Debates of Dec. 2nd, 2020

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, last night on a call with MPs, Dr. Njoo suggested the spoilage rate for the Pfizer vaccine would be as high as 5%. That is critical information the government has kept hidden from Canadians.

We do not know when the vaccine is arriving, we do not know how it is being distributed, we do not know which Canadians are going to receive it first, and the Minister of Health is laughing at these questions today.

If the Prime Minister thinks we are all in this together, why does he refuse to publish a plan so that we can all be in this together?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, from the beginning of this pandemic we have worked closely with scientists and experts on everything from the prioritization of certain populations for receiving vaccines to delivering the kinds of support across communities that are necessary. We have worked with provinces and territories, municipalities and all Canadians to get through this pandemic and we will continue to. Every step of the way, whether it was the Canadian Armed Forces or the Red Cross and researchers and scientists from across the country, Canadians have pulled together to ensure we get through this pandemic, and that is exactly what we are going to do together.

Intergovernmental Relations

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I get the feeling that the Prime Minister is not aware of the Government of Quebec's reaction to his economic update.

He is at odds with the provinces. He maintains that everyone is getting along, but the truth is that things are getting strained. It is more than a little concerning.

We have clearly established that the federal government has obligations to the provinces and Quebec, but the Prime Minister is not respecting his own obligations.

How then can he want to impose obligations on others?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I understand that the Bloc Québécois's raison d'être is to create conflict between Ottawa and Quebec. We work well with Quebec.

We will continue to work hand in hand to protect our seniors, as we did with the Canadian Armed Forces and the Red Cross. We will always work together to ensure that the necessary resources are there to get through this pandemic, whether it is by sending the provinces their share of the $25 billion, which is what we did to help them through this pandemic, or whether it is by working together for seniors, children and families. We will be there to work together.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the big pink unicorn is back.

Will it bother the Prime Minister if I inform Quebeckers that, according to his vision, the provinces are subsidiaries of Ottawa, there is no Quebec nation, there is no exclusive jurisdiction, there is no respect for the National Assembly of Quebec, there is no respect for the Government of Quebec and there is no respect for Quebec?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, that is the Bloc's perspective.

We are in a pandemic where people are working together, where we are fighting this virus every day and where we are working on delivering personal protective equipment, rapid testing and vaccines. We are working together.

The Bloc does not want to talk about the fact that the federal government is there to actually help Quebeckers on the ground. It is looking for a fight. We are not fighting, we are working on behalf of all Canadians.

Ethics

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we know the Prime Minister's usual reaction when the RCMP come calling with questions about his corruption or ethical breaches of his Liberal colleagues. He rips the phone out of the wall and locks the door, blocking them at every step.

Last week, we heard from the lobbying commissioner that there were three illegal lobbying inquiries sent to the RCMP since the start of this pandemic. Is the Prime Minister aware of any recent or ongoing inquiries by the RCMP into him, Liberal staff or Liberal members?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again, in their characterizations, Conservatives continue to just make things up. I can answer directly on that question that we are unaware of any such investigations, and as a reminder to our colleagues, the lobbying commissioner does not investigate public office holders.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister does not need to take my word for it. Conservatives are not making it up. It is the lobbying commissioner who has said that there are RCMP investigations into illegal lobbying by the government. It is clear that Liberals play fast and loose with the ethical and lobbying rules, and they are being investigated. The Prime Minister is being investigated for a third time.

Will the Prime Minister commit to fully co-operating with investigations by officers of Parliament and the RCMP? Will he commit to waiving cabinet confidence?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, again, I and my office are entirely unaware of any such investigations, and I remind members that the lobbying commissioner does not look into the actions of public office holders.

Public Safety

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, hostile foreign state agents are operating in Canada. Iran is bypassing international sanctions by using small currency exchanges in Canada to wire money. Global News has a CSIS report that states that an Iranian expat is “assisting the government of Iran in the clandestine wiring of monies into Canada”. Iran's banks fund terrorists groups like Hamas and Hezbollah and the banks are being used by Iran for foreign interference here in Canada.

When will the Prime Minister take this seriously and when will they arrest and deport hostile foreign state agents in Canada?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Canadian intelligence services and agencies take very seriously the allegations and information around interference or misuse of public trust by foreign actors. We will continue to ensure that they have all the tools necessary to keep Canadians safe, to protect our democracy and to continue to uphold the values that we all hold dear in this country.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the intelligence officers take this threat very seriously, but the Prime Minister does not.

We asked the public safety minister about this last week and he sidestepped, answering about the connections that the member for Richmond Hill has to that individual. The member accepted political donations from him, hosted him on a tour of Parliament and even took a photo with the guy in the Speaker's chair. The PMO refused to answer any questions about this connection, including from journalists, so I will ask.

