House of Commons Hansard #34 of the 43rd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was chair.
Andrew Scheer ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, there are reports that three Canadian planes that left for China to pick up medical equipment from China returned to Canada empty. The planes were supposed to return last night.
Can the government confirm whether or not those planes were in fact scheduled, whether or not they arrived and whether or not they were able to obtain the medical equipment that they were sent to obtain?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, over the past weeks we have been engaged in unprecedented efforts, collaborating with partners and friends around the world to ensure that we can get the PPE and medical equipment so necessary for Canadians on the front lines in hospitals across the country. That is what we continue to do.
We have teams on the ground in China and elsewhere to coordinate the departure and arrival of shipments. We have had challenges with those shipments, as the global competition for these items is fierce.
We will continue to work as best we can to ensure that we continue to deliver all the necessary equipment to our heroes working on the front lines.
Andrew Scheer ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, when it comes to that equipment, after the 2015 election the government decided to cut funding for pandemic preparedness. In 2014, the funding for those health security measures was $73 million. The funding for this year is just $51 million. The government also decided to dump millions of masks and gloves, and decided to close the warehouses that were holding this extra equipment in case of a pandemic. It was only because the owner of a dumpster company, who put in a bid for the contract to dispose of these items, that we even have these details.
I have a simple question for the Prime Minister: When did he sign off on the plan to throw away personal protective equipment?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, we are very troubled about the reports of valuable medical supplies in our national stockpile being destroyed. As we looked into it, we discovered that those items had actually been expired for five years and of course after five years are not suitable for use anywhere else.
That is why we have to ask ourselves questions about how items that approach the end of their lives could, instead of being kept in stockpiles, instead be shipped for immediate use in places that could use them and get those items replaced. Obviously that did not happen, and we need to make sure we have better protocols going forward so we do not find ourselves in a situation like this.
Yves-François Blanchet Bloc Beloeil—Chambly, QC
Mr. Speaker, we will certainly have the opportunity to come back to some aspects of this issue later. For now, I would like to focus on ideas and solutions rather than nitpicking and finger-pointing. I am asking the House to believe in the absolutely genuine concern I have for our society's seniors.
Can the Prime Minister summarize for the House what he has done so far during this crisis to help seniors in Canada and Quebec?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Beloeil—Chambly who has long been paying particular attention to seniors. We thank him for his leadership and suggestions.
Indeed, seniors are in great need of services and support as a result of COVID-19. We are helping protect their financial security through an extra GST/HST credit payment for low- and modest-income individuals. We reduced by 25% the minimum amount that has to be withdrawn from registered retirement income funds. We are also contributing $9 million through the United Way of Canada to help seniors get food, drugs and other essentials.
We will continue to work with the provinces to ensure that seniors in long-term care facilities are protected.
Yves-François Blanchet Bloc Beloeil—Chambly, QC
Mr. Speaker, without wishing to seem ungrateful, I, like seniors, believe that this does not amount to much.
Can the Prime Minister give us a clear, written response, since the Bloc Québécois’s recommendations and suggestions have been very clear and very public for about two weeks now? Can we have a response before we leave the House?
Perhaps we could even have a discussion about possible solutions that, on the whole, will look very inexpensive compared to everything that has been put in place so far in this crisis.
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, we continue to work on measures, including measures recommended by members of the opposition, to better support our seniors during this crisis. They are facing a challenge that targets them specifically, and that is COVID-19. They often end up isolated and they are worried about the impact of the employees working around them in their residences. There are a lot of concerns about seniors, and we will continue to work together to address these challenges.
Jagmeet Singh NDP Burnaby South, BC
Mr. Speaker, Camille, a student at the University of Montreal, did not accumulate enough hours to be eligible for employment insurance and she is not eligible for the Canada emergency response benefit, or CERB. She told us that she is scared, sad and disappointed.
Is the Prime Minister prepared to say today that, if someone needs help, that person can have access to the CERB?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, we understand that this is an extremely stressful situation for Canadians, particularly post-secondary students.
Many of them would normally be starting a summer job, but they are finding themselves alone, not knowing what will happen in the coming months. We made changes to the Canada summer jobs program, which will create up to 70,000 opportunities for young people. That will help them stay in the labour market in some way and save for their future.
The wage subsidy will also help more employers hire young people. Students who had a job last summer or who worked during the school year are eligible for the CERB if they earned over $5,000. Many students are eligible. However, we recognize that we need to do more for students like Camille, and we will do just that.
Jagmeet Singh NDP Burnaby South, BC
Mr. Speaker, the reality is far too many Canadians are falling through the cracks, in particular students. Summer jobs have disappeared, on-campus jobs have disappeared and students do not qualify for the CERB. Students are just one of many examples of people who are falling through the cracks because of the criteria. Will the Prime Minister announce today that the CERB is universal, and that anyone who needs access to help now can get that help?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
We recognize the particular stressors on students who would normally be starting their summer jobs and right now have no money to pay their rent, and no prospects of summer jobs to get the experience they need. Many of them are even uncertain about being able to pay next year's tuition. We understand these stressors and are looking at ways to support students. Many students qualify for the CERB because they had jobs last year, full time or part time, which allows them to claim the CERB, having made $5,000 in income over the past year, but many do not. That is why we have made increases to the summer jobs program. That is why we are also going to be moving forward with more initiatives to help students in particular.
John Brassard Conservative Barrie—Innisfil, ON
Mr. Speaker, we know the medical intelligence cell of the Department of National Defence reported on the risk of COVID-19 in early January and Global Affairs would have been reporting on it around the same time. It is very likely that the ministers of National Defence and Global Affairs at a minimum would have been briefed on the detailed warnings and analysis about the emergence of the deadly potential of the coronavirus in Wuhan, China. It is even more likely that the Privy Council Office would have briefed the Prime Minister on the emerging threat.
