Mr. Speaker, with the symbol of the white rose, which I brought with me here today, Quebec has chosen to also declare today a day of remembrance. In normal times we would expect the commemoration to be held once the crisis is over, but it has been going on for far too long now, and it is important to tell all those who lost a loved one that we are with them.
More than 10,000 people in Quebec and more than 20,000 in Canada have lost their lives to COVID-19. In Quebec, nearly 300,000 people contracted the virus. These are not just statistics; they are faces, people who are no longer with us.
Like my colleagues, I want to say that we owe a debt of gratitude to health care workers and all those who work in education and child care. Three days after March 8, I would like to note that these front-line jobs are often held by women.
My thoughts go out to the most vulnerable, those whom the pandemic has made even more vulnerable, and to the people living in isolation, poverty and anxiety who are suffering even more and have become more fragile because of this disease.
I am also thinking of the health care system, which is stretched to the limit; of our public finances, which are under strain; and of the fear and despair that seem to have become part of daily life for many of us. Every glimmer of hope grows more uncertain as it is pushed back yet again.
Also on my mind are our seniors, who are facing multiple hardships. They are the most vulnerable of our fellow citizens, the ones most likely to die first from this disease. They are the most isolated among us, and they suffer the most from the loss of their buying power.
Still, I cannot help wanting to find something positive in all this. Obviously, we all know someone who has lost their life to this disease. It will be our duty and obligation to understand what happened and how it happened. We must first put our faith in knowledge and science to defeat the virus so we can put an end to all this.
We will then have to find the best way to kick-start the economy, not in terms of dollar amounts, but in terms of getting Quebeckers and Canadians back on their feet and back to their normal lives. We will have to rebuild our vaccination, medical and health care systems and rebuild a more bountiful and greener economy. It is my hope that we will have understood that this must be a more compassionate and just economy.
We will, of course, have to put ideology aside and strengthen our health care system, look back at what we did well and take stock of what we did not do well.
Above all else, may we always act with compassion, as we have the privilege of being healthy and being in a position to help those who do not have those same privileges. We must open our hearts to those who have struggled through this pandemic, even after being told over and over that everything would be okay. We must open our hearts to them.