Debates of Oct. 1st, 2020

COVID-19 Emergency Response

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, in recent days, I have had the opportunity to speak a few times with Quebec's minister of the economy. I am well aware of his new program. That is good news for business owners.

It complements several measures we have introduced, such as the wage subsidy and small business loans. In addition, the Economic Development Agency for the Regions of Quebec has received more money.

Of course we are very worried about what business owners are currently going though in locked-down areas, and we will be there to help them.

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, small businesses like restaurants, bars and theatres were the first to shut down during the first wave of the pandemic. They are now having to close down again because they are in the red zone. Loans are all well and good, but debt is not an option for them.

The Bloc has been saying for more than six months that in order to prevent bankruptcies, we need to provide assistance for fixed costs. Thousands of businesses are at risk of collapsing. The government agreed with us. We put assistance for fixed costs into a motion on April 11, and the Liberals voted in favour of it.

When will the government keep its word and announce real assistance for fixed costs for businesses?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, it goes without saying that we need to support our business owners. We have been there for them from the beginning of the pandemic and we will continue to be.

That is also why many of these business owners have been able to keep their employees: because there is a wage subsidy.

We know that some regions have been affected more than others. This is why we said in the throne speech that we would be there to help business owners and workers in these regions. That is our objective.

Not only do we support them, but we will also take action.

Health

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister shut down the system that was supposed to warn us about pandemics, and he costs people their lives and their jobs. The Prime Minister kept our borders open, knowing that the virus was entering our cities, and he cost people their lives and their jobs. In Ontario alone today, 82,000 people are waiting for test results because there are no rapid tests in our schools, in our places of work and in long-term care facilities because the Prime Minister failed to get them.

The Prime Minister is costing workers their jobs and people their lives. Why?

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, we were first alerted to an outbreak of pneumonia in late December 2019. Since then, we have been working together with all levels of government to respond to cases of COVID-19 in Canada. We have used science and evidence to inform our decision-making, based on the data available. We know that the situation changes every day. We are working with experts, public health officials and our partners, working together to keep Canadians safe.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I stand with Kim MacInnis in Dartmouth who had to take five days off of work to wait for her toddler's COVID results. The best that this guy can do is stammer through his minister's talking points, which lose something in translation from Beijing. He sat by and did nothing while the Liberals sent precious masks to other countries while our doctors went without. It is disgusting.

Why is the Prime Minister costing Canadians their lives and their jobs?

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, from day one this government has been a partner with provinces and territories. We have invested heavily in ensuring that provinces, like my province of Nova Scotia, have the money to ramp up the capacity that they need.

My daughter had a test in Nova Scotia and she had her test results back in eight hours. We have done great things with the provinces and territories, and we have an unprecedented level of co-operation and collaboration with these provinces and territories.

I want to thank those folks in the provinces and territories for working with the government, but we have made federal investments to help with that capacity.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, that is great. Liberals get their test results in hours but Kim MacInnis has to wait for five days for her kid's. That is how it works with the government: a contract for Frank Baylis and special test results for the parliamentary secretary. The government needs to start standing with regular Canadians. They are the ones who are making the sacrifice.

The only sacrifice the Prime Minister has made is Bill Morneau. He is costing Canadians their lives and their jobs. When is he going to get his act together, and when are Canadians going to see a plan?

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, we have used science and we have used evidence to drive the Canadian response to this. What we see on the other side of the House are people who, if they were in these positions on this side of the bench, would make those decisions for scientists. If the scientists were not at the stage yet where they could approve it, across the way they would rubber-stamp it just because it makes good political sense.

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, as a Vancouver Islander I can attest to how important B.C. ferries are as a vital link to the mainland. Strict COVID-19 measures have kept people safer, including an exemption that let passengers stay in their vehicles. Despite an expected second wave and the objections of the premier, the provincial medical health officer, passengers and some ferry workers, the Liberals have rescinded that exemption and are insisting on cramming people onto the passenger decks, insisting that it is safe.

Why is the Liberal government exposing passengers on B.C. ferries to risk? Do the Liberals really think Ottawa knows best?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, on the issue of ferries and closed car decks, it is a difficult decision but it is one that has to be made for reasons of marine safety. Closed decks on ferries are not safe places for passengers to be, in case there were to be a fire or flooding or some other catastrophe. At this point in time, we have measures in place to ensure COVID safety on our ferries, and we hope that all people will understand that this is the proper way to go.

Seniors

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians were horrified to see the appalling conditions our seniors are experiencing in long-term care centres across this country. Of the deaths from COVID-19, 80% occurred in these facilities, giving Canada the worst record of all comparable nations. The situation was so bad the Armed Forces had to be called in.

As Canadians brace themselves for a second wave of this pandemic, families are extremely worried about their loved ones in long-term care. What is the government doing specifically to ensure seniors will be better protected in the critical months ahead?

