Debates of Sept. 30th, 2020

Resumption of debate on Address in Reply

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Madam Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the new Conservative leader on his first speech in this role in the chamber. I also want to say, on behalf of all New Democrats and hopefully everyone in the House, how pleased we are to see him in good health and that we wish the very best for his family.

Today I am wearing orange because we are recognizing the residential school survivors of Canada. I want to take this opportunity to recognize my husband, who spent a large part of his childhood in two different residential schools and has many very sad stories to share, and a lot of that are realities in our lives together that we face as a family.

I have a concern and I would love to hear from the member on this. When Stephen Harper was in government, and I would remind everyone that the member was a minister of that government, the former aboriginal affairs department, which was there at the time to deliver all the services to indigenous communities, held back about $1 billion of social spending between 2010 and 2015. When I look at the history of this country and the realities today, the Liberals can take a fair share with their challenges and lack of action. However, I wonder how any indigenous community can trust the member in a role in this country when that money was taken. I think about what that $1 billion could have done over that five years to help alleviate the desperate concerns in those communities.

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Durham, ON]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member for North Island—Powell River for her words about my family and our health. It is appreciated. One of the first cancellations due to COVID was my trip to Vancouver Island, a very special place in this country that I look forward to having a few more blue spots on in the near future.

I appreciate the member sharing her own family perspective. I said quite frankly in my speech that my party has to work on reconciliation. The Prime Minister's arrogance seems to make him think he does not have to work on reconciliation. It is a commitment I have made and tried to live up to before I became a parliamentarian. It was a commitment I made when I met with Chief Atleo and Chief Bellegarde in my capacity as a minister of the Crown.

I have spoken to Chief Bellegarde several times and he knows of my time doing pro bono work with the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business because, unlike the Prime Minister, I want real progress, not just photo ops. That is what we owe indigenous communities, particularly on a day when we are wearing orange. We owe a commitment. I told Chief Bellegarde how disappointed I was when the last bill in the last Parliament from the Prime Minister was the child welfare bill.

If we read the Tina Fontaine report from Manitoba, multiple levels of government failed that Canadian. The Prime Minister crammed the bill in during the final months of Parliament, had to use closure for its passage and had not even done proper consultations. That is not serious reconciliation. The more Canadians, including indigenous Canadians, get to know me, they will know I want serious progress and less symbolism.

[Emmanuella Lambropoulos, Liberal, Saint-Laurent, QC]

Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook.

I am thankful for the opportunity to speak today in favour of the Speech from the Throne, one that I hope my colleagues across all party lines will support, because it will allow our government to continue supporting Canadians in what is probably one of the most difficult times of their lives.

Over the past six months, Canadians have faced an unprecedented situation, one like no other.

COVID-19 has completely changed our lives and affected Canadians in so many ways. Thousands of families have lost a family member to COVID-19. People who are isolated are experiencing mental health issues. Thousands have lost their jobs or the businesses they built and in which they invested heavily. Parents are anxious and scared when they send their children to school.

Although we find ourselves in an unprecedented situation because of this pandemic, our government did its best to support Canadians from the outset. As the virus quickly spread and our economy came to a halt, our Liberal government did everything it could to put in place measures to help Canadians as quickly as possible.

This pandemic has exposed some of the major flaws that exist in our social systems. Perhaps the biggest disappointment and devastation of them all is what happened in our long-term care facilities, dans nos CHSLD.

For all of the aforementioned reasons, I am in favour of the throne speech because I see it as the quickest way to bring help to Canadians who need it during these uncertain times. Canadians and business owners need to know that the government will be there to support them in their time of need.

Before I go on, I would like to take a moment to express my gratitude, on behalf of my constituents, to all of our guardian angels who bravely fought on the front lines in order to keep Canadians safe and healthy. A big thanks to everyone who went to work every day amid this public health crisis, whether they work in the public health sector, in a grocery store, in food production or in any other essential service. It is thanks to them that we got through the first wave, and together we will get through the second wave.

Unfortunately, the second wave has hit many regions of the country, including Quebec, my home province. We expect that this wave will be far worse than the first. However, we fortunately know more about this virus now and are much better prepared.

