House of Commons Hansard #7 of the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was pandemic.
Pablo Rodriguez LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, my colleague speaks of collaboration, but we did not wait.
At the outset, we transferred $113 million for health care. For the safe restart, there was $675 million for testing and another $675 million for PPE. There was $167 million for vulnerable communities and $286 million for home care.
Beyond the numbers, we have truly worked together, and it is making a difference in the lives of all Quebeckers. The Bloc may not like it, but that is the truth.
Luc Thériault Bloc Montcalm, QC
Mr. Speaker, 81% of Quebeckers want the government to increase health transfers, and 73% of Canadians agree.
The National Assembly is unanimous on this, and all the provincial premiers want health transfers to be increased. They experienced an immediate shortfall of $28 billion. The government boasts that it transferred $500 million to them, but that is not even 2% of the total, and during a pandemic, no less.
When will the government take this seriously and give Quebec and the provinces what they want?
Pablo Rodriguez LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, first of all, the Quebec government is more than capable of speaking for itself.
We have discussions with Quebec. It does not need the Bloc Québécois in the House to negotiate on its behalf. It negotiates. We speak regularly with the Quebec government. This year, we have transferred $11.6 billion for health care.
I know that the Bloc would like us to squabble about this, but there is no squabbling.
Jagmeet Singh NDP Burnaby South, BC
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government announced the Canada Infrastructure Bank three years ago.
Three years have passed, and it has not kept its promises. It has not built anything that would show this is working.
What has it done? It has helped its close friends. It has paid out huge salaries, but it has not really invested in building new infrastructure.
When will the Liberal government invest in infrastructure for real, instead of just making big announcements?
Catherine McKenna LiberalMinister of Infrastructure and Communities
Mr. Speaker, I am always happy to talk about our infrastructure program, which is generating thousands of projects, creating good jobs across the country and building a healthier future.
Today, we partnered with Michael Sabia, who is well known across Canada and in Quebec, to announce a $10-billion investment in retrofits and electric buses. This investment will support our transition to a cleaner economy and create 60,000 jobs.
Montrealers are well aware of how the infrastructure bank works because the REM project—
Jagmeet Singh NDP Burnaby South, BC
Mr. Speaker, I have no doubt the Liberals are going to make great announcements. They made another great announcement. However, they have only actually funded nine projects in three years and none of those projects has been completed. It is a great announcement tool, but they have not built infrastructure. What have they done for three years? They certainly have enriched their close friends. They have great salaries. However, they are just making announcement after announcement and not building things in communities. They are not building infrastructure.
When will the Liberal government admit the Canada Infrastructure Bank was just an announcement ploy? They need to start investing directly in projects people need.
Catherine McKenna LiberalMinister of Infrastructure and Communities
Mr. Speaker, I am always proud to talk about the infrastructure investments we are making across the country, including in the member's riding. We have invested in thousands of projects that are creating jobs across the country and building cleaner and more inclusive communities.
The REM project in Montreal, funded by the Canada Infrastructure Bank, has created thousands of jobs and is advancing quickly. Today's announcement is a demonstration that under the leadership of Michael Sabia, we are going to get even more built. A $10-billion investment that will crowd in the private sector will mean retrofits in buildings across the country. It will mean more electric buses and better public transportation—
Gérard Deltell Conservative Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC
Mr. Speaker, one of the primary responsibilities of any federal government is to manage its borders. Canadians recognized that the government was dragging its feet early on in the pandemic when it came to managing our borders. At the time, the Liberal minister said the government knew better than everyone and was following advice from the WHO. Today, the New York Times is reporting that the WHO's policy was more about politics and economics than science.
What does the Liberal government have to say to Canadians who waited for days for the government to do the right thing and close the border, as all Canadian scientists and all Canadians with common sense were calling for?
Bill Blair LiberalMinister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Mr. Speaker, quite frankly, I would disagree with the characterization that there was any delay. Our government acted with remarkable speed in closing our borders and placing appropriate restrictions on international travel. It was unprecedented and, prior to the pandemic, almost incomprehensible. We acted quickly to put in place strong restrictions on non-essential travel and to take the action necessary to keep Canadians safe. That has been effective. We were able to maintain important supply lines so that goods, services and essential workers could continue to do their jobs of serving Canadians—
Stephanie Kusie Conservative Calgary Midnapore, AB
Mr. Speaker, we asked the Minister of Health in March why her government had not shut down international travel or established testing requirements at our airports. She stated that their decision to allow flights to continue and not require screening was based on the best scientific evidence from Canada with recommendations from the World Health Organization. The New York Times has now revealed that the WHO advice was never based on science.
Will the minister now explain why she risked the health of Canadians and continued to defend policies based on politics rather than science?
Darren Fisher LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health
Mr. Speaker, we have used science and evidence from day one. I disagree with the member's comments and the member's question.
