Debates of Dec. 3rd, 2020

Opposition Motion—Status Update on COVID-19 Vaccines

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Madam Speaker, we are having an important debate today. I am reflecting on the last little while, after listening to the official opposition stir the pot. Conservatives will often throw out different numbers and dates to try to turn it around and make the government look bad. I guess to a certain degree that is their job as the official opposition. However, having said that, I want to talk about the bigger picture, recognizing just how important this issue is.

If I had been asked four or five years ago, when the Liberals became government with the current Prime Minister, what the number one most important issue was, I would have said, hands down, it was all about Canada's middle class and those aspiring to become a part of it. That was job one. The Prime Minister was very clear on that issue. It was about the middle class. We had to work hard to encourage, promote and support Canada's middle class. I was not surprised because even back when the Prime Minister was the leader of the Liberal Party as the second opposition party in the House, he was advocating for Canada's middle class.

We were doing relatively well. I could go through a litany of policies, from tax breaks for the middle class to supporting the middle class through the Canada child benefit, supporting seniors with increases in the GIS and investments in our infrastructure, all in support of Canada's middle class. That is what I would have anticipated that we would continue to do throughout the years. It is not to say that we have forgotten about the Canada's middle class, as we still focus our attention on it, but in the last 10 months or so, we have had to recognize the impact the coronavirus is having on our society, not just here in Canada but around the world.

As a direct result of the pandemic, we made this the central focus of the Government of Canada. We focused on minimizing the negatives of the coronavirus from day one, and we have not done it alone. We have been looking for partners and to collaborate with whomever was prepared to work with the government in order to battle the coronavirus. It has proven to be exceptionally effective. I do not have a problem doing comparisons between Canada and other nations. I wish all nations well in combatting the coronavirus, but whether it is the leadership of the Prime Minister, the cabinet, the Liberal caucus or any members in the chamber at different points in time, we have seen a lot of good work by working with Canadians.

The Government of Canada knows that we cannot do it alone. We have worked with provinces, territories, indigenous leaders, non-profit organizations and the private sector from day one in order to minimize the negative impacts of the coronavirus. It has been really encouraging. We have seen some of the results. We saw industries in Canada that did not produce protective gear or the alcohol necessary for hand sanitizers make adjustments in order to produce those things in vast quantities.

Because of the actions of the Government of Canada, working with the different provinces, municipalities and all the other stakeholders, we were able to stay under the first wave that came to Canada as it was crossing the world. We held under that line for the longest time. That enabled different levels of government, including the national government, to be better prepared going into the second wave. Throughout this entire period, we have seen phenomenal efforts in certain areas, which have put us in the position we are in today.

We realize how important the vaccine is. Those who are following or watching this debate can know that when the vaccine is ready we will be ready. Every day, seven days a week, the government is working with a wide spectrum of individuals to make sure that, when we can get our hands on a vaccine that has been approved for the safety of Canadians, it will get distributed. That is of the utmost importance. We recognize that.

I reflect back to March and April and recall some of the discussions that were taking place inside the chamber and the genuine concern with respect to how we would stay under the line. I remember it well. There was a great deal of collaboration. We have seen all sorts of input coming into different departments, departments that were able to make some of those critical changes to programs. We can talk about the CERB program, where literally eight-plus million Canadians benefited as they became unemployed or lost wages. We could talk about the business programs, from leveraging money through banks to the rent assistance program, to one of my favourites the wage subsidy program. These are the types of things we were working on at the very beginning.

Even back then, we knew the importance of the vaccine. We have been working on the vaccine for many months. This should not surprise anyone. After listening to the health experts and looking at the science with respect to what was happening, as a government, we entered into negotiations well before most countries in the world. We are in a far greater and better position as a direct result of a lot of the work that was done back during the early months of the summer, and I would even argue before that.

We often hear about the seven vaccines. Tens of millions of vaccines from seven companies were negotiated by this government. We are starting to see some of the rewards of those negotiations, as we finally see some light at the end of the tunnel.

