Debates of Oct. 5th, 2020

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply

[Gerald Soroka, Conservative, Yellowhead, AB]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague and I sat on the agriculture committee together and his numbers are not quite correct. He said there was $270 million for the COVID-19 fund relief but actually $125 million of that was pre-existing money. Liberals spun it as a new program even though that program has existed every year since 2008, so they have not really given this quite as much money as they believe they have.

The member also brought up supply management and that is a very good thing to talk about. During our supply management question when the dairy producers were not fully compensated for all the trade deals, the motion was moved by the Conservatives, yet the member voted against it. Could he please explain why?

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his multi-faceted question.

First of all, I did not say “$270 million”, I said “$252 million”. My colleague raises a very important point. Indeed, not only is it a rather small amount, but some of it is recycled money.

Second, I do not believe we have ever opposed compensation for dairy farmers; quite the contrary. What I said earlier was not that dairy farmers have never received any cheques. They did get one. It was during an election campaign when they were used as political pawns, because the money was announced in August.

We will always be there to work together at committee. I look forward to seeing my colleague there again.

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

Mr. Speaker, I too sit on the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food and I very much enjoy working with him. I share his frustrations about the government's approach to supply management. The Liberals are great at telling us and indeed all Canadians how supportive they are of supply management, while with the other hand they slowly give away the market that has been allocated. He talked about predictability in his speech. Predictability is so important. It rests on three pillars: price control, production control and import control. On import control, the Liberals have been undermining this sector of agriculture for the last five years.

I would like my colleague to tell the House just how important supply management is. Often it is the keystone farm in a small community that other farms that sell commodities that fluctuate in price can depend on because there is that guaranteed source of income. That is why it is so important and that is why the minister must step up to the plate and honour the commitments that she made in the budget last year.

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, that is a very good question. I thank my colleague from the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food. It kind of feels like a committee meeting here this afternoon. There are people here who know what they are talking about, and that is great.

Predictability is essential for businesses. Since I need to be brief, I will provide one concrete example. At the beginning of the crisis, some milk was dumped, but dairy farmers soon adjusted. One of the benefits of supply management is that the producers regulate themselves. The system works very well, and no one was on the brink of bankruptcy. However, dairy farmers need the compensation they were promised.

Earlier I did not have time to quote Pierre Lampron, the president of Dairy Farmers of Canada. I will close by repeating what he had to say about the Speech from the Throne: “When every year, you lose $450 million in domestic production being transferred to foreign dairy farmers, words aren't enough—only when we see details will we know if a promise made is a promise kept.”

He seems to have read the same vague paragraph I did.

[Sven Spengemann, Liberal, Mississauga—Lakeshore, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for St. Catharines.

We remain today in unprecedented times. Families and loved ones mourn the deaths of over one million people around the world as a result of the coronavirus, with over 34 million people having been infected.

COVID-19 has created monumental challenges and constraints that continue to evolve, challenges that relate first and foremost to public health and safety, but extend to income security, our economic future and the way we interact as human beings on this shared planet.

There are three major crises that we are called upon to address and resolve in our communities and around the world:

The first is the COVID pandemic itself. Infection rates are climbing and many countries, including Canada, are finding themselves in a second wave. It is crucial that all of us continue to work together to defeat this pandemic. Basic fundamental protocols like physical distancing, handwashing and wearing masks in public remain at the very core of effective solutions. As individuals and businesses continue to face the economic effects of COVID-19, financial supports that will allow them to weather the pandemic are critical to our economic recovery.

Second, the need to address climate change has never been more important as manifestations progressively increase in the form of more erratic weather patterns, floods and wildfires, melting glaciers, rising sea levels and rapidly eroding biodiversity. The climate crisis runs parallel to COVID-19 and action cannot be postponed. The Government of Canada is focused on progressive investments in a green economy to support a transition to reduced GHG emissions to meet and exceed the Paris targets and agenda 2030 and to shift to renewable energy sources under our legislatively established net-zero threshold by 2050. We are on track to ban single-use plastics by 2021 and to protect 30% of our land and oceans by 2030.

Third, the fight for inclusion faces new challenges and requires sustained commitments and action in our communities and around the world. Systemic anti-Black and anti-indigenous racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and other forms of hatred, division and violence persist.

The killing of George Floyd and, in Mississauga, Ejaz Choudry at the hands of police and the death of Joyce Echaquan in a Quebec hospital following a chorus of racial slurs are only three of the most atrocious cases we have witnessed in 2020. There are many others.

