Evidence of meeting #30 for Health in the 43rd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was countries.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Liberal
François-Philippe Champagne Liberal Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC
Now I'm on French.
Sorry, Mr. Thériault.
Bloc
Luc Thériault Bloc Montcalm, QC
I'm sure that the chair won't count this time against me.
As Mr. Fisher said, it was a huge task. He was right to thank the team in his constituency office. I want to take this opportunity to do the same.
In a press conference that I held in January or February, I said that the 338 members of Parliament had to become information officers to help people get through the crisis. This is literally what happened in the 338 constituencies. It was a huge job. However, nothing is perfect. There were failures. We're here to find solutions so that we don't make the same mistakes again. We mustn't be complacent, because that will prevent us from properly addressing the other challenges that lie ahead.
I have four or five very specific quick questions that people still want answered.
My first question concerns the costs for Quebec and Canadian families, particularly the families who were in Africa. The only options for repatriating them were very expensive. The families were forced to purchase $5,000 airline tickets. The airline tickets to return from India cost $3,500. For a family of four, it cost $14,000 to return from India and $20,000 to return from Africa. These people had to go into debt and mortgage a large part of their future, a future that was uncertain when they returned home as a result of lost jobs and so on. Things are just starting up again. These people are being asked to choose between going into debt and staying healthy.
I spoke with Rémi Dion, who was in India. He said that the United States was providing a credit in the traveller's name and that the government was working on a financial arrangement when they returned from their trip.
Why weren't things done this way? Why weren't the families relieved of this burden?
Liberal
François-Philippe Champagne Liberal Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC
Thank you for your question, Mr. Thériault.
I'd like to recognize the work done by Mr. Bergeron, Ms. Alleslev and Mr. Harris. During the pandemic, we were receiving calls weekly to deal with issues as they arose.
The cost issue is obviously an important one. It was a consideration from the outset. In a number of cases involving emergency repatriation, the circumstances were such that, in most countries, airlines that were working with Canada couldn't take passengers who had travelled to countries in Africa or India, as you mentioned.
The airfare ended up being the price of a return trip. I personally negotiated with Qatar Airways, among others. I also spoke to people at Ethiopian Airlines, who did a lot to help us bring back Canadians as cost-effectively as possible. I can assure you that, every single time, the Government of Canada was committed to making that happen, in the circumstances—I repeat, in the circumstances. It's important to understand that, as countries around the world were trying to bring home their travellers, we were dealing with an unprecedented operating environment. Even finding carriers willing to fly there was complicated. That's why we set up the $5,000 loan program. That's more or less in line with what the Americans did. Most countries took a cost repayment approach, because the demand was far beyond anything seen before in terms of repatriating citizens from abroad. We opted to do it through a loan. Some provided a credit, but most countries went with cost repayment.
Bloc
Luc Thériault Bloc Montcalm, QC
People still had to pay out of pocket, which put a financial strain on them. Those who couldn't afford it had to stay where they were.
Liberal
François-Philippe Champagne Liberal Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC
People were entitled to receive a loan. The information I have shows that we issued 4,100 loans, lending nearly $14 million to people. They could request a loan of up to $5,000 to cover basic necessities or purchase an airline ticket. We can always do better, I agree. We will ask all the questions that need to be asked to do better next time. Nevertheless, in a time of emergency, we gave out more than 4,000 loans and we were able to bring back people from more than 110 countries. It was an undertaking of unprecedented scale. With the help of Air Canada, Air Transat, Sunwing, WestJet and foreign airlines, we were able to do it despite the extremely difficult circumstances. Getting the plane there is the easy part, but getting the passengers to the plane is the hard part.
Bloc
Luc Thériault Bloc Montcalm, QC
That's very true, especially when some embassies don't return emails or telephone calls. Mr. Dion, for instance, said he received emails from Germany and other embassies, including the United Kingdom's, but none from the Canadian embassy. Clearly, something is broken on that end.
Many people are still in other countries right now. That's what matters. Their travel insurance ran out during the crisis, with no way to renew it.
How do you plan to compensate them for their expenses, which can really add up?
