Evidence of meeting #8 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 funding.
A video is available from Parliament.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Anthony Rota
We will go back to Ms. McLeod. You have 44 seconds, so you can have a 20-second question, hopefully.
Conservative
Cathy McLeod Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC
There is no confusion here. We warned the government about state-owned enterprises, and what we have seen is that the quality of care is worse than it is in many other facilities. It is unprecedented for a health authority to have to take over control of these facilities.
My question to the industry minister is this: Did the government do the proper review it was supposed to do regarding the acquisition, in which it guaranteed that the standards would be maintained?
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
I want to give a particular shout-out to Dr. Bonnie Henry and Minister Adrian Dix on the work they've done to take very strong action to protect the lives of seniors in their particular jurisdiction. We know this is the work that health ministers are doing all across the country. We have been working beside them to ensure they have the resources they need to get through this crisis and to have those long-term conversations about how we improve the quality of care for seniors living in long-term care facilities across the country.
Conservative
Robert Gordon Kitchen Conservative Souris—Moose Mountain, SK
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Chair, the Chinese government must be held to account for its mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic. Its lack of transparency and suppression of information caused significant delays in the rest of the world's ability to prepare for and react to this virus, contributing to an unnecessary loss of life across the globe.
Our traditional allies are calling for an international investigation into China's concealment of key COVID-19 data. The Conservatives support our allies and an investigation. Does the Prime Minister?
Liberal
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
Mr. Chair, as the Prime Minister recently said, it is absolutely appropriate for us to look into the behaviour of all countries in the handling of this global pandemic—
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Anthony Rota
We seem to have an issue with the transmission. It's frozen and not coming back.
Maybe we'll go back to Mr. Kitchen and then we'll come back to the Deputy Prime Minister for an answer right after.
Conservative
Kenny Chiu Conservative Steveston—Richmond East, BC
Mr. Chair, I have a point of order.
From my Zoom indicator it looks as though your Internet signal is very weak. That happens with several members as well. As a result, your video and audio are both very jerky.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Anthony Rota
I believe we're both in West Block, so it's an interesting comment. I'll have the technical people take a look at it and we'll see what we come back with. Thank you.
We'll go back to Mr. Kitchen. There's about four minutes and eight seconds left, but there is some time for the Deputy Prime Minister if we get her back.
Mr. Kitchen, I'll let you ask the next question. Go ahead.
Conservative
Robert Gordon Kitchen Conservative Souris—Moose Mountain, SK
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate having my time kept.
Mr. Chair, we've learned that more and more Chinese-made masks approved by Health Canada are failing to meet minimum safety standards. Guangdong Golden Leaf Technology Development Co. is one of 65 Chinese manufacturers that have lost approval to sell products in the U.S. following tests by the CDC there, yet the manufacturer remains approved to sell in Canada. Waiting until after the fact to do quality control puts the lives of Canadians at risk. What is the minister doing to protect the lives of our front-line health care workers from defective PPE?
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I agree that we need to protect the health and safety of front-line workers during this pandemic, particularly health care workers, who are relying on quality standard PPE. That's why any medical supplies or PPE that are donated or that we purchase, procured by PSPC, to distribute to provinces and territories—and, therefore, to health care workers—are verified by the Public Health Agency of Canada to ensure that they meet appropriate standards for use.
Some KN95 masks imported into Canada by medical device companies and individuals have not been tested. They were imported independently. Following our review, we are now requiring independent testing data for new KN95 approvals from Health Canada. Our bulk-buy procurement process is not affected—
Conservative
Robert Gordon Kitchen Conservative Souris—Moose Mountain, SK
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
One month ago, when asked for thoughts on the legitimacy of the COVID-19 data that China has shared with the WHO, the Minister of Health accused the media of peddling conspiracy theories. Canada, with a population of 37 million, has had over 72,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of today; however, China, with a population of 1.4 billion, has confirmed less than 83.... Does the minister continue to trust that China has not suppressed any information and that it has been open and transparent with the WHO?
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I think, as our government has been very clear, a post-pandemic review of all of the actors, including Canada, will be an important part of how we assess the world's response to this pandemic, the international bodies that serve us, and certainly our own response. We know that during the course of an outbreak it's very difficult to collect data. We've seen that even in our own country. When things are happening quickly, it can be difficult to assess what's happening. We also know that it's difficult to assess the death rate because sometimes people are dying and it is only afterwards that a review determines the related COVID-19—
Conservative
Robert Gordon Kitchen Conservative Souris—Moose Mountain, SK
Mr. Chair, it's all well and good for a cleanup after the fact, but if no lessons were actually learned, as we are finding with the recommendations that went unheeded after the SARS epidemic, then history is bound to repeat itself.
