Debates of July 22nd, 2020

COVID-19 Pandemic and Other Matters

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

Madam Chair, what I can commit to the hon. member is that on this side of the House we will continue to be ambitious and build on our progress of creating 40,000 affordable child care spaces. We are committed to creating an additional 250,000 before- and after-school spaces that are affordable for families.

We are continuing our investments, with $7.5 billion over the next decade in direct investments for early learning and child care and the establishment of an early learning and child care secretariat on a national level to share best practices and data and ensure that every single child has the best possible start.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Madam Chair, in Alberta, provincial support for child care during the first two months of the pandemic was ranked as the worst in Canada. It is vital that all federal funds that go to provinces must go toward creating affordable universally accessible child care.

How can we make sure that Jason Kenney and the UCP will use the federal dollars provided to create new, affordable child care spaces?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

Madam Chair, in addition to our ambitious targets and key funding supports for early learning and child care with the provinces and territories, we work together, through the early learning and child care agreements, with the provinces and territories. We also have a pan-Canadian framework that we and the provinces and territories have to abide by. That is our assurance.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Madam Chair, there is not one pandemic in Canada; there are two. The number of Canadians dying from opioids in our country is staggering and growing. Over 15,000 mothers, fathers, sons and daughters have died in the last four years alone, and June saw the most opioid deaths in British Columbia's history.

What is the Liberal plan to address the overdose pandemic ravaging our country?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Madam Chair, I share the member's complete devastation over the numbers of opioid overdoses coming out of B.C. Of course, we have known about this crisis for a very long time, and the Liberal government has taken strong steps over the last four or five years to ensure that communities and provinces have the tools they need, including expansive harm reduction supports, access to safe supply and funding for not-for-profit and health-based organizations that are working with people who use substances.

Our government will ensure that we continue to make all tools available to the provinces and territories as they work to support citizens—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Vancouver Kingsway.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Madam Chair, it is not working. The cause of the opioid carnage is clear for all to see: a toxic street supply sold by criminals who do not care about poisoning Canadians.

Public health officers, police chiefs and now premiers are calling on the government to do the right thing and act with logic, compassion and courage to decriminalize drug use and medically regulate a safe supply.

When is the government going to listen to the experts, respect the evidence and treat addiction as a health issue, not a criminal one?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Madam Chair, I would argue that this is exactly what the Liberal government has been doing for five years: working with experts, listening to experts and working with communities to make sure we have safe supply, safer consumption sites, overdose prevention programs and increased access to prescribed medications that support substance use. We have been looking at other ways besides enforcement to deal with problematic substance use.

We know on this side of the House that this is, in fact, a health issue, not an issue of criminality. We will continue to work with the provinces and territories to ensure that they have all the tools they need to save more lives.

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Madam Chair, I will be sharing my time with the dean of our caucus, the member for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke.

I have a question from Darryl in my riding, who runs a small business. When he looked at the CEWS program, he noticed that the information provided on the website would make it more difficult and more complex for him to hire more people. Let me explain. The program requires a company to have reporting periods. If he hires a person on the 15th day, he does not get any money from the 1st to the 14th days. That is usually not a problem, as we do not pay a business when it is not hiring people, but it means that if he hires someone after the middle of the reporting period, he misses out on two weeks to support those wages.

My question is for the finance minister. Will the changes in Bill C-20 address this issue?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Madam Chair, I think we all share the goal of providing support for businesses so that they can employ more people as we move out of this crisis carefully and safely.

The program, as we have designed it, allows for an expansion of the number of businesses that can use the wage subsidy to get employees back to work and a lengthening of the time they can have it so they can have more confidence.

We recognize that there is clearly a need to communicate this effectively. That is something we plan to do with a calculator, and businesses can use it. Of course, we will continue to support businesses as they hire back employees in the future. That is certainly our ongoing goal.

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Darryl would say that you don't need a calculator but a degree in quantum computing to understand what is inside Bill C-20 and how it changes the CEWS program.

I want to know something for his specific situation, which is in example 22 on the website. Perhaps there have been temporary lay-offs or furloughed employees, or there are employees on shifts. If they do not work for two weeks, their entire wage for the 30-day reporting period is not eligible if a business brings them back, which is a real pain for businesses that are trying to keep their operations going.

Again, to the finance minister, do the changes in Bill C-20 address this particular business issue?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Madam Chair, again, we know from the work we have done that this will significantly expand the number of employers able to use the wage subsidy and significantly expand the number of employees who will be able to get back to work. We will continue to work with employers to make sure that we understand how this can best be utilized by—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke.

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

Madam Chair, will the defence minister table for the House a copy of the briefing notes he was given January 17 on the COVID outbreak?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Madam Chair, as the crisis has developed, we have monitored the progression of the outbreak in China. While we do not comment on specific intelligence reports, I do receive regular briefings to ensure the safety and security of Canadians as well as—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member fro Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke.

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

Madam Chair, a viral outbreak is not a secret, so why does the minister not redact what he must to protect sources and table the briefing notes in this chamber?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Madam Chair, our government makes decisions based on sound intelligence, just as we did with the downing of the Ukrainian airliner. We will continue to do so, making sure that Canadians are safe.

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

Madam Chair, in the minister's mandate letter, the government promised to be more transparent and respect Parliament. What is he trying to cover up?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Madam Chair, the member opposite may not know this, but I have actually regularly briefed all critics on the many crises that we have dealt with in 2020. I will continue to do so.

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

Madam Chair, why is the minister covering up the heads-up he was given?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Madam Chair, I can assure the member that we make decisions based on sound intelligence, just as we did with the downing of the Ukrainian airliner. We will continue to do so to keep Canadians safe.

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

Madam Chair, what did the briefing say about human-to-human transmission of the virus?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Madam Chair, as I stated, when it comes to specific intelligence reports, we do not comment. One thing I can assure the member is that we make decisions based on sound intelligence to make sure that Canadians are safe.

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

Madam Chair, did the briefing indicate any concerns over China's transparency regarding human-to-human transmission?