Debates of Feb. 23rd, 2021

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the media reported on a couple who had spent 14 hours waiting on hold trying to reserve a hotel room. They could not reach anyone.

Another person stated that they had called repeatedly over three days.

Another couple moving from Bangladesh to Regina was forced to cancel their flight because they could not book a hotel room.

What are the government and the Prime Minister doing to fix the chaos they have created?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned earlier, we established one of the strictest systems in the world. When people return to Canada, they must undergo an assessment, then be tested here and quarantine in a hotel by making reservations in advance. There were about 45,000 calls in three days. The situation is getting better on its own, in part because people are getting the information but also because we have added more staff to answer questions and take reservations.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have a hard time believing the government, because from the beginning, every time we have asked questions about the border, some new problem has come up.

In the beginning, we called for the government to stop flights from China, and we were called racist. We then asked for rapid testing, but we were told that it was pointless. Border services officers were even asked to simply provide information, without taking any other action, but that did not work.

Now the problem is that the government seems to be improvising on the fly. It makes no sense to implement a system for thousands of people without any other solutions.

What, exactly, is the government doing, other than waiting for this problem to fix itself?

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

Mr. Speaker, my colleague seems to be the one improvising with his question.

Everything we are doing now is part of a plan that we have been gradually implementing for quite some time. We started by halting flights south, limiting the number of airports, reserving hotels for quarantines and making sure we had tests available for travellers returning to the country. This is a huge operation being carried out in partnership with numerous stakeholders at all levels, and it is part of a system that is one of the strictest in the world.

Public Safety

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

Mr. Speaker, there has been a lot of talk, and rightly so, about the failure of the mandatory quarantine hotline. It is also important to talk about the security gaps.

When people arrive at the airport, they can drive away in their car without an escort. They can run errands, drop by their home and even say a quick hello to loved ones. The only supervision measure in place is that if they never show up at the hotel, an alert is eventually sounded.

What is the government doing to correct this poor planning?

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

Mr. Speaker, just to be clear, the rules are very explicit. A quarantine has proven to be one of our most effective measures and everyone entering this country is required to enter quarantine and to follow all of the rules. When directed by our border services officers and PHAC to go to a designated hotel, they have to do so directly. Failure to do that can result in very significant consequences in terms of fines, and even criminal prosecution. We are prepared to enforce the rules and the rules are working to keep Canadians safe.

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, I would remind the member that the hotel quarantine system is a solution to a problem that was raised before Christmas.

After two months of delay, the government did not plan for a list of essential travellers. It did not plan for a website to reserve rooms. It did not plan to set up a telephone line with sufficient lead time before the quarantines came into effect. It did not plan for enough telephone operators. It did not plan for adequate supervision between the airport and the hotel. It did not plan to share information with hotel operators.

What was the government doing during those two months of inaction?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois has only one thing to plan: the questions they are going to ask during question period.

Meanwhile, for months now, the government has been planning for the return of travellers. This has involved limiting flights south and planning hotel reservations, traveller transfer capacities and testing upon return. This is all part of an extremely strict system to control the pandemic, and it is one of the strictest systems in the world.

Official Languages

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

Mr. Speaker, here are the unanimous requests of official languages advocacy organizations across the country: set up an administrative tribunal, centralize enforcement powers at Treasury Board and provide financial support for francophone education in minority communities. Those are all things that our leader has pledged to support in the first 100 days of a Conservative government.

Today, rather than spouting her usual rhetoric, can the minister answer this extremely simple question: Does she agree with the three things I just mentioned, yes or no?

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

Mr. Speaker, I will not take any lessons from my colleague or the Conservative Party, which has no credibility when it comes to official languages. Why? It is because every time a Conservative government takes office, at either the provincial or federal level, francophone rights are set back.

That being said, I agree with my colleague that we need a central agency, and that is included in the reform. I agree with my colleague that the powers of the Commissioner of Official Languages must be enforced via the Federal Court, as in an administrative tribunal, and that is part of the reform. I also agree that we need to protect our post-secondary institutions, and that is also included.

Do my colleague and the Conservative Party support our reform?

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

Mr. Speaker, we could not care less about the minister's reform. What we need is a law.

The Liberals have been in power for five years, and the minister has been in cabinet that whole time. They have been consulting people for five years, yet there is no bill for us to debate as we figure out what would be best for all minority francophone communities in Canada.

Francophones are fighting to protect their language, but the way things are going, by the time Canadians go to the polls, this country's linguistic minorities will be no better off than they were before. I have another very simple question for the minister because she seems to have forgotten that she is a member of the government, not the opposition. It is the opposition's privilege to ask questions, and it is her responsibility to take action.

When will a bill be introduced?

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

Mr. Speaker, my colleague just said that he could not care less about the government's official languages reform.

Here is my question. Is the member for or against linguistic reform that has the support of francophone organizations across the country, the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, other chambers of commerce across the country and the Conseil du patronat du Québec, yes or no?

That is a question, and I want an answer.

Natural Resources

[Greg McLean, Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, media reports from yesterday say that the Prime Minister will not be raising any specific energy projects when he meets with the President today. No, this is not a Seinfeld episode. We do not need a meeting about nothing when our public health and economic security are at risk. The Michigan governor is threatening to cut off Enbridge Line 5 in contravention of an international treaty. Jobs are at risk. The economy of Canada is at risk. As we all know, budgets do not balance themselves and this issue will not fix itself.

