Debates of Oct. 1st, 2020

Resumption of debate on Address in Reply

[Tim Louis, Liberal, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Winnipeg North.

I rise today in the House; that is how I intended to open my statement. I thought about changing that phrase because I am saying these words from my riding here in Kitchener—Conestoga, but I do say them because I am in the House of Commons. Due to the work and co-operation of all parties, I am pleased that the House of Commons has unanimous support for hybrid sittings and voting in Parliament. For my constituents, that means that whether I am working for them and casting votes in Ottawa or from Kitchener—Conestoga, I hope they know their voices have been and continue to be represented.

I assure constituents that protecting the health and safety of Canadians, their jobs and our economy is my top priority. I value their ideas and I look forward to the conversations we will have and to being there for my constituents. I am honoured to continue our dialogue. It is one of the things that motivates me to work hard for everyone.

Co-operation from all parties and all levels of government is what Canadians expect of their elected officials. It is certainly what I endeavour to work toward because co-operation and collaboration will help us get through these times. I understand that once debates start there will be disagreements and that is what debate is about. That is healthy for our discussions. However, I implore all members here and elected officials of all levels of government, as Canadians, let us strive to talk to each other instead of yelling past each other.

I want to thank all the front-line and essential workers who work hard to keep us safe. I was humbled to meet many as my staff and I enacted a “feeding the front lines” initiative in our riding, delivering food and expressing thanks to our first responders. I want to thank all nurses, health care workers and front-line staff, and let them know that we are grateful for their hard work and the tireless sacrifices they have made. They are keeping our community safe and they are appreciated.

Usually, we would be attending events, fairs, festivals and other gatherings. It has always been a meaningful way for us to be a part of our communities. However, now gatherings are different. I am finding new ways to stay engaged with the people of Kitchener—Conestoga. I attend virtual and socially distanced events. I enjoy checking up and socializing with seniors online through conversations and music.

Whether it is stopping in and checking up on neighbourhood stores or visiting and supporting local farmers and vendors at our markets, these occasions have demonstrated to me the resilience of our community. I will continue to support our local businesses through visits, phone calls and video chats to make sure they have access to the economic recovery plans they need.

To keep our community informed and to address questions and hear from constituents, since March, I have been hosting virtual town hall meetings. We just had our 17th virtual town hall a few nights ago. It has been an important way for me to keep connected with our community. I have hosted town halls with our regional chair, all the mayors in Kitchener—Conestoga, our police chief and more. Topics have included a virtual Eid, discussions with members from our LGBTQ+ community, a family violence panel, and racism and diversity conversations with our Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth.

It is conversations like those and the one-on-one chats with neighbours in our communities that allow me the privilege of taking the ideas I hear in Kitchener—Conestoga and bringing them to Ottawa. Our government listened to those ideas shared by me and by many others from across Canada. Our ideas were brought forward last week in the Speech from the Throne as we laid out our government's plans to help Canadians. As we fight this pandemic, we will continue to support people and businesses.

My riding of Kitchener—Conestoga is full of talented artists, creators and those working in our cultural industries. They are the major drivers of our economy and add greatly to our society and our lives. In Canada, we recognize that the cultural sector is a force for developing our communities and our identity. It was our artists that we turned to for connection during our isolation. The music we listened to, the books we read and the shows we watched all helped us feel connected.

Organizations and workers in the arts, culture and sports sectors were among the hardest hit. Cancellations, closures and uncertainty still exist. I am proud to say that our government has been there from the beginning for our artists and we will continue to be there for them. Programs like the wage subsidy, Canada emergency response benefit and now the Canada recovery benefit will continue to be there for our artists, just like they are there for us.

Conversations in support of equality and inclusion are essential as well, especially at a time when we are challenged by a global pandemic and heightened injustices. Diversity and inclusion are the building blocks of Canadian identity and a source of social and economic strength. As we celebrate progress, we must also commit to the work that still needs to be done. Discrimination still exists, and as long as it does, we must always stand up and speak up.