Wearing a mask, physical distancing and respecting the other public health guidelines will help us keep COVID-19 under control and ensure that we will not have to shut down our economy again. That is why our government invested and will continue to invest in personal protective equipment, commonly known as PPE.

By keeping Canadians safe and protected, and by ensuring that we have a big enough supply of PPE for all Canadians, we are giving our economy the best possible chance to recover quickly once the situation improves.

By keeping Canadians safe and protected, and by ensuring that we have a big enough supply of PPE for all Canadians, we are giving our economy the best possible chance to recover quickly once the situation improves.

The best possible way of keeping Canadians safe and protected is by ending this virus once and for all, and one of the quickest, most effective ways of doing so is with a safe and effective vaccine.

From the very beginning, our government has been advised and guided by our brightest public health officials. In a similar way, we are being guided by the best scientific minds through the Vaccine Task Force and the Immunity Task Force. We have made investments in Canada's capacity for vaccine distribution and have secured access to vaccine candidates, while also investing in manufacturing right here at home.

Until a reliable vaccine is available, our government will help the provinces expand their testing capacity so that Canadians do not have to wait days to get tested.

We are also looking into new technologies and other types of tests to make everything go quicker. This will help limit the spread of COVID-19 while allowing a bigger part of our economy to remain open in the meantime.

The federal COVID Alert app was created to improve contact tracing and I was happy to learn that Quebec has finally adopted it. It will help us considerably limit the spread of the virus.

More recently, as we were inundated by emails from worried parents expressing their fears of sending their kids back to school, we invested $2 billion in a safe return to class fund to keep teachers, students, administrators and support staff as safe as possible as they began their school year. This fund was given directly to provinces so that they could improve the protection measures for our schools in the best ways they saw fit.

I was thrilled to see that in the throne speech we committed to setting new national standards for long-term care so that our seniors, the members of our society who have contributed so much and who have spent their lives helping build our country, get the support they need. They deserve to live and be cared for with dignity. We will also help seniors stay in their homes for longer, as home care is often the best and preferred option for them.

Furthermore, because COVID-19 has disproportionately affected Canadians with disabilities, our government will implement a disability inclusion plan to help them receive a basic income and employment opportunities.

We know that COVID-19 has not only had an impact on our health and our health care systems, it has taken a major toll on our economy as well. Businesses big and small had to shut down for months due to public health regulations. Millions of Canadians were laid off in the early days of the pandemic, uncertain of what they would do next. The CERB was our government's way of getting a safety net to Canadians as quickly as possible when they stopped receiving paycheques. Nine million Canadians received help through the CERB when businesses were closing left and right and there was no work available. Now that our economy has started up again, CERB recipients will be supported by employment insurance. For those who have never qualified for EI in the past, the government will create a transitional Canada recovery benefit.

In order to help businesses that were allowed to remain open during the months of quarantine or those who quickly adapted to telework to keep their operations going and their employees on the payroll, we created the Canada emergency wage subsidy, which helped support 3.5 million jobs across the country. The Speech from the Throne announced the continuation of this program that so many businesses have come to rely on to stay open. I was pleased to see this wage subsidy extended until next summer.

Furthermore, in order to help businesses survive the second wave, we will be expanding the Canada emergency business account to help more businesses with their fixed costs. The government will also work to target additional financial support to businesses that have temporarily shut down as a result of local public health decisions and to those that have been the hardest hit.

We know that this is not enough. The unemployment rate is high, and it is women, racialized Canadians and young people who have been the most affected by job losses across the country. To help Canadians land good, reliable jobs, the throne speech mentioned that the government would launch a campaign to create over one million jobs, using a range of tools at its disposal. We will be directly investing in the social sector, infrastructure and in training programs to give workers the skills they need to take advantage of new opportunities. We will also be scaling up the youth employment and skills strategy to keep our young people active and working. Finally, we will create an action plan for women in the economy to ensure that women and their realities are taken into account in our recovery plan.