Members should look at what the Hansard has to say with respect to the whole vaccine debate. It would be interesting to see how many members of the opposition, when they had the opportunity during the summer to ask thousands of questions, actually asked questions, such as what we were doing with respect to vaccine contracts. That is the nice thing about the Hansard.

I suspect Canadians might be a little disappointed in the collective opposition. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. As we get closer and start hearing about the vaccine, now the Conservatives are saying they want the vaccine and want us to give them the date.

How can a date be provided when it has not been approved? Are they trying to say we should set a date and then mandate Health Canada to say that is going to be the date? Do they say politics are more important than the health and well-being of Canadians? It sure sounds like that is what opposition members are saying, because they are saying they want dates. That is what they are arguing for.

Madam—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Carol Hughes]

I'm sorry. There is a point of order.

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Red Deer—Lacombe, AB]

Madam Speaker, it is common practice in this room not to impugn the reputations of other members. I am listening to my colleague spreading misinformation in regard to what Conservatives may or may not have been thinking and he is talking about whether they need a date—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Carol Hughes]

That is actually debate.

The hon. parliamentary secretary has the floor.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Madam Speaker, my friend across the way should read some of the things that his fellow members are actually saying, instead of trying to give the impression that the Conservatives have not been pushing for a date. They have been pushing a great deal for a date.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing to have. One my colleagues made reference to hindsight in a story. The government has been consistent from day one. We were not going to make political decisions, but would rely on experts and on the science. Those are the individuals who are going to put our country in a good position going forward, as they have in the past.

Opposition members say that we were late on recommending masks and ask why we did not recommend masks earlier. The simple answer to that is that we were following the advice provided by health experts. When the health experts said that we should have people wear masks for x, y and z reasons, that is exactly what we said.

At the very beginning masks were not emphasized. Today, they are emphasized. It is not because of politics. It is because of what health experts were saying at the time.

Going back to hindsight, now that we say masks are important, the Conservatives are saying, “Those darn Liberals, they did not say we should have been wearing masks, and we should have been.” At the end of the day, we are listening to the science. It is not just Canada.

There is a community around the world that supports fighting the coronavirus, and Canada plays a very important role in that, whether it is the World Health Organization or Health Canada. They provided the necessary information. The departments of health and procurement continue to work together, as does the defence department, the Prime Minister's Office and other departments. All are concerned and all are playing an important role in combatting the coronavirus.

Members have talked about the impact of the coronavirus. We all know the impacts. The previous speaker was talking about the impact on weddings and funerals. I just lost a very close personal friend, Lito Taruc, host on CKJS, who was well loved in the Filipino community and outside that community in Winnipeg. I suspect hundreds, if not thousands, would have showed up to pay their final respects to the family. It was a very difficult time. Lito was only a few years older than myself.

We all understand the impacts. Back in June, we did not have graduation ceremonies. I am used to going to Sisler High School and Maples Collegiate and participating either directly or indirectly, as well as with the Children of the Earth High School, St. John's High School and R. B. Russell Vocational High School.

We had hundreds of graduates, back in June, who did not get the same sort of treatment that they would have received, in terms of those ceremonies, without the coronavirus.

We all know about the weddings that have been put off, cancelled or in some cases that went ahead with much smaller numbers.

It is not just the economy and the money, there is a strong social component to this. All of us, I believe, understand that. We are all anxious to see the defeat of the coronavirus, and the vaccine plays a critical role in that. The government benches understand the importance of getting it out there as quickly as we can, and that is one of the reasons we did not limit our options to one or two suppliers. We secured seven suppliers, with tens of millions of doses, more than enough, cumulatively, to cover our entire population.

We do not know for fact, but we have a good idea today and we will have a better idea tomorrow, which ones are going to get approved and how soon they will actually be able to come to Canada. All that will happen. What is important is that, when it starts to happen, we have something in place that is going to ensure its distribution. We have announced relatively recently, but everyone knows, that members of the Canadian Forces have been participating in fighting the coronavirus for many months. No one is surprised that we would once again turn to our forces to ensure that we have a distribution that is going to be effective for Canadians.