In my riding of Kitchener—Conestoga, I have heard from concerned citizens and community leaders who shared their emotional stories and are turning to our government to lead the way to a more inclusive society. Racism and discrimination can be difficult to discuss and will be even more difficult to overcome, but we must have these conversations. We cannot remain silent. We must take action and do what is necessary, even when it is difficult. That is what Canadians do. Now is the time to seize these opportunities and work to fix these inequalities.

We need to continue to provide more support to women and we need to work to close the gender wage gap, providing equal pay for work of equal value. Pay equity is not just the right thing to do, it is also the smart thing to do because when people are treated fairly and given an equal opportunity to succeed, we all win.

We need to continue to support our youth, a generation who wants to be able to create positive change for themselves, their country and their world. They are the leaders of tomorrow and they are the leaders of today. At this time, I want to give a shout-out to the Kitchener-Conestoga Youth Council and thank them for their energy and constant inspiration.

We need to continue to take every action we can with financial, social and health support for our seniors. We must also continue to work tirelessly on reconciliation with indigenous peoples. We will keep supporting our farmers and food producers, who are essential in providing us with quality, affordable food in stores and on kitchen tables. In Kitchener—Conestoga, we have a proud heritage of a very vibrant agriculture and agri-food industry. We know the agriculture sector has been hard hit by COVID-19, and we have taken steps to provide support.

We have an opportunity to accelerate the work needed to protect our environment. I look forward to working together and to meeting those challenges to make a difference, because what is good for the environment can also be good for our economy.

Canada is communities supporting communities and neighbours helping neighbours, and in that spirit, we open up our hearts to others. I have seen first-hand the resilience of our communities as we persevere. Local thrift stores in my riding are full of donations and food banks are receiving support from individuals and families, including produce donated from our local farmers. Local businesses are volunteering to make masks and hand sanitizer to support front-line workers and local care homes. These are just a few of the countless stories that continue to inspire me.

Simple acts of kindness, from children writing encouraging words in sidewalk chalk to neighbours helping to support each other, are all woven into the fabric of what it means to be compassionate and what it means to be Canadian. That is the message that keeps me going and humbles me as I serve my community of Kitchener—Conestoga and serve my country.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Madam Speaker, the intervenor mentioned small business and, in particular, farmers and food producers. We know there are still a lot of gaps within the existing programs, especially for farmers and food producers. The way a lot of the programs are structured make them not applicable. In the throne speech, under small business, is a list of existing programs with no further details on how they might be expanded and no listing of any new programs.

I am wondering if the member can elaborate on what it looks like for small business, agriculture and food producers, with new programs or expanding existing programs.

[Tim Louis, Liberal, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Madam Speaker, I am proud to say that when I first came to Ottawa I was asked which committees I wanted to sit on, and I asked to sit on the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food to represent my constituents of Kitchener—Conestoga, which has a large agriculture sector. I was given the honour to sit on that committee.

I have to say that there has been amazing co-operation across party lines. It seems that everyone realizes that after the health of our population, protecting our food security and food supply is important. The agriculture sector is really the backbone of our community. I am proud to say we are working together. We are working on improving the business risk management programs. We are also working on processing. There is a processing plant in my riding, and we are making sure products can safely get to markets as well.

We have invested more in AgriRecovery, given money to food banks and given money to the nutrition north program. A lot of the programs, like CERB, the wage subsidy program and the emergency business account, also apply to our smaller farmers, so I was happy they were able to take advantage of those programs. More work needs to be done and we will be there to continue to support our agriculture sector, which feeds us.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we know that the Liberals have talked a lot about health. We also know that Quebec and all the provinces are calling for health transfers right now as we go through the COVID-19 crisis.

It is incredible to think that the federal government used to fund 50% of health costs. After many cuts, it now funds no more than 22%.