Millions of Canadians who depend on Line 5 are wondering, what is the Prime Minister waiting for?

[Seamus O'Regan, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, no other two countries have their energy sectors as closely linked as we do, with 70 pipelines and three dozen transmission lines crossing the border, and over $100 billion in annual energy trade. We will raise opportunities for further collaboration with our American counterparts on security of energy infrastructure, resilience of supply chains and our common mission to lower emissions in the net-zero future. The Canada-U.S. bilateral energy relationship is the strongest in the world. Today, we will make that relationship even stronger.

[Greg McLean, Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, if ministers were awarded for words, this minister would be an outperformer. However, the government's results on energy are dismal. On Trans Mountain, its proponents left Canada, and it is now years behind schedule. Northern gateway was cancelled. Energy east was cancelled. Teck Frontier was cancelled. Keystone XL was cancelled while the government sat on its hands. If we leave Line 5 in this minister's hands, we know the likely result: more apologies for failure, more jobs lost and more investments leaving Canada. Will the Prime Minister please step up and rescue Line 5 from this minister?

[Seamus O'Regan, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, to quote another Seinfeld episode, that is a lot of “yada yada yada”.

Let us talk about how we support our oil and gas workers. We approved TMX. We bought it and are building it. Seven thousand jobs have been created, and more are to come. We approved the Line 3 replacement. It is built on the Canadian side. Seven thousand jobs were created. We approved NGTL 2021, with thousands of jobs to be created. There is $1.7 billion for orphan and inactive wells, creating thousands of jobs in Saskatchewan, B.C. and Alberta.

We will always defend Canada's interests when it comes to energy security and our energy workers.

Taxation

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

Mr. Speaker, in Quebec the mistreatment of seniors at CHSLD Herron is the stuff of nightmares.

Elsewhere in the country Revera is being flagged. I would remind hon. members that Revera is owned by the federal government. As if that were not enough, there is more bad news: apparently a subsidiary of Revera has engaged in the most despicable of tax evasion schemes. This is public money that is slipping through our fingers. As hon. members know, the Liberals are doing absolutely nothing to combat tax havens. Worse, they have signed new agreements with tax havens.

Could they at least have the decency to not be involved in the companies engaging in tax evasion?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, fighting tax evaders in Canada and abroad is our government's priority.

Budgets 2016 and 2017 included $5 billion in additional tax revenue by 2022. In April 2020, we had already exceeded $6.6 billion. Our government's historic investments in fighting tax evasion are bearing fruit.

I invite my opposition colleague to join me in acknowledging that our hard work has paid off.

Indigenous Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to denying rights to first nation children, the Prime Minister is clear that money is no object. The Parliamentary Budget Officer's report on his obstruction of the Human Rights Tribunal is shocking. Ten noncompliance orders later as a result of the Human Rights Tribunal's being forced to issue maximum penalties to try to bring the Prime Minister to the table, the bill is now $15 billion and has been paid in the lives of far too many first nation children. Those children deserve better. I am asking the Prime Minister, will he end his obstruction to the Human Rights Tribunal and pay the money that is owing to these most vulnerable children in Canada?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Indigenous Services]

Mr. Speaker, let me be clear once again that this government is unequivocally committed to addressing the long-standing unmet needs of first nation children and resolving these cases. The member will note that we are continuing our mediation with the CHRT partners, two other class action partners, to the complaints first nations partners, provinces and territories to ensure that we fully implement Jordan's principle and resolve this wrong.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[Tim Louis, Liberal, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our farmers and ranchers proudly work every day to feed Canadians and the world with their products. This past year has shown how strong our food supply chain remains and how resilient our agriculture sector is.

Today, February 23, we are celebrating Canada's Agriculture Day to highlight the important work producers do to keep food on our table.

Could the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food inform the House about this day, which honours the contributions of our nation's farmers?

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, today, I want to thank and celebrate our Canadian farmers, who stood strong during the pandemic to keep our grocery store shelves and also our food banks stocked with very high-quality products.

Today, I want to thank and celebrate our Canadian farmers, who continue to show up for work every day, pandemic notwithstanding, to cultivate their fields and take care of their livestock.

I urge everyone to support their local farmers.

National Defence

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, military justice expert retired Colonel Michel Drapeau told the committee that the defence minister had a duty to investigate serious allegations of sexual misconduct as soon as he learned of them. He said, “The minister had fundamentally two duties. One was to investigate. He had the tools to do so.” The other was to share the results of his investigation with PCO.

Canadians deserve to know this. Did former defence ombudsman Gary Walbourne inform the defence minister of these allegations in 2018 and did he immediately launch an investigation?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I can say with the utmost confidence that I took the appropriate action, because I have absolutely no tolerance for inappropriate sexual misconduct regardless of rank or position. Any insinuation otherwise is false.

Regarding the ombudsman, the conversations are actually kept private and are confidential. This is so people can feel comfortable coming forward to the ombudsman to lodge any sort of complaint.

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the defence minister's refusal to answer straightforward questions is looking more and more like a cover-up.

Our brave women and men in uniform are losing confidence in the minister. Sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces should never be covered up, and the defence minister had a duty to investigate. His failure to investigate these allegations calls into question his ability to continue serving as the Minister of National Defence.

Will the defence minister end the cover-up and finally tell Canadians the truth of when he first learned of these disturbing allegations?