Debates of April 22nd, 2021

Health

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, every step of the way, we have been there for Canadians, regardless of which province they live in. We will continue to do that. We have some of the most rigid and stringent measures at the border, including a predeparture test, a post-arrival test, a mandatory stay in a government-authorized quarantine hotel, a test on day 10 and a 14-day quarantine.

We will continue those measures because they are protecting Canadians. I would urge everyone to stay safe during this time.

The Environment

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to wish everybody a happy Earth Day. Today is also the day that the Liberal government announced its plan to fight the climate crisis, and spoiler alert, it is not a very good plan.

In fact, it is one of the worst plans, if not the worst plan, among G7 nations in terms of reducing emissions, which is not a big surprise because this Prime Minister bought a pipeline, continues to subsidize the fossil fuel sector and continues to exempt the biggest polluters. When will this Prime Minister start fighting the climate crisis like he actually wants to win it?

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

Mr. Speaker, we have an ambitious plan to address climate change, cut emissions and grow the economy. I know the hon. member will not believe me, but perhaps he will believe the former leader of the New Democratic Party, Thomas Mulcair.

He called our plan absolutely marvellous, saying it would put Canada on track to respect our Paris Agreement obligations. He went on to say that our Prime Minister had published a very bold, all-encompassing, frankly brilliant climate plan. We agree.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, today, the Prime Minister announced his plan to fight the climate crisis.

It is not a very good plan. On the contrary, it is the worst plan among G7 nations. That is not surprising since the Prime Minister has a terrible environmental record. He bought a pipeline, he continues to subsidize big oil and he continues to exempt big polluters.

When will the Prime Minister start fighting the climate crisis like he actually wants to win it?

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

Mr. Speaker, we have a credible and tested climate plan that is delivering results. We have flattened the curve on pollution. We have made a historic investments of more than $100 billion in building a cleaner, healthier economy with more good jobs for Canadians. That includes $17.6 billion for climate and the environment in budget 2021, $15 billion through the strengthened and climate plan, $15 billion in dedicated transit funding, and $60 billion in the pan-Canadian framework. We will continue to fight climate change, invest in a cleaner future and create a stronger economy.

The Budget

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we are in the middle of the worst health crisis of our lifetime. There is a massive third wave. There are lockdowns across the country, and Canadians are desperate to get their shots, yet the Prime Minister's budget has no plan to speed up vaccinations. There is no support for overwhelmed hospitals or for Canadians who are sick and dying from COVID. His budget does have $100 billion for his re-election, but nothing to fight this pandemic.

Why did the Prime Minister put his political interests ahead of the health of Canadians? Does he not realize that this pandemic is now his failure?

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

Mr. Speaker, we knew that the third wave was coming. That is why, in March, we said we would be sending the provinces $4 billion to support them in their fight against the third wave of the virus. In March, we knew now important it was to accelerate the vaccination campaign. That is why we said the provinces would get $1 billion to do that. In this budget, we committed to extending business and income supports through to the end of September to help Canadians as we fight the third wave.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, she knew the third wave was coming, yet the Prime Minister's budget failed to deliver any money to vaccinate Canadians more quickly or to address skyrocketing health costs across the country. There is no support for provinces and health care workers, who are overwhelmed. Instead, the Prime Minister told them that he will get around to it after the pandemic is over.

As Canadians are suffering and dying, he found billions for his re-election, but not one nickel to provide Canadians with the health care they need. Does the Prime Minister not realize that this pandemic is now his failure?

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

Mr. Speaker, maybe the member opposite missed our announcement at the end of March, but we and epidemiologists could see the third wave was coming. We knew provinces and territories needed support right away. That is why we then announced $4 billion to support the health care system and $1 billion to support vaccination campaigns. In this budget we committed more than $12 billion in additional support to maintain our business and income support programs for Canadians through the end of September.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Well, Mr. Speaker, there is no way of sugar-coating this. This budget also failed to deliver an economic growth plan. There was no plan to reopen the economy or create jobs, or a more competitive business environment.

Here is what Robert Asselin, one of the Prime Minister's top policy advisors, had to say about the budget. He said, “this budget [is]...doubling down on programs that do not address our innovation shortcomings and have yielded few results to date.” He also said, “it is hard to find a coherent growth plan.” It is hard to find a coherent growth plan. This is coming from one of the Prime Minister's Liberal advisors.

Why has the Prime Minister failed Canadians so badly?

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

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, this is a budget targeted squarely at delivering jobs and increasing Canada's economic growth. This budget will create 500,000 work experience and job training opportunities. This budget will deliver on our throne speech commitment to create one million jobs by the end of this year. This budget is a budget that will help Canada come roaring back.

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, the media headlines could not have been clearer than they were this morning.

The Indian variant has arrived in Canada and the first case of it has been confirmed in Quebec in the region of the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. The Prime Minister has already been criticized many times for his management of the health crisis, particularly for waiting several weeks before temporarily closing the Canadian border to people coming from China.

