Debates of April 29th, 2021

Opposition Motion—Access to COVID-19 Vaccines

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Order. It is my duty pursuant to Standing Order 38 to inform the House that the questions to be raised tonight at the time of adjournment are as follows: the hon. member for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, National Defence; the hon. member for Mégantic—L'Érable, Rail Transportation; the hon. member for Courtenay—Alberni, Fisheries and Oceans.

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

Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to be taking part in the debate started today by our leader, the Leader of the Opposition. I will be sharing my time with the member for Regina—Lewvan.

We are gathered here today to take stock of the effects of the pandemic. As we speak, in my riding, shops are closed, there is a lockdown and a curfew has been imposed. All these measures were implemented by the Quebec provincial government in response to the current reality.

It is true that the third wave is hitting countries around the world, but, unfortunately, it is hitting Canada harder. That is because it is due to the Liberal government, which has been making bad decisions at the wrong time all along and, above all, has been dragging its feet. We are not questioning its good intentions; we are just pointing out the facts. The result is that, today, we are in catch-up mode rather than being a model and an example for the entire world.

I want to pay tribute to the government of the Right Hon. Jean Chrétien. Hon. members will recall that around the year 2000, he created a panel of Canadian experts, scientists, who were tasked with monitoring and assessing the risk of pandemics around the world. That was the right thing to do, and I commend the Chrétien government.

When we were in power, our government maintained that organization of Canadian scientists. They were doing good work that helped Canada be autonomous and not have to rely on anyone for monitoring and assessing pandemics around the globe.

However, when the current Liberal government came to power, it did exactly the opposite. This government keeps lecturing everyone and presenting itself as a government that relies purely on science, that listens to Canadian scientists and that says science is important in Canada, which is a statement we do agree with. However, without warning, this government dissolved that independent Canadian organization, whose scientists had been doing a great job of monitoring pandemics for more than 20 years. That was the government's first big mistake.

Its second big mistake was slashing the pandemic prevention and preparation budget, which dropped from $73 million under our government to $51 million under this government. That is still a substantial amount, but it is less, so Canada was caught with its pants down because it did not have adequate supplies.

Furthermore, we must not forget that, in the earliest days of this crisis, the government gave China hundreds of thousands of essential items to cope with the pandemic, including masks and gloves.

To sum up, well before COVID-19 hit our country, the government made three bad decisions: dissolving the panel of Canadian experts who were doing a great job of assessing pandemic risk; slashing funding for pandemic prevention; and giving away hundreds of thousands of essential items needed to fight this pandemic. That was the Liberals' game plan well before the COVID-19 pandemic started.

When COVID-19 first appeared, we took it very seriously. Here in the House, as early as January 2020, the official opposition started asking the government questions, but it looked down on us at the time and almost made it seem like we were scaremongering when there was no real danger.

I will be a good sport. We were asking questions, and it is too bad the government took that approach, but it is important to understand that, at the time, few people knew what lay ahead. We were doing our best to promote prevention by sounding the alarm and holding the government to account, but to no avail. Unfortunately, by acting as it did, the government brushed aside any fears that Canadians might have had.

When COVID-19 arrived, the government made a big mistake. It took more than 10 days, almost two weeks, to finally do what it should have done from the beginning, like the rest of the planet: close the borders.

When the Prime Minister was announcing the measure, he looked extremely uncomfortable, like he could barely stomach it, considering his globalist view that borders must remain open. However, it was the right thing to do. When it comes to pandemics, health and safety, we need to take tough action rather than waxing lyrical. For about 10 days, the Prime Minister dragged his feet.

This is why we were already behind when the pandemic hit and the government had to make decisions. A crooked foundation is not a good start. It is impossible to build a solid house on that.

The government took its time on borders and rapid testing. I remind members that the United States started using Abbott Laboratories' rapid test in March, but we did not start using it until September. We lost six months there.

Access to vaccines is where the government really dropped the ball from those early days. The government first looked to China, which was a serious mistake. It signed an agreement with CanSino Biologics and we waited for months to get results. The deal ended up falling apart in July. The company did an about-face and dropped Canada. We lost four months.

We bear the scars of those decisions today, because they are why the third wave is hitting us harder. We are behind on borders, on rapid testing and on vaccines.