I listen to many of the discussions today, and I do not know to what degree members seem to want to be focused on being critical of Ottawa and the federal government. That is fine. That is fair. They are in opposition, but they also need to realize that it is more than the federal government that ultimately sees the injection into the arm of our constituents. We need provinces, territories and indigenous leaders to also be at the table and a part of the discussions. They are, and they have been there for months.

The opposition parties say they want to know who is going to get it and when, and which ones are going to be the priorities. Those are very good questions, and provinces have that responsibility. Ottawa continues to work with provinces to ensure that there is some dialogue on the issue. We all have our personal opinions in terms of who should receive it first, but Ottawa will continue to work with provinces and recognize the provinces. There is reason to be optimistic. Members should take a look at the flu vaccine; 16 million doses, during the pandemic, were administered through provinces.

We have good reason to be optimistic that we are going to be able to get the job done and get it done well.

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Madam Speaker, budget 2017 granted the Minister of Health new fee-setting authorities. Unlike any other department, Health Canada does not have to justify the fees it sets for items that need drug identification numbers or approvals. Health Canada actually must be making a killing with all the times it has been sending applicants back to the drawing board. Maybe that is why it took so painstakingly long for the millions of gallons of hand sanitizer to be approved for distribution to Canadians. We are waiting for rapid testing, and it keeps getting sent back to the drawing board.

Is it because Health Canada is making so much money delaying the approval of these drugs and other items and devices, or is there some other reason the Prime Minister and his government do not want Canadians getting back on their feet and back to work?

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Yes, Madam Speaker, there is another reason. The member opposite might be okay making political decisions on issues of that nature. We are more confident that Health Canada has the expertise to make good decisions that are in the best interest, from a health perspective, of people who are going to be using these products. We are more dependent on science and health experts to do this.

When they talk about the vaccine, the member makes reference to the fees. One of the nice things that we have been very clear on is that every Canadian who wants and receives the vaccine for COVID-19 is going to be getting it for free.

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, BC]

Madam Speaker, we all know this is the season when the wind blows hard in Winnipeg, and I have found a certain parallel in the member's speech.

We heard lots of talk about portfolios of vaccines. We heard lots of talk about bringing people to the table. We heard lots of talk about everything except when people in my riding could expect to get a vaccine.

I am hearing from families who have seniors in long-term care. They want to know when they are going to get vaccinated.

We have front-line health care workers who work with my partner. They are asking, “When are we going to get vaccinated?”

We have the grocery store workers, who want to know when the vaccine is going to be available.

When we hear figures like 9% or 8% of people being vaccinated by April, it is not good enough for the people in my riding. They do not want to hear more about portfolios of vaccines. They want to hear a plan to get those front-line workers and those seniors at high risk vaccinated in short order.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Madam Speaker, let us just use one of the candidates that has been very successful to date and is looking very promising: Pfizer. We have a contract with Pfizer for millions of doses of vaccine. What the member is implying in his question is that we can say to Pfizer and Health Canada, “Here is the date that we want to tell our constituents”. The member has it wrong.

We have to allow Health Canada to do what it does best and is recognized around the world for doing, and then ensure that we have the proper distribution so that when it gets here it is circulated, and then the provinces have to play a role. Once we get it to the provinces, they have to determine when and who are going to be the top priorities. The member's question could equally be asked from the department of health of British Columbia, for example, as we work with provinces to try to get that vaccine out to people as soon as we can.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Madam Speaker, I listened carefully to my colleague's speech and I see that he is still quite skilled at acrobatics and making it seem as though the government is doing great things.

I will, however, give him two facts on this good working relationship he claims the government has with Quebec and the provinces.

