Debates of April 21st, 2021

Question No.469

[Damien Kurek, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

With regard to the government’s hiring policies: (a) is the government currently hiring for any positions wherein the successful applicant must be a member of a particular underrepresented group; (b) what are the particular positions for which the requirement in (a) has been implemented; (c) what are the underrepresented group or groups with which an applicant must identify in order to be eligible, broken down by each position; (d) what is the process for determining if an applicant has made a false claim in relation to the requirement in (a); and (e) what process does the government follow for determining which positions will be reserved for underrepresented groups?

(Return tabled)

Question No.470

[Robert Gordon Kitchen, Conservative, Souris—Moose Mountain, SK]

With regard to the acquisition of freezers required to transport and store the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine: (a) how many freezers were purchased; (b) what is the total cost of purchasing the freezers; (c) what is the cost per unit of freezers purchased, broken down by type of unit; (d) how many of each type of unit were purchased; (e) how many of each type of unit purchased are in each (i) province or territory, (ii) local health unit district; (f) how many of each type of unit were purchased for the purpose of transporting the vaccine; (g) how many freezers were rented; (h) what is the total cost of renting the freezers; (i) what is cost per unit of freezers rented, broken down by type of unit; (j) what are the estimated costs of (i) transporting, (ii) maintaining the freezers, broken down by type of expense; and (k) what are the details of all contracts over $1,000 related to the purchase, acquisition, maintenance, or transportation of the freezers including, (i) the vendor, (ii) the amount, (iii) the description of goods or services, including the quantity, (iv) whether the contract was sole-sourced or awarded through a competitive biding process?

(Return tabled)

Question No.471

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

With regard to the international and large business sector of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), since November 2015, and broken down by year: (a) how many audits were completed; (b) what is the number of auditors, broken down by category of auditors; (c) how many new files were opened; (d) how many files were closed; (e) of the files in (d), what was the average time it took to process the file before it was closed; (f) of the files in (d), what was the risk level of each file; (g) how much was spent on contractors and subcontractors; (h) of the contractors and subcontractors in (g), what is the initial and final value of each contract; (i) among the contractors and subcontractors in (g), what is the description of each service contract; (j) how many reassessments were issued; (k) what is the total amount recovered; (l) how many taxpayer files were referred to the CRA's Criminal Investigations Program; (m) of the files in (l), how many were referred to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada; and (n) of the files in (m), how many resulted in convictions?

(Return tabled)

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all remaining questions be allowed to stand.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Government Response to COVID-19 Pandemic

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I wish to inform the House that I have received a notice of a request for an emergency debate.

I invite the hon. member for Saanich—Gulf Islands rise and make a brief intervention.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I note that you seem to put some emphasis on the word “brief”. I will do my best, but it is an emergency. I think I will find sympathy with many members of the House to the request I bring to the House, but it is only your sympathy that I seek to have an emergency debate this evening on the rising problem of variants of concern.

The fact is that Canada remains at this point and is, as a number of members have just mentioned in question period, in a third wave. An emergency debate should not be a place where we blame each other, but where we take hold of this and ask what we must do better, because we must do better.

I first raised the request for an emergency debate on COVID-19 as it began to change in the second wave in November. My colleague, the member for Nanaimo—Ladysmith, asked again in February as the variants appeared to be threatening a third wave. We are now in that third wave.

There are many aspects of this to discuss, but the central question is whether we all, collectively, at different orders of government, need to shift from bending the curve to going to zero COVID to actually working to eliminate COVID from Canada by learning from what the Atlantic provinces are doing and what other provinces did. Can we have an emergency debate on that this evening? It clearly is an emergency.

Speaker's Ruling

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I want to thank the hon. member for Saanich—Gulf Islands for her intervention. I am prepared to grant an emergency debate concerning the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This debate will be held later today at the ordinary hour of daily adjournment.

Alleged Premature Disclosure of Private Member's Bill

[Paul Lefebvre, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am rising today to respond to the question of privilege raised by the member for Elgin—Middlesex—London with regard to Bill C-288, which I introduced in the House on Monday.

I would like to begin by thanking the member for bringing this matter to my attention. It is true that I spoke to reporters about my bill between the time it was put on notice and its introduction in the House.

That was a mistake on my part. I thought that, since I had described my bill during the emergency debate last Wednesday evening, it was okay to repeat the same comments outside the House. I did not know that one should not talk about a private member's bill during that period.

I would like to sincerely apologize to all members. I did not intend to breach the parliamentary privilege of the House. I now understand the implications of that decision, and I pledge to become more familiar with the rules and practices of the House.

Mr. Speaker, thank you for giving me the opportunity to explain myself on this important issue.

Alleged Premature Disclosure of Private Member's Bill—Speaker's Ruling

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I want to thank the member for his intervention. As the member for Elgin—Middlesex—London mentioned, the practice concerning the confidentiality of all bills on notice exists so that the House is the first to learn of new legislative measures.

