COVID-19 Pandemic Committee on June 4th, 2020

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Chair, so there are 20,000 missing projects. Will the Deputy Prime Minister table the list of those projects today, yes or no?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Chair, let me talk about some of those 33,000—actually, 33,049, to be precise—itemized projects—

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Mr. Poilievre.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Chair, there are 20,000 missing projects from the list. Will the Deputy Prime Minister table the list of the missing projects today, yes or no?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Chair, let me help the member opposite with some precision. As I said, 33,049 projects have been itemized. There are also approximately 12,000 municipal projects. I want to—

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Mr. Poilievre.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Chair, the government said there were 50,000 projects. They say that they only have a list for 30,000 projects. We know 50,000 minus 30,000 equals 20,000. Those are the projects for which there are no start dates, no locations and no description. We don't even know what they built. According to the PBO, they total $5 billion a year. That's $5 billion a year in missing projects.

Will the Deputy Prime Minister table the list for the 20,000 projects today, yes or no?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Chair, the member opposite seems to have a problem hearing precisely what I am saying. I've heard him say 30,000 a few times, but I think I've been quite clear that the number of itemized projects is 33,049. This includes 8,548 projects in my own province of Ontario, 4,594 projects in B.C., 3,502 projects in Saskatchewan, 3,096 projects in Alberta, 2,800—

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

We'll now go back to Mr. Poilievre.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Chair, so the Deputy Prime Minister will not agree to table the list.

The government claims they've spent $10 billion a year on infrastructure. The PBO says there are only lists adding up to $5 billion a year.

Here's a simple question. Will the Deputy Prime Minister commit to tabling in the House of Commons the list for the remaining mysterious and, so far, unlisted projects, yes or no?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Chair, our government is committed to being very precise on what we are doing in infrastructure, so let me be precise. There are 33,049 itemized projects and an additional 12,000 municipal projects funded through the gas tax fund, which is an excellent way for municipalities to build. The mayors are extremely keen on it. Members of this House should talk to them.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Mr. Blanchet, you have the floor.

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

Mr. Chair, I'm going to read a motion that was unanimously adopted by the members of the Quebec National Assembly:

That the Quebec National Assembly deplores the fact that the share of health expenditures covered by Canadian health transfers has decreased by more than half since their introduction, from 50% to 23%; That it calls on the federal government to quickly review funding for Canadian health transfers to significantly increase funding for this year and subsequent years by at least 6%, without conditions; That it reiterate the importance of respecting Quebec's jurisdiction in the area of health.

Let's remember that, in the mid-1990s, the federal government decided to balance its budget by cutting transfers to Quebec and the provinces. Today, we are in an even more dramatic situation as a result of these cuts.

Will the Canadian government comply with the unanimous request of the Quebec National Assembly?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Chair, I thank the hon. member for his very important question.

Today more than ever, all Canadians and all Quebeckers understand the importance of health, the importance of what the provinces do for Canadians and Quebeckers.

We all also understand the importance of close federal-provincial co-operation in the fight against the coronavirus. That is exactly what we're doing now. We are supporting the provinces in the fight against the coronavirus. We need to do that, and we are doing it.

I want to talk a little bit about our seniors. We all understand the very serious situation that our seniors are in, and I'm very proud of the women and men—

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Mr. Blanchet, you have the floor.

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

Mr. Chair, to put it simply, we don't understand each other at all.

The federal government receives money that it has an unconditional obligation to transfer to the Government of Quebec, so that it can fulfill its own exclusive responsibilities toward people who benefit from the health care system. The Canadian government is taking money that belongs to Quebec and holding it back. It regularly decides to set conditions for giving Quebec the money that belongs to it.

Today, all the members of the Quebec National Assembly, who come from all over Quebec and from all political stripes, agree that it's our money and that it should be returned to us because we need it to provide services that fall under our jurisdiction.

Does the Government of Canada consider itself superior and above a unanimous vote of the Quebec National Assembly?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Chair, I thank the hon. member for his question.

The federal government sees itself as a partner with all the provinces. We are Quebec's partner, and we understand, especially today, in this coronavirus crisis and in this economic crisis, that we have to work closely together.

Of course, we respect provincial jurisdiction. At the same time, the federal government is prepared to do whatever is necessary. The proof of that are the brave women and men of the Canadian Armed Forces who are in Quebec today. They are truly saving the lives of seniors in Quebec. We are all proud—

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Mr. Blanchet, you have 30 seconds left.

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

The Quebec National Assembly isn't asking you to be its partner. It's asking you to give it its money so that it can fulfill its mandate. If withholding of money from Quebec hadn't been historic, we wouldn't have had to ask for the help of soldiers or take emergency measures to support the long-term care facilities. We would have had the necessary means.

Can you give the money to Quebec? That's the only way to be a worthy partner.

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Chair, today we are working closely with Quebec. I have to say that I very much appreciate the co-operation we've had from Quebec. It's absolutely necessary, today, to save the lives of Quebeckers. For our part—

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I must give the floor to Mr. Singh.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

My first question is whether the government recognizes that there is a continuing crisis in long-term care centres and that, at this time, there aren't adequate human resources to provide the services our seniors need.

Is the government prepared to reverse its decision to withdraw the Canadian Forces until there are adequate resources to protect seniors in long-term care centres?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

I thank my colleague for his important question.

As I've already said, the people doing the most important and most appreciated work in Canada today are the women and men of the Canadian Armed Forces working in Quebec and Ontario to help our seniors.

Obviously, this can't be a long-term solution. I don't think a single person in Canada thinks that, in the long term, our soldiers should work—

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

We'll go back to Mr. Singh.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

I'm talking about the present and what needs to be done in the short term. We need a commitment from the federal government. It must ensure that the Canadian Forces, which are doing a lot of hard work, continue to do the work that needs to be done now, until there are adequate human resources to protect our seniors.

Can I get a commitment from the federal government that it won't withdraw the Canadian Forces until we have adequate human resources to protect our seniors?