Debates of April 22nd, 2021

National Defence

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

Mr. Speaker, three years ago, a female member of the Canadian Armed Forces complained to the military ombudsman about General Jonathan Vance's inappropriate behaviour. She wanted to make sure the minister took responsibility.

General Vance's position reports directly to the Minister of National Defence. The solution rests with the minister, but he is washing his hands of the matter, saying he referred the matter to his chief of staff.

Why did the Minister of National Defence desert the women of the Canadian Armed Force by refusing to deal with the complaint?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, that could not be further from the truth. When this information was brought forward, I immediately contacted the Pricy Council Office, which is in charge of Governor in Council appointments, to ensure that action was taken, and action was. The following day it contacted the former ombudsman to take the information even further.

We know that we have a lot more work to do. As outlined in our budget, we have $236 million to combat and eliminate sexual misconduct and gender-based violence in the military. Also, I am hoping the member opposite and his party will support this endeavour.

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the minister has to stop misleading Canadians. The military officer who came forward with sexual misconduct allegations against General Vance said that this was “a political appointment...so it is a political issue.” She wanted the minister to actually see the evidence so “the defence minister's accountability could be reflected.” The defence minister failed to protect our troops from sexual misconduct by refusing to accept the evidence.

Will the defence minister apologize for failing to protect the integrity of Operation Honour by leaving General Vance in charge for an extra three years?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, as I stated, when any information is brought forward, it has always been immediately actioned, and that is exactly what we did. We contacted the Privy Council Office to ensure action was taken.

Since the member opposite is bringing this up, maybe he can also explain, when he was a parliamentary secretary, and also ask the leader of his own party, the actions they took when information was brought forward prior to the appointment of General Vance at that time, and why action was not taken at that time.

Natural Resources

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today the Liberals released their new greenhouse gas reduction targets, which is great, but they do not have a credible plan to achieve those targets. They cannot undertake an energy transition because they are addicted to oil.

According to a report, in 2020 alone, the Liberals gave $18 billion to oil and gas companies. No surprise, then, that they have been downgrading their targets year after year since coming to power.

How are we supposed to take the Liberal targets seriously when the Liberals could not even achieve the Conservative targets?

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, we flattened the curve on pollution, and we know there is more work to do.

That being said, the authors of the report the hon. member is citing are not being entirely forthright in their assessment of subsidies that include many things the vast majority of Canadians would agree are not fossil fuel subsidies, such as supporting workers, cleaning up orphan wells and methane cleanup. These were supported by the NDP and Greens at the time. Are they now opposed to it?

We fully agree that Canada needs to eliminate real fossil fuel subsidies, but mixing several issues in this report does not contribute to an intelligent discussion of this important subject.

Public Services and Procurement

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, COVID infections are raging across Canada and hospitals in many provinces are overwhelmed. Canadians need to be vaccinated as quickly as possible to help address this crisis. However, the head of the Public Health Agency just told the health committee that Canada's vaccine rollout was only operating at half capacity. This is due to a lack of supply of doses.

Will the Liberals stop spinning and blaming others, take responsibility for their failure to secure enough vaccines and tell Canadians when we will be able to vaccinate at full capacity?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, we have been extremely clear and transparent with Canadians about the expected vaccine rollout, about the doses arriving in our country and, indeed, any delays in those doses. In fact, there is good news. We are ahead of where we projected we would be. In fact, we expected by the end of quarter one to have six million doses. We received nearly 10 million. We will be receiving 48 million doses in this quarter, enough to vaccinate every person with one dose for those people who wish vaccination.

We will continue to work with provinces and territories to get the job done.

The Budget

[Kamal Khera, Liberal, Brampton West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as a proud member of Parliament for one of the youngest ridings in the country, I know how much investments in our children and youth matter.

The Canada child benefit alone helped over 37,000 children in my riding of Brampton West. This week, Canada's first female Minister of Finance announced a historic budget that includes investments in early learning and child care programs that will provide more young Canadians with the education and care they need, while giving parents peace of mind.

Could the minister please tell us how this historic investment into Canada's future will help even more families, children and particularly women in Brampton West and across Canada?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize the member for Brampton West's service as a nurse on the front lines of the pandemic.

Our government recognizes the extraordinary and disproportionate toll this pandemic has taken on women, particularly racialized women and those with young children. That is why this budget commits up to $30 billion over five years, reaching $9.2 billion on a permanent basis, to build a high-quality, affordable and accessible early learning and child care system across Canada.

Public Services and Procurement

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, we know that the Liberals overpaid for the AstraZeneca vaccine, in fact, substantially overpaid: $8 dollars a dose compared to $4 in the United States and $3 in the U.K. When I pay a premium, I expect premium results, but Canadians are paying far more for far less. Now the AstraZeneca vaccine is being delayed.

With results like that, it is no surprise that the Minister of Procurement wants to keep the vaccine contracts that she negotiated secret. When will she comply with the House motion and table those vaccine contracts so Canadians can see why we are paying way more for way less?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government is working tirelessly to bring vaccines into this country. That is why we are in the top three of vaccine administration in the G20. That is why we have 11 million doses administered and 13.7 million doses distributed.

We will work to comply with the parliamentary process, while keeping Canada's vaccine supply safe for the health and benefit of all Canadians.

[Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Conservative, South Surrey—White Rock, BC]

Mr. Speaker, with rising cases, B.C. handed down tougher restrictions this week, restrictions that will keep families apart and cause businesses to close for good.

B.C.'s health minister, Adrian Dix, called the Liberals' delivery of vaccines “unpredictable”; and Dr. Bonnie Henry said there was no “line of sight on additional doses”.

We have had more than 14 months to figure this out. More than one-quarter of Americans are fully vaccinated. That number in Canada is 2.5%. Where is the Liberal government's urgency?

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to emphasize that our supply chains for vaccines are ramping up considerably. Let us just take a look at the facts. Key fact: We exceeded our targets in Q1 by 3.5 million. Key fact: We are receiving between 48 million and 50 million doses in Q2. Key fact: We will have 110 million doses here before the end of September.

We are providing transparency to the provinces and territories with our supply chains. We will keep bringing in vaccines for all Canadians.

Health

[James Cumming, Conservative, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, throughout the pandemic, immune-compromised individuals have had to live in fear and isolation. My son, Garrett, is one of these individuals. Immune-compromised persons need vaccines, which the Prime Minister has not delivered.

Only 2% of Canadians are fully vaccinated. Experts are sounding alarms about the four-month, off-label dosing interval, potentially compromising health outcomes. Canadians should not live in fear, and the failure to get vaccines lies directly with the Prime Minister.

Will the minister apologize for this failure?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, every step of the way we have been there for provinces and territories to ensure that they have the vaccines they need to prioritize their populations in the order they believe is best and safest for Canadians.

Let me be clear. Vaccination serves two purposes: one is to protect those most at risk from a severe outcome from COVID-19, including death, and the other is to help control the spread.

We have worked with the provinces and territories to make sure they have the guidance they need. They then design their vaccine strategies as appropriate for their particular populations.

COVID-19 Emergency Response

[Rob Morrison, Conservative, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I just met with the Fernie Chamber of Commerce and it is planning an economic recovery. They need the economic recovery plan for this summer's tourism and hospitality sector. Yet, there is still no plan. Tourism and hospitality needs to plan for the summer now.

Now we are in a third wave due to the Prime Minister's inability to provide vaccines in January and February. It is another blow to the struggling tourism and hospitality industry.

When will the Prime Minister admit his failure?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to send my thoughts to the people in the tourism sector who have been going through a very difficult year. We know that. This is exactly why we have been there for them since the beginning of the pandemic, and my colleague knows that. It is the case in B.C., it is the case in his riding and it is the case across the country.

To make sure that the sector would be able to get through the pandemic, the Minister of Finance, in her budget, announced that we would be continuing the wage subsidy until the end of September, as well as the rent relief program. Of course, we also announced $1 billion to support the tourism sector. This is a historic investment. We will be by their side as we restart—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia.

The Environment

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is hard to keep track of this government's greenhouse gas reduction targets. On Sunday, its reduction target was 30% over 2005 levels by 2030. In the budget, on Monday, it was 36%. Today it is 40%, or perhaps even 45% if things go well. That is a lot of changes for one week, and yet it is nothing but hot air if it does not have the force of law.

The government introduced Bill C-12, its climate accountability bill. The government is free to pick its target, but my question is this: Will the government amend Bill C-12 to include that target in the text of the bill?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for her question.

There is a word for what she is describing. It is called ambition. We need to be ambitious in the fight against climate change, whether in Canada, the United States or elsewhere on the planet.

That is why Prime Minister Trudeau is very pleased to join his counterparts from around the world today at this conference, to take ambitious action in the fight against climate change.

To answer my colleague's question, yes, we will include Canada's 2030 climate change target in Bill C-12.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Before continuing, I saw a few raised eyebrows, and I want to remind the member not to name other members by their names. He may refer to their riding name or their title in the House. I just wanted to give this small reminder, as it is sometimes forgotten.

The hon. member for Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia.

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I applaud good intentions and ambition, but if the targets are not included in legislation, they will have no impact. It is a good thing that today's good intentions are better than yesterday's, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

At present, Ottawa is not adopting any new legal obligation to meet either this new target or the old target by 2030. The government is not bound to have any independent reporting, and it is not setting any deadline for an interim progress update in the next 10 years.

Will the government have the courage to amend Bill C-12 to entrench its target in law?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for her question.

I would like to inform her that Canada submits an annual greenhouse gas inventory to the United Nations as part of its commitments.

The environment commissioner and the Auditor General conduct regular audits of the government's efforts to fight climate change.

Furthermore, with Bill C-12, we are creating an advisory body to help us and to ensure that Canada will meet its targets.

We are one of the few countries in the world to have a bill like Bill C-12, and we urge the House to act quickly to pass this important bill.

Public Services and Procurement

[Warren Steinley, Conservative, Regina—Lewvan, SK]

Mr. Speaker, Regina's drive-through COVID-19 vaccine clinic was shut down this past weekend. The province announced that unless there was a sudden increase in vaccine supplies, it may remain closed until May 2.

The Liberal government has set the people of Saskatchewan on a collision course. Because of its incompetence, the people of Regina are left with no option for two weeks. Why is it that any American can walk into a pharmacy in the U.S.A. and get vaccinated while Canadians continue to wait? From the very beginning, the government has been a day late and a dollar short.

When will vaccinations for the people of Regina be delivered?