Debates of April 12th, 2021

Health

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the third wave is here, and while other countries are getting vaccinated and opening up, Canadians are being locked down yet again. Yesterday, Canada officially passed the United States in the number of new cases per capita. Twenty per cent of Americans are fully vaccinated; only 2% of Canadians are.

Could the Prime Minister admit that his slow vaccine rollout has resulted in the third wave of COVID-19 on Canadians and more destructive lockdowns?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, indeed, we surpassed our six-million target prior to the end of March by receiving 9.5 million doses. We are on track to get 44 million doses into this country by the end of June, and 110 million by the end of September. We will continue providing the provinces and territories with vaccines, and we will work together as a country to ensure that all Canadians who wish to have access to a vaccine will have one prior to the end of September.

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told Americans last week to “avoid all travel to Canada”. It said, “Because of the current situation in Canada even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk”. We know the Prime Minister is trying to blame the provinces for vaccines in freezers, but it is his slow and inconsistent rollout that is causing such poor delivery.

How does the Prime Minister mess things up so badly that travelling to Canada is now a risk to people's health?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, my heart goes out to all who are struggling with COVID-19, whether they have been personally affected by it or whether they are on the front lines of our health care system working to save lives. The member opposite is right. Now is not the time to travel internationally, and I believe that it is very important that Canadians continue their hard work to protect each other. We know Canadians have sacrificed so much. We see the finish line. We will get there safely if we work together.

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, most of this country is facing new and devastating restrictions, and this is a direct result of the Liberal government's inability to get vaccines. To add insult to injury, Canadians are being told they are going to have to wait four months for a second dose. Canadians are being forced to accept substandard dosage intervals. Why? It is because the Liberals cannot get vaccines on time.

How long will Canadians be punished because of the Liberals' failed vaccine rollout?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, we know that vaccines are an important tool to save lives and stop the spread, but we also know that while we vaccinate, we have to continue to apply appropriate public health measures to protect each other. We also know that it is not the federal government that decides which public health measures need to stay in place in which province or territory.

I want to thank all Canadians for working so hard and making so many sacrifices to protect each other, knowing that we are going to be stronger together when we get through this.

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

Mr. Speaker, Canada is being hit hard by the third wave, more so than other countries, all because of the Liberal government's inertia when it came time to negotiate vaccine procurement.

Barely 2% of Canadians have received their second dose to date, compared to 11% in England and 20% in the United States. Ten times as many Americans as Canadians have been vaccinated and five times as many British people as Canadians are now vaccinated. This makes no sense for a G7 country that we are all so proud of. Why did the government drag its feet on the vaccination file?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is now on track to receive 43 million doses of vaccine by the end of June and more than enough doses for all Canadians by the end of the summer. We will not rest until all Canadians have access to the vaccine. We will continue to be involved and work with the provinces and territories in these efforts.

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

Mr. Speaker, speaking of efforts, I thank the minister for speaking French and I congratulate her for her efforts.

However, the problem is that Canadians find the facts very troubling. New COVID-19 cases are levelling off in the United States, but they have tripled in the last month in Canada. That is completely unacceptable.

The best solution, but not the only one, is vaccination. This requires access to vaccines. The third wave that is hitting Canadians so hard is the Liberal Party wave, because the Liberal Party unfortunately dragged its feet on the vaccine file. Why did the government drop the ball?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

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

Once again, by the end of September, Canada will have enough vaccines for every person who wants to be vaccinated. As I have already said, Pfizer deliveries have ramped up. We will receive at least one million doses every week from March 22 to May 11.

To date, Canada has received 10 million doses of the Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines. Vaccine shipments have resumed. It was a temporary delay, not a loss.

Intergovernmental Relations

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, a senior official has given us a glimpse into the federal government's mindset in the lead-up to the budget.

In response to a question from the CBC regarding provincial jurisdictions, the official said, and I quote, “The feds have the spending power. If we set out the terms and the money, the provinces who want to be early movers on this will come on board. Those that don't will have to reckon with their electorate.”

This is peak predatory federalism. The federal government has the money, and if we want that money, we have to do Ottawa's bidding. Why is the government taking a confrontational approach instead of working with Quebec and the provinces?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, with respect, the federal government has been working hand in glove with provincial governments from the first time we got elected, in October 2015. I note in particular the health care transfers we have made to the provinces, which allow them to take care of their citizens but also target particular measures for areas such as mental health or in-home care for seniors.

I look forward to the upcoming budget so that we can continue to invest in partnership with provinces and territories to serve the best interests of Canadian families.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary sounds like a broken record.

Senior officials have said that Ottawa's budget strategy is to intimidate Quebec and the provinces into going along or else being cut off. That is the gist of the budget rumours we are hearing.

