COVID-19 Pandemic Committee on May 6th, 2020

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I call the meeting to order.

Welcome to the fourth meeting of the House of Commons Special Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic.

At the outset, I wanted to say a few words to once again thank all of the staff of the House Administration who have been working so hard to set up the virtual and in-person meetings of the committee and to all members for their patience and co-operation.

Yesterday's virtual meeting saw fewer technical issues arise than during our first meeting, and I am convinced that, as we all become familiar with this new technology, the proceedings will continue to go smoothly.

Pursuant to the order of reference of Monday, April 20, the committee is meeting today for the purpose of considering ministerial announcements, allowing members to present petitions, questioning ministers of the Crown, including the Prime Minister, in respect to the COVID-19 pandemic, and a take-note debate considering a motion that the committee take note of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Today's proceedings will be televised in the same way as is typical of the House.

We'll now proceed to ministerial announcements. A minister of the Crown may make a short statement, and a member of each of the recognized parties as well as a member of the Green Party may then comment briefly on the response.

We'll go to Ms. Freeland.

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Chair, between the outbreak of war in September 1939 and the allied victory in Europe on May 8, 1945, more than one million Canadians served in our country's armed forces. More than 43,000 lives were lost. In the liberation of the Netherlands, which we also commemorate this week, 7,600 Canadians perished over the course of a brutal nine-month campaign. The scale of their generation's sacrifice can be difficult to comprehend, for this was a time when Canada's population was only 12 million—think about that—yet they shouldered their burden and they carried it without complaint until the job was done and they could come home and resume their lives, those who were able to come home.

In so doing they laid the foundation not only for seven decades of postwar peace and prosperity but also for a new generation of immigrants from across the European continent and, in time, from around the world, who built new lives in Canada, and who built Canada itself.

For them, our country represented peace and a refuge from crisis and turmoil. Then, as now, Canada held the promise of a better, more peaceful and more prosperous future. What better and more enduring example is there of Canada's importance in the world?

The tens of thousands of patriotic men and women who enlisted to serve their country during the darkest days of war in the early 1940s could not have known that, in the end, the allies would be victorious.

They could not have known that on a sunny day in May long years later, Canadian soldiers would be greeted as heroes by throngs of overjoyed men, women and children in the streets of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and the Hague. They knew only that they had a moral obligation to serve, one shared by the six brave Canadians who tragically lost their lives a week ago while serving in Operation Reassurance.

Mr. Chair, as we mark the liberation of the Netherlands and Victory in Europe Day, we honour all these great Canadians. We honour their toughness, their moral fibre and their resolve, which changed the course of history. We honour their sacrifice.

For the Canadians who went to the front lines and served in the Second World War not only defeated the forces of fascism, authoritarianism and oppression. They built a better world. They built transatlantic alliances that protect us to this day and formed bonds that enhance our prosperity.

When Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands addressed this House in 2018, he spoke of the enduring friendship between our two countries, a friendship forged during the war through the extraordinary actions of ordinary Canadians. Our soldiers liberated the cities from Nazi occupation and, to this day, the children who hailed them in the streets remember them still. Seventy-five years later, they continue to tend to the graves of our fallen soldiers. Their children and grandchildren lay flowers at the feet of monuments dedicated to the memory of our Canadian heroes.

It has been 75 years since our parents, our grandparents and our great-grandparents, the greatest generation, stepped up to do their part to build a more prosperous, secure and free world. As our Minister of Veterans Affairs put it, many sacrificed their future to liberate people who had suffered for years under brutal occupation. They left behind family, friends, children, parents and communities, people who loved them. My grandfather, Wilbur Freeland, and his two brothers, Carleton and Warren, were among those volunteers. Carleton and Wilbur came home. Warren did not.

Today, as our country faces a new battle against a pandemic that knows no borders, I cannot think of a better example to follow, and I cannot think of a better reason to serve.

For the last surviving members of the greatest generation, our elders are now the generation most in need of our protection from the COVID-19 pandemic. They look to us to do what is right, responsible and just, however hard that might be. They look to us to forgo, for now, the comforts and pleasures of gatherings and ordinary social interaction. They look to us to follow the advice of public health professionals to wash our hands, to avoid non-essential travel and to stay home as much as possible for as long as necessary.

I actually think it is very simple. We owe it to the generation of Canadians who won that great victory in Europe, and who built the peace that followed, to do whatever is in our power to keep them safe. We owe it to generations to come, our own children and grandchildren, to bequeath to them a country that is more prosperous, more free and more secure than the one we ourselves inherited.

