Debates of Jan. 27th, 2021

Government Appointments

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is not taking responsibility for his decision. This is exactly what happens when a Prime Minister thinks he is more important than the position he holds.

The Conservatives implemented an excellent non-partisan viceregal appointment process to prevent the kind of fiasco the Prime Minister has landed us in. There was a toxic work environment and no background check. Instead of finding the best person, the Prime Minister chose virtue signalling and deliberately ignored the underlying issues. Once again, the Prime Minister's judgment is at the heart of the problem.

Will he strip the Governor General of her gold-plated pension?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we will obviously look at the existing processes and improve them if necessary.

We expect everyone who serves this country to do so with dignity and to fulfill the duties of the position.

We also want to ensure that public servants across the country have safe work environments. We all agree on that, and we will continue to work towards that goal.

International Development

[Marty Morantz, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals just committed $90 million in new funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. Classroom materials distributed to Palestinian students encourage them to “defend the motherland with blood”, portray child-murdering terrorists as heroes and call Israel the enemy.

Will the government suspend funding to UNRWA and commit to aid for Palestinians through alternate means, just as the previous Conservative government did and, more recently, just as the Netherlands and Switzerland did?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we will continue to engage in international development in many projects around the world. Our support and our presence in UNRWA continues to ensure that the materials and the funds that are vehicled to the Palestinians are done in the right way. We will continue to stand up for a two-state solution and for the kind of peace that we need to see through direct negotiations between both Israel and the Palestinian state.

[Marty Morantz, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister just said a moment ago that he would stand up to anti-Semitism whenever and wherever it occurs. Well, here it is. Stand up to it.

The fact of the matter is that $90 million in taxpayer dollars is being used to fund UNRWA's indoctrination of children by inciting violence toward Jews. The government talks about supporting a peaceful two-state solution, yet we see funding of an agency that is working to push hatred, not peace.

On this International Holocaust Remembrance Day and with anti-Semitism across the world on the rise, how does the Prime Minister justify the use of taxpayer dollars to fund the teaching of hatred toward Jews?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have long tried to use approaches like this to score cheap political points on the backs of intolerance and victims. We will continue to do the right thing. That means, yes, standing up for Israel, standing up for a two-state solution, working closely with our partners in the region, and yes, funding development aid for the most vulnerable, including through UNRWA. That is something this government stands for.

Health

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, everyone in Quebec is asking the Prime Minister for the same thing. They want him to ban non-essential flights, make sure people abide by quarantines and ensure that those who had to cancel their vacations are reimbursed.

It is January 27 and the Prime Minister has still not resolved the problems that emerged before Christmas. He waited until all of the travellers who have been returning over the past three weeks got back to Canada, and even now nothing is being done. He waited for seniors' residences in Ontario to be infected with the UK variant of the coronavirus.

There is no time to lose. When will he take action?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I would not want my colleague to mislead Canadians. That would be unfortunate. I can reassure everyone that the measures we have been taking at our borders since March are among the strictest in the world. People who do not live in Canada are not allowed to come to Canada. That is a measure that we have had in place from the beginning.

What is more, we imposed a mandatory quarantine on everyone who is returning to the country. They are monitored by the local police and Health Canada authorities. A few weeks ago, we also began requiring a negative test—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, he talks about quarantines, but he is not even enforcing them.

Action must be taken, but there is no easy solution. The Prime Minister was elected to make difficult decisions. Quebec makes difficult decisions every day. It imposed a curfew, and that was a difficult decision. Quebec hospitals are triaging patients. Figuring out who can or cannot be treated is a difficult decision.

Quebec closed its stores and businesses. The Prime Minister must close the border to non-essential travel.

When will he do his job of making difficult decisions and taking action to keep Canadians safe?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, from the start, we put in place some of the strictest measures in the world to protect our border, and we are going to do even more.

Speaking of difficult decisions, we were there to help support the Government of Quebec in making its difficult decisions, by investing billions of dollars to help Quebec businesses, families and workers. The federal government was there to help Quebeckers and all Canadians directly, and we will continue to be there. It was a difficult process, but not a difficult decision—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill.

COVID-19 Emergency Response

[Leona Alleslev, Conservative, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, many Canadians are counting on the Canadian emergency and recovery benefits to put food on the table and a roof over their heads. Unfortunately, the people who need it the most are given the runaround, wrongly labelled ineligible or trapped without support as processing backlogs force them to wait for months. Ten months later, still the paralyzing bureaucracy, confusion and loopholes in these program continue to persist. This must be a priority. When will the government fix the emergency and recovery benefits program?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, while the Conservatives continue to attack our hard-working public servants, we have worked with them while they have made heroic efforts to get money out to Canadians across the country in record time, in record means and in record numbers to help Canadians.

