Mr. Speaker, it is so important, for the people following this debate, for us to talk about what has been a priority of the government. I made reference to the middle class and those aspiring to join the middle class, but things changed earlier this year.
In the beginning of 2020, we began to recognize that there was going to be worldwide pandemic, called COVID-19. All Canadians and people from around the world recognized that governments needed to work together and work collaboratively to focus our attention on that issue.
The member talks about the WE issue. The Conservatives, in good part supported by other opposition parties at times, have tried to label it as an issue of corruption. I do not believe there was anything corrupt. I do believe some mistakes were made, but that does not make it corrupt.
The member referenced the prorogation of the session. For the first time in 30 years, the House sat during the summer. We sat in a committee format, but it was a committee in theory. In reality, members were sitting inside this chamber, and hundreds if not thousands of questions were being asked of the government.
One would think the focus of the discussions, debates and questions at the time would have been the coronavirus. I was here. I listened to the many questions being asked, the hundreds or thousands of questions. I cannot recall members of the official opposition asking about the vaccine issue. I cannot recall them asking who the government was consulting, whether there were agreements or anything of that nature. Instead, opposition members wanted to push on other issues. That is fine. As they are in the opposition, they get to ask the questions they would like to ask. However, they have tried to give a false impression, one that tries to tell Canadians that the Liberal government is not transparent and accountable, and I take exception to that.
I could give examples related to the Prime Minister that go all the way back to when he was first elected leader of the Liberal Party when it was the third party. He attempted, through unanimous consent, to bring in proactive disclosure for all members of the House. We know how that went. The Conservatives said no to it. The hon. member's former leader, former prime minister Stephen Harper, actually said no to proactive disclosure. He had to be brought into it.
The Conservatives have been consistent with regard to wanting to avoid talking about the issues that Canadians have to face. I find it amazing. Here we are on the last day of the year, and what do members think is on the minds of our constituents in Canada? I believe it is still the pandemic. I believe, in this holiday season when people are going to be celebrating Christmas and the birth of Christ, they are thinking about family and friends and not being able to be together.
I think Canadians are also concerned about the economy. I think they are concerned about the many different issues we have had to face in 2020. Those are the issues that Canadians are concerned about, and one would think this is the type of discussion we should be having, especially given that it is the last sitting day of the year.
A week or so ago, opposition members were hung up on the issue of the vaccines. That is good. It is good they were talking about vaccines. It is so encouraging.
It is interesting that not one country in the world, from what I understand, had a vaccine for its people in the month of November. It is only now, in December, we are starting to see people being vaccinated around the world. Canada will be one of those countries. Canada has a wide number of companies, so we have the best opportunity to ensure our people in our country will be vaccinated in a timely fashion.
We have done some incredible work in that area. Issues of that nature do not mean we have to stand up and applaud the government, but we can still provide constructive criticism and critique the government on issues of that nature. Instead, the Conservatives stand alone. It will be interesting to see the take of my New Democratic or Bloc friends on this. Is this the most appropriate debate we should be having today? I would say no. I believe we should be listening to what our constituents are saying.
I only wish I had more time, I believe I have about 30 seconds left, to expand on all the good things that Canadians have done over the last number of months in that team Canada approach to dealing with the negative impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. We have seen so many heroes in so many ways and different levels of government co-operating and making a difference. Have mistakes occurred? Yes, there have been mistakes made. However, let there be no doubt that we have independent officers of the House of Commons who are there to ensure there are standards that are respected. That is something all of us have agreed to with respect to the independence of the commissioner.