Debates of March 23rd, 2021

Opposition Motion— Plan for Reopening the Economy

[Derek Sloan, Independent, Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Madam Speaker, I just have a few comments to make here. I think there are some interesting things to be said about provincial-federal jurisdiction. On that note I would say that we need to see more leadership, even if only publicly, on a plan to get out of this.

Further, I would like to comment on some of the financial points that were made. I understood the member to be saying that basically they opened the floodgates and did everything they could to pump as much money as possible into the economy, but I do not think we could do that again. We are talking about variants. We have had various other types of diseases like SARS over the last 10 or 20 years. We will see a pandemic again at some point in the future.

How are we going to deal with this again? We cannot just keep opening the floodgates to the nth degree every single time we have a circumstance like this. What does the member have to say to that?

[Tony Van Bynen, Liberal, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Madam Speaker, I fully agree that the lesson we have learned until now is that we need to prepare ourselves for situations like this. We are a global village and any pandemic could transition to Canada. I do not think Canada is any more isolated than any other country. That would not be an accurate assessment.

What we need to do is to go back to determine what happened so that we can do better. Some great examples of that are in some of the learning coming out of the health committee, such as the fact that we should be better coordinating our data points, that we should be better designing and making sure that we are sustainable as far as manufacturing vaccines go.

Those are just a few examples of what we have learned and things that we need to learn from.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Madam Speaker, I think one of the things that has frustrated me about the government's response to this pandemic is this failure to understand the appropriate role and relationship between the public service and our political leaders. The public service offers us expert advice that reflects different expertise in different disciplines, and then it is the responsibility of our political leadership to take all of that advice on board from a health perspective, from an economic perspective and from a social perspective, and to chart a plan or vision for moving us forward in the public interest, in light of all the different expertise that it takes in. Instead, the government says that it is just going to trust the experts, without appreciating its role of receiving that expertise, aggregating it and really mapping out a plan going forward.

Does the member think that the government has a responsibility to actually chart a plan to get us out of this challenge, or does he think that the government can continue to abdicate its responsibility?

[Tony Van Bynen, Liberal, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Madam Speaker, I do not agree that the government is abdicating its responsibility. In fact, the government is taking a very responsible approach toward the plan. We are listening to science and coordinating a plan.

To suggest that this could be done within 20 business days is absolutely ludicrous and—

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

Resuming debate, the hon. member for Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Madam Speaker, before I address directly the motion before us today, I will first relay a story.

Back in 2017, the Prime Minister had an idea. His idea was to use an omnibus budget bill to create a new excise tax escalator on alcohol sold in Canada. This meant that the tax on most wine, beer and spirits sold in Canada would, by default, be increased every year without having to come to the House for debate. As opposition, we opposed this.

I warned the Liberal government what would happen if Canadian wines produced with 100% Canadian-grown grapes received an excise exemption. According to Wine Growers Canada, this excise exemption “resulted in more than 400 new wineries and 40 million litres of new wine sales....The annual economic impact of this growth is $4.4 billion annually.”

As I warned the Liberal government, the problem with the excise tax escalator was that it would make wine produced elsewhere but sold in Canada more expensive against Canadian wines that used 100% Canadian-grown grapes and that there would be a trade challenge on this. To make a long story short, there was. The same Liberal government capitulated and agreed to remove the excise exemption previously enjoyed by Canadian grape growers. In turn, the Liberal government promised a plan to offset the economic damage it created in this industry, but here we are in 2021 and there is still no plan.

I do not share this story today to say “I told you so”. I share this story with everyone as a reminder that when governments do not think ahead of their actions, they can make mistakes with serious consequences. Now more than ever, we need to be vigilant and plan; we need to plan for our future today.

Canada has fallen massively behind other countries in how we have dealt with this pandemic. We were slow to close the borders, we were behind on things like PPE and rapid tests and now we are behind on vaccines. We have spent the most for a country of our size, but we all know we have not gotten the results we desperately need. I do not say that as a finger-pointing exercise. No prime minister would want to willingly be in this situation. COVID-19 is certainly not his fault, but, as the highest office in the country with the most resources to do something, he is responsible.

