House of Commons Hansard #29 of the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was assault.

Topics

Official LanguagesOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

I would remind members to make sure they have switched the button to the language they are speaking in.

We were gone for a week and seem to have forgotten everything. Maybe by the time we are done today, we will have it all back in order.

Official LanguagesOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Conservative

Gérard Deltell Conservative Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC

Mr. Speaker, the minister said earlier that we need to modernize the Official Languages Act, but the Liberals have been in office for five years, they have been saying that for five years and they have done nothing for five years. Why? Perhaps the member for Saint-Laurent was actually speaking on behalf of her colleagues when she made derogatory and disrespectful comments regarding the fragility of French in Montreal.

When will the government take action instead of lecturing everyone?

Official LanguagesOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Ahuntsic-Cartierville Québec

Liberal

Mélanie Joly LiberalMinister of Economic Development and Official Languages

Mr. Speaker, of course we recognize that French is declining in Montreal, Quebec and Canada. Studies show that such is the case. Those are the facts, and that is why we are going to take action.

At the same time, we said in the throne speech that we needed to do more and that we were going to modernize the Official Languages Act. No one in the House will take lessons from my colleague because he and his party voted against the throne speech and, consequently, they voted against the modernization of the Official Languages Act.

I hope that he will change his views on this issue, and I will be happy to work with him.

JusticeOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Bloc

Claude DeBellefeuille Bloc Salaberry—Suroît, QC

Mr. Speaker, if you want a judicial appointment, become a Liberal. Everyone will work with you. Ministers, MPs and even their staff will help you become a judge.

Last week, the Canadian Bar Association condemned the judicial appointment process, saying, “It is time to make the system less open to manipulation.” That means something coming from the Canadian Bar Association.

Will the Liberals put an end to Liberal patronage?

JusticeOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

LaSalle—Émard—Verdun Québec

Liberal

David Lametti LiberalMinister of Justice

Mr. Speaker, we are very proud of the judicial appointment process we put in place in 2016. The process is merit-based and involves advisory committees. As a result, 400 outstanding judges whose diversity reflects Canada's make-up have been appointed.

I am very proud of our appointments, and we will keep going.

JusticeOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Bloc

Claude DeBellefeuille Bloc Salaberry—Suroît, QC

Mr. Speaker, that is the problem. The minister says his appointment process is great, but the lawyers to whom it applies are speaking out against it.

The Canadian Bar Association also said that “the government risks eroding the confidence of the public in the independence and fairness of the justice system”. Get rid of the process. Nobody believes in it.

When will the Liberals stop giving Liberals an edge when it comes to judicial appointments?

JusticeOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

LaSalle—Émard—Verdun Québec

Liberal

David Lametti LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Mr. Speaker, as I just said, our appointments are based on merit and diversity, and the advisory committees rely on a rigorous process that aims for quality and diversity.

Of the judges appointed since 2016 with this new process, 10% are visible minorities, 5% identify as members of the LGBTQ2 community, 3% are indigenous and 50% are women.

HealthOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

NDP

Jagmeet Singh NDP Burnaby South, BC

Mr. Speaker, during the first wave of COVID-19, conditions in long-term care centres were horrible.

Lives were lost. The Canadian Armed Forces had to be sent in. Now, cases are increasing and we have the same conditions. Public health experts are demanding that the government establish national standards for long-term care.

Why is the Prime Minister dragging his feet instead of protecting our seniors?

HealthOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Thunder Bay—Superior North Ontario

Liberal

Patty Hajdu LiberalMinister of Health

Mr. Speaker, I share the member opposite's concern about the growing number of cases across the country. We are working with all levels of government to make sure that we support people who are vulnerable to COVID-19.

I will just say this. In the safe restart, we contributed $740 million to provinces and territories to strengthen their protections for long-term care homes, and we committed to the creation of national standards with provinces and territories.

We will do that work together with the provinces and territories, which will then have better ability to deliver on their health care responsibilities.

HealthOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

NDP

Jagmeet Singh NDP Burnaby South, BC

Mr. Speaker, those national standards need to come quickly.

We are seeing long-term care outbreaks across this country. In particular, for-profit, long-term care centres are the site of the worst conditions. Revera-owned sites, owned by the federal government, are where some of the worst conditions are happening, in Edmonton, Winnipeg and Scarborough. In Winnipeg, paramedics arrived at a Revera-owned long-term care home and found seniors left dead in their beds for hours.

Will the Prime Minister commit today, once and for all, to remove profit from the care of our seniors?

HealthOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Thunder Bay—Superior North Ontario

Liberal

Patty Hajdu LiberalMinister of Health

Mr. Speaker, I share the member opposite's deep concern that care for seniors has to be paramount for all of us, no matter what level of government we are at. We have to care about the dignity and safety of the seniors who are amongst us in our communities.

That is why we have been supporting provinces and territories to deliver on their responsibility with $740 million through the safe restart agreement and additional support through deployment of the Canadian Red Cross, including into Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.

We will be there for the provinces and territories as they work to protect long-term care residents from COVID-19.

Public Services and ProcurementOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Conservative

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

Mr. Speaker, this government has awarded billions of dollars' worth of contracts in the fight against COVID-19, but many of those contracts have been untendered.

Not only did the Prime Minister award a $237-million contract to his friend Frank Baylis, but we have also learned that a $371-million untendered contract was awarded to another supplier for medical gowns. We would like to know the specifics of these contracts, but we are told we cannot have that information.

Can someone tell us why we are not allowed to have that information?

Public Services and ProcurementOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Gatineau Québec

Liberal

Steven MacKinnon LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for mentioning this Canadian success.

This Canadian small business ensured that these gowns could be distributed as quickly as possible by taking it upon itself to rent the biggest airplane in the world until all the gowns were delivered. The company went above and beyond to help protect Canada's front-line workers. I want to thank that business, as well as all Canadian businesses that have supplied equipment in the fight against COVID-19, for their support and hard work throughout this pandemic.

Public Services and ProcurementOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Conservative

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

Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary is starting to give an answer. He said that the company rented the biggest plane in the world, but he did not say anything else. We have no idea.

What we do know is that a $371-million contract was awarded to a company made up of two people who work at home. That is it. Newspapers have reported that we may have paid three times the price for the gowns, but we do not know. We know nothing.

Why does the government refuse to provide information on the contracts for gowns or ventilators? This is straightforward, after all; we are not talking about military equipment.

Public Services and ProcurementOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Gatineau Québec

Liberal

Steven MacKinnon LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement

Mr. Speaker, the entire Government of Canada naturally worked very hard to set up our domestic capacity to procure PPE for all Canadians.

We are working with Canadian companies, including small businesses in Ontario and Quebec and across Canada, from coast to coast, to meet our demands now, so that Canada is prepared to deal with any contingency. A large number of Quebec companies stepped up to supply the necessary PPE for Canada, and I could go on.

HealthOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Conservative

Todd Doherty Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC

Mr. Speaker, as Canadians continue to face a growing COVID pandemic, suicide rates are growing at an alarming rate. Last week, the Prime Minister encouraged Canadians who are feeling anxious or overwhelmed to call 211. For the record, 211 is not a suicide prevention hotline: It is a directory, and it may not even be available across the country. That is the equivalent of dialing 911 during an emergency and getting a recording or being put on hold. When minutes count, direct access can make the difference between a life saved and a life lost.

Will the Prime Minister take real action, join Conservatives and ensure that our 988 motion will pass?

HealthOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Thunder Bay—Superior North Ontario

Liberal

Patty Hajdu LiberalMinister of Health

Mr. Speaker, I want to share with the member opposite that I also am deeply concerned about the mental health of Canadians, in particular during COVID-19 but at all times. We know that suicide prevention is so critically important. The member opposite knows I want to work with him on making sure we have better and more rapid access to supports, wherever a person is in this country.

