Debates of Feb. 2nd, 2021

Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2020

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Madam Speaker, I heard the member talk about unemployment, and other members from the Conservative Party have spoken at great length about the employment levels and our economy during their speeches. It is true that Canada has one of the higher unemployment levels in the G7, but what is left out of that very important discussion is the fact that we have one of the lowest levels of deaths per million population in the G7. As a matter of act, earlier someone else referenced that the United Kingdom has a 5% unemployment rate, while we are over 8%; however, the number of deaths per million population in the U.K. is three times that of Canada's, and if we compare ourselves with the U.S., the statistics are even worse.

One of the main objectives of the government intervention and spending in 2020 was specifically to get people to stay home, to shelter in place, so that we could control this pandemic. If we look at the statistics on the fatality rates throughout the G7, we see that Canada has fared very well, obviously at the expense of having a slightly higher unemployment rate than some of the other countries that have fared much worse. Would the member not agree that a temporary bump in our unemployment rate is worth potentially saving millions of lives?

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

Madam Speaker, what is interesting is that it took the government a year to finally realize that international flying was one of the major issues facing COVID–19 in this country. Then it cherry-picked the closures of international flights. We still have flights coming in every day from Florida, Arizona, California and other parts of the world. The government took almost a year to shut down international flights. That is one of the major issues with COVID–19, yet the government has been very slow to react to it.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his speech. I have the pleasure of sitting with him on the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. He spoke briefly about the impact on the cultural community, industry and the media, among others.

I would like to hear his opinion on the measures' implementation and on the impact they could have given that fact that they are too little, too late. I would especially like to hear what he has to say about the fact that we are losing cultural resources and artisans who are making a career change because the current situation prevents them from earning a living in their field.

What will be the impact of the long-term cultural and media losses?

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for Drummond. He is a valuable asset on the Canadian heritage committee.

Yes, we have seen drastic changes made in 11 months to the arts and culture industry in Canada. I am fearful it will never recover, or that if it does, it could take up to a decade.

We are going through the changes proposed to the Broadcast Act in Bill C-10 at the heritage committee. What are we going to do with the big multimedia giants like Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Apple and Disney? These Canadian media giants really have no investment at all in Canada, and they are forcing a major issue here.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his intervention. I quite enjoy being on the heritage committee with him and I admire the work he does on behalf of artists.

As my colleague will know, Edmonton Strathcona is the heart of the arts community in Alberta, where we have the Edmonton International Fringe Festival and the Edmonton Folk Music Festival.

I too am very concerned about this long tail of COVID–19 and the impacts it will have on the arts community in Canada and in Edmonton Strathcona in particular. How does the member feel about a guaranteed basic livable income for artists as a potential solution for the arts community?

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Saskatoon—Grasswood may give a very short answer.

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

Madam Speaker, the member for Edmonton Strathcona is absolutely right about artists. Saskatoon piggybacks on anything that her community does. We also have a fringe festival here in Saskatoon, or at least we did in 2019. These are people who were vulnerable from the start. They are looking for an opening to make a big name for themselves. I am very worried about the arts and culture community in this country. Like the tourism industry, it has been decimated, as I said in my speech. I do not see a lot of progress being made by the government, even though it dished up—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

Resuming debate, the hon. member for Drummond.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Madam Speaker, before starting my speech, I would like to point out that this week is National Suicide Prevention Week, and that this year's theme is “Talking about suicide saves lives.” I would like to acknowledge and salute the exceptional work done by the people at the Drummond suicide prevention helpline, who are saving lives. We need to talk about suicide, especially this week.

There are three topics I would like to address. They are dear to my heart and I think we can do better.

The first is the development of high-speed Internet and telecommunication technologies in general, because I also want to talk about cell phones. We have spoken a lot about this in recent months and years. We even managed to get everyone to admit that effective and fair access to high-speed Internet was an essential service for all Quebeckers and Canadians.

If we are bringing it up again today, it is because not much has been done, despite the fact that we know that it is an essential service. I admit that there have been a lot of announcements, and that a lot of money has been invested in various programs. However, high-speed Internet is now more essential than ever during the pandemic and the resulting lockdown and the need to follow health guidelines. Families have to work from home and use a lot of bandwidth, and students are learning from home and also using a lot of bandwidth, not to mention that a lot of our entertainment is Internet-based. In short, high-speed Internet is an extremely essential service, one to which Quebeckers and Canadians have very uneven access, especially in remote areas.

