Okay, I just wanted to clarify. Thank you, Madam Chair.
I thank my colleagues for their previous speeches, and I thank Mr. Turnbull for bringing forward this amendment.
I'll begin by saying that I really appreciate our committee and the work we have been able to do together on establishing electronic voting and providing recommendations for a possible election during a pandemic. While I get the motion, the politics of the motion that was at hand, I can't fathom that there is anything more important than addressing the unprecedented global crisis we are still fighting. I will, of course, support the amendment that my colleague made.
I think it's important that we recognize we've lost more than 22,000 Canadians. They are not just numbers. They are our grandparents, mothers, fathers, loved ones, neighbours, colleagues, lifelong friends, mentors and heros, and they matter to so many people.
Many people have lost their jobs and businesses. Health care and frontline workers have faced great risks and challenges, and all Canadians have made sacrifices to keep others healthy and safe.
Almost two weeks ago, Canadians came together to remember, pay tribute to and grieve all those we have lost to COVID-19 during the last year. We reflected on the hurt and suffering, the sacrifice. We offered comfort to doctors, nurses, frontline workers, survivors, families and communities. COVID-19 remains an unprecedented global health crisis that has shaken the foundations of economic, political and social security.
I'll just share this with our colleagues. One analysis of premature and excess mortality estimates that over 20 million years of life have been lost. According to the World Bank, the pandemic pushed 124 million people into extreme poverty. The Economist estimates that two years of COVID-19 will cause, as my colleague Mr. Turnbull said, a downturn twice as deep as the great recession.
Yet, here we are with a partisan motion focused on scoring political points. Again, I will support the amendments that Mr. Turnbull brought forward—