Debates of March 9th, 2021

Opposition Motion—Measures to Support Canadian Workers

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

We will go on to the next question.

The hon. member for Thérèse-De Blainville.

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

Mr. Speaker, we often hear them talk about helping Canadians. Nobody is against that. We all know there is a crisis.

All these speeches about their record suggest the Liberals are frozen in time. They seem to be stuck back in March 2020, whereas we are in the second wave of the pandemic and need to get out of it.

The really sad thing is their lack of vision. We would like to know their plans for recovery. They have not tabled a budget in two years. Maybe they will do so in April. That is the point of the motion. Certain sectors need more targeted assistance.

They keep talking about the past, but what is their vision for the future?

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

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

I completely agree that we need to be able to respond, and that is what we did in January. Just a couple of months ago we launched a new program for highly affected sectors. We saw how much this program was needed, for example, for our restaurants, the tourism industry and the hospitality industry.

Today we obviously want to debate Bill C-24, which gives the workers in Canada and Quebec who need it a few additional weeks of benefits.

We are constantly responding and adjusting our plan to meet the needs on the ground.

[Scott Duvall, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I want to touch on what the parliamentary secretary said about the wage subsidy and the way that is happening. Public reporting suggest that between the start of the pandemic and, I believe, September 30, Air Canada has received about $492 million. That would make it one of the largest recipients of the wage subsidy in Canada. Despite this, workers who have been laid off have not been offered the wage subsidy.

This is happening not only at Air Canada but also at WestJet. Does the member know why this is happening, when the money was supposed to be going to protecting workers' jobs?

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we received approximately 430,000 distinct applications for the wage subsidy. We did not discriminate on size because a worker who works for Air Canada is just as deserving of support from this federal government as a worker working for a small business. As much as I am obviously a huge proponent for small businesses right across the country, I believe that all Canadian workers, regardless of where they work, deserve the support of this federal government.

[Julie Dzerowicz, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is an absolute honour for me to participate in today's debate on behalf of the residents of my riding of Davenport. Today's opposition day motion calls on our federal government to introduce new supports in the upcoming budget to help workers, families and small businesses struggling the most in this economic downturn and, in particular, those in industries most highly impacted, like arts and culture, hospitality and aviation, and to take some additional measures to prevent bankruptcies and layoffs as much as possible.

As we know, COVID-19 has had wide-ranging impacts in Canada. It has cost lives, jobs and the financial security of millions. This winter, we know, has been particularly tough on many business owners and their employees across the country, but Canadian businesses have shown tremendous resilience in adapting to these challenges by adjusting their operations to keep Canadians safe, pivoting to new business models and scaling down their costs during times of weaker demand. I have seen that resilience right across my own riding of Davenport.

At the beginning of the pandemic, our government moved quickly and urgently to introduce comprehensive supports for Canadian workers and businesses impacted by COVID-19. As the pandemic has evolved, the government has monitored economic conditions closely and listened to feedback and made sure to continually bring forward more help and adjust our programs to address the issues that businesses and constituents have raised.

Let me run through some of the supports. Shortly after the pandemic started, the government introduced the Canada emergency commercial rent assistance program, known as CECRA, for small businesses, in partnership with the provinces and territories. This initiative was to lower rent by 75% for small businesses impacted by COVID-19. In the end, all told, CECRA provided over $2 billion to more than 140,000 Canadian businesses across the country to help with their rent payments, supporting over 1.2 million workers. However, because the application proved to be challenging and many landlords were not persuaded to apply, in late 2020, the federal government transitioned to a new program that allowed small businesses to apply directly without their landlords.

The current rent subsidy provides a maximum base rate of 65% for businesses that have experienced a a revenue drop of 70% or more. There is also an additional lockdown support, which provides an additional top-up of 25% for those forced to close under any mandatory local public health-ordered lockdowns. That adds up to a 90% rent subsidy for those under lockdown orders, such as in Toronto, although that lockdown was lifted earlier this week. To date, more than 134,000 small businesses have been approved for the rent subsidy and more than 54,000 have benefited from the 90% lockdown support benefit.

