Debates of Oct. 6th, 2020

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply

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

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member said that hindsight is 20/20. Actually, he did not need hindsight. He could have just listened to what the Conservative opposition was saying precisely at that time, which was calling, for instance, for stronger border measures.

He talked about countries that did that, and mentioned Italy and the U.S. as examples. Italy and the U.S. are not examples of countries that effectively implemented those policies. He should be looking at South Korea. He should be looking at Taiwan. He should be looking at the Czech Republic. He should be looking at what New Zealand and Australia were doing. These countries understood the need to have effective border measures and screening, as well as early masking.

The science was in place. When the government was telling people not to wear masks because it would create a false sense of security for some, the reality was that people were deploying masking already. In the Czech Republic, South Korea and Taiwan it was working, and they still have lower death rates today.

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. I admire his ability to speak so quickly.

I hear him talk a lot about oil and gas, but I do not know why he is so outraged. If he bothered to read between the lines of the throne speech, he would clearly see that the government plans to keep subsidizing oil and gas companies.

I would like to hear him talk about clean energy. We have unique expertise in Matane, in the Lower St. Lawrence region. The wind energy company Marmen is being forced to lay off hundreds of employees due to a lack of projects in that field.

Does he not think it is time for the federal government to finally invest in the transition to clean energy and help keep jobs in the regions?

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

Mr. Speaker, I often speak quickly because I have a lot to say.

With respect to clean energy, I think it is important to recognize the need to include natural gas in that category, along with other types of energy that can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

On the issue of subsidies specifically, we often hear this charge of “subsidy, subsidy”, but we rarely hear a specific definition of what constitutes a subsidy. For instance, I am very supportive of things like accelerated capital cost allowance for manufacturing across the board: not just energy manufacturing, but other forms of manufacturing. Accelerated capital cost allowance is an incentive that encourages companies to make investments by allowing them to defer the taxes they pay, but I know that some of those on the anti-energy left are looking to count as a subsidy any kind of incentive program that encourages those kinds of investments.

Accelerated capital cost allowance is important in my riding for encouraging the development of new, cleaner technologies, including the development of polypropylene, for instance, and other alternatives to make transportation and energy development more effective. These are good incentives that are useful, not only in my region but in other parts of the country as well, and can stimulate manufacturing activity in every part of the country.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we are seeing global oil prices plummet right now. Possibly, and likely, so will peak oil. The oil sands, we know, is the highest-cost oil production in the world. We have seen BlackRock, HSBC, the Norway sovereign wealth fund and Shell all pulling their money out, as we are seeing a global climate emergency and a shift to clean energy.

Right now we have a lot of energy workers in Alberta who are looking for a “just transition” approach and need just transition, including Iron and Earth, a group that is fighting for climate solutions, clean energy and support of indigenous communities and indigenous self-determination.

Does the member not feel that it is a disservice to those energy workers to not be advocating, and calling on the government, to invest a record amount of money in clean energy? I know that in Alberta, as I have been there and seen the start of progress, there is an opportunity to do that right now in response to COVID and these low oil prices.

Does he not agree that it is a disservice for the Conservatives not to be fighting for those energy workers? Does he consider the workers who belong to Iron and Earth as the radical left?

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

Mr. Speaker, clearly, we are hearing the rhetoric of “just transition” from the member across the way.

It is what I expect to hear from the NDP. Unfortunately, it is NDP thinking that we are seeing more and more of from the government, in the throne speech and elsewhere, which I am particularly concerned about.

To answer the member's question directly, I think the way we move forward, in terms of achieving our environmental objectives, is by helping to incentivize and support improvements in the development of our energy resources while recognizing the reality that energy will continue to be used. There are all kinds of incredible innovations happening in my riding and other ridings in terms of the energy sector.

The hon. member represents a riding in British Columbia. I suspect he flew here. I suspect he used election signs that were made from plastic. Certainly the NDP in my riding used plastic-based election signs. We have to use petroleum products. They are part of life. They are going to be part of our life for the foreseeable future.

