Debates of Nov. 23rd, 2020

Health

[Gary Vidal, Conservative, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

Mr. Speaker, my question was about data. With the alarming rise of cases in indigenous communities, the Minister of Indigenous Services this weekend spoke about the lack of accurate data.

On April 28 at the INAN committee, I asked the minister directly what actions his department was taking to ensure informed decisions. Seven months later, a second wave is overwhelming indigenous people and their communities, yet we have more news stories about how a lack of data is still a problem.

Does the minister have a solution, or is it simply too late?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Indigenous Services]

Mr. Speaker, the collection of data is an ongoing process. What we do know is what we are able, as a matter of effective jurisdiction, to control, which is the situation on reserve. We know that the data has so far been positive. The alarming rate of increase over the last few weeks is, indeed, alarming. That is why we are deploying tailored resources because on the feedback we have received from communities.

Where we see that vulnerability is in urban settings, and that requires partnership with indigenous communities on the ground, as well as with the provinces. That is what we will constantly be striving for, that continued work so we can have a tailored healthy response to a world pandemic.

Indigenous Affairs

[Gary Vidal, Conservative, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

Mr. Speaker, pointing a finger at the provinces is not going to solve the problem. Let us try something different.

On December 20 of last year, Maxwell Johnson and his granddaughter were handcuffed and put in the back of a police cruiser simply for attempting to open a bank account using a status card as identification. Today we learned that it was ISC, the minister's own department, that encouraged the bank to call 911.

Does the minister actually think this was a appropriate response by his department?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Indigenous Services]

Mr. Speaker, the incidents in question are exceedingly alarming. Indeed, they did occur a year ago, and what we saw was the process of systemic racism showing its head on the ground, and the results that it had with the police intervening.

Clearly all members of society need to know and respect the validity of a status card. I only recently got the transcript of the 911 call. In the process of reviewing it, it is slightly unclear, but if there is an issue with Indigenous Services Canada and its involvement, we will act swiftly.

Health

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, rapid testing helps save lives and keep the economy rolling.

Unfortunately, the Liberal government dragged its feet when it came to rapid testing. For instance, the Abbott ID NOW test was approved by the Canadian government on September 30, but it was approved by the United States way back on March 27. March, April, May, June, July, August and September makes six months of waiting.

Why did the government drag its feet for six months on this very important rapid test?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, over 4.6 million rapid tests have been delivered since October to provinces and territories. Indeed, over two million have gone to Ontario and 1.2 million to Quebec.

All across the country, we have delivered the resources that provinces and territories need to protect the health of their citizens. We are going to continue to be there for provinces and territories as they work to deploy these rapid tests in ways that help them combat COVID-19.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister mentioned a lot of numbers, but she forgot one, the number six. The Liberals waited six months to approve a rapid test that had been approved by the U.S.

Let us now talk about at-home testing. On Tuesday, November 17, the United States government proudly announced that it had approved Lucira Health's at-home test, which is designed for home use and gives results in just 30 minutes.

It took the Canadian government six months to recognize rapid tests. Will we have to wait another six months for at-home testing?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, every step of the way, we have leaned in to work with companies and manufacturers that are developing new tools to fight COVID-19, including testing solutions. The world is eagerly awaiting rapid tests, saliva tests and new technology that will help us diagnose quickly people who have COVID-19.

On our end, our job is to ensure that provinces and territories have what they need to deliver on health care in their jurisdictions, and that is exactly what we have been doing all along. Whether it is the $19 billion in safe restart money, or the procurement and deployment of rapid tests, we will be there for provinces and territories.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is the same old story, the same old broken record.

That is exactly what the minister told us about rapid testing six months ago. She told us that we need to look at this on a case-by-case basis. However, the U.S. approved these tests six months ago.

Right now, at-home tests are available. They can save lives and give results in 30 minutes. The U.S. government approved one of those tests a week ago. Today, the Canadian government is unable to approve it.

Are the Liberals going to wait six months? The longer it waits, the more COVID-19 will spread.

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, almost 10.9 million Canadians have been tested for COVID-19 here in Canada. This is in large part because of the expenditures of the Canadian government in supporting provinces and territories to deliver on their health care responsibilities.

Whether we are talking about $19 billion in transfers, or about approval and deployment of rapid testing, all of the supports we provide to the provinces and territories are with one goal in mind, and that is to protect Canadians from COVID-19. We are going to continue to be there for provinces and territories every step of the way.

Official Languages

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister was right to declare this weekend that we are on the verge of a language crisis.

She acknowledged that we need to do whatever we can to protect the French language and that this is how we will move forward as a society. That is why the Bloc Québécois will be introducing a bill that will make federally regulated companies subject to Bill 101.

The Prime Minister has said that he supports Bill 101. Will his government and his party act accordingly and support our bill?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, many parliamentarians have walked these hallowed halls.

In the history of the 42 previous parliaments, French has never been recognized as a minority language in this country. This government is the first government in history to recognize the importance of the eight million francophones who fight every day to speak their language, and we will fight alongside them.