The government backpedalled and started knocking on the doors of all the other companies to find out whether it too could get a few vaccines, and we are paying a hefty price as a result. It recently came to light that Canada paid twice what other countries did for the AstraZeneca vaccine. Latecomers pay more. That is what happened to the government.

We are therefore way behind when it comes to vaccine production and access. The Conservatives asked 126 questions about vaccination last fall because we believe in it and we are encouraging all those who want a shot to get vaccinated. We believe in vaccination. Unfortunately, the Prime Minister dragged his feet.

However, he did think of something. Just before Christmas, he put on a big dog-and-pony show by holding a quick vaccination campaign so that everyone would be happy. His dog-and-pony show was successful, I must admit. A certain number of doses of the vaccine were administered, a few people got their shots, and he was there to get some good photo ops.

Then in January and February, there were 10 days during which no vaccine was delivered to Canada. Because of that 10-day gap in January and February, we are now behind in our vaccination rollout. Now the third wave is hitting Canada harder than other countries. Businesses and shops in my riding are closed. We have an 8 p.m. curfew because, unfortunately, the government did not procure enough vaccine for Canada. We had that gap in January and February, and now we are paying the price. It is a shame.

What did the government do then? It went and poached vaccines that were meant for poor countries. It took vaccines from COVAX, which is a great initiative that good countries, like ours, are participating in. We contributed, and the idea was that developed countries would pool vaccines so that developing countries could access them. It is the right thing to do, and it makes sense.

We are a G7 country. We are not a poor country. Canada had to take from the poor to get access to vaccines. How shameful. I love my country. I love Canada and I am proud to be Canadian, but I was not proud to see the 10-day gap and even less so when my country helped itself to vaccines that were meant for the less fortunate in the world.

What we saw was very unfortunate. The result is that we currently have a four-month wait, which is the longest delay. We are paying the price, too. The lifting of the lockdown is going very well in Great Britain. In the United States, stadiums are full of people who have been vaccinated. Barely 2.7% of Canadians are vaccinated, compared to more than 26% of Americans. We deserve better.

I want to use these last few seconds of my speech to say that, for the past two weeks, I have been a member of the vaccinated club. I am proud of how things went in L'Ancienne-Lorette. The staff were very devoted and welcoming, and they accommodated us nicely. I got my first shot, and I am very proud of that.

I urge everyone watching to get vaccinated. The decision is theirs. It is not mandatory. There is no magic wand. Vaccination is one of the best ways out of this pandemic. I urge everyone to get vaccinated.

[Luc Desilets, Bloc, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Madam Speaker, I thank our colleague, who once again made some very eloquent remarks. I agree with he said at the end of his speech. Indeed, all we can do is encourage people to get vaccinated. I got mine about ten days ago.

However, I would like to remind my colleague that his party, the Conservative Party, moved a motion on March 23, 2021, asking the government for a reopening plan.

Does he think that was a mistake or would he do the same thing again today?

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

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, and I commend his contribution to the debate.

I am sure my colleague would agree that we all want everything to reopen. However, lockdowns need to be lifted in an orderly fashion and with everyone following public health guidelines. We must therefore work with the provinces, which are on the front lines.

If we had had access to the number of doses needed to vaccinate everyone in time, in other words, back in November and December, like in other places such as Great Britain, for example, our constituents would not still be dealing with the unfortunate effects of lockdown.

We respect the fact that it is up to the provinces to manage the situation. However, we must also point out that if the government had done the right thing in ensuring access to vaccines, we would not be where we are today.

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

Madam Speaker, I just want to go back to the last question, because I do not think the member from the Bloc got a fair answer. The member from the Bloc specifically asked the House leader of the opposition, and I have a lot of respect for him, whether it was a mistake to bring forward a motion back in March that specifically called on the federal government to develop a plan to reopen the economy.

Does the member think that was a mistake back then?

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

Madam Speaker, I think there is a good collaboration between the Bloc and the Liberals, not because of the question, but because of the fact that the member who asked me the previous question is the member for Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, and this member is the member for Kingston and the Islands. I am joking. I know there is a more serious issue, and this is why we have to address it correctly.

We all recognize the fact that this country is suffering so much. We need to have a plan to reopen our economy. We need to have a plan to reopen. The fact is that people would like to work, people would like to travel, people would like to have access to shops and have access to their jobs, so we need to have a plan for the recovery of the economy. This is exactly what we are asking of the government.