They did their part. Now we must do ours.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

We'll go now to Mr. Brassard.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

On behalf of the Official Opposition, I have the pleasure of joining my hon. colleagues in commemorating the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands and Victory in Europe Day.

Seventy-five years ago this week, the guns fell silent marking the end of a brutal war that had cost tens of millions of people their lives. The silence was replaced by cheers and tears as citizens took to the streets to celebrate the German surrender and the beginning of an era of peace.

Today we remember the courage of the more than one million brave Canadians and Newfoundlanders who left their homes, their families and their friends to fight for freedom during the Second World War. Their service and sacrifice along with that of our allies allowed us to defeat the tyranny of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, but it came at a great cost. By the end of the war, more than 45,000 Canadians and Newfoundlanders had made the ultimate sacrifice and 55,000 were injured. All carried scars, whether visible or invisible, that would last a lifetime.

While it is said that the First World War made us a nation, it was the Second World War that solidified Canada as a key player on the world stage. Despite our relatively small population, Canadian soldiers, sailors and aviators punched above their weight including at Dieppe, in Ortona, on Juno Beach and in the liberation of the Netherlands. In early 1945, the First Canadian Army helped free Dutch cities and towns from their Nazi occupiers. After five years of German occupation, the Dutch welcomed Canadians into their homes and formed lasting friendships.

Today, Canada is home to many proud Dutch Canadians. In my riding of Barrie—Innisfil, Tollendale Village just around the corner from where I live is home to many Canadians of Dutch descent who lived though this period of darkness in their homeland. When I visit Tollendale, I hear the stories of what they went through under German occupation. I also hear about the undying gratitude they have for Canada and for the brave soldiers who came to free them. It would not surprise me at all if Canadian flags are draped over the balconies of Tollendale Village today to signify that deep and profound level of gratitude.

However, the deep bond forged between our two countries goes beyond the battlefield. During the conflict, members of the Dutch royal family found sanctuary in Canada. In recognition of our friendship, the Dutch sent thousands of tulip bulbs to Canada after the war, which became an annual tradition and the inspiration for Ottawa's Tulip Festival, which we celebrate each May.

Like so many other celebrations, this year's Tulip Festival and the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands and Victory in Europe Day will be much different.

Normally, we would gather at community cenotaphs to honour those who gave their lives and to remind ourselves that freedom always comes at a price. Due to the current pandemic, this year we will gather online for virtual services or to pause for personal reflection.

While the crisis has affected Canadians from coast to coast, I know that the isolation has been particularly difficult for our seniors and our veterans. I ask Canadians to please remember to check in on the veterans and seniors in their communities. Let them know that they are not alone, that their service has not been forgotten and that help will always be available if needed. For they are the ties that bind this great nation together.

During these unprecedented times, Canadians continue to demonstrate the dedication, bravery and patriotism that defined our efforts throughout the Second World War. Our health care professionals are on the front lines each and every day fighting to keep us healthy and safe. Members of the Canadian Armed Forces are helping in long-term care homes. The Canadian Rangers are supporting northern and remote communities, and reserve units stand ready to help Canadians if needed.

Canadians are grateful for your service. On behalf of the Official Opposition, I want to say thank you.

Just this past week, we were reminded of the tremendous cost of service as six members of the Canadian Armed Forces were killed in a helicopter crash during Operation Reassurance. Our sincere condolences go out to the families of the fallen. May God bless them and comfort them during this difficult time.

Today and every day, let us honour our veterans, our brave service men and women and all those who continue to fight for a freer and peaceful world.

Lest we forget.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

We will continue with Mr. Blanchet.

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

Mr. Chair, if I may, I'd like to begin with a few words for the family and friends of Maxime Miron-Morin, who was lost in the Canadian Forces helicopter crash in the Ionian Sea. Mr. Miron-Morin is from Trois-Rivières, the region that welcomed me a few years ago. My thoughts are with all the people of the Trois-Rivières community, the Mauricie region, Quebec and Canada after the dramatic loss of these six lives.

Many human lives were lost in a much more dramatic military context. We lost 7,600 during the liberation of the Netherlands, in which the Canadian Forces and, of course, many Quebeckers took part. The duty of remembrance to which we are committed today must continue, in the hope that the conditions that make human beings develop the desire to take the lives of other human beings will become a thing of the past as quickly as possible, because it is such an aberration in its very essence.

