Debates of March 23rd, 2021

Opposition Motion— Plan for Reopening the Economy

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

Madam Speaker, clearly, until we get the issue of vaccines dealt with, questions of international travel are almost hypothetical at this point.

I would love to be able to travel. I know many people who are dreaming of travel. However, until the government gets it together with the vaccines so we can assure people in other countries that Canada has beaten the virus, and until we know that other countries have beaten the virus, these questions are merely hypothetical.

I would like to ask my hon. colleague about something that is not hypothetical, which is the need for the federal government to address the protection of workers under federal jurisdiction in taking sick time off so they do not spread the virus and will be able to travel.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Madam Speaker, I would like to start my remarks by outlining a few key principles I think are important for all parliamentarians to keep in mind.

One, all federal COVID-19 guidance must be based on the best available science and reflect both the state of the pandemic and the pace of the vaccine rollout across Canada.

Two, Canada's New Democrats understand that there is no trade-off to be made between saving lives and livelihoods. We know that we will not be able to get the economy back on track until we bring COVID-19 fully under control, and not the other way around.

Three, the federal government should provide Canadians with a clear path forward by releasing a comprehensive plan to put this pandemic behind us and begin the process of recovery.

Four, we think that the federal government should not wait until the pandemic is over to begin acting on critical lessons that we have already learned. As one example, the NDP believes it is time to bring in paid sick leave for every Canadian worker, national standards for long-term care, and a public vaccine and drug manufacturer. These are gaping holes in Canada's economic and health care fabric that we know need to be fixed. There is no reason to wait to get started on those issues.

While planning is always good, we must not prematurely ease essential measures that are critical to keeping Canadians safe. I will outline some of the major reasons why this is so important.

First, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada, with the continued increase in variants of concern, maintaining public health measures and individual precautions is crucial to reducing infection rates and avoiding a rapid reacceleration of the epidemic and its severe outcomes, including hospitalization and deaths.

The B.1.1.7 variant of concern, the one that was first identified in the U.K., is spreading quickly across Canada as we debate this today, causing doctors and experts to sound the alarm about a third wave of COVID-19 infections. Provinces have been easing restrictions after cases began to fall across the country in late January, and then the B.1.1.7 variant began spreading in earnest in mid-February.

Alberta, Ontario and British Columbia are each reporting more than 1,000 cumulative B.1.1.7 variant cases as of March 22. In fact, cumulatively, across Canada, we have 4,861 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant reported now. In addition, we have 244 cases reported across Canada of the B.1.351 variant first identified in South Africa. Finally, we have 104 cases reported across Canada of the P.1 variant first identified in Brazil. Therefore, we have an increasing spread of variants.

Second, we are clearly entering a third wave. The Ontario Hospital Association issued a stark warning on March 15, saying that the province has now entered into a third wave, citing a sharp increase in cases of new variants of concern and rising admissions to intensive care units. Just days ago the Ontario Medical Officer of Health, Dr. David Williams, confirmed that the province is now in the midst of a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Ontario, variants of concern cases now exceed 50% of all cases. Here in B.C., on March 22, B.C.'s provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, confirmed that this province is experiencing a third wave of COVID-19 infection. She pointed to an increase in the seven-day rolling average of new daily cases over the last several weeks as an indication that this is B.C.'s third wave. Finally, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada, nationally, COVID-19 activity levelled off at a high level since mid-February and that average daily case counts are now on the rise. The latest national level data show a seven-day average of 3,297 new cases daily.

Third, we have to look at the pace of the vaccine rollout. As of March 22, the United Kingdom has administered 44 doses per 100 people, with 3.3% of its population fully vaccinated. In the United States, 37 doses have been administered per 100 people, with 13.2% of the population fully vaccinated. Contrast that to Canada, where we have administered 10 doses per 100 people, with only 1.7% of our population fully vaccinated.

Fourth, if we compare strategies, in the coming weeks, the Biden administration in the U.S. will make every adult in the U.S. eligible for vaccination no later than May 1. Once all Americans are eligible to be vaccinated, the administration will ensure that every adult is actually able to get the vaccine by increasing the number of places Americans can get vaccinated, increasing the number of people providing vaccinations, providing tools to make it easier for individuals to find a vaccine and providing clear guidance to vaccinated Americans. The U.S. is also helping educators get vaccinated. The president has challenged all 50 states to get pre-K to 12 school staff and child care workers their first shot by the end of this month.

In the U.K., they have a similar strategy. The speed at which England will exit lockdown is set against four key tests: how the vaccine rollout is going, how vaccines are affecting hospitalizations and deaths, measuring infection rates and ensuring they are staying low, and ensuring that new variants are not undermining the other three criteria.