On what date did the PCO prepare a briefing note for the Prime Minister?
Chrystia Freeland LiberalDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
Mr. Speaker, the coronavirus is a global pandemic and, as such, poses a profound security threat to Canada. For that reason, Canada's intelligence community has been deeply engaged in informing the government's actions. That is why in January the incident response group was convened by the Prime Minister, where briefings were shared and discussed.
John Brassard Conservative Barrie—Innisfil, ON
Mr. Speaker, in early January, MEDINT, a cell of our country's military intelligence branch, began producing those detailed warnings. On January 30, the WHO declared the outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern”. In the backdrop of these two warnings, our government shipped 16 tonnes of personal protective equipment to China in February and left Canada scrambling to find supplies to protect our front-line health care workers.
Did the Minister of Health know about the DND report and did she receive a briefing note from the Privy Council Office on it?
Patty Hajdu LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, in a global pandemic, the principle is that all countries work together to defeat the virus where it is most present. In January, the outbreak in Wuhan, China was posing a significant public health threat to the entire world. As such, and as a partner country with the WHO, Canada supplied some personal protective equipment that was rapidly becoming out of date to Canada and that could certainly be used in Wuhan's efforts to fight the virus there.
Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
Mr. Speaker, because it was slow to close Canada's borders, this government allowed thousands of people from at-risk areas to enter the country and put Canadians at risk.
After many calls from our party, Roxham Road was finally closed, but, once again, we saw that many people crossed the border illegally and no security measures were taken.
My question is simple. I would like to know how many illegal migrants entered Canada since the pandemic began.
Bill Blair LiberalMinister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Mr. Speaker, in early March we began discussions with our allies and partners who share the Canada-U.S. border with us on how we could restrict non-essential travel. That discussion took place and culminated in an agreement between our two countries to restrict non-essential travel while still allowing essential workers and trade to continue to move forward. As part of that agreement, we implemented significant new restrictions on people who cross our borders irregularly as non-essential. That has been a very effective measure that has been put in place. Since the time of that agreement, now 30 days ago, there have been fewer than 10 individuals who have crossed the border and been subsequently directed back to the United States.
Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
Mr. Speaker, our business owners are worried. Some are not sure if they will be able to reopen. Bills are piling up, and revenues are obviously down. Assistance seems to be a long time coming, including the commercial rent assistance program. SMEs had to pay rent for the month of March.
When will our SMEs, the backbone of our economy, get details about this assistance program that is supposed to help them pay commercial rent and reopen when the time comes? It is a simple question.
Mona Fortier LiberalMinister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, as Canadians take steps to fight COVID-19, we know that many businesses worry about not being able to pay the rent. Property owners across the country have risen to the occasion by forgoing rent and helping their tenants through these tough times. Our government salutes their leadership.
Recognizing the challenges that Canadian businesses and property owners are facing, our government intends to introduce the Canada emergency commercial rent assistance program for small businesses. To do that, we will need a partnership with the provincial and territorial governments, and we are working on that right now.
Tom Kmiec Conservative Calgary Shepard, AB
Mr. Speaker, Tony Gareau, Marlee Gagnon, Carolyn Turner and Paul Ledaire are just some of the small business health professionals in my riding who are being left behind by the gaps in the Canada emergency business account and the wage subsidy programs. These programs continue to exclude tens of thousands of small businesses from receiving help by refusing to recognize dividend income as employment income. As Conservatives, we have been calling on the government to fix the gap.
Why will the government not consider dividends as a form of salary for entrepreneurs, so that they can qualify for emergency supports they desperately need?
Mary Ng LiberalMinister of Small Business
Mr. Speaker, the Canadian small businesses that the hon. member talks about are really important to all of our businesses in every community across the country. That is why we have made supports available through the Canada emergency business account, as well as the Canada emergency wage subsidy, so that businesses all across the country can access funds to help bridge some of the costs during this period and keep their employees.
This is about saving businesses and saving employees all across the country.
Tom Kmiec Conservative Calgary Shepard, AB
Mr. Speaker, CFIB data suggests that one-third of Canadian small businesses will never open again, if the government continues to drag its feet in getting financial support into their hands. Small business loan programs established through BDC and Export Development Canada are desperately needed, but many small business owners worry that it simply won't be enough to save them.
To the Minister of Finance, or any minister in the government, how many small businesses have received funding from BDC and EDC, separately reported over the regular loan volume, and what is the government doing to speed up program deployment?
Mary Ng LiberalMinister of Small Business
Mr. Speaker, we are listening to small businesses all across the country. As of Friday, and today those numbers would be even higher, almost a quarter of a million business owners and businesses across the country have seen those loans approved. This is real help that will help all of our businesses across the country.
We will continue to help them because we have expanded the criteria so that more businesses can access a $40,000 interest-free loan, for businesses with $20,000 of payroll up to $1.5 million of payroll.
We are going to help even more businesses in the country. Nothing is more important than helping our businesses right now.
Andréanne Larouche Bloc Shefford, QC
Mr. Speaker, allow me to start by offering my sincere condolences to the victims of COVID-19 who have lost a loved one without being able to properly say goodbye.
Seniors are the people most affected by COVID-19 and the ones who receive the least support. They are bearing the brunt of the increased cost of groceries and the decline in pension funds. Their purchasing power is vanishing before their eyes. That is why I want to reiterate one of the Bloc's proposals for seniors.
Will the government listen to their call for help and increase their old age pension by $110 a month?