Debates of Dec. 7th, 2020

Opposition Motion—Measures to support Canadian businesses

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the way the last question wrapped up opened the opportunity for me to put on the record that there is much in this opposition supply day motion we would support as Greens, particularly the help for small business, but it is something of a poison pill to be asked to vote against the one piece of climate action regarding carbon pricing, which moves us in the right direction. The hon. member for Abitibi—Témiscamingue quite rightly points out how weak, at first reading, the climate accountability act is, pushing it down the road until later. I would ask him to reflect on this.

Would we not wish this was in several separate sections so we could vote for some but not all of it?

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Saanich—Gulf Islands for her remarks.

Indeed, I think the environment is the crux of the matter, the key issue in this bill that makes it impossible for the Bloc Québécois to support it.

In response to the question from my colleague from Cariboo—Prince George, I would like to add that more and more mergers are happening between SMEs and businesses. Ownership is becoming increasingly concentrated in the hands of major players. All of this will also have an impact on the diversification of our economy and the future of our businesses.

On top of that, from an environmental perspective, can we invest in a renewable industry, such as forestry, for example, which has such incredible potential? I think there is a real future there for our SMEs, and the government and the House of Commons should consider that as soon as possible.

[Louise Chabot, Bloc, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Abitibi—Témiscamingue for his fine speech. I also want to say hello to his staffer who is just coming back to work. I would like to continue in the same vein as my colleague.

With respect to the motion we are studying, we can agree on the preamble, which states that Canadian businesses are in distress and need help. From the start of the crisis, we have been talking to all parliamentarians and the government about the need for targeted assistance.

However, I disagree with elements of the motion that say that we will help businesses by removing barriers to job creation, such as taxes and regulation; by postponing the increase of the Canada pension plan payroll taxes; and by postponing the increase of the carbon tax and the alcohol escalator tax planned for 2021. I will apologize right away to the interpreters but, in my opinion, with such measures we are shooting ourselves in the foot rather than helping businesses.

Not so long ago in the House, on November 3, I talked about—as does the opposition motion—the fact that businesses are having a hard time staying afloat.

On September 30, we learned from a survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business that 26% of businesses in the arts, recreation and information industry and 24% of businesses in the hospitality industry were actively considering bankruptcy as a result of COVID-19. It is safe to say that businesses are in trouble.

We could also talk about the aerospace industry, which was conspicuously absent from the throne speech. We are still waiting for answers. It is taking a long time for measures to be put in place. Companies are still struggling because the measures were poorly adapted to their reality during this crisis. Take, for example, the tourism industry, the hospitality industry and the arts, culture and entertainment industry. They have all basically been shut down for months.

If we want to support businesses, we first need to support those who keep them up and running, the workers. Millions of people are still out of work and are still waiting for measures to be taken. The Canada emergency response benefit had to be adapted to the situation and, still today, there are people out of work who are not getting a cheque because we are still waiting for direction and guidance to help these people properly transition from emergency benefits to either the new employment insurance benefits or the new recovery benefits. That does not make any sense at all.

If we want to support the recovery, I think we also need to support the efforts everyone is making for the public good. We are not going to revive the economy if we ask businesses to shirk their social obligations, such as contributing their share to the Canada pension plan.

Businesses have been telling us for a long time that we need to cut the excessive red tape. In order to do so, we need to support their social measures that contribute to the economy as a whole. That is where we need to act. If we do not, we will be depriving ourselves of some very important economic levers.

Seven provinces had to agree to amend and improve the Canada pension plan, and this had not happened in a long time. If we were to postpone the increase to the employers' CPP contributions, we would be taking that new pension plan away from workers. This is an important matter, and I think we need to be doing the opposite.

They are talking about postponing the carbon tax. Do they want to postpone it so that they can get rid of it? We know full well that the Conservatives are not particularly fond of the carbon tax. However, it is practically our only means of achieving the Paris targets.