How can my colleague justify the decision not to increase health transfers and instead use that money to interfere in Quebec's jurisdiction?

[Tim Louis, Liberal, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, that was the first question I have ever received in French, so I was trying to listen to the translation as well because I just started taking French lessons. I would not be able to answer in French, but, thankfully, an interpreter is going to help.

When I speak to Canadians in my riding, as I am sure the member speaks to Canadians in his, I hear that we need to work together. All levels of government need to work together and I know that the federal government has met with premiers 17 or 18 times. There is that level of co-operation. People on the ground just care about their health, their safety, their jobs and the economy. They want to make sure that all levels of government are working together, federal, provincial and municipal, and working well.

I know through the safe restart agreement we have injected $19 billion to support the provinces right away. I know we will continue to have those dialogues on how we can make sure provinces have all the resources they need to play their part and keep Canadians safe.

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services]

Mr. Speaker, I have heard from my constituents how important the programs were that we rolled out to keep them safe and provide funding to them as they faced unemployment. I wonder if the member can speak to how his constituents benefited from the programs that we have rolled out since March.

[Tim Louis, Liberal, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her advocacy.

I would like to speak about the arts community because until the election in 2019 I was a full-time musician and a self-employed artist. Most of my friends still are in that arts sector and there are people who are affected, including members of the Stratford Symphony Orchestra, the Drayton theatre and the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony. All of these groups wanted to get back to work and they needed support right away. So many of them were self-employed and just trying to make a difference.

The wage subsidy and the CERB were two lifelines to help the artists I know, who just wanted to get back to work and contribute to society. They are very appreciative to have that specific support, so I hope we can continue to support those industries: the arts, hospitality and the tourism industry, which is particularly hard hit.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I must compliment the member for Kitchener—Conestoga, I am quite impressed with everything he has said. Just listening to him provide his reply to the throne speech, we can tell he has the pulse of his community that he represents and is a very strong advocate.

What comes to my mind right away in listening to my colleague is one of the things that Prime Minister requests of the caucus. I suspect other parties have their own ways of trying to provide input to their leadership. However, in our caucus there is this feeling that when we listen to what our constituents say and we take that information and share amongst our colleagues, in particular ensuring that it gets up to those individuals who are making the changes, developing the programs, we can really have a positive impact on what is taking place today.

I really appreciate the comments from the member. Like many of my caucus colleagues, I know there has been a number of virtual town halls conducted, along with reaching out into the communities, listening to what business has to say, and being there for our constituents day in and day out.

For members of Parliament, it is not a Monday to Friday, nine-to-five type of job. It is a seven days a week job. As we witnessed just the other day, sometimes it can be fairly late, even going into the next morning, and it is not just for votes. We listen to our constituents and try to serve them in the best ways we can.

COVID-19 has in fact changed things. For me, personally, for 30 years I have been going to a local restaurant on a weekly basis to meet with constituents. It is something I am known for within my riding. I cannot do that anymore. In the last few weeks, I have not been able to go there because I want to promote being safe, and I want to provide for physical distancing. I lose that aspect.

However, through this process, I have learned something else. It is called Zoom, these video conferences that have been taking place. Now I will often meet with constituents through videoconferencing. We have videoconferencing, we use our telephones more, and so on. Offices might be taking appointments as opposed to having walk-in traffic. Things have changed. We have all had to adjust. Some industries, some businesses have been more challenged than other businesses and industries.

The impact on Canadian society has been significant, as it has been around the world. A year ago at this time no one was talking about COVID-19. We were in the midst of an election. There was not one word about a pandemic. How quickly things have changed. When we stop and think about it, and I have referenced this in the past, it came down to the government working and doing its consultations, making the decisions to shut things down. From virtually nothing, dozens of programs were developed in order to support Canadians.

