Debates of Oct. 5th, 2020

Housing

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, my thanks to my hon. colleague for Halifax West for his strong advocacy on behalf of his constituents, and on housing issues in general.

We know that people in Nova Scotia and across the country have been worried about making ends meet during these challenging times. That is why I am so pleased that last week we were able to launch the Canada-Nova Scotia targeted housing benefit. It will provide up to 6,100 households in the province with an average of over $200 a month to help cover the cost of housing. This is real help going directly into the pockets of Nova Scotians and this is another example of the national housing strategy at work.

Employment

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Germany, the United Kingdom and Japan are also dealing with COVID-19, but their unemployment rates are half that of Canada. Our unemployment rate is not only twice as high as those of these three countries, but we also have the highest unemployment rate in the G7. The unemployment rate is 3% higher in Canada than in other OECD countries. Canada has the worst employment record in the G7 and that is a result of this government's policies.

Will the government do away with its anti-employment policies so that Canadians can get back to work?

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

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the Conservatives do not want to admit it, but our economic policy works for workers.

Members do not need to take my word for it. We are told that Canada is ahead of the United States in the race to recover the jobs that were lost because of the pandemic. In August, Canada had recovered approximately two-thirds of the lost jobs, compared to 55% in the United States.

I believe the United States is a G7 country.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Right, Mr. Speaker, but we went into the crisis with a much higher unemployment rate than the United States of America because of the anti-job policies of the current government. Right now, today, this country has higher unemployment than the U.S., the U.K., Japan, Germany, Italy, France. It is three percentage points higher than across the OECD. That is the result of a failed jobs policy here in Canada. When will the government get out of the way so that Canada gets out of last place?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would just like to remind the member for Carleton that going into this crisis, Canada had the lowest unemployment rate we have had in 40 years, and I believe that there were a few Conservative governments during that period. They did not hit our record.

When it comes to international comparison, the better metric is labour force participation. Canada is at 78.5%, Australia is only at 77.5%, the U.S. is at 73% and South Korea is at 62.1%. We are higher than all of those countries.

Public Safety

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

Mr. Speaker, over the weekend, a gangland shooting occurred where the targets were connected to an international money-laundering syndicate. These individuals are linked to the Chinese Communist Party's efforts to interfere in Canadian politics and disrupt this country's institutions. These same people have rubbed shoulders with well-known Liberals, including former MP Joe Peschisolido, former minister Raymond Chan and former Liberal Party insider Michael Ching. When will these Liberals temper their affection for the Chinese Communist Party and protect Canada's democracy?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear that our government is actually quite firm in dealing with individuals who are attempting to hide their money in Canada, and on organized crime.

I would simply remind the member opposite that in the Conservatives' last four years in office they slashed the budget of law enforcement by over half a billion dollars. They closed 12 integrated proceeds-of-crime units. Tough talk about crime and organized crime and protecting Canadians was backed up by very weak action.

We are reversing the cuts and the slashes that the Conservatives made and we are restoring the capacity of our law enforcement agencies to keep us safe.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that cozying up with the Chinese Communist Party comes with serious consequences. Joe Peschisolido, whose ethical violation these Liberals tried to cover up in this House last week, is one of the Liberals connected with the incident. Many of the individuals pictured with these senior Liberals have ties to the United Front, an organization that Beijing has been using to suppress pro-democracy rallies in Hong Kong. The Liberals have had these ties for years. When will the Prime Minister finally condemn those who are actively trying to undermine democracy here and in Hong Kong?

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

Mr. Speaker, we will take no lessons from the Conservatives when it comes to dealing with China. We were the first country in the world to suspend our extradition treaty with Hong Kong. We suspended the export of sensitive equipment to Hong Kong. We are going to announce measures on immigration with respect to Hong Kong. Every step of the way we have fought for human rights. We are standing up for the people of Hong Kong and the 300,000 Canadians who live in Hong Kong.

[The Speaker, Anthony Rota]

Order. I want to remind the hon. members that usually when the Speaker stands it means everybody stay quiet.

I want to remind hon. members that I heard some words. I kind of know where they came from, but be careful on the parliamentary language you are using. Calling someone else a name is not something that we encourage in the House. Actually, we discourage it.

The hon. member for Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères.

Air Transportation

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Quebec had to close restaurants and bars. The next day, it announced help for restaurants and bars. The Government of Quebec had to close theatres. The next day, it announced help for theatres. The Government of Canada had to close airports. Six months later, there is still nothing to help them. While the Minister of Transport tells us he is thinking about it, other countries are supporting their airline industries.

What is the minister doing? When is he going to do something?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

I want to assure him that we are working very hard to find help for our country's airline industry. We know that it has been profoundly affected by this pandemic. I can assure him that the government's priority is to find solutions to ensure that the airline industry will be healthy when the pandemic is over.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the industry has been waiting for quite some time already. It was obvious that, with the borders closed, things were going to be tough for the airline industry, which has lost 90% of its business. Despite this tragedy, there is still no support from Ottawa. The United States has earmarked $20 billion for its airports alone. The only thing the Canadian government has done is stop collecting rent from the airports in Montreal and Quebec City. It has done absolutely nothing for the regions. Air transportation is crucial to our economy, and 70,000 jobs depend on this industry. That means 70,000 families are in limbo.