Given how essential high-speed Internet is, the $1.8 billion we invested to accelerate its rollout may not be enough. The Quebec government aims to connect all Quebeckers by fall 2022. Some say it is a pipe dream, while others have faith. I think that it is entirely possible if we do what is necessary. I believe it is high time that the government work harder than it has been. Not only must it invest more money in the rollout of high-speed Internet, specifically in the regions, and I know it wants to do this, but it also needs to put conditions on the subsidies it provides. These conditions could include requiring that the beneficiary of a government subsidy undertake to connect every building in the sector in which it is rolling out the service.

The same goes for cell service. It is unthinkable that cell and Internet coverage is totally insufficient in densely populated areas relatively close to urban centres. I am thinking about Saint-Majorique-de-Grantham, a municipality in my riding about four minutes from downtown Drummondville; the situation in Saint-Joachim is similar. This situation is unacceptable in 2021, especially when people are being asked to stay home, work from home and learn from home.

I think that we can do far better in this regard and that we need to do it fast, since the economic recovery will depend on it. We will not automatically go back to our old ways of doing things as soon as the pandemic is over. There will be a greater need for Internet services and economic development in the regions, where businesses must often choose between moving to an urban centre and staying in the town where they were established. Many of my constituents are wondering when all this will be taken care of. I am sure that the same problem exists in each of my colleagues' ridings, except for those in very densely populated cities.

The second topic I wanted to discuss is the regional media and culture. My colleague spoke about this earlier in his speech. Before the pandemic and the crisis hit, we were already talking about the extreme vulnerability of the print media industry, especially regional media, and we were already implementing programs to come to the aid of the regional media. Then the pandemic happened, and it only made things worse.

Along the way, a few measures were proposed and well received. I must admit that, and I must acknowledge the Minister of Canadian Heritage's understanding and efforts to implement various measures.

However, the media is now asking how the government is managing its priorities. The fact that the GAFAM web giants are taking over the regional media's advertising share, their bread and butter, is an emergency that no one is doing anything about. Action is being postponed to some time in the future. The latest news was that something is coming in the spring, which is encouraging, but for the regional media, this is a matter of survival, and we have been saying so for months and sounding the alarm. We wonder whether anyone really hears us and understands the urgent situation our print media is in.

Tourism and major events have also been affected, and these sectors are recognized as being among those hit hardest by the pandemic. Tourism is a sector that relies on predictability. The people who work in this sector are extremely creative. They are being told that things have to change and that they have to adapt, and they are the ones who are best equipped to find creative ways of reorienting their activities and complying with the various public health guidelines.

Consider for example the Village québécois d'antan, an historic site in Drummondville that has a theme for each season. In the summertime, interpreters bring the village to life. In the fall, the haunted village becomes a major tourist attraction for Halloween. During the holidays, the village turns into an illuminated, magical place that transports visitors back to the Christmases of yesteryear.

During this pandemic, the village staff has had a few months to plan ahead for the pandemic and has prepared a fantastic tourist attraction for visitors to enjoy. The team was able to pull this off because it could plan ahead. However, no one knows what this summer will bring. If the team could be reassured that they are getting a certain amount in financial assistance, they could develop ideas and create something, reinvent themselves and welcome any visitors who come through our wonderful region of Drummond. However, this requires predictability.

The highly affected sectors credit availability program was announced two months ago, but no details have been given since then. Tourism businesses like the Village québécois d'antan need to know the details and need to know how much funding will be available in order to successfully create new attractions.

Lastly, I would like to talk a little about the environment and climate change. We receive a lot of emails from our constituents asking us to consider the environment and climate change when planning the recovery. We are being asked for a green and fair recovery. In December, the government introduced its greenhouse gas reduction plan to tackle climate change. However, once again, we see that they do not necessarily walk the talk.

I will give the example of Soprema, a company in my riding. In 2017, Environment and Climate Change Canada announced changes to the Ozone-depleting Substances and Halocarbon Alternatives Regulations, which would require manufacturers of plastic foam insulation to use a foaming agent with a lower global warming potential, or GWP. At the time, companies were using foaming agents with a GWP of approximately 750, but now that level had to come down to 150.

The three companies that share the blowing agents market, Dupont, Owens Corning and Soprema, took on the task in 2017. The first two of these companies are U.S. giants. On June 18, 2020, Soprema announced that it met the deadline and was ready for 2021. However, in August, we learned that Dupont had been granted an exemption allowing it to continue using its product, which is five times more polluting, on the pretext of economic infeasibility, which is a joke.