First of all, Quebec has been waiting for two months now for a meeting with the Prime Minister about increasing health transfers. Oddly enough, the meeting that was meant to be on December 5 has been pushed to December 10. Maybe the Prime Minister had a scheduling conflict. However, if the meeting is held on December 10, we will not be able to question the Prime Minister on it before the end of January. It is not a very good example of working together to make the Government of Quebec wait for two months during an unprecedented pandemic. There was a breakdown of that working relationship.

Second of all, the government has not kept up with increases to the health transfers. This is an encroachment on the provinces' and Quebec's jurisdictions. Furthermore, Quebec's health minister sent the federal government a letter to get information about the plan, but he has heard nothing but radio silence.

Does my colleague consider this to be an example of the federal government working together with the provinces and Quebec?

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Madam Speaker, I would remind the member that back in August there was a restart program with over $19 billion. That $19 billion came through discussions that were taking place between the federal government and the provinces. It was provincial restart money. The Prime Minister, in working with the premiers, continues to take an interest and ensure that there are communication lines.

What the member is specifically asking about is health care transfers, which is a very important issue, there is no doubt about that. I can tell the member that when it comes to the health care transfers, this government has been far more sensitive than the previous government, where there were no first ministers meetings on the issue of health care. Under this administration, there has been dialogue. That dialogue will continue, but our focus today is primarily the coronavirus. There are ongoing discussions through departments of health and first ministers at different levels.

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Red Deer—Lacombe, AB]

Madam Speaker, I just listened to our colleague across the way, quite loudly, for several minutes, and he had admonished Conservatives ad nauseam for daring to ask for a plan for some certainty before Health Canada possibly approved these vaccines.

I wonder if my hon. colleague can answer this. What was the plan when the Liberals approved the purchase of ventilators from Baylis Medical before Health Canada approved them or will he just yell at me some more?

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Madam Speaker, what happens is the Conservatives will often look under every little pebble, every little rock. However, what they are not interested in is the hundreds of companies that are retooling, getting contracts and helping Canadians get through this crisis. I can assure the member that Conservative businesses have received contracts by this government.

I wonder if we should do some sort of investigation to look at all the Conservative contractors, all the for New Democrat contractors and all the Bloc contractors who have received contracts. We should get them all before a committee and go at them.

Is that the attitude coming from the Conservative Party?

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Madam Speaker, the member just went off on some weird tangent, but I will focus our conversation on the debate.

The reality is that Canada used to have a world-class, publicly owned entity that produced vaccines and prescription drugs, Connaught Labs. It was privatized by the Mulroney government. We can now do something about the future, which is Canada going back to having a publicly owned Crown corporation to produce vaccines and prescription drugs for Canadians.

Is that something the member would support? Is that something to look at in the future to prepare Canadians should there, God forbid, be another pandemic?

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Madam Speaker, the member raised a good point. One of the things we have seen with the pandemic are the areas we can improve upon with respect to our industries. We have seen that with PPE or hand sanitizers, as I cited. Canada used to do quite well with respect to the local production of vaccines. Over the last number of months, the government has been looking at a wide variety of options on how we could increase the potential for vaccinations being produced in Canada. That will be an ongoing discussion in the months ahead.

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

Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Mégantic—L'Érable.

I am participating in this debate tonight from my hometown of Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan. Right next door to me is the Flying Dust First Nation, one of nine members of the Meadow Lake Tribal Council. On the east side of my riding is the Prince Albert Grand Council, which is comprised of 12 first nations. There are also many Métis communities across my northern Saskatchewan riding along with a huge agricultural sector and tourism.

The reason I highlight this is that all our communities, including the first nation and Métis communities in northern Saskatchewan, are looking to the government for a clear and competent vaccine plan, but they are not finding one.

The text of today's motion indicates that “a vaccine is essential to the health, safety, and economic security of every Canadian.” My constituents are now observing countries around the world as they detail their vaccine plans, with real tangible timelines, and are asking where Canada's plan is.

The Prime Minister naively announced on election night in 2015 “Canada is back.” Now we understand just how true those words were. Canada is indeed at the back of the line, behind one-third of the world population, in getting vaccines.