What do validators say about the state of affairs right now? Well, a joint statement by the International Monetary Fund and the World Health Organization states that “At face value there is a trade-off to make: either save lives or save livelihoods. This is a false dilemma – getting the virus under control is, if anything, a prerequisite to saving livelihoods”.

This is mirrored by many people across this country.

Tyler Shandro, Alberta's health minister, has said said, “There will be no easing of any restrictions at this time. This is the safe move. It's the smart move to make for our province right now and it's absolutely necessary to help us avoid a third wave that would take more lives and once again put more pressure on the hospital system.”

Dr. Peter Juni, scientific director of the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, has said that “It’s the presence of cases caused by new variants that’s alarming.... [The] curve has gone upwards and upwards. It's skyrocketing at the moment.... What we need to do is, we need go harder.”

Quebec Premier, Francois Legault, has said that “We look at what's happening in Ontario, in New York, in New Jersey and France and we have to worry. We have to be careful”.

Finally, Dr. Caroline Colijn, Canada 150 research chair at Simon Fraser University, has said that “We’re probably not going to win the race between vaccination and the B.1.1.7 variant and partly that’s because it’s here now, it’s already established and rising and it has a higher transmission rate, which makes it harder to control and so I think that’s the concern over the next few months.”

Colleagues, what I am saying is that we cannot prematurely exit at this point in time. We have to keep the existing measures in place, we have to deepen them, and now is not the time to premature exit from these very measures that, if we do not continue, would cost more lives and would increase the rate of transmission that we have worked so hard to stop.

I will pause for a minute and talk about paid sick leave in Canada.

A large proportion of COVID-19 transmission has occurred in workplaces in part because workers do not have access to paid sick leave. We know that some jurisdictions, like B.C. and Yukon, have stepped in to provide additional support, but we also know that this support is not available to every worker in the country. Canada's New Democrats are calling on the Liberal government to fix the flaws in its current program to make it easier for people to access the program and get help more quickly.

I would like to move that the motion be amended by adding the following after a semi-colon: and that in order to facilitate this lifting of restrictions, this plan ensure that every Canadian worker has access to 10 paid sick days, starting by amending the Canada Labour Code to include 10 paid sick days for all federal workers.

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

It is my duty to inform hon. members that an amendment to an opposition motion may be moved only with the consent of the sponsor of the motion. In the case that he or she is not present, consent may be given or denied by the House leader, the deputy House leader, the whip or the deputy whip of the sponsor's party.

Since the sponsor is not present in the chamber, I ask the acting whip if he consents to this amendment being moved.

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

Madam Speaker, the official opposition does not accept the amendment.

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

There is no consent. Therefore, pursuant to Standing Order 85, the amendment cannot be moved at this time.

Questions and comments, the hon. member for Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo.

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

Madam Speaker, I certainly appreciate the very difficult work that my colleague has done on the health committee and as the shadow critic throughout this pandemic.

The member talked about the need to keep an eye on the variants, that we need to be watching what is happening, but he also talked about other countries that have developed a plan. I think the fact that we have to be cautious has to be part of the plan, but this resolution talks about data-driven indicators. I think all Canadians will be watching and would like to know whether Canada is indeed going to put forward a reasonable plan, taking into account, of course, the variants and other issues.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Madam Speaker, I know that as a former nurse, the member has a particular expertise in these matters. I think she will appreciate the very difficult trade-off that we have. What I think is important to recognize at this point in time is that our ability to reopen our economy and to restore some sense of normalcy to communities across this country is completely dependent upon our gaining control of the transmission of this virus. It cannot be the other way around. We cannot put the reopening of the economy ahead of getting control of the health issues. We have to make sure that we have the health—

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

Questions and comments, the hon. member for Thérèse-De Blainville.

[Louise Chabot, Bloc, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

Madam Speaker, I would add that, as a nurse by profession, I am very concerned about the whole issue of health.

Although I am not surprised, I do not understand this insistence on additional standards when the real issue is that our provinces and territories need permanent support through federal health transfers that offset provincial expenditures.

Why keep harping on this issue?

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Madam Speaker, what I always fail to understand about the Bloc Québécois position on standards is that it seems to fail to understand the way that the Canadian health system is set up. The Canada Health Act establishes standards. That is the basis of our entire health care system, of which the people of Quebec, I am sure, are very proud and count on. The Canada Health Act sets out five principles, including portability, accessibility, universality, public administration, etc. and those standards must be met in order for the health transfer to be received by the Province fo Quebec and every other province and territory.

