Thank you, Madam Chair.
I will take only about five minutes so that we can have more direct exchanges.
Good morning, everyone.
Good morning, colleagues. I'm pleased to be with you virtually as you conduct your work on the issue of prorogation. This is very important work.
Back in the 2015 election, our party promised a new role for Parliament to examine this issue. As you may remember, the previous government invoked prorogation on multiple occasions without ever explaining to Parliament why it had done so. We promised to change the Standing Orders, and we did in 2017. Actually, many of you were there at the time.
The new standing order states that soon after Parliament resumes sitting following prorogation, the government must submit a document outlining the reasons for the prorogation. Once that happens, this document must immediately be referred to PROC, and this is exactly what has happened, Madam Chair, for the first time in our history.
The government has submitted an extensive report on the matter, and I'm here to speak to you about the report and answer all your questions. In other words, we're following through on our promise. We're being transparent and open in explaining our reasons for last year's prorogation.
So, let's review what happened last year. In December 2019, following the election, our government came forward with a Throne Speech that reflected our agenda. It was a forward-looking agenda, but one that was that was truly grounded in the reality of the time, when there was no COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic simply changed the world, not just here at home, but around the world. It has changed the priorities that any government must put at the top of its agenda.
We had to take steps to protect the lives of Canadians and reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19. These were unprecedented steps to support the financial health of Canadians and help them pay their bills. Pandemic or not, the bills kept coming. We needed to do everything we could to help our workers, our businesses and our guardian angels in the health sector, and we did it together.
Remember all the sessions of Parliament in the spring and summer when we passed all those bills together to help Canadians.
By the summer, it was clear that members of Parliament would be facing a new and much different landscape when the House of Commons returned in the fall. As the Prime Minister said in August when he announced the prorogation, Canada was “at a crossroads”. This was a time to protect Canadians, rebuild the economy and build a more resilient Canada that is healthier, safer, greener and more competitive. This would require a reset, a new plan. We committed to coming forward in Parliament with a new throne speech to reflect the extraordinary times we found ourselves in.
Just as important, members of Parliament would be given a chance to vote on this plan. That was fundamental. The Prime Minister was very clear in August when he made the announcement. You'll remember that.
Here are some of the things he said: “We are proroguing Parliament to bring it back on exactly the same week it was supposed to come back anyway, and force a confidence vote. We are taking a moment to recognize that the throne speech we delivered eight months ago had no mention of COVID-19, had no conception of the reality we find ourselves in right now. We need to reset the approach of this government for a recovery to build back better. And those are big, important decisions and we need to present that to Parliament and gain the confidence of Parliament to move forward on this [very] ambitious plan.”
Colleagues, this is exactly what happened.
Parliament began a second session with a new Speech from the Throne, which set out a clear roadmap to tackle the pandemic. The House voted in favour of the Speech from the Throne. It supported it, which was very important for the way forward.
Since then, as promised, our government has continued to focus its efforts to defeat the pandemic. For example, we announced a transition from the Canada Emergency Response Benefit to a more flexible, more accessible employment insurance system. For our businesses, we announced the new Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy, which we have extended to June 2021.
While the world looked forward to the day when vaccines against COVID-19 were ready, we continued the work we had begun long before. As we've said before—and we'll say it again —by September, we will have enough doses to vaccinate every Canadian who wants to be vaccinated.
These are some of the steps that have been taken. These are the actions of a government that put COVID-19 at the top of its agenda.
The House was prorogued last year for one reason: to come forward with a new plan to confront the biggest health and economic crisis of our time. That's it.
Now I am happy to answer your questions.
Thank you very much.