I am also concerned about gender equality, inclusion of the LGBTQ2S+ community, persons with disabilities, veterans, seniors and youth. The fight for inclusion cannot stop until everyone has an equal voice, and our government is committed to action but we will need help from all Canadians.

Let me elaborate briefly on these three priorities.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, it remains particularly important to protect the most vulnerable individuals and populations, those among us who are most severely impacted. They include seniors in long-term care homes, women and children fleeing gender-based violence, the homeless and persons with disabilities, pre-conditions and rare diseases.

To protect Canadians in the face of a sharp rise in infections, our government will continue to support provinces and territories in increasing their testing capacity. To meet this critical challenge quickly, we are making the required investments and will create a federal testing assistance response team.

In the throne speech, our government has committed to establishing national standards for long-term care. It remains focused on the elimination of chronic homelessness and will increase investments in rapid housing developments in the short term. We will also bring forward a disability inclusion plan and a rare disease strategy to help Canadians save money on high-cost drugs.

As the coronavirus continues to severely impact national and global economies, the Government of Canada will ensure that individuals and businesses remain financially supported throughout the course of the pandemic. We will deliver targeted financial support directly to those businesses forced to temporarily shut down as a result of local public health decisions.

Some sectors have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. The Government of Canada is committed to further support travel and tourism, hospitality and cultural industries like the performing arts. Community leaders in my riding of Mississauga—Lakeshore have emphasized the increasingly important role that the arts play in these uncertain times. The arts provide an opportunity to cope with isolation and hardship and they are at the very core of who we are as human beings. Their positive contributions to the fabric of our culture cannot be overstated.

Our community also recognizes the urgent need for a green recovery and the importance of job creation through climate action. Climate action is central to our government's plan to create one million jobs. Fifty-two percent of Mississauga's emissions come from buildings and 30% of its carbon footprint comes from the transportation sector.

We are committed to creating well-paying jobs connected to the retrofitting of homes and buildings, supporting more public and active transit options and making zero-emissions vehicles more affordable in order to reach net zero by 2050. Our government is also investing in mitigating the impact of climate-related disasters, like floods and wildfires, to make communities more resilient.

Systemic racism is a lived reality for far too many and it is clearer now than ever that we each have an important role in overcoming this ugly and unacceptable reality. Our government is committed to moving forward on a path of reconciliation with Canada's first peoples. We will accelerate work on a national action plan, work to co-develop a legislative framework for first nations policing and move forward on RCMP reforms.

We are taking important steps to fight anti-Black racism and other forms of racism with the release of Canada's anti-racism strategy for 2019-22, and the creation of an anti-racism secretariat. We will continue to support and empower Black Canadians through economic investments, such as Black entrepreneurship program.

Pandemics know no borders and COVID-19 in this regard is no exception. By pushing more people into extreme poverty, driving up food insecurity and threatening refugee populations with increased risk of infection, the coronavirus has exacerbated living conditions of the most vulnerable. Our response to the pandemic is only as strong as our ability to protect them here at home and around the world.

We cannot solve any one of these crises in isolation, but instead local and international efforts must reinforce one another. Many organizations in our community are providing important services. I would like to thank their leadership teams, advocates and volunteers.

Interim Place and Armagh House provide a safe space for women and children fleeing violence. The Compass food bank and ISNA Canada food bank provide access to food and hygiene products for those in need. Indwell launched a new affordable housing project. The local BIAs in Lakeview, Clarkson and Port Credit support our small businesses.

The Mississauga Arts Council assists performing artists with online transition and the Mississauga-Lakeshore Constituency Youth Council and Mississauga Seniors' Council are providing important perspectives on the pandemic response.

For Our Kids, Climate Impact Fund, Peel Community Climate Council and others advocate for a green and just recovery. Many businesses have reinvented themselves in order to meet new needs, like the Como Foundation that provides COVID-19 lip-reading masks for the hard of hearing community.

At the international level, we see equally dedicated leadership. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, is leading and coordinating the international health response to COVID-19. Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, leads efforts to protect refugee populations. Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, continues to speak out on human rights violations as the pandemic poses additional threats to vulnerable populations.

David Beasley, executive director of the World Food Programme, leads the global fight against hunger. Tuula Yrjölä. OIC and Secretary General Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, works to prevent conflicts and build peace.

