Debates of Jan. 28th, 2021

Public Safety

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, I believe we all agree that indigenous women have a right to feel safe in their communities.

The partnership between Pauktuutit women of Canada and the RCMP is a very positive step forward on the national police force's efforts of reconciliation with Inuit women, girls and gender-diverse persons. The agreement will review the RCMP's cultural competency training, the establishment of a family violence coordinator in Nunavut and consultation with Inuit women on the RCMP's body-worn cameras pilot project.

Our government will continue working together with provincial and territorial governments, first nations, Inuit and Métis communities to end the ongoing national tragedy of—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Richmond—Arthabaska.

International Trade

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

The United States has announced protectionist measures that will have a devastating impact on our businesses. According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, to date, 180,000 SMEs could close their doors. That means that 2.4 million Canadian jobs are in jeopardy. After the vaccine procurement fiasco and the government's poor border management, our economy is in jeopardy.

What is our Prime Minister waiting for? When will he react?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of Small Business]

Mr. Speaker, I want Canadian businesses and workers to know that we are actively engaging with our American partners at all levels and that we are always going to stand up for the best interests of Canadians.

The Prime Minister raised this with the President on their call, where he emphasized that workers in the U.S. and Canada benefited from our integrated secure and resilient supply chains. They have agreed that we will consult closely to avoid any measure that will constrain our bilateral trade and economic growth for our two countries.

We are going to continue to work together to support a sustainable economic recovery and create jobs and grow the middle class here in Canada and in the United States.

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we are in the midst of an unprecedented health crisis. Sending cheques is easy, but we need a economic recovery plan.

Our business owners are struggling. Millions of jobs are in jeopardy, and these new U.S. protectionist measures will be a risk. Our Prime Minister is always in reaction mode, always late and unable to make quick decisions.

What is he waiting for? When will he take action to protect jobs across the country?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of Small Business]

Mr. Speaker, nothing is more important to us than working with our neighbours south of the border so we can indeed advocate in the interest of Canadian jobs, Canadian workers, Canadian businesses. Our record will speak for ourselves in our relationship with the Americans. We continue to work hard on behalf of Canadian businesses and Canadians.

Government Appointments

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

Mr. Speaker, “The resignation of Julie Payette is an unprecedented move that calls into question the judgement of [the] Prime Minister...who appointed her without sufficient vetting.” Who said that? It was Daniel Béland, the director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada. The Quintet report is definitive: the toxic environment has existed for years. There were tantrums, screaming and public humiliation, and the Prime Minister turned a blind eye to it all.

Will the person responsible for this fiasco do the right thing and take away the former governor general's lifetime pension?

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, it is important to recognize that every Canadian deserves to go to work each day in a safe workplace free from harassment. That includes the hard-working and dedicated employees who work at Rideau Hall.

We took this matter very seriously right from the beginning and put in place an independent review process. Following that process, the Prime Minister accepted Madame Payette's resignation.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has had the report since January 12. An extremely redacted version was leaked to the media in English only, as though francophones did not deserve to know what was going on.

The Prime Minister voluntarily turned a blind eye to the former governor general's troubling past because he gets a thrill out of making a big impression. As recently as September, he said in the midst of an investigation, “We have an excellent Governor General...”.

Is he still as proud of his personal choice?

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I will not be providing comments on the specifics of the report out of respect for the privacy and confidentiality of former and current staff and others who participated. To maintain impartiality in this process, the report has been released following the appropriate redactions, in accordance with the law.

Everyone deserves, as I said, to work in a safe workplace, including the staff who work for the Governor General.

Health

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and U.S. President Joe Biden talked about vaccination last Friday.

The Prime Minister's Office released the following information: “They discussed collaboration on vaccines and acknowledged that the two countries’ efforts are strengthened by...the flow of critical medical supplies.”

Now that Canada and the United States have agreed that the vaccine should flow freely between our two countries, I have one very simple question: How many doses of the Pfizer vaccine did Canada get from the United States?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, we share Canadians' sense of urgency around securing access to these essential vaccines as quickly as possible.

More than 1.1 million vaccines have been distributed across the country to date, which means Canada is on track for the first quarter. Our government is responsible for vaccine distribution, and we will not stop until the job is done.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, just like us, the government needs to be looking for solutions.

The Major-General in charge of vaccine supply recently announced that Pfizer deliveries will be delayed once again. Our expectations for next week were pretty low to begin with, and now we are being told that we will get even fewer doses the week of February 8. Quebec has fewer than 9,000 doses left. We are running out.

Now that Canada and the United States have agreed that the vaccine should flow freely, what is the government waiting for? When will it go get vaccines directly from the United States?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said all along, we will be getting four million doses from Pfizer this quarter. I am in constant personal contact with Pfizer to confirm the numbers. Those are the facts, and we will keep working hard for Canadians.