How has the Prime Minister responded? Indeed, as many released documents under production orders are illustrating, the Prime Minister's Office has often tried to manipulate, hide, deceive or distract from these ongoing failures. Now, here we are. We as parliamentarians must do our jobs to do everything we can do to help with this recovery. If members are in doubt of that, I will share a few thoughts and observations that, if some members have not been thinking about, we need to start thinking about collectively.

Let us will start with employment insurance. We know that with the phase-out of the CERB, many have transitioned to EI. People who would not normally be eligible are now receiving record amounts from EI. The challenge is that EI, by law, is required to be a sustainable program. While the Liberal government refuses to disclose the current status of the EI account, we know that the parliamentary budget officer has forecast that the EI operating account is on track for a cumulative deficit of $52 billion by the end of 2024, and that is just an estimate. For every day of delay that we cannot deliver a plan to get our own economy back on track, the EI expenses will continue to exceed revenue.

This is not partisan politics. That is not some isolated situation. This is occurring in every region of our country today. Again, EI must be sustainable. The EI account will not balance itself; it will require a serious plan. If employers are not hiring or are continuing to bleed staff, that will result in more weight on our EI system. That means higher EI premiums to make up the shortfall on those employers and fewer and fewer employees, yet the Prime Minister and his ministers continue to ignore this reality. I believe we all know, collectively, that Canada ignores problems like this at our peril. That is just one example of a need for an economic recovery plan.

I will give another from my riding.

The Okanagan, like other regions of Canada, relies heavily on tourism. We now have situations where American citizens who have been fully inoculated, 200 million-plus more every day, are calling to make reservations for upcoming summer and winter vacations. If we do not start signalling by what science-based metrics we will abide by as well as who and under what conditions these tourists can come, they simply will go to other places and spend their dollars somewhere else, not here in Canada, where our small-scale accommodation providers and those small businesses that have been absolutely decimated by this pandemic are in a situation where many are living off credit. They are having tens of thousands of dollars of bookings being thrown at them and they have no idea what to do. Why? Because the Prime Minister has been totally silent in announcing any kind of recovery plan.

While a lot of tourism is road traffic, let us not forget that many travel to my home province of B.C. by airplane. For those in the aviation sector, it has been just devastating. Here we are, one year into the pandemic and there is no plan, not even an assistance package for this critical industry. What will be the long-term impacts for Canadians be if our aviation sector cannot survive? What of our tourism sector?

Here is something I thought I would never see in my region. Kelowna International Airport is a major artery for economic development of the Okanagan, yet due to its ownership under the City of Kelowna, it has not received a dime in support from the federal government's wage subsidy.

In 2019, YLW was booming and had large and ambitious expansion plans. Major parts of that plan have had to be put on hold because of the pandemic. Without any strong COVID recovery plan, like the Leader of the Opposition has called for, the failure of the Prime Minister to act means less opportunity for jobs and investments both at the airport and around our region that rely on YLW.

The director of Kelowna International Airport, Sam Samaddar, has said that without immediate changes, our country could see Canadians driving to the U.S. to catch cheaper flights from American airports when things return to normal in the future, because of Ottawa's low level of assistance now.

In the Kelowna Daily Courier last week, Sam Samaddar said:

The Canadian government’s investment in the aviation industry, it’s been appalling to be honest with you....And here we are a year into the pandemic and I can’t believe we still do not have automatic contact tracing.

We are behind on contact tracing and on stockpiling PPE, rapid testing and vaccines. Speaking of vaccines, the Prime Minister has suggested that everyone who wants to be vaccinated will be so by the end of September. The problem is that losing another summer for tourism is a price that many can no longer afford.

I am certain I am not alone in seeing a growing number of “For lease” signs going up in many downtowns throughout my riding. Many of these small businesses that are closing have been around for many years. Most that I have heard from are either closing because they can no longer afford to keep the doors open or, in some cases, they do not see any clarity, they do not see any point and would rather cut their losses now.

