Debates of Feb. 18th, 2020

Consular Affairs

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, 43 Canadians in Japan have contracted COVID-19, including three Quebeckers: Mr. and Mrs. Ménard and Mr. Bergeron.

In all three cases, and for other Canadians too, family members are extremely worried and are getting conflicting information. These people want to return to Canada as soon as possible. This is a serious situation, and people need clear, specific answers, but the problem is that the government is moving at a snail's pace.

Will the government finally tell us the plan for the 43 Canadians who have tested positive for the virus in Japan?

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we are still working to bring the Canadians home. We understand the concerns of the families and individuals involved. Our embassy in Japan and our consular officials are in constant contact with these Canadians, including Mr. and Mrs. Ménard. I would like to thank our officials again for their important work. We will continue to provide consular services to all the Canadians involved.

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, other countries are bringing their citizens home, but our citizens are still there. A woman on another cruise ship, the MS Westerdam, has now tested positive for COVID-19. The ship docked today with 1,455 passengers on board. This could be an extremely problematic scenario because most of the passengers flew home not knowing they might constitute a risk.

Can the government tell us where the 271 Canadians are and their current health status?

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Let me be very clear, Mr. Speaker. Ensuring the safety and security of Canadians abroad and at home is our top priority.

We have been engaged in this issue since the very beginning. The minister has spoken with his Japanese counterpart, international colleagues and other allies regarding the safety and security of Canadians. He has also spoken directly with the families and the CEO of the cruise ship company. Our chartered flight is now en route to Japan.

Again, I want to thank our tremendous consular services team, which is working night and day, literally all weekend, to ensure Canadians have the right information.

Health

[Eric Duncan, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our community was surprised to learn late Saturday night through social media that a coronavirus quarantine site would be established at the Nav Centre in Cornwall. The mayor and local officials were not advised. Local residents and employees who work there were left in the dark for nearly two days, with valid questions about the suitability of this building, which has hundreds of general public going through it daily. The rollout of this site was a communications failure that was completely avoidable.

Could the minister explain why the people of Cornwall and local elected officials, including myself, were left in the dark on such a critical issue?

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the accommodations at CFB Trenton are currently at capacity because of the previous repatriation efforts. The Nav Centre was chosen because there are existing supports to coordinate processing and provide support services for all repatriated Canadians coming from Japan. It also has a facility available to house individuals in separate accommodations. These Canadians have been through a stressful experience over the past couple of weeks.

The member was offered a meeting directly with the minister. My understanding, to the best of my knowledge, is that the member turned that meeting down.

[Eric Duncan, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

Mr. Speaker, to clarify for the member, the minister offered a meeting after the news was made late Saturday night through social media, a little too late. That is for clarification.

To clarify, the Nav Centre is not a military base like CFB Trenton. It is one large building, open to the public 24/7. While flood victims and asylum seekers have been hosted at this site before, they have never hosted a quarantine for a global health emergency.

It is apples to oranges to compare to past practices when it comes to protocols, security and safety for the employees and those who visit the site. Basic information should have been provided immediately, not days later or—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, it is important to know that before boarding the plane, passengers will be screened for symptoms. I remind the members on the other side—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I just want to clarify that when I mentioned earlier one voice coming across, I did not mean that everyone should coordinate and have many voices at a lower level. That is not what I had in mind.

I will let the hon. parliamentary secretary continue.

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I remind members on the other side that those who get on this plane are healthy Canadians. They have been screened multiple times. Those who exhibit symptoms of COVID-19 will not be permitted to board and will be transferred to the Japanese health system to receive appropriate care. Those who remain in Japan will continue to receive full consular services from the Government of Canada.

Public Safety

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the consequences of the railroad blockades are very real for Quebeckers. We are fast approaching a propane shortage for our farmers, our hospitals and our CHSLDs. The cost of groceries will be going up for all families. Quebeckers are being laid off. We are in danger of running out of chlorine for our drinking water. Soon, the port of Montreal will even have to turn ships away.

What we are going through is called a crisis.

Since the Minister of Transport does not seem to be aware of the gravity of the situation, is the Prime Minister going to show leadership and deal with the problem?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his comments.

I agree with him that the situation is serious. We are well aware of the impacts this is currently having in Quebec and throughout Canada, namely the shortages of important commodities, the impacts on other goods and the movement of people. We are working on a solution and we believe that we must find it through dialogue, which is what we are in the process of doing.