I thank them, their colleagues and international and local partners for their service.

A few weeks ago, I spoke with Olivia Allen, a remarkable 11-year-old student in our community who has demonstrated brilliantly that young people are not leaders of tomorrow but indeed of today. By asking the difficult questions and the right questions, Olivia is already contributing to work to build a brighter future.

There is only one planet and only one humanity. We must connect local and international efforts and work together to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and promote inclusion. We must each do our part to build a better world. Our shared collective future depends on it.

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

Mr. Speaker, the member chose, in the shot for his video, to prominently have the United Nations flag on display. I did notice, though, that during his speech he did not mention the government's failed Security Council bid in which the Liberal government got fewer votes in the Security Council election than Stephen Harper's government did. It might have something to do with the fact that the government spends less on international development as a proportion of our gross national income than the Stephen Harper government did. The numbers seem to tell a somewhat different story from what the member spoke about with respect to global aspirations.

I would like to hear his thoughts with respect to the UN bid. Clearly, with the flag there, it is something he is thinking about quite a bit even if he did not mention it. I wonder if the member could tell us what he thinks went wrong in the Security Council bid and also how much money the government spent on that Security Council bid.

[Sven Spengemann, Liberal, Mississauga—Lakeshore, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I welcome the member back to the House of Commons. He is on the physical side of the fence and I am on the virtual side today. It is good to see him, and his question is important.

These days are not days of political brinkmanship, political games or even international elections. These are times when we focus on serving vulnerable populations. No other organization, with the staunch support of Canada, is more at the forefront of this international fight for a better tomorrow, for the most vulnerable than the United Nations, along with its implementing partners and regional associations and organizations. I have mentioned some of them.

I am excited about the fact that our government has stepped up to the plate in so many ways with respect to engaging in the UN and investing in it, most recently, investments of $400 million for international development and another $200 million for the COVAX.

This is truly a collective pandemic. It is time to put aside partisanship. It is time to get to the same side of the fence and serve those who are so deeply and profoundly affected by COVID-19.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, one of the notations in the Speech from the Throne was national urban parks. I would like to ask the member a question specifically with regard to his government's current policy.

Windsor has been trying to get a national urban park with Ojibway Shores along the Great Lakes, and members know the significance of that. There are over a hundred different endangered species. It is a hot spot identified as not only important for Ontario, but across Canada and the world. Currently the government's policy, through the Minister of Transport, is to allow the port authority to extort the City of Windsor for millions of dollars in a bizarre land swap process that would benefit a U.S. car dealer with up to $4 million potentially.

There has been a proposal for that land to be transferred from the port authority, because it is Crown land and it has been done before. Should that be done to create the potential for the national urban park and to protect those endangered species, of which over 100 have been identified? If not, why should city residents have to pay the federal government for land they already own? That does not sound like a sound environmental policy.

[Sven Spengemann, Liberal, Mississauga—Lakeshore, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am not familiar with the details of the case the member has brought forward, but he does make a very important point in the sense that our national parks intersect with the current challenges I outlined in my earlier remarks in two ways.

Parks are fundamental to the effort to contribute to conservation, and it is very encouraging that we are committing to protect 30% of our lands and oceans by 2030 to enhance biodiversity and to mitigate climate change. Equally important, as the member mentioned, is the access to parks by our local communities for reasons quite directly related to COVID. Parks provide that opportunity to get outside, to physically distance and to get engaged and involved in questions of conservation, particularly for our young people. Therefore, access to our parks in the COVID pandemic is fundamentally very important.

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my colleague a question.

I heard him reply to our Conservative colleague that this was not the time to talk about partisanship. I would like government members to stop using this circular argument—as one of my distinguished colleagues recently put it—and answer my question directly.

What does the hon. member think of the transfer of money to the provinces and Quebec for health and Internet connections? What can be done to speed it up? This is urgent. I would like his personal opinion.

[Sven Spengemann, Liberal, Mississauga—Lakeshore, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question, which goes to the heart of our collective response to the pandemic.

As we heard earlier in the exchange, the voice of the Bloc Québécois is important. It was heard very clearly this afternoon.

It is important for all levels of government to stay on the same page. Whether it is about agriculture or health, this is not a time for divisions to open up. This is a time for people to move to the same side of the table. It was very encouraging earlier in the House to hear the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs make reference to his conversation last night with the Premier of Quebec, and also the tremendous work that the Deputy Prime Minister is doing with our provinces.

