Debates of Aug. 12th, 2020

COVID-19 Pandemic and Other Matters

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the member asked for the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister showed up at committee. At the first opportunity I had to go to the finance committee, I was there. Yesterday, I was at the ethics committee to ensure that these questions were answered.

We work closely with the public service to ensure that programs and resources are available to committees, especially during this—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, it looks like my last question period as leader of the Conservative Party is just like my first: warm, sunny and the Prime Minister is nowhere to be found.

The Prime Minister is showing contempt for francophones by awarding a $900-million contract to a unilingual organization with no presence in Quebec.

Why did the Prime Minister disrespect francophones in yet another attempt to help his close friends?

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, both of our country's official languages are very important to our government.

That is precisely why we worked with the public service to ensure that the contribution agreement is in both official languages; and to ensure that the 13 provinces and territories are included, as are rural, urban and indigenous communities, so that all students can be part of this program. Despite this program—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the government still cannot provide simple, direct answers to very clear and simple questions.

The Prime Minister invented this phony story about pushing back on officials on May 8. Can the minister explain how on May 5 WE was told that it could already start spending money and charging taxpayers?

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speakers, all members, especially those in the House, are occupied with the concerns of their communities. Perhaps the member has not had the opportunity to look at the testimony that has been provided, not only by ministers and the Prime Minister but also by public servants, to answer these questions.

We have been available because it is important that these questions be answered. We take this very seriously.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister likes to talk about space and time, but in the real world May 5 comes before May 8.

During this time of crisis, Canadians deserve and demand a steady hand leading our country. However, instead of stability we have a government in chaos: cabinet ministers are being summoned to testify; the Prime Minister's Office is focused on damage control instead of fixing its flawed programs; and now, senior sources close to the Prime Minister have told The Globe and Mail that the Prime Minister is inventing a phony policy dispute as an excuse to dump his finance minister, even bringing in a backup quarterback just in case.

When will the Prime Minister finally put the finance minister out of his misery?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we will continue to have our focus, as we have over the course of this pandemic, on Canadians and on the work that needs to be done. What we have done over the course of the last number of months, by putting out the CERB, which has supported millions of Canadians, and by not only putting in place the wage subsidy but extending it, has given the support necessary for Canadians to face this challenging time.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, it is not the first time the Prime Minister has told Canadians that a story in The Globe and Mail was false.

Speaking of another scandal, on March 31, 2019, the Prime Minister's lawyer sent me a letter threatening to sue me for telling Canadians about the Prime Minister's corruption. On April 10, 2019, I stood outside the chamber and repeated every single thing I said: the sordid facts about the SNC-Lavalin scandal. The Prime Minister did not like that I was telling Canadians about how he politically interfered in a criminal court proceeding. I was looking forward to being sued because then the Prime Minister would have to testify under oath and go through discovery.

After next week, my calendar is wide open. Could the Prime Minister please tell me when I can expect to see him in court?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to speak on behalf of the Prime Minister to say that he continues to view his role, and our role as a government, as one to support Canadians.

We continue to be in an emergency time. The work that we're doing, not only on the extension of the wage subsidy but in thinking about how we can get our employment insurance system back up and running, is our area of focus because we know this is what Canadians are concerned with as they think about how they can continue to support their families.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to inform the House and the government that I completely agree with a number of points made by the Leader of the Opposition. When the Conservatives and the Bloc are in agreement, members on the other side should take a long, hard look at things. Of course, then there are the ones in the back.

Just yesterday, I was on vacation and I had chosen my return date to be sure that I could be here, today, for the planned sitting. I took the helm of a lobster boat on the Magdalen Islands. The second captain told me I was good at staying on course and told me to keep captaining the ship. That is what we are going to do.

We have reason to be skeptical. As the Leader of the Opposition said, when someone picks the dates, they should be able to organize one day over a period of five weeks. When someone picks the dates, they should be able to organize four sittings over the entire summer. Meanwhile, the government says it wants to be accountable, sincere and open.

There is the matter of the WE Charity scandal. Again, I agree with the opposition leader, who said that the word “UNIS” was tacked on at the end to hide the fact that there were no francophones involved. Now there is a new $84-million scandal apparently involving the Prime Minister's chief of staff, and, of course, there is the wage subsidy. I understand that one of the two main Conservative leadership candidates said that the Conservatives would return the money. However, the Liberals are coming up on $2 million in wage subsidies to fund the next campaign, which could indeed be coming soon. I would have expected to see certain faces. I know I am not allowed to talk about people being absent, but I am troubled that certain individuals are “non-present”.

