Debates of Nov. 4th, 2020

Terrorism

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The right hon. Prime Minister.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my hon. colleague to look at what I said last week.

I said that we will always defend freedom of speech. I said that we unequivocally condemn these unjustifiable, unjustified and unacceptable acts. I said that we would not allow Muslim communities to be defined by these murderers, these terrorists, who do not represent their religion.

That is exactly what I said last week, and I will continue to repeat that this week.

COVID-19 Emergency Response

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to the facts on COVID-19, the government has three stories on the pandemic warning system: The health minister has said it was shut off and they are investigating that decision; the Prime Minister has said the warning system was never shut off; the public safety minister just confirmed it was shut off, but he did not find out about it until we started asking questions. Which one of these stories is true?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, there have been no changes in funding or staffing levels in that organization since 2015. We have continued to rely on experts and public servants to do the work they continue to do. Indeed, when reports came out, the health minister asked to follow up on some questions that were being posed and we are actually following up on that right now.

We have always put science at the forefront of our decision-making. We were acting and reacting to this pandemic from the beginning of January. We will continue to do whatever is necessary to keep Canadians safe through the rest of the time we are dealing with this pandemic.

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister just said there were no changes to a system that two of his ministers said were shut down. There are consequences to shutting down our early pandemic warning system. The New York Times revealed that the World Health Organization handed key parts of the early work on COVID-19 over to China. A global health expert has referred to this as “an absolute whitewash”.

Why did the government muzzle Canadian officials, only to rely on Communist China for early news on the COVID outbreak?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, on January 2, Dr. Theresa Tam convened a meeting of her provincial counterparts to talk about worrisome news coming out of China. Weeks later, we gathered the incident response group at the cabinet level to talk about this development. We continued to engage with scientists and doctors from around the world, including at the WHO, including our own internal capacities, to prepare for and respond to this pandemic.

We have learned many things since then and we will be better positioned in the future, but as it is, we will continue to do everything we can, as we have, to protect Canadians.

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the public safety minister told committee he was not aware of anyone asking to close the border until days before they closed it. The Prime Minister just confirmed he was warned on January 2 by Dr. Tam and we now know that in February, officials at Public Safety were sending notes to government departments warning about the transmission risk of Canadians returning from abroad.

Why did the Prime Minister ignore warnings from his own public safety officials for over a month before he closed the border?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, every single step of the way we leaned on experts, epidemiologists and international health experts on the pandemic for the best recommendations on how to keep Canadians safe. We moved forward on those, including setting up quarantine facilities for Canadians returning and bringing in extra measures at the borders. We were able to see, in those early days, a very low incidence of cases in Canada.

There are many things we are going to be looking back on and saying we should have done this differently or we should have done that differently, but I can say that every effort was made to do everything right and Canadians are benefiting from those decisions.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have a point of order.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Shefford on a point of order.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there is a problem with the interpretation, and I did not hear the question or the response.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

We will try to fix that technical issue.

Is it translated into French?

The problem has been fixed.

The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, as we know, the second wave is hitting harder and harder. The shortage of public health workers and the Liberal government's last-minute decisions since the beginning of the pandemic have left Canadians scratching their heads about the proper management of this pandemic.

Can Canadians still have confidence in the government? Can they hope to spend Christmas with their families this year?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians can continue to have confidence in our government.

We have been there to support them since the beginning of the pandemic with public health measures, support for the provinces, and direct support for Canadians through the Canada emergency response benefit, the emergency wage subsidy and help for seniors, families and youth. We will continue to be there to support Canadians.

We all need to make an effort. The federal government will continue to be there and will work with the provinces, which are continuing their work. Canadians will also contribute to try to mitigate this—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for London—Fanshawe.

