Debates of April 29th, 2021

Public Services and Procurement

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to provide some context for the number of doses being received in this country. About 14.7 million doses were received, which means 31% of Canadians have received at least one dose, and we are third in the G20 for cumulative doses administered. We are going to see two million doses of Pfizer coming into this country per week in the month of May and 2.5 million doses per week in the month of June, and 48 million to 50 million doses will be here by the end of June.

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the third wave and the variants are devastating our country. New provincial restrictions are in place from coast to coast. The United States has administered 220 million doses. Canada has administered less than 6% of that number.

The government knew that it would not receive the vaccines in time, so why did it leave the border open?

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

Mr. Speaker, these are the facts today. Vaccine manufacturing ramped up in January and February. We have now exceeded our target for the first quarter, and we are third in the G20 in terms of the number of vaccines administered.

We must work on a number of fronts to fight the virus: vaccination, procurement of PPE and health measures.

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, other countries received their vaccines in January and February, but not Canada.

According to the federal government's modelling, there can be no reopening until 20% of Canadians are fully vaccinated and 75% have received their first dose.

When will the Liberal government reach those objectives?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, we have a great vaccination story to tell. We are second in the G20 for administration of vaccines for the first dose, and many Canadians will be receiving their second dose over the months to come. May is going to be a bumper crop, and the provinces and territories are getting ready now to administer the most vaccines that we have to date. I am very much looking forward to their work and to seeing Canada through this.

Canadian Heritage

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the amendments the government has passed on Bill C-10 have been called a full-blown assault on free expression. In November, the Prime Minister said he would always defend freedom of expression, but now he is trying to regulate political speech that he does not like.

Why is the government attacking Canadians' free speech rights yet again?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to quote the member for Richmond—Arthabaska, who just a few months ago said that Bill C-10 does not go far enough. He wanted social media networks to be regulated, but he was not the only one. The member for Lakeland said that we had to do something to “protect youth and victims of abuse”, and the member for Calgary Skyview said that these companies profit off sexual exploitation and racism.

We are acting as we have promised, and we will continue to do so.

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I refer the minister to comments from the Canadian research chair in Internet law. He said the minister's amendments to Bill C-10 “speak to potential new regulation on the free speech of Canadians”, and most notably on political speech. The full force of the federal government can now be directed at political speech that the minister and the Prime Minister simply do not like.

Why is the Liberal government the most anti-Internet government in Canadian history?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I could point to SOCAN, the Canadian Independent Music Association and the Professional Music Publishers’ Association. They have all supported the amendments we proposed to Bill C-10. In fact, they have said that the characterization that this bill would affect freedom of expression is factually incorrect and dangerously misleading.

Employment Insurance

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, TVA reported that vacationers who have to quarantine upon their return will be entitled to EI. This is no joke. This winter, this government gave $1,000 to vacationers who had to quarantine. We told the government that this did not make any sense, and it finally backed down. Now it is at it again, not with its own money, but with EI money. Contributors are the ones paying for it.

The government needs to understand that it cannot reward people who choose to flout the rules in the middle of a pandemic.

Why is this so hard to understand?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear: No one can access federal assistance if they have to quarantine after returning to Canada from non-essential travel. Nothing has changed.

EI sickness benefits are still only available to Canadians who cannot work because they are sick or injured, not to those who must quarantine after choosing to travel abroad.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister can read and watch the TVA reports on this subject, which will show her that she is wrong when she says that.

People have been told 1,000 times not to travel. It has been drummed into their heads. Some are deciding to head south on vacation anyway, and Ottawa is telling them that their quarantine will be subsidized by the workers and employers who pay into the EI system. What a joke. Two weeks of EI will at least cover the cost of the plane ticket.

Will the government end this comedy of errors and immediately reverse this irresponsible decision?

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

Mr. Speaker, this is a classic example of a question that was written before the answer was given.

With all due respect to my friend from the Bloc Québécois, my colleague made it very clear that these people would not be eligible for sickness benefits. We have been very clear about that, and nothing has changed. Sickness benefits do not apply to people who go on vacation, period.

Health

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the third wave of COVID-19 is hitting hard, and it is still the most vulnerable, essential workers and frontline workers who are getting sick and who risk spreading the virus to their families and communities. The government has a responsibility to act.