Surely everyone saw the article in La Presse+ this morning about a report that just came out about climate change. The title of the article speaks volumes: “Le Canada parmi les cancres”, or Canada lags far behind. In the report, released on Monday, we learned that Canada ranks 58th out of 61 on the Climate Change Performance Index, 56th out of 61 in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and 54th out of 61 in terms of renewable energy production; when it comes to global energy consumption, Canada comes in last.

Despite all of that, they want to postpone the carbon tax? That makes no sense. I think we need to keep the tax, because it encourages good practices to address climate change.

I know that the opposition will say that it is not asking that we abolish the carbon tax on businesses, but only that we postpone it. It would be a mistake to postpone the tax in order to abolish it. We need these economic levers to support things as basic as our social programs, such as pension plans. We also need them to support our efforts, late in coming, to counter climate change. We also have other solutions for supporting businesses going through hard times.

As someone said earlier, we need to adopt a sectoral approach. As we know, some sectors have managed to do well. Others, however, are still staring into the abyss, namely the arts, culture, tourism and restaurant and hotel services. Jobs in these sectors are occupied mainly by women, and that has an effect on families.

If we want to support employment, we must first support businesses’ ability to retain their workers until the recovery. What do we need to do in the period before the end of the crisis? We need to strengthen the wage subsidy and implement measures that will help businesses improve their situation.

As my colleague said, and as we have been repeating for months now, it took time before we came up with a response that meets businesses’ needs in terms of rent. We must also provide support for fixed costs.

We need a plan. We expressed our disappointment with the fact that the government’s measures did not include a plan to deal with the crisis. In our opinion, to help businesses, we must first have the ability to protect our economy and the public good. That is why we should not ask businesses to shirk their responsibilities.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it seems to me that the question of the carbon tax really comes to us federally as a question of jurisdictional responsibility. This federal government has sought to impose a particular approach to responding to climate change on the provinces, and many provinces have said that they should decide on the kind of environmental policies they use and deploy. The federal approach is highly prescriptive in an area that has generally been a provincial jurisdiction, with provinces setting taxes within their own area.

It is striking to me that the Bloc is opposing our call for the change to the timeline in this motion. Since we seem to be the ones in this case respecting provincial jurisdiction in an area that the Bloc is not, I would ask the member why the Bloc Québécois is failing to respect Quebec's jurisdiction in this matter.

[Louise Chabot, Bloc, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question.

I will answer by saying that Quebec has already adopted these types of measures. We agree with the carbon tax, because Quebec has already implemented a similar measure. We are doing better than Canada in our fight against climate change, although much remains to be done.

As my colleague mentioned, the carbon tax applies to the other provinces. It is up to the provinces to express their opinion, but that is not what the Conservatives’ motion is about. The motion very clearly asks for tax cuts to help support businesses. That is what we oppose.

[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]

Mr. Speaker, the member makes reference to the government needing to have a plan, and we have indicated that there is a plan. She then asked about small businesses and jobs and people keeping those jobs.

I would like her thoughts on the following. Is it not a plan to support businesses with a wage subsidy, rent subsidies and other measures, thereby keeping many businesses afloat so once the pandemic is behind us we are in a much better position to keep the economy moving forward? Is that not part of a good plan?

[Louise Chabot, Bloc, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the plan had its faults.

We had to fight to increase the wage subsidy to an appropriate level. The emergency loan program also had to be modified to meet needs. The commercial rent program is recent. They are saying that they set aside $3 billion, but that the money was not spent because the program was not adapted to businesses.

Having a plan and a vision is one thing, but the measures, however good they are, have to be adapted to reality and not get in the way.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her speech.

I find it interesting that she mentioned the study published this morning. It shows that the federal government truly lags behind most other countries in the fight against climate change. I think we rank 58th out of 61 on the Climate Change Performance Index.

She spoke of the price on pollution, the famous carbon tax, as a tool in our toolkit. Since this tool alone does not appear to suffice for the moment, what would she like the government to do to promote investment in renewable energy?

[Louise Chabot, Bloc, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question.

