Debates of Feb. 1st, 2021

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, as I said, we share the concern of all Canadians to ensure that vaccines come into the country. That is why we are pleased to announce that the Pfizer vaccines destined for Canada are, indeed, en route and will be deployed across the country during the course of this week.

From here on in our vaccine receipts will continue to ramp up so we can ensure that all Canadians who wish to be vaccinated are so prior to the end of September. This is new technology, these are new times for the industrial world relating to vaccines and we must all ensure we remain vigilant while vaccines are being produced—

[The Speaker, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for La Prairie.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I listen to the answers and I am not reassured.

While the government says that vaccination is going well, Quebec has nothing. While the government says that it is going well, we find out in the British magazine The Economist that vaccination will not be completed until summer 2022, more than nine months later than the government's target. That is nine months late.

While the government tells us that it is going well, experts overseas look at Canada and say that it is not going well at all.

What guarantee do we have that vaccination will happen by September as planned?

[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. Our government is operating with this sense of urgency every single day.

More than 1.1 million vaccines have been distributed across the country to date. With just the approved vaccines, Canada is on track to receive six million doses by the end of March, 20 million doses between April and June and over 70 million doses by the end of September. That is our priority.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, families have sacrificed so much during this pandemic. They have stopped seeing their loved ones, even when they live in the same city. The Prime Minister also has to do his part.

It is still possible to take non-essential flights in Canada. Other countries, like New Zealand and Australia, have stopped all non-essential flights.

Why does the Prime Minister not stop non-essential flights in Canada?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, since March of 2020, we have been asking Canadians to not travel during the pandemic. Last week, we announced additional rules on international travel. These are now among the strictest in the world.

We have reached an agreement with airlines to suspend all flights to Mexico and the Caribbean until April 30. Additionally, all travellers will soon have to book three nights at a public health-approved quarantine facility upon their return and get tested upon arrival.

The health of Canadians will always come first.

[The Speaker, Anthony Rota]

I want to remind hon. members, whether they are asking or answering questions, to please ensure their camera is on and to ensure their microphone is muted while not speaking.

The hon. member for Burnaby South.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, families have had to sacrifice so much during this pandemic. Many families have not even seen their loved ones living in the same city. The Prime Minister has to do his part as well.

It is still possible to take non-essential flights in Canada, while other countries like New Zealand and Australia have stopped all non-essential travel. Why has the Prime Minister not put in place similar measures in Canada to stop all non-essential air travel?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, as I stated earlier, our current rules are among the strictest in the world. We have been calling on all Canadians to avoid non-essential travel. We have reached an agreement with the airlines to suspend all flights that are heading toward the most popular vacation destinations. We now have, on top of the measures we implemented earlier in the year, new measures that will require all arrivals to be tested and to be quarantined at a designated facility.

The health of Canadians is our priority and we will do whatever it takes to protect Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, a year after telling Canadians that border controls did not stop the spread of COVID, the virus is now rampant across Canada. Documents show that the Liberals stalled on imposing travel restrictions at the start of the first wave and again at the beginning of the second wave when doing so would have saved lives. The Liberals could have put in place a system of rapid testing at airports months ago, but refused this science-based approach.

Canada is two million doses short of vaccines this week. Will those who are vaccinated be exempt from the Liberals' too-late travel restrictions?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, as I stated earlier, Canada today has one of the strictest rules in the world for discretionary travel. A year ago we called on all Canadians to avoid non-essential travel. We implemented new measures earlier in the year to ensure that all travellers were tested prior to boarding the plane. Now we are implementing new measures. We still do not have information about the effect of the vaccine on transmissibility, therefore all Canadians will be subjected to these measures.

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

Mr. Speaker, now the Liberals are saying that even being vaccinated does not guarantee an end to restrictions.

Canadians have stayed at home, they have washed their hands, they have worn masks and they have sacrificed a lot. With rapid tests and vaccinations available to the world but not to us, Canadians should not have to accept more restrictions without a clear end in sight and without that type of a word salad from the minister.

How many Canadians will have to be vaccinated before travel restrictions are eased?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the issue of vaccination and travel is a live one. I met with my G7 counterparts last week to talk about standardization of international travel.

My colleague is correct. We know that vaccination saves lives. The science is still unclear, yet, about what effect it has on transmission. That science is evolving. We will be sharing the understandings and knowledge of vaccination as it becomes clear with Canada and the world.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on January 29, the European Union announced a transparency and authorization mechanism for exports of the COVID-19 vaccine from Europe. The minister knows very well that those measures could be used to block the delivery of vaccines to Canada. Nearly 120 countries have been exempted from these measures, but guess what? Canada is not one of them, despite this government's claims that we will not be affected.

