Debates of Feb. 5th, 2021

Health

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

Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question. As he knows very well, Canada negotiated with seven vaccine manufacturers. Five of those have shown promising results, and the other two have already been approved. We are receiving doses this week and we will continue to receive doses throughout the first quarter, for a total of six million doses by the end of March. Every Canadian who wants to be vaccinated will be by the end of September.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Madam Speaker, for almost 10 days now, Canada has gotten hardly any vaccines. We are waiting.

People at The Economist know their stuff. They estimate that vaccination will not be complete before June 2022. England has already vaccinated 15.5% of its residents, while Canada stands at less than 3%. England has vaccinated 90% of people aged 75 and older, but Canada is nowhere near that.

Why is that? The Prime Minister made sure to get vaccines before Christmas, but then he dropped the ball on securing more. Why did the government not ensure that we would be getting daily vaccine deliveries?

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

Madam Speaker, this government is motivated, and we are working quickly and diligently to secure the vaccines needed to vaccinate all Canadians. We signed agreements with Moderna and Pfizer. These companies manufacture the first two vaccines that were approved. We will be getting enough vaccines from these two suppliers alone to vaccinate all Canadians by the end of September. There are now three other promising vaccines. We are obviously awaiting approvals from the—

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

The member for Louis-Saint-Laurent.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Madam Speaker, 10 months ago, the government was in a big hurry to sign an agreement with China. Ultimately, that proved fruitless, and now we need vaccines.

Yesterday, the premiers got together and demanded transparency from the Prime Minister of Canada. They demanded access to all of the documents pertaining to the agreements. That is what we have been asking for since last September.

Why is the government not releasing the agreements with pharmaceutical companies so we can find out exactly why Canada has not received any vaccine doses for going on 10 days now?

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

Madam Speaker, transparency and accountability are top priorities for our government. We are committed to releasing as much information as possible about our procurement efforts throughout the pandemic. We are, of course, collaborating with the provinces and territories. Given the fierce global competition for vaccines at the moment, disclosing certain information about contracts with specific suppliers could jeopardize Canada's supply chain. I am sure the member would not want that.

We will continue to communicate with—

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

The hon. member for Carleton.

Employment

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Madam Speaker, we are not talking about statistics today. We are talking about a human tragedy for the 213,000 families who have lost their paycheques. That is the number of jobs that have been lost in Canada. Meanwhile, 50,000 new jobs have been created in the United States. Our unemployment rate is higher than that of the G7, the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom and the average for all advanced economies.

Why are foreign workers earning paycheques—

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

The hon. minister.

[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, with respect to the job numbers, I would point out to the member opposite that there is a global pandemic that is impacting different parts of the country and different parts of the world. I notice that the recent jobs losses were concentrated in provinces that have been hit very hard by the second wave. The good news is that projections from private sector economists continue to suggest that this will be an excellent year for economic growth, with a projected average at 4.4% growth in GDP.

What is important is that during this time of need, the federal government is going to continue to be there for Canadian households and businesses no matter what it takes, no matter how long it takes.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Madam Speaker, the member is right; it is a global pandemic. It exists in the United States, which has significantly lower unemployment and added 50,000 jobs last month. It exists in the U.K., in Japan, in Germany, across the G7. It exists across the advanced economies, but every single jurisdiction I just named has lower unemployment than Canada. We have now lost 213,000 jobs in just one month while the rest of the world is returning to work.

Why do foreign workers get paycheques and we get credit card debts?

[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, the short-sightedness of the member opposite is absolutely astounding. With great respect, if we wanted to have a short-term uptick in employment rates, we could talk to the premiers and tell them not to put in place public health measures that are designed to protect the lives and well-being of the people who live in our communities, but we know that short-term gain would do immeasurable damage to the long-term economic interests of our nation.

We are going to advance supports so the provinces can do what is right to protect the health and well-being of their residents and so we can prevent economic scarring and rebound from this pandemic on the back end stronger than any developed economy in the world.

Health

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Madam Speaker, yesterday will go down in history as the day when the whole world saw that Canada failed to quickly procure vaccines. That means that the pandemic will last longer here than it will in other countries.

The government has to shift into problem-solving mode. The first step is to admit that there is a problem. The government needs to admit that it dropped the ball. It has to start by being transparent with people.

When will it make the procurement contracts public and present a new and more credible vaccination schedule?

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

Madam Speaker, obviously, we are having regular discussions with all of the provinces and territories, and we are talking about the vaccine deliveries that continue to arrive from Europe.

We signed agreements with seven manufacturers, two of which are currently delivering vaccines to Canada. As the member is well aware, we will be receiving 6 million doses during the first quarter and enough vaccines from approved manufacturers to vaccinate all Canadians before the end of September.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Madam Speaker, this member is actually not well aware, because she does not have a detailed schedule.

