COVID-19 Pandemic Committee on June 18th, 2020

[The Acting Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

We will go back to Mr. Uppal.

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

Madam Chair, the feedback window that this government provided for the emergency wage subsidy was less than two weeks.

Why was the feedback window so short, and has the government now compiled all of its feedback and decided on what the extension will look like?

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Madam Chair, we've been consulting businesses since day one. Yes, we did look at how the wage subsidy can be better, and we are always listening to businesses across the country to better understand how we can support them. It's our objective to support businesses across the country.

[The Acting Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

We will take a short break so that the employees can change places.

We can now continue with our proceedings.

[The Acting Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

We will go to the honourable member for Calgary Nose Hill, Ms. Rempel Garner.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Media have characterized the loss of the UN Security Council bid as Mr. Trudeau's, as opposed to Canada's. Is this because he preaches to the international community about racism, even though he has a history as a blackface practitioner?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

Madam Chair, Canada [Inaudible—Editor] on many occasions, always stands up for human rights. We stand against anti-black racism. We stand against any kind of discriminatory practices and we will—

[The Acting Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

We will go back to Ms. Rempel Garner.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Did Mr. Trudeau secure Iran's vote by bowing to its dictatorial foreign minister, failing to get answers on an alleged Iranian government missile strike that killed Canadian citizens and supporting measures that can harm Israel?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

Madam Chair, as I have previously stated, when it comes to the victims of the Ukrainian flight that was downed earlier this year, Canada has demanded justice and transparency. We have been firm and committed to this. We will continue to do everything we can to get justice for the families of the victims.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Does Mr. Trudeau think that he lost Canada's votes because he moralizes on women's rights while making female cabinet ministers answer questions about his diminishment of groping allegations laid out against him by suggesting that his accuser had experienced things differently?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

Madam Chair, we will take not lessons from the Conservative Party when it comes to women's rights. It was their government that cut funding for organizations that provided women a right to choose. It was their leadership that walked back women's rights around the world.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Does Mr. Trudeau think that he jeopardized India's vote for a UN Security Council seat because he pranced around India with a man who was convicted of the attempted assassination of an Indian state cabinet minister?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

Madam Chair, I would really like to take this opportunity to acknowledge all of the hard work team Canada put into the UN Security Council campaign. This was a collective effort, and we need to be thankful and so grateful for the incredibly talented—

[The Acting Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

We will go back to Ms. Rempel.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Does Mr. Trudeau think that he might have lost Canada votes because while he preached about feminism and indigenous rights and upholding the rule of law, he was simultaneously turfing Jody Wilson-Raybould for speaking truth to his privileged power in the SNC-Lavalin scandal?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

Madam Chair, Canada has taken a leadership role when it comes to transparency and openness, when it comes to data collection and when it comes to governance. In fact, one of the top requests that I as an international development minister get is to provide technical assistance when it comes to—

[The Acting Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

We will go back to Ms. Rempel.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Does Mr. Trudeau think he lost Canada's bid because despots in authoritarian countries think that he will continue to hand out billions, steak dinners, and Celine Dion concert tickets with no strings attached while he racks up the Canadian national debt and people in Canada go without?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

Madam Chair, it's unfortunate that the member opposite thinks that providing emergency food security assistance to the world's most vulnerable is a waste of our money. It's unfortunate that she thinks that ensuring that women have a right to choose is a waste of our money. It's unfortunate—

[The Acting Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

We will go back to Ms. Rempel Garner.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

It's unfortunate that we lost the UN Security Council bid. Mr. Justin Trudeau is not respected on the world stage.

Now that Mr. Trudeau has lost, will he commit to pushing for reform at the UN, to securing the release of the two Michaels from China, to upholding Israel's right to exist as a state and to speaking against authoritarian countries' abuses of democracy or attempts to erode Canadian sovereignty?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

Madam Chair, I guess the honourable member has not been paying attention, because that is what the Prime Minister and this government have done over the last four and a half years. We have stood by Israel. We have stood by our commitment to a two-state solution. We have stood against authoritarianism. We have worked hard to—

[The Acting Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

We will go to Ms. Rempel Garner.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

What this government has done is voted against Israel at the UN and failed to stand up to China for the Michaels, all this for a bid that didn't succeed. Mr. Trudeau yesterday said Canada is large enough to make a difference, but we know we can't do it alone. Given everything that I've said and given that Mr. Trudeau received fewer votes than Mr. Harper did, does Ms. Gould think that perhaps Canada would be better off doing it without Mr. Trudeau?