[James Cumming, Conservative, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister needs to get two million doses to Canada every week to make his September timeline. This week, Canada received zero out of the two million, and next week does not look much better. This is not a role model. Lives are at stake.

My son, who is compromised, finally had hope when his two caregivers had appointments for their vaccines, but that quickly evaporated when they were cancelled due to lack of supply. This is not a poker game the Prime Minister is playing where he can bluff his way through.

How does the Prime Minister plan to get two million doses next week after getting zero this week?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, as supply chains and manufacturing for these vaccine suppliers ramp up, we are going to see increasing numbers of vaccines rolling into this country, beginning with hundreds of thousands of vaccines in February and into March, and then millions in the following quarters. Indeed, we expect four million Pfizer vaccines and two million Moderna vaccines this quarter, and 20 million vaccines from those suppliers in the second quarter. By the end of September, all Canadians who wish to have access to a vaccine will indeed have such access. That is our commitment to retain our schedule. We are on track.

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister needs to get two million doses per week to meet his September timeline. Right now, this week, we are at zero. Next week Canada is to receive 79,000 doses, and Canadians have not been encouraged to believe that shipments will return to normal anytime soon. This means Canada will be shorted 1.9 million doses, while the EU is actually considering an export ban on vaccines and Canadian companies with the capacity to produce vaccines have been put on the back burner by the government.

Who is going to be left out next week when we are 1.9 million doses short?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, while the opposition sows doubt among Canadians, we are working tirelessly to get vaccines to Canadians. Our aggressive approach is being noticed. Industry experts and researchers are recognizing that Canada is indeed a role model in vaccine procurement. Professor Susan Athey from Stanford University, a leader in vaccine strategy, has referred to Canada as a role model around the world.

We know more work lies ahead, and we will continue to be tireless in ensuring that all Canadians who choose to be vaccinated will receive a vaccine by the end of September. There will be four million from Pfizer and two million from Moderna in this quarter alone.

COVID-19 Emergency Response

[Annie Koutrakis, Liberal, Vimy, QC]

Mr. Speaker, many businesses in the tourism, hospitality, arts and culture sectors have been particularly hard hit since the beginning of the pandemic. Many of them have benefited from government programs like the Canada emergency wage subsidy and the Canada emergency business account, but they still need assistance.

The government has launched a new program for the sectors that have been hit the hardest. Can the Minister of Small Business tell us how this program will help businesses in my riding?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of Small Business]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her hard work on behalf of businesses in her riding, Vimy.

Many businesses continue to be hard hit and are struggling with reduced revenues and uncertainty because of COVID-19. On Tuesday, our government launched the new highly affected sectors credit availability program, otherwise called HASCAP, as another way of providing a critical lifeline to our hardest hit businesses. HASCAP will provide 100% government-guaranteed low-interest loans of $25,000 to $1 million, and for those businesses with multiple locations under one entity, up to $6.25 million so they can bridge to the other side of this pandemic.

Our government will always stand up for our amazing small businesses and entrepreneurs in Canada.

Telecommunications

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in 2016, the government promised high-speed Internet to the communities of Madsen and Shoal Lake 39 in my riding. This funding was announced five years ago, yet these communities are still waiting for improved service.

If it was not to deliver high-speed Internet as promised, where was this funding actually spent?

[Maryam Monsef, Liberal, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development]

Mr. Speaker, we are moving forward with great urgency and great focus to connect every Canadian to high-speed Internet.

In our first mandate, we supported our partners to connect 1.7 million households across the country. In this mandate, the universal broadband fund is already working. We approved the first project under the program in Alberta, which connects 7,179 households to this important and essential service. Another project, northeast of Sudbury, will bring high-speed Internet access to 74 households, 68 of which are indigenous. Every day we get closer to connecting every Canadian.

If my colleague wants to speak about the—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Yellowhead.

[Gerald Soroka, Conservative, Yellowhead, AB]

Mr. Speaker, for many rural Canadians, including thousands in my riding, wireless high-speed Internet is the only broadband solution available. Internet in my riding is offered to constituents at speeds of zero megabytes and up. However, with access to more spectrum, they could receive 50 megabytes for downloads and 10 megabytes for uploads.

When the government is auctioning spectrum, what is it doing to hold providers accountable to ensure they deploy spectrum in rural communities?

[Maryam Monsef, Liberal, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his important advocacy, both with spectrum auctions and subsidies for communities where the business case to connect households to high-speed Internet is simply not there.

Our government is there. Spectrum auctions include a carve-out for smaller rural communities. We have worked diligently to ensure that smaller Internet service providers receive at least a third of our investment. The other third has gone to indigenous communities, and the last third goes to larger ISPs.

If my colleague wants to connect to talk about how we can support his community in getting connected, my team and I are always here for him.