Debates of March 23rd, 2021

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I share my colleagues' concerns, especially with respect to Mr. Badawi's ongoing detention. We are very concerned for his safety. We are reviewing the requirements in the Citizenship Act, in light of the fact that Mr. Badawi is not on Canadian soil. We will work closely with Global Affairs Canada and will continue to work with all parliamentarians in our efforts to reunite Mr. Badawi with his family.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to commend my colleague on his improving command of French.

I know that the minister is talking to Irwin Cotler, Raif Badawi's lawyer. Mr. Colter is a former Liberal justice minister who has represented other political prisoners, including Nelson Mandela.

I want to emphasize that because there must not be any partisan games in this matter. We are here, all together, to help a man who has been arbitrarily detained get out of prison.

Mr. Colter has confirmed that the Minister of Immigration has the discretionary power to grant Mr. Badawi Canadian citizenship and that this would help his case.

The minister could do that this afternoon if he wanted to. What is stopping him?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague once again for his question.

As I already said, I share his concerns for Mr. Badawi's safety, but this is not a simple matter. It requires careful consideration.

I am very concerned about Mr. Badawi's safety. I will continue to work with and co-operate with all my colleagues. I will continue to engage with the community and even the family of Mr. Badawi. I will work in close collaboration with the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Small Business

[Pat Kelly, Conservative, Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, small businesses have borne the brunt of the pandemic: 60,000 of them have failed; nearly 20,000 are on the brink; millions of jobs are at stake; many need more loans to survive; and thousands cannot qualify. However, debt is no substitute for customers and small business debt is threatening recovery.

Uncertainty from the government's lack of a plan is killing small business jobs. Will the government table a plan so that small businesses will know when they can have their customers back?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I share the hon. member's concern about Canadian small businesses. That is why I would like to urge him and all members opposite to join us in supporting Bill C-14. This is legislation that would help small businesses, and he does not need to listen to me. He can listen to Dan Kelly, who says, “Bill C-14 has some important measures for small business, including fresh funding for regional business support programs. CFIB urges all parties to ensure this support is passed quickly.”

[Pat Kelly, Conservative, Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, last week at finance committee, Philip Cross from the Macdonald-Laurier Institute said that there was nothing in Bill C-14 for economic recovery. The government has repeatedly said that program like the HASCAP and the RRRF were the answer for businesses that had fallen through the cracks, but the criteria for these programs is virtually the same as the other programs that are failing to reach Canadians.

The minister admitted at the finance committee that there was nothing in Bill C-14 for businesses that had fallen through the cracks because they opened after March 2020. When are the Liberals going to table a plan and do something about it?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, as I announced earlier today, we will be presenting our budget on April 19.

However, I must take issue with the simply false notion that Bill C-14 does not include measures to support small businesses. It would provide the RDAs with an additional $206.7 million to replicate CEBA loan limits for gap-filling programs and RRRF gap-filling capacity. Bill C-14 also gives us the formal authority to provide rent support programs for rent payable.

Many other important measures are there and I hope all members of the House will support this essential legislation.

Canada Revenue Agency

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, recently it was announced that 800,000 taxpayers had been locked out of their CRA My Account because their account information had been obtained by unauthorized third parties. That is close to one million Canadians who have been locked out of their accounts, many of whom rely on it to apply for their emergency benefits or file their taxes.

While the CRA has suggested this is just precautionary, it should never have happened. Will the minister ensure that Canadians are not paying the price for CRA's recklessness and make sure this never happens again?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, the protection of Canadians' privacy is a priority for the Canada Revenue Agency. Those affected will receive a notice from the CRA indicating that they need to reset their username and password in the My CRA Account section. The CRA took this proactive measure for security reasons.

I want to be clear. The CRA's systems were not breached.

Foreign Affairs

[Peter Fonseca, Liberal, Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we know that Canada remains deeply concerned about the egregious human rights violations that are taking place in the Xinjiang region in China. We are particularly concerned by the reports of forced labour in the region and the ongoing repression and persecution of the Uighurs.

Yesterday, along with the U.S., the U.K. and the EU, Canada announced targeted measures against Chinese officials who have been directly involved in these atrocities.

Could the Minister of Foreign Affairs update the House on Canada's most recent actions?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Mississauga East—Cooksville and chair of the Subcommittee on International Human Rights for his work on this serious issue.

More than ever, democratic countries must stand together to defend democracy and human rights. That is why yesterday we joined our allies in imposing sanctions on four individuals and an entity who have played a key role in the persecution of the Uighurs.

We will continue to call on China to stop the repression against the Uighurs and to hold those responsible to account.

The Economy

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

Mr. Speaker, pre-COVID, Canada’s emergency management experts had a clear pandemic plan. However, this plan was trashed along with pandemic stockpiles and our early warning system. Now Canadians are paying the price for this negligence, while the Liberals plan for the next election.