Again, there is no plan from the Prime Minister. What we have heard is things like “build back better”. What does that even mean? People cannot build anything without a budget. The Prime Minister has refused to table a budget for over two years. To build back better without a plan, nothing can be built. Essentially “build back better” is just another series of buzzwords.

When we look around our communities, nothing is being built by the government right now. A revised mandate letter was sent out earlier this year, in which the Prime Minister instructed his finance minister not to commit to any new permanent spending. Only months later, the same Prime Minister promised to permanently increase transit spending, most of it five years down the road. That is the problem.

The Prime Minister literally makes it up day by day. First, we are not increasing permanent spending, until we are. Most of it is five years down the road. We have no budget to show how that promise will actually get paid for. What could go wrong here? I think we all know that is not good governance.

In the absence of a plan, that is what we get: made-up promises as we go along. Five years from today, that massive EI deficit in the billions is going to need to somehow be paid for. How? By who? Will workers premiums be further increased? If so, that leaves less net take-home pay at a time when inflation may be undermining our dollar. Is that what building back better looks like? If so, many would dispute that this is a better outcome.

One thing we do know is that these problems will not solve themselves. We all know that this current level of spending is not sustainable. I expect that when the Prime Minister first told his finance minister not to create any new permanent spending announcements, he did so with good reason. We also know that an election is coming at some point on the horizon and that the Prime Minister will only announce more spending. It is what he does.

The challenge is that we need a plan today, one that is scrutinized in this minority Parliament, one that is data-driven, that gives people hope and certainty. We need a plan that will help serve as our road map for how we deal with other countries that are ahead of us in dealing with the pandemic. We critically need to help small business. Let us not forget—

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

Questions and comments, the hon. member for Kingston and the Islands.

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

Madam Speaker, the member talked about the EI system, taking care of that and how we had to help Canadians out by using that system during this time. He raises some very good questions about how that repayment has to happen, how we have to build that pool of money up again, on which the EI system banks.

I have a question for the member and I hope he takes it as a genuine question. Does he think we should not have spent that money? Does he think we should have spent less money? I am trying to understand where he is coming from. Yes, we have challenging questions ahead of us, but does he regret this Parliament having voted unanimously in favour of moving forward with those measures?

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Madam Speaker, I will simply remind the member that I was the former critic for the employment minister and we agreed to much of the COVID-19 spending, because people needed it then. However, what people need now is certainty so they can plan their businesses. They need hope so they know that Canada, when we work together, can get further together.

The member talked about the motion. We are calling for a clear data-driven plan to support safely, gradually and permanently lifting COVID-19 restrictions. I am asking for that. We need to answer those questions. The government is the highest office in the land and it is the best prepared to do this. Let us see some leadership from the Prime Minister.

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

Madam Speaker, I have to agree with my colleague about the plan. We both live in similar ridings. Sun Peaks Resort and Big White Ski Resort are beautiful ski resorts. They and have been hanging on. However, people from across the border come here. They own homes here. They are saying that they just need a plan. They need to know if people are fully vaccinated. They want to know if that will be one of the criteria for the border reopening. They want to know what kind of dimensions or data we looking at on either side of the border because they have put significant money into real estate. They have been very gracious throughout this. They understand what is going on, but they want to have a plan. I expect my colleague has also heard very similar stories. I wonder if he could share some of them.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Madam Speaker, as I mentioned in my speech, many hoteliers and many tourism operations right now are being asked if Americans can book, if they come here. The answer is that they do not know. They have no surety of how many staff they need to get and whether they can take deposits.

If we look at it, the Prime Minister has been in office longer than President Biden and Prime Minister Boris Johnson, yet those two leaders have put forward plans that show people a clear, data-driven approach they will take to have a reopening.

Where is our Prime Minister? He is doing announcements and trying to spend money. Again, he is not the same position we see other leaders in who have less experience. Why? It is a lack of leadership. If the Prime Minister still wants the job, he should start acting like it.

