Debates of March 10th, 2021

Official Languages

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again we see that the Bloc Québécois's goal is to undermine francophones' trust in Canada, but the truth is that, with our reforms, we are ensuring that all Canadians—whether they are francophones living in Quebec, anglophones in the rest of the country, francophones living outside Quebec, Acadians or English-speaking Quebeckers—see themselves reflected in the Official Languages Act. We will not only protect and reinforce the rights of official language minorities, we will also do more for the French language across Canada because of its minority status.

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government excels at the art of doing things in half measures. It was late in closing the borders. It was late in ordering vaccines and now it is late in tabling a budget. The fact that the Liberals are late tabling a budget creates even more uncertainty for the provinces. In fact, the provinces have once again reiterated their need for health transfers.

When will the Liberals meet the expectations of the provinces?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are here to meet the expectations of Canadians across the country. That is why we transferred tens of billions of dollars to the provinces and territories for their health systems, testing, vaccines and for the help we gave to businesses.

On the contrary, $8 out of every $10 spent to help people during this pandemic did not come from the provinces or the territories, but from the federal government.

We have been there for the provinces and for Canadians and we will continue to be there for as long as it takes.

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

Mr. Speaker, our leader has already promised to increase health transfers. The Prime Minister summarily rejected the provinces' recent demands in that area, claiming that he would look into it after the pandemic. The provinces need those health transfers now.

Could the Prime Minister do something on time for once and commit to increasing health transfers?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are still in the midst of an economic and health crisis that is affecting all Canadians across the country.

From the beginning of this crisis, we have been there for Canadians by providing financial resources. We have been there for the provinces by sending tens of billions of dollars to support their health care systems, to help them provide services and to help Canadians across the country. That is what we will continue to do.

Once this pandemic is over, we plan to sit down with the provinces and we will increase health transfers. However, this will happen after the pandemic. During the pandemic, we are going to support Canadians by meeting basic needs.

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

Mr. Speaker, medical experts have written in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet that incomplete vaccination by delaying administration of a second dose of the Pfizer vaccine could cause vaccine-resistant variants. This is sort of analogous to taking the whole course of an antibiotic prescription to prevent antibiotic resistance. The Liberals have ignored the advice of Pfizer, Canadian medical experts and the World Health Organization in recommending that the Pfizer vaccine doses be given four months apart instead of three weeks apart.

Is the Prime Minister confident that this will not lead to vaccine-resistant variants developing in Canada?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, unlike the member opposite, I listen to our experts, and I am confident that our experts know what they are doing. To make sure as many people as possible receive protection from COVID-19, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization has recommended second doses can be safely delayed up to four months.

Vaccines are safe and effective. All vaccines approved in Canada undergo a thorough independent review, and NACI guidance on administering vaccines that are authorized for use in Canada is grounded in science.

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

Mr. Speaker, for people who are watching, what the Prime Minister is essentially saying is this: Because he failed to get the Pfizer vaccine into Canada in December, January and February, like many other countries did, at very small amounts, now we are going to have to delay dosing to four months, which is something no other country is doing. When he says he listens to experts, he is actually listening to political advice experts in his office. This could lead to vaccine-resistant variants, as medical experts have said.

Is the Prime Minister confident that his non-data-driven decision to space the Pfizer vaccine doses four months apart will not lead to vaccine-resistant variants developing in Canada?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, this is interesting because we have all seen Conservative politicians casting doubt on science and casting doubt on experts by saying that the pandemic is not real and we should not wear masks. It is really concerning to hear that kind of suspicion around what scientists and experts say from the Conservative health critic. However, knowing what the Conservative Party's approach is on science, we should not be surprised.

Veterans Affairs

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Veterans Affairs assistant deputy minister told the veterans affairs committee that VAC conducts a gender-based analysis of all of its policies and programs. That sounded good, but when the veterans ombudsperson asked to see the GBA+ report on mental health treatment benefits for family members, the department did not even bother answering her.

If VAC officials cannot bother to respond to the ombudsperson, how many pleas from veterans are they also ignoring? What will the feminist Prime Minister of Canada do about it?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for bringing up this important concern. I will be following up on it with the minister to make sure that we are delivering on our commitment as a feminist government.

National Defence

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we now know that the defence minister shut down the military ombudsman when he tried to bring forward allegations of sexual misconduct by General Vance. We now know that the PCO pressured Mr. Walbourne to turn over the name of the complainant and, of course, he refused. We also know that the PCO then ran him out of his job. We have a feminist Prime Minister who has been gaslighting the former military ombudsman, saying that he did not supply enough information.

Would the Prime Minister just do the right thing and apologize to Mr. Walbourne and the woman who had the decency and the dignity to come forward?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we take all allegations seriously and ensure they are followed up by the appropriate independent authorities. That is exactly what happened in this situation. After the Defence ombudsman received a complaint, the minister directed him to independent officials who could investigate. My office was aware of the minister's direction to the ombudsman. Those officials never received further information and so they were unable to move forward with an investigation.