This government has also provided liquidity support to businesses and non-profits to help them with their operating costs. Last year, the federal government launched the Canada emergency business account, known as CEBA. This program provides zero-interest, partially forgivable loans to small businesses and other organizations that have experienced diminished revenues due to COVID-19, but who face ongoing costs that just cannot be avoided or delayed. By providing assistance and covering costs, CEBA is intended as a bridge until normal operations can resume after COVID-19.

Initially, CEBA provided loans of up to $40,000 to small businesses and not-for-profits, with loan forgiveness of up to $10,000. Then we expanded the program to make an additional $20,000 of interest-free loans available, with up to half of it being forgivable. This expansion effectively increased CEBA loans to a total of $60,000 for eligible organizations, and if it is repaid by the end of 2022, up to $20,000 becomes a grant. As of last week, CEBA loans have been disbursed to more than 843,000 Canadians businesses, totalling more than $44 billion.

I travel across Davenport as much as possible outside of the lockdown periods, and small business owner Robin from Three Fates told me that “CEBA gave me the opportunity to keep my business open for customers, plain and simple, but providing me that influx of cash flow to cover my expenses when things got tough, I've been able to keep things moving for now and keep my store stocked for the neighbourhood traffic.” Our government has helped hundreds of thousands of businesses and their workers through programs like the wage subsidy and the rent subsidy, among many other programs that I do not have time to mention, but I always know there is more that we can do.

I also agree that there is always more we could do to support our small and medium-sized businesses because although the sad reality is that many of these businesses have closed during COVID-19, many are still in a precarious position and are not quite sure whether they will be able to survive. I have seen these impacts on the main streets in my riding of Davenport. I believe that our federal government must continue to do everything we can to prevent bankruptcies and layoffs, and to help Canadian businesses pivot to success as we come out of this pandemic.

The motion before us also talks about supports for the hardest-hit sectors, and I would like to talk about some of the additional supports that we have already put into place.

We know that the sectors that have been hardest hit are arts and culture, tourism and hospitality, which is why, last year, and actually more recently, we introduced the highly affected sectors credit availability program, or HASCAP. It provides access to guaranteed low-interest loans from participating financial institutions of anywhere between $25,000 and $1 million. This program is available to businesses that operate in those hard-hit sectors, such as tourism, hospitality, hotels, restaurants, arts and entertainment, and any that rely on in-person services.

The regional relief and recovery fund is another fund we have created for businesses in these highly impacted sectors that have not been able to access other supports. We actually have two tranches in that fund. The first time we introduced the fund, it was for $1.5 billion. Then, in our fall economic statement, we proposed to top it up by $500 million, because we know there are many businesses that for some reason or other have not been able to apply to some of the other programs, and/or they have needed additional supports they have not been able to get anywhere else.

Also, particularly impactful for my riding of Davenport, is the additional support that has been provided to the arts and culture sector. There is the $500 million in emergency support that was distributed through Canadian Heritage and the Canada Council for the Arts late last spring, and then, more recently, we announced $181 million for arts, live music and live events, all of which have been absolutely devastated by COVID-19. This funding is going to provide support in many areas, including digital innovation. It will help with short-term contracts for new projects, and it will extend many of the existing programs in a safe way. I can tell members that this fund is particularly helpful to many of the businesses and groups within my riding of Davenport and right across the city of Toronto.

Finally, with the time I have left, I will address supports for the aviation sector.

My riding is home to many pilots, flight attendants and airline employees, many of whom have worked in the aviation sector for many years and who want to go back to work as soon as they can. I particularly care that we continue to have Canadian-owned airlines and continue to be able to support regional routes. Our federal government is working really hard to try to provide support for the industry, and I know that those negotiations and conversations are under way at the moment.

