Debates of March 26th, 2021

Housing

[Richard Cannings, NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

Madam Speaker, we are in a housing crisis in Canada. Many people are finding it very difficult to secure a roof over their heads, and it is often impossible for people who find themselves homeless through mental illness or addiction.

I have been very proud of the hard work and collaboration of various groups in my home town of Penticton to find and build homes for the homeless as well as housing for low-income families and seniors. The Government of British Columbia has really stepped up in the last four years as well. It has been impressive, but it has not been perfect. We have hit a bump in the road as projects for people who need wraparound services have caused concern in the community.

This is not the time for verbal sparring. This is not the time to say that this cannot be done. However, it is a time to sit down with those who know the needs of the homeless community, to listen to neighbourhood concerns and to find the funding and solutions that ensure neighbours feel safe and that no one will be left out on the street.

Invisible Work Day

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Madam Speaker, today I would like to draw your attention to an important campaign to promote Invisible Work Day, which was established in 2011 by the Association féminine d'éducation et d'action sociale, or Afeas.

In 2010, thanks to the work of Bloc Québécois MP Nicole Demers, a motion received the unanimous support of the House to designate the first Tuesday in April as a day to reflect on this important issue. Ever since, this day has remained invisible, so to speak. The pandemic was a wake-up call: It exposed the nature of this work as a result of the lockdown, school and work going online, additional workload for family caregivers, and much more.

I would like to congratulate Afeas and the inter-organizational committee for everything they have done to mobilize the public and decision-makers to recognize and value invisible work, which adds so much to women's mental load. Invisible work counts.

The Economy

[Robert Gordon Kitchen, Conservative, Souris—Moose Mountain, SK]

Madam Speaker, after over two years without a federal budget, Canadians are looking for some security and certainty for the future, especially when it comes to jobs. The Prime Minister seems to think that he and his government somehow know what is best for the people of my home province of Saskatchewan and all Canadians across the country. His Ottawa-knows-best approach to his economic reset will do absolutely nothing to help hard-working Canadians who just want to pay their bills and put food on the table. Canadians want a hand up, not a handout. Thankfully, there are other options.

We Conservatives have put forward Canada's recovery plan, which would enact a comprehensive strategy to put Canadians back to work across the country. We will secure jobs, secure accountability, secure mental health, secure the country and secure our economy. Unlike the Liberals, we will focus on the hardest-hit sectors, such as small business. We will work to ensure that Canada provides the necessary incentives needed to create an environment that encourages investment, rather than hinders it, in all industries for all Canadians.

Purple Day

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Madam Speaker, today is Purple Day, a day dedicated to increasing awareness about epilepsy, a neurological disorder of the central nervous system, specifically the brain.

My friend Cassidy Megan created the idea of Purple Day in 2008, motivated by her own struggles with epilepsy. Since then, Purple Day has continued to grow and has helped to dispel myths, reduce stigma and help those living with epilepsy know they are not alone.

In 2012, I was delighted when Parliament gave unanimous support to my private member's bill, Bill C-278, an act respecting a day to increase public awareness about epilepsy. The bill became law, making March 26 officially Purple Day in Canada. Now, each year on this date, people on every continent and in over 70 countries wear purple and host events in support of people with epilepsy.

This cause is very important to me and I am so proud of Cassidy Megan for her ongoing work to grow Purple Day and raise global awareness of epilepsy.

Health

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Madam Speaker, the Auditor General issued a scathing report yesterday. She said she was discouraged by how the government handled matters pertaining to the border a year ago.

What matters most to Canadians right now is vaccine supply. We know that India has cut off the supply. We know that the European Union has tightened measures. Canada needs vaccines.

What is the government's plan? More importantly, what kind of delays can Canadians expect?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Madam Speaker, of course we are thrilled to have reached our target of securing six million doses in the first quarter, and those doses are already here. On top of that, we expect another three million doses to arrive next week.