[Derek Sloan, Independent, Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Madam Speaker, in my view, there has been a lot of unnecessary fearmongering in relation to COVID-19 and I say it in this context. We have seen provincial and federal leaders not give us the correct clarity. We have seen case counts and death counts. Alberta, to its credit, has segmented it, so we can see that the majority of people who are suffering are seniors with multiple comorbidities. This information is helpful so not everybody will be afraid.

What could the Prime Minister have done to provide needed clarity and context so we do not see young children develop mental disorders over the fear of COVID-19?

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Madam Speaker, my leader announced a recovery plan that would cover employment, getting that over one million jobs, seeing supports for mental health, like a national hotline that people could call, and seeing more accountability from the government. As we have seen time and time again, there is no transparency from the Liberal government.

These are the kinds of things Canadians want to hear from their leaders. Quite honestly, if the Prime Minister is not prepared to start presenting these things, he should simply resign from the position and let someone like my leader, who knows where the country needs to go to, give hope to Canadians.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Madam Speaker, I want to share some good news with the House. The Seattle Mariners will host 9,000 fans. They just got approval from Washington State, a very progressive and woke state south of the border, whose ideological inclinations are very similar to the government's. They have signed off on a safe plan, according to that state, to allow 9,000 fans to participate at a major sporting event in Seattle.

Simultaneously we got the news that our Toronto Blue Jays are not going to be able to do anything similar. In fact, they put out a statement in which they said, “we had hoped to see improvements in the public health outlook as we neared the baseball season. With the ongoing Canada-U.S. border closure, we have made the difficult decision to play the first two homestands of the 2021 regular season...at TD Ballpark in [Florida]”. The Floridian businesses will get all of the benefit of that major sporting event.

It is not just sporting events that are reopening around the world. Australians and New Zealanders are finalizing plans for quarantine-free travel across the border between their two countries. Then there is Taiwan, which has pretty much the lowest COVID mortality rate on planet earth, even though it is right next door to the country from whence COVID originated.

The Brookings Institution, a progressive U.S. think tank, stated:

Taiwan has managed the spread of COVID-19 far better than most: It suffered only seven deaths among its 23.5 million people in 2020. Except for a few short weeks of lockdown in March last year, life in Taiwan has been normal. Schools, offices, and restaurants have been open as usual, although with temperature screening, hand sanitizing, and social distancing. Live concerts by Yo-Yo Ma and performances of “Phantom of the Opera” have attracted thousands of people into indoor arenas.

All of this is happening with seven deaths. It is not seven deaths per 100,000 or seven deaths per million. It is seven total deaths since COVID started in the country right next door. In fact, Canada now has 601 deaths per million; Taiwan has 0.42; Singapore has 5.13; and Australia has 35.6. In other words, even if we just compare Canada to Australia in that group, we have a factor of 20 times higher deaths per capita than they do, and we have among the most severe restrictions on our lives.

It is easy to wave one's hand and ask who cares about baseball or artistic conferences or travel between countries, as none of those things are core to human existence, so we ought not worry about the fact that they are still largely eliminated and restricted. However, the reality is they are but symbols of the massive human sacrifice that our people are being forced to make. Not only do we have a ranking of roughly 45 vaccinations per capita, we are ranked 11 out of 15 in the misery index. That is the overall combined misery that we have suffered during the COVID pandemic, according to the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.

This is not just numbers and statistics. It is human lives. Calls to one suicide prevention line have risen 200% over the last year, reports CBC. That has prompted a Conservative MP from British Columbia to put forward a motion for a single suicide hotline. It is a good idea, but one that we wish we did not have to pursue. We wish there was no need for suicide hotlines, but the University of Calgary has found that for every one percentage point increase in unemployment, there is a two percentage point increase in suicides across Canada. That is the human cost.

Let us go not just to suicides, but also to drug overdoses, which have also spiked during the pandemic. They were up 50% in both Alberta and Ontario during the times Canadians were forced to lock themselves down. These statistics reflect what has happened right across the country.

Even the chief public health officer, Theresa Tam, wrote, “Statistics Canada found lower life satisfaction among unemployed Canadians and noted that this relationship is about more than just money”. She is pointing out in that statement what Canadians who are suffering lockdown in their homes or are restricted from their jobs have known all along.