Imagine being in an industry where the shutdown of the Canadian economy to the degree in which it was shut down meant becoming unemployed, or being an individual who was already finding it difficult to meet their needs, and looking forward, eight months ago, to the pandemic. We were talking about a first wave. Some countries in the world did not avoid the curve. Their numbers went up fast, in days and weeks.

Working with our partners in provinces and territories, municipalities, endless non-profit organizations out there, as well as private individuals getting engaged in fighting COVID-19, we were able to stay under the curve and that was supported in many different ways.

At the national level, we developed programs like CERB, which helped just under nine million Canadians in every region of our country. We provided support to businesses by coming up with a program for wage subsidies, so those employees would not lose their jobs; they would be able to continue on. It helped tens of thousands of employees across this country, literally saving businesses from going bankrupt. We identified specific areas where we needed to provide additional support.

Today is National Seniors Day. It is a great day to recognize and share some love with a senior. That is a group that we recognized when we gave the top-up, for everyone on OAS, of $300, and for the poorest of our seniors, we added another $200 to it.

As I say, it is one of many different programs that were developed. The federal government has played a very strong role in this pandemic. In fact, if members take a look at my province of Manitoba, I suspect what they will find is that 90% of the actual dollars of support come from Ottawa, with the balance coming in from the province. We have recognized just how important health is to Canadians. We have committed literally hundreds of millions of dollars in just the province of Manitoba, to provide that additional support.

When it came time to say to Canada that we needed to shut things down and get control over what was taking place, Canadians responded in a very positive fashion. It was really encouraging. We are in the second wave. We are now in a better position for the second wave as a direct result of the many actions that were taken months ago. Because the education curve that is required is nowhere near as steep, we know the types of things that are important to do. We have learned from some of the science that has come forward since the beginning. At the very beginning, health experts were not saying that we had to wear masks, but today we know health experts are saying we do have to wear masks. That has helped us through the second wave.

We know how important testing is, and that is why we came out with the $19-billion safe restart program with the provinces. Members can imagine a national government working with all the different provinces and territories and developing a $19-billion program that enabled us to work together to make sure that we are protecting the health and well-being of Canadians as we try to get the economy going. For the province of Manitoba, that money allowed for 3,000 tests a day, instead of 1,000 tests.

The Prime Minister announced yesterday that we are now moving forward on the faster testing mechanisms that are finally there. I think it is important that we respect the fact that throughout this process we have been listening to Canadians and our health experts, we have been working with our first-class civil service, the best civil service in the world, and we have been making a difference. Collectively, premiers of all political stripes and members of this House of all political stripes have been able to contribute. It is making a difference.

Lives have been saved and Canadians are healthier as a direct result, but the job is not done. That is why we had to bring in legislation, and what a vote of confidence that was. There was unanimous support. Conservatives, New Democrats and Greens all voted in favour of that legislation.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I note the member's enthusiasm for the government's Speech from the Throne, seeing as this is his second time rising in the House to support it. I wonder if that may be an indication of his colleagues' distinct lack of enthusiasm, seeing that none of his other colleagues seemed to be willing to rise and speak in support of the Speech from the Throne. However, I digress. I have a more serious question for the member.

The Speech from the Throne mentioned that the government was not only going to bring forward measures to meet its Paris commitments, but in fact bring forward measures to exceed them. I find that highly surprising because the fact is that emissions have been rising for each year that the government has been in office, from 708 megatonnes in 2016 to 716 megatonnes in 2017, to 729 megatonnes in 2018, the last year for which data is available, data that the government itself released on April 15 of this year.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I might not necessarily be the best person to ask regarding those types of targets. I suspect if he were to ask that question of the Minister of Environment, the hon. member would be quite happy with the response he would get. I have more confidence in this government hitting the targets than the previous Harper administration.

I look at the tangibles, as my constituents want to see something tangible. For example, the throne speech announces banning single-use plastics. That is something we can all relate to and see as a positive thing. In the throne speech, there are a number of initiatives, like encouraging consumers to buy electric cars and providing supports to do so. There are all sorts of positive things for our environment in the throne speech.

