House of Commons Hansard #44 of the 43rd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was chair.

Topics

Sitting ResumedCOVID-19 Pandemic and Other MattersGovernment Orders

2 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

The hon. member for Perth—Wellington. A very short question, please.

Sitting ResumedCOVID-19 Pandemic and Other MattersGovernment Orders

2 p.m.

Conservative

John Nater Conservative Perth—Wellington, ON

Mr. Speaker, the lack of compassion from the Minister of Public Safety is, quite frankly, galling. This individual has contacted his office and the Prime Minister's office on multiple occasions and yet has failed to receive a response on this matter. We are talking about a young woman suffering with thyroid cancer, and the minister is showing no compassion to her British fiancé.

Will the minister commit today to following up on compassionate grounds?

Sitting ResumedCOVID-19 Pandemic and Other MattersGovernment Orders

2 p.m.

Liberal

Bill Blair Liberal Scarborough Southwest, ON

Mr. Speaker, what the minister will commit to, as we have done right from the outset, is that we are doing our very best to ensure that all Canadians are treated with care and compassion. We will never relent on our commitment to keep Canadians safe. That is why we have implemented these very sensible and reasonable restrictions on non-essential travel at the border.

There are some exceptions, and we have tried to deal with them, in every case, in an exceptional way, to deal with people with compassion, but we will not compromise the health and safety of Canadians.

Sitting ResumedCOVID-19 Pandemic and Other MattersGovernment Orders

2 p.m.

Conservative

Mike Lake Conservative Edmonton—Wetaskiwin, AB

Mr. Speaker, it is great to be here today. I heard you earlier reference the House as being very emotional and tense, and it is no wonder, after I watched the last interaction and the one before that with the Bloc member and the Liberal House leader, where she raised legitimate concerns that we are all hearing from our constituents about this scandal and a billion dollars, taxpayers' dollars, that was not managed appropriately. It was written off as a conspiracy theory. It would be interesting, certainly to my constituents and Canadians across the country, to know that their government views these legitimate concerns as a conspiracy theory.

I wonder if the Prime Minister would speak and tell the House whether he holds the same view that he held as opposition leader in 2013, when he tweeted, “RT to call on the Prime Minister to testify on the PMO Ethics Scandal under oath.”

Does the Prime Minister hold the same view he held then?

Sitting ResumedCOVID-19 Pandemic and Other MattersGovernment Orders

2 p.m.

Waterloo Ontario

Liberal

Bardish Chagger LiberalMinister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth

Mr. Speaker, our government has been very clear that when it comes to officers of Parliament, we will always comply with their offices. We know that there is an ethics investigation taking place, and we have stated publicly that we have confidence that the commissioner and his office are able to do that work.

When it comes to the finance committee, members of all parties passed a motion and they actually asked for witnesses to appear. I appeared at the first opportunity. Right when we received that motion, I did not hold back or find excuses. What I did was work with the committee to make sure I was available right away. They wanted officials to appear; we made sure that officials were appearing.

Yesterday, the finance committee met so that witnesses could appear; today, the finance committee is meeting. These are public meetings so that Canadians can receive these answers.

We take this matter very seriously, as we do the health and safety of Canadians. We will remain focused on Canadians.

Sitting ResumedCOVID-19 Pandemic and Other MattersGovernment Orders

2 p.m.

Conservative

Mike Lake Conservative Edmonton—Wetaskiwin, AB

Mr. Speaker, we know that the Prime Minister remains focused on some Canadians, at least.

Back in 2013, again as the opposition leader, he tweeted, “Take a minute to raise the bar on openness and transparency.” Clicking on that link led to a Liberal fundraising site where there were links to the Laurier Club and something called the “victory fund”. On that page, he said, “Canadians know the difference between right and wrong. Now I want your ideas on how we can ensure that our representatives in Ottawa play by the same rules as everyone else.”

I am wondering if someone on that side, perhaps the Prime Minister, can tell us whether anybody who does not donate to the Liberal Party has the same opportunity for input.

Sitting ResumedCOVID-19 Pandemic and Other MattersGovernment Orders

2 p.m.

Liberal

Bardish Chagger Liberal Waterloo, ON

Mr. Speaker, it is important that the record show that the Prime Minister, back when he was sitting in the third party opposition benches, one of the first things he did as a Liberal member of Parliament was to bring forward proactive disclosure to the floor of the House of Commons. What he also did was ensure that, as a government, we move the dial to make sure that information is open and transparent. We had to bring the Conservatives kicking and screaming along the entire way, so it is kind of interesting that they have these questions today.