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

Mr. Speaker, we want to see action. It is one thing to recognize that we are on the verge of a language crisis, as the minister has done, but it is another to do something about it, which means recognizing that the Liberals themselves contributed to the crisis and then implementing concrete solutions.

The Bloc Québécois wants to make knowledge of French a requirement for obtaining citizenship in Quebec, but the Liberals want to vote against that. The Bloc wants Bill 101 to apply to federally regulated companies, but the Liberals are unable to say whether they will vote for or against that.

We are coming up with concrete solutions, so why are they unable to take action?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, it goes without saying that we agree with the Bloc Québécois members and all colleagues who are francophiles and official languages allies.

Protecting our language in Quebec and across the country is important. At the same time, protecting the French fact means protecting it both in Quebec and across the country. That means supporting it not just for Quebec, but for all francophones. We have one million francophones in minority communities who fight for their right to speak French every day.

That is why the modernized Official Languages Act that we will be introducing takes those aspects into account.

COVID-19 Emergency Response

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when the government extended the Canada emergency wage subsidy until next summer, the Bloc Québécois proposed an amendment to cut off access for political parties. The government voted against that, supposedly because it did not like how we worded the amendment. I gave the Liberals two weeks to get back to me with wording that would suit them, but I have had no response.

Was it really the wording they did not like, or was it actually the idea that they would have to pay back the $800,000 they have taken out of the money intended for charities and SMEs?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his question. It gives me an opportunity to point out to Canadians that, together, we have created a rent subsidy program and that Canadians can apply today.

With regard to the emergency wage subsidy, we also decided together to extend this program until the summer. This is also very important to all businesses across the country.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, to access the Canada emergency response benefit, or CERB, people must have earned $5,000 the previous year. However, according to information obtained last week, the government let 800,000 people receive the CERB without even having filed their income tax return. There was therefore no confirmation that they were eligible for this money. Those benefits were paid for by hard-working taxpayers.

How did the government confirm the eligibility of people who had not filed a tax return?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, our government has been very clear from the beginning of the pandemic: We will always be there for Canadians in need.

The eligibility criteria for the Canada emergency response benefit clearly state that an individual must have earned at least $5,000 in 2019 or in the preceding 12 months. This could be employment income, self-employment income or provincial benefits for maternity or paternity leave.

It is ridiculous that we have to tell the member opposite to do some research before believing everything he reads on the Internet.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I guess she is saying we should not believe the documents that are produced by her own department. That is where we got the information.

She thinks there is a conspiracy going on in her department, which said that 800,000 people got access to the CERB benefit without filing taxes to prove they had earned the necessary $5,000 in order to receive the money. I think of the minimum wage workers who went out and bagged groceries and worked hard during the pandemic. They had to pay the tax for that money to go out.

What did the government do to ensure that the people who received the cheques were actually eligible?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, I am a little baffled, to tell members the truth. I can tell members that filing one's taxes is not an eligibility criteria for CERB. Someone has to have earned $5,000 in the last 12 months or last year. It very much could have happened that people earned it over two tax years. It is illustrative of having met the eligibility criteria, but it is not one of the eligibility criteria.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, of course it is not one of the eligibility criteria that one files taxes, but it is one of the only ways someone can prove they have actually earned the $5,000 necessary to qualify. In this case, 800,000 people did not file their taxes. The government should indicate if it had some other way of demonstrating they earned the necessary money. This is a government that gave cheques to prisoners and told public servants to send out money even when they suspected fraud.

If they were not using income tax filing as proof of eligibility, what exact evidence were they using to prove people were eligible?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, of course we can look at people's tax filings, but if they have not filed taxes, we will follow up with them. They may have earned that $5,000 in this tax year. They could have earned it in January or February of this year. Of course it would not be shown on last year's tax filings. It is one way the CRA can determine eligibility, but as the member himself said, it is not the only way.

Health

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Alberta is now reporting the most COVID-19 cases in the country, more than Ontario and Quebec. We have massive outbreaks in long-term care homes. Our major hospitals have reached their ICU capacity and there is no place for patients to go.

In Alberta, we have no mask mandate, the fewest COVID-19 restrictions in the country, and Jason Kenney is refusing to allow the federal contact tracing app, even though the Alberta app is an abysmal failure.

Albertans are dying. Will the government show some leadership to protect Albertans from this disaster?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, every province and territory has the responsibility to protect the health of their citizens. We have assisted the provinces and territories every step of the way in their efforts to do so, with $19 billion in safe restart money for contact tracing, testing and data, $740 million of that money going to long-term care homes to support and protect people who live in long-term care homes from infection. For schools, there is $2 billion to protect students, teachers and staff who work in those schools from infection, and there are rapid tests for the provinces and territories.

We will continue to be there, including with the Canadian Red Cross, additional contact tracers and more.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, IRCC's ability to receive applications from the mailroom has slowed to a crawl. For spousal sponsorship, IRCC went from receiving over 6,000 applications per month to just 30. The government is also unable to meet the minister's 14-day processing standard for extended family reunification. In fact, the minister's office said there is no way to know if those applications even exist and “not to bother” inquiring because the unit is overwhelmed.

Will the minister just automatically renew documents that have expired since the shutdown, without further requirements from the applicants, to free up scarce resources?