I fail to understand why the Bloc Québécois members rail against standards when the whole basis of our system is predicated on Quebec's meeting those standards. They want the money coming from the Canada health transfer, which I agree with my Bloc Québécois colleagues that it has to be increased. However, that is only the case if Quebec meets the standards set in the Canada Health Act. New Democrats simply want to expand our system using the same model that has been so successful and cherished by so many Canadians.

[Scott Duvall, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Madam Speaker, as we are talking about a plan in today's motion and the member mentioned paid sick days, can he elaborate a bit more on what the importance of the current two weeks having to be taken in blocks, and not as individual days? What is the importance of that? The government continues to say that it has already put that in action, but it is not working and Canadians are asking for it to be different. Can he speak on that?

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Madam Speaker, the problem is deep: 58% of all workers in Canada do not have access to paid sick leave, and that jumps to 70% for low-wage workers. Only about 10% of companies increased their paid leave policies in response to COVID. The CRSB, which the Liberal government brought in, does not provide immediate accessible paid sick leave. It pays less than a full-time minimum wage job does in most provinces. Of course, that policy excludes some essential workers, such as migrant workers. It is time to stop this patchwork approach and make sure that every worker in this country has access to 10 paid sick leave—

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

Resuming debate, the hon. member for Cariboo—Prince George.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Madam Speaker, it is an honour to speak to our Conservative opposition day motion.

I struggled a lot with what I was going to say in this 10-minutes speech. The reality is that I probably have had enough experience over the last year and, indeed, the last three decades dealing with mental health and the challenges our most vulnerable communities deal with to probably fill an hour or even more with respect to that.

COVID‑19 has really shone the light on and amplified a national crisis, and that is the mental health crisis. I know I am not unique with this experience and that my colleagues from all sides of the House are feeling it themselves and are hearing this every day in their offices that Canadians are struggling, now more than ever. We need our government to lead. Canadians need hope. They need to know their government has a plan for recovery. We cannot have a plan for recovery without a mental health plan.

A mental health action plan is critical, now more than ever. Over 20% of Canadians are feeling more anxiety, more depression. We know that substance use and abuse, whether related to alcohol, tobacco or drugs, is up over the last year. Domestic violence is up over the last year. Calls to crisis lines and women's shelters have gone through the roof. We need to do better.

I was heartened last week when our leader detailed our five pillars for an elected Conservative government. The third pillar was putting forward a strong, mental health focused action plan for Canadians. As we move forward, the mental health and well-being of our nation must be at the heart of everything we do. There is no health without mental health. We need to view mental health the same as we view physical health.

I remember when a firefighter contacted me some time ago. He asked me why he had to become a statistic before anyone cared. I asked him to explain. He said that if he had a broken arm, or leg, or back or even had the flu, his colleagues would come around and would ask if there was anything he needed. He said that the brotherhood and sisterhood of first responders falls short when it comes to mental injury and mental illness. That is true with most Canadians. That alone fuels the stigma surrounding mental illness and mental injury. It is the unseen illness, the unseen injury, that Canadians are facing, and had been facing leading up to COVID, which has made it even worse. Sadly, all we have seen from the Liberal government is no plan, no hope and a website.

Yesterday, in question period, I asked the minister where the plan was to implement the simple three digit 988 national suicide prevention hotline. Instead, she doubled down on the website. When I am sitting with family members who have been left behind due to death by suicide, or those who have contemplated suicide or those who are struggling, I hear what I call the “if only” conversations: “If only I saw the signs.” “If only I knew that my brother, my father, my husband or my wife was struggling, I could have done something.”

Not once have I heard “If only there were as a website I could log onto or my loved one could log onto.” When I am talking to national organizations or grassroots organizations charged with delivering such critical care to the most vulnerable on the streets, whether it is with the opioid or homelessness crisis, they never talk about if only there were a government website they could go to. They talk about their concern of not knowing whether they will be able to keep their doors open. For addicts who come through their doors and finally say that they want and need help, they want to be able to put those people in beds and get them the help they need.

A real plan is exactly what we started to see with our leader last week when he announced our five pillars. The third pillar is so important, a real mental health plan, working with the provinces—

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. As much as I hate to interrupt one of my colleagues, I would like to inform the Speaker that all Conservative speaking spots today will be divided in two.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Madam Speaker, I am sharing my time with the hon. member for Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, a great colleague. I probably should have announced this earlier.

The plan our leader announced can be transformative. We will increase funding to the provinces and work with them on a mental health action plan. We will lead, not obfuscate, not push it aside and say that it is not our problem. We will implement the 988 national suicide prevention hotline. We will work with employers to incentivize them to provide adequate mental health support for their employees. It is so important to actually have a mental health action plan, now more than ever. An elected Conservative government will do that.

