Debates of Feb. 26th, 2021

Employment

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Madam Speaker, we recognize that it is a challenging time for many. Some workers are having difficulty returning, or their jobs just are not available. That is why we are committed to making the largest investment in training in Canadian history. This will include supporting Canadians as they build new skills, helping workers receive education and accreditation, and strengthening workers' futures by connecting them to good jobs. These historic investments mean supporting those hardest hit by the pandemic.

Airline Industry

[Rosemarie Falk, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

Madam Speaker, WestJet announced last week that it would be halting its regional route to Lloydminster. This route is an important service to my constituents in Lloydminster and the surrounding communities. Its permanent loss would be devastating. This closure is just the latest, as the Canadian aviation industry continues to wait endlessly for a plan from this government.

What is the Prime Minister's plan to ensure that rural communities like Lloydminster will be reconnected?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Madam Speaker, let me just say that accessibility to all of our regions is important, and air links are essential to regional economic development and prosperity.

Everybody knows that the COVID-19 pandemic has hit the air sector very hard. That is why our government provided support to individuals and businesses early on in the pandemic. I can assure my hon. colleague that we are currently in the midst of discussions with major airlines on specific, additional supports for them, and that the discussion includes the restoration of regional routes.

COVID-19 Emergency Response

[Jamie Schmale, Conservative, Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON]

Madam Speaker, the tourism and entertainment industries are being devastated by COVID and more than a few in my riding are on the verge of shutting their doors for good. The government extended the Canada emergency wage subsidy until June, but the eligibility rules for the extended period have not been announced. The old rules will expire on March 13, and the lack of certainty is quickly becoming a major problem.

Can the minister tell us when the new eligibility rules for the wage subsidy program will be announced?

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

Madam Speaker, I will point out that we are well aware that some of these sectors have been hit particularly hard. That is why we advanced programs like the wage subsidy, to cover 75% of the cost of the work force, and the rent subsidy, for up to 90% of the rent. We have also established certain loan programs to help hard-hit businesses, including HASCAP.

When it comes to the eligibility criteria for some of these programs as they evolve, I want to reassure the member that we are continuously working to refine the criteria so that they meet the needs of businesses. We will reassure businesses and say that these supports are going to remain in place to help weather the storm until the end of the pandemic.

Small Business

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Madam Speaker, last week I asked about a small business being hurt, not helped, by the government. The response was that the government ignored the question, as it is ignoring many businesses with such leases right across the country. That business is being told by Parks Canada that it will not get the rent support it needs because the Department of Finance believes seasonal leases are annual leases.

Would the minister like us to drop off some calendars to her department so the staff can see for themselves the difference between six months and a year?

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Small Business]

Madam Speaker, we are always pleased to work together to support our entrepreneurs. I would be happy to work with the member opposite.

I would like to know why the Conservative Party is playing politics with a bill that will help our small businesses and entrepreneurs in this country. Bill C-14 is going to provide additional support to our small businesses. Will that member and the Conservative Party help us help our small businesses, yes or no?

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Madam Speaker, Quebec is friendly and welcoming. It is all about joie de vivre, sharing and togetherness. It looks toward the future without forgetting its heritage and traditions.

If there is one place that is truly symbolic of Quebec, it is the sugar shack. However, three-quarters of the province's sugar shacks may have to close their doors for good this spring if they do not receive any support. There is no federal program that addresses their unique situation.

What is the Prime Minister going to do to help our sugar shacks?

[René Arseneault, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and Official Languages)]

Madam Speaker, my region has also been affected by the pandemic, and our maple syrup producers, of which there are several in northern New Brunswick, are really suffering.

We are committed to helping all our businesses. That is why the government has continually introduced measures that have been approved by the House over the past few months to help all economic sectors, including sugar shacks.

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Madam Speaker, the government found a way to help the Liberal Party, the Conservative Party and the NDP with wage subsidies. It found a way to help its wealthy oil and gas friends. It also found a way to send millions of dollars to WE Charity. It should be able to come up with a program to support our sugar shacks. This industry is unique to our part of the world. Sugar shacks are who we are, a big part of who we are.

Will the Prime Minister commit here and now to financially supporting our sugar shacks right away?

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

Madam Speaker, from the outset of the pandemic, we were focused on extending support to workers no matter what kind of business they were engaged in. We worked to develop the Canada emergency wage subsidy and covered 75% of the wages for workers who had been impacted by the pandemic. We have also extended support for individuals who needed personal income support and suffered a loss of that income. It has benefited nearly nine million Canadians.

I would be pleased to work with the hon. member to make sure that workers in the sugar shack sector in his province and mine receive the kind of support they need to weather the storm through to the end of the pandemic.

