Debates of Feb. 3rd, 2021

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, if the Prime Minister is admitting that he knew there would be problems with delivery, because he depended entirely on signing contracts with other countries for production, maybe he should have had a plan to develop domestic capacity before the end of this year.

I think it is really important for the Prime Minister to be clear on this for the provinces and every public health person who is trying to deliver vaccines. Is he expecting limited or no doses from Moderna to be delivered in the week of February 22?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are continuing to expect shipments from Moderna this week and in the weeks to come. We will continue to advise the provinces as soon as we get concrete numbers on different deliveries, but, yes, they will continue to deliver hundreds of thousands of vaccines across the country.

We are on track to receive all of the vaccines that we were promised by the end of March, which is six million doses from Pfizer and Moderna. We are very much on track to getting 20 million doses in the spring, and everyone who wants it to be vaccinated by September.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised that he would receive 26 million doses by the end of June. I hope he will succeed, but we are worried. To achieve that goal, Ottawa is going to have to deliver an average of 1.4 million doses a week. We are nowhere near that. Yesterday, only 590 people were vaccinated in Quebec. That is not very many.

Can the Prime Minister be transparent and tell the public the true state of affairs? The public is making sacrifices, and they deserve to know.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I think I have already said this 15 times in question period today, but I am happy to continue reassuring Canadians.

We will receive the six million doses promised by the end of March. We are on track to receiving 20 million doses in the spring and we will ensure that every Canadian who wants it can be vaccinated by the end of September 2021.

We have worked very hard to sign enough contracts with different potential vaccine manufacturers so that we can assure Canadians that we are still on track to get the necessary vaccines.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I truly want to believe the Prime Minister when he says that the vaccines promised will arrive on schedule. Everyone wants him to succeed and everyone wants to emerge from this pandemic, but he has not been very successful so far. He failed to ensure that we could rapidly manufacture Canadian vaccines. He fails every week in getting the doses ordered.

Can the Prime Minister be transparent with Quebeckers and Canadians?

We want to believe him, but what guarantees does he have for Quebeckers and Canadians that, at the very least, their first dose will be delivered by the end of June?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, we are on track to getting the six million doses promised by the end of the first quarter of 2021. In the next two months, we will have received at least 20 million doses in the spring, and we will have everyone who wants it vaccinated by the end of September 2021. That is our promise and guarantee for Canadians.

We are working extremely hard on this, and I assure my hon. colleague that we will meet this target.

The Economy

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's plan to phase out the energy sector and move away from manufacturing is looking worse than ever. These naturally physically distanced goods-producing sectors would have thrived even throughout the pandemic, but now, as a result of their absence, we have higher unemployment here in Canada than the U.S., the U.K., Germany, Japan, the G7 average, and the European Union have even though all of those jurisdictions are struggling with COVID as well.

Why is it that workers abroad get paycheques while Canadians just get credit card debts?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, if the member opposite had his way, the credit card debts of Canadians would be monstrous. Instead, we did not listen to him. We chose to invest in Canadians right away. We took on debt at the federal level so that provinces and Canadian families and businesses would not have to. We invested to help Canadians through this pandemic with record amounts of supports for families, seniors and workers. The members opposite have consistently said that we are doing too much too fast. No, we are doing what is necessary for Canadians.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I hate to break it to the Prime Minister, but Canadians' credit card debts are monstrous. Under the current Prime Minister, household debt, for the first time ever, has exceeded the size of our entire GDP. His own top economic adviser said that his plan would add a trillion dollars without improving our economy at all. The Prime Minister has among the highest unemployment in the G7 and among the lowest vaccination rates, and at the highest cost.

Why is it that the Prime Minister can only judge his success by how much he adds to household and national credit card debts, rather than how many paycheques he can create?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, through the first four years of our government, we created over one million jobs for Canadians at the same time as we lifted one million Canadians out of poverty. That is how our legacy contrasts with that of the previous Conservative government.

However, the Conservative MP for Carleton said consistently at the beginning of the pandemic that we were doing too much for people, we needed to help businesses quicker and we should not be so generous with Canadians. He was wrong on that.

He is also wrong in his approach that we should be hunkering down and tightening our belts right now through this pandemic. This is a time for the federal government to be there to support Canadians, not just so they can make it through this pandemic, but so our economy will come roaring back stronger and faster afterwards. That is the approach the world is recommending. Everyone understands that except for—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Edmonton Centre.

Public Safety

[James Cumming, Conservative, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the U.S. government said Huawei is an espionage arm of the Chinese military and urged Canada not to use its 5G technology. In November, Parliament called on the government to make a decision blocking Huawei's involvement in 5G. Today, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry announced 14 NSERC projects for $4.7 million in partnership with Huawei.