We need to work together and we need to also listen very carefully, which is what we are doing.

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, it is good to be back. I hear some cheers from the other side. They are happy to have us back, and it is good to be back. It is a little unusual here and I think we are all suffering a bit from that.

It is nice to hear the opposition applaud a Liberal member. I do like to hear that. It is good for the ego, and it encourages me to speak more in the House of Commons. I know they are worried that I have not been speaking as much as I did in the previous Parliament.

I was not going to mention this topic, but the hon. member for Windsor West brought it up, so I thought I would speak to it. He mentioned single-event sports betting, which is a topic that I know both he and I share a concern about. He asked the hon. member for Windsor—Tecumseh about it, who unfortunately did not have enough time to answer, but I want to assure him that the hon. member for Windsor—Tecumseh and I have been pushing hard, even though there is not much in the way of sports going on.

I saw an article in the newspaper recently about a casino run by organized crime that was taken down by Toronto area police. It really highlights that the impact of organized crime still exists in the gambling industry.

Single-event sports betting in this country is a multi-billion dollar industry, and very little of it is legal. In my mind, it is time to legalize it. It is time to regulate it, and it is time to take the money out of the hands of organized crime. I know the hon. member for Windsor West is in favour of it, and a Conservative member has brought forward a private member's bill on the subject as well, so I hope we move forward with that. When we can get back together, it will be an important tool for areas such as my riding, Niagara, Windsor and many other ridings that have casinos in them.

It will be an opportunity to create jobs and for Canadians to take advantage of it. Sports betting in this country is not illegal, as we see with ProLine. People can bet on sports, but it is the single events that people cannot bet on. It is time for us to move on that. I would like to again thank the hon. member for Windsor West for bringing that up.

We find ourselves talking about the throne speech in the middle of a global health crisis. I want to focus part of my speech on what we are doing right now to help Canadians. The end goal of this crisis needs to be a vaccine or treatment that really works. We are seeing second waves around the world.

We are even seeing that rapid testing is not the panacea some members are claiming it is. If we look to our allies and friends down south, every member in the White House received a rapid test before they went into work, but now there is an outbreak there. This virus keeps moving on.

The end goal has to be a vaccine. That is how we will get Canadians safe again. That is how we will get the economy back for Canadians and have them stop worrying. We all want to meet with constituents. We all want to shake their hands, go to events, see them, speak to them and be in the same room with them. We do not want to be 10 feet away from each other, as we are in this room. We want to be able to be together again. It is human nature.

I will say in the House of Commons what I have been saying on social media. I encourage my constituents and Canadians across the country to continue to practise social distancing, wash their hands, wear a mask and download the COVID alert app. These are ways that Canadians can help control the virus. There is nothing first responders, doctors or the government can do, if Canadians are not following those guidelines.

What have we done? Billions of pieces of PPE have been procured. Half of them are now being manufactured in Canada, and that is a testament to Canadian companies, which stepped up when the need was there. They stepped up to start manufacturing Canadian-made PPE. As I said, they are producing nearly 50% of it, and this is key.

As we are fighting other foreign governments to get the best price and to get access to much-needed PPE, the best way to do it and the best way to handle it is to manufacture it right here in Canada.

I also have to give credit to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement, as Canada now has contracts for five different vaccine candidates, up to 154 million doses of the vaccine. Some people may say that there are only 37 million or 38 million of us, so why do we need so many vaccines? It may take more than one dose, or one vaccine may be more effective than another. The Government of Canada is there to look out for Canadians. We are not putting all of our eggs into one basket because we need an effective vaccine.

It concerns me when I hear in this place, and I see it on social media, the anti-science rhetoric that can filter up. It is leading to a great concern in me that when a vaccine is approved there is going to be a segment of the population who does not believe in it, who says that they do not need it, that it is poison and that it is toxic. We have seen this with other vaccines. We have seen diseases that we thought we had beaten, such as measles, coming up again and killing children around the world because of faulty, flawed social media reports that get shared and believed.

Therefore, I hope every member in this place stands up and encourages their constituents, as flu season is approaching, to get a flu shot. Members can get a flu shot, post it on their social media pages and encourage it. If we model good public health behaviour, we can have an impact and be leaders in that. As our hospitals are facing the second wave, they are also facing an increased threat of flu.