Women and Gender Equality

[Lindsay Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Liberals love their pretty words when it comes to gender equality, but women are still waiting. Women are waiting for affordable child care. Women are waiting for equal pay. Canadian women still make 32% less than men, and our work should not come at a discount. After decades of inaction, the Liberals finally moved on pay equity, but today's PBO report shows that the Liberals are dragging their feet and the law is not being enforced.

Why do women still have to fight their own government for pay equity? Why do we still have to wait?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, over the past five years, we have taken many significant steps forward toward gender equality, but we know there is much more work to do. We have passed historic pay equity legislation and are working hard to implement it. We know this is a systemic change that is long overdue.

We have started taking large steps toward it, but we will continue to work with all our allies in the House and beyond to ensure that we are making things much better in this country. We need gender equality. It is not just the right thing to do; it is the smart thing to do. That is why we will continue to work hard every day to achieve it.

Canadian Heritage

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's largest federal infrastructure project is the Gordie Howe International Bridge, being built in my riding. The project will feature art representing the local history of the area. It will include European and indigenous art, but will unjustly exclude the historic and extremely important Black community. This very location was the epicentre of the Underground Railway for escaping slavery to freedom. African Canadians are being written out of our history by the Liberal government, a demonstration of systemic racism.

Will the Prime Minister commit right now, today, to making sure that he fixes this problem, turns it around and includes the African Black community's history? He can do it now. Do we have his commitment to make sure it gets done?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for his advocacy on this issue. It sounds like something we absolutely should be moving forward on.

I look forward to talking with the infrastructure minister and working with our first ever Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth in the history of this country to ensure that we are doing everything we can to fight systemic racism, fight against anti-Black racism and make sure we are properly remembering all aspects of our history, because Black history is Canadian history, not just in February, but every month. We will continue to work together to make sure we do that.

Small Business

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Mr. Speaker, since the very beginning of this pandemic, businesses in my riding of Kingston and the Islands have counted on our government for the support they need to keep their employees on the payroll and keep their doors open. Now, as we face a second wave of the pandemic, many businesses are doing their part by following public health orders, but they are worried. They are worried about being able to make it through this pandemic.

Can the Prime Minister tell the House what the government is doing to ensure businesses in my riding have the support they need to get through this second wave and are able to be in a strong position when we recover from this pandemic?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by thanking the member for Kingston and the Islands for his tremendous advocacy on behalf of workers and businesses in his riding.

We will continue to support small businesses across the country that have been hard hit by this pandemic. With the new Canada emergency rent subsidy, we will provide simple, easy-to-access rent support until 2021. For those who are impacted by public health orders, we will make sure they have additional supports to cover up to 90% of their rent.

We are calling on all members of the House to help get the support to businesses across the country and make sure that it goes directly to tenants, not through landlords anymore.

Foreign Affairs

[Marty Morantz, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB]

Mr. Speaker, for weeks the Conservatives have been asking questions about Canadian drone systems that have been diverted to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, in violation of international treaties. We know that on April 23 the Prime Minister spoke with the President of Turkey. Pictures of these drone systems have now appeared in The Globe and Mail. Canadians deserve answers.

Did the Prime Minister agree to the Turkish President's request to approve these systems for export, yes or no?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have a rigorous export control system that ensures that as we export armaments and military equipment around the world, all the rules are followed.

When reports came out that possible Canadian technology was being used in Nagorno-Karabakh, we immediately suspended the relevant export permits to Turkey. We are following up on an appropriate investigation.

We need to make sure that Canadian-made equipment is not being used in illicit ways that are not aligned with the original contracts signed, and, of course, is never used to harm civilians or innocents.

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

Mr. Speaker, that is interesting, but that was not the question.

This is a serious question, and it deserves a clear answer. Canada developed a drone system. This drone system was used in the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, in violation of international treaties. We know that on April 23, the Prime Minister spoke with the President of Turkey. The question is simple and deserves a clear answer.

During that conversation, did the Prime Minister approve the use and sale of Canadian drones in Turkey, yes or no?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the answer is no.