COVID-19 Pandemic Committee on May 7th, 2020

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Madam Chair, we will be releasing the details of that announcement, and how the money is going to be spent, in the coming days.

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

We all know that many media organizations, large and small, in Canada are struggling right now. Allegations have arisen that the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, CBC, is currently engaging in predatory behaviour and taking advantage of the current situation to harm its competitors using rate cuts. We've seen this from the province of Quebec. Many journalists have talked about this.

What is the government going to do to address these allegations against the CBC?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Madam Chair, we have not been informed of these allegations. We will look into this, and we will get back to the hon. colleague if we do find any valuable information.

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

Local community and ethnic media outlets and papers have strong ties to their communities that often go much deeper than the major media outlets. Is the government currently using any local or ethnic media outlets to provide crucial coronavirus information through advertising?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Madam Chair, I totally agree with my colleague. We need to get the information to Canadians on COVID-19, which is why we have started an ad-buy campaign of $30 million, which is being distributed in more than 900 local, regional and national newspapers across the country and 500 radio and TV stations in 12 different languages, including Farsi, Mandarin, Spanish, Italian and many more.

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

Mr. Minister, I talked to the Winnipeg Free Press yesterday. It has received two ads from an ad agency in connection with the $30 million the government is doling out to help media outlets. They had one ad on March 27. The second ad was on April 11. That is two ads in the Winnipeg Free Press in the last eight weeks. Is this the kind of money you're attempting to dole out to help media: two ads in eight weeks?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Madam Chair, we have been doing a number of things for our media in Canada over the last few months and will continue to do so. On top of that $30 million ad-buy campaign, we have been investing $50 million in local journalism. Just this year, it means that 200 journalists will be hired in areas across the country where journalism is more poorly defined. The federal government has paid part I licence fees of our broadcasters to the CRTC. That means $30 million is staying in the pockets of our broadcasters.

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

Madam Chair, last week, as the minister would know, 15 community newspapers, including eight in Manitoba and seven in the province of Ontario, closed their doors for good. Is the government currently planning any further measures aimed at assisting community or ethnic media organizations? We understand that many more will close their doors within the next 30 to 60 days.

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

We are planning a number of other measures, some of which will be included in the $500 million. I will be announcing the details of that in the coming days. Of the $595 million that the media will receive, we have a tax credit that has now entered into force, and the cheques should be in the mail by the end of the summer. So there are a number of things we've done and a number of things we will be doing in the coming months as well.

[The Acting Chair (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

Mr. Waugh, you may have a short question.

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

Well, finally, you have the five members associated with that committee to dole out the $595 million. They haven't even met yet. When will they meet?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

I would like to remind my hon. colleague that in order for us to provide tax breaks for the 2019 period, media outlets had to file their tax returns so we could go ahead.

This will now be able to proceed, Madam Chair.

[The Acting Chair (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

We now move on to Mr. Godin.

Mr. Godin, you may go ahead.

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

Thank you, Madam Chair.

This being the first time I've had the floor during a virtual sitting of Parliament, I'd like to take this opportunity to greet my fellow members, all 259 participants. I hope they are taking care of themselves.

I'd like to talk about the Prime Minister's appearance on the show Tout le monde en parle. This is what he had to say about his economic recovery plan:

We are going to remain focused on the economy as a whole…innovation…research and science, the green economy and a fairer economy…There are things we are all reflecting on right now… that reflection is going to continue.

That was a weak answer. It didn't inspire much confidence.

Can the government assure Canadians that it is being proactive and working on a plan to get the economy moving again? It must act now. Things are starting to reopen gradually. Is the government going to take concrete action to revive the economy?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Yes, absolutely. Our government is wholly committed to restarting the economy, and we are working closely with the provinces to do just that.

Last week, our government, together with the provincial and territorial premiers, [Technical difficulty—Editor] released the principles that will guide efforts to restore economic activity across the country. That is key. The discussion between the Prime Minister and the premiers is continuing today.

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

Madam Chair, before we go any further, since it took a while for the minister, or the government, to answer the question, can I have that time back to ask questions?

[The Acting Chair (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

I stopped the clock, Mr. Godin.

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

Thank you.

The Prime Minister's answer during his appearance on Tout le monde en parle didn't inspire much confidence and doesn't line up with the Deputy Prime Minister's comments.

How can the government be proud of announcing $252 million in assistance for the agri-food sector, when that is less than 1% of all the program funding the government has committed to help Canadians get through the COVID-19 crisis?

Clearly, the government doesn't see the food supply chain as a priority and has no regard for farmers and pork and beef producers. Does the government realize that eating is vital to Canadians? When is the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food going to adjust the program and show respect for Canadian farmers?

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

I have the utmost respect for farmers.

We are going step by step. We've already confirmed various supports for the agricultural sector. This week, we focused on beef and pork producers and processors, as well as sectors with product surpluses that can be redirected to food banks.

I can assure my fellow member that this is an additional step and that more supports are on the way in the weeks ahead. Bear in mind that a number of programs are already available to farmers.

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

I'd like to switch topics now.

Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier is home to a company that is already licensed by Health Canada and that, for 20 years, has been manufacturing medical equipment including masks, face shields and thermometers. This is equipment our health workers need.

The company has a licence from the federal government. In mid-March, Health Canada reached out to the company to find out how much equipment it could manufacture to help fight COVID-19. The company confirmed that it could immediately start producing 200,000 masks a week, ramping up to a million masks over the next few weeks. Forty-five days later, it is still waiting on its first order from the Canadian government.

We are managing a crisis with a limited supply of medical equipment. Can the health minister tell us why, 45 days later, this company licensed by Health Canada hasn't received an order?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Thank you for the question.

Industry and suppliers have enthusiastically answered our call to equip Canada with products and goods during the crisis. Many of those suppliers have already received contracts. We have reached out to all the others and will negotiate contracts as needed.

[The Acting Chair (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

I would now like to invite hon. member Jenica Atwin to speak.

[Jenica Atwin, Green, Fredericton, NB]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Seniors living alone are most at risk of economic insecurity, particularly single senior women, as gender inequality in the job market has translated all too often into inadequate retirement income.

Madam Chair, can the minister commit to implementing a poverty reduction plan that addresses the unique challenges faced by older women?

[Deb Schulte, Liberal, King—Vaughan, ON]

Madam Chair, I want to assure the member that we are quite aware that this pandemic has typically affected single seniors, and many of those, given that they live longer, are single senior women.

I want to assure her that we are working on this issue, and we have provided some supports already through measures such as the GST supplementary payment. That is on average almost $400 for single seniors. There's more work to do. We know that, so stay tuned.

[Jenica Atwin, Green, Fredericton, NB]

Madam Chair, older women represent a high proportion of residents in long-term care facilities. Having spent their lives caring for parents, children and often their partners, they find themselves needing care in nursing homes. Multiple outbreaks of COVID-19 in long-term care homes in Canada have highlighted systemic gaps that senior and elderly women may face in such facilities, as well as the working conditions of the female-dominated ranks of nurses and personal support workers.

Madam Chair, can the minister commit to implementing a federal strategy for long-term care homes that recognizes quality of life for residents and working conditions for the employees, ideally one that goes hand in hand with a poverty reduction plan and enhanced home and community care investments across the country?