The attack from the Liberals on this is easily predicted, that we as Conservatives are playing politics. It may come as a shock to the Liberals, but as Canada's official opposition, it is indeed our job to push back, to hold government accountable and, in some cases, even oppose and criticize it. Without the great work of my colleagues in the Conservative Party, Canada and Canadians would be much worse off than they are today in the face of this pandemic.

What do I mean by that? In my role as shadow minister for indigenous services, at many times throughout this pandemic I have identified gaps and serious issues facing indigenous people. This began with many indigenous businesses not being able to access the government's wage subsidy program because of the way it was structured. After weeks of fighting, finally the government modified its program and allowed these businesses to access the wage subsidy.

Next was the issue of elections on first nations. As Canada was dealing with the first wave of this pandemic, elections were scheduled to occur, while many first nations were developing public health measures to ensure their people were kept safe. As members can imagine, contrary to what the Liberals clearly want, the height of a pandemic is no time to hold an election. Therefore, I, with the help of many, pushed the minister and his department to find a solution. They did. They found the ability to delay these elections in regulations created under the Indian Act.

A few months into the pandemic, I was made aware of a major gap in the government's CEBA loan program, thanks to the excellent advocacy of Tabatha Bull of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business, Shannin Metatawabin of the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association and many others. Indigenous businesses do not often use traditional banking systems. Instead, they make use of the many aboriginal financial institutions, AFIs, across Canada. Alongside many stakeholders, we advocated for the government to create the emergency loan program administered through NACCA. It was eventually announced at the end of April, but still businesses could not access it until over two months later.

Let us not forget that it was the Conservative Party that first raised the idea of closing our borders to international travellers. Our concerns were met with scoffs and suggestions of racism from the health minister. Then what happened? The government eventually listened and closed our borders.

In addition to that, it was our party that fought the government to investigate rapid tests after countries around the world started to introduce them for use. The Liberals at the time, which I predict they will again do today, accused us of being too partisan. What happened? Within weeks of us raising it, the government started looking into and approving rapid tests.

It is clear that if it were not for our strong, principled opposition, Canadians would be far worse off than they are today in the face of the second wave of this pandemic. Here we are today once again identifying a major gap in the government's handling of the pandemic, hoping to receive all-party support and finally receive some semblance of a plan from the Liberals.

Getting back to the motion, the Conservatives, and I believe all Canadians, want to know how each type of vaccine will be safely delivered to Canada, stored and distributed to Canadians; the data on which each vaccine type will be first deployed in Canada and the rate of vaccinations anticipated by month; any intended federal guidance with respect to the deployment of the vaccine by priority group, such as front-line health workers and seniors; and, finally, the plan for distribution of the vaccine to indigenous communities, members of the Canadian Armed Forces and veterans.

For the remainder of my time, I want to focus on the importance of a plan for rural and remote indigenous communities, urban indigenous people and indigenous businesses.

During the first wave of the pandemic, indigenous people experienced far lower positive and mortality rates for COVID-19 because of strong local leadership. While the Liberals were playing politics about closing borders, many first nations did exactly that and were able to control who came into their communities in order to keep their people safe.

It is no secret that there are many unsafe living conditions in many of these indigenous communities across our country. In the face of such adversity, indigenous people weathered the first wave better than any other demographic across the country.

As Canada has experienced the second wave, indigenous communities are now dealing with increased COVID fatigue, leading to people to let their guard down and sometimes make poor decisions, thus increasing the risk to their families and communities. With no plan from the government on when these communities may receive a vaccine, how it will be transported to them and how many doses they will be provided, the leadership in these communities cannot provide hope that this will soon be over. This is precisely why we need a plan from the government.

Eight months ago, I raised the issue of collecting accurate and comprehensive data on urban indigenous people with the Minister of Indigenous Services. The purpose of this would be to reduce jurisdictional wrangling. Unfortunately, as we saw last week, instead of action, the minister decided to point the finger at the provinces and municipalities. Without accurate and comprehensive data on urban indigenous people, how can the government plan to vaccine this vulnerable population and learn from this pandemic?