Today, he has a chance to redeem himself. Will he temporarily close Canada's borders to people coming from India?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, as I have been saying today and, indeed, all along, we will stop at nothing to protect the health of Canadians. We have some of the strongest measures in the world at our borders. Travellers are required to submit to a predeparture test and a post-arrival test, and spend 14 days in quarantine. Several stay in a government-authorized quarantine facility while they await their negative tests. We will not hesitate to add additional measures if the data and science indicate that we should do so.

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

Mr. Speaker, our leader and member for Durham quickly called for the government to temporarily stop flights from countries with serious outbreaks of COVID variants. The Premier of Quebec also formally asked the Liberal Prime Minister to do more at our borders. We have been calling for these measures for a long time, but now it is too late. We already have a case of the Indian variant in Canada. The Conservatives want to take action at our borders.

How many variant cases will it take before the Liberals take action?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, this is where I differ in opinion with the member opposite. It is never too late to do something about COVID-19. There are always measures that we can take together, with provinces and territories, indeed with Canadians, to protect each other. COVID is something that requires a great deal of work collaboratively to control. It is a global pandemic. We will not hesitate to add additional measures at our borders when we need to do so.

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

Mr. Speaker, much like with the borders, the Liberal government failed to take action to increase health transfers for the provinces with no strings attached, in the midst of a pandemic. It failed to take action to secure the vaccine supply for Canadians. There is no question that it is the Prime Minister's fault that we are in the midst of a third wave.

Will the Prime Minister do the right thing and temporarily close Canada's borders to countries where there are severe outbreaks?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, as I repeatedly have said, we have some of the strongest measures in the world at our borders. In fact, we know that we have a very low number of travellers who arrive positive. How do we know? We demand a pre-departure test. We demand a post-arrival test. Travellers must spend time in a government-authorized hotel until they receive a negative test. They must continue their quarantine and submit to a day 10 test.

We will continue to apply measures at the border and we will not hesitate to do more if the science and evidence indicates we should do so.

The Environment

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois has spoken a lot about how health and seniors have been left out of the budget, and rightly so. However, there is another more inconspicuous victim, and that is the fight against climate change.

In the budget, the federal government announced $17.6 billion for a green recovery, but that is almost the same as the $17.1 billion cost of the Trans Mountain pipeline. If I understand correctly, the entire cost of Canada's green recovery is equivalent to the cost of a single project to develop dirty oil.

Are we supposed to take that seriously?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my hon. colleague that the leader of her party, when he was Quebec's environment minister, circumvented the Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement not once, not twice, but three times in the same year. That is the worst record of any environment minister in Quebec's history. If I were sitting with the Bloc on the other side of the House, I would not be so quick to criticize.

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Well, Mr. Speaker, I would not be so quick to criticize if I were a government member because Canada keeps missing its greenhouse gas reduction targets.

It invests money to combat climate change and then it invests heavily in fossil fuels. It was the same under Stephen Harper. They keep hoping a magic wand will transform dirty oil into clean energy instead of trying something else. As Einstein said, insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

How many times will the federal government keep trying the same thing before admitting that it does not work?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I remind my hon. colleague that Greenpeace called the climate plan we presented in December 2020 bold. Interestingly, that is the exact same word that John Kerry, the U.S. special presidential envoy for climate, used to describe Canada's target today. He called our target a bold step and said he was proud to be working with Canada in the fight against climate change.

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I see that the member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie has become the environment minister.

This morning, the commissioner of the environment released a report that illustrates this phenomenon. In 2015, Canada joined the UN plan for sustainable development, but six years later, the commissioner writes that the government has not developed an implementation plan. The same goes for the Paris Agreement. The Prime Minister signed the agreement in 2015, but six years later, Canada is the only G7 country whose emissions have increased instead of decreasing.

There is no solution that is compatible with fossil fuels. When will the government admit that?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, as I was saying, Canada's plan is ambitious.

We already have one of the most ambitious carbon pricing rates in the world, more ambitious than Quebec, British Columbia and even California and Europe, places that started putting a price on carbon nearly 15 years ago.

Our investments in the green economy are double the investments in the oil sector. All of that was done before the budget brought down by my colleague the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.

Our emissions are starting to come down, but we agree that we must do more and we will do more. That is why we presented this ambitious target at the climate summit today in the United States.

National Defence

[Leona Alleslev, Conservative, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, a brave woman came forward to report sexual misconduct allegations against General Vance to ensure the defence minister had this critical information. She knew that the situation was too serious to get wrong and that only the minister could make it right, but he did nothing for three years. The minister will not assume responsibility. He denies any wrongdoing and refuses to accept that he has failed those in uniform.

Will the defence minister honour his sworn obligation and admit he has been derelict in his ministerial duties?

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

Mr. Speaker, we commend the brave woman who has come forward. When this information was brought forward by the former ombudsman, I immediately took it to the Privy Council Office and the Privy Council Office immediately, the next day, followed up with the former ombudsman.

We have a lot more work to do. That is why, in budget 2021, we have outlined $236 million to continue to work to eliminate sexual misconduct and gender-based violence in the military and to support our survivors.