House of Commons Hansard #67 of the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was firearms.
Gérard Deltell Conservative Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC
Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary said that we need to get the facts straight. Let us do just that.
This morning, we learned that unfortunately, Canada is once again lagging far behind. We are now ranked 56th for vaccine doses administered. Only 3% of Canadians are currently vaccinated, and barely 8% will be by the end of March.
Vaccination is the key to our economic recovery from the pandemic. What is the government's post-pandemic economic plan?
Steven MacKinnon LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement
Mr. Speaker, as the member is well aware, we got some very good news this morning with the announcement that a third vaccine was being approved.
That is in addition to all of the other vaccines that are now quickly arriving in the country. The six million Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will be here by the end of March.
Over 14 million Canadians will be able to be vaccinated by the end of June, and the whole country will be able to be vaccinated by the end of September, so there will be economic growth.
Candice Bergen Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB
Madam Speaker, when it comes to calling out genocide, the Liberals have gone from abstention to obstruction in just a few days. Last night, they filibustered to keep the committee from adopting a report on the Uighur genocide. When my colleague from Wellington—Halton Hills moved unanimous consent to get to the report, Liberal members refused.
Why would they turn a blind eye to government-coordinated rape, torture, indoctrination and forced sterilization? Why are the Liberals holding up further action to call out the Uighur genocide in China?
Rob Oliphant LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs
Madam Speaker, this government takes any accusation of genocide extremely seriously. We have repeatedly said that we remain disturbed by troubling reports of human rights violation in Xinjiang. We have repeatedly called on the international community to work to investigate the egregious human rights abuses taking place in Xinjiang. We have repeatedly called for an international investigation in response to these allegations.
We will continue to stand up for human rights in Canada and around the world.
Candice Bergen Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB
Madam Speaker, he said stand up, but the Liberal government abstained. That is a disgraceful answer.
During debate, multiple Liberal members said they wanted to know what Canada could do to support a genocide declaration, but when the committee tried to offer those ideas, it was the Liberals who stonewalled, clearly under the direction of the Prime Minister. This confirms that the Prime Minister is more worried about angering his friends in Beijing than acting on the will of the House and standing up to bullies and tyrants.
Why is the Prime Minister all talk and no action when it comes to the communist regime in China?
Rob Oliphant LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs
Madam Speaker, Monday's vote in Parliament ensured that every member had a chance to voice their opinion and to make a determination based on available evidence to express that concern. That is now the voice of Parliament; it is Parliament's view.
The Government of Canada welcomes parliamentarians working together on this critical issue, but the government has additional responsibilities. It is working with the international community to ensure these allegations are investigated by an international independent body of legal experts. They are doing what they need to do, and Parliament has done what it needs to do.
Christine Normandin Bloc Saint-Jean, QC
Mr. Speaker, why on earth has this whole quarantine business turned into such a fiasco?
All we want is for people to be able to follow the public health guidelines and be safe. All we want is a hotline that works. If TV talent shows can do it, I think the government should be able to, too.
Cancelling quarantines in the middle of a pandemic is not the solution. What we need is a government that governs. What will it take for the government to handle this issue properly?
Darren Fisher LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health
Madam Speaker, Canada has some of the strictest travel and border measures in the world. With new variants of concern, we know that we need to take further steps to protect Canadians from COVID-19. We have been very clear from the very start of the pandemic that no one should be travelling. Doing so can put people and their loved ones at risk. We will always act to protect Canadians.
Christine Normandin Bloc Saint-Jean, QC
Madam Speaker, the Bloc Québécois is not saying that quarantines are bad. We are saying the government is managing them badly.
Quebec wanted travellers to be quarantined in hotels during the holidays. The government was unable to finalize the arrangements until the end of February. Even with that extra two months, it was not able to set up a hotline that works. Even with that extra two months, it was not able to keep the people it is responsible for safe.
What did the government spend those two months doing? Nothing?
Darren Fisher LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health
Again, Madam Speaker, we have some of the strictest border measures in the world and we take the safety of Canadians very seriously. We are aware of delays in accessing the phone line for the hotel reservation system. We were experiencing over 27,000 calls daily. PHAC is working hard to solve this issue and is adding staff to support the backlog.
I ask people to please only call at this time if they are ready to reserve their stays and if their travel is within 48 hours. I thank Canadians for their patience as we implement these very important public health measures.
Peter Julian NDP New Westminster—Burnaby, BC
Madam Speaker, as the pandemic hit, the first action of the government was to provide liquidity supports for Canada's big banks of an unbelievable $750 billion, a banker nirvana. This week, those banks announced $42 billion in pandemic profits so far. This is outrageous as small businesses close and Canadians struggle to feed their families. Other countries have cracked down on profiteering.
Why is the Prime Minister so opposed to measures like a wealth tax and why does he encourage pandemic profiteering?
Sean Fraser LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance
Madam Speaker, I have great respect for the hon. member who posed this question, but I must register my disappointment with his attempt to conflate liquidity support from direct financing from the federal government. The fact is that our focus from the beginning of this pandemic has been to extend supports directly to households and businesses to help them weather the storm. I can point to the 8.9 million Canadians who have received CERB and been able to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads because of the actions of this government, or the 4.5 million workers who have received support and remained on the payroll of businesses as a result of the wage subsidy.
We are going to be here for small businesses and ordinary Canadians as long as it takes, no matter what it takes.
Rachel Blaney NDP North Island—Powell River, BC
Madam Speaker, Canadians who live in rural and remote communities know the boom and bust cycles. In my riding, a paper mill has been curtailed, the forestry sector is still recovering from a lengthy strike, tourism struggles with COVID-19 and the Discovery Islands decision will impact aquaculture jobs. Like those in so many rural communities, people in my region are dealing with the pandemic and want the government to invest in meaningful jobs for rural and remote areas. The government needs to step up.