It is important to articulate that there has already been $1.8 billion in wage subsidy support provided to the industry, on top of the additional $1 billion given in support of airports and smaller airlines. However, any package that we are looking at must also keep Canadian customers whole. I know that many Canadians have had their flights cancelled without a refund, and I think that needs to be addressed. I also think that we need to be providing some support to independent travel agents and operators who have also been devastated by COVID-19.

In conclusion, the support programs I have discussed are just some of the programs the federal government has offered to those hard-hit businesses to try to minimize the impact on our economy and to set the stage for the creation of more than one million jobs. We know that financial challenges will persist for many organizations for at least the next few months, and that is why the programs I have outlined today are so critical.

If small businesses and non-profits are able to make ends meet with these additional supports, I know that they will be better able to pivot to a strong restart as more Canadians receive their vaccines and the Canadian economy fully reopens. We, the federal government, will not stop adapting and responding to the needs of Canadian businesses. Our message to them is that we have their back.

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I acknowledge that the member for Davenport seems to be aware of the challenges facing small businesses. However, from listening to Liberal members, they do not seem to understand that this is an urgent matter. In my riding, we have travel agents who worked 24-7 to get people home during the pandemic, but some of them have not had commissions for over a year.

From the day after International Women's Day, what we need to see from this government henceforth is certainty, but none of the Liberal members have come forward and said that they are going to be supporting this motion today, and that they will be delivering a budget on a certain date to give the small business community certainty in this country.

I am asking the member: Will she deliver for the tourism sector, and what date can we expect the budget to be tabled so that they have certainty to move forward? We do not want to see any more businesses lost.

[Julie Dzerowicz, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there are a couple of things I want to respond to in the member's excellent question.

First, I want to thank all of those travel operators, many of whom are independent and the vast majority of whom, by the way, are women who worked really hard to bring home Canadians from around the world just after the pandemic lockdowns started. I want to say a huge thanks to them.

As I mentioned in my speech, I do think that part of our support for the airline sector moving forward needs to be considered in terms of ongoing support. We appreciate that they have been disproportionately impacted. I fully support that as well.

As to whether or not our government is going to be presenting a budget, I am very privileged to be part of the finance committee. We have been holding pre-budget consultations. I am very assured that we will be presenting a budget sometime soon. I think it is just a matter of time. I think it is going to be in the coming—

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

We are going to try to get two more questions in.

The hon. member for Laurentides—Labelle.

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I will be brief.

Earlier I asked my colleague opposite about the wage subsidies for struggling organizations and businesses. All of the political parties, with the exception of the Bloc Québécois, received wage subsidies. My colleague opposite said that they would pay that money back when the government does it. I realize they are worried, because every dollar counts in the economic recovery.

The following question is for my colleague opposite: Will you pay back the $850,000 or so in wage subsidies? If so, when?

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

I remind the member that she must address her questions and comments through the Chair.

The member for Davenport.

[Julie Dzerowicz, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I want to finish responding to the previous question, and then answer this at the same time.

I want to assure Canadians who might be watching that our federal government has urgently introduced programs to support small businesses, workers and all Canadians throughout this whole pandemic. I am very proud of all of the actions we have taken.

As for the last question on the Canada emergency wage subsidy, as of February 28, I know that our wage subsidy has helped protect over 5.1 million jobs, providing over $68 billion in support in total.

Again, we are going to continue to support Canadians, to support our businesses and to support workers as we come out of this pandemic.

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Sturgeon River—Parkland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, in the last year during the COVID pandemic, the government has added debt equivalent to our entire nation's debt over the past 150 years, including two world wars and a financial crisis.

We have not seen anything from the government by way of a plan to deal with our economic future. How is the government going to deal with rising bond yields? How is the government going to deal with inflation that is above the 2% target? How is the government going to deal with business investment drying up in this country? How are we going to create the economic growth in the future needed to ensure that we can pay back this debt and provide a better future for future generations?

[Julie Dzerowicz, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, that is an excellent question, a top-of-mind question for many people.

