Mr. Speaker, today we recognize a sombre national day of observance for COVID-19, a virus that has caused a crisis of historic proportions here in Canada and around the world. More than 22,000 Canadians have died from COVID-19, hundreds of thousands have fallen ill and millions have lost jobs or have had their work severely cut back.
Some Canadians passed away after not seeing their families or loved ones for months. Many parents have struggled to help their kids with online learning at home.
Canadians must also deal with a number of side effects associated with the pandemic. Many workers are concerned about the mental health of their colleagues. Thousands of cancer surgeries have been postponed. Drug and alcohol abuse rates have also increased. Domestic violence has become the shadow pandemic of COVID-19.
In British Columbia, there have been 60% more deaths from the opioid epidemic than from COVID-19. Increasing rates of domestic violence have been the shadow pandemic this past year. Youth mental health issues, presenting as anxiety or eating disorders, are alarmingly on the rise.
The true cost of this pandemic on the lives and livelihoods of Canadians of all walks of life has been staggering, yet after a year, Canadians are still not sure when we can expect life to get back to normal again. We all want to know when we can go back to work regularly, when we can see our classmates in school like we used to and when everyone can expect their vaccinations.
The Conservatives want the government to succeed. Everything is linked to the vaccine rollout. Our nation and our economic recovery depend directly on it. We must do everything we can to get Canadians back to work in every sector and in every region of the country. Canadians need the government to take action, especially to stop the spread of new variants.
Our front-line health care workers are exhausted. Nurses, PSWs, physicians and caregivers have put it all on the line for us this last year, and Canadians appreciate their efforts. Rebecca and I saw their hard work and dedication first-hand when our own family had an experience with COVID-19. We want to thank the dozens of health care workers at the Brewer Park assessment centre for working with us.
Thanks also to Josée Gauthier, our public health nurse.
Our front-line and essential workers deserve our thanks and praise. They also deserve our efforts to ensure that we can provide them with more support and certainty in the future. In the present, they deserve to know when they can expect their lives, which have been turned upside down perhaps more than any others, to return to normal. Small businesses that have been hanging on by a thread also deserve to know when Main Street can finally breathe a sigh of collective relief.
Canadians still do not know when they will get their first dose of vaccine. Meanwhile, our neighbours to the south will be able to begin their economic recovery, since more than 300 million Americans will be vaccinated by May.
We have worked together to help Canadians in this crisis, and while we have wanted to see more effective programs, we have still put the money and support out the door and worked on fixes after. Like many Canadians, we are frustrated by the slower pace of vaccines here than elsewhere, but we want the government to succeed for the health and well-being of Canadians so that we can get our lives back to normal and can address the unemployment, inequality and strain caused by the crisis.
We must also recommit, as Canadians, to ensure that our country is never again unprepared. We must learn the lessons, build capacity and ensure a swifter and more effective response in the future.
Today, as we see the effects COVID-19 has had on Canada, it is important to work together to improve our vaccination plan and our economic recovery.
Today, we pause, give thanks, remember, take a collective breath and redouble our efforts to beat COVID and get life back to normal. Let us gather up our true patriot love to ensure that Canada conquers COVID and emerges united and stronger than ever before.
Thank you.