The choice is simply do we produce here in Canada, getting those jobs here in Canada and finding ways to do it more cleanly, or do we push the jobs and economic opportunity out of our country to other places? That is the choice. The government, unfortunately, is undercutting our energy sector right now, and we need to—

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Resuming debate, the hon. member for Pickering—Uxbridge.

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Pickering—Uxbridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Etobicoke Centre.

Today I rise to speak on the Speech from the Throne. I first want to acknowledge all of those who have lost their lives to COVID-19 and all of the families, parents, friends and communities that lost loved ones. For those who have recovered, like my good friend from Brampton West, I am so glad for them, but unfortunately so many families lost people to this virus.

It is precisely that loss and the seriousness of this virus that made the Speech from the Throne so important. We needed a reset. This is a crisis that generations have never seen before. Legislators need to be at the forefront, sorting out measures to ensure that Canadians are safe and healthy, and to ensure that post-COVID we will rebound to have a greater economy than we saw pre-COVID, with nearly a million new jobs created. That is precisely where we want to get back to. However, the health and safety of Canadians is paramount, and that is why the Speech from the Throne was so important in addressing a lot of these concerns.

In particular, the long-term care community in my home riding of Pickering—Uxbridge was hit hard. I think that, in Orchard Villa alone, there were 78 deaths. Nearly a third of the population in that long-term care home passed away. It was an extreme tragedy. In Uxbridge, Reachview Village lost 14 members of the community. These are our most vulnerable seniors, and my heart goes out to the families and staff members at the homes who are working hard every day to keep the community safe.

COVID-19 has demonstrated that there are gaps in long-term care homes, and I am extremely grateful to the Canadian Armed Forces members who went into Orchard Villa in my riding to provide help and support. Frankly, the report that they released was welcome news to many of the families. It was, in fact, just one week prior to that report being released that I was on a Zoom or Facebook call with family members who were describing the scenes in the long-term care home and what the residents were going through, but nobody was listening.

The families were frustrated because they could not go in to support their family members, and nobody was paying attention. Everybody was saying there were problems with PPE and with separating those who were infected from those who were not, that staff were going into wings that were COVID-free and then going into wings where people had COVID, and there was no reaction. When the Canadian Armed Forces released that report, those families were able to be heard. All of their concerns were now at the forefront, and we talked about them.

When the Speech from the Throne was delivered, my colleagues and I who worked on this file, and family members of residents in particular, were thrilled to see the acknowledgement of the need for national standards for long-term care homes. These are desperately needed. They were probably needed pre-COVID, but COVID really highlighted some of the gaps that needed to be addressed. National standards are a way to ensure that a tragedy like this never happens again and that, no matter where one lives in this country, our most vulnerable seniors are going to have a standard of care.

The other thing in the Speech from the Throne, with regard to long-term care homes, was the acknowledgement and direction to change the Criminal Code to penalize any individual who neglects our seniors. We read some horrific stories in the Canadian Armed Forces report. In particular, in the home in my riding, we heard that PPE was under lock and key and critical tools were locked away in the basement. These might have prevented deaths had they been accessible to staff and those working hard for the community.

Therefore, that additional Criminal Code change would be incredibly important, moving forward, to hold those accountable who are essentially responsible for some of our most vulnerable Canadians. I think it was the Prime Minister who said that we as a country, we as a society, must really think about the fact that we had to send in soldiers to care for our seniors. That is something that I certainly have reflected on a lot. I hope everybody in this House and around the country thinks about it as we move forward with national standards.

The next area in the Speech from the Throne that I think was important and has resonated with many, certainly for me and my community, were the impacts on women during this crisis. It was predominantly women who took time off work to care for loved ones when they were sick. It was women who often took time off, when schools closed, to care for young children. It was interesting to see a lot of my friends who were trying to work from home with kids in the background. It certainly has proven the need for child care. Reliable child care across this country is incredibly important.