As we know, and as we have heard, flu kills thousands of Canadians every year. The more of us who get the flu shot, the better we are able to reduce that surge on the hospital system. I hope every member in this place takes advantage of that and highlights that. They can take a picture of it, post it on their Facebook page and show their constituents that they care.

I am not sure why members of the Conservatives are heckling me during a pitch on flu vaccines. I would have hoped that would be the least controversial thing that I talked about today, but apparently not.

Many of these vaccines are either at the end of phase three trials or working their way to phase three trials. I am confident in Health Canada. I am confident in our Health Canada officials, who will work with companies to approve these vaccines.

We are not going to reopen the economy 100% without that trust, without the belief that we can go in and not spread this virus. We can see how rapidly it spreads. For members of the various parties, we can talk to our colleagues who have gotten this terrible disease, some of them worse than others, so we need to do everything that we can.

I hope that we are able to bury the anti-science rhetoric that often comes up. Our scientists and our researchers are some of the best in the world. Our public health officials and our Health Canada officials, who are working on the various projects that come in, are doing their best. They are working late hours. They are trying to ensure that Canadians are safe.

Therefore, I hope that on all sides of the House we can put our trust in science and we can bury the anti-science rhetoric. Again, I want to congratulate the minister of procurement and her team for the work they have done to procure in advance not only potential vaccines but also the syringes and other equipment that is needed for a mass vaccination campaign.

I see my time is nearly at an end. I welcome any questions.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question for the hon. member after his presentation has less to do with communications advice for members of the opposition and more to do with how he believes the government spent a very vital time this year. Parliament was prorogued for nearly six weeks.

We recognize that we are in unprecedented times. We recognize that we are in a health crisis emergency, but Parliament was shut down. The only coherent reason we know of is so the Prime Minister, under investigation for a third time for breaking ethics laws, could hide from his ethical scandals. When the House could have been taking care of so many things and getting ready for providing support for Canadians, instead of now rushing measures through to assist Canadians, why shut down Canada's Parliament?

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, St. Catharines, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after prorogation, instead of starting debate on Monday, we started debate on Wednesday.

With respect to communication, I am glad the hon. member brought that up, and anti-science rhetoric I have heard. I was doing the late show once, and the hon. member had a question for me. He was criticizing the price of pollution on the one hand, but on the other hand was asking for money to help a flooded area of his region. That pollution has consequences, so I hope the hon. member takes the advice that science matters and we should be listening to our scientists. This crisis is not the only issue. The looming crisis of climate change is coming in fast and we should be prepared.

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

Mr. Speaker, I do not know whether I am speaking directly to the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport or to his ego, but I will ask my question anyway.

I fully expected the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport's speech to be about transportation, but it was not. Just like the Speech from the Throne, it was mostly vague and empty rhetoric.

Can we know what is ahead for transportation?

The government says that it is looking into rural transportation issues. I would like to see clear measures.

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, St. Catharines, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the throne speech was clear that rural routes are an issue we are taking very seriously. Canada is a big country. We need to get people and goods from place to place. That is a priority.

We are happy our airlines are taking advantage of the Canada emergency wage subsidy, and there is more work to do. We are going to work with our airlines. We are going to work with our railroads. We are going to work across the board to find solutions. We are still in the early stages of this crisis, and I look forward to any suggestions the member has.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for his work on single-event sports betting. It is important because it will not only get money away from organized crime, but it is also what the provinces want, and it is a way of making sure there is accountability in the system. I am hoping he can provide some insight as to whether the government would make an order in council. As the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport, he knows that his government made an order in council to give a new bridge to a private American billionaire, so I would like to know about that process.

Second, what is his position currently with respect to Ojibway Shores? I mentioned the hunting of endangered species along the Detroit River. The Windsor Port Authority wants to extort millions of dollars from the residents of the city of Windsor to protect this land, which would eventually require a land deal with a private American dealer for autos. Will he go back and look at that file to find a solution? The Speech from the Throne mentioned national urban parks, and this could be the first example of many to improve the environment across our country.

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, St. Catharines, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know if I will have enough time to answer both of those questions.

With respect to single-event sports betting, there is no provision within the Criminal Code that would allow for an order in council to amend the Criminal Code, so it would have to be done through private member's legislation or through government legislation. There is private member's legislation from the hon. member from the Conservative Party, whose riding I forget at the moment. It is the member for Saskatoon West. I want to give credit where credit is due. I remembered his name, but did not want to break the rules and mention it here. That is an opportunity. I hope one of those comes up.