Efforts were made to overturn this ridiculous decision that created an appalling inequity in the market, especially since the new product was of course more expensive to produce. That gave Dupont an absolutely unacceptable economic advantage. Steps were taken, but there was no response, nothing happened. Then, in January, we learned that, instead of correcting their mistake, Environment and Climate Change Canada also granted Owens Corning an exemption, in addition to offering Soprema assistance in obtaining an exemption of its own.

This means that, instead of applying the new regulations to fight greenhouse gases and climate change, the government is lowering its standards to the lowest common denominator, punishing the good guys and penalizing Soprema for millions of dollars in losses, rather than rewarding it for its efforts.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech and his comments.

I lived in the Eastern Townships for a number of years, so I am quite familiar with his area, Drummondville. It is a wonderful city that, as he said, has an extremely vibrant arts and culture scene. As we know, those who work in arts and culture often have trouble making ends meet and sometimes face certain obstacles.

My question is quite simple. Does he agree with the idea of a guaranteed basic income, as proposed by the member for Winnipeg Centre? Does he believe that having a guaranteed basic income would improve the situation for those living in the regions? In Drummondville, the cultural community is extremely vibrant, but artists sometimes have a hard time making ends meet.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his questions.

Indeed, the arts community is very up and down and unstable. However, artists need some level of security. It so happens we are working on that with the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, among others, as we emerge from the crisis.

Quebec has the Status of the Artist Act. In addition, the Union des artistes works extremely hard to gain recognition for artists and ensure they have access to the various programs that can help meet their needs when things slow down for them.

It goes without saying that the arts community is pretty vulnerable, but it also fares quite well in Quebec. We will always be open to suggestions for improving the status of artists, because the arts in Quebec and Canada are important to us.

[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]

Madam Speaker, we actually need to recognize and provide substantial support to our culture and arts community. That community plays a very important role in our society, and there is no doubt it has been hit very hard because of the coronavirus. Many cultural shows were cancelled and artists have found it very difficult, and so I am wondering if my colleague could continue to provide his thoughts on how this industry plays a critical role in our communities, whether in terms of jobs or just our Canadian heritage. That is why it was so important that we reached out and supported that community through some of our programs over the last 12 months.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his intervention.

Indeed, it is a very important industry in Quebec and Canada that represents tens of billions of dollars. In fact, if my most recent figures are correct, it is a $53-billion industry.

It is true that some programs have been quick to help the cultural industry. In our recent studies of these programs, we found that the artists were often the last to actually get any money. Of course, organizations such as broadcasters and producers have been helped as much as possible, but at the end of the day, the most vulnerable—the unemployed artists, technicians or contract workers—do not benefit from the subsidies that are provided to organizations and broadcasters.

This is a shortcoming that must be addressed quickly because we do not want to lose this talent and this resource, which generates not only significant economic benefits, but also great cultural wealth.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

Before continuing, I would like to thank technical services and the hon. parliamentary secretary for their patience and goodwill. We will now let the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources resume his speech.

He has the floor for four minutes. Afterwards, there will be five minutes for questions.

The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources.

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

Madam Speaker, thank you for allowing me to resume debate. I would also like to thank technical services for their support.

We plan to increase our forest cover by 1.2 million hectares, an area twice the size of Prince Edward Island. Doing this will cut overall emissions by up to 12 megatonnes by 2050, all the while we are creating more than 4,000 jobs. There are additional benefits. This commitment will also create more habitat for wildlife, improve biodiversity, and enhance our ability to restore habitat for species at risk, like the boreal caribou and migratory birds.

Still, this is a complex undertaking that takes time. We must work closely with provincial and territorial governments that own and manage 90% of Canada's forests. Of course, we must work with indigenous groups, continuing to build capacity and focusing on partnerships.

We also have to contend with delays caused by the pandemic. That is why, early in the pandemic, our government put up $30 million to help small and medium-sized businesses in the forestry sector, including tree planting companies, to offset the costs of COVID-19 safety measures. This helped keep workers in nearby communities safe, all the while that more than 600 seedlings were successfully put in the ground.

The main reason we are approaching this carefully is that planting trees is a complex and delicate undertaking, as I said. We must plant the right tree in the right place at the right time, and ensure that seedlings in nurseries and young trees survive, providing us with their long-term benefits. For instance, which trees do we choose to ensure that new forests or reforested areas can withstand a warming climate, or which trees and techniques will restore particular habitats, and how do we ensure that newly planted trees near city streets survive their urban environments?