The conditions for this to happen as little as possible were largely created after the Second World War. There are still terrible conflicts, which explains the need for armed forces. However, the armed forces can be used for other purposes and play a civilian role in our societies.

Of course, I would like to say a word about a Quebec hero, Léo Major. History tells us that he single-handedly liberated a municipality from German forces in the Netherlands. He is the kind of little known and very real hero who helps to create a strong identity within a nation.

These people who fought, certainly for their country, their nation and the people they identified with, often fought for their loved ones and their families. They did it to protect their loved ones, and we owe a lot to those people. We owe a lot to those who came before us. We owe a lot to the people who protected at the cost of their lives, but also built the rich society we live in today. That rich society now has the means to deal with an unprecedented health crisis.

It isn't innocent to remember today that if we pay tribute to people who have, in many cases, been dead for a long time, we could pay a living tribute to the seniors who are still with us, to those who have indeed built this rich society that can now face the pandemic. But words are not enough to pay tribute to them.

We have a duty to remember those who came before us, but we have a duty of action to those who are still with us. In purely health matters, we have a duty to ensure that as many people as possible who were with us before the crisis are still with us after the crisis. We must bring them alive and well to the other side. However, we also have an obligation, which we are too slow to honour, to relieve the most vulnerable people in our society of a weight, a burden and an anxiety that is becoming very heavy.

We stopped sitting in this Parliament in mid-March. Subsequently, we resumed our activities, sporadically and virtually. It is now the beginning of May and it is still our duty together—I do not want to point the finger at anyone, especially since we insist that we are ready to collaborate—to act now, on behalf of our seniors who are very much alive.

I repeat, and I can never repeat enough, that our seniors are most fragile in terms of their health. In that respect, in this pandemic, that does not need to be demonstrated by statistics. They are also most fragile in terms of their anxiety about finances. Geographically, they are the most isolated. Often, in the regions, they are isolated in places where few can travel. In Quebec, they have only just been allowed to go outside. They are isolated because they are less familiar with information technologies. That is why, in the east of the country, our elected representatives are telling us that the Service Canada offices must be reopened.

Once again, I am going to make a request. It represents a very small fraction of the assistance measures that have been implemented to date. We must settle this now. I want to see a smile of relief appear on the faces of hundreds of thousands of seniors who are impatient, yet who show not a fleeting shadow of malice. They are impatient simply because they are afraid and because they do not know how to deal with the situation. I am asking that we give the notion of urgency real meaning. At the outset, we feel the urgency. We want to address the urgency. But, with every passing day, the very notion of urgency loses more of its meaning, to the extent that the emergency measures that will end in a few weeks may not have fulfilled the functions for which they were created.

Since those who went before us have passed away, we have gathered the conditions that provide us with a better society. Today, let us forsake no segment of that society, be it the lobstermen in the east, the teams of researchers valiantly seeking solutions to our problems, the many, many workers in the highly diversified tourist industry wondering how they are going to make it through the summer, given that the programs will not longer exist at that point. And, of course, our seniors, to whom we owe everything.

The word "urgency”, with all its precision and all its meaning, must remain the first of our concerns, until we are certain that we have left no one behind. Just like our ancestors in times of war who did all they possibly could so that none of their own was left behind.

So I invite us to act on our compassion and our remembrance. I invite us to act quickly on behalf of those whom we love, and to act, above all, out of respect for their own ancestors, who gave their lives.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

We will now go to Mr. Singh.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Chair, this week we mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands and Victory in Europe Day. We honour all those great Canadians.

There are many events of which we are proud in Canada's military history. One of the best-known and most significant was the liberation of the Netherlands.

The Dutch people have never forgotten the efforts of our brave soldiers to free their country after years of harsh German occupation during the Second World War.

In the liberation of the Netherlands, 7,600 Canadians perished over the course of a brutal nine-month campaign. In doing so, they laid the foundation for seven decades of peace and prosperity.

Last year, I had the honour of attending a ceremony on Juno Beach to recognize Canada's major contribution to the war. I stood on the same beach as thousands of young Canadians 76 years ago. I could imagine their courage as they fought against the forces of hate.

Standing there with Canadian veterans who made the trip back to where they fought was something that I'll never forget. Those who made the ultimate sacrifice had their young lives cut short so that we could stand here today as free people. We will never forget them.