I do want to remind the hon. member that at the onset of this pandemic we started with a very good financial situation, so we were able to put out very aggressive, very generous programs to support our economy, our workers and our businesses moving forward.

If members listen to any of the economists or thought leaders on whether we have spent too much or taken on too much debt, the vast majority of them say that if we had not spent the money we did, the costs would have been much greater to us.

We have put out a fall economic statement, and we have given an idea about how we intend to proceed. There will be more details and a much clearer game plan in the budget that is anticipated to be introduced this spring.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Mégantic—L'Érable.

Mr. Speaker, here we are a year later and I wish I had a different story to tell. I am starting to feel very much like a broken record, but the fact is we are having this opposition motion today because many Canadians feel left behind.

Despite all of the comments and the facts and the quotes given by my colleagues across the aisle in the government, we in the official opposition felt it was absolutely necessary to have this opposition day motion to recognize the hundreds of thousands of Canadians and workers who have been left behind. People who are listening to me know who they are. That is why we are having this opposition motion today.

To use the words of one of my favourite pop songs of 2005, from the artist JoJo, it is, unfortunately, Too Little, Too Late.

I recall, in December, being plucked from the House by my whip because it was announced on Reuters that a plan for the airline sector was coming. I was very nervous about this plan, but very excited. I led question period the next day, but the result was no plan.

Most recently, a couple of weeks ago, we saw in The Globe and Mail excitement that a plan for the airline sector was on the horizon and imminent. The word imminent has been used a lot. In fact, I am on my second transport minister, if I may say so, and still there is no plan. All of this conversation actually began back in November, but still there is no plan.

I could go on and on about the devastation, and I have before. We have seen jobs lost, routes lost, market share lost and leakage. These are a result of the government's inaction.

We have the gross domestic product for the tourism industry down almost 50% to 70% since 2020. Travel restrictions could also lead to significant losses in other industries, with the overall impact resulting in a 1.2% to 1.7% reduction in GDP.

The U.S. government, on the other hand, has provided $7 billion in support already for its industry. As a result, it will have a significant advantage.

In October 2020, the main carriers for the United States, including Delta, United and American Airlines, were operating at approximately 50% of their typical capacity. In comparison, Canadian carriers were operating at 25% of capacity, so there is no comparison.

It is the same in Europe. In October 2019, Canadian carriers operated at approximately 64% of capacity, trans-Atlantic share, while European carriers held 36% only by Canadians. In October 2020, Canadian and European each held 50%, so it has changed significantly.

In addition, we have seen a significant loss of regional routes. In Canada alone, we have lost service to Charlottetown, P.E.I.; Fredericton, New Brunswick; Deer Lake, Newfoundland and Labrador; Sydney, Nova Scotia; Saint John, New Brunswick; Bathurst, New Brunswick; Wabush, Newfoundland; Gaspé, Quebec; Baie-Comeau, Quebec; Mont-Joli, Quebec; Val-d'Or, Quebec; Kingston, Ontario; and North Bay, Ontario. Air Canada is currently losing an average of $15 million per day and it has had to lay off approximately 20,000 employees as a result of COVID-19.

As well, international carriers are able to indirectly access several Canadian markets through nearby U.S. airports. This is known as leakage. We see this at the three Bs, as I refer to Bellingham, Burlington and Buffalo.

We have asked the government on several occasions to take action. We have asked for rapid testing, testing on arrival and testing on departure. The industry took the initiative through many pilot projects. In my hometown of YYC, we saw the Calgary border testing pilot program, where there was a test on arrival, a second test on day six or seven and, if necessary, there was a third test. We saw the possibility to reduce the quarantine time by up to an entire week, and the government did not act upon this.

We also saw the McMaster project out of Toronto Pearson Airport, where there was testing upon arrival, a second test and then a third test, with 0.7% detected upon arrival, 0.3% on day seven and less than 0.1% on day 14.

