Evidence of meeting #23 for COVID-19 Pandemic in the 43rd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was chair.

A video is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

1:05 p.m.

Conservative

Randy Hoback Conservative Prince Albert, SK

Mr. Chair, during the CUSMA negotiations, a deal was struck between the Liberal Party and the NDP that the government would notify this House 90 days before it starts any negotiations on any trade agreement. When will the minister notify this House?

1:05 p.m.

Liberal

Mary Ng Liberal Markham—Thornhill, ON

Mr. Chair, I want to assure the honourable member that we will absolutely be sharing information. Right now, we are analyzing the most-favoured-nation tariff regimes schedule put out by the U.K.

1:05 p.m.

Conservative

Randy Hoback Conservative Prince Albert, SK

Mr. Chair, any meaningful attempts to reform the WTO needs buy-in from the United States. I think all countries agree on that. Has the minister discussed a WTO reform with the USTR, the United States trade representative?

1:05 p.m.

Liberal

Mary Ng Liberal Markham—Thornhill, ON

Mr. Chair, the Ottawa Group is a consensus-based group, and any decisions will be taken together. Of course, any meaningful reform must include the U.S.—

1:05 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Anthony Rota

We'll go back to Mr. Hoback.

1:05 p.m.

Conservative

Randy Hoback Conservative Prince Albert, SK

Has the U.S. been invited to the Ottawa Group meetings?

1:05 p.m.

Liberal

Mary Ng Liberal Markham—Thornhill, ON

The Ottawa Group is a consensus-based group limited to WTO members who are committed to bringing forward ideas and proposals—

1:05 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Anthony Rota

We'll go back to Mr. Hoback.

1:05 p.m.

Conservative

Randy Hoback Conservative Prince Albert, SK

Just as with any other trade agreement, the minister has committed to this House that she will publish the list of goals and responsibilities for the negotiations. When will she publish the list for the Ottawa Group?

1:05 p.m.

Liberal

Mary Ng Liberal Markham—Thornhill, ON

Mr. Chair, I'm thrilled that we had an excellent meeting of the Ottawa Group yesterday where, as a group, we agreed to take concrete action.

1:05 p.m.

Conservative

Randy Hoback Conservative Prince Albert, SK

Will the minister be releasing a list of Canada's objectives we would like to see the new WTO's director-general pursue prior to the upcoming DG election?

1:05 p.m.

Liberal

Mary Ng Liberal Markham—Thornhill, ON

We published an action statement from the Ottawa Group yesterday. I would encourage the member opposite to have a look. I'm certainly happy to send it to him.

1:05 p.m.

Conservative

Randy Hoback Conservative Prince Albert, SK

Going back to economic prosperity, we know that the U.S. has been having talks with other countries around the world. Has Canada yet been invited to this group?

1:05 p.m.

Liberal

Mary Ng Liberal Markham—Thornhill, ON

I'm pleased to continue to pursue the objectives of trade diversification. I would remind the member that we have access to a billion and a half customers through our very robust—

1:05 p.m.

Conservative

Randy Hoback Conservative Prince Albert, SK

A billion and a half customers is fine if you have a functioning WTO, but if you don't have a functioning WTO, then a billion and a half customers may not be fully accessible to our suppliers, manufacturers and agriculture producers.

Can the minister confirm that she's in discussions with the U.S. in joining this economic prosperity group?

1:05 p.m.

Liberal

Mary Ng Liberal Markham—Thornhill, ON

Mr. Chair, I want to assure the honourable member that nothing is more important than standing up and helping create markets for our Canadian businesses and to help our small businesses get more export-ready so that they can grow into the international marketplace.

This is work that we've committed to do, and we will keep working on it, particularly—

1:05 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Anthony Rota

We'll go back to Mr. Hoback.

1:05 p.m.

Conservative

Randy Hoback Conservative Prince Albert, SK

Yesterday Saskatchewan presented a budget. Not only did they present the budget, but they'll also actually debate the budget and pass the budget in Parliament. There's full accountability. Why won't this government do the same?

1:05 p.m.

Honoré-Mercier Québec

Liberal

Pablo Rodriguez LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Chair, the House is sitting in this hybrid format so that people can participate in the House on the screens. I'm sure my colleague is happy to see that his own colleagues are able to ask questions and participate.

1:05 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Anthony Rota

We'll now go to Mr. Williamson.

1:05 p.m.

Conservative

John Williamson Conservative New Brunswick Southwest, NB

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will say that this is no substitute for Parliament, but I appreciate the opportunity.

New Brunswick families and businesses are rapidly making adjustments to manage and live with the coronavirus pandemic. Businesses here are opening and services are being offered. Families are preparing for summer and even planning ahead for a new school year in September.

We have a lot of work ahead of us. One notable absence is Service Canada. When does the government plan on opening its service counters to assist Canadians again?

1:10 p.m.

York South—Weston Ontario

Liberal

Ahmed Hussen LiberalMinister of Families

Mr. Chair, our government is committed to ensuring that Canadians continue to have access to the benefits that they rely on through Service Canada. We have redeployed over 3,000 additional staff to ensure that Canadians continue to have access to their benefits. We've established a 1,500-agent call centre to make sure that people can get access to the phone lines to get the help they need.

1:10 p.m.

Conservative

John Williamson Conservative New Brunswick Southwest, NB

Service Canada is about more than providing COVID-19 information and benefits.

Provincial governments are working hard to adjust to Canada's new normal by opening up businesses and front-line government services. When will we see Service Canada play its role and open its service counters in our communities?

1:10 p.m.

Liberal

Ahmed Hussen Liberal York South—Weston, ON

Mr. Chair, we're currently working with our world-class public health experts to determine how best to reopen the Service Canada network for the public. Make no mistake: Our Service Canada employees have gone above and beyond to ensure that Canadians continue to have access to the services that they rely on and the benefits that they need.

1:10 p.m.

Conservative

John Williamson Conservative New Brunswick Southwest, NB

Please don't hide behind health experts when the Prime Minister is appearing in the middle of large protests, yet is afraid to bring back the Parliament of Canada to do its business. In fact, the New Brunswick legislature is open for regular business. Bills are being studied, opposition input is being heard and MLAs are voting on legislation, not rubber-stamping government bills. By comparison, our Parliament is stuck in pretending it cannot function like other law-making assemblies.

Canadians are in the dark about our country's finances. When will the government table an economic update so taxpayers understand what was spent, what is owed by our kids and grandchildren, and what the government's fiscal footing looks like?