On behalf of all New Democrats on this 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands, and to mark Victory in Europe Day, we express our gratitude to all our veterans for their service. We pay tribute to their sacrifices.

We will always remember.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

We'll now go to Ms. May.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, colleagues.

My thanks to the Deputy Prime Minister for her very strong, very clear speech, and to all my colleagues here in this room

We are joined together today, as we join together on some occasions that are sombre, where we can put partisan rancour to the side.

I want to acknowledge that I'm standing today on the traditional territory of the Algonquin peoples and express gratitude. Once again, meegwetch.

I have the enormous privilege of being a close friend of two of the Canadians who were involved in the combat to liberate the Netherlands 75 years ago.

I'll be holding a virtual community meeting by Zoom on Friday night. I have invited one of those extraordinary people to join the meeting to speak to whomever from my community will be joining. Normally we would have done this in person.

I want to tell you a little bit about Major (Retired) Commander Charles Goodman. He served at D-Day. He was part of the liberation of the Netherlands. Fortunately, our Department of National Defence pays attention. The Department of Veterans Affairs brought him with the group that went to the Netherlands to celebrate the 70th anniversary.

Chic Goodman was one of those who liberated the Westerbork concentration camp. Anne Frank was once at the Westerbork concentration camp. It was somewhat of a transit station. People were rerouted from Westerbork. Anne Frank died at Auschwitz.

That liberation stands in memory of all.

When I was a child, a family friend, now deceased, was part of the Dutch resistance. I want to pause for a moment to pay tribute to the Dutch people who, under the occupying force of the Nazis, lived in the cruellest and most dangerous of circumstances and continued to shelter Jews, continued to fight in the resistance, and died fighting the Nazis in the period of time in which they were occupied.

Our family friend, Chris van Wiengarten, lived in The Hague. As a small child, I was riveted by the stories of him hiding in the family attic. There was a closet with a false front in which they hid the family's silver. Sure enough, the Nazis came one day and discovered that there was a false wall. They got through it, found the family silver but didn't go through a second false wall where they would have found the staircase to the attic.

There is tremendous courage and heroism among the Dutch people which I want to also celebrate today.

Chic Goodman, who is now in his nineties, will be joining the community virtual meeting on Friday night to share with some constituents his experience of war and, thank the Lord, his experience of peace.

Ironically, today is the anniversary of the death of my other very close friend who fought with the Canadian Forces in the liberation of the Netherlands. On May 6, 2014, six years ago today, we lost Farley Mowat. As many of you will know, Farley was a member of the The Hastings & Prince Edward Regiment. He wrote two books about the war. One is The Regiment, which is a tribute to the history of the the “Hasty Ps”. The other book is And No Birds Sang, which is the story of the Italian campaign. To read that is to know we should never go to war again—ever.

Farley never wrote of what he did with behind enemy lines intelligence just before the war ended. He met in secret with a German commander who was willing to be persuaded that there was a problem. The civilian population of the Netherlands was starving. People were down to eating tulip bulbs and horses. There was a very immediate risk of famine, even as the allied forces closed in and were ready to liberate the Netherlands.

In that meeting, Farley Mowat, a young officer, with another officer, managed to lay the groundwork to get to higher command with a plan that the Germans would stand back if there were prearranged food drops coming from Canadian, British and American bombers on prescribed routes to drop food in places where otherwise, the Dutch would starve to death before they could be liberated. It's an extraordinary story. Farley never wrote it. But Operation Chowhound, which is what they called it, came out of Prince Bernhard making a frantic call, a plea, to General Eisenhower. Eisenhower said, “I can't do anything”, but the Canadians put this together, and I think it bears mentioning.

This is a day to mark heroism, a day to mark sacrifice.

Today, I want to pay tribute to our veterans. I also want to pay tribute to those who have died this week.

We lost six brave Canadians in the Cyclone crash.

We are celebrating the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands. We thank God for that liberation and for the courage of all the soldiers, including those from the countries that fought courageously against Nazi forces.

I want to close by reinforcing the words of the leader of the Bloc Québécois and picking up on the points made by our Deputy Prime Minister.

Among us today, the most vulnerable to COVID-19 is that generation. We can't turn our backs. It is urgent. I know there are things being done, but more needs to be done.

I want to echo the words of the leader of the Bloc Québécois, because I agree with him completely. We must do more for our seniors.

Today, I want to give thanks for those people I know.

