Debates of April 21st, 2021

The Budget

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Quebec and Quebeckers have been child care trailblazers for some time now.

We know it is not only the right thing to do, but also the smart thing to do for the economy, for equality, for opportunity and for economic growth. That is exactly why we are going to take what we have learned from Quebec and apply it across the country.

However, I can assure the House that budget 2021 includes an asymmetrical agreement with Quebec that will allow for further improvements to its system.

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

Mr. Speaker, we want to know whether there are any strings attached to this asymmetrical agreement. Quebec wants it to be unconditional. We want confirmation of that.

Will the agreement be unconditional or not?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, for several years, we have been investing tens of billions of dollars across the country to improve the child care system.

Every time, we have been able to come to a very positive agreement with Quebec in order to send the province money so that it can invest in families and children.

We are confident that the work that we will do together, with Quebec, will meet the needs of families across the country and that the funding that we will send to Quebec will be invested properly.

We are happy to be coming to an agreement with Quebec, and I am sure that it will happen.

Public Services and Procurement

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

Mr. Speaker, some transparency and humility would be in order.

Since the beginning of question period, the Prime Minister has continued to claim that he did not make any mistakes with regard to the procurement of vaccines for Canadians.

Unfortunately, he is the one responsible for the third wave that Canada is currently experiencing. We are seeing an average of 8,000 new cases per day. Quebeckers are dealing with a curfew that restricts their ability to leave their homes and prevents them from seeing their families.

If the Prime Minister had done his job properly, this would not be happening. Why did he not provide vaccines to Canadians in January and February as he should have?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again, let us look at the facts. During the first few months of the year, we promised Canadians that we would deliver six million doses of the vaccine. We delivered 9.5 million doses.

We are keeping our word, but we recognize that we need to do more. That is why we are working hard every day to deliver even more doses of the vaccine across the country.

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

Mr. Speaker, from the start of oral question period, the Prime Minister has been telling us about his vaccine supply targets.

Who set those targets? He did.

Where are the contracts showing that the targets are based on something? We are not allowed to see them.

Who does not believe the Prime Minister? Canadians, including restaurant owners.

In my riding, the restaurant La Bourgade was forced to close after throwing out all the inventory it had purchased for Easter. Children cannot have a social life because they have had to go back to school on Zoom.

Why did he not do his job in January and February?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, small and medium-sized businesses across the country have received unprecedented support from the federal government.

With regard to support during the pandemic, $8 of every $10 spent has been spent by the federal government.

We are there for families, we are there for students, we are there for small business owners, and we will continue to be there even as vaccines arrive—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Order. The hon. member for Mégantic—L'Érable.

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

Mr. Speaker, if we had gotten vaccines, we would not still be providing loans to small businesses that will have to pay these loans back in six months, a year or two years.

If we had gotten vaccines, Quebec would not have had a curfew preventing families from getting together and children from going to school.

If we had been able to vaccinate at the same rate as the United States, at least 26% of Canadians would have already gotten both doses.

Today, the U.S. President was proud to announce that 200 million Americans had been vaccinated in just 100 days. Now, that is something.

Why was the Prime Minister not able to get vaccines to Canadians in January and February, to prevent the third wave we are in right now?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have been working to help Canadians, small businesses and families from the beginning of this pandemic. We have been developing a strategy to vaccinate as many Canadians as possible as quickly as possible.

Every week more and more vaccines are arriving in Canada. Everyone will be vaccinated by the end of September. Many provinces will be able to get the vast majority of Canadians their first dose before the beginning of the summer.

We will keep going. We need to hold on through this third wave.

Seniors

[Yves Robillard, Liberal, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the older seniors get, the more financially vulnerable they become, especially women.

We know that seniors over 75 are often unable to work, that they have disabilities and greater health needs. The combination of higher expenses and lower income means that seniors over 75 need additional support.

Can the Prime Minister explain what our government is doing to make life more affordable for aging Canadians?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Marc-Aurèle-Fortin for his hard work on behalf of seniors.

Seniors are more likely to deplete their savings, have disabilities and be widowed at a time when their health needs are on the rise.

In budget 2021, we kept our promise to increase old age security by 10% for Canadians 75 and up. We will also support them in the short term with a one-time payment of $500 in August.

Seniors built our country and they can rest assured that we will be there for them.

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, when confronted with facts, the Prime Minister screams out that it is fake news, but he justifies Canada going off label on the vaccines with a four-month dosing by saying that the Brits did the same, when in fact they used a three-month dosing interval.