In fact, I want to remind the members once again that, although they are allowed to conduct consultations during the development of a bill or to announce their intention to table a bill on a specific issue, they must not disclose the specific provisions contained in a bill when it is put on notice. Only the title is made public when the Notice Paper is published and remains so until the first reading of the bill.

In my ruling on March 10, 2020, on a similar matter, the Chair accepted the explanation of the member for Markham—Unionville, where he also apologized.

Under the circumstances, I am prepared to do the same for the member for Sudbury. Thus, in light of what has been presented, the precedence in the matter and the apologies from the member for Sudbury, the Chair considers the matter closed.

Because this is not the first time this has happened, I would like to remind members of the importance of respecting confidentiality when they are preparing bills or having them put on the Notice Paper.

I want to thank the hon. members for their attention.

The hon. member for Abitibi—Témiscamingue on a point of order.

Taking of Screenshot of Parliamentary Proceedings

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to apologize to the House for breaking the rules by taking a photograph of a colleague during oral question period on April 14, 2021.

I have already apologized to the member personally, but I also wanted to do so publicly. I apologize to him personally, to his family, to our colleagues and to anyone I may have offended.

I will close by saying that I have no idea how the image was leaked to the media and, under the circumstances, this will be my only comment.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I want to thank the hon. member for his intervention. I will get back to the House with my decision.

The House resumed from April 20 consideration of the motion that this House approve in general the budgetary policy of the government, of the amendment and of the amendment to the amendment.

Financial Statement of Minister of Finance

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, Humber River—Black Creek, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be able to participate via Zoom today.

As a female parliamentarian, it is a great honour for me to rise today and respond to this exciting 2021 budget. It is the first budget delivered by a female Minister of Finance and it really reflects that. It is a truly momentous occasion in our Canadian history.

I am very proud of my hon. colleague. She carries many titles: Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, the member for University—Rosedale and “mom”, but her most important title to me is a friend. I send my congratulations once again to the member for the hard work she is doing every day on behalf of all Canadians across this great country.

As we move forward, we are still in this battle against COVID-19. It is the fight of our lives. Unfortunately, my riding of Humber River—Black Creek is one of the hardest-hit areas in Toronto. My constituents are struggling—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I would ask the hon. member if she could continue after “Toronto”.

The hon. member for Kingston and the Islands is rising on a point of order.

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

Madam Speaker, I believe the member forgot to mention she will be sharing her time with the member for Outremont.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I was in the middle of a changing of the guard here, so I wonder if the hon. member wants to—

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, Humber River—Black Creek, ON]

Madam Speaker, yes, I will be sharing my time with the great member for Outremont.

As I indicated, my constituents are struggling. I want to take this opportunity to speak directly to the communities in my riding. Many of their residents have lined up in very long lines in pop-up spots today at clinics that are quickly being put together. I want them to know that the light at the end of the tunnel is near, and that we are all working day and night to get on top of this terrible pandemic. The best vaccine, of course, is the first one that is available to anyone. All of them have been approved by Health Canada, so I want to encourage everyone to get vaccines as soon as they are available. They will help save lives.

We are in the toughest stretch of this pandemic and, as the Prime Minister said earlier this week, now is not the time to let up, not even for a second. People should continue to follow all public health recommendations even after receiving the vaccine: We should wear masks, wash hands and continue to socially distance. We are in this together and we will beat this virus together.

Now I will go on to this wonderful budget. We talk specifically about the fact that no community will be left behind when it comes to job creation and growth, we say we will have Canadians' backs and we will extend business and income support measures through to the fall. We are going to make investments that will create jobs and help businesses across the economy come roaring back.

The budget is going to support almost 500,000 new training and work opportunities for people who have lost their jobs and do not have jobs to go back to, or who are looking for new opportunities. There will be skills training in a variety of areas, and work opportunities that could change their lives forever. Included in the budget are 215,000 new opportunities for youth. We do not want our youth to struggle more than they have already during the pandemic, and we want to see that they have employment opportunities for the future. Also included are supports for businesses in our most affected sectors, such as tourism, arts and culture. Accelerating investment in, and the digital transformation of, small and medium-sized businesses is the way to go.

This budget is a plan that puts the government on track to meet its commitment of one million jobs by the end of this year. I think about how important it is for people who are struggling with mental health and depression to know that the government is there for them.

Our tourism sector was hit hard, of course. It continues to be one of the hardest-hit sectors in Canada. Through this pandemic, I have been working with local travel agencies in my riding. Lina Matturro, who is the owner of Islington Travel, is a female small business owner who was negatively impacted by the pandemic. I would talk to Lina every week, sometimes every day, to help her return Canadians from abroad at the start of the pandemic. Lina worked tirelessly. The majority of travel agencies are headed by women. I truly wanted to help Lina and all of the other people involved in the travel industry, and budget 2021 has done just that. I was pleased that they were being given help and not left out. We must thank the Minister of Transport, the member for Mississauga Centre, for his tireless work and the successful negotiations to protect the commissions of hard-working individuals in the travel industry.