I come from the GTA outside of Toronto and child care is incredibly expensive if people can even find it. This acknowledgement of a national child care program is something that we absolutely needed pre-COVID, but COVID once again has highlighted the need for child care and the need to ensure that women are not adversely affected by the changes in the economy, because it is often women who are the caregivers. We still have so much work to be done in terms of equal pay and ensuring that women are integrated into the economy fairly, so any sort of setback is now just hindering our progress in terms of ensuring that women receive equal pay for equal work.

To address this issue, the other thing that was important was the action plan for women in the economy. We need to fully understand what the impacts would be, short term as well as long term, for ensuring that women get back into the economy as they were pre-COVID, and women should be into the economy even more. The statistic we had previously was that if women's participation in the workforce were at the same level as men's, it would mean an equivalent to something like 3% in GDP growth. That is the type of economic building we want in this country.

There was a lot in the Speech from the Throne, but another area that is particularly important is support for students. Students were adversely affected because the summer is often when they work to pay for their rent or their college or university. Students are among the people who did not have jobs and they still have to go back to school and still have student debt. Therefore, the supports that we will provide to students to ensure that they do not graduate with enormous debt and they do have jobs on the other side are going to be good, not only for students but also for the economy.

Another piece is our universal broadband fund. My riding is semi-rural, but urban. It is right next door to Toronto, and yet we do not have adequate broadband. This is something that, again, pre-COVID was an issue but during COVID when kids were home learning from school virtually or people were working from home, connectivity was a major issue and something that I am glad we are accelerating our commitments on.

I want to acknowledge that the wage subsidy as well as CERB really helped support my community. Businesses would have closed without those supports. I know that we are going to be there to continue to help Canadians as we move forward.

In addition, the best way to help the economy is by dealing with this health crisis. On the other side, I know Canadians know that Liberals on this side of the House are going to be there to support them. We are going to be there to make sure they are healthy and safe. We are going to be there to build our economy back to pre-COVID and better, because we believe that investing in Canadians is the best way to grow the economy.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I agree that the deaths of seniors in our homes is a national tragedy. However, the Liberals' solution to this is that we are going to create some national standards that are going to take probably years and this area is in provincial jurisdiction.

Is the member aware that the Canadian Medical Association has done a report that looks at research on the differences between Ontario and B.C., what they did right and what they did wrong? It is about protective equipment. It is about infection control. It is about training. There was nothing in the Speech from the Throne that offers federal assistance to the provinces in a short-term way, even if it is just money, to do the things that are going to matter for the second wave. Great, we can talk about national standards or not, but they are not doing the things that are practical. The government is not doing the things that are going to make a difference as we head into the second wave.

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Pickering—Uxbridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I find it hard to believe that $16 billion to provinces and territories to deal with COVID is considered by the Conservatives as not practical.

In fact, we were there. We stepped up for communities, for people, provinces and municipalities when the Conservatives talked about not doing anything. They said to get out of the way and let businesses handle it.

I can tell the member that without these supports, businesses would have closed, they would not have been there to support their workers, and those workers would not have had the funds to put food on the table. Creating national standards is to ensure that, moving forward, every Canadian across this country can receive the level of care they deserve.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech.

I found it deplorable to hear her cast blame on already maligned systems that are making do with what they have.

There was some misinformation about the actions taken. It is not true that Quebec waited for the military's report before taking action. Quebec set up training and called on workers before the infamous report was released.

That said, China experienced its first wave back in October. We all saw the measures they took in November and December. Questions were being asked in the House at the end of January about what could be implemented at that time. We cannot turn back the clock, but we can avoid repeating past mistakes.

If this situation were to happen again, when and how should the government take preventive action?

I would like to remind members that Quebec's and the provinces' health budgets are still $23 billion to $51 billion short every year, and not temporarily.

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Pickering—Uxbridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there was indeed no blame cast on provinces and territories. However, COVID proved that there are systemic issues in long-term care. If the Quebec government acted early, I think that is fantastic, and every province and territory needs to have taken this very seriously.

However, if we have national standards for building codes, would we not produce national standards for our most vulnerable seniors? If provinces and territories want to go further and beyond that, I hope they do, but we need to ensure that there is a level of care for the most vulnerable seniors across this country.