When is the minister going to do something?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, as we have said, this is a priority for us, and it was actually mentioned in the throne speech. We have been clear in our commitment to support the regions, because the regions need to be served just like the other parts of our country. We recognize how important it is to do this. It is part of the solution, and we are working on a global solution. We will make the announcements as soon as we have something to say.

Health

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Mental Illness Awareness Week is designed to open the eyes of all Canadians to the reality of mental illness. It is incumbent on all of us as leaders of our great country to commit to doing better, being better when it comes to understanding the very real impact of mental illness and injury.

Last week, the Minister of Employment made a snide comment about having PTSD as it related to the Phoenix pay system. It is comments like this that further stigmatize and minimize the impacts of mental illness and injury on those suffering in the shadows. Will the minister apologize to the thousands of Canadians fighting mental illness and injury for this ridiculous comment?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I can say that, on this side of the House, all members understand that far too many Canadians are living under the shadows of mental illness. Certainly my heart goes out to them and their families. That is why at the beginning of the pandemic we added an additional $500 million in direct transfers to provinces and territories to boost up capacity to deal with mental illness. We also launched the wellnesstogether.ca portal at the very beginning stages of the pandemic. I encourage all Canadians to check out this free resource where they can gain access to professionals who can help them in this time of need.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Speaker, therefore, the Minister of Employment will not apologize. Too many Canadians are struggling with mental illness in silence. Extended periods of isolation and quarantine have led to increased anxiety, stress, substance abuse, domestic violence and suicide. COVID-19 has pushed those already suffering further into the shadows. Mental health is a cornerstone of public health and it is critical to our nation's recovery. There is no health without mental health.

Canadians need a plan to address this mental health crisis, before we go forward, to go forward. Where is the plan?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, all along the way, before the pandemic and including after the pandemic, we have been there for provinces and territories to increase their capacity to support Canadians who are living with mental illness and to improve the mental wellness of all Canadians. I encourage the member opposite to take a look at the wellnesstogether.ca portal, which adds federal support to the work that provinces and territories are conducting. It is very important that we all have these open and honest conversations about mental illness and wellness in our own personal lives and in our communities. We must break the stigma. We must help people to seek help.

Natural Resources

[Gerald Soroka, Conservative, Yellowhead, AB]

Mr. Speaker, last December, the environment minister declined to order an impact assessment of the Bighorn mine outside of Hinton, saying that it would be dealt with by provincial approval. However, on July 30, ministerial discretion was used to designate the Vista mine expansion to be under federal review.

When will the government finally admit that it does not want any form of natural extraction in Canada?

[Peter Schiefke, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague could not be further from the truth. The reality is that we have and continue to support our energy sector workers. Just during this pandemic, we invested over $1.7 billion to help clean up abandoned oil wells. We have invested $750 million to support the efforts in the oil sector to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. We have put in place measures to support the workers, and we will continue to do that.

We are going to continue to support all Canadians, regardless of what sector they are in. We are going to be there for Canadians.

Infrastructure

[Maninder Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton East, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the residents of Brampton East were thrilled to hear about the recent $45 million transit investment made by our federal government, which is one of the largest investments in Brampton transit in over 10 years. This funding will allow for increased reliability for riders at capacity, while providing cleaner transit options for the wonderful residents of Brampton.

Could the Minister of Infrastructure or parliamentary secretary please provide insight into our government's plan for clean transit solutions across the country?

[Andy Fillmore, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Brampton East for all his hard work on behalf of his constituents.

We are committed to investing in communities as we build back better from the effects of COVID-19 pandemic. Our investing in Canada plan means new electric buses, new subways, new bike lanes and new multi-use paths.

We will continue to invest in public transit and active transportation to help Canadians get to work and back home to their families safely and quickly, while creating good jobs, economic growth and promoting environmentally-friendly transportation.

Health

[Nelly Shin, Conservative, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Tri-City COVID-19 testing clinic was run by 10 doctors who gave up their spare time. It was the only clinic in my community and, sadly, its doors closed on October 2. The doctors were burning out.

Other countries have had rapid testing for months, but the Liberal government has delayed procuring rapid testing devices. The recently approved Abbott ID NOW may not arrive in sufficient amounts for months.

Will the Prime Minister admit that his failure at rapid tests has caused the clinic in my community to close?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite's story illustrates why we owe health care workers such a debt of gratitude during this incredibly demanding time. In fact, all across the country, health care workers are tired, they are exhausted, including public health care workers who are doing the hard work of contact tracing and helping people to isolate.

We have accelerated access to rapid testing. In fact, the Abbott test is the third rapid test we have approved. We have had almost 70 gene experts around the country in rural and remote communities for a long time. We are going to continue to work with all kinds of different test manufacturers to make sure we have the blend of tools we need.

Foreign Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, just a minute ago the foreign affairs minister said that nobody was going to be tougher on China than the Liberals were, but that is not what he told Chinese state media. He said, “and I would say China, stands out as a beacon of stability, predictability, a rule-based system, a very inclusive society.” That was the foreign affairs minister. He is saying one thing one thing to Canadians and another thing to Chinese state-owned media.

My question for the foreign affairs minister is this. When are he and the Liberal government going to temper their affection for the Chinese Communist Party and start putting the interests of this country, of Canadians, first?