Debates of Jan. 29th, 2021

Health

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, epidemiologists are sounding the alarm. The only way to control the pandemic is to ensure that most Quebeckers are vaccinated before COVID-19 variants spread across Quebec. Ontario public health officials revealed yesterday that not only is the British variant already well established, but it is expected to become the most widespread strain in the province by March. That is very bad news, especially since we will be receiving 70% fewer Pfizer doses than anticipated.

What is the Prime Minister doing to ensure that we get the vaccines he promised?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, we have been working closely with the provinces and territories to make sure they have the supports, tools and resources necessary to deploy the vaccine as it arrives in Canada. I am extremely grateful to the hard-working ministers of health from all across the country, who are doing exactly that. We will continue to work together to protect the health of Canadians, including that of Quebeckers.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the bad news just keeps piling on.

First we were told there would be no Pfizer doses this week. Then we were told there would be 50% less than expected after that. Then we were told there would actually be 70% fewer doses. The government keeps saying that it can still meet its targets for March, but of course people are losing faith. We currently rank 20th in the world in terms of vaccination, and that downward trend continues.

What is the Prime Minister doing?

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

Mr. Speaker, we have clearly communicated the information about vaccine deliveries to the provinces and territories. I want to reiterate for my hon. colleague that we will be receiving six million vaccine doses by the end of the first quarter, and that we will keep increasing the number of doses received by Canada and Quebec throughout the year so that by the end of September every Canadian who wants a vaccine will get one of the two approved vaccines.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, first, Pfizer delivery interruptions delayed vaccine doses to Canadians. Then EU export controls threatened our supply. Now reports from think tanks are raising alarms. According to the U.K.-based Economist Intelligence Unit, the majority of Canadians may have to wait six months longer than Americans and Europeans for vaccines and will not be vaccinated until mid-2022.

Canada is already falling behind virtually dozens of countries regarding vaccinations. Why is the Liberal government failing to secure timely vaccines? Can it guarantee that every Canadian will be fully vaccinated by this September?

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

Mr. Speaker, as we have set out many times, and shared with provinces and territories, we have a delivery schedule of vaccines that have already been approved that gets us to a sufficient number, whereby every Canadian who wishes to receive a vaccine by the end of September will have access to one.

Of course, we have procured other vaccines that are in the middle of regulatory approval or have yet to begin that process, and those will add to that total. When we get to all seven procured vaccines, it will be enough to vaccinate Canadians 10 times over. We have a very diversified portfolio. We are going to continue to work urgently to get those vaccines into Canada and to vaccinate Canadians.

Women and Gender Equality

[Lindsay Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, under the Liberals' pay equity regulations, which have been delayed again, Canadian women could be forced to wait until 2029 or longer to receive equal pay. This is after already waiting 50 years since the Royal Commission on the Status of Women called for it. Every year that passes is another year where the so-called feminist government participates in wage discrimination.

Why are Liberals content with discriminating against women for another decade?

[Anthony Housefather, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, I agree with the hon. member on pay equity. Pay equity is not just the right thing to do; it is the smart thing to do. That is why we passed proactive pay equity legislation in 2018. When Canadian women can count on equal pay for work of equal value, our economy grows stronger.

Karen Jensen has been appointed to serve as Canada's first employment pay equity commissioner, and she is developing tools and resources to support employers with implementation. Regulations were released for consultation last fall, and once finalized, they will complement the act and allow it to be brought into force later this year.

International Trade

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to the recently announced EU export restrictions on vaccines, CBC's Janyce McGregor has just recently tweeted, “I don't see anything in these regs exempting Canada or other countries with FTAs with the EU from having their shipments monitored and caught up in the fresh red tape of these new authorization requirements.”

This is pretty bad. It is definitely going to affects Canadians' supply of vaccines. Does the minister care to comment?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of Small Business]

Mr. Speaker, I have been in contact with my EU counterpart as recently as yesterday, and the Prime Minister has spoken to the President. We are assured that the EU measures will not affect the shipment of vaccines to Canada. We will continue to work with the European Union, as we have throughout this pandemic.

We absolutely understand the urgency, and in fact, we are working with that sense of urgency every single day to make sure that Canadians get vaccinated.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, we are already experiencing a major shortfall of vaccines. Our math says that, on average, two million doses per week are needed to meet the target of September. We are nowhere close to that. All, or a majority, of the vaccines the government has supposedly procured are produced in the EU, and now the EU is saying there will be export restrictions. There are no exemptions for countries with free trade agreements and the EU has not said that Canada is exempted. Given we are seeing such a shortfall, and I ask members to forgive me, but I do not think I can take the government's word for it.

What has it secured in terms of assurances that we will get these vaccines and not be part of these new restrictions?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of Small Business]

Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, we continue to work with the European Union. We are absolutely seized with this. We understand how important this is and how urgent this is, which is why I spoke to my EU counterpart yesterday and why the Prime Minister spoke to the President. We will continue to work with the European Union on this matter, and as I said earlier, the EU measures will not affect the shipment of vaccines to Canada.

Natural Resources

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, during the last election, the Liberal government promised to plant two billion trees.