With respect to urban parks, that is something we are excited about. I hope we are able to work with the City of Windsor and the port authority to find a solution.

[The Deputy Speaker, Bruce Stanton]

Before we go to resuming debate, it is my duty pursuant to Standing Order 38 to inform the House that the questions to be raised tonight at the time of adjournment are as follows: the hon. member for Nanaimo—Ladysmith, Taxation; the hon. member for Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, Health.

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am going to say something that may get me thrown out of the Conservative Party caucus. It is a pleasure to follow the member for St. Catharines. I have known him for many years and I would even consider him my friend. That may be the end of my career, so I thank everyone for that. This may be my last speech.

COVID-19 is a global pandemic that has wreaked havoc on humanity. There is no doubt the Liberal government is not responsible for the pandemic, and there is no way in the world of global interdependence that Canada could have kept the coronavirus from coming to our shores. However, the government is absolutely accountable for its response. As the Speech from the Throne is a time when the government puts itself forward to see whether it has the confidence of Canadians and the response to the pandemic is a pressing issue of our time, let us take this opportunity to review its performance.

The most critical issue of the pandemic, of course, is the health and safety of our people. With the pandemic now approaching almost a year in duration, lessons are starting to emerge. We are starting to have clarity on what areas are necessary for the government to protect our people. Some of those areas include alertness, awareness, border control, PPE availability, testing and tracing.

How did the government perform in these key areas? Some of the top performers around the world, including Taiwan and Singapore, took action quickly and decisively. They were almost immediately aware of the danger. Canada's response in contrast was slow and confused. We could have been in a much better position. Only shortly before this global pandemic, the Liberal government decided to scrap the pandemic alert system, and in this very House, our health minister proclaimed to the world that the risk of the pandemic in Canada was low.

While many countries acted quickly and decisively to impose borders controls or even mandatory screening, our response was once again late. We chose to hand out pamphlets, rather than impose common-sense border restrictions like checking someone's temperature.

After the SARS outbreak, our country should have been acutely aware of the necessity of PPE and many countries were aware, including our own. We had a large stockpile. Unfortunately for some unknown reason, the Liberal government decided to dispose of that. The PPE we had left, they unbelievably gave to the communist regime in China.

Being able to identify those who have the virus and isolate them quickly is perhaps the most critical action we can take with respect to the spread of the virus. Any country that wants to defend itself from this terrible plague must test, test and test some more. When the rest of the world was creating, reviewing and approving rapid tests in preparation for the second wave, the Liberal government decided to prorogue Parliament.

Thank goodness for the member for Calgary Nose Hill. Thanks to her emphasis on the importance of large-scale, rapid testing, she has forced the government, who spent months twiddling their thumbs, to approve a mass order of rapid tests.

However, they are still not here. They are still not in the long-term care facilities. They are not in the schools. They are not in our workplaces. This is stopping our economy from going and it is also stopping women from returning to the workforce. As we know, women are disproportionately the caregivers for our children, and if children cannot return to school, they cannot return to work. For a government that claims to be feminist, this is truly offensive.

The other issue is tracing. Tracing is a critical element as well. I will give the government credit. When we look at tracing, we have a great app. Once again, the government is disappointing and leaving people behind. We have an entire province being completely excluded. Why will the government not extend the app to British Columbia? The Liberals' response on the health side of things has been disappointing and unacceptable.

Let us move on to the economic impact and perhaps that is second only to the health of Canadians in the impact of COVID-19. Many Canadians have lost their jobs. Some have lost their homes and some, even more unfortunately, have lost hope.

To contextualize my comments on the government's economic response to the pandemic, I would like to share the following: It has been said that Liberals measure government programs' success by how many people they help. Conservatives, in contrast, measure government success by how many people we don't have to help. There can be no question that Canadians who are locked out of their jobs, businesses and schools because of COVID-19 needed temporary financial assistance, but let's be clear of the source of these funds. This money did not just appear. It did not come from the government. The government does not produce wealth. The government is an expense, a necessary and important expense, but yes, an expense for our society. That money did not, most certainly not, come from the Prime Minister. He did not go into one penny of debt. He was a millionaire before the pandemic and he will be a millionaire after. The debt was taken from Canadians. Indeed, generations of Canadians will be paying back this debt. We are literally borrowing from our children and our grandchildren. The government should take no pride in taking from our children's future. We owe it to all Canadians, those who have not even been born yet, to borrow what is necessary and not a dollar more.