As much as this pandemic has taken over our lives, we cannot lose sight of our very important priorities, whether they be protecting our environment, making Canada a fair and more inclusive place for everyone or making Canada stronger on a global scale. This pandemic has exposed our weaknesses and the gaps in some of our systems, such as our health care system and our social systems. We should use this major setback as an opportunity to build back better for a stronger and more resilient Canada.

We have an opportunity to rethink our future and to ensure that everyone is included in our recovery, so in the future our economy can benefit all Canadians. We have an opportunity now to align ourselves and our recovery plan with our ambitious climate change goals so future generations can have a chance at a normal life on this planet.

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

I would remind the hon. member to use the language button when she alternates between English and French. This will help the interpreters who are having a hard time following.

The hon. member for Battle River—Crowfoot.

[Damien Kurek, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

Madam Speaker, a number of changes have been made to the Canada emergency business account, CEBA, which is available to small and medium-sized enterprises. Those changes have increased access to this important program. However, many of my constituents are still left with questions when they were turned down without clear explanations and faced long questions. Officials went further and told the staff in my office that there was no way a member of Parliament could assist in the process of finding answers related to that.

Could the member answer the question on whether the government can commit to ensuring that MPs' offices can get the services that are required to ensure their constituents are well served by programs like CEBA?

[Emmanuella Lambropoulos, Liberal, Saint-Laurent, QC]

Madam Speaker, CEBA has been expanded to benefit even more businesses. In the beginning, the government was not sure how long this would last and tried to help as many as possible, but we saw that many of them fell through the cracks. In the throne speech we have committed to help some of the businesses that were the hardest hit and the ones that have not necessarily received much help up until now.

I will mention this to members of my caucus, the Prime Minister and ministers to ensure we find a way to get MP offices more resources to help businesses in their ridings.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Madam Speaker, during my colleague's speech, I asked my colleague from Jonquière which is emptier: a vacuum or a void. We still have not found the answer.

I mean no offence to my colleague, but this is how I have been feeling every time I hear a Liberal's speech. Was the throne speech a vacuum or a void? I could not tell you.

There are things our constituents want to hear. I want to talk about how the regions are still waiting for high-speed Internet. I do not know how many times this has come up in the House, but high-speed Internet is essential to our economic recovery. The provinces and Quebec are still waiting to find out what will happen with the money the government promised to accelerate the connectivity timelines.

Could my colleague help me out and fill in this emptiness I feel every time she and her colleagues have spoken since the throne speech? Maybe she could tell me when this money for high-speed Internet will be available?

[Emmanuella Lambropoulos, Liberal, Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his question, although I am not able to give a specific answer.

This was one of the objectives mentioned in the throne speech. Many Canadians are earning a living by working from home because of COVID-19. Most of their work is being done at home, so it is very important for everyone to be connected to the Internet. As everyone knows, this can be difficult in some parts of Canada. The government has made this matter a priority, and I am sure that the ministers responsible will work—

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

The hon. member for Windsor West.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for her work on the industry committee, and as well the member from the Bloc in front of me, who has done wonderful work on that committee. As she knows, prorogation killed the reports and work we did at committee, including a study on fraud that all members of the House worked on with a special component on COVID and COVID fraud. I would like to know if the Liberals will support a unanimous motion to restore that work. Otherwise, we will lose six months of work, tens of thousands of dollars, witness testimonies and so forth, and most importantly the recommendations that are ready to be tabled in the House.

Will she and the Liberal Party support that?

[Emmanuella Lambropoulos, Liberal, Saint-Laurent, QC]

Madam Speaker, I definitely believe we will be supporting that. I can speak for myself anyway. I know I would support that because I know we did great work during the summer. I would like to thank the member for the work he put into the committee as well, and for initiating the study on fraud.

[Darrell Samson, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence]

Madam Speaker, I am delighted to be here today and to take part in the second session of the 43rd Parliament.

It is extremely important to be able to debate the throne speech, which, I believe, lays the foundation for success for the years ahead.

There is no question that we had to look at the areas faced with this pandemic to know how we could make sure Canadians were protected and safe. That was the most important thing. The second was how we could help them get through this pandemic, which is extremely important. The third was how we could make things better, because the turf underneath our feet has changed because of the pandemic. There are certain things we must look at and change, and others we must ensure we put forward as soon as possible. Then we have to look, as a country, at what the areas are where we can support more people and make Canada even greater, which is essential.