YVR also had its own pilot project but unfortunately, with the implementation of the three-day hotel quarantine, we saw the dismissal of all of these projects. Looking ahead to what the future looks like for the Canadian aviation sector, it is grim with no routes, expensive fares and stopovers. As I mentioned, many regional routes have had service suspended. It will be several years before we see these routes reinstated.

Airlines are very concerned about the loss of market share if they are unable to connect to smaller regions. I am very concerned about pilots, and the tens of thousands of workers who are leaving Canada to work in other jurisdictions. We need to prevent their jobs from moving to countries with established aviation sectors, and keep them here in Canada where they should be.

I have mentioned before the conversation about sun destinations. Just two weeks ago I was able to go to the Expedia website and book a ticket from Vancouver, with a 31-minute stop in Seattle, that carried on to Puerto Vallarta. American carriers are, in fact, still able to take Canadians to sun destinations when our own airlines have been told that they cannot travel to sun destinations. It is not right and it is not fair. It is failing Canadians and Canadian businesses.

The future looks very grim for aviation, and I worry about the family in Sherbrooke, Quebec, who wants to go to Disney World. They will not be able to as a result of the cost, and because of the demand that supply will not be able to meet. I am very concerned about that as well.

The government has failed from the very beginning of the pandemic. It failed in many regards, including telling Canadians that there was no person-to-person spread of COVID-19, and that border control measures and masks did not work. It sent critical supplies of personal protective equipment to China when we had a shortage here in Canada. It failed to ensure that Canadians had access to rapid-testing at-home options. It shut down the federal pandemic early warning system just months before COVID-19. Those are all major failures.

We have known since November that Canada is well behind other countries when it comes to vaccine procurement. Justin Trudeau said this was because Canada no longer has any—

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

I think the hon. member may have caught that already, but please refer to other hon. members by their title or their riding name.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I apologize.

The Prime Minister said that this was because Canada no longer had any domestic production capacity for vaccines. Seven months prior, in May, the government announced tens of millions of dollars to increase domestic production capacity and said that two Canadian production facilities would have the capacity to produce 70,000 to 100,000 doses per month by summer 2020, with an even greater production capacity in the months to follow. In August, the government said that Canada would be able to make 250,000 vaccine doses by November. We know now that this did not happen.

The reality now is that Canada is behind the U.S., the U.K., the European Union, Mexico, Brazil, India and Indonesia for vaccine procurement. There are over 2.7 billion people, or one-third of the population of the planet, ahead of Canada for a vaccine. Where is the Prime Minister's plan?

What we have learned from the Liberal government is that it is entirely possible to spend billions of dollars and still leave millions of Canadians behind. Canada's unemployment rate is currently at 8.5%. This is among the highest in the G7, despite Canada spending more than any other country in the OECD. As of January 21, according to Statistics Canada, Canada now has 858,000 fewer jobs than it did in February of last year, before COVID-19 began.

Canada has now gone 460 days without a federal budget, and the Prime Minister has indicated struggling Canadians should not expect one any time soon. If the government has failed the airline sector, if the government has failed Canadian workers and if the government has failed during the pandemic, how can we possibly count on it to lead us out of the pandemic and save our economy?

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

Mr. Speaker, there was a ton of information there I could get into. I would love to address all of it, but I know you will cut me off, so I will ask a quick question.

This motion is about spending more money, on top of what we have already spent, to support Canadians. I am in favour of supporting Canadians as much as we can. I asked a question of the member for Abbotsford who introduced this earlier today and he said, “Debt is not a bad thing.” That is great. I am glad to hear the member for Abbotsford say that. However, then the member for Sturgeon River—Parkland just moments ago was criticizing the government for how much debt it has.

Is the member in camp Abbotsford, that debt is okay, or is she in camp Sturgeon River, that debt is a bad thing?