Why does the government continue to give Canadian tax dollars and intellectual property to Huawei?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians deserve a secure and competitive 5G network. We need to make sure that we are making the right decisions for Canadians and for businesses to both protect them and keep them playing on the global field. That is why we base our decisions on expert recommendations from our top security analysts. That is the work we have always been doing and we will continue to do that.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister says he is making the right decisions. He promised a decision on Huawei two years ago. The House expressed its concerns about Huawei back in November and still the government is announcing partnerships with Huawei, this one for almost $5 million.

Canadian telecommunications companies across the country are literally pulling Huawei equipment out of their walls. When will the Prime Minister pull them out of taxpayers' wallets?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, no government has invested more in making broadband available for rural Canadians across the country, improving cell service and making those investments that are making a huge difference for Canadians, particularly during time of the pandemic. We will continue to make the right decisions for Canadians for security and their access to telecommunications based on the best recommendations of our experts.

Airline Industry

[Taylor Bachrach, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the government asked Canadian airlines to cancel flights to vacation spots, but American airlines can still fly to the same destinations. While other countries acted swiftly to help their air sectors, we are now a year into the pandemic and the Liberals continue to leave Canadian workers behind. What is the result? Thousands have lost their jobs and more layoffs are on the way.

For months we have been calling for targeted support tied to keeping workers employed and restarting regional routes like Prince Rupert. We keep hearing talks are happening.

Will the Prime Minister act before it is too late and there are no jobs left for workers to return to?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have sent over $1.5 billion to the airline sector to support workers with the wage subsidy through this COVID pandemic. We recognize how difficult this is for the airline sector and the travel and tourism sector, and that is why we were there to support them and why we continue to work with them.

We were very pleased that airlines stepped up to cancel flights to sun destinations at this particular point. We will continue to work with them to ensure that we have a vibrant and competitive air sector after this pandemic, because boy oh boy are Canadians looking forward to travelling once this is done.

The Environment

[Laurel Collins, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, last week, President Biden followed the EU by issuing an executive order to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies, saying, “I don't think the federal government should give handouts to Big Oil”. However, that is exactly what the Liberal government keeps doing: giving handouts to big oil and gas companies.

Not only are the Liberals not protecting workers, they are falling behind governments like the U.S. and the EU and failing on climate action.

When will the Prime Minister stop dragging his feet? We need to end all fossil fuel subsidies now.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we were pleased to see the U.S. follow our lead on banning fossil fuel subsidies. We are very much on track for eliminating fossil fuel subsidies in partnership with allies around the world, as scheduled. We know the future needs to be greener and less carbon-intensive.

At the same time, our commitment to workers across this country is to support them and make sure they are vibrant solutions in our energy sector and for workers to be able to continue to contribute and put food on the table. We need workers in our energy sector to make net zero by 2050, and we are going to work with them as partners on building a better future.

Canadian Heritage

[Marci Ien, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as we mark the 25th celebration of Black History Month in Canada, we honour the legacy and contributions that Black Canadians have made to our country. We know anti-Black racism still exists in Canada, and many continue to face discrimination, hate and a lack of opportunity and resources.

Can the Prime Minister please update the House on the steps being taken to address systemic inequalities in Canada?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by thanking the member for Toronto Centre for her tremendous work and advocacy on behalf of the community.

In the last year, we have taken concrete action to invest in and empower Black communities. This includes launching Canada's first-ever Black entrepreneurship program, an action plan around diversity in the public service and moving forward with our anti-racism strategy.

We know there is much more work to do, including working to address the systemic inequalities in our criminal justice system and fighting systemic discrimination wherever it is in Canada. We will continue to do that work.

Foreign Affairs

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, a new BBC report shares the stories of numerous Uighur women who have been victims of systemic sexual violence in Chinese state-run concentration camps, sexual violence sometimes paired with electrocution.

We know no UN investigators are going to be given access to these torture facilities. The testimony of these women provides more clear evidence of crimes against humanity and genocide.

These women have spoken. Does the Prime Minister believe them?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, for years now we have been advocating directly with Chinese leadership for transparency and better treatment of the Uighurs in western China. We will always advocate and stand up for human rights around the world. We are extremely concerned with recent reports of human rights violations in China against members of the Uighur ethnic minority and other minorities.

We need access to Xinjiang for UN investigators and international bodies—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I believe the Prime Minister's mute button went on. I am not sure how that happened. I will let the Prime Minister continue, if he wants, for five seconds to give the end of his answer.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we need greater transparency. We need to have international investigators, including from the UN, accessing the Xinjiang province to be able to keep people safe there and everywhere around the world. We will continue our advocacy and protection of these individuals.