Yes, programs, policies and legislation are in place. There are acts that are followed, and we have officers of Parliament so they can get to the bottom of this and get that information. We will ensure that we stay focused on Canadians. Any information that Canadians and members are looking for, we have been more than willing to provide.

Sitting ResumedCOVID-19 Pandemic and Other MattersGovernment Orders

2:05 p.m.

Conservative

Cheryl Gallant Conservative Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON

Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, there is a serious problem with the sound system in here. I asked why the Public Health Agency of Canada put a contract out to WE during the election period, and the minister thought I said, “the Privy Council Office”, which was yesterday.

Therefore, I ask that the sound system be corrected, or better yet, they should bring back Parliament in its entirety, and dispel virtual voting.

Sitting ResumedCOVID-19 Pandemic and Other MattersGovernment Orders

2:05 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

I will look into the sound system and see if there are any issues with the sound. I know it was breaking up for a while in translation.

Part of that was debate, but I appreciate the input.

Government Business No. 9Government Orders

2:05 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

Pursuant to an order made on Tuesday, May 26, it is my duty to interrupt the proceedings. The committee will now study Motion No. 9 under Government Orders.

Before we begin the debate, I would like to remind the hon. members of how it will unfold.

The proceedings will be conducted pursuant to the terms of Standing Order 53.1. Each member speaking will be allotted 10 minutes for debate, followed by 10 minutes for questions and comments.

Members participating via video conference who wish to ask a question or make a comment at the end of the speech may so indicate to the chair by using the “raise hand” feature on the video conference platform. However, members participating in the chamber may rise as they normally would.

The debate will end after two hours and 20 minutes, or when no member rises to speak.

We will now begin with the take-note debate.

The hon. member for Kanata—Carleton.

Government Business No. 9Government Orders

2:05 p.m.

Liberal

Karen McCrimmon Liberal Kanata—Carleton, ON

Mr. Speaker, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed how we live, how we work, how we interact with other people. Over the past six months, the pandemic has taken an especially heavy toll on Canadians who are members of vulnerable populations. We have learned that COVID most negatively impacts our most vulnerable—seniors, people experiencing homelessness, Canadians with disabilities, racialized Canadians, persons who use substances, and persons with mental health challenges—along with those who work to support them. As restrictive public health measures are lifted and our economy reopens, we must remember there are vulnerable people in our communities, as well as those who support them, who will continue to need our help in order to stay healthy.

Our government is responding to these needs through funding provided to the provinces and territories under the Safe Restart Agreement, which was just announced by the first ministers on July 16. The agreement is far-reaching in its intent and scope. The $19-billion commitment will help provinces and territories, which have had to respond to COVID-19 in unique ways and have already made major investments, and will continue to do so, in critical areas, including health care and vulnerable populations. It includes funding over the next six to eight months to support capacity in health care services, procurement of personal protective equipment and support for Canadians facing challenges related to mental health, harmful substances or homelessness.

The funding will also support infection prevention and control measures to protect vulnerable populations, including residents at long-term care facilities and those requiring home care. This money will complement the Public Health Agency of Canada's ongoing efforts to provide guidance to health care providers, facility directors and administrators on resident care within long-term care homes.

Funding provided under the Safe Restart Agreement will also be used to support other vulnerable populations, such as homeless Canadians and those living in remote or isolated communities.

The agreement is an example of the extraordinary federal-provincial-territorial collaboration that has characterized our collective response to this pandemic. It is an indication of our deep and ongoing commitment to protect the health and safety of all Canadians.

The Safe Restart Agreement is the latest in a series of actions that our government has taken to support vulnerable populations throughout this crisis. Access to support or prevention programs by those fleeing family and gender-based violence has become more difficult in the context of community lockdowns and social distancing practices. In recognition of this, our government has announced new initiatives to help reduce the impacts of abuse and violence within vulnerable families. A $7.5-million investment has been made in the Kids Help Phone to help support mental health and crisis support for children and youth, an acknowledgement that without school, children may be particularly at risk.

There is also $50 million in new funding being provided through the Reaching Home program to women's shelters and sexual assault centres, including $26 million to women's shelters across Canada to distribute to shelters right across the country, $4 million to the Canadian Women's Foundation to distribute to sexual assault centres, and $10 million to support Indigenous Services Canada's existing network of 46 emergency shelters on reserve and in the Yukon.

These measures will complement other economic and financial measures to assist vulnerable individuals and families through this crisis, including the enhancement of the Canada child benefit and support for the charitable sector.

Our government also recognizes the significant and unique challenges faced by black Canadians and other racialized populations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the crisis has unfolded across the country, it has become clear that we need more information on certain groups at higher risk of exposure to COVID-19. As a key social determinant of health that can affect an individual's access and willingness to seek medical care, racism is a public health issue.