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, we have seen the Liberals repeatedly putting the entire opposition in a very difficult position. Because of their lack of capacity and competence, they come up with last-minute legislation to try to help Canadians, but the result is that, first, there are many gaps for the opposition to address and second, the opposition is forced to support legislation because we really do not want to leave Canadians in a difficult position. If the Liberals had any foresight, any true consideration for Canadians or for the government working together in a team Canada approach, they would be more thoughtful in their consideration of the necessary policies and they would allow the opposition members time to consider and to respond, instead of having to continuously go along with whatever the Liberals cook up in a half-effort attempt to help Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am glad to see that the Conservative motion today makes specific references to supporting workers and supporting small businesses, because that is very important in ridings right across this country.

I have heard from constituents who have had to pay massive dental care costs and pharmacare costs. Often these unexpected costs can throw a family's monthly budget completely out of whack and put massive pressure on their ability to pay other family bills.

I am wondering this: Will the member support efforts to broaden the Canada Health Act, and use the existing federal model to make sure that we can cover things like pharmacare and dental care? This would end up saving money for small businesses and individuals, and would help families recover from this pandemic in much better shape than they are in currently.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the member and I both agree that the government is keeping Canadians in perpetual poverty. It is literally taxing them to death and then throwing out breadcrumbs while not creating jobs, not creating prosperity and not creating a future. Do Canadians ever look in the mirror and wonder what they are going to do when the CERB runs out? What jobs will there be for them when the CEWS is no longer there for them? They are catching on. They are recognizing that the government wants them to be under its control, under its finger, rather than allowing Canadians to create prosperous lives for themselves.

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for Calgary Midnapore for her comments and for her great work raising issues pertaining to the airline sector. In northwestern Ontario, obviously this is a very important sector not just for tourism, but to service many remote communities and the vast majority of the 42 first nations that I represent. I am wondering if the member could speak more to the frustration we have with the fact that Liberal inaction has continued to leave our airline sector in limbo.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the airline sector feels completely left behind. There is not a day that goes by that I do not get a message from an airline worker who says, “I have supported the Liberals my entire life, but I am never voting Liberal again after their tossing aside of the airline sector.” I get messages from mothers who are worried about their sons and daughters who have lost their jobs in the airline sector. I get the saddest pictures of pilots in uniform with their children hugging them, and that is the reason why we are having this motion here today. It is because all of these Canadians feel abandoned and left behind by the government.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be able to speak to this motion, which is so important for the regions of Quebec and for the entire country. I would like to thank my colleague for her impressive speech on the importance of supporting airline industry workers and, especially, of making sure that travellers can finally get their money back.

The question we need to ask, and the question that all Canadians are asking, is the following: What are the government and companies doing for us?

This is our first pandemic. Most of us had never lived through something like this before. Our main concern, first and foremost, is our health and that of of our loved ones. Then, our priority is to ensure the safety of our loved ones and our ability to live our lives safely.

We are also concerned about how our families will be able to survive and keep bread on the table. We need a paycheque. It is very important that all Canadians be sure that they have the means to support their family.

It is also important that we be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel when we ask the government for help. We hope that the government will make the right decisions so that, after all this, we do not end up in a worse position than the one we are in now. What people are asking for is transparency on the part of the government and informed decisions to help protect as many people as possible with what we have, without going to extremes.

What Canadians are hoping, once we have dealt with the health and safety issues, is that we can focus on the economic recovery. After living in a difficult situation for so long, Canadians are wondering how they will get by in circumstances where, for many of us, the government has replaced income normally generated by entrepreneurship, work, self-employment, community assistance and fundraising. In short, what Canadians want is to get their lives back and not depend on the Canadian government for every decision.

Although the government set up numerous assistance programs, with the support of the opposition parties, because we could not let Canadians down at such a difficult time, some people still fell through the cracks. Perhaps it did not happen at the beginning of the pandemic, because they had some savings or because companies with more cash and fewer expenses managed to get by, but now we are entering an extremely trying period.

I have heard from hundreds of businesses in my riding that have managed to get this far but are now wondering how they will get through the next few months. Many businesses, sectors and Canadians are going to have a hard time weathering the coming months.