Clearly, the federal government cannot do this alone, which is why we are also talking with municipalities and community groups, non-governmental organizations and green entrepreneurs, philanthropic and conservation organizations, universities and colleges, indigenous communities and organizations. This is indeed an enormous and complex initiative, and one of the most ambitious tree-planting endeavours in the world. We believe it will pay dividends over generations, well beyond 2050. We are going to start by planting trees in urban areas across Canada this spring.

I will wrap up by saying that this pandemic has been tough, and often frightening for our youngest children and vulnerable seniors, but it has also helped us see the forest through the trees, to recognize what we value, including our natural world, its ability to restore our planet's health and its role in helping us rebuild our economy the right way, with sustainable jobs and vibrant communities.

I urge all members to support Bill C-14 so we can make this happen.

[Greg McLean, Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague who is always a joy to work with on the natural resources committee, but I am going to question his virtuousness around planting trees. We have an industry that plants 600 million trees per year. It regularly plants three trees for every tree it cuts down. The cycle of carbon in a tree, of course, is such that the tree actually absorbs carbon in its mid-life. It is not going to be absorbing much carbon when it is a seedling. The member seems to think that it is going to happen in the next 10 years, but it is actually not going to happen until at least 2030 when the effects of greenhouse gas reductions are going to be well upon us.

This virtue signalling in doing something with planting trees is thus a bit of a non-starter if we look at its actual effects on reducing carbon. We need to do more than this. I am going to challenge my colleague's virtuousness because he has not costed this. The Parliamentary Budget Officer has said that the government has not costed this correctly. The government is only thinking of this plan as it goes along.

Could the member please explain further how this would actually result in carbon reduction in the next 10 years?

[Paul Lefebvre, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to work with my colleague at the natural resources committee.

I would certainly beg to differ with the conclusions of my colleague that planting two billion trees will not help the environment. Our goal is to be at net-zero emissions by 2050, so the fact that the member is stating that we should not even start is absurd, given that we need to start somewhere. This is engaging communities, families and the provinces to get this done.

I must say that in my region of Sudbury, where the landscape was devastated 40 years ago, we have planted 14 million trees over the past 30 years, which has done much for our community. The member says that wanting to plant trees is virtuous and is virtual signalling. Again, I bet to differ.

On another note that my colleague raised, with respect to the PBO, if he reads the report, he will see that the PBO says that basically it is hard to make these estimates and that they might be off, but that this is the basic estimate. That said, a lot of organizations across Canada have reached out to me and said that the PBO report, in its calculations, is quite wrong. The calculations are based on Ontario at the cost of three dollars per tree to be planted, whereas most of the ones I have heard about cost less than a dollar a tree to be planted.

Let us stick with the facts. This program is good for Canada, it is good for families and it is good for everyone.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Madam Speaker, I am rather pleased that the parliamentary secretary was able to finish his speech. It really resonated with me when he spoke about the fight against climate change earlier.

I hope that my colleague was able to hear me earlier when I spoke about how the Department of Environment and Climate Change granted exemptions to two American giants that have a technology they are ready to put on the market. They were granted exemptions for economic reasons, while a Quebec company that is part of a small group of suppliers of a particular product had to play the obedient student and suffer the consequences for doing so and trying to do what it could to help fight climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

I would like to hear what my colleague has to say about that.

[Paul Lefebvre, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

Madam Speaker, unfortunately I did not hear my colleague from Drummond's entire speech.

However, I can say that our strategy is to ensure that all SMEs can play a role and that they have the technology. We are here to support them. There is funding for that. Over the past six years, we have even increased our contribution to several funds to support these businesses and create this innovation, which will allow us to meet not only our Paris targets, but also those related to achieving net-zero by 2050.

I would be pleased to talk with the hon. member for Drummond to see how we might provide our support. We could at least have a discussion about that business in his riding.

We see a lot of innovation in Quebec, but also across Canada. Clearly we need to continue to support these technologies and these innovative entrepreneurs who create these opportunities, not to mention support this green technology that will also create jobs and wealth in Canada.

[Denis Trudel, Bloc, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Madam Speaker, I would like to start with a special tribute once again.