This is not just a massive $100-billion economic crisis, though it definitely is that. This is not just about a $400-billion deficit, which is by far the biggest in Canadian history. This is about people's human and very real suffering, which has led to higher mortality rates in countless other areas. I think not only of the drug and opioid overdoses, but also of the suffering of seniors, many of whom, in the tragic stories we have all heard, have had to die alone, separated from the loved ones they have known all of their lives.

In a message I received recently from a senior, she told me she does not know what she has to live for. She has not seen her grandchild for a year and has not seen some of her children for an equally long time. Many of the activities that she enjoyed doing are now banned, and because she is over 80, she does not know how much time she has left. For someone in that age bracket, time is a precious and shrinking commodity, a reality the government, through its incompetence in managing the COVID situation, has exacerbated day by day. This is the very real human suffering that has resulted from the government's failure to safely protect our country from this pandemic and allow us to go forward and reopen our economy while protecting human lives.

For example, I think of our friends in Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was on the phone at 3 a.m. with the companies responsible for delivering the vaccines. As a result, he was able to deliver more than 100 vaccines for every 100 Israelis, whereas we are now at around five. Tiny Israel, a small country with endless security and economic challenges, surrounded by hostile states, many of which are controlled by terrorists and tyrants, is managing to outperform Canada.

Then we can look at the other countries of the world, such as Singapore, a tiny island with no resources, and Taiwan, which is right next door to the origin of the disease. I know the Liberals across the way are thinking that Israel, Taiwan and Singapore are ahead of Canada because they are such advanced countries with which we cannot expect to compete.

There was a time when Canada had an advanced economy and was among the best places on earth to do business and deliver the necessities of human life. Sadly, those days are slipping away. I fear that we are accepting slowly, as the frog in the heating water, the “loserdom” the government is bringing us into. We have the highest deficit as a share of GDP in the G20, the worst vaccination rates in the G7 and the highest unemployment rate in the G7. These are the results for Canada.

There is almost a quiet acceptance that Canada, a country that used to be the best, can be behind the rest of the world. It used to be that the United Nations would say we were the best place on planet earth to live. We do not hear people talking like that anymore. They now talk about Ireland, which has a GDP per capita that is 70% higher than Canada. That is a country with a fraction of the resources and land of Canada, and nowhere near the geographic advantage we enjoy here.

We have to say enough is enough, that we are not going to accept “loserdom” anymore. We as a country should be the best, not just at procuring vaccines and protecting our population, but also at everything else. We have been blessed with more natural advantages than any country on earth and maybe any country in the history of the world.

It is time for us to hold ourselves and our government to a higher standard, so we can live up to the expectations we as Canadians had for so long. We need to pass on to the next generation a country that is second to none.

[Adam Vaughan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families]

Madam Speaker, I listened to the long litany of what I assume were facts that the member presented. Although I am a journalist, every time journalists hear a politician use a number with a zero at the end it, we get a little nervous. They either round it up or round it down for political reasons. Fifty-four per cent of his party members cannot even get their head around the facts of climate change, so I will spare my analysis of his representation of the facts.

The member referenced Australia. I would like to know from the member opposite whether any trucks crossed an international border to get to Australia during the pandemic, or whether nurses in a city in Australia crossed a river to get to work in another country and provided health services in a place like, say, Detroit, during the pandemic and then had to return home at night.

I would like to ask the member opposite as well, as he cherry picks everything, about his lavish, all-inclusive, champagne and penthouse trip to Taiwan with his wife, which was completely somehow avoided in his disclosure to the offices of Parliament. I would like to ask whether his indulgence with free travel played a role, in his quoting of Taiwan as a country to cite around COVID—

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

The hon. member for Carleton.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Madam Speaker, of course the member's smear is absolutely false and most of his question was replete with factual errors. I can tell him that of the 2,000 people who came to Canada from the most affected region of China, after the military warned his government of a brewing pandemic in that country, none arrived by truck either. They all got here by plane, unless he is aware of a trans-oceanic bridge that they would have taken. No, they came here because his government left the borders open even after we warned it not to.