Will the minister agree to locate a branch of the new B.C. regional economic development agency in my riding?
Gudie Hutchings LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development
Madam Speaker, we understand the importance of rural economy. I too live in a rural riding, and we understand that as we reach the post-pandemic, we do need rural.
I can say that our government does believe in rural economies. That is why we announced a universal broadband fund, with a rapid response stream to connect Canadians. We know the importance of connectivity, and going forward, we will meet our mandate of connecting 90% of Canadians by 2026. I look forward to working with the member to advance our goals.
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON
Madam Speaker, if excuses were paycheques, then we would not have over 800,000 people without jobs since the beginning of the pandemic, but excuses are all that we are getting and they are pretty creative ones too. The government blames COVID, but of course the other G7 countries also have COVID and they all have significantly lower unemployment than Canada.
The next excuse if that the Liberals tell us the unemployment rate no longer matters, that we should not worry about it. What they really mean is that the people who are unemployed no longer matter. We think they do matter and they do not want excuses, but they want jobs. However, we do not expect that from the government, so what excuses do they have today?
Sean Fraser LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance
Madam Speaker, with respect, the hon. member who is the critic for jobs ought to know that the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics in the United States uses a different definition for unemployment than we do in Canada through Statistics Canada. He is comparing apples to oranges.
The reality is that because of the measures we have put forward, we have been able to support 4.5 million workers who have remained on the payroll of their employers through the Canada emergency wage subsidy, and another nine million nearly who have received the Canada emergency response benefit so they could keep food on the table for their families.
We are going to continue to be there to protect jobs and support Canadians through this time of unprecedented difficulty.
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON
Madam Speaker, in fairness it is true. The U.S. bureau does use a different method, but happily, Statistics Canada lines those methods up apples to apples, so when we compare Canada and the U.S. unemployment, apples to apples, what do we get? Canadian unemployment is still one-third higher than in the United States, higher than in Japan, Germany, the U.K., Italy and France. Every single G7 country has lower unemployment than Canada. The Liberals cannot just blame COVID, they cannot just shift the statistics. They need to get to work to try and create jobs because what Canadians need are paycheques.
Sean Fraser LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance
Madam Speaker, with great respect, if the hon. member wants to compare apples to apples, I would point him to the fact that 71% of the jobs have returned from the peak pandemic job losses in Canada compared with 56% in the United States. If he wants apples to apples, I would point him to labour force participation, which is 64.3% in Canada, compared with 61.3% in the United States.
Before we get to the job numbers, if he wants apples to apples, our public health response may not have been perfect, but I would invite him to talk to the family members of 500,000 Americans who are no longer living that might have been had they adopted an approach that we took in Canada. We know that public health and economic policies are indivisible and I—
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès) Liberal Alexandra Mendes
The hon. member for Calgary Rocky Ridge.
Pat Kelly Conservative Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB
Madam Speaker, yesterday the CFIB told the finance committee that small businesses have accumulated, on average, $170,000 in COVID debt. This debt is typically not to governments or banks, but to creditors like landlords and suppliers and cannot be deferred. This is a crisis that threatens to wipe out tens of thousands of small businesses and two and a half million jobs.
What is the government doing to catch up with the rest of the world and safely open small businesses?
Rachel Bendayan LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Small Business
Madam Speaker, I thank the member opposite for raising the CFIB. The CFIB has been asking all parliamentarians, including the Conservative Party, to stop delaying the passage of Bill C-14, which would allow more small businesses and more entrepreneurs to access our financial support programs at the federal level. I would encourage all members of the House to work for our entrepreneurs, work for our small businesses and help us support them through this pandemic.
Pat Kelly Conservative Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB
Madam Speaker, here are the facts: Fifty per cent of small businesses are closed; only 26% have accessed rent support; 60% have reduced their staff; 60,000 have already closed permanently, and one in six is on the brink.
The CFIB pleaded yesterday with the government to freeze or reverse tax increases, including the CPP hike, the alcohol escalator and the carbon tax hike. Will the government commit, today, to do so?
Rachel Bendayan LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Small Business
Madam Speaker, if the member opposite would like to cite some facts, I have a few for him as well: 4.5 million Canadians have been supported by the wage subsidy; our rent subsidy covers up to 90% of fixed costs for our small businesses; and 850,000 small businesses have received our interest-free CEBA loan program, and that includes a grant.
I understand that our entrepreneurs are having a hard time through this pandemic, but this government is there to see them through to the other side.
Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic—L'Érable, QC
Madam Speaker, the Auditor General had scathing remarks for the federal government's oversight of rail safety.
It has been eight years since the Auditor General's first report, but Transport Canada has yet to implement all the recommendations. Consequently, in 2019, the number of rail accidents in Canada was 17% higher than the 10-year average.
My question is for the new Minister of Transportation.
To avoid another tragedy like the Lac-Mégantic derailment, will he undertake to implement better measures more quickly than his predecessor, who clearly failed to make rail safety his top priority?
Omar Alghabra LiberalMinister of Transport
Madam Speaker, let me assure my hon. colleague, and all Canadians, that rail safety will always be our top priority. I welcome the Auditor General's review of Transport Canada's oversight of rail safety. In fact, the Auditor General's report has demonstrated that Transport Canada has made important and meaningful changes, including to track maintenance, increasing the number of inspections and improving fatigue management for workers. Our department is already working to address all of the recommendations, and we will continuously work to improve the safety—