There is no question about protecting Canadians. Nova Scotia has done an outstanding job. Premier McNeil was outstanding in guiding us through the pandemic. At one point, he said, “stay the blazes home”, which went viral. I am sure members have heard that one already.

I also want to thank Dr. Strang, our chief medical officer, who guided our government through this. We were then able to work with Atlantic Canada, and I want to praise all of Atlantic Canada. Today, it is the safest bubble in North America. We have zero cases in three of the four provinces, and I think one active case in the other province, and we are tracking that. Atlantic Canada is the safest place in North America. That is impressive. As far as a bubble, we have done our part, and I hope we can learn from that experience.

How do we protect Canadians? We protect them with PPE. It is extremely important that we have the equipment and tools necessary to help Canadians. That is why our government moved forward quickly and asked businesses to come forward with ideas and to put forward proposals that would help find equipment that would help Canadians, including face masks, gowns and hand sanitizer. We all needed those things in this country because we knew globally it would be a challenge to get that equipment. We had over 1,000 companies come forward and many across this country. A company in my riding called Stanfield's produced over 300,000 gowns.

The next important thing is the vaccine. We have now invested and secured candidates to move forward and we have agreements with six countries. I am hopeful, as all members are, that we will find this vaccine for Canadians within the next six to 12 months, which would be extremely important.

How are Liberals helping Canadians through this pandemic? That is an extremely important question. The CERB is the first program we put out. Almost 9 million Canadians accessed the CERB. That is how important it was for us to come forward and help Canadians as quickly as possible.

We then moved into the Canada emergency wage subsidy, which provided 75% of workers' wages. In my riding, I spoke to the owner of Boondocks and he told me that he had laid off all his workers and then, shortly after we put the program out, he was able to bring them all back. That is why this was such an important program, as was the program to help businesses.

We were quick to support seniors because it is extremely important to do so. We used a top-up through GST. We then increased it by $300 tax-free for those on the OAS, along with an extra $200 tax-free for those on the GIS. I do not know if members know how much money that is, but in Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook it was $7.3 million. To multiply that by 338 MPs is approximately $2.5 billion to support seniors in this country. That is very impressive.

Initially I was doubtful that young people would have summer jobs. We were not sure how things would unfold, but companies stepped up and opened their doors again. The students went to work supporting their communities, the businesses and the organizations.

I spoke to the Lake & Shore Recreation Society in Forest Lake. Its representatives told me if they shut down, they would never have reopened if it had not been for student summer jobs. They were able to offer the summer camp once again, which is a very important program.

Another is our veterans. It is extremely important that we were able to support veterans quickly as well. We approved almost $200 million to move forward on the backlog, which was extremely important so veterans could get services they deserved. On top of that, we included in the veterans disability payment $600 and that cheque should come soon for disabled veterans, which is extremely important.

We have also added a question in the census to identify veterans. It has not been there for 51 years. How will we help veterans if we do not know who they are? That was extremely important. Yesterday, we passed Bill C-4, which allows for $20 million to help veterans through organizations that work closely with them on the ground, and that was extremely important as well.

We are moving forward on early learning and child care. We have been talking about it for years. It is essential. We have to get it so that both spouses who are work know that their kids have child care and early learning. Now with the pandemic, we need to accelerate that much faster.

Here is where building better is extremely important. Not only do we help move forward, but we also create other types of opportunities. Investing in the social sector is crucial. We are creating jobs and also systems that are necessary to move forward. Investment in housing to eliminate chronic homelessness is very important.

My colleague spoke about broadband. It is essential. We have seen the gaps. It became evident very quickly in this pandemic. If people do not have broadband and connectivity, they will not be able to contribute as much they should. If we want people in rural communities, we need to do that ASAP.

We also have to up our game in skilled workers. The throne speech announced the greatest investment ever in skilled workers and training. David Dodge, the former governor of the Bank of Canada, stated clearly that this was probably the most important thing we could do to support Canadians.