Thank you, Chic, thank you, Farley, and thank you, Chris, the people I've had touch my life and who are the real heroes of a period of time that I hope we will never see again. We will embrace a post-pandemic period with the same spirit of courage that we exhibited postwar. Take care of each other. Rebuild our economies. Whether it takes a Marshall Plan or a new Bretton Woods plan, we work together.

Thank you, all of you. Merci.Meegwetch. Dank u wel.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I understand there's an agreement to observe a moment of silence in honour of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands by Canadian Forces and the 75th anniversary of VE Day.

[A moment of silence observed]

We'll now proceed to the period for presenting petitions, which will not exceed 15 minutes.

I would like to remind members that any petition during a meeting of the special committee must have already been certified by the clerk of petitions. Once a member has presented their petition, we ask that they please come and drop it off at the table.

Presenting petitions, Mr. Motz.

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

Mr. Chair, I'm honoured to present e-petition 2341 on behalf of more than 175,000 Canadians. This pile on my desk is but a small sampling of those 175,000 Canadians who oppose the Liberals' firearms ban and believe that using an order in council to bypass debate and accountability in this House is wrong and undemocratic.

This is the largest e-petition in Canadian history to date, although I am pleased to report that new e-petition 2574, started recently by my colleague from Calgary Nose Hill and also directly related to the recent gun ban, already has over 80,000 signatures in the first day. That fact just underlines the significant importance of this issue to Canadians.

As the e-petition 2341 petitioners note, the government's ban fails to take firearms away from criminals and unfairly targets Canadians, the firearm owners who are already among the most vetted in Canadian history and society. I believe it is wrong for the government to use the current pandemic and immediate emotion of the tragedy in Nova Scotia to push through their ideological agenda and make major firearms policy changes at this time.

As a former police officer, I know first-hand that Canadians want real action on crime, on gangs and on smuggled and illegal firearms. The vast majority of Canadian crimes committed with guns are committed by illegally obtained firearms by individuals who are not legally authorized to possess them. Nothing the Liberals announced last week addresses this problem. Instead, the government's policies are targeting law-abiding firearm owners instead of the dangerous criminals who choose to do evil with illegal and smuggled firearms. This is lazy and ineffective government.

Conservatives have supported and will always support common-sense firearms policies that keep guns out of the hands of dangerous criminals.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Point of order.

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

We know that it is much harder—

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

I'm sorry, Mr. Chair. I have a point of order.

Could I get some clarification? Do the normal rules of presenting petitions still apply under the rubric of the COVID-19 committee?

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Yes, they do.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

I would object to the member making a speech.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

That is a valid objection—making a political statement and making a speech.

I will ask the member to wrap up as quickly as possible.

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

First of all, I would like to address the point of order, Mr. Chair, if I could.

In a democracy, this is a petition put in by Canadians who believe their democratic process has been challenged. As such, I believe I should have the ability to take two to three minutes maximum to explain what their concerns are to the House.

I need about one minute or less, Mr. Chair, to finish, and I would be honoured to be able to wrap it up on behalf of the Canadians who trust us to do their business in the House.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Mr. Motz, the normal way of doing things is a very concise description of the petition. It has deviated a bit.

I will let you wrap up very quickly. I will give you about 30 seconds, if you don't mind.

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

We know that it's much harder and more difficult to go after criminals and illegally acquired firearms, but that is the difficult work that we as Conservatives have always been prepared to do. We know there's a lot to be done.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

If I may interrupt again, I want to clarify that it's about the petition, not about a speech.

I will ask you to wrap up about the petition, please.

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

Mr. Chair, thank you. I appreciate the opportunity to do that, and I will. I just want to voice my objection.

This is how Canadians feel right now about what was done last week, and I will wrap up with this.

I would like to thank my constituent, Mr. Brad Manysiak, who initiated this petition, and the 175,310 Canadians who signed this petition.

I'm also thankful for the millions of Canadians who oppose this Liberal government policy and the Liberals' policies on gun control. We will stand together and not be deterred in our fight to do what's right for Canada and for Canadians.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Thank you.

Ms. May.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

I better not make a speech.

Mr. Chair, I am presenting electronic petition number e-431. The petitioners ask that the House assembled consider the urgency of the climate crisis, that it is an emergency and that Canada is called upon to set ambitious targets. The petitioners call for Canada to act expeditiously to ensure that domestic actions meet the global challenge of holding global average temperature changes to no more than 1.5°C.