Instead of spreading misinformation, can the Prime Minister stand up and admit that Canada is in its third wave of lockdowns because he failed to deliver enough vaccines for Canadians to get both doses in January and February?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, a year ago, there was no COVID-19 vaccine. Now there are many. Canada, because of our procurement strategy, was able to sign deals with seven different potential vaccine makers, many of which are now able to deliver vaccines, including to Canada. We continue to increase the pace of vaccine doses arriving in Canada. Indeed, in about a week and a half, we will switch to more than two million doses of vaccines arriving every single week. We will have close to 50 million vaccine doses by the end of June here in Canada. We are on track to get through this pandemic.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is a real shame that the Prime Minister says that with only 2.5% of Canadians fully vaccinated we are on track. This third wave is his failure. Residents in my riding can look across the border and see Americans in New York state who can get vaccinated at 16 years of age, at their will, because they have availability of supply. This is the third wave of COVID and the third wave of lockdowns, because the Prime Minister failed to get enough vaccines for Canadians.

Instead of making deals with the Chinese-owned CanSino, why did the Prime Minister not focus on doing what was best for Canadians and getting vaccines for January and February?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again, it is important that in this House we base our debate in facts. In January and February, we did deliver hundreds of thousands of vaccine doses to Canadians and, indeed, by the end of March, by the end of the first quarter, we had surpassed our scheduled deliveries of six million vaccines, for a total of 9.5 million vaccines. We recognize there is much more to do, but as of right now, over 25% of Canadians have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and we are on our way to getting through this pandemic.

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

Mr. Speaker, I guess the Prime Minister hopes that Canadians will accept that he will under-promise and over-deliver up to 2.5% of Canadians being fully vaccinated. I can tell the Prime Minister that is not good enough. The Prime Minister shut down Parliament during a pandemic and had his members filibuster the health committee, the defence committee, the ethics committee and the procedure and House affairs committee, instead of working together in a team Canada approach to vaccinate Canadians.

This third wave is a failure of the Prime Minister, and 25% of Canadians getting their first dose is not enough to stop the third wave. Why did the Prime Minister let us down?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, throughout this pandemic, one thing that has been strong and remarkable is the level of collaboration we have seen across political parties and, indeed, across orders of government. That is what Canadians have wanted to see, people working together. The federal government has consistently been there to support the provinces and territories as we make it through the various waves and as we face far too many tragedies. That is why $8 out of every $10 of support for families through this pandemic came from the federal government.

We have continued to step up every step of the way, and we will continue to. We know we need to continue to work together. Nobody wants to see the partisan attacks that are being demonstrated now. They want to see us all working together, which we will.

The Budget

[Vance Badawey, Liberal, Niagara Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we are in the midst of this third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Canadians need support now, and they need reassurance that the economy will be strong and jobs will be created once we are through this pandemic.

Could the Prime Minister update the House on how budget 2021 will support all Canadians?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for Niagara Centre for his important question. This budget is about finishing the fight against COVID-19 and it is about creating prosperity for Canadians. Budget 2021 is a historic investment to address the wounds of COVID-19, put people first, create jobs, set businesses on a track for growth, and ensure that Canada's future will be more equitable, greener and more prosperous.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in his budget, the Prime Minister is proposing to cut support payments this summer.

Why? We are in the third wave of COVID-19, people are still in lockdown, and many are very much at risk of losing their jobs.

Why do the Liberal government and the Prime Minister want to cut back support payments from $500 to $300 this summer? Why?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have been there for Canadians every step of the way.

We promised to be there for as long as it takes with all the help they need. We are there, and we will continue to be there to support families, businesses, workers and all Canadians.

We are all very hopeful that, by summer, we will be able to relax restrictions and step up economic activity. We know that employers will want to hire lots of people. That is why we invested in a hiring incentive for employers.

We will always look closely at things to be sure we are doing what it takes to give Canadians all the help they need.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

That is all the time we have today for question period.

Government Response to Petitions

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8)(a) I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to 17 petitions. These responses will be tabled in an electronic format.

Human Rights

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour today to present, in both official languages, petition e-2559, which calls upon the government to take further steps with the People's Republic of China. The specific actions are outlined within the petition as points of recommendation.

I look back to the years of the Harper administration when government, in its foreign policy, went by the values of justice, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. This petition and those who have signed it are in support of seeing these values once again brought back to our government.