While the Conservative finance critic continues to say we should not have helped people so much, we should not have been helping families and we should have given more money to businesses, we stayed focused on helping Canadians through this. It was a simple promise that we would have Canadians' backs, and that is what we have done every step of the way, despite the critiques of the Conservatives that we were doing too much too fast.

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on Monday the government asked for unanimous consent to pass a bill correcting the paid sick leave loophole in the rushed Canada recovery benefit legislation that can be exploited by non-essential travellers and vacationers. The House said no, that it was better to study it at committee to get it right this time. The Liberals then refused to table the legislation.

What could be so urgent that it needed to be passed without study, but is now so unimportant the Liberals will not introduce it for proper consideration?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, again we hear the approach from the Conservatives that we rushed to help Canadians in the spring, that we rushed to help Canadians in the fall. Yes, we did. We are in a global pandemic right now and we needed to put measures out as quickly as possible to support Canadians. Of course we did not get everything perfect; nobody does. However, we made the necessary moves to deliver support to millions of Canadians to keep food on the table and help them out.

Every step of the way the Conservatives grumbled that we were doing too much too fast, that we should not be helping Canadians that much. Well, we disagree. We will be there for Canadians. We will continue to have their backs.

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this is the old deflect and dissemble. Let us move on to another Liberal snafu.

Thousands of Canadians who have applied for EI since CERB have been refused and told to apply for the CRB, but they are being rejected because they made the original EI claim. Service Canada confirms the denials are improper. The CRA said it is trying to fix its faulty computer codes. For many, family savings have run out and there is no money for groceries.

Glib assurances are unacceptable. Where is the fix?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have delivered help to millions of vulnerable Canadians, but we know there is much more to do. We are working on repairing some of these gaps to ensure the most vulnerable Canadians get the support they need. This is something Canadians are expecting and counting on. As I said from the very beginning, this government will continue to be there to do everything necessary to help Canadians get through this.

Public Safety

[Francis Scarpaleggia, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canada had its first case of COVID-19 a year ago this week.

Since the start of the pandemic, we have acted quickly and effectively to mitigate the spread of the virus.

Could the Prime Minister tell Canadians about the border measures that have been taken to keep all Canadians safe?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Lac-Saint-Louis for his question, his leadership and his hard work in our caucus.

Our borders have been closed to foreign travellers since March. We implemented a mandatory two-week quarantine for everyone entering Canada, and incoming air travellers must have a negative test before boarding the plane. Our border measures are tough, they are right for this evolving situation, and they are working.

All options are on the table, and we will be announcing new measures very soon.

Foreign Affairs

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the evidence is overwhelming: China is committing genocide against the Uighurs through population control, sexual violence and mass detentions, yet all we get from the Liberal government are vague expressions of concern and empty promises of an investigation. The time for action is now.

What specific steps is the Prime Minister taking to formally request that China allow such an investigation, and when will he finally declare these atrocities to be a genocide?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we of course take allegations of genocide extremely seriously and are working with the United States and our partners to move forward on concerted action. We recognize, as I have recognized directly to the leaders of China, the concerns around human rights violations in Xinjiang, and we will continue to work with the global community for transparency, for accountability and for clarity in terms of what is happening in Xinjiang.

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, in response to a question about the Uighur genocide, the foreign affairs minister said the government is calling upon China to do two things: first, allow unfettered access to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; and second, allow an independent, impartial committee of experts to enter China.

Has the government formally made these two requests of the Chinese government, either through the Chinese ambassador to Canada or through Ambassador Barton?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we take the situation faced by the Uighurs in Xinjiang extremely seriously, which is why we have been bringing up this issue for years at all levels of Chinese government. We are working with our allies on assuring access for the UN special representative and on more transparency into what is going on there. We need to hold China to account as a community of nations, and that is exactly what we are going to continue to do.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is Holocaust Memorial Day. We are asking the Prime Minister direct questions about a contemporary genocide and he is refusing to answer simple direct questions. Irwin Cotler, the government's own special envoy for Holocaust remembrance and combatting anti-Semitism, agrees that Canada must recognize and respond to this genocide.

Independent investigations have already been conducted. They have drawn on survivor testimony, satellite imagery and leaked Chinese government data. The evidence is clear, the investigations have been done and the victims have testified. The government should believe them.

Why is the Prime Minister still sitting on the fence and refusing to answer questions and recognize this genocide?