Debates of April 20th, 2021

The Budget

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, that is absolutely false. I noticed that, in English, the opposition leader is saying that we are spending too much for Canadians, but in French, he is saying we need to spend more.

The fact is, we have transferred billions of dollars to the provinces and territories to support their health care systems and help them get through this pandemic, and we continue to do so. Even this budget transfers an additional $4 billion to the provinces.

We will continue to be there to support the provinces and their health care systems, and yes, we will increase health transfers in the long term.

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister will not provide an answer in either official language.

This budget is a disappointment to many Canadians. The provinces' demands for health transfers were ignored. There are lots of little election-friendly programs here, but there are no real measures for vaccines.

Does the Prime Minister think he knows what provinces need better than the provinces themselves?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative Party leader mentioned “little programs” that will help lots of people, and he said that was shameful.

For the past year, we have been listening to Canadians, working with Canadians and addressing the needs of organizations, small businesses, workers, families, seniors and youth. We have been there for them. We have supported them. That is exactly what we are doing with this budget, yet the Conservative Party says we should not help people so much but should reduce the deficit. Well, Canadians will have a choice at some point between the Conservatives' vision and our Liberal plan, but right now, we are getting through the pandemic.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, you know how sensitive I am. I am afraid that the Prime Minister has gotten himself in trouble.

We knew that Quebeckers were not happy with the government before, but never to this extent. We have been flooded with calls from people who happen to be between 65 and 75 and who are unhappy with the budget and its age-based discrimination. We have gotten so many calls that it would be easy to forget that there might be anything good in the budget.

Will the Prime Minister accept our suggestion and change his budget to benefit seniors?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, during the 2019 election, we recognized and understood that seniors needed help, that seniors aged 75 and older have more costs and that expenses were going up while Canadians were living longer. They are concerned about their old age pension, their retirement savings, their life savings.

We promised to increase old age security by 10% for seniors aged 75 and older, and that is exactly what we are delivering in this budget. That is good news for seniors. It is good news for Canada.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, that is okay news for seniors aged 75 and older, who will get only about $500 this year, which is less than $50 a month. It is terrible news for those aged 65 to 75. This is a clear case of unjustifiable discrimination.

Where did the government get the idea that the cost of living is lower for those under the age of 75? Who came up with that? Will the Prime Minister spare himself the trouble and consider our amendment for the good of seniors aged 65 to 75?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as a government, we have always been there for seniors. One of the first things we did following the 2015 election was to increase the guaranteed income supplement by 10%.

We have continued to be there for seniors, whether it was by investing in the new horizons for seniors program, providing them with more assistance during this pandemic or increasing the old age security pension by 10% for all seniors aged 75 and older.

We will continue to be there with $3 billion to help the provinces protect seniors in long-term care facilities.

We will always be there for seniors.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the pandemic has been hard. People have lost their jobs and are struggling to make ends meet.

Budgets are a matter of choices. The Prime Minister chose not to make the ultra-rich pay their fair share and chose to cut help for Canadians during the third wave.

Why is the Prime Minister choosing to defend the interests of the ultra-rich instead of helping Canadians?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, that is simply not true.

One of the first things our government did in 2015 was raise taxes on the rich and lower taxes on the middle class. Unfortunately, the NDP voted against that.

We will always keep trying to help those in need. In this budget, we are ensuring that digital service providers pay their fair share of taxes, introducing a tax on yachts and luxury vehicles, addressing aggressive tax planning schemes, and strengthening the government's ability to crack down on tax fraud and tax evasion.

We will always be there for people in need in this country.

COVID-19 Response

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the third wave of COVID-19 is hitting Ontario hard. It is a disaster. ICU units are overrun. We are seeing health care workers on the brink, the people who need the vaccine the most are the least likely to get vaccinated, and we have a Prime Minister who continues to refuse to improve access to paid sick leave.

Will the Prime Minister declare a public welfare emergency and use the Emergency Act to make sure people who need the vaccine actually get it, and make sure that we have paid sick leave that actually works?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, throughout this pandemic we have continually been there to support provinces and territories and to support Canadians right across the country. We made a straightforward promise that we would have people's backs, and that is exactly what we have done and what we will continue to do by working with partners right across the country and responding to the difficult situation that so many Canadians are facing with this third wave, particularly in the GTA.

Regarding the sickness benefit, we brought it in so no worker, regardless of where they live or who they work for, has to choose between going to work sick and putting food on the table, and we made two additional weeks available through this benefit as well.

We will continue to support Canadians. We have their backs.