[Deb Schulte, Liberal, Minister of Seniors]

Mr. Speaker, we will be there to support the provinces and territories that need help managing their long-term care systems. Whether it is with the support of the Canadian Armed Forces, investments in PPE or providing the $3 billion for essential workers' wages, know that the safety of seniors is our top priority. Under the safe restart agreement, our government has provided $740 million to support one-time costs for measures to control and prevent infections. Our throne speech identified the additional actions we will take to strengthen long-term care in our country. We will be there for our seniors.

The Environment

[Michael McLeod, Liberal, Northwest Territories, NT]

Mr. Speaker, I know our government has been outspoken in the past about opposing the United States administration's plan to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil drilling and that it could auction off drilling leases this calendar year. The ANWR is a critically important calving ground for the Porcupine caribou herd. With the ongoing decline in many herds, we need to collectively protect them and assist in their recovery.

What has Canada done and what more can we do to address this incoming threat?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for the Northwest Territories for his question, and for both his and the member for Yukon's important work on this issue.

As I said in the statement I released in early September, the Porcupine caribou herd is invaluable to the culture and sustenance of the Gwich'in and Inuvialuit peoples, and to biodiversity in this country. This government has long advocated for the permanent protection of the herd's habitat, including in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. We have made strides to protect this herd through the establishment of important habitat areas, including two national parks, Ivvavik and Vuntut. We have and we will work together with our indigenous and territorial partners to protect this iconic species.

Official Languages

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last week, I asked the minister when she planned to modernize the Official Languages Act.

For weeks, the Commissioner of Official Languages, the FCFA and every organization representing francophones in Canada have been asking the same question. I fully expect the minister to respond with yet more attacks against Conservatives, but the fact that she is ignoring all of these stakeholders is highly disrespectful to them. I am giving her a second chance.

When will she introduce a bill to modernize the Official Languages Act?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, it goes without saying that modernizing the Official Languages Act is important. Why? Because we must always work to strengthen language rights for linguistic minorities in Canada and to strengthen French across the country, be it in Quebec or in other regions.

I have had these same conversations with language rights stakeholders. They are very pleased that our throne speech recognized the importance of our two official languages. We will keep working with them, because we are here for them.

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Official Languages Act was rewritten by the Mulroney government. It was under the former Conservative government that historic investments of $2.2 billion were made. The former commissioner of official languages confirmed that the situation improved during the decade that the Conservatives were in office. The Liberals have been in power for five years and have done nothing tangible, as we see in the most recent report from the Commissioner of Official Languages, which was tabled this week.

We are sick of the rhetoric. We want to know when the minister is going to introduce the bill on modernizing the Official Languages Act.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, I do not want to give my colleague a history lesson, but the Official Languages Act was adopted 51 years ago by a government headed by a certain Mr. Trudeau, following the Laurendeau-Dunton Commission, which advocated for official bilingualism.

Furthermore, every budget cut over the past few decades has come from provincial or federal Conservative governments.

Under the current circumstances, I have a question for the Leader of the Opposition.

Will the Leader of the Opposition speak out against the budget cuts that are currently harming Franco-Albertans and Campus Saint-Jean in Alberta?

Foreign Affairs

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister was quick to put all of the resources of government at the disposal of his failed and ethically challenged white, male, former finance minister in his bid to become OECD secretary-general. However, when a Muslim female senator with multi-party support and an unimpeachable record put her name forward for the presidency of the Interparliamentary Union, the government is working against her behind the scenes.

What happened to team Canada? Why are the Liberals failing to support a strong Canadian voice on the world stage?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we will take no lessons from the Conservatives when it comes to gender or diversity. Everyone in the House recognizes that Senator Salma Ataullahjan is doing important work on human rights issues. I understand that there is a deadline for candidates by October 18. I will be happy to meet with all candidates and I spoke with the senator today and she was very happy about our intervention.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, on diversity the government is all talk and no action. Liberals fired a public servant who criticized the government's approach to blackface. We saw with the former attorney general that the Prime Minister only wants women in leadership roles if they sing from the song sheet that he provides.

Senator Ataullahjan's bid had the support of multiple Liberal MPs. The Prime Minister is putting politics ahead of our national interests. Why is the government working behind the scenes to block a strong Muslim woman from representing Canada on the world stage just because she happens to be a Conservative?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, if the member were to listen, I said that I spoke with the senator today. We had a good conversation. I invited her to come to see me and I said that I would meet all participants who want to put their name forward. That is democracy. That is the way we operate on this side of the House.

Seniors

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, most Quebeckers are in the red zone as of today. Seniors cannot have visitors for the next 28 days, and they will be more isolated than ever.

In addition to the anxiety caused by COVID-19, our seniors continue to live with financial stress, yet Ottawa refuses to lift a finger to help them. Instead of simply talking the talk on the International Day of Older Persons, could the government actually walk the walk and immediately increase old age security benefits by $110 a month starting at age 65? That is a federal responsibility.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, from the very beginning, the federal government has been there for all Quebeckers and especially for our seniors, those who have been struggling more in long-term care centres. Our government has been there through the medium of the Red Cross and the army, as well as through a direct payment of $500.

We have stepped up in many ways to help Quebec society as a whole. Whether for our seniors, our families or our workers, we are there for Quebec and always will be.