Debates of Nov. 26th, 2021

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are learning disturbing news today concerning a new COVID variant out of Southern Africa. Countries like Germany, the U.K., India and Israel have already taken decisive action to close their borders to incoming flights and implement quarantine and testing requirements for those travelling from areas of concern, yet the government has not even updated its travel advisory yet.

We are wondering what is going on. What is the plan to keep Canadians safe? We have heard nothing this morning of reassurance for Canadians. We want to know what the plan is.

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the COVID-19 situation around the world continues to be volatile and unpredictable. We continue to monitor the situation very closely. We will not hesitate to take action to protect Canadians. The PCR tests required to enter Canada are capable of detecting this variant. There are currently no direct flights to Canada from South Africa. The WHO held an emergency meeting this morning and we will hear more from the Minister of Health this afternoon.

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

Mr. Speaker, that answer is unacceptable. Countries like Germany, the U.K. and India did not have to wait for direction from the World Health Organization to keep their citizens safe.

We have seen indecision from the government before. It was Conservative members of opposition who called on the Liberal government to close the border back in January 2020 for the coronavirus. The government waited three whole months to do so and, by then, COVID had spread across the country. Canadians do not want to see that mistake being made again. They do not want to go back into lockdown. The mental health of the nation and the economy of the nation cannot handle that again.

Canadians expect decisive action from the Liberal government. Is there a plan? What is the plan to keep Canadians safe from the African variant?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, there is a plan. Canadians have seen our plan over the the last year and half, while we have been doing everything to protect their health and safety.

I want to reassure Canadians that there are currently no direct flights from South Africa to Canada. However, I want to ask my hon. colleague where they stand on this. Do they want to open the border or do they want to close the border? Do they want to remove the PCR pre-departure test or do they want to implement PCR tests? I am not sure what they want, but we will take advice from our doctors and experts.

The Environment

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

Mr. Speaker, the commissioner of the environment and sustainable development released a report yesterday that is quite damning for the government. The commissioner noted that it is going to take more than just lofty language to avoid climate catastrophe. While the government brags about its outstanding work, the commissioner was unequivocal.

According to the commissioner, Canada “has become the worst performer of all G7 nations”. This has happened only since the Liberals came to power. How can the government brag when, really, it is the worst in the world?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, we welcome the report from the commissioner of the environment and sustainable development. We commend his work, especially his latest report, which paints a truly dismal picture of the Harper years. The commissioner did not look at our 2016 plan or our 2020 plan, or the 100 or so measures we have put in place, or the nearly $100 billion we have invested.

All of these measures will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 million tonnes by 2030. That is equal to nearly half of Quebec's emissions.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of the Environment wants to talk about the Harper government, so let us talk about it. The crux of the problem is that, like Stephen Harper's government, this government is trying to claim that if we subsidize oil companies to make them cleaner they will be able to produce even more without any issues.

The commissioner of the environment and sustainable development has said that increasing production would in turn increase emissions, which runs counter to the commitment Canada has made to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.

When will the government realize that the energy transition is not about transitioning from oil to more oil, but transitioning from oil to renewable energies?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, we agree on the matter of subsidizing fossil fuels. That is why our country committed to eliminating these subsidies by 2023, two years before our G20 partners' goal of 2025. In Glasgow, we also announced that we, along with many other countries, would stop financing international fossil fuel projects.

Seniors

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

Mr. Speaker, seniors in Canada who receive the guaranteed income supplement are some of the poorest in this country. Many work to subsidize their meagre income. Like every other working Canadian, they asked for help during the pandemic. Now they are being punished. Seniors like David, who is 71 years old, had $1,000 cut off his income. He cannot afford his food. He cannot afford his medication.

How can the Minister of Seniors sleep at night knowing that these seniors are going hungry and are not getting their medication every day here?

[Kamal Khera, Liberal, Minister of Seniors]

Mr. Speaker, my thanks to the member for her advocacy of seniors.

From the very beginning, our government has worked extremely hard to support those most vulnerable seniors, including strengthening their GIS. We know that GIS adjustments have been hard on some seniors this year. I can assure the hon. member that we are working on this issue to find the right solutions to support those affected. We will be there for them.

Canada-U.S. Relations

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and ministers, in a last-ditch effort, finally went to the United States to deal with buy America's attack on Canadian auto workers. Instead of improving the situation, their results have the U.S. doubling down on softwood lumber duties that devastate our industries and steal our future jobs.

For years, the Liberals have failed to protect families and their livelihoods, and now they are letting them take it on the chin from U.S. protectionism. When will the government wake up and truly support value-added industries, not just with talk but with real plans to support our workers and their families?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to working with the hon. member as he is my hon. critic.

In a relationship as large and significant as the one that Canada has with the United States, of course there are challenges. However, we have worked together over many years to resolve many of these challenges and we have been successful. We are going to do that again here, whether it is with electric vehicles, softwood lumber or in our relationship in fighting the things we have in common, like climate change and finishing the fight against COVID-19.

Let me be clear: We are always going to have the backs of Canadian workers and businesses. We have always done it. Today is no different. We are always going to do it.