COVID-19 Emergency Response

[Ruby Sahota, Liberal, Brampton North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this week marks the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic. This past year has been challenging for every Canadian and my heart goes out to anyone who has lost a loved one. Governments at all levels have been making hard decisions to slow the spread of the virus, but we have been there every step of the way.

Can the Prime Minister tell us more about how our government has worked to keep Canadians safe from COVID-19 throughout this year?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Brampton North for her hard work on behalf of her community.

From day one, we have taken action. We supported the provinces and territories, provided billions of dollars to support contact tracing and testing capacity, delivered millions of rapid tests and billions of items of PPE and sent on-the-ground hot spot assistance through the Canadian Red Cross. We will continue to be there for Canadians.

National Defence

[Leona Alleslev, Conservative, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when first asked about General Vance's sexual misconduct, the Prime Minister said he was not aware of any allegations, but at last Friday's press conference, he pivoted from “any allegations” to “specific allegations”. Is the Prime Minister committed to zero tolerance, or only committed to almost, sort of zero tolerance?

Women in uniform and all Canadians deserve to know, what did the Prime Minister know about misconduct allegations against General Vance and when did he know it?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, anyone who serves in the Canadian Armed Forces or anywhere in government or across the country deserves to have a safe work environment and to be supported if they come forward with allegations, and that is exactly what we have always done in every situation.

After the Defence ombudsman received a complaint, the minister directed him to independent officials who could investigate. My office was aware of the minister's direction to the ombudsman, but my office and I learned of the details of the allegations in media reports over the past couple of months.

[Leona Alleslev, Conservative, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, to understand what the Prime Minister knew about the cover-up of sexual misconduct in the Canadian Forces, the facts matter. The defence minister knew in March 2018. Janine Sherman, the deputy secretary to cabinet, knew in March 2018. Michael Wernick, then deputy minister to the Prime Minister and Elder Marques, a senior adviser to the Prime Minister, also knew.

Is it the Prime Minister's position that no one made him aware of the allegations of misconduct against General Vance three years ago?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, my office was aware of the minister's direction to the ombudsman to follow up with appropriate authorities, but my office and I learned of the details of the allegations over the past months only.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister lost all credibility long ago. Now we have even more proof.

First, he said he was unaware of the specific allegation against General Vance, but now we know that the Clerk of the Privy Council was aware of it and that the former defence ombudsman also informed the minister.

The Prime Minister promised that his government would be a feminist government, and now it is time to prove it. Would the Prime Minister have us believe that the Clerk of the Privy Council hid the facts from him and that the ombudsman lied?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we take all allegations seriously and ensure that the appropriate independent authorities follow up. That is exactly what happened in this situation.

After the defence ombudsman received a complaint, the minister directed him to independent officials who could investigate. My office was aware of the minister's direction to the ombudsman. The officials received no additional information and were therefore unable to move forward with an investigation. My office and I learned the details of the allegations from the media last month.

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, nobody is buying what the Prime Minister is trying sell.

Let us go over what everybody knew three years ago about these serious allegations against General Vance. The Minister of National Defence knew, his chief of staff knew, the Clerk of the Privy Council knew, the deputy secretary to cabinet knew, Elder Marques, a senior adviser to the Prime Minister knew, yet the Prime Minister thinks that we should all believe him that he actually did not know.

I want to remind the Prime Minister that the deputy secretary to cabinet wrote in a March 16, 2018 briefing note that the ombudsman did not have the power to investigate sexual misconduct. So the question is this. Why did the Prime Minister not tell his defence minister to do his job and order a board of inquiry?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, amidst all of the political posturing by the Conservatives on this, it is important to remember one fundamental thing: it should not be ministers or politicians investigating allegations. We need independent authorities to rigorously investigate and take seriously any allegations that come forward, and that is exactly what the Minister of National Defence did in this case. The ombudsman came forward with allegations, the minister said that he needed to take those to independent authorities able to follow up on this investigation, and that is something my office was aware of.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

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

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois's Bill C-216, which would prevent further breaches in the supply management system, continues to gain support. Today, the National Assembly was unanimous in calling for the federal government to fully protect the supply management model in future international agreements.

The Conservatives have already said that they will once again vote against the unanimous will of Quebec. I urge them to change course. As for the Prime Minister, in the name of the vitality of the regions and our farms, can farmers count on his support for Bill C-216?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, yes, Canadian sectors under supply management are the pillars of our rural regions.

Our government publicly stated that it would make no further concessions in future trade agreements. Therefore, our government will support Bill C-216 at this stage in order for Parliament to further study this important matter. As my hon. colleague mentioned, it would be advisable for the Conservatives to also support supply management and the affected sectors across the country.