Debates of Oct. 2nd, 2020

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, from the beginning, we have worked very closely with provinces and territories. Our safe restart agreement provided $4 billion for provinces and territories to increase testing capacity and contact tracing, with more than $1 billion going to Ontario alone. We were pleased to see Ontario update its testing requirements.

We will continue working closely with all levels of government. Again, 7.9 million rapid tests are on their way, starting in the coming weeks.

COVID-19 Emergency Response

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

Mr. Speaker, Quebec is in the midst of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The restaurant and bar industry is in jeopardy. Bars and restaurants are SMEs that managed to hold on during the first lockdown, but today thousands of them are at risk of going bankrupt. Yesterday, Quebec announced that it would help with fixed costs for businesses in red zones that have to close their doors. Quebec is contributing. Now it is the federal government's turn. Quebec is asking the federal government to participate by sharing the cost of the program and enhancing it.

Will the federal government do its part and help Quebec with this program?

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Bloc Québécois promised to trigger an election now, if possible, or else later this spring. If it could, the Bloc Québécois would like us to have an election this weekend.

While the Bloc Québécois is focusing on an election, we are focusing on the health of Quebeckers. There are over 1,000 cases today and seven deaths, and the Bloc Québécois's priority is to trigger an election.

Really?

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

Mr. Speaker, I heard nothing about assistance for SMEs, but I will continue.

There is one thing we should not forget: taking out loans means going into debt, and that is no longer an option. The government twice promised to help businesses affected by COVID-19, such as restaurants and bars. The first time, at the request of the Bloc Québécois, it promised to provide assistance for fixed costs, as a result of a motion passed on April 11. Need we remind the government that in the throne speech it also promised to support businesses that must close when ordered to do so by public health authorities?

Will the government keep its promise and help support businesses by providing assistance for fixed costs that will not be in the form of a loan?

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Bloc Québécois announced that it had lost confidence in the government and would therefore be voting against the government's economic measures.

If we introduce economic measures to help seniors, the Bloc will vote against them. If we introduce economic measures to help workers, it will vote against them. If we introduce economic measures to help our SMEs, it will vote against them.

The Bloc Québécois has abandoned Quebeckers. We will never abandon them.

Taxation

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, COVID-19 has hit Canadian families hard and they are struggling, but Canada's billionaires have seen their wealth skyrocket outrageously during this period, by more than $37 billion. We need resources to help people. Many other countries have put in place taxes on wealth, and over two-thirds of Canadian families support that necessity.

Why does the government refuse to put in place a wealth tax on Canada's billionaires? Why will they not force Canada's billionaires to pay their fair share?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we absolutely believe that everyone in Canada needs to pay their fair share, all the more so as we are fighting together against a global pandemic. That is why in the throne speech we committed to working to identify additional ways to tax extreme wealth inequality, including by concluding our work to limit the stock option deduction for wealthy individuals at large established corporations, and of course taxing the global digital giants.

Post-Secondary Education

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

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have ended the freeze on student loan payments, but they never helped international students or graduate students. They cut almost 40% from the help low-income students got, and there is still the almost $1 billion in supports they promised through CSSG but buried under their WE scandal. Now, with a second wave of COVID and poor job prospects, the Liberals are forcing students to figure out how to make their loan payments again.

Will the Liberals commit to long-term help and, at the very least, permanently remove interest on student debt?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is not often enough we talk about Canada's student loans. I recall that when I graduated from university, I came out of university with not only debt, but also accrued interest, which does not put our students in a position to succeed.

That is exactly why in budget 2019, at page 44, members will see that for Canada student loans, we are putting forward a plan to not only make them interest-free, but make sure the six-month period is payment-free and interest-free. That is in direct response to what students are saying. It is also why, in the response to COVID-19, one of the first things we did was freeze interest and put a moratorium on payments.

We will continue working with students and youth.

COVID-19 Emergency Response

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Red Deer—Lacombe, AB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Public Services and Procurement said, “we revealed on our website at the end of July all of our contracts and suppliers”, yet I have a document in my hand that says otherwise. In September, the minister's own departmental staff sent an email to a business in my riding that inquired about the status of a contract they had submitted a bid for. The email clearly states, “Due to the National Security Exemption...invoked on this procurement...contract award information will not be posted online”.

Both of these things cannot be true, so which is it?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, of course, on July 31, as the minister said yesterday, we disclosed supplier names and contract values for contracts that Canada has entered into for PPE and medical equipment, except certain commodities that have proven difficult to obtain and where additional procurements may be needed; hence, the national security exemption.

While we are not able to disclose all details regarding suppliers and contracts at this time, we intend to provide more information at a time when the current level of risk has passed, and obviously with the constant motivation of keeping Canadians and our health professionals safe.

Health

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there are other groups, including the Canadian Medical Association, that are very concerned. They are asking questions because they are still having a hard time getting protection equipment. Members of the Canadian Medical Association and experts have been sounding the alarm for the past seven months. Fifty-four per cent of their members are still having difficulty getting equipment and 86% of members are quite worried.