Budget

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday's budget was an open bar.

It would have been nice if the Liberals had shown as much enthusiasm for other major issues, such as health care, as they did for camping. The provinces are asking for stable, predictable and unconditional increases to health transfers. The Conservatives support the provinces' demand. We are in the middle of a pandemic, so it just makes sense.

Why did the Prime Minister not agree to Quebec's main demand?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative Party needs to be straight with Canadians and choose a fiscal policy.

First the Conservatives tell us that we are spending too much, and then they tell us that we need to spend more on health care.

What do the Conservatives really think?

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Quebec's response was quite clear about the $3 billion over five years specifically for long-term health care.

First, it is not an unconditional transfer. As usual, the Liberals are interfering in provincial jurisdictions. Second, as Quebec's finance minister pointed out, the federal government missed a unique opportunity to partner with Quebec on long-term health care.

How do the Liberals plan to repair their relationship with the Government of Quebec?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, Quebec's position is quite clear, and we had a good conversation with them. It is the Conservatives' position that is unclear. First they tell us that we are spending too much, and then they suggest a lot more spending.

Canadians need to know what the Conservative Party's position is.

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, stable, predictable and unconditional increases to health transfers was Quebec's biggest ask in this federal budget.

We are in the midst of a global pandemic. The health care system is being tested. Quebec is not the only province calling for this; all provinces and territories are. The commitment to increase health transfers must be honoured now.

How could the Prime Minister fail to seize an opportunity like this?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I keep hearing the same question, so I will give the same answer.

It is the Conservatives who need to be clear with Canadians. Do they think we are spending too much or that we should be spending more? Canadians deserve a clear, straight answer.

Public Services and Procurement

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

Mr. Speaker, I offer congratulations to India for announcing that all its adults will be eligible for a vaccine as of May 1.

While Canada's government has not domestically produced a single dose of COVID vaccine, India has been vaccinating its population with its own vaccines, produced within its borders, while also manufacturing vaccines for Canada.

Why did the Minister of Public Services and Procurement not secure a partnership with India, a large democracy and one of the largest vaccine-producing nations in the world, to develop and manufacture vaccines in Canada in early 2020?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, we made historic investments in biomanufacturing in Canada. I am sure the member will remember Medicago. She will remember VIDO in Saskatchewan, and she will remember AbCellera and Precision Nanosystems in Vancouver. In fact, 12 days after the World Health Organization declared a pandemic, we were already investing $200 million. Within 30 days we added another $600 million, so we have invested about $1 billion since the World Health Organization declared a pandemic.

We made historic investments, and we will continue to invest to ensure the safety of all Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am sure the minister will remember that the federal Liberals did not attempt to partner with India but they did partner with the Government of China.

Last year, the federal Liberals negotiated vaccine development with a company owned by the Chinese government, with whom Canada has many high-profile, ongoing concerns, which then unsurprisingly cancelled the deal after stringing the federal Liberals along for months.

Why did the federal Liberals engage in a doomed vaccine production deal with the Government of China as opposed to securing one with our allies in India, the largest democracy in the world?

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

Mr. Speaker, the argument from the opposition in that question is patently false. We have seven APAs with leading vaccine manufacturers, positioning Canada to be one of the leading procurement bodies and countries in the world.

Let us just remember the facts. Across the country, 13.4 million doses have been distributed already, 10.2 million Canadians or 24% of Canadians have had at least one dose of vaccine, and we are resting at number two in the G20 for doses administered per 100 people.

We will continue delivering for Canadians now and until all Canadians—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Calgary Nose Hill.

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

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that Canada has not produced a single dose of vaccine domestically. By now, we should be producing enough vaccine to supply our own population, as the Americans and Brits are. Instead, the federal Liberals have failed and put countries, such as India, that are facing a third wave in the impossible situation of sending a G7 country vaccines despite needing to vaccinate their own countrymen. The federal Liberals are also raiding the vaccine supply meant for the developing world through COVAX.

Imagine if we had a manufacturing partnership with India. How many lives could have been saved if the Prime Minister had secured a domestic manufacturing partnership with India last—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. minister.

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member.

I would say to just imagine this: We have a partner to manufacture a vaccine in Canada. It is called Novavax. It has chosen Canada out of all the jurisdictions in which it operates.

More interestingly, we also have a domestic company called Medicago in which we have invested $173 million to make sure that we will have a made-in-Canada vaccine. In addition to that, yesterday the Minister of Finance added another $2 billion to make sure that we could continue to invest in manufacturing, and to invest in the health and safety of all Canadians.