Debates of April 26th, 2021

Clotilda Douglas-Yakimchuk

[Jaime Battiste, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

Mr. Speaker, Cape Breton has lost one of its trailblazers and a pillar of the community. Clotilda Douglas-Yakimchuk was the first Black graduate from the Nova Scotia Hospital School of Nursing. She would go on to become the first and only Black president of the Registered Nurses Association of Nova Scotia. She served as director of the Education Services at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital and played a key role in bringing a nursing program to Cape Breton University.

Clotilda was an accomplished woman and an advocate for social justice in Whitney Pier and across Cape Breton. She has been recognized by her province and her country, receiving both the Order of Nova Scotia and the Order of Canada. A mother, a grandmother and a great-grandmother, our province is brighter for having had her in it.

To her family and community, I offer my sincere condolences.

National Defence

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the cover-up of General Vance's conduct went to the very top. The Minister of National Defence knew; the former clerk of the Privy Council, Michael Wernick, knew; the Prime Minister's senior adviser, Elder Marques, knew; and now we know the Prime Minister's chief of staff, Katie Telford, knew, but the Prime Minister insists he did not, which leaves us with two options, when it comes to the Prime Minister's attitude toward sexual harassment in the military.

The Prime Minister is either grossly incompetent or he is complicit. Which one does he want Canadians to believe?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government has absolutely no tolerance for misconduct. We followed the proper process, the same one the previous government followed.

The current leader of the official opposition was made aware of misconduct rumours in 2015. It was serious enough that he asked his staff to notify the former prime minister's chief of staff at that time, who then took it to the Privy Council Office for review. In other words, the same steps were followed.

Could the leader of the official opposition seriously have his party stand here and decry that process, the same one that he took?

Health

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I will answer my own question. The Prime Minister is both grossly incompetent and complicit when it comes to cover-up of sexual harassment in the military.

Once again, the Prime Minister was late at the border, and his measures are not strong enough to make a difference. The Prime Minister has never taken flights coming from hot spots seriously. In fact, today, somebody could fly in from India to Buffalo, New York, hop in a cab and cross the border into Canada. With that comes more COVID variants.

Canadians do want stronger measures. Will the Prime Minister protect our borders?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has one of the strongest border measures in the world. Travellers coming into Canada today need to get a COVID test prior to departure; then they need to be tested upon arrival; then they need to stay at a hotel for three days; then they need to finish their quarantine and get a test on day eight; and, if they are found to be infected while arriving, they are asked to spend the remainder of their quarantine period at a government facility.

Last week, we took extra measures and suspended flights from India and Pakistan.

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, that is just not true, and that minister does not know his own file. People can fly into the U.S. from India or Pakistan, get in a car and drive across the border. There are no rapid tests at the border.

COVID-19 and double variants have been reported all around the world, including 50 countries, and the Prime Minister is just playing whack-a-mole when it comes to COVID-19. We need to stop flights from all hot spots now and we need to get rapid testing at the border now.

Is the Prime Minister going to wait a day, a week or never to make the right decision?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, far be it from me to correct the hon. member, but I will try. Travellers who come through the U.S. need to get a test in the U.S. prior to arriving at the border and then when arriving at the border, they have to get tested again.

Were her colleagues not asking for the suspension of the hotel quarantine just a few weeks ago? Thank goodness we did not listen to them.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is really appalling to see the Prime Minister and his government refusing to take any responsibility. When asked what he thought of the way he has handled this pandemic, the Prime Minister said that he had no regrets.

Hundreds of thousands of Canadians are currently grappling with the pandemic. There were delays in managing the border and with rapid testing, and most importantly, there were supply failures. This Liberal government should take full and complete responsibility for that.

Does the Prime Minister agree with the idea of requiring rapid tests for all those arriving in Canada?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, every step of the way we have been there for Canadians, leading with science, evidence and with the advice of our chief public health officers and officials.

While we are talking about rapid tests, let us just talk about the rapid tests we have sent. We have sent over 25.4 million rapid tests to provinces and territories, over 4.7 to Quebec alone, and we did not stop there. We have also provided expertise, guidance and support to deploy those tests.

We will stop at nothing to ensure Canadians have the tools they need to protect themselves during this pandemic.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is the same old bad Liberal approach. They keep saying that they are doing their job and that it is the provinces that are not doing their job. They have such contempt for our provincial partners.

The reality is that in January and February, Canada went 10 days without any vaccine deliveries, and that had nothing to do with the provinces. The government and the Minister of Health should take full and complete responsibility.

Does the Minister of Health agree with our proposal to require rapid tests for everyone crossing the border? Yes or no?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, every step of the way we have managed to provide provinces and territories and, indeed, Canadians with the tools they need when they need them, including rapid tests. We will stop at nothing.

As my colleague has said, we have some of the strongest measures at the border, including at the land border. In fact, international travel represents 1.4% of infectivity in this country, and they are caught by our border measures. They are quarantined.

In fact, what we see is infection rates in communities posing the greatest risk, and that is why we are going to continue to be there for PTs with health human resources, with testing, with expertise and anything else they need to get through this third wave.

Labour

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on the program Tout le monde en parle yesterday, regarding the strike at the Port of Montreal, the Prime Minister said that companies were diverting their ships because Montreal was unreliable.

It is not Montreal that is unreliable, but rather the Liberal government, which has let the conflict drag on for eight months. Now the conflict is really getting out of hand.

The Minister of Labour said that all possible solutions have been exhausted, but she has not even tried the most obvious one, namely getting the parties to the table and talking before introducing special legislation. Time is running out.