If the Prime Minister has a distribution plan, could he share it with us now?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, obviously the government is focusing all of its efforts on the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

We are co-operating with our partners at every level of government and with the private sector in order to obtain the necessary medical supplies. We are very confident, as we head into fall, that the efforts of the past six months will pay off. We have put in place additional supply chains with the various suppliers, including Canadian suppliers, and we continue to appeal to Canadian businesses to quickly increase and retool their production capacity.

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Red Deer—Lacombe, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is needlessly using national security rules to hide which Canadian companies are being awarded contracts for PPE. Why can we not know how much we are paying for disposable masks? Why can we not know which Canadian companies are supplying them? This does not seem like a national security issue for the government. It seems more likely to be an ethical insecurity issue for the Liberals.

Why will the Liberals not tell us who is getting what and for how much?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, of course, transparency and accountability are critically important to our government, and we are committed to releasing a full account of all our procurement efforts. We will absolutely do that for Canadians.

For supplies that are in critical shortage worldwide, where we are actually competing with other jurisdictions for critical procurements, I do not know if the hon. member is suggesting that Canada should make public that critical information. We will not be doing that. What we will be doing is strategically procuring the medical equipment and the PPE required for Canadians and our health professionals to keep us safe.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, who is on the ground? It is doctors and front-line workers.

The president of the CMA, Dr. Collins, said that masks, surgical gowns, gloves and face shields were necessary for every visit. They have no choice. It was already a problem in August, even before the current spike in cases and requests for COVID-19 tests, and the reopening of schools. There is a problem and even community doctors are quite concerned. We would like more transparency, more clarity.

What is the current plan to protect Canadians?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, we are working on it. As we enter into fall, we are sure that our efforts over the past six months to strengthen our capacity to procure personal protective equipment and medical equipment will continue to pay off for Canadians.

I do not know if the hon. member opposite is rooting for failure on this. I can assure you that those responsible for procurement, those at Health Canada, as well as the inspectors and those in charge of regulation are also our guardian angels and protect us. We thank them for it.

We are confident.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the second wave of COVID-19 has begun. I would like the Minister of Public Services and Procurement to assure me that the PPE procurement process has been fixed.

My riding is home to a company that has been accredited by Health Canada for 20 years. It supposedly got lost in the system during the first wave.

Could the minister give me a relevant answer and assure me that the Liberals' buddies will not get preferential treatment?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, we are working very hard to ensure continuity of supply for health professionals and for all Canadians.

We have started an additional supply chain involving various suppliers. We are calling on anyone who believes they could help us out by supplying equipment or services to the Government of Canada to get in touch. We will continue to be vigilant in building Canada's equipment capacity.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

This is rather odd, Mr. Speaker. Red Deer—Lacombe is a Conservative riding and businesses in the region do no have any contracts. Local businesses in Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, which is also a Conservative riding, do not have any contracts. However, Frank Baylis, a Liberal, received $237 million.

Is there a tendency to give contracts to the Liberals' friends, yes or no?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry delivered the good news that more than 50% of our supply chain is located in Canada.

We can thank Fluid Energy from Calgary for supplying us with hand sanitizer. We can thank enterprises like LuminUltra in New Brunswick for providing us with reagent. We can thank businesses from all over the country that are heeding the call to action and coming to the rescue of Canadians and our health care professionals. Conservatives should be ashamed.

COVID-19 Emergency Response

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government House leader just demonstrated a major lack of respect for my colleague from Saint-Jean, but particularly for Quebec restaurants and bars that are in red zones and at risk of going bankrupt.

Even if he regards us with contempt, can the leader answer our questions out of respect for the businesses that have had to shut down for another month and are at risk of going bankrupt?

Quebec has asked the federal government to join its program, share the cost and enhance it. Will the government do that?

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

Mr. Speaker, there are moments in history where we recognize the leadership of a party by the way it reacts in a time of crisis. The Bloc Québécois failed that test yesterday by saying that it was going to ensure that our government does not make it past the spring of 2021.

What will happen if cases go up in 2021? What will happen if thousands of Quebeckers are still looking for work? Will the Bloc Québécois's priority be to trigger an election?

The Bloc Québécois promised to maintain a responsible position. This is very disappointing.

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am speechless.

A government stands when it has the confidence of the House. The Leader of the Government in the House of Commons is not answering legitimate questions. It should answer those questions, if only out of respect for the bars, restaurants and businesses that are in jeopardy.

These are serious issues, but he wants to play political games. We know the government is planning to announce loans for these businesses. The government needs to step up with programs that meet Quebec's needs. It has to adapt the Canada emergency commercial rent assistance for small businesses. The criteria are overly restrictive.

I am going to ask this question for the fourth time, just like my colleague from Saint-Jean did. What is the government going to do? Does it care about businesses?

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

Mr. Speaker, I said it earlier. The Bloc Québécois is busy planning its election campaign. Meanwhile, we are busy working for businesses, for seniors, for workers who have lost their jobs, and for the restaurant and tourism sector. That is what taking concrete action means.

The Bloc Québécois can go ahead and plan its campaign. It can focus on that as much as it wants while we step up for Quebeckers.