Debates of Jan. 26th, 2021

Indigenous Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Indigenous Services recently stated that his government does not recognize the jurisdiction of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal on expanding Jordan's principle. He wants consultation instead. Is the minister for real? We are talking about children who have no access to health care supports for the basic and urgent care they need. This is about care for children.

I am asking the minister to not take first nations children to court again. I am asking for reconciliation and action, not words. I ask the minister to please drop the legal action now.

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Indigenous Services]

Mr. Speaker, I would highlight for the member opposite that Indigenous Services Canada has provided 800,000 supports since 2016 in implementing these orders. The appeal of the particular order that the member is referencing will in no way prejudice indigenous children.

We will implement every single aspect of that order, regardless of the outcome. It is part of the competing three lawsuits that this government is facing, purporting to affect the same group of plaintiffs. We welcome the appointment of the mediator to navigate through this process.

Foreign Affairs

[Iqra Khalid, Liberal, Mississauga—Erin Mills, ON]

Mr. Speaker, more than two years have passed since Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were arbitrarily detained in China. The former minister of foreign affairs was right when he said, on the second anniversary of their detention, that these are two years that have been stolen from them. Canadians, including all members of this House, remain united in calling for their immediate release so they can come home and reunite with their families.

Can the Minister of Foreign Affairs please provide an update on the government's efforts to make that possible?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, that is a very, very important question. Ending the arbitrary detention of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig is an absolute priority of mine and of the government. We will work on this every single day in order to obtain their release.

As people well know, the Prime Minister raised the matter with President Biden, who was informed on the subject, and I intend to raise it with my counterpart, Secretary Blinken, as early as this week as a top priority for the Canadian government. We want to get the two Michaels released.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have another question on China.

A number of entities, including a subcommittee of this House, two consecutive U.S. administrations and Canada's official opposition, have concluded that the Government of China is committing a genocide against the Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims. Yesterday, the minister said the government believes an independent investigation is needed to arrive at that conclusion. Ambassador Rae said something similar before Christmas.

What specific action has the Government of Canada taken to initiate an independent investigation?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday, we are gravely concerned with the very strong allegations that have been made against China with respect to its treatment of the Muslim minority Uighur people and other minorities.

We are calling upon China to allow unfettered access to the High Commissioner for Human Rights for the United Nations, and also to allow an independent and impartial committee of experts to enter China to examine the situations that exist there to confirm or not the situation that has been reported.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the all-party subcommittee already conducted hearings and recognized these crimes as genocide months ago. Now the government is talking about an investigation, but clearly, in the absence of any action to make that happen in the meantime, this is simply obfuscation and delay.

The minister knows full well that the same government that lied to the WHO about the spread of COVID-19 is not going to allow unfettered access to members of the International Court of Justice, or to any other independent investigators.

When will the government put aside the delays and doublespeak, and recognize and respond to this genocide?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, we are very concerned with the very compelling reports that have come out pointing to the treatment of the Uighur Muslim minority with respect to forced labour camps and other excesses, which do not respect human rights. That is why we want to look at this in detail.

We are urging the Chinese government to allow a full, impartial and independent examination by experts of the situation in Xinjiang province.

Government Appointments

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians who voluntarily leave their employment are not entitled to employment insurance benefits, but we just learned that the former governor general will be entitled to a generous lifetime pension after resigning. Canadians are outraged.

The primary responsibility for this fiasco lies with the Prime Minister, who hand-picked the Governor General himself without consulting anyone. Did the Prime Minister promise her a lifetime pension of $150,000 a year in exchange for her resignation in order to put a lid on this issue? When will the Prime Minister announce that the former governor general will not receive another penny of taxpayer money?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows very well that the Governor General's retirement benefits are prescribed by law. Before making things up and assuming that this was a promise made by the government, he should read the act. He knows that this is prescribed by law.

That is the exact amount that the former governor general will be entitled to. With regard to additional spending, the Treasury Board obviously regularly monitors such spending and will ensure the appropriateness of all expenditures since we are talking about taxpayer money.

Foreign Affairs

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the list of this Prime Minister's bad decisions is starting to become quite costly to Canadians. We just found out that he once again has lost face on the world stage: Bill Morneau has withdrawn from the race for the secretary general post at the OECD, saying he did not have enough member support to win.