Quebec needs health care transfers to be increased to 35%. Not only is Ottawa refusing to do so, but it also wants to force Quebec's long-term care homes to comply with Canadian standards and force Quebec to adopt a Canadian pharmacare program. Both of these initiatives have been unanimously rejected by the Quebec National Assembly.

Why not simply address Quebec's needs?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague and friend spoke about rumours. I am going to talk about facts.

The fact is that we have been working with Quebec since the very beginning of the pandemic, first with regard to equipment and now with regard to vaccines. Aside from the pandemic, there is the joint announcement at Lion Electric and our ability to work together to solve the problem of Internet access in the regions. This proves one thing: If we ignore the rumours raised by my colleague and talk about facts, we see that the two governments work very well together.

Health

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the third wave of COVID-19 is hitting hard. The variants are spreading rapidly.

We have seen a record number of cases in Ontario, and the numbers are rising in every province. We need to immediately improve access to the paid sick leave program. We need to do everything we can to get everyone vaccinated. We need to act now.

What is the Prime Minister waiting for?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, we are not waiting for anything.

We are working with all of the provinces, as we have been doing all along for PPE. Let us not forget that the Canadian Armed Forced and the Red Cross provided key support for our seniors. Our government has been working with the provinces to procure supplies and roll out the vaccines.

This is an ongoing process. Every day we are in talks to look at how we can improve the health, safety and lives of all Canadians.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I want to interrupt question period for a few moments.

For the sake of the interpreters, I would ask members who are participating virtually to place their microphones either between the nose and upper lip, or between the chin and lower lip. This will make the interpreters' job easier and would be appreciated.

The hon. member for Burnaby South.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is on fire. The variants are spreading rapidly. COVID cases are hitting record numbers. We have seen a record number of COVID-19 cases in Ontario. They are needing to set up field hospitals. Things are very bad. It is not good enough to sit on the sidelines and ask to help. Leadership means finding solutions. Leadership means acting now.

Will the Prime Minister immediately improve access to the paid sick leave program, make it better and make it work? Will the Prime Minister use all tools available to assist in vaccinating everyone in this country? Will the Prime Minister act like it is the serious crisis that it is?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his deep concern for Canadians. In fact, it is actually Canada's field hospitals that are on loan to the Province of Ontario. It is a demonstration of how the federal government has been there for provinces and territories every step of the way. We will be there for as long as it takes and for as much as it takes to protect Canadians and to support provinces and territories to deliver in their health care jurisdictions.

We will stop at nothing. I think our government has demonstrated that.

Ethics

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the House of Commons directed key players in the Prime Minister's WE scandal to testify at the ethics committee. Instead of obeying the will of Canadians, the Prime Minister blocked those witnesses from testifying. Canadians deserve answers.

Is the problem that the Prime Minister does not understand the rules, or that he believes the rules do not apply to him?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, we believe in the principle of ministerial responsibility. It has been a long tradition in our country. We are accountable to Parliament, and our staff is accountable to us. I appeared at the ethics committee for three hours to answer many questions. My colleague, the associate minister of finance, was ready to do the same. She showed up twice, but the opposition refused to let her testify on both occasions. They say they want to ask questions, but at the same time they refuse for the minister to appear. They have to make up their mind.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it sounds like the government House leader does not understand the question. It is very straightforward. The House ordered witnesses to appear, and the Prime Minister and the Liberal government blocked those witnesses from appearing. Will the Prime Minister apologize for defying an order of the House? Will he agree to testify at committee, or do we need to build back with a better Prime Minister?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, we believe in ministerial accountability. This is why our ministers appear at committees all the time. They love to answer those questions for the opposition, but the Conservatives want to ignore that tradition. That was their position at the time. What is it today? If I read what their House leader used to say at the time, it was a bit different. I will quote him: “When ministers choose to appear before committees to account for their administration, they are the best source of accountability and they must be heard. Public servants and ministerial staff support the responsibility of their ministers. They do not supplant it.”

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, sure, the minister was there to answer questions, except he did not know any of the answers. We asked, for example, why the contract with WE had been backdated more than six weeks; he did not even know that was the case. We asked why it was that they went ahead with the grant after Treasury Board found no evidence that WE could even deliver the program; he did not even know that. He did not know that the Prime Minister's Office had received promotional material from WE with his mother and wife in it.

Did they not just send this minister over to the committee because he did not know anything and therefore could not accidentally tell the truth?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that I was at the committee for three hours and I answered many of the questions, and all of this was to talk about a staff member who was barely involved in the issue. There was one phone call, and the opposition decided to have a three-hour meeting about one phone call, instead of concentrating on the priority of today. Our ministers appear at committee. It was a pleasure for me to appear at that committee. We do it all the time, but they should use the time that is allowed to the members to discuss the priorities of today.