COVID-19 Pandemic Committee on June 10th, 2020

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

Mr. Chair, on behalf of myself and my parliamentary colleagues, I want to congratulate students from our high school class of 2020. We know that, owing to the pandemic, graduation celebrations will be different this year, as students will be deprived of their prom, their graduation ceremony and, in some cases, their goodbyes to friends and teachers.

I know how disappointed students from the high schools of du Versant, Le Carrefour, Nicolas-Gatineau, de l'Érablière, Collège Saint-Alexandre, Collège Nouvelles Frontières, Collège Saint-Joseph, Philemon-Wright and other regional schools, are not to be able to celebrate their five years of incredible efforts surrounded by their families and friends who were by their side on a daily basis.

However, that takes nothing away from their accomplishment. So when they receive their diploma, here is what I will say to them: “Surge ahead! The future belongs to you. Be ambitious, follow your dreams and, most importantly, continue to change the Outaouais and the world!”

The class of 2020 will be remembered for a long time.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

We will now go to Mr. Morantz.

[Marty Morantz, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB]

Mr. Chair, I am delighted to rise to talk about the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre, which is now under construction in my riding in Winnipeg. This state-of-the-art addictions recovery facility was made into a reality by Scott, Anne and Darcy Oake in memory of their son and brother Bruce, who passed away tragically from an accidental overdose in 2011.

The Bruce Oake Recovery Centre will provide help to thousands of Manitobans to manage their addiction and reintegrate into the community.

I was proud to support this project when I voted for it during my time on Winnipeg City Council. The addictions crisis in Canada needs action. With approximately eight million Canadians suffering from addictions, we need centres like these to help them recover so that no other family will face a heartbreaking loss due to addiction.

I want to congratulate the Oakes for their commitment to making recovery for many a reality. Addictions affect us all, and we all have a part to play in contributing to the solution.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

We will now go to Mr. Jowhari.

[Majid Jowhari, Liberal, Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Chair, I would like to recognize the compassion and generosity demonstrated in my riding of Richmond Hill. Week after week residents and organizations have come together to support our most vulnerable during a time of great difficulty.

I want to thank the champions of the community who were generous enough to donate masks and other supplies as well as services. I would also like to recognize the charities and care centres which, upon receiving these donations, redoubled their efforts to serve their communities.

Special thanks go to the Mon Sheong Foundation Long-Term Care Centre, Divine Favour Senior Homecare, the Community & Home Assistance to Seniors, the True Compassion Home Health centre, Blue Door, the Mosaic Interfaith Out of the Cold program, Yellow Brick House, Hill House Hospice, Community Living York South, and Parya Trillium Foundation for continuing to support the residents in my riding of Richmond Hill.

The compassionate generosity demonstrated by these donors and organizations makes me proud to represent my community in Parliament.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

We'll now go to Madam Lalonde.

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Orléans, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Usually, at this time of the year, I have the pleasure of being invited to the graduation ceremony of the grade 12 students in Orléans. However, we will all have to adapt to a new reality this year.

I cannot express enough how, in these exceptional times, I have witnessed the strength, resilience and community spirit of our graduates.

I also know that a number of high schools have made significant efforts to celebrate the success of their graduating class. Young graduate Maryanne Collard was amazed to see that people from her school, the École secondaire catholique Béatrice-Desloges, had installed a sign in her garden to congratulate her on her academic success.

As we move forward we must not forget that youth in this country are our future. We have a responsibility to be there for them and to believe in them. We will not fail.

I thank the teachers, the support staff and school management who are continuing to do their work.

Congratulations to all graduates of 2020.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

We'll now go to Mr. Vis.

[Brad Vis, Conservative, Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC]

Mr. Chair, COVID-19 has changed and challenged how we go about our daily lives. For many this includes a shift to working from home or attending school remotely. The sad reality is that even before the crisis hit, most rural Canadians simply did not have access to a strong and stable Internet connection, even though Internet is an essential service. Those in underserved areas, including many parts of Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, cannot work from home and their children cannot keep up with their classmates.

For many of my indigenous constituents, Internet services are stuck in the 1990s because telecom companies don't want to serve them. I, along with my colleagues, launched community consultations to address this critical issue and provide solutions.

We call on the government to outline and implement a concrete action plan to address Internet connectivity deficits between rural and urban Canada. This is an issue I will continue to press on until results are achieved.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

We'll now go to Mr. McLeod.

[Michael McLeod, Liberal, Northwest Territories, NT]

Mr. Chair, Canada has been awarded its first-ever Equator Prize from the United Nations Development Programme. Congratulations go to Lutsël K'é Dene First Nation and the Northwest Territory Métis Nation, with support from Deninu K'ue First Nation and the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, for the establishment of the Thaidene Nëné territorial protected area. It's 14,000 square kilometres of the most beautiful land and waters you'll find anywhere on earth.

I would also like to thank the previous minister of the environment for securing Canada's $7.9-million commitment, along with our visit to celebrate the new park last year. The award is given to groups that have exemplified actions to protect critical ecosystems and biodiversity for generations to come and to show how indigenous peoples and local communities have confronted legacies of disadvantage and discrimination in support of their communities and the world at large.

Congratulations to Lutsël K'é.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

We'll now go to Ms. Falk.

[Rosemarie Falk, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

Mr. Chair, the Liberal government has tabled $87 billion in spending and allocated just four hours for Parliament to study, debate and pass it. The allocated time is wholly inadequate. Canadians deserve to know how that money is being spent. They deserve to know that this government spending was scrutinized and passed through the rigours of Parliament.

