Debates of Feb. 22nd, 2021

Finance

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, one cannot blame the pandemic for not having an economic plan.

The minister is asking Canadians for the right to borrow and spend billions of dollars more without a plan. Thousands of Canadians and small businesses are falling through the cracks because of the Prime Minister's failure to deliver a proper plan to reopen our economy. Canadians want their jobs back. They want their small businesses back. They want their lives back. They want their communities back.

What is the Prime Minister's plan? When will the minister table a budget to show all Canadians what her plan for the future is?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we have been transparent about our plan from the beginning. Our plan has been to respond in an unprecedented and ambitious way to ensure Canadians have had the support they need to see them through this pandemic so they can help contribute to the economic recovery when it is safe to do so.

If he is curious about how our plan has panned out, I would point him to the nearly nine million Canadians who benefited from CERB. I would point him to the 4.5 million who were kept on the payroll because of the wage subsidy. I would point him to the nearly one million businesses that have been able to keep the lights on because of emergency support we have gotten to them in their time of need.

Our plan has been to support Canadians, to keep them—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, this government keeps repeating the same talking points and will likely brag about the number of vaccine doses that we will receive this week.

However, the quantity of vaccines that we are going to receive is still lower than the number of people getting vaccinated per day in some countries. Canada is now ranked 58th in the world in total vaccine doses administered, and only 8% of our population will be vaccinated by the end of March.

Can the Prime Minister explain why Canada is the only G7 country experiencing these kinds of delays?

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to reiterate that Canada was one of the first countries to begin inoculations, one of the first countries to sign with Pfizer and Moderna and that in this week alone, we will receive well over half-a-million doses, at 643,000. This is the beginning of a continued steep ramp up, with over 400,000 doses arriving per week prior to the end of March and then millions and millions of doses arriving in Q2.

That is our plan, it has been our plan for months and we will make sure all Canadians who wish to have access to a vaccine prior to the end of September will indeed have such access.

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

Mr. Speaker, we understand that that is the plan. We also understand that, according to that plan, only 8% of Canadians will be vaccinated by the end of March, regardless of what is announced every day.

The other problem we face has to do with travellers. Travellers are spending 20 to 30 hours trying to book an approved hotel where they can quarantine when they return to Canada. They cannot get in touch with anyone, and it is a complete nightmare.

The Prime Minister delayed in negotiating the procurement of vaccines and in securing our borders. He also delayed in introducing measures for travellers, and now those measures are not working. Can the Prime Minister tell us when he intends to resolve the problem with the hotels?

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

Mr. Speaker, we have some of the strictest measures in the world.

Flights south have been suspended, people have to be tested, and they have to stay in designated quarantine hotels, which are closely monitored, upon arrival. We are doing what needs to be done to protect people's health.

I would ask the Conservatives to stop trying to scare Quebeckers and Canadians. We are doing our job.

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

Mr. Speaker, as we have been saying, the best way to avoid problems when coming home is not to travel in the first place.

However, if the government is imposing a mandatory quarantine, it has to be able to provide services. Wait times for the government phone line are ridiculous. The government says it takes three hours, which is too long as it is, but people have been waiting up to 25 hours.

Will the government confirm that it is going to add operators right away?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said before in the House, it is important that Canadians remember, now more than ever, that now is not the time to travel internationally.

We have added layers of protection on our border, including the need to be tested upon arrival and to quarantine until those results have arrived. We have added additional operators on the line.

We thank Canadians for their patience when they are booking their hotel rooms.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the House that these measures were requested to prevent people from travelling during the Christmas holidays and bringing COVID-19 variants back to Quebec. It took two months to set up a comedy of errors for not only travellers, but hotels as well. First, for quarantining purposes, the government chose the only hotel in Quebec that had had an outbreak. In addition, it cannot tell the hotels how many travellers to expect. It is asking them to implement health measures, but it will not give them the information they need to plan. Will it at least keep the hotels in the loop?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my friends in the Bloc that we do not wait on them to make decisions. We are taking action and have been since the beginning. We have implemented some of the most stringent measures in the world. Travellers are required to quarantine when they return. They must quarantine in specific locations. Flights south have been cancelled. Travellers in quarantine are subject to enhanced monitoring.

While the Bloc Québécois has been making suggestions, asking questions, listening to themselves talk, we have been taking action.

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

Mr. Speaker, mandatory quarantines were supposed to make people think twice before travelling but, in the end, the best deterrent is the federal government’s incompetence, because it is incapable of setting up a quarantine hotline.

It is the same story when people try to call the Canada Revenue Agency, or when they try to call Service Canada about problems with EI. Three departments, three hotlines that make it almost impossible to talk to a human being. To think that this is the government that wants to tell Quebec how to manage its health care system.

Will it start by providing the public with the services it is supposed to be providing?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her question and for all of the questions. The Bloc Québécois members are very good at asking questions, but when it comes to finding solutions, they are not much help.

On this side of the aisle, we have been taking responsibility since the beginning. Whether by stopping flights south, imposing a quarantine or collaborating with the Quebec government, the Government of Canada has been there since the beginning with our partners in Quebec and all of Canada.

