Debates of Feb. 18th, 2021

Health

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, by all means, let us talk abut Medicago. They sent their proposal in March but did not hear back until July. That delay was the government's fault.

Let me give a quick recap. The government did not create a consortium of all the Canadian researchers with the expertise to find a vaccine. It did not convene experts to advise it until June 26, which was five months late. It did not invest in production capacity until August 31, which was seven months late. It did not make meaningful investments in domestic vaccine production until October 23, which was nine months late.

As a result, we are depending on other countries and getting our vaccines late.

Why did the government not show some vision instead of always being late?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

On the contrary, as I said, we took immediate strategic action guided by a long-term vision. Investing $350 million in biomanufacturing in Quebec is exactly the kind of thing Quebeckers want to see.

I mentioned Dr. Kobinger earlier today. I have been talking to stakeholders all across the country about bringing the supply chain home so we will be in a better position to meet any future public health need. We are going to have a resilient industry here in Canada.

Foreign Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask a simple and fair question.

There is a motion before the House calling on the government to officially recognize that the People's Republic of China is carrying out a genocide against the Uighur people and other Turkic Muslims.

Will the government support that motion?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we have welcomed the motion appropriately. It was time that this extremely important matter was debated. I am listening to the debate, and everyone is getting a chance to state their position.

We will see later, when the vote happens.

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

Mr. Speaker, let me ask a slightly different question. If the House adopts the Uighur genocide motion but the government votes against it, will the government uphold democratic norms, respect the will of the House and recognize the Uighur genocide?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, we welcome the debate today. I participated in it and many other colleagues on both sides of the aisles are doing the same thing. We will see the outcome next week. I am not going to speculate about the outcome. It is totally hypothetical and we will see what happens.

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

Mr. Speaker, moving on to the Indo-Pacific, President Biden is assembling a coalition of democracies to counter China's threats in the Indo-Pacific. Today, the Biden administration is participating for the first time in the quadrilateral security dialogue made up of Australia, India, Japan and the United States. Some say this could evolve into an eastern NATO.

Is Canada going to be part of this as it was with the creation of the western alliance NATO? Did the Prime Minister, in his phone calls with Prime Minister Modi and President Biden, raise this issue?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has had an interest in the Indo-Pacific area for trade, for example, our participation in the CPTPP. We are very interested in the ASEAN group of countries. We have a number of interests with respect to countries like India, South Korea, Japan and others in the southeast Asian region. It is natural for Canada, which is a trading nation, to want to develop those, and we will continue to do that in the years ahead.

News Media Industry

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Facebook's attempt to block news media in Australia is a direct attack on every nation's sovereignty.

When the government says that it stands with Australia, I say, “Well, God help the poor Australians.” When Facebook was found guilty of breaking Canadian law, the Liberals did nothing. When Facebook needs staff, it just calls into the minister's department. Facebook Canada is run by a former Liberal operative, for crying out loud.

Canadians deserve a government that will hold this rogue company accountable. Instead, it has one that holds its hand.

Will the minister insist that Facebook pay what it owes in Canada now? That would be solidarity with the Australians.

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, we have been very clear for many months. In fact, our government is at the forefront of the battle to ensure that the web giants pay their fair share, should it be when it comes to our cultural heritage in Canada, should it be for media or online harm.

Just last week, I was in conversation with France, Germany, Australia and Finland, so we could work together to tackle these very important issues.

Official Languages

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is a well-known fact that when it comes time to support French education, the Liberals have a habit of dragging their feet.

The official languages in education program has been frozen for years, even though student enrolment is on the rise. In Alberta, Campus Saint-Jean is under attack from the Kenney government. In Ontario, Laurentian University is fighting to survive.

What will it take for the Liberals to realize how urgent this is and step up to defend the rights of francophones when it comes to education?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question.

Obviously we must protect our linguistic rights now and always. We must also ensure that francophones outside Quebec have access to universities and educational institutions where they can continue to learn their language and support the vitality of their communities.

I hope my colleague will join me in denouncing the inaction of the current provincial Conservative governments who unfortunately continue to reduce services to francophones daily and directly undermine the vitality of French in this country.

Fisheries and Oceans

[Ken McDonald, Liberal, Avalon, NL]

Mr. Speaker, with the world's longest coastline and connected to three oceans, Canada is well-positioned to be a global leader in the blue economy, an economy that creates good, middle-class jobs while ensuring healthy oceans and sustainable ocean industries.

Could the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard please tell the House what our government is doing to grow our blue economy?

[Bernadette Jordan, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague said, Canada is an ocean nation. We have the largest coastlines in the world, and over 300,000 Canadians are employed through our blue economy. This is why it is important that we develop a blue economy strategy that is second to none.