The government needs to acknowledge its failure. Denials like the one we just heard are useless.

It needs to tighten border controls to stop the spread. It needs to increase health transfers because of the extended state of emergency in our health care centres. It must increase pensions for seniors whose physical, mental and financial health is at risk. It must financially support seasonal industries, the arts, tourism, hospitality and fisheries. It must negotiate for vaccines produced in the United States.

When is the government going to shift into problem-solving mode?

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

Madam Speaker, the Bloc Québécois would love to see Canada fail. The Bloc would hate for us to succeed at what we are doing.

Unfortunately for the Bloc, we are there for all Quebeckers and Canadians. We have agreements with most vaccine producers. We have been there to help people who lost their jobs by providing the CERB. We have been there to sustain small and medium-sized businesses and help them survive through the Canada emergency wage subsidy. We have been there for seniors, and we will continue to be there for them.

I know the Bloc would love to see us fail, but that is not going to happen.

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

Madam Speaker, our seniors built our society, and we are lucky to reap the benefits. Unfortunately, the pandemic has demonstrated that the Conservative and Liberal cuts have undermined our health care system.

Seniors have been left to fend for themselves and sometimes abandoned. The staff are exhausted from working in deplorable conditions. It is a national disgrace. Our seniors deserve better. They deserve to grow old safely and with dignity.

Will the Liberals respond to our request to work with the provinces in order to guarantee the quality of care and quality of life of our seniors?

[Deb Schulte, Liberal, Minister of Seniors]

Madam Speaker, we are there for seniors, and we have been there since the beginning of the pandemic. We have made sure that we provided financial support through one-time, tax-free payments. We made sure that we put additional money into the community so that we could have community supports to help seniors through this terrible time. We are making sure that we are there, providing additional funding for health care support and for the long-term care sector.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Madam Speaker, the COVID pandemic has shown Canadians the cost of government inaction and neglect. Families have suffered devastating losses of loved ones in long-term care centres across the country, but instead of fixing the problems like they promised, the Liberals continue to underfund health care and protect the profits of big corporations and their wealthy shareholders.

Nobody should be profiting off the care of our seniors. Will the minister commit to improving Canada's long-term care system now so that residents, their families and long-term care workers no longer have to suffer?

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Madam Speaker, regardless of where they live, those living in long-term care deserve quality care and to be treated with dignity. All providers need to be accountable for protecting those in long-term care. We need to protect those living and working in long-term care.

Let me be clear, no one is invincible to this virus. We will continue working closely with provinces and territories to control and prevent infections in these facilities.

Public Services and Procurement

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

Madam Speaker, yesterday, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Procurement said that the Liberals chose the “second-best” vaccine procurement strategy for Canadians. I would argue that it is a bit of an understatement given that we are two million doses short this week.

People are dying. We need a path forward. I want the best for Canadians. I want a path to recovery. Why did the Liberals knowingly settle for second best when Canadians deserve far better?

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

Madam Speaker, of course Canada has done exemplary work in this pandemic, including getting billions of pieces of PPE to provinces and territories, collaborating on rapid testing with provinces and procuring from seven vaccine manufacturers enough doses to vaccinate every Canadian many times over.

Just with the vaccines we have already approved, we have enough doses to vaccinate every Canadian who wishes to have one, by the end of September, and six million doses, including those arriving this week, in the first quarter of the year.

Health

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

Madam Speaker, just to correct my colleague, zero doses arrived this week, and Canadians should not have to settle for second best.

A year into the pandemic, tools like vaccines, rapid tests and therapeutics are being delivered around the world, and today, international outlets are reporting that 75% of a population receiving two doses of the vaccine would be a benchmark for a country achieving herd immunity.

When will the government tell Canadians how many need to be vaccinated before the unprecedented restrictions the federal Liberals have imposed will be lifted?

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Madam Speaker, we have taken action for Canadians throughout this crisis. Again, as we have said in the House many times, we have secured the highest numbers of doses per capita of any country in the world, with the most diverse portfolio of COVID-19 vaccines. Vaccines are in Canada, with more shipments and deliveries confirmed through February and March and ramping up through the spring.

We are working with the provinces and territories to support them in their responsibilities to deliver vaccines so that every Canadian can get vaccinated when they wish.

The Economy

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Madam Speaker, the Prime Minister of Canada has spent more than any other G7 leader. The deficit could reach $400 billion this year.

Canada has one of the lowest vaccination rates among industrialized countries, behind the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy and Finland. Our unemployment rate is among the worst in the G7. The spending may be astronomical, but the results are pathetic. No vaccines means no recovery. No recovery means no jobs.

Why is the Prime Minister always the worst at everything?