How has the government done with respect to fiscal management? We have the largest debt in our history and the second worst GDP-to-debt ratio in the history of our country. The non-partisan Parliamentary Budget Officer has described our current fiscal outlet as barely sustainable. Our debt-to-GDP is forecast to increase to nearly 50% in coming years. That is a shocking and enormous number. This will be a serious challenge for our country to overcome in the years following.

Let us look at what some of the government agencies have done with their extra billions. As shadow minister of national revenue, I spend my time reviewing the work that the CRA does. The CRA did some great work early on getting the CERB out to Canadians and we all appreciate that, but what else has it done?

We have had the largest security breach, which allowed Canadians' information to be stolen from us. What was its response to that? Was it an apology and an admission to its limitations? No, it rewarded Canadians' patience with the implementation of interest and penalties on Canadians who are having a tough enough time going through COVID-19. Now if they happen not to be able to pay their taxes, we are going to start charging them interest and penalties.

On top of that, despite the fact that they are unable to fill some of their basic duties, the CRA is now asking for a promotion. It wants to do our taxes.

We have had one of the most expensive pandemic relief programs in the world, which has put us into debt for generations. The former Liberal finance minister John Manley has called for the return of that money, for a payment plan, for a fiscal anchor. We have become completely unmoored from our debt. The Martin and Harper governments, for example, had the fiscal anchor of a balanced budget. Former finance minister Bill Morneau used to say that we had a GDP-to-debt ratio target. We are completely unmoored. We are literally cast in a sea of debt without a plan to get out.

As the famous author Lewis Carroll said, if you don't know where you're going, any road will do. In this case, it includes a road to bankruptcy.

What have we received for this record-breaking expenditure? We have one of the lowest recoveries in the OECD. We have one of the worst unemployment rates in the G7. Our GDP continues to grow at 50% less than the United States. That lack of recovery is costing us new businesses in my riding in the town of Orono, our manufacturing in Port Hope and Cobourg, and our tourism in Brighton.

We need a government that will allow Canadians to get back to work. We need a government that will allow the free market to take us through adversity to the stars, not one that takes us through confusion and disappointment into the depths of socialism.

[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 take it the member did not listen to what the Minister of Finance said earlier today during question period. When we compare Canada to the United States, when we look at the number of people who ended up unemployed as a direct result of COVID-19, Canada was far more successful than the United States at getting those people re-employed as the economy started to open up. That clearly demonstrates, for example, that programs such as the wage subsidy and CERB have proven to be very successful at protecting jobs in Canada and providing the much-needed money necessary for disposal income for Canadians from coast to coast to coast.

To me, everyone was able to win. Would he not agree with that assessment?

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I will join the great traditions of Conservatives across this land who have attempted to unwind the demagoguery from the member for Winnipeg North.

I did actually listen to the Deputy Prime Minister when she talked about it. When we define “labour force”, which is a number that she chose, that number includes the unemployed. In fact, in her argument, she was agreeing that Canada has the worst unemployment in the G7, which is a fact. Therefore, I will accept an apology from the member for Winnipeg North.

[Louise Chabot, Bloc, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the member a question.

Some people are wondering whether we acted fast enough to contain the pandemic, but I would rather hear my colleague talk about economic recovery. If I understand his position, the answer is laissez-faire and the free market. Does he think investments in social programs and public services are important contributors to economic recovery?

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, of course, government programs are important and our treasured social safety net is important, so too though are our businesses, our private sector, our workers, our farmers and our front-line workers. These are the people who are going out every day working to produce the income that is needed for the government to have the money it needs to pay down the debt. It is the businesses and workers who pay down the debt. It is the businesses and workers who will reinvigorate agriculture and allow manufacturing jobs to return across our country. Yes, it is a collaboration and the government has an incredibly important role in that.

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

Mr. Speaker, I sat with the member a number of times on the agriculture committee, and I know he has great interest in that subject.

In the throne speech, there was mention by the government that it wanted to recognize the role that farmers have as key partners in the fight against climate change, and one way comes through the clean fuel standard. I am confused by the Conservative Party's position on this, because the Conservatives are against it but most canola farmers who are in support of this actually live in ridings where they are represented by a Conservative MP. I am just hoping that he can clarify that for me.

Is the Conservative Party against the clean fuel standard that is so obviously going to benefit canola farmers who live in Conservative-held ridings?