It is indeed a tool, but it should not be the only tool. We need a far more ambitious plan for dealing with climate change. However, we should not deprive ourselves of this tool, since it can help improve things.

When it comes to climate change, we need to adopt a whole new vision, a much more robust vision. We will certainly not get there by planting 20,000 trees. I think that we need a paradigm shift, namely investing less in fossil fuels, thinking about employment transition and investing more in renewable energy.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is a huge honour to participate in today's debate. First, I will be sharing my time with the member for Hamilton Mountain.

Today's debate is a very important debate, because we are obviously talking about issues related to the economy, around the pandemic and small business. It could not be more appropriate timing, as many small businesses are on the cusp of going out of business given that they have closed their doors to protect public health. In fact, small businesses truly are the unsung heroes in this pandemic, and we need to do everything we can to support them in this crisis.

There are many things in today's motion that we agree with. The Conservatives put forward a motion today with a couple of poison pills. I do not believe they actually want this motion to pass today, which is really disappointing. We have been waiting for the Conservatives, the official opposition to come forward with new ideas that could help support small business in the middle of a pandemic. One would expect that the Conservatives would come forward with ways to help support small business in a way that would make a meaningful difference. Instead, they are coming forward with old items that were on their agenda prior to the pandemic.

Sadly, I would say that the Conservatives are using the pandemic to leverage their political platform to attack workers' pensions, to slow down action when it comes to tackling climate change and doing our part, and it is extremely disappointing. They cite that 46% of Canadian businesses are concerned they are not going to survive. I do not doubt that.

The Liberals have rolled out program after program that have design flaws, and have left many people out, including the commercial rent assistance program. The NDP brought forward the concept of a commercial rent assistance program, and the last thing we thought was that it would be a landlord-driven program. We are glad to see the government finally fix that, but are disappointed that it will not backdate it to April 1. We do not understand why the Conservatives have sat idle, and have not joined us in calling on the government to backdate that program for the many businesses that were left out.

The Conservatives are talking about businesses that are concerned and are wondering how they are going to survive. We want them to join the New Democrats in calling on the government for what I think is really an injustice, by leaving out all of those tenants who were left out to dry. I am disappointed that that is not in this motion, calling on those who are benefiting and profiting from the pandemic the most, including the big banks and the biggest corporations, to pay their fair share. They are getting a free ride.

The Conservatives have put forward a motion calling for the postponing of the increase of the Canada pension plan and payroll taxes. It is like we are in one crisis and we are putting off a future crisis for seniors. We know that many of them were in crisis heading into this pandemic, without adequate supports and adequate safety and security in place, or retirement savings to get them through even the best of times.

We are seeing housing prices skyrocket in the middle of this pandemic. For a decade, we saw the Conservatives refuse to increase contributions to the CPP, which is really leaving seniors vulnerable today. Now they want to leave young people who are going to be the victims, carrying the debt load and the consequences of the pandemic and what it is going to do to the Canadian economy in the long run, to not have to contribute now, when we know that they deserve to have a retirement in the future, where they can retire with dignity.

Again, Conservatives are back on their track record of continuing to attack workers and seniors. We saw, under their regime, that they attempted to raise the retirement age from 65 to 67, and they refused to invest appropriately in the OAS. So the Conservative track record when it comes to pensions is pretty clear. What we do not want to do is use one pandemic as an excuse to have another crisis in the future, when it comes to seniors and retirement income.

The Conservatives are even calling it taxes. This is not taxes. This is about critical investments in people's retirement security. It is disappointing to hear the Conservatives say that they now support labour and workers, and they are changing direction. However, the Conservatives are now using words like “taxes” when it comes to increasing supports for income security for people in their retirement.

The other part that I am deeply concerned about is the carbon tax. I have to give credit to the B.C. Liberals for continuing to move forward with the carbon tax in B.C., despite the economic crisis we were in 2008, with the understanding that if we did not do our part when it came to taking climate action, we would inevitably be in another crisis down the road that would cost us much more, whether it be in forest fires or flooding. We see the impact that it is having on our warming oceans and our salmon.