Liberal
François-Philippe Champagne Liberal Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC
As you know, Mr. Thériault, we said from the beginning that, despite our best efforts, we wouldn't be able to bring everyone home.
Our repatriation operation is largely complete. We managed to bring back more than 48,000 Canadians. That's on top of everyone who was able to come home on regular commercial flights. We are still working to bring people home from certain countries. We are working with our allies.
Bloc
Luc Thériault Bloc Montcalm, QC
I'm talking about travel insurance.
Some people are still stuck abroad, unable to come back to Canada. They're incurring costs.
Liberal
François-Philippe Champagne Liberal Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC
Mr. Thériault, don't hesitate to call me. I'd be glad to speak with you.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
Thank you, Mr. Thériault.
We go now to Mr. Davies for six minutes, please.
Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC
Thank you.
Thank you, Minister, for making time for the committee.
I hadn't planned on asking a question about this, but you raised it, so I will ask you one question, Minister.
The optics of a foreign affairs minister having mortgages held by a state bank of a country with which he has to engage in diplomatic relations raises some questions. Do you acknowledge that the optics of that was problematic?
Liberal
François-Philippe Champagne Liberal Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC
Mr. Chair, since I entered politics, I have at all times disclosed this. I took a mortgage many years ago with a bank in London. That's what I've disclosed, and I've been transparent all along.
Like I said, to avoid any distractions—because we're in the middle of a crisis, and I think parliamentarians have better things to do—I've repaid it in full, and remortgaged with a Canadian bank.
I feel transparent because, as a lawyer, I take my ethical responsibility very carefully. I read the spirit of the law and the letter of the law, and at all times I've disclosed that. For the record, this is a bank in London with branches in London that was contracted many years ago, when I was not in politics. I've disclosed that every year since I've entered Parliament.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
Mr. Davies, we're having trouble with your sound. Could you maybe...?
NDP
Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC
Thank you, Minister. I cast no aspersions about your transparency. It's just the optics I was curious about.
Minister, on April 10, 2020, Global Affairs Canada issued an official statement in support of UN Secretary-General's March 23 call for a global ceasefire amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The day before, however, the department had announced it was lifting a moratorium on arms export permits to Saudi Arabia. Of course, that moratorium was issued after the brutal assassination of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, described by the special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions as a “premeditated execution, an extrajudicial killing for which the state of Saudi Arabia is responsible”—
Bloc
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
Mr. Davies, we're having trouble with the sound, and we're not getting translation. It sounds to me, actually, like network bandwidth. Are you able to free up your network a little bit?
NDP
Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC
It's the same as what I've been using all morning, Mr. Chair. Maybe I was speaking a bit quickly. If I could make sure my time [Inaudible—Editor], I can finish the question.
To finish my question, Minister, why did your government choose to lift this moratorium in the midst of a public health crisis?
Liberal
François-Philippe Champagne Liberal Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC
Mr. Chair, as you know, when I came into this job, we did a couple of things. The Minister of Finance—because I'm sure you're referring to the GDLS contract—renegotiated a contract that we inherited, which is largely completed, more than 50% already completed, to improve the terms and conditions to allow disclosure. I believe Canadians are entitled to know that the Government of Canada was on the hook for billions of dollars.
At the same time, I appointed a panel of experts to guide future foreign ministers in their decisions when it comes to that. We are a party now to the ATT, and it is my duty, my role and my firm belief that we need to do everything we can to uphold the spirit of the ATT. We have an expert panel, and we're working with our international partners now to create an inspection regime to make sure that when we do make these decisions, we have the best possible advice, we consult widely, and we respect both the spirit and the law under the ATT, which is now Canadian law.
I would say, Mr. Davies, you can criticize the action, but what I've said is that we're going to look on a case-by-case basis. I would refer you to the number of permits I've approved, and you will see that all of those have been within the constraints of Canadian law and the spirit of the ATT.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
Mr. Davies, again we're having trouble with translation with you. Could you be very, very...? I'm not sure how to fix this. It really sounds like bandwidth, but if you could speak extra slowly and—