Evidence of meeting #4 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 crisis.
A video is available from Parliament.
NDP
Jagmeet Singh NDP Burnaby South, BC
The situation is that in Cargill, there are 900 workers right now who have fallen sick due to COVID-19. The workers and the union are asking that conditions be improved so that workers are not put in a situation where they're unsafe.
The federal government has authority over food safety. I make the argument that food safety and worker safety cannot be divorced. Will the government ensure that those workers are in a safe work condition?
Liberal
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
Mr. Chair, the member opposite is quite right about where the federal government has particular authority in food processing, which is to guarantee the safety of the foods processed there for Canadians to eat. I think all members know that it is the provinces who are responsible for public health and for delivering health care. They are doing a fantastic job, and we are collaborating closely with them.
When it comes to Cargill and food processing, I agree with the member opposite that it's something we all need to be particularly concerned about, and we have been.
NDP
Jagmeet Singh NDP Burnaby South, BC
Will the government commit to using the authority that it has under food safety to ensure that workers are also safe? There's no way that food can truly be safe if workers are in dangerous conditions and if workers are contracting COVID-19. We've heard about workers who have died in meat-processing facilities. If workers are dying, the food can't be safe. Will the federal government use its authority to ensure that workers are protected?
Liberal
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
Mr. Chair, I think we all understand that there is a very clear difference between the duty to inspect food that is produced and ensure that this food is safe for Canadians, and the equally sacred, or I would say even more sacred, duty to ensure that workers are working in safe conditions. We take both of those extremely seriously, and we are aware what falls specifically in our jurisdiction. Having said that, we care very much about all Canadian workers. I think all of us are so grateful for the essential workers working in Canadian food processing. We have a shared responsibility to keep them safe.
NDP
Jagmeet Singh NDP Burnaby South, BC
Mr. Chair, we know that in the return to work, one thing that is absolutely important is that if workers are sick, they should be able to stay at home and they need paid sick leave. So one of the things we are pushing for in the return to work is that the government guarantee that all workers get 10 days of paid sick leave, that they can use the CERB or the EI to obtain 10 days at minimum, so that if they are sick, they don't have to make the choice between going to work and risking the transmission of the illness, or staying at home but not knowing how they're going to pay their bills.
Liberal
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
Mr. Chair, I absolutely agree with the member opposite that one of the most important things, I would say in general, but particularly when it comes to addressing the spread of coronavirus, is for all of us to stay home if we are even a little bit sick, and that is precisely why we took the unprecedented step of putting in place the CERB. The initial inspiration there was to make sure there was no disincentive for people to stay home to take care of themselves, to take care of their children, to take care of their communities.
Jagmeet Singh NDP Burnaby South, BC
It won't cover workers if they have to stay home for less than 14 days. My question is, will the government commit to allowing the CERB or a modified version of EI to be put in place so that a worker can take paid sick day leave if they need to stay home from work?
Liberal
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
Mr. Chair, let me just point out one thing specifically when it comes to coronavirus, and that is that if people suspect, if they have symptoms that they think may mean they have coronavirus, the prudent thing would be to stay home for 14 days.
Liberal
NDP
Jagmeet Singh NDP Burnaby South, BC
Sure. Government employees, workers and members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada have been delivering front-line care and battling COVID-19. They have been delivering emergency financial support to millions of Canadians, but 140,000 of them are working without a contract. Thanking these workers is not enough. Will the government commit to bargaining with these workers in a fair manner, to go beyond just thanking them, to bargain with them to ensure they have a contract?
Liberal
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
Mr. Chair, I do actually want to start by recognizing the outstanding work of Canadian public servants. All of us on this side of the House are privileged to work with them every single day, and they are doing an amazing job in supporting Canadians through this unprecedented crisis.
When it comes to collective bargaining, our government believes in that, and of course we will bargain and negotiate in good faith.
Conservative
Matt Jeneroux Conservative Edmonton Riverbend, AB
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Can the minister confirm that she has reached out to the WHO in support of the health committee's request to speak to Dr. Aylward?
Conservative
Matt Jeneroux Conservative Edmonton Riverbend, AB
As provinces begin to reopen their economies and Canadians are encouraged to return to work, is the government confident in the tools currently available to adequately trace cases and prevent a large second wave?
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
Mr. Chair, in fact, the honourable member is correct. Tracking and testing are going to be a very important component of keeping Canadians safe. We are working with the provinces and territories as we speak to make sure that we have a comprehensive approach that will ensure the safety of Canadians when they return to work.
Conservative
Matt Jeneroux Conservative Edmonton Riverbend, AB
Mr. Chair, how many tests would Canada need to be able to conduct to reopen the economy?
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
Mr. Chair, the question that the member opposite is asking is a difficult one, because in fact there are testing strategies that are determined by jurisdiction. Having said that, the federal government is working to make sure capacity exists.
Conservative
Matt Jeneroux Conservative Edmonton Riverbend, AB
Through you, Mr. Chair, what is Canada's current testing capability?
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
Mr. Chair, our current testing capability is about 60,000 tests per day.
Conservative
Matt Jeneroux Conservative Edmonton Riverbend, AB
How many Canadian companies have properly applied through the Buyandsell portal to supply Canada with PPE?
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
Mr. Chair, I don't have the exact number of how many companies have applied through Buyandsell. It's somewhere in the range of 5,000 to 6,000 companies. I know that my colleague Minister Bains has worked carefully to contact all of those companies.
Conservative
Matt Jeneroux Conservative Edmonton Riverbend, AB
How many of these Canadian companies have been approved to begin producing PPE to the Government of Canada?
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
Mr. Chair, I'm looking for the detailed information on how many companies have been approved, but I can say that it's a fair number of companies. A variety of different devices are being analyzed through Health Canada. The determination of Health Canada is that the devices that are sold in Canada must be safe, obviously, for Canadians, so we continue to do that work—
