COVID-19 Pandemic Committee on May 12th, 2020

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, colleagues. It's lovely to see all of you.

My first question is directed to the Prime Minister. It's a higher-level abstraction.

As we all know, we're being told we need a vaccine, and the quest for a vaccine is all-consuming globally. However, people who think about this issue and the question of the power structure and profit motive, particularly Dr. Matthew Herder of the Health Law Institute at Dalhousie University, are questioning this model.

We know that Jonas Salk never sought a patent on his polio vaccine. Can we ensure that public dollars for finding a vaccine will result in a product that is shared globally, openly, and is not for profit?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Mississauga—Malton, ON]

Mr. Chair, I want to thank the member for her question.

Our approach has been very clear when it comes to science. We have an open science model, and we're working with different partners and different jurisdictions to help develop vaccines and look at countermeasures and other therapeutics. Our goal is to make sure that we do so in a collaborative fashion, because this is a global pandemic, but make no mistake: If it's Canadian ingenuity and Canadian IP that's driving it, we want to support them as well.

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

As a follow-up to the minister's comment, I note it was interesting to see the claim made by this public health institute at Dalhousie about the wonderful research that was being done in Winnipeg on an Ebola vaccine. Because of the for-profit motive and the interests that big pharma had in seeing their market before they developed the product, it is alleged that the Ebola vaccine was actually delayed by the for-profit model.

I wonder if we might consider examining this profit motive around the development of life-saving vaccines and other drugs. Is that a conversation the minister is having with others?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Mississauga—Malton, ON]

I'd like to thank the member for her question.

I'm working very closely with Minister Hajdu and the chief science advisor to look at all options.

I'm glad the member highlighted the Ebola virus vaccine, which was developed here in Canada. I'm proud of the fact that the DNA sequencing for SARS was also done in Canada.

We have incredible scientists and researchers. We are engaging with them and empowering them, and we will continue to share details of this with the public.

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

Changing gears, we know that the new regulations limiting what are described as military-style assault rifles and guns have been very controversial. It's very clear to me as an opposition member why we haven't seen legislation on any fast track. It's obviously not the sort of legislation that would gain unanimous consent.

Wouldn't it be wise to table for first reading the entire legislative framework so that we know what we're talking about in the long term with regard to the buyback program and other aspects of this issue?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

I want to thank the member for the question.

I want to assure her that at the first opportunity, we will bring forward legislation dealing with a number of aspects of our commitment to strengthen gun control in Canada, including legislation to deal with a buyback program, which we've indicated we will put in place.

There are a number of other significant measures as well that we intend to bring forward to strengthen gun control legislation. We understand that it's a priority.

The pandemic does not diminish our responsibility to do what is necessary to keep Canadians safe, and we will bring that legislation forward at the first opportunity.

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

I confess that I was disappointed by this morning's announcement on support for seniors. I had been hoping for much more, because I hear from many seniors.

I'm going to focus my question for the minister on the issue of seniors homes. Some that are being run by not-for-profit societies are actually running very well, certainly in my community, but they are facing increased costs that could bankrupt them. As yet, there's no program to help a well-run seniors home that is not experiencing a loss of revenue and has lots of staff working hard. These homes have increased costs for wages and increased costs for PPE and nowhere to look for help.

Is there help coming?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

I offer my gratitude to the many people who are working in these long-term care facilities day and night to keep seniors safe.

The member certainly highlighted that there are not only additional expenses for some of the not-for-profit seniors homes, but also additional new measures that will increase all kinds of things, including costs.

We continue to work with the provinces and territories and support them through, for example, generous transfers of money to boost their health care systems in ways that they think are most appropriate. We continue to have conversations at the health ministers' table on how we can support them.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I'm afraid we're out of time on that one.

The next question will go to Mr. Davies.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Chair, Canadians are appalled by the disgraceful treatment of seniors in care homes across this country. Old folks are being left in soiled clothing and are going without baths for weeks. They are packed four to a room in dangerously unhealthy conditions. The situation is so bad that the armed forces had to be called in to intervene.

To the Minister of Health, is her government prepared to take strong action to address this crisis in seniors health care?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Mr. Chair, the member has illustrated some of the horror stories that have appalled us all as Canadians and certainly as parliamentarians. We know that seniors deserve to live in dignity and safety with the utmost care, and that just hasn't been happening in this time of COVID and certainly, in some cases, in previous times as well.