My office has been in close contact with the Aboriginal Friendship Centres of Saskatchewan as well as its national organization. These groups have been providing much of the care for urban indigenous populations throughout the pandemic and they also have been advocating for better data so they can continue to provide these high-quality services. Without a plan that includes answers on the how, when and who, these organizations are left to fill the gap on which the government should be providing leadership.

An issue that has become near and dear to me, as I have served in the capacity as shadow minister over the past year, is indigenous businesses. I strongly believe that without true economic reconciliation, Canada's relationship with indigenous people will continue to be one of dependence. We need to put our effort and focus on supporting indigenous entrepreneurs who remain so connected to their nations and allow them to reinvest in their communities to provide real and lasting positive outcomes. That means the Liberals making good on their promise of a 5% procurement target for indigenous businesses.

The government cannot continue to operate in silos. This need to be a whole-of-government approach across all departments. Out of all the contracts awarded to businesses across Canada to produce PPE, the fact that indigenous businesses made up less than 1% is unacceptable, especially when hundreds of indigenous businesses lined up to be providers.

Indigenous businesses, like all businesses, need a level of certainty in order to successfully operate and make continued investments. As I pointed out, the government has done a poor job in supporting indigenous businesses throughout this pandemic and now, as these businesses are again looking for a plan, they are seeing a government with no plan.

In speaking with indigenous business stakeholders this week, we heard concerns regarding the lack of a mention of indigenous entrepreneurs in the fall economic statement. This has led them to be very disappointed and concerned with their ability to even survive a second wave, instead of focusing on the critical role they could be playing in the economic post-pandemic recovery.

That is why it is so important today that we pass this motion to provide these businesses and all Canadians some semblance of certainty during this difficult time.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Madam Speaker, in light of what is happening with the pandemic, we know that we are going to be short on the vaccine in the beginning. So far, what we have learned from the government is that approximately about three million vaccines will be made available to Canadians. Of course, in meeting the basic needs, whether it be seniors in long-term care facilities or health care providers, that is not going to be sufficient.

In addition to that, I am gravely worried about those who have other pre-existing conditions, such as the people in the Downtown Eastside in my riding, the people who are underhoused and homeless at the moment. Many of them are very challenged. In fact, the Downtown Eastside now has the highest rate of COVID infection in the entire city.

To that end, I wonder whether the member will support a call for action for the federal government to ensure that front-line workers and those who are most vulnerable, including those with pre-existing conditions, have access in priority to the vaccine.

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

Madam Speaker, I find myself a little bit surprised that I agree with the hon. member in this particular case. We have been working with many groups representing urban and indigenous people over the last 10 months and I fully agree.

In my comments in my speech, I talked much about getting the data, about trying to remove the jurisdictional quagmires that we find many of these people in. The government likes to point to the provinces and say that those people are their responsibility, so what we end up with is people falling through the cracks. We have been advocating for the data to ensure that these vulnerable people do not fall through the cracks. I 100% agree that applies to the distribution of vaccines as well.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Madam Speaker, in Winnipeg North, I would estimate that there is probably somewhere in the neighbourhood of about 20,000 people of indigenous background.

When my colleague talks about jurisdictional responsibilities, what are his thoughts about administering the vaccine in regard to that component? It is a very personal question for me, as there are just under 20,000 indigenous people who live in Winnipeg North.

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

Madam Speaker, that is an important question. What I would suggest to the member is that it is important for the federal government to have that conversation with the leaders at the provincial level to ensure that, as part of the plan, there is an exact clarity on who is going to take responsibility for some of these people who sometimes fall through the cracks due to jurisdictional wrangling.

It would be imperative that the federal government initiate conversations with the leaders at the provincial level and bring clarity to that as part of the planning process before it happens. We need to be proactive, not reactive.

