Debates of April 19th, 2021

Health

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, this government has stopped at nothing to work with provinces and territories and to provide supports to provinces and territories, whether they are economical supports, health and human resources, equipment or vaccines.

We are going to continue that hard work together because that is how we are going to protect lives and stop the spread, by working together and making sure that, no matter what jurisdiction a Canadian lives in, that person has the support of all levels of government.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Johns Hopkins estimates that to achieve herd immunity for COVID-19 at least 70% of a population needs immunity, and 70% of Ontario's population is 9.8 million people. Ontario has the capacity to vaccinate 100,000 people per day. At this rate, the province could have already vaccinated 10 million people, enough to reach herd immunity. The federal Liberals did not send anywhere close to this number of vaccines.

Will the minister admit they could have mitigated the third wave if the Liberals had sent more vaccines to Ontario in January and February?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, around the world, governments are working to immunize their populations to save lives and stop the spread of COVID. Canada is no different. In fact, we are the third highest country in the G20 for the administration of vaccines. We will stop at nothing to protect Canadian lives. We will work with provinces and territories to make sure they have vaccines, and not only that, but that they have the support to administer those vaccines in the fastest possible way.

I spoke with Minister Elliott on the weekend. We agreed that working together is the best approach to save lives and to stop the spread.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, unlike what the minister says, Canada is different. Unlike in the U.S. and the U.K., on January 15 federal Liberals announced major problems with vaccine delivery, and acute shortage persisted until February 18. That meant that from January 15 to February 18, only 320,000 people in Ontario were vaccinated. However, with enough vaccines, 100,000 people per day, or 2.8 million, could have been vaccinated in Ontario. People in Ontario were expecting to be vaccinated this spring, not to have a deadly new wave of COVID.

Why did Canada not have more vaccines in January and February?

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

Mr. Speaker, I will remind the hon. member that it was she who indicated that Canada would not have vaccines until 2030. We secured 3.5 million more vaccines in the first quarter than originally targeted, and we are getting those vaccines to provinces as soon as possible.

I will remind the hon. member that we have delivered 12.7 million doses to the provinces and just over 10 million doses have been administered. Our vaccine procurements are strong and made stronger by the eight million more doses that will come from Pfizer over the next two months. We are third in the G20 for doses administered, and we will continue moving at this rapid pace to ensure that all Canadians have access to a vaccine.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I will remind the minister that the original contract she signed with Pfizer and AstraZeneca only had vaccines arriving in late February and March respectively. Political pressure from the opposition made a difference. Shortages in January and February cost approximately 2.8 million Ontarians their chance to get a COVID vaccine during these months. That is the equivalent of the entire core population of the city of Toronto. This means that Toronto is still like a tinderbox of unvaccinated people, and it exacerbated the third wave.

Why did Canada not have more vaccines in January and February when we needed them to prevent the third wave?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for the inquiry, and I will reiterate that we are third in the G20. We have surpassed all of our targets that were originally set, and we are on track to have between 48 million and 50 million doses in the country by the end of June. Again, we have delivered over 12 million doses to the provinces and 10 million have been administered.

As a federal government, we have also provided supplies, PPE and rapid test kits because we know that to address the pandemic, we need to take a multipronged approach. That is what the public health experts are telling us, and that is exactly what we are following. We will continue to deliver—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last week, Brazilian public health officials announced the discovery of much more transmissible, vaccine-resistant variants. This new state of affairs has brought Brazil's health care system to the verge of collapse.

What was the Liberal government's reaction to this news?

The Liberals decided to put an end to additional screening for travellers entering Canada from Brazil. The Prime Minister is prolonging this health crisis by refusing to take action to secure our borders. Why?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we have some of the strongest measures in the world to screen for COVID-19 at our borders, regardless of the country of origin. It is important that all travellers are screened for COVID-19 and that all positive cases are sequenced for the variants. That is exactly what we are doing.

All travellers are required to submit a predeparture test, test on arrival, quarantine in a government-approved hotel and then quarantine for an additional 14 days until such time that they are cleared of having COVID. We will stop at nothing to protect Canadians at our borders.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, that is clearly not working. The measures that have been put in place since the beginning of the pandemic are not working and recent measures are not working either. We must not forget that there were no variants in Canada until just a few weeks ago.

The major problem in Canada right now is the variants that are coming in from places around the world, like Brazil. We had special measures in place for flights arriving from Brazil, and the government decided to stop applying them.

The Prime Minister is playing with fire. Can someone explain to me why the government stopped applying the special measures for flights arriving from Brazil?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I will repeat that we have some of the strongest measures at the border in the entire world, including, by the way, a ban on foreign nationals entering Canada, predeparture testing required before boarding a plane, post-arrival testing and a stay in a government-authorized quarantine hotel until the return of a negative COVID test.

All positive tests are quarantined, and all positive cases are quarantined. All travellers must submit a test at day 10. That is how we stop COVID at our borders. We will continue to protect Canadians from importation.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister can go ahead and say that she is repeating herself, but I am telling her again that this has been a mess from the beginning.

Since the beginning, we have been asking for more measures, measures that are better administered. That never happened, and now, we have variants in Canada.

Another problem is the AstraZeneca vaccine. We paid twice as much as the U.S. and four times more than Europe and it is not even arriving on time.

Can the minister explain why the AstraZeneca vaccine is taking so long to get here when we paid four times more for it than Europe did?

