Why did this Prime Minister shut down Parliament? Was it so we couldn't ask questions and hold him to account?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

I understand that he used a question to ask me why he can't ask questions, Mr. Chair. That's what I understand.

To be honest, I'm not going to take lessons from the Conservatives on democracy. I was sitting on the opposition benches when they prorogued Parliament twice, Mr. Chair—not once but twice.

What we did here was find a formula that allows the opposition to play a role and that also respects public health guidance.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Mr. Chair, Canadians are shocked that the NDP leader gave the key to democracy to the Liberals, who threw it in the Rideau Canal.

At a time when we remember the innocent lives lost in the horrific atrocities committed in India against Hindus and Sikhs in 1984, when we remember the massacre in Tiananmen Square, and when we reflect on the murdered indigenous women and girls, this is when we need Parliament the most.

We need to bring our constituents' voices through debate and by bringing forward motions, and this is something that the NDP-Liberal coalition has shut down. Why did they shut down this Parliament, and when will they bring back a real Parliament?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Mr. Chair, we are gathered here to discuss, debate and answer questions from the opposition, and also to answer questions from colleagues everywhere across the country. I wonder why my colleague has a problem with that, the fact that his own colleagues can participate from every province. They have more time to ask questions every day. We'll be meeting on a regular basis this summer. There are nine committees actually working where they can ask questions on anything.

I think this is supporting democracy. We are doing our job, and they should do theirs.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

That's what they want, Mr. Chair. They want to have question period without any answers and without being answerable to Canadians.

On March 24, the Minister of Finance stated that help was hours or possibly days away, yet still there is nothing. No company has received support through the promised BDC and EDC financing or the emissions reduction fund, and the LEEFF program's predatory interest rates and conditions make it almost impossible for companies to access.

When is help and real support going to reach Canada's energy industry before it's too late?

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

Mr. Chair, I'd like to thank the honourable member for his question.

We recognize that the energy sector is absolutely critical to our economy and the 576,000 Canadians who benefit from this sector. That is why we put forward $1.7 billion to clean up orphan wells that have been abandoned. This will create immediate job opportunities and also make sure that we protect our environment.

The measures that we have put in place to support the energy sector are targeted at workers, particularly those working in small and medium-sized enterprises, which will benefit from the liquidity measures that we have introduced.

[The Acting Chair, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

We'll now go to the next round.

Mr. Melillo, go ahead with your questions.

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I have been hearing from many business owners and different organizations in the Kenora riding who are anxiously awaiting news on whether they've been approved for Canada summer jobs funding. Can this government please provide a timeline for when all final funding decisions will be made?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Delta, BC]

I would say that this week there'll be another list—well, tomorrow, Mr. Chair—and next week as well. It's also through working with employers, and the more quickly they give us the information, the more quickly we can get the jobs out.

I'm happy, again, to reach out to this member and see whatever I can do to get jobs in his riding moving quickly. We're doing the best we can, Mr. Chair.

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

I appreciate that answer from the minister.

I was just wondering if the minister can tell us this: After a business's application has been approved by the department, how long does it generally take for that approval to be communicated to the business?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Delta, BC]

Mr. Chair, that actually depends on what day of the week it's approved. We try to get lists from the week out every Friday and back to members, back to employers, depending on the information they've provided us on their context.

Again, I'm happy to follow up with the member to give him more specific details.

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

Can the minister tell this committee what the average wait time is for a business to be notified after it's submitted its Canada summer jobs application?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Delta, BC]

Mr. Chair, that depends on the quality of the information initially provided by the employer. Oftentimes, we have to follow up to get further details to figure out what the job details are, to make sure that it's meaningful work for the individual, to check on the salary range. Of course, it really depends on the employer—