An elected Conservative government will put mental health at the heart of everything we do. It was our former Conservative government that launched the Mental Health Commission. In opposition, it was a newly elected Conservative MP who launched legislation that called on the government to develop the first-ever national framework for combatting post-traumatic stress disorder.

We have to be better. I have stood in the House and talked about this time and again. In our first emergency debate, we talked about the suicide epidemic in first nations communities, specifically Attawapiskat. My colleague from Timmins—James Bay speaks so eloquently on this topic. One of our colleagues stood and said that he remembered that one of their first emergency debates 10 years ago was about the suicide epidemic in first nations communities. Sadly, we have not really moved beyond that.

I have stood in the House time and again and challenged our colleagues. For me, this is not a partisan issue; it is all our issue in being true leaders in the House. Our Conservative motion today calls on the government to show us the plan, to create hope for Canadians and to help those who are struggling.

Last month, a lady in my riding, Margaret Sweder, celebrated her 100th birthday. I called her and wished her a happy birthday. I do not know her. First, she was not going to answer the phone because she thought it was a CRA fraud call, because the number was from Ottawa, but then we talked. I asked her what she was missing most in this COVID pandemic and she said “a hug.”

This lockdown has had immeasurable impacts on Canadians, just the social aspect of being able to hug our loved ones, being able to spend time with loved ones—

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

Unfortunately, we have to leave it there.

Questions and comments, the hon. member for Cowichan—Malahat—Langford.

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Madam Speaker, throughout this pandemic, we have heard from a lot of workers in processing plants across Canada who have been very concerned about safety in their workplaces and about a return-to-work plan. I know the member talked a lot about hope. Recently, my colleague from Vancouver Kingsway tried to move an amendment to the motion that would see us give 10 paid sick leave days to workers.

Why can we not give those workers hope so they do not have to make the choice between their health and their income?

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Madam Speaker, my colleague raised a very interesting point. I have to admit that I did not hear the amendment so I cannot comment on that. However, we must be doing everything in our power for our workers, for our front-line heroes, like the doctors, nurses, firefighters, police officers and paramedics, the grocery store stockers, the people who have been on our front lines like the truckers, ensuring that as a nation we still have some semblance of being open.

Imagine the mental health toll that COVID has taken on our doctors, nurses and our medical professionals. Think about that three to five years down the road from now and what we will be—

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

Questions and comments, the hon. member for Cloverdale—Langley City.

[Tamara Jansen, Conservative, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

Madam Speaker, in my constituency mailer this month, I sent out a number of phone numbers for mental health support because it became clear the statistics were terrible: 42% of British Columbians have had a deterioration of mental health; 13% of British Columbians increased substance use as a coping tool for COVID; and 8% of British Columbians have experienced suicidal thoughts and feelings.

I wonder if my colleague believes that if we could get a clear criteria, a plan that shows when and how the government is going to open, we could give hope and really secure the mental health of Canadians.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague from Langley is bang on. We need to create hope. Moreover, we have to not just create hope but have action, a real plan to open the doors to get Canadians back to normalcy of some sort, to get them back to work and to allow them to see their loved ones. It will go a long way in the mental health of Canadians, the mental well-being and wellness of Canadians, but there has to be a plan.

The government has to step forward with a plan. It has to lead. It has to have a plan and we have not seen one to date. All Canadians asking for is that. That is all Conservatives are asking for with this motion.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Madam Speaker, we need to have a plan, but do we want the plan to be based on politicians and a political deadline that is passed by the House or do we want the plan to be put together by experts? What if the experts say that it is not possible to do this in 20 days because they do not know what to expect?

Six months ago, we did not know that there would be variants. A year ago, we did not know the full implications of how this virus transmits. We are trying to put a political deadline onto experts by trying to somehow hold them to a deadline that has not been justified, seems to be arbitrary in nature and sounds like a good number.

Who does the member want the actual plan to be made by, politicians or experts?

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Madam Speaker, that is a typical Liberal response. We are well over 400 days into this pandemic, yet Canadians have failed to see any semblance of a plan. There was no plan for vaccinations. There was no plan to close our borders or to secure them. There was no plan to get us back to normalcy. All we hear is excuse after excuse.

I agree that we are in a pandemic, but we know more than we did back in January of 2020. Truly, at some point, the Liberal government has to lead and has to have a plan instead of excuses. All we hear is, if it were not for the Conservatives or if it were not for the NDP. The Liberals will blame everybody but themselves. They point fingers left, right and centre, but truly never, ever—

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

Resuming debate, the hon. member for Lambton—Kent—Middlesex.