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

Mr. Speaker, as the member well knows, our vaccine contracts are confidential. We are not going to risk breaching them while every country is in a race for vaccines.

This is a great week. We just secured eight million more doses from Pfizer, with the first four million doses set to arrive in May. Pfizer continues to be the workhorse of our vaccine program, as deliveries of their vaccine will total two million per week in May.

I am surprised that the member opposite would suggest this when it is quite clear, and I am certain we all agree, that Canada's vaccine supply chain must remain stable.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Switch Health's screw-up with day-10 tests remains unresolved.

Despite a slight increase in staffing levels, the company is still not keeping up with demand and is still unable to provide our producers with services in French. That is unacceptable.

These are practical people. They have suggested solutions, such as hiring a medical testing company themselves to get proper service.

Will the government listen to them or suggest other solutions?

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, I can reassure my colleague and all producers that we are working very closely with the industry and with our Government of Quebec colleagues to find fast, effective solutions.

We are acutely aware of concerns about the day-10 tests, and we will have additional resources to address the situation very soon.

I also want to point out that, overall, the arrival of foreign workers is going very well, and we are expecting a good season.

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, a farmer from Saint-Thomas, Mr. Rondeau, lost 35,000 pounds of asparagus last year because of federal mismanagement issues related to seasonal work. He was really hoping to make up for it this year. Unfortunately, the testing boondoggle left him without his first group of workers for 18 days, when the asparagus season lasts for only about 60 days.

Mr. Rondeau is not alone. Several other members have received calls from concerned farmers. They need the government to wake up. This is urgent.

What will the government do and when?

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, once again, I can assure the member that we are very aware of the problems associated with the day-10 test. We understand the urgency and importance of essential foreign farm workers, and we are doing everything we can.

A number of discussions are under way, and we are close to finding a solution and implementing it. A few more days of patience are needed. Overall, the arrival of foreign workers is going well, and we are doing this to ensure the safety of Canadians, the safety of workers and obviously food safety.

Taxation

[Luc Desilets, Bloc, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, to make life simpler for Quebeckers, the Government of Quebec has announced that it is extending by a month the deadline for filing tax returns. Last year, the federal government did the same thing, but this year it is hesitating.

Quebeckers will have a reprieve from filing their provincial tax return with Quebec, but not their federal tax return. It is nice to get a bit of help, but if the help is lopsided then we are no further ahead.

Will the federal government follow Quebec's lead and give taxpayers and accountants another break during these extremely trying times?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, our government understands that this tax season is stressful for Canadians. We will continue to be there for them every step of the way.

In February, we announced that recipients of the emergency and recovery benefits would be eligible for interest relief if they filed their 2020 tax returns. The Canada Revenue Agency has also put in place robust taxpayer relief provisions that grant them relief from penalties or interest incurred for reasons beyond their control.

These measures ensure that Canadians who need help during tax season will get it.

The Economy

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, today the finance minister will finally table a budget.

She recently had an epiphany about new social programs in a reimagined economy, and letting future generations pay for it, but the Prime Minister recently sent a letter directing his minister to “avoid creating new permanent spending.” That is his standard, not mine, but we know how easily the Prime Minister makes and breaks promises.

Will the minister's budget contain new permanent spending, yes or no?

[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, the hon. member uses the language of epiphany is an attempt to paint me, and by extension the minister and our government, as some kind of radicals. I will reassure him there is nothing radical about investing in measures that will protect the environment and create jobs at the same time.

There is nothing radical about supporting women in the economy, so my daughter has the same opportunities for success I enjoy. There is nothing radical about supporting low-income workers and middle-class families, so they have a decent shot at a quality of life that we too often take for granted.

I can reassure the hon. member the measures included in the upcoming budget will be focused on fighting COVID-19, supporting Canadians through its end, and setting a course for a recovery that is sustainable and inclusive.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I will take that as a yes. It is another broken promise.

Canadians expect their government to support them in their time of need, and we have supported those efforts, but the Prime Minister has incurred the largest deficit and achieved the worst outcomes in the G7. He has also incurred the largest debt in Canada’s history, so he recently instructed his finance minister to “review [Canada’s] debt management strategy”.

Can she now tell us whether her budget contains a serious plan to manage the massive debt that future generations will be left to pay, yes or no?

[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, the member's argument rests upon the premise that our pandemic response has somehow been too expensive. If he thinks our measures have been too expensive, I would like to introduce him to my neighbour, who told me that she was able to feed her kids and pay her rent because she collected CERB when she lost her job.

I would like to introduce him to a small business owner in my downtown community who was able to keep the doors open because he gained access to CEBA. I would like to introduce him to my classmate who works at the Michelin plant in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, who had a job last year because their employer benefited from the Canada emergency wage subsidy.

When it came time to support Canadians, our government had their backs, and Canadians ought to know that. We will continue to do whatever it takes to see them through this emergency.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I see there is no debt management strategy.

The Prime Minister also told his minister to present “a new fiscal anchor”.

The Liberals have tried to manage this pandemic and its massive financial consequences without a clear set of rules. We have spent more per capita but achieved less than any other major developed country. Meanwhile, future generations of Canadians fear they will be left to pick up the tab.

I ask the minister this: Will her budget include a meaningful fiscal anchor, or does her Prime Minister still believe that budgets balance themselves?