This member, of all members, should not be lecturing about politicians using numbers with zeroes on them. He regularly brags about how he has a $70-billion housing plan that has been delivered to 10,000 homeless people in his hometown of Toronto. Toronto is now the sixth most expensive real estate market on planet earth, even though we live in one of the least densely populated countries in the world. He has been responsible for housing in that city for the last 15 or 20 years, and with all the money he is proud of spending, he has delivered one of the worst possible results.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Madam Speaker, I am actually very interested to know what the hon. member for Carleton thinks about the approach that Australia took to its jurisdictional differences. Like Canada, Australia has very powerful state governments, as we have provinces, but it organized differently. The Australians had their federal national public health officer, the equivalent of our Dr. Theresa Tam, at the same table with each of the provincial health officers, their equivalents of our Bonnie Henry and our Rob Strang.

I am wondering if the hon. member thinks we might learn something about jurisdictional coordination to better approach pandemics from how Australia handled the COVID-19 crisis versus how Canada handled it.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, certainly the Australians, like people in almost every other country in our peer group, undertook practices that we could learn from. Here in Canada, there is no doubt that there was a lack of coordination, but part of it was that the government was spreading dangerous misinformation right from the get-go.

The Liberals told us that it would not help, in fact it would harm, if we closed our borders to travel from the affected countries. We later learned that they were wrong, and they now admit they were wrong about that. They actually told Canadians not to wear masks and then they flip-flopped and changed their minds on that.

The government's constant dissemination of false and misleading information is one of the core reasons why Canada has had, comparatively, such a poor response to this pandemic, relative to other countries.

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK]

Madam Speaker, my colleague's remarks here today have been very thoughtful, and I want to make note of his reflections on the impact on the human condition, both intended and unintended, and the consequences that we have seen. Certainly people are beginning to talk about an echo pandemic when it comes to mental health, including stress, anxiety, depression and suicide. They are also talking about the impacts on seniors, which he alluded to, where seniors have felt that they have lost control over their lives, as they have not been involved in the decision-making. I am wondering if the member could comment on these two points.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Madam Speaker, the member makes a very good point. I am very proud to partially share a riding name with her, even though she is from the wonderful province of Saskatchewan and my riding is in Ontario. However, I agree with everything she said, and I wish she had more time to say more on it.

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe.

I will begin where we left off, with the Conservative members.

All day long, I have been listening to the Conservatives speak, such as the member for Carleton who spoke about “loserdom”. I should not be surprised, but I cannot believe I am hearing members of the opposition speaking about a public health crisis, which every single country is facing, in this manner. Every measure that has been put in place has been done with the health and safety of Canadians at the forefront.

As other members have pointed out throughout the day, the member for Kingston and the Islands went through the technical issues with the motion before us, and the fact that members on the floor from the Conservative side are trying to rewrite or downplay the language in the motion to suggest that it is somehow to come up with a framework. However, every speech I have listened to from Conservative members today speaks about the need to just reopen. It is like they have completely forgotten about the fact, or do not want to be confused by the fact, that there is a global health pandemic crisis ongoing.

Recently, we have seen over 5,100 new COVID cases involving the highest transmission strains. The highest numbers are in Alberta, Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec. However, the Conservatives stand and speak, one after the other, to say that we just have to reopen, and they point to the U.S. time and again as an example of reopening. The member for Carleton referred to the U.S. and Florida. Has anybody from the Conservative Party been watching what is happening in Miami, Florida right now? Are they seeing the incredible number of cases on the rise, and the number of people gathering? In fact, the Miami local government has issued curfews, road closures and, incredibly, more restrictions.

The Conservative Party is not known as the party of science and facts. I guess it never was, but it reconfirmed that over the weekend. This is a party that does not even understand that climate change is real. Conservatives claim that climate change is not real and therefore nothing should be done about it, and they want Canadians to put trust in them to handle a pandemic for which trust in scientists is at the forefront. Instead, they believe they know better than the experts, because they say so.