[Damien Kurek, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

Madam Speaker, my colleague touched on a few very important issues regarding this debate. I would just ask for his comments in regard to why it is important that Canadians have certainty in regard to vaccines and their distribution, and clarity on how we go forward for all Canadians, including many of the communities that he represents in northern Saskatchewan.

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

Madam Speaker, that is an important question.

I would frame it really very simply. People are at a place in their journey with COVID fatigue and frustrations with lockdowns where they need to be given hope so that they can see the light at the end of the tunnel. They need to be given hope so that they will maintain diligence in ensuring that they take the proper safety precautions and adhere to the measures that are put before them to keep their families safe.

The certainty and clarity resulting from what we are asking for today in this motion would actually provide hope to those people. That hope will be what keeps them going through the rest of this.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his speech. He spoke very eloquently about what is happening in his region.

Today, I will try to provide an update on the situation we are facing, particularly in Quebec, nine months after the beginning of the lockdown and nearly a year after the start of this pandemic that has completely changed our lives and the lives of people around the world.

Let us remember the first images that we saw on television of Wuhan, China, when the virus first appeared. We were watching that from afar, from our living rooms or kitchens. We were wondering what was going on. It seemed outrageous. We never thought, at that time, that the virus would make its way across oceans and infect people all over the world. It was far away and we were not worried. They were just images on TV.

While the world was watching what was happening in China, we would have expected our leaders, here in Canada, who knew a little more than the rest of us, who were watching what was happening in China from our living rooms and kitchens, to look ahead and take action to protect Canadians living here in Canada and around the world.

Let's recall what actually happened. Canadians were stuck on cruise ships. Canadians could not get home to Canada. How many cases involving Canadians did we have to deal with in our constituency offices when they were unable to return to Canada because there were no planes? Let's remember everything that happened early on. Plants closed and people started working from home. Who would have imagined that, overnight, downtown areas would empty out and people would start working from home? Let's remember the outbreaks, the closures of long-term care centres, the deaths at long-term care centres, the deaths in hospitals.

We really got to know our first ministers, both of the provinces and of Canada, through daily press conferences. The Prime Minister of Canada held a press conference on his front steps every day. We hung on his every word. MPs and all Canadians were wondering what was going on. We were waiting for news. We wanted to know what was happening.

Information is important in a pandemic. People fear uncertainty. They want to trust their elected officials and their leaders to make decisions. They want to know that someone, somewhere, is in control. They want to know that someone, somewhere, is taking the reins.

Let's not forget that schools and day cares closed. Parents did not know what to do with their children and ended up forced to stop working to take care of their children at home. It is not that the parents do not like that, but when they cannot earn money to take care of their children, that is a problem.

Let's not forget the travel restrictions, everyone who had booked trips, the harm done to travel agencies.

We all remember the images of the toilet paper shortages and people who were running around to get toilet paper because someone somewhere said that there might be a shortage. That caused a rush on toilet paper. It was worth more than gold at the time.

Seniors were confined to their homes. Students were learning remotely. Proms were cancelled. That may not seem like much, but a prom comes around once in a young person's life. Their entire high school education leads up to the prom, which was cancelled, postponed until fall, then cancelled again. Finally, there were none. Students are waiting for their diploma, but at least they will get one. No one really knows how. Nonetheless, there will be no event to mark the end of their high school education.

We learned to keep our distance, wear a mask, and wait and wait and wait. Nine months in, where are we at?

Today, the Premier of Quebec announced that family gatherings will not be allowed in Quebec this Christmas. Restaurants, movie theatres and gyms are closed. There are no more group activities. Health measures were more relaxed for several months, but now they are getting stricter because, unfortunately, the COVID-19 case count is rising.

I would like to take two minutes to applaud the resilience of business owners. Restaurant, bar and movie theatre owners, and business owners in general, have had to go through this whole crisis without really knowing what would happen next.