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, our colleague from Malpeque told us that Canadian taxpayers are not an ATM for Quebec. That raised a few eyebrows and made me think of something. The Speech from the Throne mentions the environment, but there is absolutely nothing on the forestry industry, not a single word.

When we look carefully at the federal government's finances for the period from 2017 to 2020, we see that roughly $22 billion was spent on the oil industry, but only $827 million was spent on the forestry industry. Are Canadian taxpayers an ATM for the oil industry?

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the difference between the Conservatives and the government of the day, and the Bloc and the government of the day, is that Liberals believe in the potential of all regions of Canada. We are there to support them in any way we can. That is one of the reasons we have regional economic development committees that have real, tangible powers. They have the finances to help diversify and support our communities. Whether in Quebec, Alberta, Manitoba or Ontario, these economic development agencies make a real, tangible difference. I see that as a positive thing. We support all regions of our country.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I listened to my colleague's speech.

One of his Liberal colleagues said that his party steals many of its ideas from the NDP. Our party is happy when the government steals our ideas. We would be even happier if the government actually implemented them. The government does not dare steal some of the NDP's good ideas.

Why is the government not implementing a tax on the ultra-rich? Why does the government not want to eliminate tax havens? Why does it not tax Web giants that are making a profit but not paying their share to fund our social programs?

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, it was interesting when the member for Timmins—James Bay, an NDP member of Parliament, said that the throne speech is the NDP election platform. Do not get me wrong, I appreciate the support from the NDP. There are a lot of socially progressive things within the throne speech, and no one owns a good idea. I am glad the NDP supports a lot of the initiatives that are within the throne speech. There is nothing wrong with that. I suspect even the Conservatives support different aspects of the throne speech.

The other night we were surprised when NDP members voted to support Bill C-4, which is really a vote of confidence for the Government of Canada as to how we are managing through this pandemic.

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations]

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to be here to see you and my colleagues as well. I will be splitting my time with my good friend from Lac-Saint-Louis.

I want to start by acknowledging that we are gathered here on the traditional unceded lands of the Algonquin people.

I am going to keep my response to the Speech from the Throne to one specific issue: that of racism. I know there are many aspects of the throne speech that I would like to speak to, including long-term care as well as others, but I believe that the pandemic has heightened the discussion around racism and I want to focus my energies on that. I want to acknowledge the work of the Canadian parliamentary Black caucus and its advocacy, as well as the enormous number of young people who have more or less been on the streets for the last several months. I am so inspired by seeing a resurgence of the civil rights movement in our lifetime, and I want to thank them for their enormous work.

There are three aspects to racism and how to tackle it and how to, I would even dare to say, eliminate it. There are three components that I want to talk about.

First is the idea of eliminating the systemic barriers for people to achieve their truest and fullest potential.

Second is making sure that we equalize the playing field. We should have equal support and an equal starting point so that everyone can be the best that they are able to be.

Finally, it is the idea of empowering individuals to climb greater heights and get to a point of self-determination where they can control their destiny.

In Canada and in many parts of the world, this is not so simple. I know the Leader of the Opposition yesterday spoke about how his party and its first leader, Sir John A. Macdonald, founded Canada. From his perspective he may be correct, but it is a fundamentally flawed understanding of the history of this country. When we talk about, for example, the Indian Act, and how the Indian Act has disenfranchised first nations people across this country, separated them from their lands, their families, their livelihoods and their traditional ways of life, and saw them lose their language and their culture, this is systemic.

We saw the effects of residential schools, and heard a very moving statement yesterday by my good and dear friend from Winnipeg Centre about her experience with residential schools vis-à-vis her partner, Romeo Saganash, who is a former member of Parliament. We cannot even start to comprehend the depth of hatred that one must have had in order to develop laws of this nature.

We know about the forced relocation of Inuit and the killing of sled dogs. We know about the execution of Louis Riel. These are, again, moments in time.