We are here to say that we are following public health guidance. We are going to listen to scientists and experts, because that is the way we are going to keep Canadians safe and ensure that we can open the economy safely and successfully in the future.

The other point I would like to raise is on the disinformation that the Conservative Party, starting with its leader, puts out. Conservatives continue to say that the Liberals want us to live in lockdown forever. This could not be further from the truth. The member for Carleton always references the “misery index”. Canadians are absolutely tired of this pandemic. We, as Liberals, are tired of this pandemic. Nobody wants to see their friends, family or neighbours get sick. However, if we do not have restrictions in place, and if we do not put strong health measures at the forefront of our policy, then what is even more miserable is seeing a loved one die. It is never being able to hug that loved one again because they have died.

With all the hyperbole that is going on with the Conservatives, I think that Canadians want to be assured that their leaders are following the best possible advice to ensure that Canadians remain safe. Hopefully, we can get through this crisis together and resume normal life again, but we are not going to get there with Conservatives rushing to a conclusion that is not based on science and evidence.

I want to go over a few of the areas the Conservatives continue to talk about. They say that it is time to reopen and keep pointing to the U.S. and the U.K., but I already brought up what is happening in Miami and the U.S.

It is nice the member for Carleton supports the state of Washington making its own local health decisions, but somehow Conservatives do not think provinces and territories have the ability and know-how to do that in this country, and want the federal government to go in with a top-down approach. It is interesting that they support U.S. state autonomy but not Canadian provincial and territorial autonomy.

Let me go over a few of the global health reactions right now to give Conservatives some perspective, because they seem pretty closed-minded to what is happening around the world. We are seeing lockdowns in Germany over the Easter holidays. Paris and France are entering a third-wave lockdown that includes 21 million people. Italy is having another Easter lockdown. Greece is currently closing schools and extending closures. The Czech Republic, one of the hardest hit countries in the EU—

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

I have to interrupt the hon. member.

The hon. parliamentary secretary will have three minutes remaining in the debate and five minutes of questions and comments after Oral Questions.

Rapid Housing Initiative

[Adam Vaughan, Liberal, Spadina—Fort York, ON]

Madam Speaker, a little over 20 weeks ago, our government announced the rapid housing initiative, a $1 billion investment. It did not just protect people in precarious shelters from COVID. It was also accompanied by a bold commitment in the throne speech to end chronic homelessness.

I am proud of, and quite frankly amazed by, how the program has achieved its stated goals. The plan was to create 3,000 units of housing and to work directly with municipalities and front-line housing providers. By working with the cities we can move fast, but by working with housing providers we also managed to make the dollars work deeper. Over 4,777 units of housing were created and acquired. Almost two-thirds of the projects in the project stream will fund indigenous-led housing programs and, because many of these units will house families and children, the actual number of people housed will be well clear of 5,000 people. When added to the now $70 billion national housing strategy, it is clear that ending homelessness is within reach.

Our government knows there is more to do, but we also know what works. The good news is that there is more good news on the way.

COVID-19 Emergency Response

[David Sweet, Conservative, Flamborough—Glanbrook, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the failure to close the borders early, the elimination of the pandemic planning infrastructure and the lack of a true, national pandemic response with all provinces and parties caused more casualties than necessary in the COVID pandemic. Now, severe government restrictions have caused such a rationing of health care that one-quarter of a million urgent surgeries have been delayed. Sixty per cent of Canadians report minor to major mental health issues due to lockdowns, and one oncologist reports that we have a tsunami of cancer coming with screenings and early diagnosis at dangerous lows.

At a Hamilton hospital, youth suicide attempts are up threefold. Thousands of people have died alone and families were not able to have proper funerals for closure. Added to that are tens of thousands of small businesses, and the families they support, that have experienced financial ruin due to unreasonable restrictions: restrictions that unfairly affect single moms, our youth and hourly workers. People know how to socially distance, wear masks when needed and sanitize their hands and surfaces. Governments need to trust citizens and entrepreneurs to be safe, vastly reduce restrictions such as the Ontario green model, and let people have a semblance of normality after a year of COVID sacrifice.