Debates of Feb. 24th, 2021

Health

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to announce today that we will be getting more than 460,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine the week of March 8. The week of March 22, we will get 840,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine. This means that we will have received over two million doses in the first quarter.

Furthermore, in the first two weeks of April alone, we will be receiving more than 1.5 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

We are going to start receiving a large number of doses in the coming months and we will work with the provinces and territories to get vaccines into the arms of all Canadians.

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, we need 300,000 doses per day, not per week.

Israel is ready to vaccinate its entire population. The Americans are vaccinating millions of people a day. Canada now ranks 53rd worldwide in terms of vaccinations. That is unacceptable for a G7 country.

How many Canadians will be vaccinated next week?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are getting hundreds of thousands of vaccines every week, and we will continue to get more. We have been working with the provinces and territories from the beginning.

I assure my hon. colleague that I have faith that the provinces and territories, with which we have been working for many months now, will be able to vaccinate people as quickly as possible.

I can also tell him that the provinces and territories have categorically assured me they will be able to ramp up vaccination rates to use all of the doses Canada will be getting.

Official Languages

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as a precursor to future linguistic policies, the government's preliminary discussion paper has two things going for it. It recognizes that the status of French is precarious, and it recognizes the need for action. This is a statement of intent.

Quebec already has Bill 101. We alone must decide how to deal with our linguistic issues.

Can the Prime Minister tell us what his minister's proposal does better than or over and above Bill 101?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, this is precisely the bone of contention between the Bloc Québécois and the Liberal Party of Canada.

We both recognize that French is in decline in Canada and Quebec, and we will take action.

However, the government recognizes that we must act to protect our beautiful language not only in Quebec, but across Canada: in Timmins, in Moncton, in Saint-Boniface, in Boninville and from coast to coast to coast.

That is what the federal government can do, and that is what we will do with our plan to modernize the Official Languages Act.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois is not opposed to supporting French outside Quebec, not at all.

What we are saying, however, is that this document will turn into any kind of legislation until after an election, which could be this fall, or maybe in the spring or even next year, so why not act quickly to immediately implement Bill 101 in federally regulated institutions, as the Bloc has proposed in a bill?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again, we clearly see that the Bloc only cares about Quebec, and that is fine.

We in the Government of Canada are here as proud Quebeckers and proud Canadians to protect the French language across Canada. That is exactly what we are going to do. We will work with the Government of Quebec to protect French in that province, but we will also work with governments, municipalities, partners and institutions across the country to enhance the vitality of the beautiful language of Molière.

Pharmacare

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, across the country, people cannot buy the medication they need.

I have met families that have to cut their pills in half because they cannot afford them. Canadians need public, universal pharmacare. Every union in Quebec agrees.

Will the Prime Minister vote in favour of fully public universal pharmacare, yes or no?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, no Canadian should have to choose between paying for their medication and putting food on the table.

In one generation, we have done more than any other government to lower the price of drugs. We are working with the provinces and territories to ensure that all Canadians have access to affordable drugs, but we will not do what the NDP is proposing and impose a federal solution on Quebec and the other provinces. We will work in partnership and respect constitutional jurisdictions.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, today the Prime Minister has a choice. Will he stand on the side of people who cannot afford the medication they need and desperately need help, or will he stand on the side of big pharma, which does not want to see medication coverage for all?

The Liberal government's own report states that the Canada pharmacare act is one of the key steps in establishing medication coverage for all. That is exactly what our New Democratic bill would do.

Will the Prime Minister be voting in favour of our bill to bring in medication coverage for all Canadians, yes or no?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, no Canadian should have to choose between paying for their medication and putting food on the table. That is why this government has done more, over the past five years, than any previous government to lower the prices of prescription drugs. We know there is more to do, but unlike the NDP we will not be imposing on provincial jurisdictions rules that are not worked out with them. We respect the Constitution on this side of the House, and we will work hand in glove with the premiers to ensure that we are ensuring pharmacare universally across this country.

The Economy

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has failed on several counts. He has the highest unemployment rate in the G7. That is a failure. He has the largest deficit in the G7. That is another failure. He has the lowest vaccination rate in the G7. That is another failure.

When the Montreal Canadiens had a string of losses, they fired their coach. When the country's coach has a string of failures, is it not time to fire him?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we made a very direct promise to Canadians at the beginning of the pandemic. We promised to be there for them, no matter how long it lasted or what it took. That is what we are doing.