The Conservatives introduced a motion today to show that it is important to think about these workers and to include measures in the next federal budget to help the workers and families who will have the hardest time in the coming months. Some are already in trouble.

Incidentally, we learned this week that the Liberal government has unfortunately decided to postpone its budget. According to media reports, it will not be tabled in March or at the beginning of April. We will have been without a budget for two years.

That means that the measures we are asking to be implemented as soon as possible will be delayed, and unfortunately, there will be more victims. More businesses will suffer. Workers will lose their jobs because the government did not act in time to help them.

This is a huge problem, and it reflects how this government managed vaccine procurement for Canadians. As the Prime Minister keeps repeating, we have a massive portfolio of vaccines. However, we are at the back of the pack when it comes to vaccine administration and vaccination rates.

If the government had planned ahead, if it had anticipated what was coming, as many people did, and if it had not dismantled Canada's small pandemic alert unit, which was the envy of all other countries, it would have seen the pandemic coming and could have planned for vaccines.

Unfortunately, the government was not on the ball in terms of vaccine procurement.

Few contracts have been made public, but we know that the government failed to ensure an early supply of vaccines. That would have allowed Canadians to keep their jobs and Canadian businesses to reopen as soon as possible, so that Canadians who need a paycheque could get one.

Instead, the government decided to postpone the budget for purely political reasons, and to “open windows”, as we say in politics, in order to make Canadians as happy as possible and keep buying votes by handing out money. It is not by scattering cash willy-nilly that we will succeed, but by investing money in the right places, where it is needed. That is what the official opposition has been saying since the beginning of the pandemic.

Our motion focuses in particular on tourism, hospitality and charitable organizations. As I mentioned, in regions like mine, tourism involves hotels and tourist attractions, but also events such as festivals, celebrations, public markets and activities in every town. The entire sector has been overlooked by the various assistance programs.

Unfortunately, if these events do not survive the pandemic, the tourism industry in our regions will suffer for years to come. These organizations are holding on by their fingernails thanks to volunteers. It is important to keep the charitable organizations that organize dinners, activities and brunches to fund their activities in operation. These are not recreational activities, but activities that help other Canadians who are in even more dire straits.

Unfortunately, these organizations are having to close their doors because they simply do not have enough money to pay their employees and are no longer able to hold activities because of the health measures in place. It is a tragedy for Canadian society when charitable organizations can no longer operate because there are no assistance programs to help them get through difficult times.

I would now like to talk about paragraph b) of the opposition's motion concerning repayable loans for airlines. I received several letters from people in my riding who bought airline tickets before the pandemic and who were offered travel credits. Unfortunately, they cannot travel, and they should not be travelling, but they would like to see their money back. Their money is still in the hands of the airlines, because the government is unable to reach an agreement with them about how it can help. What we are saying is that the next budget must include repayable loans for airlines provided they reimburse Canadians who bought travel tickets and were unfortunately unable to travel. Today, the airline is still holding vast amounts of money which, for most Canadians, represent a year's worth of savings.

Lastly, it is important to have a rapid response solution. Small and medium-sized businesses need access to quick loans. We cannot let all of the small businesses that suffered all year and were excluded from the various assistance programs close their doors. Most workers in these companies are women. They work in restaurants, stores, small local retail businesses and other small businesses. It is important that we think about them. We must put in place simple and quick means of providing assistance.

For all of these reasons, I invite all members of parliament who care about the economic development of our regions to support the Conservative Party's motion.

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

Mr. Speaker, I noticed that the member departed from the motion and talked quite a bit about vaccines and other things. I hope he will do me the same courtesy and allow me to depart from the motion as well.

Why was the Conservative Party against the unanimous consent motion yesterday to continue debating into the evening so we could get Bill C-24 passed? This bill is about unemployment insurance for people who will have no unemployment insurance as of March 27, and it requires royal assent by March 21. These are people in need right now.

Why will the Conservatives not sit later into the evening to allow us to discuss this very important measure and get supports to people who need it through the employment insurance system?