[Gudie Hutchings, Liberal, Long Range Mountains, NL]

Madam Speaker, on a point of order, the English and the French are coming in at the same level on interpretation, so it is hard to hear.

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

We will try to repair it. I thank the member.

The hon. member for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes.

Telecommunications

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Madam Speaker, Canadians are counting on access to reliable high-speed Internet: students to connect for classes, small business owners to access the virtual market, farmers for crop and herd management, seniors to access health care services and families to connect with their loved ones. The universal broadband fund was announced in 2019, nearly 711 days ago.

When will the government finally deliver on high-speed Internet access for eastern Ontario?

[Gudie Hutchings, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development]

Madam Speaker, I am delighted to stand and speak about what our government has done to connect Canadians from coast to coast to coast. We have so many tools in our tool box. We have the connect to innovate program, we have funding through the Canada Infrastructure Bank and we have low-earth orbit satellite funding. Now, with the universal broadband fund and a component of it, the rapid response stream, we are connecting Canadians. We have connected, since 2015, 1.7 million Canadian households and are connecting another quarter of a million households this year.

I encourage the member opposite to have his communities make sure they have applied under the rapid response stream. That will see Canadians—

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

The hon. member for Northumberland—Peterborough South.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

Madam Speaker, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food released a statement earlier this week that deliberately misled Canadians to believe that Bill C-206 does not provide relief for the fuel costs of grain drying.

Does the minister honestly believe that a grain dryer is not an industrial machine used in farming, as prescribed in the legislation? Is she this out of touch with farmers or is she just incompetent?

[Neil Ellis, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Madam Speaker, pollution should not be free. A pricing system where all the revenues stay in the province is one of the key solutions to reduce emissions. Bill C-206 would not provide relief for the fuel cost of grain drying, as it does not add grain drying as an eligible farming activity.

We are committed to new rebates for on-farm fuel use, such as grain drying, to support our producers and are making grain drying and barn heating a priority focus under the new $165-million agriculture clean technology fund. Having a serious plan that achieves our environmental goals is expected not only by Canadians, but also by the next generation of farmers.

Pensions

[Matt Jeneroux, Conservative, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

Madam Speaker, we have heard from many across Canada that the pensions of thousands of U.K. expats are frozen, despite the government's negotiating a new trade deal. These U.K. state pensions are not operated when the pensioner lives in a country that does not have a reciprocal operating agreement with the United Kingdom, like Canada. As a result, thousands of British pensioners living here are not able to access the pensions they have earned.

Can the minister tell us what the government is doing to negotiate an agreement that will unfreeze these pensions?

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

Madam Speaker, I would be happy to work with the hon. member to get more details on the back end of this question. With respect, it is not an issue that has come to my attention personally, so I will make myself readily available as soon as this afternoon, if he would like to delve into this issue in more detail.

Public Services and Procurement

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Orléans, ON]

Madam Speaker, the opposition often cites incorrect figures on vaccines. For the residents of my riding, Orléans, and for all Canadians, it is important that we provide the most up-to-date figures and talk about the measures we have already taken and what we can expect.

Could the parliamentary secretary set the record straight with respect to the vaccines that have been and will be delivered to Canada and reassure Canadians about the future?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague from the national capital for her question and for her work.

As the member knows, 643,000 doses have already been delivered to Canada this week. This means a total of 2.5 million doses by this weekend, 3.5 million doses by the end of March and 1.5 million Pfizer doses in the first two weeks of April.

We will have enough vaccines to vaccinate 14.5 million people by the end of June, and every Canadian who wants to—

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

The hon. member for Red Deer—Lacombe.

Canada Revenue Agency

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Red Deer—Lacombe, AB]

Madam Speaker, tax time can be stressful, especially after a year like 2020. Residents in my riding have been calling my office because of a dramatic decline in service by the CRA. Getting to speak to an agent about their locked-out CRA account is taking at least a three-hour time period. It takes hours on the phone simply to change their address, and that is if they are lucky enough not to get disconnected while they wait. Simple reassessments are dragging on for months, putting people's homes, savings and benefits at risk.

Why are Canadians not able to speak with the CRA? Why will the minister not address this staggering failure?

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue]

Madam Speaker, we know this tax-filing season is one like no other. The CRA's call centres have seen an 83% increase in traffic since 2019 due to the COVID programs the CRA is administering.

In October, our government announced an investment of $99 million in these call centres. The funding will help allow the CRA to improve services by hiring 2,000 more employees, onboarding a third party call centre, extending the hours of operation and implementing an automated callback service.

I want to thank our call centre employees from coast to coast to coast, who have been working tirelessly to provide information to Canadians throughout this pandemic and in this current tax-filing season.