COVID-19 Pandemic Committee on May 13th, 2020

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

I don't think the minister understood my question.

In the 2019 budget, the government promised to connect all Canadians to the Internet by 2030. This is 2020. That's 10 years away. People don't need reliable Internet service 10 years down the road. The pandemic has made the need even more acute right now.

When, then, will people have Internet access? I'm simply asking you for a date now.

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

Mr. Chair, under the last budget, we launched a $1.7-billion program to support broadband infrastructure. That's a lot of money for high-speed Internet. My fellow minister Ms. Monsef is in charge of the program. We also introduced the connect to innovate program, which has helped 900 communities all over the country.

We will keep working to make the lives of people who live in rural areas better, and we will find solutions to provide high-speed Internet access.

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Chair, you no doubt know that Beauce is the cradle of small and medium-sized businesses.

On March 27, the Prime Minister introduced the emergency wage subsidy to help businesses cope with the pandemic. Unfortunately, general partnerships were overlooked. Of the many constituents in my riding who have reached out to me on the subject, one, in particular, has contacted me three times since mid-April. I still don't have anything to tell him because the government is dragging its feet. We'd like to get a clear and specific answer. The same goes for sole proprietors, who were also overlooked.

When is the government going to include these businesses in the current programs?

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

Mr. Chair, we announced [Technical difficulty—Editor] in financial support for vulnerable small and medium-sized businesses that are not eligible for the measures already in place and that are struggling with cash flow issues.

We've also invested $71 million to support businesses and organizations by giving them access to capital in rural communities. As well, we've invested in programs for rural areas, and we will continue to make investments to help small and medium-sized businesses.

[The Acting Chair, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Mr. Lehoux, please keep it brief.

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

All right, Mr. Chair.

The Canadian Federation of Agriculture asked the federal government for an agriculture and agri-food emergency fund of $2.6 billion to help maintain food security in Canada in response to COVID-19.

Will the minister address the federation's request?

Minister, I'd like you to give us a date.

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

We already have a host of business risk management programs, through which, $1.6 billion is available to producers annually. More support is actually available, even through those programs, since they meet the demand. We are prepared to do more, and we will.

I urge producers to apply for the AgriStability program and to use the funds in their AgriInvest accounts. Some $2.3 billion is available through that program.

[The Acting Chair, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

We'll now go to the honourable member for Langley—Aldergrove, Mr. Van Popta.

[Tako Van Popta, Conservative, Langley—Aldergrove, BC]

Mr. Chair, the government's wage subsidy program is designed to help traditional companies, not high-growth companies.

For example, I was talking to Ron, who operates an engineering firm in my riding that specializes in designing and building very expensive machines for their ever-expanding overseas markets. Business is down, but not by the requisite 30%. Of course not, since they're in high-growth mode, but just recently they had to lay off some very talented staff.

Can the minister confirm that the wage subsidy program can be expanded or adapted to deal with high-growth companies that will play such a key role in Canada's economic relaunch?

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

Mr. Chair, my honourable colleague is absolutely correct.

We, the government, take enormous pride in our small businesses, particularly the start-ups and the high-growth firms. They're going to be absolutely essential for our economic recovery, and we know that some of them are ineligible for the wage subsidy. That is why we introduced a $250-million program in the industrial research assistance program through the National Research Council, strictly targeting and focusing on those high-growth firms that were ineligible for the wage subsidy, so that they can provide the wage support to keep those highly skilled individuals in Canada.

[Tako Van Popta, Conservative, Langley—Aldergrove, BC]

Mr. Chair, there is another category of businesses that are falling through the cracks and feel they are being left behind by the wage subsidy program. Those are recently merged companies.

For example, there is a trucking company in my riding that is significantly bigger this year than it was last year as a result of some key acquisitions and mergers late last year. All of the legacy companies by themselves would qualify individually for the wage subsidy, but the merged company does not.

Can the minister confirm that the wage subsidy program is sufficiently flexible to accommodate recently merged companies?

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

Mr. Chair, again I want to thank my honourable colleague for his question. He is identifying unique pain points that exist within the overall economy with specific examples of companies that are not able to access some of the programming we have provided.

I do want to highlight, when it comes to the wage subsidy, that we have made changes to the revenue thresholds to make more companies eligible. The specific example that the member opposite raises is something that is under consideration.

[Tako Van Popta, Conservative, Langley—Aldergrove, BC]

Mr. Chair, the government's commercial rent assistance program discriminates against certain tenants based solely on whether their landlord has a mortgage on the subject building.

I was talking to Leslie the other day. She manages a number of commercial office buildings in my riding. Some of these buildings have mortgages and some don't, and it all depends on what they were able to negotiate with their banker. Leslie is having a very hard time explaining to her tenants why some will qualify for the rental subsidy and some won't, depending on which building they are in.

Can the government confirm that the nonsensical mortgage requirement in the rent subsidy program is gone?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Chair, the approach that was taken on trying to assist small businesses with rent is very much based on the fact that this is a provincial jurisdiction, so we have used the mortgage system as a way to do it. It is, in fact, not nonsensical.