We have been talking about this for a long time, as we have been in the midst of a pandemic for a year. I want to pay tribute to health care workers, especially people working in hospitals, the nurses, orderlies, doctors and so on. We see them on the news, we see the images and reports. This is a matter of mental health as well, given all the stress and anxiety people feel. These people are on the front lines, they are right there, and I would say they are on the front lines of the war we are waging.

Our job is to plan so that they have the tools to do their job. Unfortunately, that is not enough. That is one of the problems. For the past year, the Bloc Québécois has tirelessly asked for health transfers. The federal government has spent money during the pandemic, but had it responded to the provincial government's call for increased health transfers over the years, we would not have gone through what we have gone through. We would not have gone through this crisis in the way we did. That is a major problem.

All of the provincial premiers called for the federal government to increase health transfers, but the federal level did not do so. An increase in health transfers would have helped our people on the ground and our health care workers who are working day in and day out to protect us from this pandemic, but it did not happen. I want to pay tribute to all the health care workers who are there and to all those people. I sincerely thank them.

Today, I want to talk about the fact that we often hear people, especially government members, say that they are pleased to talk about the subject in question when they rise in the House. It is quite the opposite for me. I am not at all pleased, because the things that I am going to talk about next are major problems, particularly housing.

Housing is one of the most powerful indicators of poverty, and I am not pleased to have to say that we are not doing enough. The government is not doing enough, and we are not doing our job, which is to provide housing for people. For example, in the bill to implement certain provisions of the fall economic statement, which was introduced by the Minister of Finance, the government announced the expansion of the rental construction financing initiative as a new measure.

That was already in the national housing strategy. It is not a bad thing, but it is mostly loans for the construction of housing units that, 80% of the time, are not affordable. When they are affordable, rent for these units can be as high as $2,000 in Montreal. I do not know who in Montreal can afford $2,000 in rent, but that is what this program has to offer. It can even go as high as $2,400 in Quebec City and Gatineau. That is not what I call affordable housing.

Quebec's approach is known for being more socially and community focused. I have talked to federal government colleagues who are involved in housing in Toronto and Vancouver. They recognize the Government of Quebec's social, community-focused approach, which enables people to find housing for less than 25% of their income. That is important, and it is called social housing. We want investments in social housing.

Housing is a provincial jurisdiction, as is health. We keep having to remind the federal government to mind its own business. Health is none of its business; housing is none of its business. These are provincial jurisdictions. All we are asking of the federal government is that it provide the funding so we can house people, especially given that we send half of our taxes to Ottawa. Quebec sends $50 billion to Ottawa. That is significant. It would be nice if the feds would toss something back our way so we can protect our citizens.

The Government of Canada announced the national housing strategy on November 22, 2017. It is a major strategy, and Ottawa put a lot of money into it. Since housing is a provincial jurisdiction, Quebec should have had its share of investments. However, that took three years of negotiations and agreements. Some funding was finally released last fall: a total of $3.8 billion, with $1.9 billion being provided by the federal government and $1.9 billion by the province. That money can help build between 2,000 and 4,000 housing units, but four times those numbers are needed.

During those three years, the Government of Quebec could not move forward with building social housing units. There was no money. This summer I went for a walk. There were tents along Notre-Dame Street. There were people experiencing homelessness, but it went beyond that. The crisis is, of course, difficult for the people with mental health and addiction issues who are traditionally associated with homelessness. It is very difficult for them.

However, the pandemic has created a new type of homelessness. People who were in precarious work situations and lived in shared housing were already on the precipice and the pandemic pushed them out onto the street. If the agreement had been signed in 2017, if the federal government had resolved this dispute with Quebec, these people might not have ended up on the street. We could have avoided what we saw on Notre-Dame Street. We could have housed our fellow Quebeckers. That is important. It is huge.

I would take it even further. Two weeks ago a homeless indigenous man died, likely from the cold, in a portable toilet just steps from a shelter he frequented. If the agreement had been signed a few years ago, this man would not have died. We could have built housing units for homeless indigenous people in downtown Montreal, which would have saved this man's life. This is having serious and often tragic repercussions, all because this agreement went three years without being signed. I cannot believe it. I repeat: Housing is one of the most powerful indicators of poverty, and the agreement went three years without being signed.

I cannot help but think that, if Quebec were independent, the issues related to health and housing would have been quickly resolved. We would be spending money where it is needed. We would be sure to house and care for our people. Independence is the magic solution for Quebeckers.