Right now is the time to ensure we follow through with climate action. Right now we are still lagging behind jurisdictions such as British Columbia on a federal landscape. We see the new administration from the U.S., in its mandate, committing to taking on the issue of climate change. It is not backing down.

We are seeing leadership. Maybe the Conservatives need to look at other leadership around the world or other Conservative governments, such as in Britain, Japan or Germany. We are seeing right-leaning governments understand that it is good economics to invest in climate action and clean energy, and that it is a huge economic cost to leave to future generations. They talk about the Liberals and their deficits, but really they keep neglecting the huge economic deficit they are looking at passing on to future generations.

I have huge concerns about the motion. I am disappointed that the Conservatives threw in the poison pill. We would have liked to have support it. Part of this motion is about ensuring there is more credit availability, which is very important in my riding, especially to the tourism sector. Resorts in my riding have had an incredibly difficult time. Many of them did not get access to the BCAP program. It was very challenging to do that.

I worry that when looking at the LEEFF program, the Conservatives are really trying to erode the important mechanisms that are in place, so we do not see CEOs and shareholders benefiting from government financing and supports during the pandemic, as we saw in 2008 under the Conservative government when it was in charge of the oversight of the economic downturn from the recession then.

These are some of the things that we have identified about which we are deeply concerned. We will continue to work with all parties to ensure there are improvements and supports for small businesses. We want to see the Liberal government follow through with its commitment when it comes to accessible, affordable and universal child care, so everybody has a chance to have early childhood education and be able to go back to the work force.

I am disappointed to see that the Conservatives are not supporting these important investments. In Quebec, 70,000 women went back to work and the GDP grow 2% as a result of an investment in early childhood education. We have seen how important the CERB has been to support those workers and business owners who have been left out, such as musicians or artists whose businesses are gone. We would have loved to have seen the Conservatives bring forward a motion to invest in training, retraining or guaranteed liveable income to ensure that nobody would fall through the cracks in the future.

We understand that small businesses are under distress, that they need access to financing. We fought really hard to support the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada and get important economic supports and loans early on in the pandemic. We would like to see the government roll out a recovery plan to support those most vulnerable businesses, whether it be in the tourism sector or the whole economy. We have not seen the government come forward with a true recovery plan.

Therefore, we join the Conservatives in wanting to see what the plan is when it comes to rapid testing and a vaccination rollout, but also the economic recovery plan, which is critical.

Again, back to the importance of supporting small business, we need to be working together in a collective spirit and we need to be careful. I do not think it is the time for partisan approaches to putting a tax on really important supports for people. This is the time for us to recognize how inadequate the supports are for people and how sad our commitment to climate change is. We saw that in Bill C-12, which the government just tabled. There is a lack of priority by government when it comes to tackling climate change.

The New Democrats support some things in the motion, but we are deeply disappointed that the Conservatives had to throw a bunch of poison pills in it and really push what is a crisis now to future generations. We hope our colleagues will—

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Questions and comments, the hon. member for Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon.

[Brad Vis, Conservative, Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC]

Mr. Speaker, indeed, I agree with what the member for Courtenay—Alberni stated, that we need to work collectively for the best interests of Canada. I liked his comments on the recent news reports quoting Kevin Page at Ottawa University's Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy.

Mr. Page stated that he could hardly make sense of the recent 223-page economic update, saying that he spent an evening parsing through the charts, graphs and verbiage and it left him feeling like he had a hangover. He said, “It's impossible to read. I have done this for years and I can't even follow the money.” Mr. Page went on to indicate that if we could not follow money, we could not trust the government of the day.

How can we trust the government when it is not being honest with Canadians about how much money is being spent and how that is going to impact future generations?

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague has been a real trooper in standing up for wild Pacific salmon. I appreciate him joining us in the incredible challenge we are facing with the salmon emergency in B.C.