One would think that the COVID pandemic is colour blind, that COVID-19 is a virus that does not see colour and does not discriminate based on one's identity. However, we know that is incorrect. We have excellent statistics from the United States and the United Kingdom, and some statistics from Canada are emerging. Public Health Ontario, for example, has said that people in the most ethnically diverse neighbourhoods had rates of getting COVID-19 three times higher than those in the least diverse neighbourhoods.

In Ottawa, 66% of those local COVID-19 patients were racialized, whereas they constitute only 54% of the population. In Toronto, for example, a staggering 83% of COVID-19 cases between May and July were racialized people, even though they only constitute 52% of the population. According to the same data, Black people have the highest share of COVID-19 cases, 21%, while, to put it into perspective, they constitute 10% of the population in Toronto, for example.

COVID-19 has demonstrated the racialized outcomes that we see in many other aspects of our systems. Let me just illustrate the many disturbing images we have seen with respect to racism in the past several months. I do not think that this House has enough time for us to go through them case by case, or through the number of outrageous things that we have seen in our social media, as well as the enormous pain that people face each and every day trying to address this.

George Floyd was the initial spark. I think we can agree that his death was a spark for all of us. He was a 46-year-old Black man in Minneapolis who was killed by the police. We have seen since that time an enormous number of cases that have come forward.

We saw, with disgust, the videos of the way that Chief Allan Adam was roughed up by Canada's police service, the RCMP. He is the chief of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, a nation that we are trying to build a nation-to-nation relationship with. It is offensive to the core.

I still do not have the heart to see the video of the way that Joyce Echaquan was treated in Joliette. I have read about it. I have read many articles about it. I still have not seen the video. The way that she was mistreated should offend every single Canadian. There are more cases.

We know that Mohamed-Aslim Zafis was a 58-year-old Muslim man who was killed at the International Muslim Organization mosque. He was a caretaker there and he was killed on September 12 by a neo-Nazi in an islamophobic attack.

Mona Wang, Ejaz Choudry and Regis Korchinski-Paquet all died during wellness checks.

We know that many incidents motivated by hate take place across the country.

Today, we are at a crossroads in the world, but we are also at a crossroads in Canada. This is the time for us to recommit and, as the Prime Minister said in the throne speech, to redouble our efforts to address the root causes of racism. It is not going to be easy and it is not going to be overnight, but it needs to be coordinated and it needs to be an all-out Canadian effort. It needs to start by acknowledging that systemic racism is there. That is not up for discussion.

It is about ensuring that our laws, for example on mandatory minimum sentences, are changed. It is about ensuring that we have an equal playing field when it comes to the criminal justice system. It is about ensuring that we continue on the path toward reconciliation, ensuring that we bring into law the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. For far too long, we have avoided these conversations, but it is important that we take bold steps today and build on the many things that we have done in the past, including the national anti-racism strategy.

That is not enough. We need to continue on this path. I hope my colleagues across the aisle will continue to work with us on this, to ensure that we are able to build a country that will work toward eliminating and empowering and equalizing matters for Canada's indigenous people, as well as Black and other racialized minorities.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Speaker, one thing I remember well from the 2015 election is that the Liberals promised to end the boil water advisories on reserves. It has been five years since that election and we still have boil water advisories across the country.

When are the Liberals planning to end the boil water advisories across the country?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we were very clear that our target is 2021 and we are working toward that target. I am very confident we will be able to meet that target.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I was going to ask a question about that as well. As the saying goes, “well done is better than well said”. It is good to have kind words for racialized people, people who face discrimination, but it is even better to take concrete action.

I too would like to know what the government plans to do about drinking water. At the very least, given that a “fault confessed is half redressed”, can my colleague admit that the Liberals have failed to keep their promise in the last five years by not providing clean drinking water?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I do not want to debate about water here, because we all realize the need to ensure that every community has clean drinking water. Our government, since 2015, has taken very important steps and has invested unprecedented amounts of money to ensure there is clean drinking water in every single community. That is part of the solution.

