Mr. Speaker, I met recently with the Canadian Chinese Political Affairs Committee, which initiated this petition. The petition reflects the widespread concern within the Chinese and other communities about the situation with coronavirus and calls for a stronger response from the government. I want to thank the committee for its leadership.
It is very clear that these communities are particularly affected by the stigma and are concerned as well about the virus coming back from other countries into their communities, and the petitioners want a strong and effective response from the government. They highlight the situation in Canada with respect to coronavirus. Of course, the numbers have grown since the start of this petition and are higher than written here.
The petitioners call upon the government to consider a number of measures in response, such as improving communication with the Canadian public regarding the outbreak. For instance, in its daily briefing, Health Canada should release empirical data regarding its level of preparedness. The petitioners also propose that the government consider expanding the scope of screening and testing at airports, as many countries, such as the United States, South Korea, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan, will now utilize temperature checks at airports.
As well, the petitioners call for the consideration, if the situation escalates further, of a strong self-quarantine advisory or even a mandatory self-quarantine policy for those returning from heavily affected countries, and that flight restrictions also be considered for these countries.
Again, I want to commend the Canadian Chinese Political Affairs Committee for its leadership in working on this petition and I look forward to seeing the government's response to it.