Canadians who, before the pandemic, were at greater risk of poor health owing to systemic discrimination are likely to be at greater risk of suffering COVID-19's direct and indirect consequences. Given this, the Public Health Agency of Canada and partners are undertaking a number of activities to improve Canada's knowledge on the impact of COVID-19 on racialized communities.

Canada has recently established a new national COVID-19 dataset, approved by Canada's special advisory committee on COVID-19. This dataset includes race or ethnicity as a key variable to be collected in the national COVID-19 case report form, which is used by the provincial and territorial governments to report COVID-19 cases to the Public Health Agency of Canada. Until now, with the exception of a section for identifying and classifying cases as indigenous, data on these variables was not collected. Thus, this new dataset represents an important advance in Canada's ability to track the relationship between COVID-19 and race or ethnicity. However, it may take some time for all jurisdictions to be able to collect this data.

The mental health impacts of systemic discrimination can also have negative implications for physical health. Our government is working to advance knowledge of the intersections between the mental and physical health of black Canadians through an initiative on promoting health equity called the mental health of black Canadians fund. This fund is supporting projects that generate knowledge, capacity and programs that promote mental health and address its determinants for black Canadians. All funded projects are led by black Canadian experts or organizations, and they are informed by the mental health of black Canadians working group, comprising experts in research, practice and policy from diverse black communities right across the country. Funding recipients have demonstrated great resiliency during the COVID-19 pandemic and are working to continue planned activities in the pandemic context.

We also recognize that public health measures have taken their toll on the mental health of Canadians, with feelings of isolation, lack of access to usual support networks and living in fear of the uncertainties caused by the pandemic. Targeted mental health initiatives such as this are in addition to the broader supports that have been developed to help Canadians stay healthy and informed during this difficult period. For example, the Wellness Together Canada portal was developed to link Canadians to mental health and substance use supports. As of July 10, more than 283,000 Canadians had accessed the portal.

Under COVID-19 and the mental health initiative, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research has also launched, in partnership with four provincial research agencies, a funding opportunity to better understand mental health, including substance use of both individuals and communities due to the pandemic.

In parallel with the COVID-19 pandemic, many communities continue to struggle with a second public health crisis, namely the devastating impact of substance abuse and the overdose crisis. The pandemic has exposed people who use drugs to additional barriers when it comes to accessing health and social services. While necessary public health measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 may sadly also have had unintended consequences, including increased toxicity of the illegal drug supply and reduction in the availability of life-saving services.

We have made it easier for people to access the medications they need, such as those necessary for opioid agonist treatment, such as Suboxone and methadone. Pharmacists now have the ability to extend and renew prescriptions.

We are supporting community-based projects across a wide variety of topics and we will continue to do whatever is needed to help and protect Canadians.

Government Business No. 9Government Orders

2:15 p.m.

Green

Jenica Atwin Green Fredericton, NB

Mr. Speaker, the member highlighted a lot of really critical pieces of how people have been dealing with COVID-19. You mentioned support for shelters, individuals, racialized minorities, mental health issues and you also mentioned federal-provincial-territorial collaboration. On that note, there was one thing I noticed that might have been missing from that discussion. I wonder if you could speak about whether or not you believe that safe, affordable housing is a right and whether you support a rent freeze as families and individuals navigate COVID-19.

Government Business No. 9Government Orders

2:15 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

I want to remind hon. members to place their questions through the Chair. I am sure they do not want my opinion. I am sure they want the opinion of the person who made the speech.

The hon. member.

Government Business No. 9Government Orders

2:15 p.m.

Liberal

Karen McCrimmon Liberal Kanata—Carleton, ON

Mr. Speaker, I think we have done a good job actually in working together at the federal, provincial and municipal levels, and I want to see more. There are some issues that really demand that level of collaboration of us all, and the shortage of affordable housing is one of those issues. We are working on it. We have made tremendous progress, but we do acknowledge there is still more work to do.

Government Business No. 9Government Orders

2:15 p.m.

NDP

Heather McPherson NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB

Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge and thank the member for her service to this country as a veteran. As such, I would like to ask the member for her perspective as a veteran in this country if she feels that $600 is sufficient to meet the needs of our most honoured Canadians, our veterans who are living with disabilities?

Government Business No. 9Government Orders

2:20 p.m.

Liberal

Karen McCrimmon Liberal Kanata—Carleton, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have worked really hard to try to improve the supports for veterans in this country and we have seen improvement, but it is like many other things, in that there is still more work to do. In this case, getting some money out there quickly to people who really needed it right away was absolutely key, but I also believe that supports for the seriously disabled veterans need to be improved.