[Richard Cannings, NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I will pick up where the last two questions left, and that is with national standards for long-term care.

I totally agree that we need better national standards, but the trouble with national standards is that we already have provincial standards that are not being met in any province, and the reason for that is inadequate funding.

The NDP proposes to bring long-term care under the Canada Health Act so that we can provide that funding year to year so that we can pay care aides enough so that they will actually take the jobs, stay in them and give the care that will meet those national standards.

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Pickering—Uxbridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I tend to agree with my colleague, but in terms of creating national standards, we need to do this work, we need to hear from experts in establishing them how best to fund them, and we need accountability.

If we are going to provide additional funding for long-term care homes, which is a provincial jurisdiction, then I want to be assured that what happened in my community where one-third of the population in one home passed away that those funds are being utilized and PPE is no longer under lock and key.

[Yvan Baker, Liberal, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise in response to the throne speech.

I would like to start by offering my condolences to the residents of my community who have lost loved ones and friends and, frankly, to the people across Canada who have lost loved ones and friends to COVID-19.

We are rightly focused on the path ahead, and how we are going to support Canadians. However, it is always important to remember the toll this pandemic has taken. By keeping that in mind, it will motivate us all the more to make sure we are doing the right things going forward.

I also want to thank a few other groups of folks, before I talk about the throne speech. In my community, and I know in communities across Canada, heroes have emerged. One of those groups of heroes is our health care workers, those doctors, nurses, technicians, personal support workers and others who have stepped up, worked on the front lines and who have taken those risks, especially in the early going, to serve Canadians. I want to thank them for their service.

I also want to thank a lot of our front-line essential workers. Member will remember that early on, in March, April and May, when much of the economy had to shut down, or at least people had to work from home, some folks still had to go to work. They went out there and they kept our economy going, supporting our quality of life. I want to thank them for that, especially those in my community, in Etobicoke Centre.

Last, I want to thank those in my community who stepped up to help others. A tremendous number of people in my community and in communities across this country are struggling. People in my community have stepped up, whether it is by volunteering at or donating to a food bank or delivering food to seniors or driving people to medical appointments or whatever the case may be. They have been there to help others, and I want to thank them for that. I have been really impressed with how our community and our country has come together.

Early in the pandemic, I imagine I faced what a lot of MPs faced, which was a tremendous number of phone calls and emails from constituents asking for help, asking for help to access health resources, asking for help because they wanted to weigh in on what government was doing, or asking for help because they were struggling, they had lost their jobs or their incomes had been cut or had declined significantly.

I got a particular phone call, one that was very memorable to me, from a constituent asking for help. Before she got into what her ask was, she asked me how I was doing. I shared with her the fact that we were receiving a tremendous number of calls and emails, and that people needed a lot of help. I said to her that I had run for office to help people, and then she cut me off. She said that I was certainly getting my opportunity.

I share that story because to me it underlines an important point for us that I think we should all remember today, that we are at a critical moment in time and that we all have an opportunity, especially those of us in elected office in positions of decision-making or responsibility, right now. We are at a critical time where Canadians need us and we have an opportunity to support them, and to make our country stronger in the years to come.

I hope that we seize this opportunity. It is on that note that I turn to the throne speech, because when I think about what we need to do, I think about supporting Canadians, I think about making sure that we protect them from this virus, and I think about building back better. The throne speech focuses on those things.

What I would like to do is just highlight a few of the items in the throne speech that I think are particularly important. First off, on protecting Canadians, there are a number of measures that have been taken, starting with controlling the epidemic by encouraging social distancing, travel restrictions, border closures, and tracing and quarantining of people who have tested positive. We have also increased health system capacity, made tremendous investments for the provinces so that they can boost their health system capacity and cope with the COVID-19 cases. We have been very active in investing significantly in treatments, specifically in vaccines.

We have done a tremendous number of things to make sure that we have contracted for vaccines, that the manufacturing capacity is in place, that we have contracts with the various folks who are researching these vaccines, so that when a vaccine is ready, Canadians will be able to access it.

