COVID-19 Pandemic Committee on May 12th, 2020

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

My commitment as Prime Minister and as a government is to support and protect Canadians. That is what we are doing by giving them the support they need through this unprecedented situation. Perhaps other parties don't think it's important to support Canadians. We will keep focused on supporting Canadians.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

That's not what I'm asking here, Mr. Chair. The Conservatives supported the legislation that allowed those supports to go through. What we are asking about is fraud. All along we've been told fraud would be detected through audits after the fact, and we expect that to happen. Can the Prime Minister at least confirm that this will happen?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

When we made the determination that we needed to move quickly to help Canadians, we knew there would be a need to clean up after the fact, to go after fraudulent cases. We will do that. Our priority now and in the coming months is to ensure Canadians get the support they need, and our economy comes roaring back. That's what we're focused on.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

We'll now continue with Mr. Ste-Marie.

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Chair, yesterday, the Prime Minister announced the large employer emergency financing facility. That's good.

What's even better is that he announced that the loans would be tied to conditions. One of those conditions forces companies not to resort to tax evasion or tax avoidance through tax havens. Excellent!

Unfortunately, I quickly became disillusioned because it is more about abusive tax evasion and avoidance. Basically, we're talking about fraudsters. There are no conditions that would allow us to tighten the screws on profiteers.

Companies that legally take advantage of tax havens to avoid paying their taxes will have access to the large employer emergency financing facility.

Why does the Prime Minister continue to support the profiteers?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Chair, we will always be there to counter tax evasion and tax avoidance. It's a priority of our government. There is no tolerance for tax evasion and tax avoidance.

In the current situation, our priority is to help workers across the country who could lose their jobs or who have lost their jobs. That's why we are introducing measures that support workers, who will continue to be our priority.

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Chair, I'm delighted to hear the Prime Minister say that there's no tolerance for tax avoidance. The problem is that his remarks don't reflect reality.

Tax avoidance is the legal use of tax havens. The five big Bay Street banks benefit from this, as do the big multinationals. It's time to tighten the screws on these companies. They have to pay their share.

Will the Prime Minister and his government outlaw what is immoral?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Chair, when we announced the large employer emergency funding facility, we recognized that those who wanted to receive tax dollars had to have paid their fair share of taxes. That's why we're putting in place measures to carefully assess the tax structures of these businesses before we loan money to them.

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Chair, sometimes a bank will relocate its most profitable activities carried out in Canada and register them in a subsidiary in the Bahamas, Barbados or another tax haven.

Does the Prime Minister consider this bank to be paying its fair share of taxes in Canada?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Chair, we will assess applications for the large employer emergency funding facility on a case-by-case basis. We don't expect the big banks to need these funds. Before we provide any money, we're going to make sure that whoever wants to access these funds is transparent about how the money is being managed, including internationally.

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Chair, I'll change the subject now.

Consumers are paying more and more with their credit cards, which allows contactless payments in shops, not to mention online shopping. This benefits Visa and Mastercard, which charge appallingly high user fees, known as interchange fees. These are almost 10 times higher than in Europe and Australia, and it costs our merchants a fortune.

Can the Prime Minister follow the example of Europe and Australia by capping interchange fees at 0.3%?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Chair, we are always looking for ways to reduce costs for consumers. We have worked with the big banks and the financial industry to ensure that people who need it have access to the help they need. We're reassessing how we can lower costs for consumers. Right now, we're sending money to consumers across the country who need it to get through this crisis. That's what we'll continue to focus on.

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Chair, the question doesn't concern consumers, but merchants.

A credit card company, such as Visa and Mastercard, that charges a fee of 2.5% to 3% per transaction undermines the merchant's profit margin and gets richer at the expense of consumers.

I invite the Prime Minister to follow the example of Europe and Australia by capping these fees at 0.3%.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Chair, we continue to work with financial institutions and the big banks to help consumers during this exceptional and difficult situation. Of course, there are some things we can look at over the longer term as well.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

We'll now go to Ms. Kwan.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Instead of providing a universal direct payment for all, the government has decided to implement a complicated program that leaves many people behind. A single parent with four school-age children lost her spousal and child support due to COVID-19. She pays taxes on her spousal income, but she is not eligible for CERB.

The Minister of Employment said that she is looking into this gap. It has been weeks, and still no action.

Will the Prime Minister step in and fix this gap so that the single parents and their children can get the support they need during this pandemic?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

I'm happy, Mr. Chair, to correct the honourable member by pointing out that we actually moved in the most rapid and simplest possible way in providing income replacement to millions upon millions of Canadians who needed it through the Canada emergency response benefit. However, as the member points out, when one moves quickly and efficiently, there will be gaps, and that's why we've been working diligently to try to fill those gaps. We want to make sure that Canadians who need help, get it.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

While the Minister of Employment has been aware of this for three weeks and says she is looking into it, there's still been no action. The truth of the matter is that single parents and their children who depend on spousal support and child maintenance are not getting support. Will the Prime Minister fix this gap?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

We recognize the particular challenge faced by families, single parents and families with young children, which is why we increased the amount of the Canada child benefit to be able to support people in this particular moment.

On top of that, we have looked to fill further gaps that have existed with the Canada emergency response benefit. Well over seven million Canadians have access to CERB, and we will continue to work with them—

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

That does not replace spousal support and child maintenance, Prime Minister.

Across the country there is no national standard to address the homelessness crisis amidst this pandemic, leaving communities at heightened risk from COVID-19. Canadians who are homeless or living in substandard housing have no access to bathroom facilities for basic hygiene. Those living in crowded SROs and shelters cannot practise social distancing. The problem is particularly acute in my riding in the Downtown Eastside.

While the B.C. government has implemented an initiative to house some of the homeless population in empty hotels in the short term, support from the federal government is needed to secure permanent solutions post-COVID-19. Will the Prime Minister commit to providing matching funds and take the right to adequate housing seriously?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

I know that the honourable member wouldn't want to inadvertently mislead the House. The fact is, the federal government almost immediately sent significant resources, hundreds of millions of dollars, to shelters across the country to enable them to create facilities, including renting new spaces, to be able to house homeless people without increasing the danger of the spread of COVID-19.

I recognize there's always more to do, but as we demonstrated with our national housing strategy, we are serious about fighting homelessness and supporting vulnerable Canadians, and we will continue to do that.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

The Prime Minister must know that the money the federal government sent is deficient. Many people still remain homeless, and they are at risk. Cutting chronic homelessness by 50% over the next decade is not good enough, and that is this Prime Minister's national housing strategy.

Will the government stop just making empty promises and ensure that every Canadian has the right to housing? Will he top up the support for provinces to at least match their funds?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Chair, cutting chronic homelessness by 50% is an ambitious goal that no one else has ever been able to do as a government, and we are well on track for it. I would suggest that the member opposite not dismiss that as an empty promise, because we have demonstrated actions on it.

I recognize there is more to do. There is always more to do. We will be there and continue to be there for vulnerable people, including homeless Canadians.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

I would remind the Prime Minister that it was the federal Liberals who eliminated the national affordable housing program in 1993, so we have this homeless crisis today as a result of the Liberals.

We in Vancouver East have the third-largest urban indigenous population in the country, yet we got less than 2% of the pandemic urban indigenous housing funding. They're overrepresented among the homeless population. Why?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Chair, we recognize there is more to do in supporting urban indigenous people. We have moved forward, both through the Minister of Indigenous Services and the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, to address the challenges facing urban aboriginal populations. We will continue to work with them, recognizing that they are among the most vulnerable people in Canada who deserve the right support from all orders of government, and we will be there to support them increasingly in the coming years.