It is Canadian taxpayers of today and tomorrow who will have the responsibility to pay for this government's spending. It is Canadian workers and businesses who will have to do the hard work of rebuilding our economy. It is real Canadians who fall through the cracks when this Liberal government's programs fail to meet their intended goals.

A rubber stamp under the guise of health and safety is not democracy. Canadians are owed better. Just as we gather four days a week for a hybrid committee meeting, parliamentarians can gather to do the full scope of the work that Canadians elected us to do.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

We now go to Mr. Godin.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Our planet is dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Our daily lives have been turned upside down. I am thinking of you, our seniors, valuable individuals who built our country. You have gone through a very restrictive confinement. You have had to sacrifice time spent with your families.

Our students also had to adapt. Their school year was turned on its head. Our graduating class, especially, saw their dream of a proper graduation vanish. The future belongs to them. They must follow their dreams.

I want to say to all the essential staff and the many support organizations that they are really changing things. We have all taken on our important responsibility, that of following the guidelines. The results have been most compelling in my riding.

I want to say how proud I am to represent you here, in the Canadian Parliament. I thank each and everyone of you. You are helping Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier flourish. You have shown resilience, creativity, innovation and solidarity. That is commendable. Together, we will get through this ordeal and come out stronger.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

We'll now go to Ms. Gazan.

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Chair, today I rise to honour Justice 4 Black Lives Winnipeg, led by women and non-binary individuals, who stood together and mobilized our city to state clearly that we will not stand by and stay silent in the face of police brutality. We will not stand by in the face of systemic racism. We will not stand by while we witness our bodies being abused by centuries of racism supported through legislation that has left us vulnerable at the hands of those who abuse their power.

We will speak out against police violence. We will speak out against systemic racism. We will join together to ensure that laws are instituted that are designed to protect us, not abuse us. We will call out those who abuse their power. We will rise. We will rise. We will rise.

To all the women and non-binary folks who are standing, I say, let's continue to sound our voices in solidarity and support of one another until indigenous and black lives are honoured and respected. Our liberation is intertwined. Solidarity.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Mrs. DeBellefeuille, go ahead.

[Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc, Salaberry—Suroît, QC]

Mr. Chair, this is not the time for governments to get complacent about COVID-19. However, the last few days have shown that we are once again dealing with a reckless Prime Minister.

First, he locked down Parliament to avoid being accountable to the opposition, while the economic recovery must be prepared. He is refusing to provide an economic update, even though the Parliamentary Budget Officer is calling for it. We need to know how much flexibility we have in case of a second wave of the pandemic.

He is refusing to hold a first ministers meeting on unconditional health transfers. The increase Quebec needs is for hiring health care staff before a second wave, and not after it. Finally, today, he is refusing to negotiate with any party to get his bill passed. He is behaving as if he had a majority government.

This is not a time for recklessness. Governing means anticipating. I am asking the Prime Minister to pull himself together.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

We will now go to Mr. Uppal.

[Tim Uppal, Conservative, Edmonton Mill Woods, AB]

Mr. Chair, I rise to give thanks and recognition to the contributions of many businesses and organizations across my riding of Edmonton Mill Woods that have stepped up in a major way during this pandemic.

I joined my friends in the Filipino community who partnered with Mill Woods' Calvary Community Church to deliver care packages to seniors. Varinder Bhullar and his Green Scholars of Alberta team and Dil-E-Punjab restaurant provided thousands of free meals. Sikh Youth Edmonton delivered free groceries to families, seniors and students. Edmonton Towing and its full team with Dukh Nivaran Gudwara prepared food packages for any truckers who were coming through Edmonton. The Bhartiya Cultural Society Hindu temple provided free meals to anyone who needed them. Punjab Insurance and The Punjab chain of restaurants provided free meals in downtown Edmonton. The staff, nurses and doctors of Grey Nuns Community Hospital in the heart of Mill Woods have been keeping people safe and healthy.

I want to thank our Mill Woods community as a whole for its continued strength, resilience and compassion as we move forward together.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

We'll now proceed to Mr. Fonseca.

[Peter Fonseca, Liberal, Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON]

Mr. Chair, today is Portugal Day, celebrated both in Portugal and around the world by Portuguese. In Canada, June has been recognized as Portuguese Heritage Month. We're truly happy to recognize the great contributions made by Canadians of Portuguese descent.

This year is a difficult one, though, for all of us, including our Portuguese diaspora community across the globe that is deeply affected by the COVID situation. Our prayers and well wishes are with everyone.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank our luso community of over half a million members in Canada from coast to coast for staying strong during these difficult times. Your warmth, hard work and team spirit resonate well across my riding of Mississauga East—Cooksville and globally.

As a Portuguese immigrant who came to Canada at the age of two with my family, I know this year will be a lot different from previous years. I encourage all of you to stay safe and enjoy a Portuguese meal, and please continue to support our local businesses.

[Member spoke in Portuguese]

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

We now begin the period of questions for ministers.

Please note that we will suspend the proceedings twice in order to allow employees who provide support for sitting to substitute each other very safely.

The first question goes to the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Scheer.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Chair, the Prime Minister is doing everything to avoid being accountable to Canadians. He is refusing to table a budget, refusing to provide an economic update and refusing to let the House of Commons do its work.

Will he at least provide the Auditor General with the additional funding she needs to look into government expenditures?