Health Committee on June 18th, 2021

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Then, to Mr. Stewart, what was the $225 million in the previous budget that was designated for hotel quarantine sites for?

[Iain Stewart]

On terminology, maybe to declutter, there are the government-approved accommodations, the PHAC hotels, and then there are designated quarantine facilities, which are infection control containment units. If you wish me to explain what's in the envelope of money, I can do that, but it's not for government-approved accommodations.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

To save time, and I see my red card, if you could submit that to the committee, it would be beneficial.

Thanks, Mr. Stewart.

[Iain Stewart]

Okay. Thank you, sir.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Thank you, Mr. Barlow.

We go now to Mr. Van Bynen.

Mr. Van Bynen, go ahead please.

[Tony Van Bynen, Liberal, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you also to the minister and officials for joining us once again today.

I know this is a very busy time and you all carry a heavy burden of care for our nation, so I truly appreciate the opportunity to welcome you and to hear from you directly. Certainly, I won't downgrade responses to a simple yes or no. I think the issues that you're dealing with are complex and deserve the opportunity to have a fulsome response.

Minister, I've been seeing that the federal government has been stepping up consistently throughout the pandemic in a number of ways, but perhaps one of the most significant ways is through the nurses, the Canadian Red Cross workers and other public health support staff who have been sent to all corners of the country.

What kinds of human resources support has PHAC been able to provide to the provinces and territories and where do you think the support has been most impactful?

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

Thank you very much.

To the member of Parliament, through the chair, thanks for the opportunity to highlight the team Canada approach that we decided on earlier. I think I started to speak about that in response to another member's question. We really felt at the beginning of this pandemic that although we have jurisdictional roles and responsibilities, Canadians needed us to, as a federal government, step up to help. Health human resources has been one of those aspects where provinces and territories have called on us to do so.

Early on in the pandemic, we created a rapid response program that could move vital resources like nurses, doctors and other critical public health workers, epidemiologists, to provinces and territories when they needed the extra help. For example, earlier this year, we helped coordinate the deployment of doctors and nurses from Newfoundland and Labrador, who volunteered in Ontario, to help on the third wave.

I'll turn to Dr. Tam to speak a few more words about other resources we provided to provinces and territories.

[Dr. Theresa Tam]

A lot of the time we provide epidemiologic support, so technical epidemiologists and laboratory support. We also provide infection prevention control specialists, be it for outbreaks in correctional facilities or in remote communities, or on the request of provinces and territories.

We also have leveraged the Canadian Red Cross. Through them, many communities, be it testing sites, sometimes vaccination sites, have had support. Of course, there's the support for contact tracing in conjunction with Statistics Canada, and of course, our Canadian Armed Forces colleagues.

Together, that team has been brought together. In fact, even staff from the agency, who are already very busy, if there is a need, they've been stepping up on top of what they're doing to help others as well.

[Tony Van Bynen, Liberal, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Thank you.

In my community of Newmarket—Aurora, our local hospital accommodates over 1.2 million people, and at the very beginning of this outbreak, I know that there was a lot of stress in terms of finding the resources that they needed, and I was certainly happy to see that the government stepped up and provided what was required.

We've also been talking about mental health and the impacts of the pandemic on Canadians' health throughout the past year and the role the federal government has been able to play in getting Canadians free, accessible mental health resources. I know that budget 2021 extends further funding for Wellness Together in the budget 2021-22 year, and in the supplementary estimates (A) there's additional funding for the Kids Help Phone.

Why do you think it's important to keep these mental health supports available to Canadians, even as we return to the new normal life?

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

Thank you very much for the question.

I had an opportunity to meet with the volunteers at the Kids Help Phone just this week. What an enormous piece of work they're doing for Canadians. They're responding to calls from people, often young people but actually people of every age, across the country. We knew early on that we needed to support that work.

Wellness Together also grew out of a sense that the pandemic was going to create such change in Canadians' lives that it would exacerbate mental health conditions and put people in distress at all hours of the day or night. We wanted to make sure that no matter what a Canadian's circumstance, no matter what a person's circumstance in this country, they would have access to that service.

We'll be extending these services for another year. We know that, first, we're not out of this yet, and second, as people return to their lives, many things have changed. People have suffered tremendously. There's been enormous sacrifice, some that we know and some that we don't know. People's routines have been disrupted. Their relationships have been disrupted. Their work settings have been disrupted. We know that Canadians will continue to need support for some time to come.

This is our contribution to ensuring that Canadians have that help when they need it, through emergency helplines but also through the Wellness Together portal that helps connect people to the help they need, when they need it and in the language they need it.

[Tony Van Bynen, Liberal, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Thank you, Mr. Van Bynen.

Mr. Davies, I believe we go to you now. You have five minutes.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Stewart, would you table with this committee the legal advice you received from the Department of Justice advising you on complying with the parliamentary order?

[Iain Stewart]

Mr. Chair and honourable member, we do not table the legal advice we get.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Stewart, you are probably aware that the privilege of that advice is yours, and you may waive it. Will you waive that privilege and table that legal advice with this committee?

[Iain Stewart]

Mr. Chair and honourable member, no, I will not waive the privilege.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

I'll tell you why I think that's important. I think all Canadians would like to know whether the Department of Justice is advising public servants not to comply with orders of the House of Commons. Do you agree that it would be a concern to Canadians?

[Iain Stewart]

Mr. Chair and honourable member, I am actually in no position to know the will of Canadians on this matter, so I won't conjecture. Thank you.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Before I leave this, I just want to be clear. We've had two orders of the House, one by Mr. Milliken and one now by the current Speaker of the House, that deal squarely with an order of the House that orders the government to produce unredacted documents to Parliament. Both of those rulings have stipulated that it is fundamental to Parliament's operations and a foundational privilege and right of holding government accountable that no government can lawfully refuse to produce unredacted documents to the House of Commons when so ordered.

Do you dispute that, Mr. Stewart?

[Iain Stewart]

Mr. Chair and honourable member, I've been saying in the course of this proceeding that I'm governed by a desire to stay within the law. I don't have opinions of the nature you're asking after.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Second of all, the next proposition I'd put to you is that the arguments to resist producing those documents out of a concern for national security were squarely presented and heard by the current Speaker, who ruled that, notwithstanding that argument, he still was ordering you to produce those documents. Do you acknowledge that?

[Iain Stewart]

Mr. Chair and honourable member, to my understanding, nothing that has occurred changes my legal obligation under the Security of Information Act, which, as you know, includes sanctions in the Criminal Code. There are very strict limits and sanctions for the behaviour that is being indicated I should follow.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

You are aware that the parliamentary law counsel has written to this committee, and it's been stated in the Speaker's ruling, that no statute of Canada supersedes the supremacy of Parliament to order the production of documents when that's ordered. Are you aware of that?

[Iain Stewart]

Mr. Chair and honourable member, as I mentioned earlier, I'm not advised or aware that the motions relieve me from my legal obligations.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Finally, you are aware that the terms of the order specifically state that the documents will be redacted by parliamentary counsel for national security reasons, among other things, before they would be provided to the Canada-China committee. You're aware of that, aren't you, sir?