As the member stated, we do not know who is getting a lot of the money that has been rolling out the door and there needs to be transparency. There is huge concern from Canadian taxpayers that some of the beneficiaries are companies that are making huge profits off the back of this crisis.

He talked about Kevin Page, the former parliamentary budget officer. One thing the current Parliamentary Budget Officer noted last month was that the CPP was in huge trouble and there was a huge vulnerability for future generations. The importance of us continuing to increase investments in the CPP is critical right now. The PBO has identified this.

We agree with him that we need more transparency and that is something for which the New Democrats support and call.

[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]

Mr. Speaker, the member referenced the CPP. I wonder if my colleague could provide his thoughts on why, when dealing with the CPP, the Conservatives tend to want to call it a tax, I suspect trying to influence the debate. They have the same approach when it comes to the price on pollution when they again call it a tax.

Could he give his thoughts on why the Conservatives would do that in this motion?

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we also wonder about that. These are investments in retirement security. Everybody deserves to retire with dignity, and we do not see that right now. Seniors are falling through the cracks.

The Liberal government failed to deliver. Its one-time payment to seniors falls far short of what is needed. Housing has skyrocketed, the cost of goods have gone up throughout this crisis and the government has failed to invest adequately in seniors to give them the support they need through this crisis.

In terms of climate action, we need to make these critical investments. They create jobs, take action and save future generations from shouldering huge debts that will be incurred due to the huge impacts from climate change and challenges we will face in the future.

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, when I look at the motion, what I do not see is what I hear from a lot of small businesses in my riding. They need supports to be put in place to help them get through this time so they can be ready for the next step of rebuilding.

Could the member speak to the gaps in the motion?

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the member always fights hard for small business and I appreciate her strong conviction. She understands the importance of job creators in our communities.

There are huge gaps. We have seen design flaws in every one of the government's program rollouts which have left people out. For example, start-ups have not received any support. They are left out of almost every program that the government has rolled out. It did not backdate the commercial rent assistance program. Those businesses are carrying that debt forward. They are steeped in debt or are in arrears with their landlords and this injustice is unacceptable.

We need to do everything we can to fix the existing programs and ensure businesses that have been left out get access to those programs. The government needs to look at ways it can support those businesses that might not check one of the boxes in their applications. They closed their doors to protect public health. They are the unsung heroes in our country. We need to do everything we can to support them.

[Scott Duvall, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have sat in the House now for five years, listening to the back and forth, the questions and answers, the proposals and counter-proposals. I have to admit, I am always amazed at how tone deaf and out of touch some motions are with the wants and needs of Canadians and their families.

Today's opposition motion is no exception and a good case in point. We entered a major national crisis from which all accounts is going to get worse before it gets better. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the lives of all Canadians. People are afraid and unsure. They are unsure about their own health and safety and the well-being of their families, children, parents and friends. Workers are concerned about their jobs and futures and how will they get by from day to day, month to month. They are worried about their kids' education, putting food on the table and maintaining the life they worked hard to build.

In short, most Canadians are afraid and unsure of how the COVID-19 crisis will affect their lives, their security and the well-being of their loved ones. Right now, more Canadians are looking at the governments, both federal and provincial, for support and protection. That is why it is beyond my understanding that the Conservative Party would bring forth the current opposition day motion.

The motion before us today makes it clear who just exactly is a priority. None of the measures in the motion would help Canadian workers and their families. They are all aimed at helping big business and their wealthy owners and investors.

In this way, some of these measures are quite reckless, especially during a time of national crisis. The idea to postpone the increases to the Canada pension plan are one example. Who will this help? Will it be small business? Probably not so much. I have not heard from one small business in my riding that wants relief from its CPP obligations. Will it be big businesses? Absolutely. That is who will benefit. This could be a real financial boondoggle for big business, especially for those who are already making record profits off the pandemic.

Who will be hurt by this measure? All the workers who make regular payments into the Canada pension plan and who expect to see an increased pension when they retire. This kind of measure could end up reducing the benefits they expect to receive when they retire. This kind of measure would be done on the backs of working people and their families, and that is unacceptable.