We already know that 19 officials were working on Mr. Morneau's campaign. In addition to the travel expenses and all the other fees, can the Prime Minister tell us how much money Canadians have spent on this new dismal failure?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we were disappointed that Bill Morneau did not get enough support to become the next secretary general of the OECD. We think that Bill Morneau was the ideal candidate to lead the OECD during these difficult times. We want to thank Mr. Morneau for his dedication and his campaign, but also for everything he has done to improve the quality of life of Canadians. Although this was not the result we were hoping for, we will work with the next secretary general of the OECD that members will select.

Health

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Pfizer plant in Europe is unable to deliver even a single dose of the vaccine to Canada. This should not be a problem, because we could turn to the Pfizer plant in the United States. However, we cannot do that, because the Trump administration issued an executive order stating that Pfizer had to vaccinate Americans first before it could export doses.

There is a new president in Washington, and the Prime Minister spoke to him on Friday. Did the Prime Minister ask Joe Biden to make an exception for Canada, at least while Pfizer's European operations are paralyzed?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, as we have repeated so many times, we have the most diversified portfolio of vaccines and vaccine candidates in the world. Yes, we signed agreements with Pfizer. Yes, we are expecting four million doses of the Pfizer vaccine in the first quarter. That number will increase throughout 2021, and all Canadians who want a vaccine will get one by the end of September. That is still the case, and I want to reassure the member and all Canadians about this.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the United States is our best trading partner. Logically, it should also be our best health partner. Vaccination will help boost not only our economy but theirs as well, because the two are integrated.

The Prime Minister spoke with Joe Biden. After agreeing to concessions on Keystone XL and the Buy American Act, he should absolutely have asked for something in return. That is called negotiating.

Did he seize the opportunity to ask the President to intervene in order to give Canada access to the vaccine?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, I share the hon. member’s sense of urgency when it comes to vaccinating all Canadians. It is a sense of urgency that we all share as a government, including the Prime Minister—who is speaking with leaders around the world and with the CEOs of the big pharmaceutical companies—the minister I am representing today and myself. We are working on this every day. We are doing our jobs, and every Canadian who wants to be vaccinated will be able to do so by the end of September, if they wish.

Public Safety

[Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Conservative, South Surrey—White Rock, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it has been one year since the senseless, preventable death of 22-year-old Marylène Levesque in Quebec City by a convicted murderer who had brutally killed his wife, yet was out on day parole so he could satisfy his “sexual needs”.

We now know from a report released last week by correctional and parole officials that there were warning signs that were missed in this case.

Does the Prime Minister accept responsibility for the failures of the correctional services in the tragic death of Marylène Levesque?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, our colleague is experiencing technical difficulties at the moment, and he would like to answer the question. He will have to answer it later.

[The Speaker, Anthony Rota]

I think that he was ready, but you started speaking at the same time.

I do not know whether the hon. Minister of Justice would like to answer the question.

No? Okay.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, our colleague from Public Safety would like to answer the question.

[The Speaker, Anthony Rota]

Okay. Once the problem is resolved, we will come back to it.

The hon. member for Niagara Falls.

COVID-19 Emergency Response

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this Liberal government likes to make hurried announcements and then take its slow time in implementing critical support programs such as the highly affected sectors credit availability program, HASCAP. Hardest hit businesses, especially those in Canada's travel and tourism industry, are relying on HASCAP, which was announced nearly two months ago. Just moments ago, we found out that applications for HASCAP will finally open on February 1.

Will the Prime Minister and this government apologize to those who have been hardest hit for taking their time to implement this much-needed program?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of Small Business]

Mr. Speaker, I share the concerns that the hon. member has for our businesses across Canada, particularly those that have been so hard hit because of the pandemic. I thank them for their contribution to help all of us stay safe and to flatten the curve.

This much-needed program is another lifeline to help our businesses get loans, 100% guaranteed, for $25,000 to $1 million, and for up to $6.25 million for those that have multiple locations.

I look forward to continuing to work with our businesses so that they get the help they need through this very difficult time to the other side of COVID-19.

Public Services and Procurement

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, taxpayers should not be paying billions to subsidize cruise ship repairs.

The Liberals are saddling the country with debt, and now they want to spend $3 billion supporting a private shipyard. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation and Canada's entire shipbuilding industry have rightly expressed outrage over this unfair competition.

Are the Liberals borrowing money in an attempt to buy votes? Why are they sabotaging the national shipbuilding strategy?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, as my dear colleague knows very well, we are considering adding a third shipyard to the national shipbuilding strategy for all Canadians.

Unlike the government he represented, we are putting ships in the water. We are expanding work across Canada, as we did for the Davie shipyard with the icebreakers.

I thank the hon. member for his interest, and I assure him that we will continue to carry out Canada's national shipbuilding strategy.