We are there to support workers, families and small businesses. We will continue to support our seniors. We will continue to protect Canadians' health so we can get through this pandemic and get back to growing our economy as quickly as possible.

That is our plan. That is our approach, but the Conservatives think that we are spending too much, too quickly. That is not true.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the first Trudeau killed jobs in the west, and now we learn intentionally in Quebec. This Prime Minister, by contrast, spreads job losses around equally: 850,000 of them in fact. It is the highest unemployment in the G7 and the worst economic growth per capita since the Great Depression.

Does the Prime Minister not understand that spreading misery around equally is not a virtue?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Conservative politicians from the very beginning of this pandemic kept insisting that we were spending too much when investing in Canadians, and that we should have helped businesses before we helped families. The member opposite specifically said that he did not believe in the kinds of investments we were making in Canadians. He was wrong then and he is wrong now.

Indeed, as of January, Canada had recovered 71% of the jobs lost in the wake of the pandemic, compared with only 56% in the U.S. At 64.3%, Canada has a higher labour force participation rate than Germany, the U.S. and Japan. We are working right.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the problem with that is that, on 49 different occasions in the House, the Prime Minister has said that the best measurement of jobs is the unemployment rate. By that measure, Japan has a 3% unemployment rate, Germany and the U.K. have 5% unemployment rates, the U.S. has 6% and Italy and France, two socialist countries, have 9% unemployment rates. Canada is at the top of the heap for job losses and unemployment.

Why does the Prime Minister excel at being the worst? Is it because he has so much practice?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, while the opposition plays political word games, we are going to remain focused on Canadians.

We have been, from the very beginning, there to invest in Canadians, to support small businesses through this historic pandemic, and to work with families and workers to support them as we make it through this.

We are going to continue to stay focused on what is necessary to support families across the country and bring our economy roaring back as we reopen. That is the plan and the focus this government has taken. Conservatives can well say we are doing too much, but we know that we are going to continue to do what is necessary.

Health

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government has a real genius for announcing poorly designed policies.

The Prime Minister recently announced new quarantine measures for travellers, but they are not working. People cannot come back to Canada unless they have a hotel reservation. They are trying to make reservations, but the problem is that they are spending three days on the phone and still not getting through to anyone.

What is the Prime Minister's plan for fixing this situation?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are here to implement some of the strictest measures in the world at our borders. We have been taking extremely strong measures since March, and we continue to work to keep all Canadians safe.

I understand that there are additional measures and that things are complicated for some people who are returning to Canada. We are working to make it easier to book a hotel room and stay safe. At the same time, we want to point out that this is not the ideal time to travel. Now is the time to stay home, stay safe and keep our neighbours safe.

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we understand that it is best not to travel, but there are Canadians who need to come back home. It is the government's job to implement suitable measures to ensure that all Canadian citizens can return in a safe and orderly manner. Unfortunately, what is happening is exactly the opposite. Every time this government comes up with a plan, it is either too late or ill conceived.

I would like to know when the Prime Minister is going to fix this situation.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, our plan for quarantining people returning to Canada is working. Yes, there were some challenges the first few days, but we are able to address them and keep travellers and all Canadians safe when they return.

I understand that this is a challenging situation for many people, but we will continue to be there to protect travellers and all Canadians through these responsible measures.

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Did he say it is working, Mr. Speaker? People are spending 25 hours on hold to reserve a hotel room. That is unbelievable, although not unexpected with this government, which has not come up with a rapid testing plan, a vaccination plan or a quarantine plan.

Why is this Prime Minister always showing up late and unprepared?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has some of the strictest border and travel measures in the world. The concerning variants have forced us to adopt new measures to protect Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We have made it clear from the beginning of the pandemic that no one should be travelling. Travelling puts people at risk. Our goal will always be to protect Canadians. We are addressing the glitches in the new system, but we will always ensure that Canadians are protected.

Regional Economic Development

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday we read disturbing records of official conversations between the U.S. government and former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau. We learned that, after the Parti Québécois was elected in 1976, Mr. Trudeau talked about a diplomatic and industrial strategy to undermine Quebec's economy. He asked Paul Desmarais to move his business out of Quebec, with the stated objective of doubling Quebec's unemployment rate. The Canadian prime minister was plotting to make honest people lose their jobs for political ends.

Does the Prime Minister think his predecessor's actions were worthy of the office?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I will not get into a debate over history with the Bloc Québécois member today. What I am concerned about these days is protecting people, fighting COVID-19 and ensuring a strong economic comeback for Quebec and Canada. That is what I will continue to focus on.