We did experience a slight delay with one supplier due to internal quality control concerns, but we are determined to maintain the momentum when it comes to importing and supplying vaccines for all Canadians.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Madam Speaker, to be mindful and, more importantly, credible, one needs to be consistent. However, what happened is that the government said one thing and then the opposite in a very short time.

On Wednesday, the procurement minister told the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates that the government did not expect any interruption in the deliveries from Europe. However, yesterday, the same minister issued a press release in which she said that we will not be getting the Moderna vaccines this weekend as expected, but that they will be arriving next week instead. Who should we believe? Wednesday's minister or Thursday's minister?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Madam Speaker, the minister did in fact issue a press release yesterday saying that she had just been informed that the company in question was experiencing quality control issues. As a result, there will be slight delay of just a few days in the arrival of approximately 600,000 doses in Canada.

Next week, we will receive three million doses to distribute to the provinces and territories, which will enable us to continue providing vaccines to Canadians.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Madam Speaker, there is our answer. The Thursday minister is correct, not the Wednesday minister.

The fact of the matter is that when there are vaccine supply problems, fewer Canadians get vaccinated, which further delays the reopening of the economy. That is why this issue is so important.

The government did not negotiate assurances with the suppliers and that is why Canada is lagging behind. Does the government realize that its failures are delaying the reopening?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Madam Speaker, I can assure my hon. colleague by saying that the government monitors vaccine supply and the arrival of vaccine doses.

That is why we were able to move up delivery of nearly two million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, including 1.5 million doses from the United States next week through our agreement with the U.S. government. We have proven that we can acquire vaccine doses and move up their delivery and that is what we will continue to do.

Foreign Affairs

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Madam Speaker, I have a very simple question for the government.

At the same time as the trial of Mr. Spavor was taking place last Friday in northern China and at the same time as the trial of Mr. Kovrig was taking place in Beijing last Monday, the government transferred $40 million to the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, China's attempt to expand its influence throughout the Indo-Pacific region.

Why is the government not using every tool at its disposal, including the suspension of this payment, to secure the release of Mr. Kovrig and Mr. Spavor?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Madam Speaker, our number one priority at the moment is to secure the release of two Canadians, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig who have been arbitrarily detained on trumped-up charges by the Chinese government, and we will spare no effort to get their safe return home. We will continue to point out that China is practising an unacceptable diplomacy by engaging in arbitrary detention.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Madam Speaker, the government says that it likes to work multilaterally but often does not when given the chance.

In 2015, President Obama and Vice-President Biden asked the government not to join the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Now, several years later, it is clear President Biden was right about China's threats in Indo-Pacific, and Mr. Kovrig and Mr. Spavor are paying the price.

Will the government admit it made a mistake, suspend these payments and withdraw from the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank ?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Madam Speaker, we do indeed work with our allies when we want to bring up extremely serious problems that are occurring with China, namely the issue of arbitrary detention and the gross violations of human rights that are occurring in Xinjiang with the Uighurs and other ethnic minorities. We will work with our partners, multilaterally in a coordinated fashion, to bring these extremely important issues to the attention of China, and we will continue to do so until those problems are resolved.

Health

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Madam Speaker, yesterday, the Canadian Medical Association announced that health care costs for seniors are projected to reach $490 billion over the next 10 years. That $490 billion is just for elder care. It does not include care for children, care for people with serious illnesses or mental health care. I could go on all day. That is exactly why, in tabling its budget yesterday, Quebec reiterated that Ottawa needs to increase health transfers to cover 35% of expenditures.

When will the government stop ignoring the fact that health care needs are skyrocketing?

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Seniors]

Madam Speaker, I am happy to answer this question.

Members know that the Prime Minister has met with all provincial and territorial premiers. They have spoken about health care. Work is under way.

The federal government has invested half a billion dollars to help seniors and other Canadians get the essential services they need, such as grocery deliveries. We allocated an additional $20 million for the new horizons program, $350 million for organizations and $9 million for the United Way.

I could go on, but we have been there for seniors and we will always be there for them.