There is also the $19-billion safe restart agreement. It is interesting to hear the members of the opposition ask what the government has done to support provinces and their health care budgets in this difficult time. The $19 billion seems awfully significant to me, and a lot of that money went to health care. It went for testing and contact tracing. There was $2 billion for the safe return to class fund to make sure that when provinces opened their schools, they had our support in making sure those schools were opened safely, and that children and families were protected.

These are some of the things that have been done to protect Canadians from the virus from a health perspective.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

We will now go to Statements by Members.

Food Security

[Julie Dzerowicz, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, every day, one in eight Canadians struggles to put affordable, nutritious food on the table. During COVID-19, that number increased to one in seven.

To address this issue, our federal Liberal government took urgent action during the pandemic by introducing a $100-million emergency fund, $50 million for the surplus purchase fund and $25 million to nutrition north Canada.

Community Food Centres Canada, located in my riding of Davenport, is dedicated to addressing food insecurity and its root causes and is doing vital work across the country. According to a new report it published, 81% of food insecure people say it takes a toll on their physical health, 79% say it impacts their mental health and 53% say it is a barrier to finding meaning in life.

Community Food Centres let me know how excited it was to hear a commitment in the throne speech to specifically address food insecurity in Canada. It is time to build a stronger, more equitable Canada. I look forward to working with all my colleagues in the House to implement our government's commitments in the Speech from the Throne and to make sure all Canadians can have access to affordable, nutritious food.

Jock Osler

[Len Webber, Conservative, Calgary Confederation, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this summer we said goodbye to a giant in the Calgary community: Jock Osler. Most first knew Jock as a reporter for the Calgary Herald and later as senior editor for the Financial Times, but he was also a public relations legend in the Alberta oil patch. He served as press secretary to former prime minister Joe Clark, and later, Brian Mulroney appointed him to our Canadian embassy in Washington, D.C.

While he lived in Ottawa, Winnipeg, Montreal and Washington, Jock proudly called Calgary home. He was a tireless volunteer, a dedicated supporter of the arts community, the voice of the Calgary Stampede grandstand show and a lifelong Calgary Stampeders football fan.

He and I corresponded numerous times on organ donation. He was so grateful for that life-saving kidney transplant in 2005, which extended his time with us for another 15 years. Jock loved his family more than anything and will be deeply missed by his wife Diana, his children and his many grandchildren.

Two Businesses in Lac-Saint-Jean

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on September 28, two businesses in my riding unexpectedly won four awards at the virtual Gala des Mercuriades. The Coopérative forestière de Petit Paris in Saint-Ludger-de-Milot was honoured in the workplace health and safety SME category, while Serres Toundra in Saint-Félicien scored a hat trick with three wins, including SME of the year.

I want to congratulate these two flagship companies of the Lac-Saint-Jean economy, both of which showcase local talent and expertise. I am very proud to share their success with you, Mr. Speaker, because these two companies are examples of resilience in the face of adversity, as well as proof that it is possible to develop our resources in a way that is both responsible and profitable, without the benefit of international capital, and that Quebec can successfully work toward food self-sufficiency.

Congratulations to the Coopérative forestière de Petit Paris.

Congratulations to Serres Toundra.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Before we continue, I would like to remind everyone, especially the men, that in order to be recognized in the House, whether in person or virtually, male members must wear a jacket and tie.

I see this member is wearing a tie but no jacket. Since the hon. member was sharing good news, I did not interrupt him.

The hon. member for Laval—Les Îles.

Canada Post

[Fayçal El-Khoury, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank all of Canada Post's employees from the bottom of my heart. From the beginning of the pandemic, they have demonstrated an exemplary determination to serve all Canadians across the country. They risked their lives and those of their families, and they continue to do so by moving around the country to ensure that we can all receive our parcels at home safely.

I would also like to thank Canada Post for taking the necessary measures to respect Health Canada guidelines and ensure the health and safety of their employees, which is an extremely important element in fighting the pandemic and allows them to perform their tasks in a very secure environment.