All I will say is, I was asked this morning whether we are really going to topple the government. In response, I asked whether this government still deserves our confidence. The Liberals have just given us the answer to that question.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Before I recognize the minister, I would like to remind members that they cannot do indirectly what they are not allowed to do directly.

The hon. minister.

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the leader of the Bloc Québécois for his question.

I believe he pointed out an important fact, and that is that our government, the Prime Minister and the members of our cabinet have always been available to answer questions, whether it be in the House, in committee of the whole like today, or before the House committees. At the same time, as the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth pointed out, our government is focused on the economic issues that are of concern to Canadians and public health issues.

We will be very pleased to work with our opposition colleagues as we have done since the beginning of the pandemic in order to adapt programs to support Canadians, Canadian businesses and, above all, our provincial partners in order to deal with the health situation, which is still a major concern.

We are working hard. The ministers are working, and members are in their ridings across the country to support their constituents and develop policies that will meet the needs of Canadians. That is exactly what we will continue to do.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we have two scandals the government is embroiled in: one is the WE scandal and the second is about a mortgage company in which one of the executives is the husband of the chief of staff. In both of these scandals we are seeing Liberals helping themselves instead of helping people. While people are worried about what is going to happen when the CERB ends in August, the Liberal government seems to be too busy helping itself.

When will Canadians know what is going to happen at the end of August to those who are relying on the CERB?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, I can assure every member of the House and every Canadian that we have a very robust plan to include everyone and not leave anybody behind.

The Prime Minister laid out a comprehensive framework of what is to come next for transitioning people to EI. We are creating a parallel benefit for people who are still not within the EI system, and creating a caregiver benefit and a sickness benefit. On Monday we announced a uniform unemployment rate across the country as a precursor to what comes next. We have—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Burnaby South.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the problem is that the Liberal government is too busy helping themselves to help people.

Right now, people do not know what the plan is, and they are worried. EI only covers about 40% of Canadians. When will the government make it really clear? When will the Liberal government make sure Canadians know that every Canadian worker will be supported and that no one will be left behind? When will we know the details?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Delta, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I can assure everyone now, as we have been assuring Canadians for months, that nobody will be left behind.

Absolutely, we have a plan in place that will make sure workers are supported. We want to make sure we are encouraging people to work when it is available to them and it reasonable to do so. We know that will not be so for people in many sectors, and we have a plan for them. I would say that in the coming days, and definitely in the coming week or so, we will be—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Burnaby South.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the unanimous motion passed today shows that the will of the House is that we need to help parents get back to work by ensuring there is affordable and quality child care and that schools have the funding they need. When can we expect that?

When will the Prime Minister make sure that kids are safe to go back to school and that parents can count on reliable, affordable child care? When will the government make these commitments by supporting provinces to deliver the child care and the education that will keep kids safe?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member asked a really important question.

In addition to our long-term commitments on early learning and child care, this year alone we are delivering $400 million to provinces and territories as part of bilateral agreements on early learning and child care. I want to point out to the hon. member the fact that, in addition to that, as part of the Safe Restart Agreement, we are transferring an additional $625 million for early learning and child care to help a sector that has been hard hit by COVID-19.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we know the figures required, and what the government is proposing right now is wholly inadequate. It is simply not enough to provide the child care and the educational funding supports that provinces need.

When will this Liberal government commit to the adequate funding, the sufficient funding, to make sure parents will know that their kids will be safe in school?

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

Mr. Speaker, I find it really hard when the leader of the NDP claims that $625 million plus $400 million in just the next eight months is inadequate. That is completely the opposite of what we are doing.

We are providing federal leadership and the resources to back the safe restart of the early learning and child care sector. We have been there for parents in the long term, and we are there for parents as this sector recovers from the impacts of COVID-19.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister should know that all the experts have made it really clear that, if we are talking about child care for everyone who needs it, and if we are talking about supports for education in all the provinces and territories, it is simply not enough money. It is not enough, and it shows that the government is not committed.

Will the Liberal government commit to the appropriate level of funding to make sure parents have child care and adequate supports in education so that their kids are safe and people can go back to work?