Employment

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, while the government is serving up a tasteless, colourless and sterile throne speech, businesses in my riding and in Quebec are at the end of their rope. Why? Because they cannot find anyone to fill their vacant positions. No one. There are 280,000 job openings in the province right now. Yesterday, the Government of Quebec announced $3.4 billion to address the labour shortage. Here, there is absolutely no mention at all of the labour shortage in the throne speech. The Liberal government is dragging its feet on this issue.

Why is the government turning its back on businesses?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, before I begin, let me say that it is nice to see a fellow Bluenoser in the chair today.

I would point out that Canada has now recovered more than 100% of the jobs lost during the peak of the pandemic, but we still suffer from the same labour shortages that are affecting competitive economies right across the world. In order to address the labour shortage, we have a number of facets to our plan, including investing in child care so that hundreds of thousands of Canadian parents can join the workforce, including boosting economic immigration levels so we can find workers to support Canadian businesses, including investing in skilled training and including supporting businesses that are hardest hit by the pandemic.

All these measures have one thing in common: The Conservatives routinely voted against them.

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I will help the government understand how serious the labour shortage is by giving the example of Rotobec, a business in Sainte-Justine in my riding that manufactures material handling equipment. It does business in 40 countries and is currently trying to fill 30 positions. As a result, the company's growth is limited, it has to turn down contracts, and its employees are running out of steam.

What is the Prime Minister waiting for? When will it help Cathy Roberge, the head of human resources at Rotobec? What does the Prime Minister have to say to her today?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, since we are talking about jobs, it is important to point out one of our country's biggest successes. When COVID hit Canada, we lost three million jobs. Now, Canada has recovered all of the jobs that were lost during COVID. We recovered 101% of the jobs, while the United States recovered only 81%.

We will continue to work closely with Quebec on the labour shortage. We can resolve this situation with immigration. Our work on day care will help too, obviously.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, The Globe and Mail has reported that job vacancies have soared to unprecedented numbers, with more than one million unfilled positions. Vacancies jumped by 16.4% in September alone.

When will the minister admit the government's plan for the labour shortage is just not working, take responsibility and fix this problem?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, what the Conservatives seem unwilling to recognize is that there is a global phenomenon caused by interruptions to the supply chain, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that have caused labour shortages in economies right across the world. Thankfully, as the Minister of Finance just shared in our other official language, more than 100% of the job losses from the peak of this pandemic have now been recovered.

In order to help solve the labour shortages that we are seeing in Canada, we intend to invest in immigration to bring more workers here, we intend to invest in child care to open up the workforce to more parents and we will invest in skills training. I hope the Conservatives will finally see the light of day and start supporting these essential measures.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, The Globe and Mail indicated that a fifth of all vacancies were in hospitality, including restaurants and hotels. Despite a hectic tourist season in Alberta, restaurant owner Stéphane Prévost had to close his restaurants for as many as two days a week this summer because there simply were not enough workers.

Why is the government always too little too late when it comes to helping employers and Canadians?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, in western Canada alone, more than $775 million went to our region under the relief and recovery fund. That helped more than 40,000 jobs in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and supported 9,000 businesses.

Our government will always be there to support businesses in western Canada. Whether it is through supports, through investments, through child care or through immigration, we will be there for workers and for businesses.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, even though the government will not acknowledge it or try to solve it, we are in a labour crisis.

Apple and cherry growers left fruit in their orchards this summer. We have restaurants that are reducing their hours. Construction companies are turning down business, and there are “help wanted” signs everywhere. This is occurring in my community of Kelowna—Lake Country and also across the entire country.

Does the government plan to stand with small businesses and small farming families and address this labour crisis, or will it continue to sit by and go forward without any kind of a plan that it can show us?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we are absolutely focused on supporting Canadian small businesses and Canadian workers. It is worth reminding everyone in the House of the success of Canadian businesses and Canadian workers in recovering those three million jobs that were lost during the COVID recession. A 101% recovery is great news for Canadians.

When it comes to supporting small businesses, I would like to take this opportunity to urge all members of the House to support Bill C-2. Small businesses in B.C., in Alberta and across the country need that support.

Small Business

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, with the important holiday shopping season beginning, our small businesses were looking for more than empty words from the throne speech when it comes to addressing the supply chain crisis. In Canada, this crisis started well before the COVID-19 pandemic and is further exacerbated now with the devastating floods and landslides in British Columbia.

The lack of a plan is especially deafening. When will the Liberals finally address the supply chain delays that are hurting Canadian small businesses on the road to recovery and growth?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, that was a bit of a kitchen-sink question with lots of elements thrown in, but let me try to take them in turn.

When it comes to the flooding in B.C., we are there working with the Province of British Columbia. The Prime Minister will be there today.

When it comes to supply chain issues, we are monitoring that very, very closely. Let me point out that this is a global phenomenon. All Canadians appreciate that.

Finally, on small businesses, one way we can all help them right now is to vote for Bill C-2.

Canada-U.S. Relations

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, higher softwood lumber duties are bad enough for Canada, but they are even worse for Quebec. Our very own Resolute seems to be the Americans' primary target.

It is senseless. Quebec's forestry industry adheres to the highest standards in Canada. We set our stumpage fees based on an auction just like the Americans, and that is precisely in response to their concerns.

Is it possible that nobody in Washington is aware of that? How is this possible? Why is nobody in the federal government willing to stand up for Quebec against the Americans?