We have tabled a plan for that, and I welcome each and every Canadian to watch it and read it, and Canadians will appreciate that we are serious when they have the opportunity to vote in favour of us.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Madam Speaker, the hon. member correctly referred to Canada as a G7 country. Canadians were horrified to wake up at the beginning of the pandemic and realize that, as a G7 country, we do not have the capacity to make our own vaccines in this country. Of course, that is a product of decades of poor pharmaceutical policy, including the decision of the Mulroney Conservatives in 1988 to sell off Canada's public vaccine manufacturer, and of course subsequent decisions that have left Canada vulnerable.

Does my hon. colleague agree, while we are on the subject of errors, that it was a colossal error on the Conservatives' part to sell off Canada's only public vaccine manufacturer, leading to the vulnerability we face today?

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

Madam Speaker, I just want to remind my hon. colleague that Great Britain had exactly the same situation when COVID exploded at the beginning of 2020. What did they do? They took control of the situation and they made all the necessary decisions to produce some vaccines in Great Britain, which is not the case that has happened with us here in Canada. The government at that time turned around and asked China to help us, and China put us away in July, so we had to get back to square one. We lost a lot of time.

I welcome the question of my colleague, because in our recovery plan we have a specific target to recreate the good conditions to be sure that we would be safe to have procurement correctly for vaccination, if by any chance we have another pandemic to address.

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

Madam Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I join the debate on behalf of my constituents in Regina—Lewvan. The topic of the debate, however, is not something that I am happy we have to be talking about once again. The government has continued to fail Canadians month after month when it comes to procuring the vaccines we need to get back to our normal lives.

I am going to give a few examples in this presentation of what the people of Regina—Lewvan have been saying and what they are requesting not only of our office but of the federal government. I will go through the motion because I know my friend, the member for Kingston and the Islands, will be watching this speech very closely to make sure I stay on topic and talk to the motion during this 10-minute presentation. Then I will tell some stories about why we need to have the vaccination rollout go more smoothly and efficiently, because it is very much affecting people in their day-to-day lives. This is something we need to get right, not only for ourselves, but for our kids and for our grandparents so that we can get back to the lives that we know and love pre-pandemic.

The reason I am happy to speak on behalf of the constituents of Regina—Lewvan is quite factual: 2.7% of Canadians are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, but that is simply not good enough. The federal government did not deliver an adequate vaccine supply in January and February of this year. Once again, based on the evidence we see and what we have put forward is the Liberals have failed to secure those vaccines in the early part of the pandemic. They made a deal with CanSino that fell through, so it put us on our back step when trying to make deals with other vaccine manufacturing companies. There is no debate about that. That is exactly what happened and why we are in the situation that we are in today.

The government extended the recommended interval for the second vaccine dose to four months against the recommendation of vaccine manufacturers. Once again, and I will be happy to have the debate, this has happened. We have extended the interval and the second dose of vaccines are going to be delivered to Canadians against manufacturers' directions. I know it is because they are trying to get more vaccines in the arms of Canadians, but it goes back to point 2, in needing to extend this recommendation for the second dose by months because we failed to secure enough vaccines in the early part of this pandemic.

Canadians are facing increased restrictions and lockdowns in multiple provinces from British Columbia to Nova Scotia. Once again, in my home province of Saskatchewan, we are seeing more lockdown restrictions in Regina and across the province. This is true. We are facing more lockdowns and we are facing these lockdowns because the Liberals failed Canadians and failed to make good deals to make sure we had enough vaccines in the early part of this pandemic.

The crux of the argument why the member for Kingston and the Islands and the member for Winnipeg North are doing backflips trying to turn themselves into pretzels trying to make the point of the argument is: “the House call on the government to ensure that every Canadian adult has access to a vaccine by the May long weekend.” This is something that has been changing by the hour. I do not know if people are aware, but the Government of Ontario has said that every Ontarian, age 18-plus, should be eligible for the vaccine by the end of May, a week off the target here in the opposition day motion, but hey, reasonable. It is incumbent on us to show leadership and set targets.

Also, we have looked at the Government of Quebec and it says eligible 18- to 24-year-olds should be able to receive vaccines by May 14. Once again, that is a little ahead of our schedule. Two of the largest provinces in Confederation have set targets where age 18-plus Canadians, Ontarians and Quebeckers, should be eligible to get their vaccine before the month of May is over. That is a reasonable time frame and it actually goes to the opposition day motion.