Science has evolved in this process. We have learned through this process. When we think about this resurgence, we know so much more now than we knew before. We have so much more knowledge about COVID-19 than we had back in January. The Canadian response has been driven from day one by evidence and science, and it will continue.
Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC
Mr. Speaker, for months the COVID pandemic has ravaged our economy. Nine thousand Canadians have lost their lives, many more are hospitalized and we now know that, last year, the health minister shut down Canada's pandemic early-warning system, if members can imagine. When former Liberal health minister Ujjal Dosanjh heard this, he called the minister's actions “a colossal failure”.
Why did the minister shut down the system, and does she not realize that the early-warning system could have saved many lives?
Darren Fisher LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health
Mr. Speaker, I want to the thank my friend for Abbotsford for the question, a question that had been asked earlier today, but the same answer is the same answer.
Public health intelligence is vital to identifying and monitoring outbreaks. We were concerned about reports that GPHIN analysts were not able to proceed with their important work. From the start of COVID-19, the Global Public Health Intelligence Network has been an important source of public health intelligence. That tool is a vital tool and needs to remain, in the future, as a tool of intelligence for Canadians.
Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC
Mr. Speaker, today, we read that the health minister ignored critical pandemic information and relied on intelligence from foreign governments. She prioritized information from China, of all places, rather than using public sources that would have told her how dangerous the virus really was. For months, the minister said that the risk was low. Now we find out that she shut down one of the most important tools to protect Canadians against this virus.
Does the minister realize this is another WE Charity in the making? Why should Canadians continue to trust her?
Darren Fisher LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health
Mr. Speaker, we were very concerned by reports that GPHIN analysts were not able to proceed with their important work. As I have said before, we will be conducting an independent review of these changes to make sure that this vital tool continues to inform decisions to protect Canadians into the future. Public health intelligence is vital to identifying and monitoring an outbreak.
Pierre Paul-Hus Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
Mr. Speaker, shortly after leaving politics, the Liberal MP Frank Baylis was awarded a $237-million contract to make medical ventilators. Since then, billions of dollars have been awarded to companies we have never heard of. The government cites national security reasons to avoid telling us who is getting these contracts. As we saw with the WE scandal, the Liberals often hide the truth from Canadians.
We want to know if the Liberals are awarding these contracts to their friends.
Anita Anand LiberalMinister of Public Services and Procurement
Mr. Speaker, let me start by saying we made all of our contracts public on our website at the end of July in the interest of full transparency for Canadians.
With regard to the contract mentioned, it was actually with a company called FTI Professional Grade, for $237 million for 10,000 ventilators. There is no contract with Frank Baylis. The contract that is referenced is with FTI, so the question is actually irrelevant.
James Bezan Conservative Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB
Mr. Speaker, this is another WE scandal in the making, so let us review.
First the Prime Minister destroyed our stockpiles of PPE on the eve of a global pandemic, then he sent what little we had left to the Chinese communist regime. Now we learn he is slapping national security designations on government contracts for PPE. National security designations are meant for national defence, not cloaking public health contracts in secrecy. This is just another attempt by the government to avoid accountability.
What are the Liberals trying to hide this time?
Anita Anand LiberalMinister of Public Services and Procurement
Mr. Speaker, once again I need to highlight what I just said, which is that in the interest of full transparency we revealed on our website at the end of July all of our contracts and suppliers. I would like to take issue therefore with the insinuation that we are not acting in the interest of transparency, and I will say that we now have over two billion items of PPE in this country for Canadians, for front-line health care workers, and we will continue to act with vigour and diligence on their behalf.
Gabriel Ste-Marie Bloc Joliette, QC
Mr. Speaker, at midnight, the majority of Quebec was deemed a COVID-19 red zone. The entire restaurant industry and cultural sector have closed their doors for at least 28 days.
In the Speech from the Throne, the government promises “to target additional financial support directly to businesses which have to temporarily shut down as a result of a local public health decision”.
This afternoon, the Government of Quebec announced its plans to help businesses.
What will the federal government do in the very near future?
Mélanie Joly LiberalMinister of Economic Development and Official Languages
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his important question. Of course we sympathize with those affected by the lockdown announced by the Quebec government.
Since the beginning, we have been there for our business owners to ensure that they get through the first wave, and we will be there during this second wave, taking other measures such as the wage subsidy and others we will be announcing soon.
Gabriel Ste-Marie Bloc Joliette, QC
Mr. Speaker, businesses have already closed. We are in a red zone. We must take action now, not in a few months.
As I said, the federal government cannot take months to provide assistance. Businesses need it now. The Bloc has been asking for help to cover fixed costs, for example, for six months, to no avail. Financial support for safety measures for school openings arrived one week after the children arrived. In about 50 schools, COVID-19 arrived before the support. We are not making this up.
Time is running out for businesses. Action is needed now.
What will Ottawa do?