Government Business No. 9Government Orders

2:20 p.m.

Bloc

Christine Normandin Bloc Saint-Jean, QC

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her speech. It touched on a number of very specific issues, including preventing the use of hard drugs, but also mental health issues, which are very important in the context of COVID-19 and have played out in ways that may be hard to predict.

In light of this, I submit to my colleague that it is important to recognize the role that Quebec and the provinces can play in these very specific issues, which are generally related to social services and health.

Furthermore, I would like to know whether she thinks there was any useful or legitimate reason for the federal government to impose conditions before it would transfer money that is critically needed for dealing with these problems, which are so pressing right now.

Would she not agree that the federal government should just have gone ahead and transferred the money, knowing that the provinces and Quebec are best equipped to deal with the current concerns?

Government Business No. 9Government Orders

July 22nd, 2020 / 2:20 p.m.

Liberal

Karen McCrimmon Liberal Kanata—Carleton, ON

Mr. Speaker, it is a difficult issue. The federal government is trying to make sure that services and access to mental health treatments are fairly equal across the provinces. We do not want it so that in one province they are fully supported and in another province they are not. That is what we are trying to do. We are trying to make sure that the level of support is equal across the country, because some provinces will need more in child care, will need more in mental health, will need more in addressing the opioid crisis than other provinces will. We wanted to make sure that at least we have that baseline standard right across the country. That was the reason behind that negotiation.

Government Business No. 9Government Orders

2:20 p.m.

Ottawa West—Nepean Ontario

Liberal

Anita Vandenbeld LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague and friend from Kanata—Carleton for a speech that really outlines what is happening and what we are doing for the most marginalized and most vulnerable here in our country.

We know that the COVID-19 pandemic is laying bare those people who are most invisible, most voiceless and those who are the most neglected in our society. Our government has been there to try to make sure that we see that those communities, which have been the first and most impacted by COVID-19, are getting the help.

Could my colleague tell the House some of the ways the government programs are helping those in her riding of Kanata—Carleton, and across Ottawa and, of course, across the country?

Government Business No. 9Government Orders

2:20 p.m.

Liberal

Karen McCrimmon Liberal Kanata—Carleton, ON

Mr. Speaker, I think we have worked really hard to address the issues the hon. member brought up.

Here in Ottawa, we try to work as an Ottawa team. We support and help each other to address the critical shortages that we see. Here, working as a team, means that an issue that is of critical importance to me may not be exactly as important or the same issue in Vanier or Orléans, but we work together. It is the idea of teamwork and finding a way to collaborate to make things better for Canadians, and that is what we are going to continue to do.

Government Business No. 9Government Orders

2:20 p.m.

Conservative

Damien Kurek Conservative Battle River—Crowfoot, AB

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member's speech.

It was just revealed at the finance committee that the Minister of Finance took a free trip from the WE organization last summer. I would note that it is not permissible to do sponsored travel while one is in cabinet. The minister just paid back the expenses for that trip today, on the day he was scheduled to testify before the finance committee.

Does the Liberal member across the way have any comments on how she feels about such a blatant contravention of the rules by her finance minister?

Government Business No. 9Government Orders

2:25 p.m.

Liberal

Karen McCrimmon Liberal Kanata—Carleton, ON

Mr. Speaker, I do not have an answer. I do not know the whole story. I think it is very important that we actually be transparent and that Canadians be able to trust in their government.

Government Business No. 9Government Orders

2:25 p.m.

An hon. member

When you get caught, right?

Government Business No. 9Government Orders

2:25 p.m.

Liberal

Karen McCrimmon Liberal Kanata—Carleton, ON

No, please, I am trying to respond respectfully to the question, and I think we should be able to have these kinds of difficult discussions without antagonizing each other. It is key, we know it is key, and I think it is important for us to accept and talk about these things respectfully.

Government Business No. 9Government Orders

2:25 p.m.

NDP

Matthew Green NDP Hamilton Centre, ON

Mr. Speaker, it has been reported that this trip had a price tag of around $41,000. I cannot help but think how many veterans that would have helped, how many people who are living in deep poverty and who are disabled would have helped.

We heard the previous speaker talk about trying to get money out the door as fast they could. The government had an opportunity to do that. Had it applied CERB universally to all people who needed it during this time without restraint, without delay, we would not be four months into this crisis with the people needing it the most still struggling to get by.

How does the hon. member feel about a minister taking a $40,000 trip at a time when people are struggling to get by and the Liberals are patting themselves on the back for a $600, one-time donation to the most vulnerable Canadians?