Here we are over a year later and not only has it failed to plant even a single tree, but the non-partisan parliamentary budget office says that announced funding is only half of what is required. I know the government is fond of poorly thought-out plans, but this is ridiculous.

Will the government be cutting its tree target in half or doubling the money it is planning to spend?

[Paul Lefebvre, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, let me quote the PBO report, which I am sure my colleague has read.

Parameters used for this estimate are based off data from Forests Ontario’s 50 Million Tree Program and may not accurately reflect program costs under the federal government’s 2 Billion Tree program.

That says it all.

We are partnering with the provinces and territories, indigenous groups and NGOs to make sure that we get it right. We are committed to combatting climate change, and planting two billion trees is a part of our ambitious plan.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is not me saying the government's plan is barely half of what is required, but the non-partisan parliamentary budget office. Not only that, but the report's numbers are based on 1,500 trees a hectare.

The government said it would start planting urban trees first, which are far more expensive per tree than even the budget office's figures. It is simply not credible for the government to make this happen with its recklessly drawn-up plan.

What is the actual cost going to be for Canadians, or is the government just simply planning to abandon the two-billion tree promise, like it has with so many other commitments?

[Paul Lefebvre, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, we are committed to planting two billion trees, and the first trees will be in the ground this spring.

The PBO report only considers the cost of planting trees in Ontario. The PBO also states that the estimates “may not accurately reflect program costs” because of their narrow scope.

We will be planting several different types of trees across Canada based on what is native to the local environment. Generations of Canadians for decades to come will recognize the importance of this initiative.

Foreign Affairs

[Raquel Dancho, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Mr. Speaker, notable Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong has been sentenced to a year in prison for participating in peaceful protests. Three weeks ago, 53 lawmakers and pro-democracy activists were arrested for violating Hong Kong’s draconian national security law.

The alarming threat from the Chinese Communist Party is escalating rapidly. Meanwhile we found out at the immigration committee this week that the Liberals' support policies for Hong Kong have been delayed without notice, and they were already lacklustre to begin with.

Will the minister stand with Hong Kong and finally introduce a real refugee and asylum program to bring pro-democracy activists to Canada?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, Canada joined the international community in condemning the mass arrests in Hong Kong of more than 50 lawmakers and activists.

These arrests fundamentally contradict the civil and political guarantees that have been made to the people of Hong Kong under the Basic Law. This demonstrates that the national security law is being used as a tool in escalating repression of peaceful, political opposition and grassroots electoral politics.

The arrests are an assault on representative democracy, the rule of law and a further erosion of the one country, two systems principle. Canada will continue to hold the authorities in Beijing and—

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

The hon. member for Kildonan—St. Paul.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Raquel Dancho, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Mr. Speaker, Kherin Dimalanta is a live-in caregiver from the Philippines who is working for two doctors on the front lines of the COVID crisis in Ottawa. Sadly, Kherin was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease, and as a result, her immigration status has been put in limbo.

The Liberals have been sitting on her humanitarian and compassionate application for a year. Without approval, she will be forced to return to the Philippines, where she will not have access to proper medical care and will die, leaving her two children motherless. Kherin is a taxpaying member of Canadian society and is contributing the COVID effort. The delay is completely un-Canadian.

Will the Minister of Immigration expedite Kherin's case?

[Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, we realize that decisions on immigration cases can have a profound effect on the lives of individuals. Every case must be assessed on its merits, fairly, and in accordance with Canada's laws. Every case is unique and is evaluated according to the individual circumstances.

As my colleague knows, I cannot discuss the details of a specific case due to privacy laws. I would be pleased to work with her on specific cases.

Aerospace Industry

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

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian government is completely ignoring the aerospace industry. At least 40% of the sector's workers have been laid off since the beginning of the pandemic.

Obviously, it is not a good time to be working in the airplane manufacturing business, since airplanes around the world are grounded. On Monday, Unifor published a plan for getting out of the crisis. Workers are calling for a comprehensive policy for the aerospace industry. Canada is the only major world player that does not have one.

When will Ottawa take action to help the aerospace industry?

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

Mr. Speaker, I agree with my colleague that the aerospace industry is extremely important in Quebec, and not just in Montreal, where I live. It is important for exports and for Quebec's and Canada's international reputation. It is also important for local, well-paying jobs and for research and development. We will always continue to support the aerospace industry.

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

Mr. Speaker, Quebec is a world leader in the aerospace industry, and Ottawa is ignoring our industry.

We need a comprehensive policy to build the future. We need to ensure that government procurement, particularly in the area of defence, has economic spinoffs here. We also need to ensure that federal aid policies that benefit businesses also benefit workers and protect their jobs. The aerospace industry is exclusive to Quebec and employs 43,000 Quebeckers.

When will Ottawa take action to help these people get through the pandemic?

[Ali Ehsassi, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, allow me to assure my esteemed colleague that we recognize that the aerospace and aviation industries are very significant and we will always be there for their workers. Through our economic response plan, we have put in place extensive measures to help Canadian businesses weather COVID-19. Our government will always stand with the sector and the workers we are so incredibly proud of.