What Canadians need and desperately want are ideas and solutions that will help them, their families and their loved ones weather the trials and challenges of this pandemic, help them get through the tough times they are facing. The motion before us today does none of that. There are no creative solutions being proposed in the motion, none that could help Canadians and their families. Instead, we do not see the motion having people pay their fair share of taxes.

I do not think anyone in the chamber or in the country would disagree that Canadian businesses are in distress. It is pretty easy to understand that the current health crisis has had and continues to have a devastating effect on the economy and especially on small business. I am sure all my colleagues are getting the same kinds of calls I am getting from local businesses so desperate to find a way to get through this difficult time to ensure their survival, their livelihoods and the jobs of their workers.

It is also easy to see that right now any barriers to employment are not taxes and regulations. The barrier is a national health pandemic, which has changed the lives of millions of Canadians. That is why we in the NDP have put our focus on fighting for people and helping to get us all through this pandemic. That is why we fought for adequate funding for CERB, the wage subsidies that would meet the needs of Canadian businesses and a rent assistance program for businesses that would effectively help the tenants and not just the landlords.

I am proud to say that the NDP will keep fighting for small business owners and their workers by pushing the government to improve the supports on which all Canadians rely. That is why the NDP continues to put forward creative and progressive ideas to help Canadian workers and their families get through these difficult times.

That is also why we believe that Canadian families should not have to pay for the pandemic and that those who have profited billions of dollars off the pandemic should help pay for the recovery. Many people actually benefit from the pandemic. Big business, their owners, CEOs and shareholders are making millions and billions, while Canadian workers and their families are struggling to get by.

Last week, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives released the profits reported by Canada's big six banks. The numbers are staggering: National Bank, $2.1 billion; CIBC, $3.8 billion; Scotiabank, $6.9 billion; Royal Bank of Canada, $11.4 billion; and TD Bank, 11.9 billion. It is important to remember that these profits, made during the pandemic, happened while the banks were also receiving $750 billion in government assistance.

Our research has also shown that Canadian billionaires are $37 billion richer than when the March 2020 COVID lockdown started, and not a single one of these top 20 billionaires in Canada has suffered a decrease in their overall wealth in the emergence of COVID-19. Furthermore, Canada's wealthiest 87 families now have 4,500 times more wealth than the average Canadian family. Together, they collectively own the same amount as the lowest-earning 12 million Canadians or as much as everybody in Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, combined.

Meanwhile, workers in Canada continue to bear the economic brunt of the crisis. In the latest labour force data, 1.1 million fewer people were employed in Canada compared with before the pandemic crisis. Another 713,000 workers have lost half or more of their casual pre-pandemic hours, and low-income workers have been hit the hardest by the pandemic, with women and racialized Canadians being overrepresented in that wage group.

That is why the NDP has developed a suite of proposals that would make sure the richest elites and the most profitable corporations pay their fair share to help pay for the help we need to deliver to those who are struggling. Our 1% wealth—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Unfortunately, I just want to let the member know that we have to get to Statements by Members. The hon. member will have three minutes remaining, when we resume this debate after question period.

Volunteerism

[Kate Young, Liberal, London West, ON]

Madam Speaker, today I want to call attention to a very special member of the London West community, Ellen Lundberg. Ellen has long been a cherished volunteer at the Museum of Ontario Archaeology and is a prolific quilter. Since the pandemic began, instead of turning fabric into beautiful handmade quilts, she has been turning fabric into equally beautiful handmade face masks.

Since March, Ellen has made and donated more than 5,000 masks to help keep people safe. She has handed them out free of charge to people from across our local community, including making Winnie the Pooh masks for children at a local hospital. Like a single patch on a quilt, Ellen's masks are just one part of a much larger pattern. Ellen is part of the London-Middlesex chapter of the national group, Canada Sews, which has donated thousands of masks to help health authorities in northern and remote communities.