Can the minister resist the urge to repeat her talking points and tell us whether vaccine deliveries will be blocked, yes or no?

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Small Business]

Mr. Speaker, we have been assured that vaccine deliveries will not be disrupted by these new European Union measures. This is what the President of the European Commission told the Prime Minister and what ministers heard from their European counterparts over the weekend.

Our government's top priority is to ensure that every Canadian who wants to will get vaccinated by September.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I understand what the parliamentary secretary is saying, but facts are facts. Europe is trying to block exports, and Canada is not listed as one of the 120 exempted countries. If the Prime Minister spoke to the President of the European Commission, did he ask her to put Canada on the list of exempted countries, yes or no?

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Small Business]

Mr. Speaker, clearly there is fierce and intense global competition for the vaccines, but that is something we always expected. This is why Canada signed contracts for vaccines with no fewer than seven different suppliers. In our conversations with the Vice-President of the European Commission, we made it clear that we expect our contracts to be fulfilled, and the Minister of International Trade was assured by his counterpart that Canada's vaccine deliveries would not be affected by these new measures.

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

Mr. Speaker, on Friday the European Union announced export controls on COVID–19 vaccines. Considering that almost all of our vaccines are produced or shipped from the EU, this could have a significant impact.

Despite claims from the Prime Minister and the trade minister that Canadians would not be affected by these measures, we are not listed on the EU's list as one of the over 100 countries that are exempt. Why?

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Small Business]

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague heard directly from the minister earlier today at committee, we have been reassured that vaccine shipments will not be interrupted by these new export measures. That is the message the Prime Minister himself received from the President of the European Commission and the message that various ministers across government have received from their EU counterparts over the course of this last weekend.

Our government's priority remains getting vaccines to Canadians by September, and we will deliver.

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

Mr. Speaker, the point is that we are still not on the exemption list.

On another issue, we have learned that Belgium, where Canada's Pfizer vaccines are produced and shipped from, is looking at its own export controls. When I asked the minister about this earlier today, she could not provide any concrete assurances that Canada would not be affected by Belgium's draft law.

What is the minister doing to get ahead of these potential measures that could affect the timelines for Canadians being vaccinated?

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Small Business]

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague is well aware, the minister had conversations with her counterpart in Belgium and received reassurances that our shipments would not be affected by these new EU measures.

Let me just say there is intense global competition for vaccines across countries, and we always knew there would be. That is why Canada secured no less than seven different vaccine suppliers. We will continue to deliver vaccines for Canadians.

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, despite the government's announcement, nothing is grounding non-essential flights during the pandemic. The only thing that has changed is that those who wish to travel south must now buy a ticket from a U.S. airline, such as Delta, rather than from a Canadian company. Foreign airlines continue to offer discount vacations. It is all very well and good to test travellers when they return to Canada, but does the minister not think that the best way to prevent the spread is for people not to leave on vacation at all?

Why not simply prohibit all non-essential flights, no matter the airline?

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

Mr. Speaker, Canada already had the strictest measures in the world. We tightened them this week through agreements with SunWing, Air Canada, WestJet and Air Transat to stop flights to Mexico and the Caribbean. When they return, people must take a test before leaving and another on arrival, isolate in a hotel for three days and pay $2,000.

We are convinced that these are very tough measures and, more importantly, we are telling all Canadians not to leave if they wish to avoid problems upon returning.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure whether the government House leader believed what he was saying.

The government finally took action, but it did not solve the problem. The problem is that there are people heading south on vacation. Today, under the new conditions, they can still go south. The only difference is that they have to use a U.S. airline instead of a Canadian one. That does not work.

What is happening is that people here, Quebec's aviation workers, are being put out of work while the Americans scoop up 100% of the profits.

Instead of undermining our industry, when will the government fix the problem and ban non-essential flights?

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

Mr. Speaker, the thing that does not work is the Bloc's position. The Bloc is constantly looking for ways to criticize the government.

We have truly responded to the demands. The Government of Quebec is satisfied with the measures we have taken, and those measures are among the strictest in the world.

Again, our message for Canadians is quite simple: if they do not want to run into problems when they return, they should not leave in the first place. If they do not want to risk infecting anyone when they get back, they should not leave, period.