Health care needs universal pharmacare. We have talked about it and we will deliver it. We are moving it forward and we are going to begin negotiation with the provinces. There are a lot of them ready to go and they will be quick to the door to accept that challenge. This will show all Canadians, including the Conservatives, that it is doable.

We have also seen the gap in long-term care. That is why we are bringing forward national standards, which is crucial to ensure that seniors from one coast to the other will have the same services in health care.

The opposition leader gave a very good speech. For a while, I though he was describing the Liberal philosophy, but he never talked about climate change. It is real and he will have to add that to his next speech.

I also want to talk about what we will do for climate change. We will legislate net-zero emissions by 2050. We will exceed our 2030 targets. We will invest in green retrofits for businesses and clean energy funds. We have the Atlantic loop.

I am very proud of a business in my riding, which is a leader in open mapping. It received $361,000 to retrieve and dispose—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I would ask members to look for the little signs that I give them when their time is running out, and to stop speaking when I give the signal that it has run out. I am sure the hon. member will be able to add more from his speech during the questions and comments.

The hon. member for Barrie—Innisfil.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Madam Speaker, I am looking for a sincere answer to this question.

I know during the throne speech the word “veteran” was not mentioned once, and on the heels of the throne speech, the Parliamentary Budget Officer came out and said that the caseload within Veterans Affairs for adjudication and claims is approaching 50,000. A couple of years ago, all parties supported an NDP motion that would call on any money that was left on the table in Veterans Affairs to be used to work on that backlog of claims.

What plan, based on the throne speech or any other plan, is there to reduce the backlog within the system and get those veterans and their families the claims they deserve?

[Darrell Samson, Liberal, Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS]

Madam Speaker, my colleague is well aware of the report that Veterans Affairs submitted in June, and he is aware also that we are investing nearly $200 million to hire hundreds of new staff members to focus exactly on that backlog, which is essential. I am proud to be on this side of the House because our government has invested $10 billion over the last five years to help support veterans and their families.

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Madam Speaker, I have a very simple question for my colleague.

I realize he is very proud of everything that has been done in recent months. I understand, because I too was pleased in the first few weeks when a lot of changes were being made to mitigate the impact at the beginning of the crisis.

Just between us, I would like to ask him a question. We have been debating the throne speech for three of the allotted six days, but it seems to me like the umpteenth time we have asked about health transfers. Most of the provinces, territories and opposition members agree that, yes, increased transfers are needed.

What advice can you give us to ensure that the desired changes are made before the sixth and final day of debate?

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I cannot give the member any advice, except to address her questions and comments to the Chair and not to individual members.

[Darrell Samson, Liberal, Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her important question.

I have good news. Cheques totalling $19 billion have been sent to the provinces to help them deal with difficult situations during the pandemic, which is extremely important. In addition to these investments, we plan to develop standards for seniors' residences, which is also very important. We will continue to invest as long as we need to. That is what we promised to do, that is what we have done and that is what we will continue to do.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Madam Speaker, I was very happy to hear my hon. colleague mention pharmacare. I have been hearing Liberals talk about pharmacare for coming up on 30 years. Since 1997, they have promised Canadians they would bring in pharmacare.

He mentioned in his speech that he is looking forward to negotiating with the provinces, but the question that all Canadians have is this: Negotiate what?

To this day, neither the Prime Minister nor the health minister, nor any person on that side of the House, has ever identified the form of pharmacare they want to negotiate. The NDP has been calling for public pharmacare and the reason is that the Hoskins committee report, the health committee and every task force over the last 30 years have recommended that we must deliver pharmacare through our public system.

Will my colleague stand in the House and say that what the government will negotiate with the provinces is folding pharmacare into and delivering it through Canada's public medicare system, not a U.S.-style private patchwork system?

[Darrell Samson, Liberal, Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS]

Madam Speaker, I would have been shocked if the member had not asked me that question. It is a very important one.

It is a question that we are working on throughout our government and with the provinces. A public, universal pharmacare system is what we want. We need to move that forward. We will work with provinces. Some are ready to move forward now.