We know that when people reach out they are often in their worst moments, and they need immediate help.

HealthOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Conservative

Todd Doherty Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC

Mr. Speaker, to be clear, I am asking the minister for clarity. The motion has been tabled. If we sought unanimous consent, would the minister see that this motion would pass right now?

HealthOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Thunder Bay—Superior North Ontario

Liberal

Patty Hajdu LiberalMinister of Health

Mr. Speaker, when a motion receives unanimous consent by the House of Commons, of course that is a very important measure to move forward. As I said to the member, I will work with his office tirelessly to make sure that we see his reality of better access to immediate care for people who are worrying about their mental health and considering suicide as a way to end their suffering. It is not acceptable that people have to wait for that help.

HealthOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Conservative

Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB

Mr. Speaker, over the last week many parts of Canada have seen record-breaking numbers of COVID cases. The Liberals did not even consider rapid tests until we were already well into the second wave. We needed to have the capacity to be testing, tracing and isolating when provinces had 70 cases a day, not 1,400.

After 10 months, hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent, thousands of lives and millions of jobs and businesses have been lost, and there has been no action. Why have the Liberals put Canadians in harm's way?

HealthOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Thunder Bay—Superior North Ontario

Liberal

Patty Hajdu LiberalMinister of Health

Mr. Speaker, I share the member opposite's concern about the rapid growth of cases across the country. In fact, I spent numerous hours this weekend speaking with health ministers across the country to make sure they have what they need to combat the growth. In fact, we have shipped over 4.2 million rapid tests to provinces and territories to date, over 1.7 million to Ontario, 1.2 million to Quebec and 345,000 to B.C. We stand ready to help those provinces and territories with whatever they need to combat COVID-19.

HealthOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Conservative

Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB

Mr. Speaker, that is a drop in the bucket and they should have been in place months ago. The Liberals wasted the summer trying to figure out how to get out of the WE scandal instead of getting these rapid tests.

Canadians should have access to rapid tests now, and a plan on vaccine distribution. Will the Prime Minister admit that these failures are why he is asking Canadians to cancel Christmas and saying some regions will get support for COVID, but not others?

HealthOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Thunder Bay—Superior North Ontario

Liberal

Patty Hajdu LiberalMinister of Health

Mr. Speaker, every step of the way we have been there with provinces and territories as they worked to combat this terrible disease, and indeed, we see cases growing across the country. It is alarming, and Canadians have every right to be concerned.

We also know there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Canada has procured more doses of vaccine per capita than any other country in the world, and that light at the end of the tunnel should give us all hope. In the meantime we will work together in a team Canada approach to make sure that we get through the next several months together, with the health and safety of Canadians first and foremost.

Official LanguagesOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Bloc

Mario Beaulieu Bloc La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC

Mr. Speaker, Quebeckers are worried about the future of their national language.

According to a recent Leger poll, two-thirds are worried about the state of French in Quebec and would support laws to better protect their common language. That being said, it is fairly clear that not every Quebecker is worried about this. The hon. member for Saint-Laurent, who prefers English to French, thinks everything is fine.

Does the Minister of Official Languages share the position of the hon. member for Saint-Laurent, who sees no problem for the future of French in Quebec?

Official LanguagesOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Ahuntsic-Cartierville Québec

Liberal

Mélanie Joly LiberalMinister of Economic Development and Official Languages

Mr. Speaker, on several occasions I have said how concerned I am about the issue of French in Canada and in Quebec. We did of course reiterate that in the Speech from the Throne.

We must do something about this decline of French and that is why we are going to modernize the Official Languages Act. We said as much in the Speech from the Throne by stating that we recognize that French was in decline.

I hope that my colleague will support our position even though he voted against the Speech from the Throne. As such, he voted against modernizing the Official Languages Act, as did his Conservative colleagues.