Madam Chair, I will start this evening with a few comments, and then I will go into some questions for the minister.
I want to thank her for taking the time to be with us and for spending so much time answering questions in such a rapid-fire way today. It truly demonstrates her capability and her knowledge of the subject.
One thing to note about the pandemic is that from day one, this government took it seriously. We did this from the minute it was talked about overseas until the time it landed on our doorstep and we implemented measures to protect Canadians, and we can see the results of that.
I know some have compared us with our neighbour to the south this evening. We do not want to see even one death, obviously, but the reality of the situation is that our death rate is one-third the rate, if not better, of our neighbours to the south. I believe strongly that this is the result of the serious action that has been taken on this file, the way the minister has responded and the way that the government has responded.
I have said many times in the House, and it bears repeating, that we went from the World Health Organization declaring a global pandemic to getting money in the bank accounts of 5.4 million Canadians in one month and four days. That is action from a government that is taking this extremely seriously and is interested in protecting its citizen. It has been there with Canadians every step of the way. We saw that in the spring, as we went through the first wave and as we came into the second wave and had a lull.
I respect where the Conservatives are on this now, but they were not there on day one.