The Conservatives are hollering back and forth over there, but they are against universal pharmacare. Let us put that on the record.

We will work with the provinces to make sure we deliver pharmacare for all Canadians. My understanding is that it will be public pharmacare.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Chicoutimi—Le Fjord.

I am most pleased to speak on the throne speech. I do believe this throne speech, and the legislation and policy that will flow out of it, will put Canada on the right track going forward.

We are in a pandemic that seems to be gaining ground again. This is the time for leadership. The Prime Minister has shown leadership day after day. Contrary to what the Leader of the Opposition said, the Prime Minister and his government were in communication with all members of the House, and having meetings at night in conference calls with the bureaucracy. Everybody put in ideas, but the government showed that it was willing, under the leadership of the Prime Minister, to make changes that would improve policies for individuals, businesses, organizations, provinces and territories, day in and day out since the pandemic began.

The Prime Minister developed the programs. He worked with the provinces, and the provinces have congratulated the Prime Minister, time and again, on his willingness to work with them during this pandemic.

He has certainly shown leadership in terms of working with all Canadians. I heard the Leader of the Opposition say that he only wanted to work with some. No. The Prime Minister has worked with all Canadians, with all organizations and with all provinces. The Prime Minister is showing he is the leader that is needed in this time for this country to move forward. This is the direct opposite of what the Leader of the Opposition had to say.

This throne speech sets out a blueprint for where we need to go in the future. There really is no shortage of ideas. The purpose of a throne speech is to lay out the blueprint in the House of Commons and to have other ideas and criticisms come forward, certainly. I believe that, in the way that Parliament is structured, other ideas can come forward to improve on the blueprint that the government has laid out, although it is a very good blueprint.

The finance committee, in fact, heard hundreds of suggestions from Canadian organizations and individuals between April 3 and the end of June. I want to qualify that. This was a criticism that I do not believe was valid. I want to qualify that a key point made by witnesses before the finance committee is that, while future spending is essential, it must be done in a fiscally responsible way, and the Minister of Finance should certainly, at the earliest opportunity, lay out an economic growth plan. That is what witnesses were saying. I agree with that approach, and I think that would show Canadians how we are going to get there in terms of meeting the needs of the pandemic but also meeting the needs of the economy going forward.

Witnesses before the finance committee, and in my own riding and across Canada, spoke very favourably about several programs that will be continued as a result of the throne speech and the legislation flowing out of it.

The Canada emergency wage subsidy offered a 75% subsidy for businesses, and it will be extended right through to next summer. Although it is a wonderful program, I would note that it needs some tweaks. Many new businesses, start-ups, or expanding businesses that are buying out other businesses and therefore have different business account numbers with the CRA, do not qualify for the program. We have to fix that problem. Those businesses are important to our economy. They are the backbone of our economy, and we need them.

The second major program announced in the throne speech is the Canada emergency response benefit. It was very important to ensure that families had the funds to put food on the table, and had some security for their families, after jobs were lost as a result of COVID-19.

That program is rightly being rolled into an improved EI program, and is absolutely necessary, going forward. That is a commitment made by the Government of Canada in the throne speech. In fact, legislation has already been put in this House through Bill C-2 and Bill C-4 that ensures that the benefits of CERB will remain as we work to restart our economy.

For those in the tourism industry who were only able to find limited work this summer, the reduced hours, as announced, that will be required to gain EI is extremely important. The throne speech mentions it and legislation passed through here once on the Canada recovery benefit to support workers who are self-employed or not eligible for EI, the Canada recovery sickness benefit for workers who must self-isolate due to COVID-19, and the Canada recovery caregiving benefit for Canadians who must take care of a child and are unable to work. That is extremely important for people, moving forward, to help them out.

Another area we heard a lot of positive feedback and comments on is CEBA, the Canada emergency business account. The throne speech states:

This fall, in addition to extending the wage subsidy, the Government will take further steps to bridge vulnerable businesses to the other side of the pandemic by:

Expanding the Canada Emergency Business Account to help businesses with fixed costs;

Improving the Business Credit Availability Program;

And introducing further support for industries that have been the hardest hit, including travel and tourism, hospitality, and cultural industries like the performing arts.