One day, they are allowed to open. They invest, they do more to protect themselves, and then they are forced to close again. They do not know what is going to happen. Fortunately, MPs did the right thing and voted for measures to help them. That does not change the fact that these people do not want to be helped. What they want is to serve people. They want to do what they are good at. That is what they want, and that is what keeps them alive. Unfortunately, it is not working. I want to salute the people who work for these businesses and sometimes have to deal with people who are not all that patient. These employees have to enforce mask-wearing, and that is not always easy, but that is the situation we are in right now.

Quebec's numbers are frightening, with 150,000 confirmed cases and nearly 7,500 deaths. There are red zones everywhere, and people are experiencing mental health problems.

In a recent poll by the Ordre des psychologues du Québec, 86% of psychologists said they have seen a rise in psychological distress and an exacerbation of their clients' symptoms. Anxiety and depressive symptoms are more pronounced in psychologists' clients, and domestic violence is on the rise. With statistics like these, we would have expected the Liberal government to take the lead from day one and make Canadians' health this government's top priority. Unfortunately, that was not so, and the government was slow to react.

The Minister of Health allowed the pandemic early warning system to be shut down a few months before the outbreak. The government sent hundreds of thousands of masks, gloves and gowns from government stockpiles to China. Within a month, we had a shortage here. The government refused to close our borders, allowed the virus to spread across the country and dithered about whether or not masks should be worn in Canada. At the very outset, the Minister of Health declared several times that the risk was low. Tell that to the regions in the red zone today, where everything is closed.

The government was slow to implement federal assistance programs and, above all, to fix them when the opposition parties called for major changes that would help everyone. We are on the ground, and we know what is happening in our ridings.

Now our allies are going to get the vaccine before we do. That is the reality. From the outset, the Liberals put their trust in a partnership with China. While other countries were getting organized, we were waiting for our vaccines. We found ourselves no further ahead. Canada was left out to dry because the agreement with China failed.

This was to be expected, since the writing was on the wall. However, the government put all of our eggs in one basket. While other countries were signing multiple agreements and securing their place at the front of the line for vaccines, we had to go to the back of the line and wait. Sure, we managed to buy millions of vaccines. The government is constantly talking about a portfolio of available vaccines and saying that there are 50 or 100 vaccines per Canadian. I do not know what today's number is. The first and second vaccines are the most important ones, not the 10th or 25th. When will we get the vaccines?

The motion we moved today is simple. It calls on the government to give us and Canadians some information. Since a vaccine is the only way to put an end to red zones and social distancing, the only way to give Canadians their lives back, it makes sense that they would want answers from the government about the vaccination plan. It would also make sense for the government to give us an approximate date and answer our questions.

If the government does not answer our questions, the only thing it could mean is that it is trying to hide something. It means that it is hiding something from Canadians.

I invite everyone to read the motion. There is nothing partisan about it. We are just asking the government to answer the questions “when”, “where” and “who”, so that Canadians are better informed. This is not about creating false hope. It is simply about giving us the facts so that we know what to expect and can make arrangements accordingly.

If the Liberals vote against this motion, it is surely because they have things to hide from Canadians. We are just asking them to do the right thing, give Canadians the facts and vote in favour of the motion we moved today.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Madam Speaker, we heard during some of the other speeches today that premiers across Canada are very concerned with their lack of information. We have heard quotes from Scott Moe in Saskatchewan and Doug Ford in Ontario, and certainly from the Premier of Quebec and premiers in the Atlantic provinces as well.

With the lack of information, does it not seem that the Liberal government is setting up the provinces to fail? They do not have access to the important information about when vaccines are going to be available and how they will be distributed.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

I hope not, Madam Speaker.

If that is the case, it is scandalous.

I cannot believe that the government thinks that way, but that is what all the signs point to. Why is the government not answering the provinces? Why is it not answering the legitimate questions from the provinces, which are the ones responsible for administering the vaccine through nurses and doctors? The health care system is provincial.

These people all deserve answers because they need to get organized and decide how to administer the vaccine. If they do not know how many doses they will get or when, they cannot get organized. That will lead to failures, but they will be the Liberal government's failures, not the provinces'.