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

Mr. Speaker, a Liberal member of Parliament recently tweeted that provincial governments would be criminally negligent if they considered easing COVID restrictions.

However, the reality is that we are three months behind the rest of the developed world in getting vaccines. The public is tiring of restrictions and compliance may become an issue. We know COVID restrictions have caused increased domestic violence, a mental health crisis and countless business closures. They cannot continue indefinitely.

We need hope, leadership and a plan for safe reopening. How many Canadians must be vaccinated before the federal government starts recommending lifting restrictions?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I would agree with the member that public health measures, including restrictions, have been difficult for all Canadians. I will start there, thanking Canadians for their enormous contributions to the safety and health of their friends, their families and their communities.

We are on a good path with vaccination and, as the member knows, we are set to receive well over 600,000 vaccines this week, 400,000 the week after. We know that the end is in sight, but Canadians must continue to protect each other. We will be there for Canadians and for provinces and territories during these next difficult weeks.

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

Mr. Speaker, that word salad will not restore lost jobs and it will not reunite families. Enough.

The United Kingdom is delivering a plan to reopen its economy as we speak. Not everyone will agree with every element, but it is doing what leaders should be doing: making choices, explaining them and providing a clear, certain, safe path forward. We have not seen this type of political courage from the Liberals. Why?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I think the member opposite knows that decisions around which public measures are applied and when lie with the provinces and territories. We have been there every step of the way to support them in these very difficult decisions. Whether they are financial measures to support individuals, businesses, indeed, the provinces and territories themselves, we have been there and we will continue to be there.

I look forward to the member's ideas about how to move forward together with provinces and territories and Canadians instead of constant questions. Perhaps there are some solutions.

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

Mr. Speaker, a national rapid testing program; clear timelines on vaccine delivery; understanding how many vaccinated people need to be in place before restrictions are lifted; clear data that is being used to make decisions; choices around how we are moving forward; these are things the health minister should be doing, not just blaming the provincial government and saying that it is not her job. We need hope. We need a clear plan that allows people to make plans for their futures. We need strategies that I just mentioned.

How many Canadians must be vaccinated before the federal government starts recommending lifting restrictions?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what we have been doing. We have been supporting provinces and territories. The member mentioned rapid testing. Millions upon millions of rapid tests have gone to provinces and territories and, even after that, guidance, support, training and working with the private sector to make sure that no matter where and when Canadians have access to testing that will help them understand their status.

There have been billions of dollars to support individuals, businesses and, indeed, provinces and territories to take those difficult steps, whether it is to impose restrictions or lift restrictions. We have been there, we will continue to be there and we will get through this together.

International Development

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, last week, we learned that President Biden will be contributing $4 billion to COVAX. Meanwhile, Canada is the only G7 country that has accessed vaccines through the COVAX program, a program intended to prevent more people from dying in low and middle-income countries and to prevent dangerous variants from developing and affecting everyone, including Canadians. This is an international embarrassment.

Could the minister admit that the Liberals are accessing COVAX because of their failures to invest in domestic pharmaceutical research, development and manufacturing capacity?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of International Development]

Mr. Speaker, we very much welcome the contribution by the United States. In fact, Canada was the leading donor. We were the first to donate to COVAX and welcome countries all around the world making these contributions.

I would correct my hon. colleague, in that COVAX was intentionally set up to have wealthy countries contribute to COVAX both to procure vaccines and grow purchasing power so it could subsidize vaccines for low-income countries while working for equitable access.

Canada was the second-largest contributor to the COVAX AMC. We are very proud that we helped set up this historic global mechanism.

Health

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, on August 31, 2020, the Prime Minister publicly stated that Canada would produce 250,000 COVID vaccine doses per month last November and two million doses monthly by the end of last year. The co-chair of the federal vaccine task force just revealed that producing vaccines in Canada was never possible before the end of 2021.

If domestic vaccine production was never a possibility until the end of this year, why did the Prime Minister mislead Canadians by promising millions of doses a full year earlier?

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

Mr. Speaker, the World Health Organization declared a pandemic on March 11. Twelve days after, we announced $192 million to support biomanufacturing in this country. On April 23, we announced a further $600 million. If we add it up, in about one month from the time COVID was declared a pandemic we made $800 million available for biomanufacturing in Canada. We have made historic investments to restore biomanufacturing and we will continue to do so.

[Jean Yip, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our government is on track to receive a total of six million vaccines by the end of March, and this week we will be receiving our single largest Pfizer vaccine shipment to date.

While all this is good news, we know there are a number of populations within Canada that have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and are at a higher risk, so I ask the hon. Minister of Health this.

What are we doing to ensure they are vaccinated in an equitable manner? At the same time, how do we combat vaccine hesitancy?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for her ongoing work and advocacy for those who are most vulnerable, including seniors. It has been a privilege to work with her on these issues.

I agree that there are some folks who are more vulnerable to death from COVID-19 and to contracting COVID-19. That is why the national advisory committee on immunization has provided advice and guidance to provinces and territories about how best to prioritize vaccines, so that they get to those most in need. The member is also right that as we begin to see more vaccines arrive in Canada, we will have to continue to encourage Canadians to take the vaccination when it is their time. I know Canadians are looking forward to getting vaccinated—