Is he passive against foreign state hostile agents in Canada because he has a politically exposed person in his own caucus?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the member in question has addressed this issue.

Employment

[Scott Duvall, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this week's fiscal update proves once again that the Liberal government cannot keep its promises and does not care about working people only making minimum wage. After laughing off the federal minimum wage just a few years ago, the Liberals promised it in the last election, and now they are laughing again because the promise was a joke.

Why do Liberals not think that Canadians working full-time jobs should be able to put food on their tables and pay their bills? When will the Prime Minister deliver on the $15 an hour minimum wage he promised Canadians?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, our priority in this FES and in all the actions we take is to help Canadians through this pandemic. We know that the best way through, not just for Canadians' health but for our economy as well, is to make the necessary investments to support workers, small businesses, families and seniors to help Canadians get through this pandemic. That is exactly what we laid out in this FES. This is exactly what we will continue to do to support Canadians every step of the way. We are there for the middle class and people working hard to join it. We will continue to be.

Post-Secondary Education

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

Mr. Speaker, on Monday the Liberals announced they were going back on their word, cancelling the moratorium on student loan payments and forcing students to make loan payments again, despite record high COVID cases across the country.

A pause on interest is very different from a moratorium on payments, but yesterday the Minister for Women and Gender Equality tweeted to tell students the moratorium was extended. Will the minister apologize for spreading misinformation, or better yet, will the Liberals change the policy to help students and make what the minister is saying actually true?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, this government has supported students every step of the way. We paused Canada student loan repayments. We doubled Canada student grants. We introduced the Canada emergency student benefit, which provided support to more than 700,000 post-secondary students and recent graduates. In the fall economic statement we announced we will eliminate the interest on Canada student loans and on Canada apprentice loans for a full year and support more opportunities through the youth employment and skills strategy and Canada summer jobs.

The message to Canadians is clear: We will have students' backs.

Families, Children and Social Development

[Serge Cormier, Liberal, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Speaker, this pandemic has been particularly hard on children and young families. When schools, day cares and workplaces closed down, many families had to make very difficult choices. Our government has promised that it will continue to be there for Canadian families.

Can the Prime Minister tell us how the fall economic statement will help families with young children here in Acadie—Bathurst and across the country?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Acadie—Bathurst for his excellent question and hard work.

Many middle-class families are having a hard time making ends meet, especially during this pandemic. That is why we have announced additional support, totalling up to $1,200 in 2021, for each child under six for low- and middle-income families entitled to the Canada child benefit.

We have been there for Canadians throughout the pandemic, and we will continue to be.

Telecommunications

[John Williamson, Conservative, New Brunswick Southwest, NB]

Mr. Speaker, good news, the Liberals say the government's high-speed Internet service maps filled with bad data can be corrected. Bad news, the onus is on municipalities to fix the errors. Rural communities have 75 days to convince Ottawa that service maps are wrong or else lose federal assistance. The minister responsible for this program gave herself a six-month extension before rolling it out, but small communities around Miramichi, places like Blackville, St. Margarets and Baie-Sainte-Anne, have only 75 days to fix this problem.

Why does the minister expect rural Canadians to find and correct mistakes made by the Liberal government?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as we continue to deal with this COVID-19 pandemic, Canadians have needed to rely on the Internet to help connect them to work, school, government resources and loved ones. That is why we announced an investment of $1.75 billion to help connect Canadians to high-speed Internet across the country, grow businesses and create jobs.

This investment will connect 98% of Canadians to high-speed Internet by 2026, with a goal of connecting all Canadians a few years later. It is the largest one-time federal investment in rural broadband, 10 times as much in five years as Conservatives did in 10 years. We are there for rural Canadians. We are there for all Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, rural broadband is necessary if we want small businesses to survive during lockdowns, but the government's service maps in Atlantic Canada leave a lot of communities without the ability of funding assistance to expand this essential service. Communities in Cumberland—Colchester, Caledonia and north Queens, Nova Scotia, are being made to fix the mistakes done by the government.

Why are small rural communities across Atlantic Canada getting nothing but a dial tone from the Prime Minister?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, let us look at the record of supporting rural Canadians with Internet. Over the past five years, we have invested 10 times more than the Conservatives invested in 10 years in government, in supporting rural Canadians and getting Internet to them. We will continue to work on accelerating those investments because we know rural Canadians and indeed all Canadians deserve to be connected, and that is what this government is doing.

Health

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the government refuses to hear the voices of Canadians with disabilities and ignores the input of physicians. A growing list of doctors from every province provided a strong statement, with over 1,000 signatures, for the study of Bill C-7, so I was shocked when I learned the following. Medical assistance in dying has been deemed an essential service under the Canada Health Act, yet palliative care has not.

Does the Prime Minister recognize that this is a big problem?