What are the Liberals going to do to make up for eight months of inaction?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois likes to say that it will defend Quebec. The Bloc does not have to be all talk, because it can take action now.

Quebec is suffering greatly as a result of the closure of the Port of Montreal, and the city is not alone in that suffering. Quebec families are worried about their jobs and their futures.

Will Quebec be able to count on the Bloc Québécois to support the resumption of operations at the port? Will the Bloc turn its back on Quebec or will it join us in moving forward together?

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, that is the result of eight months of Liberal inaction.

The Prime Minister is incapable of acting under pressure. There are plenty of examples. Last year, the Liberals let the CN labour dispute drag on until a propane shortage threatened farmers' crops. They let the Wet'suwet'en conflict drag on to the point where the Prime Minister even asked the police to deal with indigenous protesters. Now, Ottawa has let the Montreal port strike drag on to the point where it has to propose special legislation. This is a government of laggards.

Why does every labour dispute involving the Prime Minister deteriorate to the point of threatening our economy? He needs to wake up.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, for once, the Bloc Québécois has the opportunity to act, but it is refusing to do so.

The Bloc Québécois is very good at talking, but when it comes to taking action, supporting the government and making a difference for all Quebeckers, just like that, it starts twiddling its thumbs.

What does he think about what Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon, Minister Jean Boulet, Michel Leblanc, François Vincent and Stéphane Paquet are saying? Whether they are from the Quebec government or from industry, all stakeholders are telling us that we need to resolve this problem.

The Bloc Québécois has the opportunity to stand up for Quebec. Will it do so?

Health

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the third wave of COVID-19 is hitting hard.

These are tough times. Essential workers are getting sick. All their family members are getting sick. Even young people are getting sick now.

Thirteen-year-old Emily lost her life. Her dad works in a factory. That is exactly why we need to act right now to improve access to paid sick leave and to vaccinate the people who need it most.

When will the Prime Minister take action to save lives?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, budget 2021 contains historic investments for workers, for training, for job creation and for employment insurance, as well as support measures to help us get through this crisis.

Paid sick leave has been a key public health measure since the onset of the pandemic. Workers have access to four weeks of benefits for the Canada recovery sickness benefit. In budget 2021, we will extend EI sickness benefits from 15 weeks to 26 weeks, which will provide additional support to approximately 169,000 Canadians.

The government will help Canadians get through this crisis.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I just spoke about a 13-year-old girl who lost her life to COVID-19. What kind of response was that? We have people dying in this country, and workers are going into work sick because they cannot access paid sick leave. That is not good enough. We need to save lives. We know the answers. The experts have made it clear. We need better access to paid sick leave, and we need to vaccinate the communities that need help the most. The most vulnerable people in our society are the ones who are dying.

When will the Prime Minister take action to save these lives?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, of course our hearts go out to the families and friends of every single person lost in the COVID-19 pandemic, and especially to the family of that 13-year-old girl.

We have made paid sick leave a key public health measure since the onset of the pandemic. Workers have access to four weeks of benefits for the CRSB. We have raised EI sickness benefits from 15 weeks to 26 weeks. We are working with the provinces to complement the support they can and are, thank goodness, starting to provide.

Make no mistake. We know how important it is for workers to have access to paid sick leave. That is why we have done it since day one of this pandemic.

Labour

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

Mr. Speaker, dock workers at the Port of Montreal have been without a contract since 2018. The government has allowed uncertainty to hang over this highly strategic port for more than two years.

As I said last week, the Liberals are slow to make decisions, and they are slow to act. Instead of being proactive, they wait until the problem is too obvious to ignore. Now the dock workers have started an open-ended general strike. Why did the Liberals take so long to act?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, we have been there from the very beginning, more than two and a half years ago, to help the parties negotiate. In the past 100 days, we provided a federal mediator.

There is a consensus in Quebec that we need to intervene to get the port running again. The Government of Quebec is asking for this, as are all of the stakeholders, because thousands of jobs and the supply chain are at risk, as are the Port of Montreal's credibility and reputation. I would like my colleague to tell me whether the Conservatives will support us.

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

Because of this situation, companies in Canada and around the world now consider the Port of Montreal to be so unreliable that they are taking their business to other North American seaports. We are basically a laughingstock.

Quebec minister Pierre Fitzgibbon said this morning that the situation is critical for our businesses and that two strikes in one year is not acceptable. The other thing that is not acceptable is the Liberal government's inaction. Why are the Liberals content with their failure and weakness?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, we have been there from the start of the negotiations. I am fine with listening to my Conservative colleague lecture the government and the entire planet, but he has a chance to do something.

He can complain and criticize everyone else, but this is a minority government, and we need the support of an opposition party. Will my colleague continue to complain, or will he stand up for Quebec and support the government?

National Defence

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

Mr. Speaker, on Friday, the former senior adviser to the Prime Minister, Elder Marques, told the defence committee that the Prime Minister's chief of staff was directly aware of the allegations against General Vance three years ago. It was Katie Telford who directed Mr. Marques to contact the defence minister's office and report back to her on multiple occasions. The Liberals cannot seriously expect Canadians to believe that Ms. Telford withheld this crucial information from the Prime Minister.

When will the Prime Minister take responsibility and quit misleading Canadians?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I stated before, our government has absolutely no tolerance for misconduct. We followed the proper process, the same one the previous government followed. The current Leader of the Opposition was made aware of the misconduct of members in 2015. It was serious enough that he asked his staff to notify the Prime Minister's chief of staff, who then took it to the Privy Council Office for review; in other words, the same steps were followed. Can the leader of the official opposition seriously have his party stand here and decry that process, the same one that he took?