Lockdowns and restrictions are supposed to be temporary to buy governments time to get appropriate measures like rapid testing and vaccines in place.

Where is the government’s data-driven plan for a recovery and why are Canadians being forced to endure perpetual restrictions while we wait for that plan?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, as the member opposite knows, we have worked with scientists, public health leaders and, indeed, provinces and territories every step of the way to respond to COVID-19, from the early days where we supporting provinces and territories to acquire personal protective equipment and start up domestic manufacturing to now when we are acquiring the vaccines, paying for them and ensuring that provinces and territories have the systems to administer those vaccines.

We have delivered over 31 million rapid tests and we have ensured that provinces and territories have the money, the expertise and the support they need to protect the health of the citizens of whom they are responsible for taking care.

Health

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Mr. Speaker, families want to be able to visit their loved ones in long-term care homes. Grandmothers want to hug their grandchildren. People in Point Roberts simply want to be able to go visit their doctor or their dentist.

The government now has robust data on the efficacy of vaccines. When will it update its guidelines on what are appropriate activities for fully vaccinated individuals?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her interest in the data and the science on vaccinations. She is right. What we do know is that vaccinations are indeed saving lives and the data is accumulating that they are a very strong protection against the experience of getting very sick with COVID-19. Where the research is still evolving is the effect on transmission.

We will always listen to the advice of public health experts, scientists, indeed, the leaders all across the country who are working so hard to balance the public health measures necessary to protect Canadians during this extremely delicate time.

The Economy

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians want a government that works for them, but they do not have one.

Seniors are being left behind, businesses have closed their doors, rural Canada is being ignored and our vaccine rollout is among the worst.

Instead of doing his job, the Prime Minister is more focused on keeping his job. Canadians do not want an early election, they want a future. Why is the Prime Minister more focused on his political future versus the future of Canadians?

[Maryam Monsef, Liberal, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development]

Mr. Speaker, I disagree entirely with my hon. colleague's assertion. Since day one of COVID, our government has put the well-being of Canadians at the heart of our response. As the finance minister said today, we will be there every step of the way until we get out of COVID and build back better.

As the minister for rural economic development, I am proud that we are taking this opportunity in these difficult times to connect every Canadian to high-speed Internet, a service that is essential. No government has done more, and for rural Canadians, we have got their backs.

The Budget

[Lyne Bessette, Liberal, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

Mr. Speaker, over the past year, Canadians have had to roll up their sleeves to deal with an unprecedented health and economic crisis.

Ever since the pandemic started, our government has been there to support Canadians, and we will be there for the recovery so we can build back better and make Canada even stronger.

Would the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance please tell the House when the government plans to table its 2021 budget and its vision for the future?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question.

We went into the crisis on solid financial footing, and that enabled us to provide unprecedented support to Canadians.

I am pleased to announce that the government will table its 2021 budget on April 19 at 4 p.m.

Child Care

[Lindsay Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, a recent CCPA report noted that, because of high costs, there has been a substantial decline of 10% in child care enrolment in most Canadian cities. This was most extreme in Ontario. Accessible and affordable child care will play a vital role in rebuilding our economy. It will be essential in helping parents get back to work.

The Liberals supported our NDP motion to put $2 billion into child care immediately, yet there is still no relief. Families are used to broken Liberal campaign promises. Is this just one more?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, we understand the immense pressure that COVID-19 has put on Canadian families, particularly parents. We are committed to being there for parents throughout this crisis to ensure that they take care of themselves, their children and their families.

That is why we introduced a series of measures to help families through this pandemic, but we also introduced measures to help the child care sector. We are committed to, of course, continuing our investments, but also to a more ambitious plan to ensure that each and every child in Canada has access to affordable and high-quality child care from coast to coast to coast.

Health

[Ramesh Sangha, Independent, Brampton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, compared to other countries, less than 10% of Canadians are vaccinated and everyone is concerned.

Can the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry explain why, in spite of the resources available, the Liberal government could not bring in a proper plan for a made-in-Canada vaccine instead of depending on others?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, it is quite the opposite actually. Within 12 days of the World Health Organization declaring a pandemic, we were already there with $200 million to support a made-in-Canada vaccine and therapeutics. Within 30 days, we added another $600 million.

In fact, Canadians should know that within a month, we had almost $1 billion invested to make sure that Canadians can rely on safe and effective vaccines through procurement and biomanufacturing in this country. We are going to continue to invest to ensure the resiliency of Canadians and to protect their health and safety for the future.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise again today on another very urgent matter. There have been consultations with other parties, and if you seek it, I hope you will find consent for the following motion. I move:

That the House denounce the racism in the RCMP as found by the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission in a report that also revealed that the RCMP destroyed records of police communications from the night Colten Boushie was killed, and condemn the cover-up by the RCMP.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

All those opposed to the hon. member's moving the motion will please say nay.

Hearing none, the House has heard the terms of the motion. All those opposed to the motion will please say nay.

(Motion agreed to)