We also need to ensure that we bring forward legislation on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. We need to make sure that the gaps we see in all other social determinants of health are closed as well. As the throne speech said, we also want to make sure that in health care, we have legislation that is codeveloped by indigenous partners so we can have proper health care for all in this country.

[Lindsay Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague for his speech. I know he does really great work and advocates for his constituents well.

An organization, Colour of Poverty-Colour of Change, has approached me. I know there is a national anti-racism strategy, but they are asking for a federal anti-racism act that would build a legislative foundation for the anti-racism secretariat, with dedicated and sustainable funding and support.

Would my hon. colleague across the way be in support of something like that?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I know of the Colour of Poverty organization. I was there when it was founded about 20 years ago. I have worked with them for many years, including in my previous role when developing an anti-racism strategy. They have come up with some great ideas. Our solutions, which are part of the Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth's portfolio, include direct support to organizations like the Colour of Poverty.

I know my colleague is working very hard to advance issues of race equality, and I look forward to working with her on this issue.

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth]

Mr. Speaker, I want to start by commending the member of Parliament for Scarborough—Rouge Park, as well as the parliamentary secretary, for addressing this very important issue.

Our Prime Minister has acknowledged systemic racism is real and is present in every segment of society. I would like to hear from the member about some of the work he did in his previous role.

How do we change our path forward as we build back better and be consciously more inclusive? Whether it comes to the appointments process or building capacity, some of the work he did laid the foundation for what my team and I now have the privilege of continuing to work upon. How are we doing things differently to improve conditions and ensure that every individual is able to realize their potential?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for those comments.

This takes an all-of-government approach. This is not something that can be done by one individual or one ministry. The fact that we now have a ministry and Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth is a very important foundation for making sure we have an all-of-government approach on all matters that I talked about.

Racism is not something we can dissect to say that if we do this or that, it will go away. Change includes addressing the root causes, such as poverty, housing and basic income. Those things require all arms of government to come together not only to ensure that we address the root causes, but to empower and build racialized communities.

[Francis Scarpaleggia, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise today to speak on the subject of the throne speech. Looking around makes me think of how much things have changed since February and March, when this pandemic hit, and how we have had to adjust our ways with the need to be cautious.

I would not call this pandemic an adjustment, annoyance or inconvenience, although it is all of those things and we feel them every day. It is not an economic shock like we had in the 1970s with the rising price of oil. A more apt word for what we are living through is “disruption”. By that I mean that this pandemic is going to cause transformational change in our society in the same way that World War II caused transformational change. We know that World War II was followed by a baby boom, economic and technological development, mass production, television, the expansion of the suburbs, a new consumer culture that drove the economy, the birth of the youth culture and the quest for the moon. This is a pivotal moment in history, the same way that World War II was a pivotal moment in history.

We are at a crossroads, and I cannot predict what the long-term effects of this pandemic will be. I am no Alvin Toffler, author of the well-known book Future Shock, but I have a few ideas that I think are realistic.

For example, I think that we are now going to put a higher priority on family, community and neighbours. We are going to take better care of our seniors. Perhaps there will be more interest in medical and other health care professions.

Perhaps we will also be more aware of the benefits of nature. We took going out for walks for granted, but all of a sudden we realized that we might not always be able to do that and that we had to pay attention. We now take great pleasure in taking a walk in a park and enjoying the freedom that we always took for granted before.

Perhaps we will see the social safety net in a different light, because we realized how much we have to help one another. We give each other that help through social programs like the ones our government announced over the course of this pandemic. Perhaps we will also realize how easy it is to get into financial difficulty. Even if everything is going well for us in life, all of a sudden we might find ourselves in a serious financial difficulties through no fault of our own. In some ways, we are moving to a new society.