I hope all my colleagues will join me in recognizing the efforts of Ellen and Canada Sews in helping all Canadians mask up to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

Royal Commission on the Status of Women

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Madam Speaker, today we celebrate 50 years since the tabling of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women report. This groundbreaking report included recommendations on updating the legislative system to better reflect women's rights and covered crucial areas for women including poverty, family law, the Indian Act and the need for a federal representative for women.

It led to the creation of the ministry of the status of women, now called Women and Gender Equality, and the status of women committee. This report was the springboard that led to increasing equality for women in Canada, but we still have much work to do, especially on matters of pay equity and workforce participation. We are right now at the risk of losing 30 years of progress on women's workforce participation due to caregiving issues during the COVID-19 pandemic. We cannot let that happen.

I thank the Royal Commission on the Status Women for its vitally important work for Canadian women, and I am happy to continue that work alongside my fellow MPs.

Christmas Greetings

[Churence Rogers, Liberal, Bonavista—Burin—Trinity, NL]

Madam Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to wish my constituents in Bonavista—Burin—Trinity a joyful holiday season and a very merry Christmas. I would also like to extend these greetings to my parliamentary colleagues and to all Canadians.

It has been a difficult year and holiday celebrations may not look the same as in other years, but I am inspired by the generosity and festive spirit I have seen so far from many people across my riding.

I also had a tip from a friend of mine, Nick, in the North Pole, that there are many children from Bonavista—Burin—Trinity who are on the nice list this year. Therefore, they should not forget to put out some milk and cookies for the man in red.

I hope everyone has a safe and fulfilling holiday season, a magical Christmas no matter how they are celebrating, and that they continue with their generosity in supporting local charities. I wish all goodwill and good cheer.

Violence against Women

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Madam Speaker, yesterday, December 6, we remembered the 14 women who were gunned down by a killer who did not like feminists. For the past 31 years, the sombre anniversary of the femicide at École Polytechnique in Montreal has provided an opportunity to condemn violence against women and gun violence.

As a woman, as a feminist, as a Quebecker and on behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I add my voice to those of the PolyRemembers survivors, and I urge the government to keep its word and do more to curb these forms of violence.

The government needs to prove that its promise to ban military-style assault weapons and implement a buy-back program was not just lip service, but rather a real desire to bring about change. The safety of our constituents is at stake.

Together, let's keep the memory of those 14 women and all other victims alive through our fight to end violence against women and gun violence.

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

Madam Speaker, on December 6, we commemorated the Polytechnique massacre, as we do every year.

As I do every year, I thought about the young girl I was when my father came home from work and told me what he saw when he was on the École Polytechnique campus that evening. I asked him why 14 women were killed. He told me that it was because they were women.

As happens every year, 14 beams of light lit up the sky over the greater Montreal area. Rather than gathering on the Mont-Royal belvedere in Outremont, we participated in an online ceremony. The Prime Minister and his wife attended, and I am sure many other members of the House did too.

I wanted to pay tribute to the 14 women who died and the many who survived. I am thinking in particular of Nathalie Provost, who was wounded during this femicide and who has since dedicated her life to the fight against firearms. I want loudly and clearly reaffirm in the House our government's determination to advance this cause, which is also our own.

Christmas Greetings

[Rosemarie Falk, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

Madam Speaker, the Christmas season is upon us. It is a time of great cheer and festivity. For many, this joyous season is a time of cherished family traditions. Though some of this year's traditions may look a little different, the spirit of the Christmas season shines just as bright. Christmas is rooted in a message of eternal hope. It is a hope that overcomes darkness and difficulties.

Every Christmas, Christians around the world rejoice as we celebrate the birth of our Saviour, Immanuel, God with us. Christ is truly God's greatest gift to humanity, and I hope all experience the blessings of this season. May everyone's hearts be filled with great love, peace and joy.

I wish you, Madam Speaker, all members of the House and all Canadians a very merry Christmas and a happy and healthy new year.