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Madam Speaker, I cannot believe it. The figure is $490 billion, yet he spoke about $20 million and $500 million. I am not at all reassured.

Ottawa is making cuts to health care, as everyone has pointed out, including the Canadian Medical Association, the Conference Board of Canada, the Council of the Federation, the Quebec National Assembly, the unions, and even the House of Commons.

Quebec demonstrated this once again in its budget yesterday by investing another $10 billion while the federal share continues to decline. Its share was 50%, but it will dwindle to less than 18% within 20 years. The Liberals must stop repeating that they are there for Quebec and the provinces. Quebec and the provinces are saying the opposite.

When will they do their part?

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Seniors]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question.

As I mentioned earlier, the Prime Minister is in constant communication with the premiers of every province and territory. That topic has been discussed. The Prime Minister has made a commitment to work on this file.

We will continue our work on behalf of our seniors, our citizens. We are also taking steps to promptly pay out the Canada pension plan and old age security benefits that seniors rely on. We are investing millions of dollars to process new applications as quickly as possible.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Madam Speaker, the Auditor General of Canada unequivocally stated that the Public Health Agency of Canada failed to fulfill its mandate during this pandemic.

Because of underfunding under Liberal and Conservative governments, the agency underestimated the impact of COVID-19 and was not ready to protect Canadians. The agency did not even keep the public properly informed in both official languages, thereby violating francophones' language rights and jeopardizing their safety.

Will the Liberals remedy the situation and give the agency and the public service the resources to protect us from another pandemic?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Madam Speaker, we have a huge debt of gratitude to the civil servants who have worked so hard throughout the pandemic to protect Canadians.

In fact, the Public Health Agency of Canada has expanded by more than 1,000 employees, including 150 new scientists. There is $690.7 million invested in PHAC over two years in the fall 2020 economic statement.

I look forward to the member opposite's support for passing Bill C-14.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Madam Speaker, the Auditor General's report clearly shows that the federal government's pandemic response failed Canadians. Issues were flagged as far back as 1999, and emphasized after the 2003 SARS and 2009 H1N1 outbreaks, yet the Public Health Agency of Canada failed to address these long-standing problems. It is inconceivable that Canada used risk assessment tools for domestic outbreaks when it was clear at the outset that this was an international one.

How can the Liberals justify these kinds of errors, and will the minister assure Canadians that she will fix the many problems highlighted by this report so that Canada is never in this position?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Madam Speaker, I agree with the member opposite that we can never be in this position again. That is why we are committing over $690 million in the fall economic statement.

I look forward to the member's support for the passage of Bill C-14. This is, of course, an investment in the Public Health Agency of Canada, to continue its hard work. As I have mentioned, it has added well over 1,000 employees since the beginning of the pandemic, and we will stop at nothing to ensure we have a world-class public health agency.

National Defence

[Alex Ruff, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

Madam Speaker, the Minister of National Defence said he cannot involve himself in investigations, but Wednesday the minister ordered the Chief of the Defence Staff to review an investigation that just closed.

The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service told committee that the minister can absolutely refer investigations to them.

Can the minister appreciate that, to many serving women, these different responses could be perceived as hypocritical and inconsistent?

[Anita Vandenbeld, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence]

Madam Speaker, the Minister of National Defence has asked Lieutenant-General Eyre to review how this matter was handled.

Let me be clear, the minister has not directed any investigation. Drawing an elected official, a politician, into the sequence of an investigation would have been wrong and dangerous. Politicizing any investigation threatens a just outcome for those who come forward.

[Alex Ruff, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

Madam Speaker, the minister has said he referred the matter to the Privy Council for investigation. The Prime Minister's national security adviser, who would have handled it, said he was never even made aware of allegations against General Vance.

The minister has said the ombudsman should have investigated, but current ombudsman Greg Lick told the committee yesterday that Gary Walbourne acted exactly the way an ombudsman should.

What lessons has the minister personally learned from this failure to investigate, and what actions has he taken to ensure the same mistakes do not happen again?