The throne speech and Bill C-4 recognize that we are at a transformational moment. They seek to ensure that Canadians are not left behind by this transformation and, in fact, evolve with it, through the support measures that are required to ensure that we can maintain our standard of living and can continue to have a productive economy. There are investments in, for example, green technologies and even blue technologies, as the throne speech did mention water, a topic that I have been interested in for quite a while.

The throne speech is visionary in the sense that there is a short-term component and a long-term component. It announced a series of goals and objectives that are intended to bring us into this new era with all the right policies in all the right areas.

World War II had grave fiscal consequences. In a similar way, this pandemic has changed the financial picture for governments, not only here in Canada but around the world. For sure, Canadians are concerned about the fiscal impacts of this pandemic. I speak to constituents who ask me about the deficit and the debt. However, I think it is important that we put these things in perspective, not to minimize or discount them, but to ensure that we have an enlightened and informed discussion on the best path forward.

We will have a projected deficit in 2021. We said that it was going to be $343 billion, but the PBO disagreed and said that it would be $328 billion. Members cannot accuse the government of fudging numbers.

Coming out of World War II, the debt-to-GDP ratio was 100% and the deficit-to-GDP ratio was 21%. Today, the PBO forecasts that the debt-to-GDP ratio will be under 50%. What was the debt-to-GDP ratio at the end of the Mulroney Conservative era? It was 66%, so we absolutely need to put things in perspective.

We know there is a rule that has been taught to us by indigenous peoples. It is the seven generation rule and it generally applies to decisions that impact the environment. The rule says that if we pose an action that impacts the environment, we should think of the next seven generations to see how that decision will impact the environment for the next seven generations. I think we should apply this to our financial decisions as well.

How will the financial decisions we are making today impact future generations? We talk a lot about future generations in the context of the budget deficit. Let us think for a moment. What if we had not taken the measures that we took? What would that have meant for future generations? What would that have meant for the young person who could not get their career started, who could not find a job, who could not earn money to pay for their education? Those young people would form what we might call a lost generation. We are very fortunate that we are at a time in history when interest rates are very low and, if interest rates remain low and the growth rate exceeds interest rates, we will be able to bring down the deficit.

I would like to quote from Michael Smart in an article in The Globe and Mail, who talks about the relationship between economic growth rates and interest rates:

After major economic depressions in our past, economic growth exceeded interest rates for decades at a stretch, allowing past governments to gradually reduce the debt without undue hardship for Canadians. In fact, in historical terms, the fiscal crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s was an aberration—the only period since 1900 when interest rates exceeded growth rates for an extended period.

I know that on the other side of the House members try to paint a picture of doom and gloom and say we are on the cusp of financial ruin, but who do we believe? Do we believe a political party that is creating a narrative for the purpose of political gain, or do we believe those who are invested in the economy, who have invested billions of dollars in the economy and who watch the government's moves very closely? At the first sign of bad economic policy, they will abandon markets and give us a lower credit ratings. Do we listen to them, or do we listen to the Conservative opposition?

Let us hear what those who have invested in the economy and keep a close eye on economic decisions by governments are saying about Canada. This was in Bloomberg News, and I will quote what Standard and Poors said:

While fiscal and debt metrics will worsen due to the size of the unprecedented government response, we believe that the government's use of its policy flexibility will likely help the economy and labour market to recover. The largely temporary deviation of the government's fiscal profile does not offset Canada's structural credit strengths, in our view.

I rest my case.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the throne speech refers to creating one million jobs. One of the methods stated in the throne speech is to extend or expand the wage subsidy. It also went on to say that it will work with businesses to meet their needs. It seems there will be some changes that will be happening.

Today, I received a communication from a local business owner wondering what that means. It is really important that business owners can plan.

What does that mean and what does that look like? Business owners need to have certainty now. Also, how is that creating jobs? The way it works is that it helps to subsidize the wages of workers. How is that actually creating jobs?