I commend them for their excellent work, their dedication, their co-operation and the assistance they have provided to all Canadians during these challenging times.

Black Entrepreneurship

[Ramesh Sangha, Liberal, Brampton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the fourth foundation of the Speech from the Throne creates a more inclusive Canada for indigenous, racialized and Black communities. It is a great pragmatic step and in need at this hour.

My riding of Brampton Centre represents a significant proportion of Black business owners who have faced tremendous economic barriers to business success. During one of my interviews with Mr. Robert of FEVA Nigerian TV, I found a wave of optimism and elation for the first-ever Black entrepreneurship program, in which the government, along with other partners, invested $221 million. This fantastic program will economically empower the Black community to bring lasting transformative changes, not only in my riding but across Canada.

Retirement Congratulations

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honour Pastor Ray Matheson, who is retiring after a lifetime of service to Jesus Christ.

Wherever there was a need or a want, Pastor Ray could be expected to act and make miracles happen. Ray would find beds for new Canadians, arrange food for the sick and the grieving and offer a spare bed in his own home for those who remained homeless. He also had a sixth sense for knowing people. People could expect a call at any hour of the day asking them to help a stranger out or what they were in need of. My own story is that on the night that my youngest daughter passed away two years ago, somehow Pastor Ray knew at midnight that something had happened. He gave me a call and asked whether I needed anything. Then, at 1 a.m. in the morning, he showed up at the hospital and stayed with us for hours until we were better.

Ray is like the Yellow Pages, Uber Eats and a chief warrant officer all rolled into one. I wish Ray and his wife Dee a very happy retirement. While his salary may be retired, we know that Ray remains the guardian angel of Calgary.

Urban Planning

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Whitby, ON]

Mr. Speaker, over the last few months, I have heard from the residents of Whitby about how they want to see bold action on addressing climate change as we move toward economic recovery. I want to take this opportunity to highlight and congratulate Whitby town staff for their Herculean efforts over many months to develop the Whitby green standard.

Whitby town council just last week voted unanimously to pass this standard, becoming the first town outside of the city of Toronto to implement such a standard, a standard that raises the bar on all new development in Whitby. We know that, nationwide, buildings account for 21% of our emissions, and in the GTHA, buildings make up over double that amount.

As our cities and towns continue to expand and grow, we need to ensure our buildings are built to 21st-century standards. There is so much we can do when we hold ourselves to the highest standards and work together. Whitby town council has shown leadership, and my hope is that communities across Canada will follow suit by putting sustainability at the centre of urban planning and development.

COVID-19 Community Response

[Pat Finnigan, Liberal, Miramichi—Grand Lake, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the people of Miramichi—Grand Lake for their strength and support during the COVID-19 pandemic. Public health asked those who could stay at home to do so to minimize the spread of the virus, and I would like to thank everyone who did. I also want to thank the front-line workers who have kept us going through this pandemic.

I would like to thank grocery store employees, doctors and nurses, food processors, delivery people, first responders and all the other Canadians who have worked hard to help us get through this difficult period.

New Brunswick has come together and diligently followed guidelines in order to make our province one of the safest places to be in North America.

Lake Simcoe Cleanup Fund

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, York—Simcoe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is unbelievable. It has been 362 days, almost an entire year, since the Deputy Prime Minister announced the reinstatement of the Lake Simcoe cleanup fund here on the shores of Lake Simcoe, and we are still waiting. After years of Conservative investment, the Liberals cancelled the cleanup fund in 2017, putting Lake Simcoe at risk. Sadly, the Liberals' pledge to bring back the cleanup fund seems to be just another broken promise from a government that cannot deliver.

The cleanup is needed now, but it does not stop there. More needs to be done on the environment. Canadians are also looking for meaningful action on plastic waste. For too long our country has been sending away its garbage for other countries to deal with. All too often it ends up being disposed of improperly and eventually winds up back in our water, including lakes such as this.

It is time for action on Lake Simcoe and for all MPs to support my private member's bill, Bill C-204, to ban the export of plastic waste.