In December, Bruce Aylward was appointed the co-lead of the WHO-China joint mission on coronavirus, and he has served as assistant director general at the WHO in the past. He is, by far, the most informed Canadian with respect to the WHO's actions on COVID-19. Mr. Aylward has twice rejected invitations to appear at the health committee, forcing the committee to take the extraordinary step of issuing a summons.
Given that the Government of Canada heavily relies on the information provided by the WHO to make decisions around COVID-19, can the Prime Minister inform this House of what action he is willing to take to put pressure on the WHO to force it to comply with the orders of this country's legislature?
Liberal
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
When it comes to the work of committees, let me just say that we strongly support the essential work of parliamentary committees. They are, of course, absolutely independent. We support their work, and we support their ability to call all the witnesses that they feel they need to speak to in order to best inform Canadians.
Liberal
Conservative
Earl Dreeshen Conservative Red Deer—Mountain View, AB
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
The residents of my Red Deer—Mountain View riding are strong, independent, common-sense people. They, like so many other Canadians, are being severely tested by this global pandemic and are equally concerned about the long-lasting effects it will have on their physical, mental and economic health. What they want and deserve are straight answers from this government. They see billions of dollars allocated for the promotion of pet global ventures, but only a tiny fraction of what farmers need to weather the crisis at home. Farmers hear of fellow Canadians being arrested and fined for merely walking in the park, and they try to square this with foreign-backed protesters being treated with kid gloves as they blockade railways carrying Canadian farm products to market.
Another critical issue that particularly frustrates our farmers is the way in which the Prime Minister and his cabinet use campaign-slogan rhetoric to talk about the carbon tax. Farmers bear a disproportionate burden. Farmers are in a carbon-tax trap. Our global competitors are not burdened by tens of thousands of dollars of carbon-tax debt. Our farmers do not have the ability to add the carbon-tax levy to the prices of their products, but they are subject to paying this tax as it is levied by their input suppliers. This is what farmers mean when they talk about the damage being done to their livelihoods by this government's questionable policies.
My question to the Prime Minister is this: Will he, in the future, leave the campaign slogans out of his answers, directly acknowledge the detrimental effect that his carbon tax is having on this critical industry, and also respect the jurisdiction of provinces opposing the carbon tax?
Liberal
Marie-Claude Bibeau Liberal Compton—Stanstead, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
First, let me say that it's not only a slogan. This is something that we deeply believe in. We have to work on lowering our emissions. It is important for our next generation. This is why our pollution pricing policy is designed to grow a clean economy.
We have made sure that emissions from livestock and crop production are not priced and that farm fuels and fuels from cardlock facilities are exempted. There is a partial rebate for propane and natural gas used in commercial greenhouses.
Furthermore, Mr. Chair, AAFC, Agriculture Canada, used data from the agricultural tax data program to show the impacts on a per farm basis and as a percentage of total operating costs. The estimates ranged from $210 to $819 per farm.
Conservative
Earl Dreeshen Conservative Red Deer—Mountain View, AB
Thank you so very much, Mr. Chair.
I also have information from the agriculture census of 2016, which indicates that in a province like Alberta, for example, an average 855-acre farm at $50 per tonne is $17,321, so there are a lot of different numbers that are being thrown out there. I think it's important that we get this information, if the government has it, so that we can correlate just where all of that is going.
I guess it's going to take a little bit of time to see through this government's divide-and-conquer strategy, because never has this country been so polarized. The boastful way they approach governing—as though it's always somebody else's fault—is wearing thin. What they don't understand is that this Liberal government, under this leader, is now the old and tired regime and their solution of massive indebtedness for generations, which started long before the crisis, will be their only legacy.
Our forestry and agriculture sectors counter any Greenpeace rhetoric. Our oil and gas sector ethically supplies the energy and the petroleum-based products that the world desires. We need them to survive and to be championed by the government.
Mr. Chair, will the Prime Minister end his attack on our resource-based industries and remove the regulatory burdens on our own industries that are effectively giving our global competitors an unfair advantage?