As the member knows, I've said publicly that I believe we need to hold long-term care homes to stronger standards. I have begun those preliminary conversations with my counterparts. I am working with many ministers across our government to think about how we do that, how we—

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

We'll go back to Mr. Davies.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Chair, if we treated children the way we do seniors in this country, social services would seize them. Over 80% of the deaths in Canada from COVID-19 have occurred in long-term care homes. Canada has the highest proportion of deaths in long-term care home settings among 14 comparable countries, including France, Germany, Denmark and Ireland.

Canadians want action. What specifically is the minister going to do about the crisis in long-term care?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Mr. Chair, the member opposite knows that long-term care homes have rested largely in the jurisdiction of provincial governments and, in fact, municipal governments, which often run them and fund them partially as well. That's why it's important that we have those conversations with our provincial and territorial partners, but the member can rest assured that it is on the top of my priority list to engage with my colleagues all across the country, including many experts who have studied this issue multiple times, to come up with stronger standards so all seniors have quality of life, safety and dignity in their elder years.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Chair, Canadians don't want politicians pointing fingers at each other; they want our seniors taken care of. COVID-19 didn't cause the problems; it exposed them. Decades of neglect by governments at all levels have resulted in this calamity. Not a single province or territory in Canada is meeting the minimum standards of hands-on care for seniors, and death rates from COVID-19 in private, for-profit facilities are two to three times that of public or non-profit homes.

Will the minister agree with New Democrats that we need strong national standards, federal funding tied to enforcement and public delivery of care to effectively improve care for seniors?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Mr. Chair, certainly the member of Parliament has made an assertion that there is finger pointing. I don't think that's the case at all. As a matter of fact, what I hear from my colleagues at the provincial and territorial level is the willingness to collaborate on how, first of all, we get through this crisis together and strengthen safety for seniors in homes right now and then how we look to the future to build a stronger network of long-term care or care alternatives that will ensure that seniors have the right and the ability to live with dignity and safety in their homes.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Chair, what I'm not hearing is a single concrete proposal or measure that this minister is suggesting her government can take, but let me move to another subject.

Like long-term care, COVID-19 has exposed other major gaps in our health care system. Millions of Canadians lost their prescription benefits when they lost their jobs, revealing the fundamental weakness of medical coverage tied to employment status.

Will this government finally move to ensure all Canadians get the medicine they need by bringing in universal pharmacare at the earliest opportunity?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Mr. Chair, as you know, in the mandate that the Prime Minister gave to me, working on a national pharmacare plan is still there. I know it feels like a lifetime ago, but the member has very aptly illustrated why affordable medication is so important as part of a robust health care system. I look forward to continuing our work on ensuring that all Canadians can afford the medication they need.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

It is now over to Mr. Simard.

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

A few weeks ago, the Prime Minister made a big announcement expressing his desire to launch an economic recovery plan that fast-tracks the transition to a green economy. Minister Guilbeault, Minister McKenna and Minister Wilkinson were appointed to a group tasked with doing just that.

Today, I worry that the group is nothing but an empty shell, a convenient post-crisis political pitch. On the natural resources front, the government's two main announcements primarily involve fossil fuels. We need only think of the $1.7 billion being invested to clean up orphan wells.

Perhaps there is an environmental component, but I'm having trouble wrapping my head around yesterday's announcement by Export and Development Canada. It's going to lend TC Energy $500 million to build its Coastal GasLink pipeline. That's $500 million for a pipeline project that will eventually produce 8.6 million tonnes of greenhouse gases annually.

How does the government reconcile that with its desire to transition to a green economy?

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The honourable minister has the floor.

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, North Vancouver, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you very much for the question. Certainly at this time, Canadians are most particularly focused on ensuring that support is provided so that they can put food on the table and pay their rent.

We are starting to focus on the relaxation measures in many provinces and territories in Canada. That is the primary focus of the government, as it is of Canadians. Certainly as we move forward, we need to be thinking about the kind of society and economy that we want to create for the future. In that context, we need to learn lessons coming out of this experience, and certainly we need to ensure that we are addressing challenges that are on the horizon, including the challenge of climate change. Those are conversations that will need to be had as we move beyond this phase of the crisis, but at the current time, the focus is clearly on combatting the virus.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Ms. Pauzé has a point of order.

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

There was absolutely no interpretation while the minister was speaking.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Since so many are having issues with the interpretation, let's take a quick break while I try to fix the problem on my end.

I'm going to ask the minister to repeat his answer, and we'll see whether the interpretation comes through this time. If not, please let me know, Ms. Pauzé and anyone else who doesn't hear it.