That said, we are looking at this particular issue. It's something that is under consideration. We expect that we will find a way to ensure that those landlords who don't have mortgages can work with the CMHC to have the appropriate approach to be eligible for this program.

[The Acting Chair, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

You have about one minute left, Mr. Van Popta. Go ahead with a short question.

[Tako Van Popta, Conservative, Langley—Aldergrove, BC]

Many people in my riding have reached out to me to say they are quite disturbed that their favourite hunting and sport shooting firearms are now on the banned list.

Can the minister inform Canadians how many Canadian taxpayer dollars are going to go to the buyback program for legal gun owners and how far that money would go if it were to be diverted to something useful, such as more border controls to stop the illegal importation of firearms?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

Our first priority is the protection and safety of Canadians. We've seen an unacceptable rise in gun violence right across our community. All weapons are being regulated in our country. Some, such as handguns, represent such a significant risk that we strongly restrict them. Some weapons, quite frankly, are completely unsuitable for any sporting or hunting activity, such as weapons designed for soldiers to engage in combat with other soldiers. We have now prohibited those weapons. The saving of lives is worth an investment in public safety.

I want to assure the member we will bring forward legislation that will facilitate an appropriate buyback program. I look forward to a discussion in this House with the member opposite on how that can be done to ensure public safety and to ensure that we do it in as effective a way as possible.

[The Acting Chair, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

We'll now go to Mr. Manly.

[Paul Manly, Green, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'd like to thank the government and ministers present for the rapid relief that they've provided to Canadians. I know the constituents in my riding really appreciate that. I'd like to thank them also for being responsive to the MPs who have brought forward gaps in the program.

The CERB requirements recognize dividend income for eligibility for the Canada emergency business account, CEBA, but the Canada emergency business account does not recognize dividends or contract payments. I've been contacted by many small business owners who have been legally paying themselves with dividends for years, but these companies cannot apply for the CEBA even though this might save them from bankruptcy during this crisis.

Will the government make the necessary changes to allow dividend income to be admissible for CEBA eligibility?

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

I'd like to thank the honourable colleague for his very thoughtful question and his advocacy in looking for different solutions and in working with us to help small businesses, not only in his riding but across the country as well.

He's absolutely correct that the Canada emergency business account has been successful, as 590,000 loans have been issued. That's a reflection of some of the changes that we introduced, which made the criteria more generous so that more businesses could obtain assistance.

He has raised the issue of dividends. As I said before, we continue to work with Canadians and Canadian businesses and colleagues in this House to see how we can assist more Canadians, not less of them, and we'll continue to endeavour to do that.

[Paul Manly, Green, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Mr. Chair, there are still many Canadians stranded overseas who are trying to return to Canada. Some have no assurance that their non-Canadian spouse will be allowed into Canada with them. Many are being forced to make an impossible choice between sheltering in place overseas or separating from their spouse in order to return home.

Will the government remove unnecessary barriers and allow these Canadians to return to Canada immediately with their spouses?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

Mr. Chair, in an effort to flatten the curve and to protect Canadians, we've taken a number of extraordinary measures at the border and we have restricted non-essential travel of people coming into Canada. While Canadian citizens and permanent residents will always be admissible—subject, of course, to a 14-day quarantine upon entry— foreign nationals are subject to travel restrictions. For individuals to be eligible to travel to Canada, their travel must be considered essential travel, consistent with the emergency order put in place.

I recognize and very much respect the spirit of the member's question. We recognize these are difficult situations. It is not our desire to keep families apart. I want to assure that each situation will be decided on a case-by-case basis based on the information made available to border service officers. I welcome any inquiries he may have. If he reaches out to my office, we'll help in any way we can.

[Paul Manly, Green, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Mr. Chair, the Alberta energy regulator has suspended a wide range of environmental monitoring requirements for oil sands companies during this pandemic. This includes environmental reporting. It includes wetland wildlife and bird monitoring, even though Canada is a signatory to the international migratory bird treaty. Water that escapes from storm ponds doesn't need to be tested. Air quality programs, including for first nations communities, have been reduced. Testing for leaks of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, has been suspended. This is after the federal government has provided $750 million in funding for methane emission reductions. The federal government has also just committed $1.7 billion to clean up orphaned oil wells. That message, clearly, is about the negligence of the Alberta government. It is something corporations should be paying for.

Will the federal government hold the Alberta government to account and withhold energy sector relief funding until these environmental regulations are reinstated?

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

Mr. Chair, I'd like to thank the member for his question and for his very collaborative approach with our government on a number of issues. I would like to thank him for this particular question and his particular reference to methane, because it gives me an opportunity to highlight some very important progress that the federal government made this week in working with the Province of Alberta.

Just yesterday Alberta joined B.C. and Saskatchewan and published its own draft regulations on methane. This will allow us, in working with Alberta, to work on equivalency on methane, which will allow us to work towards standing down the federal system in those jurisdictions. This is tremendously important, because it will allow us to cut methane emissions by 45% by 2025. It's hugely important for fighting climate change together.

[The Acting Chair, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Now we'll go to the honourable member for Hamilton Mountain, Mr. Duvall.