Last week, we launched the engagement with a number of stakeholders through round tables, including ones with industry, fisheries and aquaculture, academia, ocean science and women in ocean leadership.

The blue economy strategy is going to be ambitious, prosperous and productive as well as sustainable. It is extremely important for us to develop this strategy for our future.

Public Services and Procurement

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to follow up on the questions asked by my colleague from Abitibi—Témiscamingue.

Today, at the industry committee, the vaccine task force said that the deal with CanSino, which fell through, for vaccines was struck before the task force was formed. However, after the task force was formed, it reviewed the deal and recommended against going with it.

If the vaccine task force said it was a no-go, why did the Liberals proceed?

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

Mr. Speaker, we received the advice of the vaccine task force to proceed with seven vaccine manufacturers. That is exactly what we did. We put in place the largest, most diverse portfolio of vaccines of any country in the world.

We began inoculations as one of the first countries in the world to do so, and we continue to ensure that Canadians have access to vaccines. Indeed, 14.5 million Canadians can expect to be vaccinated prior to the end of June.

Four hundred thousand doses of the Pfizer vaccine have arrived in Canada and are being distributed. That is hard work. That is progress and we are sticking to it.

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

Mr. Speaker, that is not what I asked. The vaccine task force said today that it expressly advised against proceeding with CanSino, and we know that deal had a huge impact on the delays we are seeing in vaccine delivery today. Those delays have cost Canadian lives, jobs, hopes and more.

The vaccine task force, the science-delivered approach from the government, said “no-go” with CanSino, yet the government proceeded anyway. Why was it so enamoured with this Chinese company at the expense of Canadian lives?

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

Mr. Speaker, I will tell members what we were enamoured with. We were enamoured with ensuring that we acted on the advice of the vaccine task force in order to execute those seven agreements in very short order.

I would like to thank all the public servants at PSPC who worked throughout the summer and on the weekends to ensure they got that job done.

In addition, we are well on track to have six million vaccines in the country prior to the end of March, another 23 million vaccines in the country prior to the end of June and 84 million vaccines in the country prior to the end of September, so that every Canadian who wants a vaccine will indeed have access to it.

Foreign Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, China has been detaining two Canadians, the two Michaels, for more than 800 days. China blocked shipments of vaccines to Canada. China is turning a blind eye to the genocide in Xinjiang. China banned Canadian imports of pork and canola. China simply does not respect human rights.

When will our Prime Minister join the Conservatives in calling for the Olympic Games to be relocated?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

With respect to his very specific question about the Olympics, we have said many times that this decision is up to the International Olympic Committee, and our position has not changed.

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

Mr. Speaker, what a pathetic response. What a lack of leadership. Our athletes should not have to pay the price because the Liberals and their Prime Minister are inept.

We recently learned that Canadian athletes are being told what they can and cannot say in China to avoid being targeted by Chinese authorities. This is serious.

How can the Prime Minister and his minister be okay with this? When will they show some leadership, demand that the Olympics be relocated and urge the International Olympic Committee to do so, if necessary?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague knows very well that the Canadian Olympic Committee and the Canadian Paralympic Committee are responsible for deciding whether Canadian athletes will participate in the Olympics. We have full confidence in these organizations. They will make informed decisions that reflect Canada's fundamental values.

Public Safety

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

Mr. Speaker, the government has no guts when it comes to gun control

Not only is the government doing nothing to ban handguns, but it has also completely abdicated its responsibilities by asking the municipalities to act in its stead. There is no way that Quebec can end up with hundreds of different firearms policies because the federal government refuses to do its job.

Yesterday, the Quebec National Assembly unanimously called upon this government to delegate it the authority to control handguns.

Will the government respect this unanimous request from Quebec?

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

Mr. Speaker, the member's question makes me wonder if she has even read the bill.

The legislation we brought forward will provide Canadians with the strongest regulatory framework for the restriction of handguns in all parts of the country. When coupled with the legislation we passed with Bill C-71 and the new measures of Bill C-21, we will have the strongest restrictions in every place in every part of the country.

There is nothing in this legislation that compels any municipality or Quebec to do more, but we are quite willing to work with those who want to do more in their communities. We have heard from many municipalities and provinces that are prepared to do more. Every order of government has a responsibility to the safety of its citizens.

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

Mr. Speaker, they are too cowardly to control handguns but too vain to let Quebec do it.

If the Liberals do not want to help, they should at least try not to hinder. There is no way that Boisbriand, Sainte-Thérèse and Blainville can end up with three different firearms policies covering the same square kilometre. The number of homicides committed with handguns grew by 40% in 10 years.

If the federal government does not want to take responsibility, will it at least let Quebec do so?