Employment Insurance

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

Mr. Speaker, the government is being discriminatory in its discrimination. It condemns the wrong discrimination while engaging in the right discrimination. For example, Émilie Sansfaçon got 15 weeks of employment insurance because she had to quit her job due to serious health problems. Meanwhile, someone who loses their job can get up to 50 weeks of employment insurance. There is a form of discrimination here that we find absolutely unacceptable.

Will the Prime Minister address this issue and end employment insurance discrimination?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

We all agree with Émilie Sansfaçon. Her courage is truly remarkable.

We have made a number of significant changes to the EI system over the past four years and we are continuing to improve it. In our platform, we promised to increase sickness benefits from 15 to 26 weeks, and that is what we will do.

Natural Resources

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are moving the goalposts and dragging out their political decision on Teck Frontier and 10,000 Canadian jobs. The evidence and experts are clear. It is in Canada's public interest, it will reduce global emissions and every single local indigenous community supports it. One already promises legal action if the Liberals deny this opportunity.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister is promoting oil and gas in Senegal, while funding pipelines in Asia, and giving grants to pipeline protestors in Canada. The reality is that he emboldens activists shutting down Canada today. Why?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012, which is the law under which this project is being assessed, the legislated timeline for cabinet to make a decision on this particular project is the end of February. As it can with any project, it can approve the project with conditions, it can reject the project or it can extend the legislated timeline.

We are certainly actively considering this project and all the relevant information before we make an appropriate decision.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the truth is that Liberals are lobbying Liberals and pushing petitions to shut down the oil sands and to kill Canadian jobs. Liberal MPs selectively quote the joint panel report. What they do not say is that Teck Frontier is “not expected to threaten the sustainability” of local ecosystems or wildlife populations and that rejecting Teck could result “in exporting emissions to other jurisdictions with higher emissions intensity.”

The reality is that Teck surpassed every measure. Last week, the finance minister even said that there was no barrier to a timely decision.

Will the Liberals stop using Teck Frontier as a cynical bargaining chip and approve it on its merit?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, the purpose of an environmental assessment is to go through the process and have the effects identified. The joint review panel found that there were significant negative adverse environmental impacts associated with the project. It now comes to cabinet to have a conversation about whether or not those effects can be justified under the circumstances.

There is a legislated timeline to make a decision by the end of February, and we will make a decision.

Public Safety

[Chris d'Entremont, Conservative, West Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Safety knows that Ralph Goodale issued a number of directives to the RCMP in the past. He simply has his facts wrong. No one should be surprised by that when we see a government that has no plan to restore the rule of law, no plan to get our transportation network moving again and no plan to even get fuel to parts of our country.

What is the Prime Minister doing to address the propane shortages in Quebec and in Nova Scotia that are causing the layoff of hundreds of employees?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, for the member's edification and for the benefit of members of the House, the Minister of Public Safety does have the authority to issue directions to the RCMP pursuant to the RCMP Act. However, this is circumscribed by two very important principles. First, the directions cannot in effect require the RCMP to disregard any of its lawful duties. Second, the directions cannot infringe on the independence of the RCMP regarding its law enforcement functions.

Northern Affairs

[Michael McLeod, Liberal, Northwest Territories, NT]

Mr. Speaker, last September our government unveiled a new long-term and strategic vision for Canada's Arctic and north with the release of the Arctic and northern policy framework.

Could the Minister of Northern Affairs comment on the co-development process of the framework and update the House on the next steps?

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Minister of Northern Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Northwest Territories for his hard work in the north.

The Arctic and northern policy framework is historic because it was co-developed with our provincial, territorial and indigenous partners.

Northerners have told us that they want Arctic people at the centre of the framework and we have listened.

The framework takes an inclusive approach to the northern region and reflects the unique interests, priorities and circumstances of its people. We are now moving from co-development to co-implementation.

Together with our partners we will work to implement a shared vision for a strong, prosperous and sustainable Arctic.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Karen Vecchio, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Global News is reporting that a refugee judge told a woman that her choice to keep a baby meant that she was never raped. The judge asked the victim during her interview, “If you're raped, why would you keep a child of rape?” The line of questioning taken by the government official is appalling and further traumatizes the victim.

Could the Liberals confirm if this individual is still employed as a refugee judge?