It is important we do that, and we welcome that program, but I want to also put a slight caveat on CEBA. A number of us from all parties have been saying that the Canada emergency business account must allow personal accounts to qualify, not just business accounts. When I was farming I did not have a business account with a bank; I had a personal account and I was running about a $2-million operation. I can give an example of an individual in my riding. This construction guy with a $900,000 operation puts out three T4s and can show income tax going back years, but he does not qualify for CEBA. That is wrong. It should not just be through the bank business account. We had to fix that so that the people with a personal bank account qualify as well.

As an aside, there was the regional relief and recovery fund, established through the regional development agencies, that is basically the same as CEBA but is in the rural areas for businesses that may not qualify through the banks system. That program has run out of money. I am asking the Minister of Finance and the government as a whole to put some more funds into that RRRF so that people who actually deal with those agencies can qualify. That needs to happen.

I understand time is running down for my remarks, but I want to say I am looking forward to the work of the Government of Canada in accelerating the universal broadband funding. This is critical. We have seen through the pandemic that it needs to be done.

I am encouraged by what the throne speech said about the Atlantic loop in terms of energy between Atlantic Canada and Quebec, and how that may flow throughout the system.

We really used Canadian resources to help Canadians and build Canadian industries. I am really pleased on the environmental side that the throne speech outlines a number of opportunities for retrofitting homes and businesses, and more.

We have learned through this pandemic that we have to supply ourselves locally, and we need to move forward on that as well.

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Madam Speaker, the biggest issue facing my community right now has to be the opioid crisis, hands down. The chief medical officer for the Cowichan Valley told me that we had two epidemics going on right now: COVID-19 and the opioids crisis.

Unfortunately when I looked through the content of the throne speech, and this opinion shared by the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition, there was only a single reference to the opioids crisis. It is really unconscionable, given the public health crisis we are facing, especially in communities like mine, that only a passing reference was made.

The government needs to redouble its efforts to fight this crisis to ensure we are not losing hundreds of people to overdose deaths each year and to ensure that communities like mine are not going to continue being ravaged by it into the future. We have lost far too many people. I would like to hear the member's comments on that.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Madam Speaker, there is mention of the opioid crisis in the throne speech, but the throne speech basically outlines a road map. I agree 100% with the member and with the concerns he has raised. My seatmate throughout many past parliamentary sessions was also from Vancouver. I have heard from her constantly about it.

It is a crisis. We must work with the provinces and the health agencies and put some money toward this, so we can start to put this crisis behind us.

I was originally involved with drug injection sites, so I know there are all kinds of things we have to do on the ground to deal with this, and we must do it.

[Warren Steinley, Conservative, Regina—Lewvan, SK]

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to rise and take part in this debate with such an experienced colleague from Prince Edward Island. I was able to see him in action back in 2008 when I worked on Parliament Hill. It is nice to be here with him on the floor of the House. Hopefully I will learn a little from his experience.

Going to the throne speech, one of the biggest issues we hear about in Saskatchewan and the western provinces has to do with getting the oil and gas sector back to work. I will read one line and ask the member if he agrees. “support manufacturing, natural-resource and energy sectors as they work to transform to meet a net-zero future, creating good-paying and long-lasting jobs.”

Does the member believe in this Ottawa-knows-best approach that people who work in the oil and gas industries in western Canada do not know how to do their jobs, that what they are doing now is wrong, that the way people put food on the table for their family is not right and that they need to come forward with a new Ottawa-knows-best approach, because the men and women working hard in the energy sector are not good enough for the Liberal government?

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Madam Speaker, after those compliments by the member opposite, I really hate to say it, but strenuously disagree with him.

The fact is that there is not an Ottawa-knows-best approach. We have heard consistently from the oil and gas sector. This government has shown that it is behind the oil industry by being onside with Keystone, being onside with Trans Mountain and in fact spending money to get those resources to market.

We have consistently said that we want to work with the oil and gas industry on innovation. That industry is going to be needed for years and we are there to support those workers. Many COVID programs have supported workers who needed it during these times.