Now I will move on to something that is very important, which is early learning and child care. We have talked about this for many, many years. Frankly, now it is time. It is going to happen, because this plan is going to drive economic growth for all of the women who have been hit through this pandemic. This is a plan to increase women's participation in the work force, and to offer each child in Canada the best start in life. This plan is aimed at reducing fees for parents of children in regulated child care by 50%. I can just imagine those women thinking about the possibility that one day there will be child care available for $10 a day. It is going to cost $30 billion over the next five years and will provide permanent ongoing funding. For the families in Humber River—Black Creek, this will be a huge investment and a huge help for the many single mothers I have talked to over the years.

Pre-COVID, when I would walk through the local Jane Finch Mall or visit some of our local parks, I would meet new mothers who were just starting their families. They would tell me how much they appreciated the Canada child benefit. It is my hope that these mothers, when I see them next, will tell me about the new jobs they have secured because of the child care support they are receiving from our government.

Of course we all have talked a lot about seniors over these last months and their challenges and difficulties, whether in long-term care or simply struggling with limited income.

After a lifetime of hard work, seniors certainly deserve a secure and dignified retirement, which is why the government has committed to increasing old age security benefits for seniors aged 75 and older. The government plans to implement this commitment in two steps.

Budget 2021 proposes to meet the immediate needs of this group of seniors by providing a one-time payment of $500 this coming August to OAS pensioners who will be 75 or over as of the end of June 2022. Budget 2021 then proposes to introduce legislation to increase OAS payments for pensioners by 10% on an ongoing basis beginning in July 2022.

This would increase the benefits for approximately 3.3 million seniors, providing an additional benefit of $766 to full pensioners in the first year that is indexed to inflation going forward. This would really help to give seniors more financial security later in life, especially as we know they are facing increased expenses and are at a greater risk of running out of savings.

When this pandemic is over, I will have a chance to visit local seniors' groups who will have been successfully vaccinated. They will be playing cards or bingo at their local community centres. Not only will they be excited about the chance to yell out “bingo” again, they will be overjoyed with the increased support they will be receiving through budget 2021.

One of the problems we had in long-term care in my riding occurred at Hawthorne Place, an excellent home that looks after many of the most vulnerable. It was hit extremely hard with COVID-19. The Canadian Armed Forces were deployed to this facility. The unfortunate situation in my riding was not the only reason that led me to advocate for strengthening standards for long-term care homes. It has long been an issue that has needed to be addressed. We must protect our seniors and the most vulnerable across Canada.

Budget 2021 proposes to provide $3 billion over five years to Health Canada to support provinces and territories in ensuring that standards for long-term care are applied and permanent changes are made so that what happened through COVID-19 will never repeat itself. It is imperative for us. We have a moral responsibility to ensure we keep seniors safe and improve their quality of life. This work will ensure that seniors and those in care live in safe and dignified conditions.

I want to thank my colleagues for their continued advocacy on behalf of Canadians and those living in long-term care homes, especially our Prime Minister, who heard what our difficulties were and took action to improve the lives of our seniors.

We are unfortunately still in the battle of our lives against COVID-19, but the supports included in this budget will make a difference for Canadians and help them through this. Opportunities are coming. Growth is coming. Jobs are coming. After a long, grim year, Canadians are ready to recover and rebuild.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member opposite for highlighting what she liked in the budget.

There are a lot of seniors in my riding, and with two increases to the carbon tax during the pandemic and the rising costs of everything, I am wondering this. Why did the government decided to exclude seniors who are 65 to 75 years old from the increase to OAS?

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, Humber River—Black Creek, ON]

Madam Speaker, I very much enjoy working with my hon. colleague and hope she and her family are staying well.

The reality is that it is a tremendous amount of money. As much as we all would have loved to see a 10% increase to everyone, the practicality is that there is a cost factor. I would hope that, as we move forward, we will have additional resources and opportunities to help many of those seniors who continue to struggle, whether through GIS increases or other ways.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech, but I would now invite her to look Quebec seniors aged 65 to 74 in the eye and tell them that they have gotten enough support from the federal government and that they are not vulnerable enough to receive help in the next budget.

I would like her to tell them that in person, because since the Liberal government's announcement, I have received a ton of comments and letters of support from major Quebec seniors' groups such as FADOQ and the AQDR and from people who are confused. This measure would only cost $4 billion. That represents less than 1% of the deficit.

I would like her to repeat that this measure to support seniors is too costly. Furthermore, I am not even going to address the issue of the National Assembly's unanimous request that the federal government not interfere in Quebec's long-term care facilities. The federal government has no business lecturing Quebec. Quebec will look after its jurisdiction, for which it is solely responsible.