Will the Prime Minister commit to ensuring that the most vulnerable are vaccinated as soon as possible?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, let me be clear. The Government of Canada has been an exceptionally strong partner for the provinces and territories when it comes to vaccination. Not only have we procured a diverse portfolio, but we have also paid for them entirely, alleviating the provinces and territories from the burden of vaccinating. We have also supported them with logistics and with additional support, should they need access to human resources for deployment.

We will be there for the provinces and territories, no matter what their health human resources needs or other equipment needs are.

Labour

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I asked the Prime Minister whether he would be willing to improve paid sick leave. Instead of responding to the question, he responded with jibber-jabber about jurisdiction.

Here is the thing. There is already a federal paid sick leave program. The problem is that it does not work. I have a crazy idea. How about we make it work? All of the experts agree that a paid sick leave program that works would save lives, so why does the Prime Minister hide behind excuses when we are saying to improve the program that is already there?

Will the Prime Minister do that and save lives?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, I disagree. This program is absolutely working. From the beginning of the pandemic, our government has focused on providing assistance for Canadians. Paid sick leave has been a foundational element of our public health response. More than eight million workers accessed the CERB, close to 500,000 Canadians have claimed the Canada recovery sickness benefit and millions more continue to have access to four weeks of paid sick leave.

Beyond our emergency supports, eight million workers have access to paid sick days as a result of the EI premium reduction program, and hundreds of thousands of workers continue to access more flexible EI sickness benefits. Through budget 2021, we are extending EI sickness benefits to 26 weeks, providing yet another 169,000 Canadians with additional support—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Louis-Saint-Laurent.

National Defence

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

Mr. Speaker, our Conservative government asked Justice Marie Deschamps to conduct a review of harassment and assault in the Canadian military.

She submitted that report in 2015. Today, six years later, the government is all proud to announce an inquiry into harassment and assault in the Canadian military, led by Justice Louise Arbour. It is exactly the same thing, but six years later.

Does that not show that nothing has changed in the Canadian military since the government has been in power? The government has done nothing, despite the report we commissioned in 2015.

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to begin today by acknowledging the anniversary of the crash of Stalker 22 off the coast of Greece. One year ago today, we lost six Canadian Armed Forces members in the line of duty. They were dedicated to their work, passionate about serving Canada and beloved by their crew, families and community. Our thoughts are with the families today.

When it comes to sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces, we are absolutely committed to root this out, and today's announcement was another step toward that.

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

Mr. Speaker, our thoughts are with the victims the minister was talking about.

Our thoughts are also with those who have been the victims of harassment in the Canadian military and who see that this government has done nothing for six years, despite the 2015 report that we commissioned. What is more, the government continues to keep Canadians in the dark regarding the Prime Minister's behaviour.

At the beginning of the week, the Prime Minister said that no one in his cabinet knew that there were allegations of sexual harassment against General Vance. An email shows that they knew that in 2018.

When will the Prime Minister finally tell Canadians the truth?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government has 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 Prime Minister's chief of staff, who then took it to the Privy Council Office for review. In other words, these are the same steps we are following.

Can the Leader of the Opposition seriously have his party stand here and decry that process, the same one that he took?

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

Mr. Speaker, a defence minister must ensure that Canada's military not only defends the values for which our nation stands, but also embodies them. Under this minister, the old boys club continues unchecked. Members of the military police feel they can safely mock victims of sexual misconduct rather than protect them from it. Senior officers believe they can make recommendations about service members' conduct without taking into consideration convictions of sexual assault.

Will the minister admit he has failed in his duty as Minister of National Defence?

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

Mr. Speaker, we learned very troubling news yesterday, that former Prime Minister Harper appointed General Vance in 2015 even though he was under active investigation by CFNIS. Days after the Conservatives appointed him, the investigation was suddenly dropped. According to an ATIP, the commanding officer said that he was under pressure, but not from whom, at that time.

The Leader of the Opposition says he passed along the sexual misconduct allegations about General Vance in 2015, claiming those were looked into. How is this possible if General Vance was appointed at that time and the investigation was suddenly dropped?

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

Mr. Speaker, justice delayed is justice denied. This defence minister failed to implement the Deschamps report, and this new review will suffer the same fate. Rather than standing for women, he has reinforced an entrenched and toxic military culture. He knew about the allegations of sexual misconduct against General Vance for three years and did nothing. His inaction has emboldened the old boys club and denied women the opportunity to be believed.

Will the minister admit he has failed in his duty as Minister of National Defence?