I want to give another example of a situation where Quebec would have been better off on its own. In the fall, the government implemented the rapid housing initiative, which is not a bad thing in and of itself. The federal government invested $1 billion to house our fellow citizens during the pandemic. That is good, except that Quebec got the short end of the stick once again. Only two cities in Quebec received a share of the first $500 million for big cities. Fifteen big cities in Canada were ranked by their homelessness needs. The government decided to give Toronto $200 million. That is huge.

Quebec represents 23% of Canada's population, yet it received only 12% of the first $500 million allocated under this initiative. That is completely unacceptable. The federal government allocated $56 million to Montreal and $8 million to Quebec City. There was nothing for Gatineau, Longueuil, Laval, Rouyn-Noranda, Jonquière or Gaspé, even though there are problems everywhere. We got the short end of the stick.

For the other $500-million stream, Quebec put its foot down. It decided that it would have control, which is logical and to be expected. Consequently, it was able to invest $116 million in projects, which is not bad. However, we need to invest more in housing. It is essential that we do so to help our fellow Quebeckers. It is still a serious issue in Quebec. There are 300,000 households considered to be in dire need of housing, and that is a significant number. In addition, these are pre-pandemic figures.

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said a few weeks ago that homelessness needs have doubled in Montreal. There used to be about 3,000 homeless people in Montreal, but there are now about 6,000. In Quebec, 80,000 households spend more than 80% of their income on housing. These are pre-pandemic figures. This is unacceptable.

Currently, 40,000 Quebec families, including 2,000 in Longueuil and 23,000 in Montreal, are on the waiting list for low-income housing. In short, there is a huge need. I am running out of time. We never have enough time to talk about the important things in this Parliament.

My message is this: we have invested in housing, but the needs are 10 times greater than what Quebec has invested in the past year. The government must therefore invest. We have to take care of our people and provide housing for them. Again, it is one of the biggest indicators of poverty. Having good housing helps a lot. We must provide housing for our people. We must take care of them.

[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, one thing I have learned, which has been reinforced by my constituents and Canadians from all regions of the country, is that there is an expectation that goes far beyond Ottawa just providing cash for health care. We can see that when people raise the issue of standards in long-term care and reinforce the need for pharmacare involvement. There seems to be a real tangible desire that we build back better on the health care file.

I wonder if my colleague recognizes that Canadians in all regions of the country expect the federal government to play more of a proactive role in the area of health care, given that it is such an important issue to all of us.

[Denis Trudel, Bloc, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is a provincial responsibility. We need to stop talking about it. I am not sure how else to say that.

If the fathers of Confederation had wanted it to be a federal responsibility, they would have said so in 1867. It would have been settled. Then, the federal government would have hired doctors, built hospitals and done preventive health, but no. All of that is under provincial jurisdiction. Quebec has the expertise, and the provinces have the expertise. The Government of Quebec is the one looking after people. It is the expert. When folks in Ottawa try to take over, it does not work.

The federal government's job in this pandemic is to supply vaccines. As we can see, that is not working right now. In a report published in The Economist, an independent committee contradicts the Prime Minister's assertion that all Canadians will be vaccinated by the end of September, stating that it could take until the middle of 2022.

All we are asking the government to do is its job: supply vaccines.

[Louise Chabot, Bloc, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my dear colleague.

I found the content of his speech quite eloquent, particularly with regard to housing. I would like to ask him a question about that.

The Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, of which I am a member, just completed a study on indigenous housing. The need is absolutely desperate, and the testimony we heard expressed the same message to us all.

Funding definitely needs to be increased. What does my colleague think has to be done, particularly under the rapid housing initiative that was just adopted, to ensure that it meets the needs?

[Denis Trudel, Bloc, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her excellent question.

Funding is obviously the key. The needs are there, and we know what they are. On the ground, people are ready. We are fortunate to have experts on the ground who are ready. We need to listen to them.

We have experts on issues related to domestic violence, seniors, and children with disabilities. This requires a special approach and special services that we have in Quebec. We have developed them over the years. This is recognized across Canada. The federal government just needs to fund them adequately.

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

Mr. Speaker, the worst vacancy rate in Quebec is in Saint-Hyacinthe, with a rate of 0.3%.

Real estate is a very complex and speculative field and has been the source of economic crises in the past. Still, I would like to know how such a vacancy rate is possible and what has caused it.

How can a city that is so dynamic in many other respects have a vacancy rate of 0.3%?

What should I tell the groups and residents in my riding who are worried?