The members from the Liberal side can try to twist themselves in pretzels and say this is not a realistic goal, but this afternoon the provincial governments have looked at these targets and tried to make sure that we can reach these targets. I am excited to say that is an excellent show of leadership from the provincial governments. There is a lack of leadership from the federal government and from the Liberal backbenches.

This vaccine rollout comes down to allowing people to get back to their normal lives. I will talk about some of the things my constituents have been going through. Members on the Liberal side have said this is all about politics. It is not. It is about the lives of the people we represent.

This is about the wife who has a critical doctor's appointment about her cancer treatments and the hospital saying her husband cannot go with her. That is what this is causing. People are going through life-changing events and they have to go on their own. These are my constituents' lives. It is about a friend's neighbour having chronic back issues who needs a CT scan to see what is going on, there is no appointment available for him to get the CT scan and is told the best that can be done is to give him morphine. In Canada, in this day and age, that answer is not good enough. These delays in the health care system are being caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which have been exacerbated by the Liberals' failure to have an efficient vaccine rollout.

I read an interesting article that talked about the way some of my constituents are feeling and it really hit home. It is an article by Samantha Pope in the National Post on April 23, 2021. The title is “Not depressed, but not flourishing: How 'languishing' became the dominant feeling of 2021”. It explains so well how many constituents in Regina—Lewvan are feeling. It states:

“Though we may not feel burnt out or hopeless, we sure don’t feel like we’re flourishing,” said Dr. Corey Keyes, the sociologist who coined the term “languishing” in 2002. “It’s the middle ground between being mentally healthy and mentally ill,” he told the National Post. “It’s not depression, but it’s the absence and insufficiency of feeling good and functioning well.”

That sums up so much of how people in Saskatchewan and Canada are feeling. It is the middle ground between being mentally ill and mentally healthy and not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. It has been going on now for 14 months. Our families, friends and neighbours are not sure what is going to happen next. They are not sure if they will have a normal summer or if their kids will be able to play soccer. Summer is the most beautiful time of year in Saskatchewan and is the best place in the world to go on camping trips with friends and family or to send kids to summer camp where they have not seen their friends for two years. That is what really we are talking about.

Conservatives are not playing politics or talking about how we trumped the Liberals by saying that in this motion we have set forward a plan for recovery. We are asking for a recognition that there have been mistakes made. The Prime Minister said he would not have done anything different. Quite frankly, that is unacceptable to Canadians. There have been mistakes made and a failure in the rollout of the vaccines in Canada.

People sent me pictures of 15,000 people in a stadium for a UFC fight in Jacksonville, Florida last weekend. People were watching the Blue Jays home opener in Texas with 40,000 people in the stadium. They said there were 15,000 people in a stadium in Florida and 40,000 people in a stadium in Texas, but they cannot have their parents over for supper in some parts of Canada. I do not think that is good enough for Canadians. They deserve better. They deserve an opportunity to succeed and right now many feel they do not have the opportunity to succeed.

Many business owners in Regina and Saskatchewan feel the same way. They feel that because of what is going on now with the vaccine rollout, they do not have an opportunity to succeed. They would rather see clients and customers coming through their doors than government cheques in their mailboxes. That is what I am hearing.

I will support and am proud to support this motion.

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

I am disappointed, Madam Speaker, that the member for Regina—Lewvan was not listening to my speech because I mentioned the breaking news about what was going on in Ontario as it was happening.

Yes, the member is absolutely right, the Government of Ontario is going to let anybody aged 18 or older get a vaccine as of May 24 and Quebec is a week before that, but they are not arbitrarily picking those dates like this motion is. They are doing that because they know the vaccines are coming. They know that massive supply increases are going to happen within the coming weeks.

More importantly, I wrote down something the member said toward the end of his speech because I found it so interesting. He said this motion is about the recognition that mistakes have been made. I would encourage him to read the motion because it says nothing about that.

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

Madam Speaker, I am very happy the member is still able to stand up, because he has been twisting and backflipping back and forth on what this motion is supposed to say.

I will read section (iv) for him, which states, “Canadians are facing increased restrictions and lockdowns in multiple provinces from British Columbia to Nova Scotia”. They are facing multiple lockdowns and restrictions because of the failure of the government to have a succinct vaccine rollout. That is exactly why mistakes have been made.

The member for Kingston and the Islands likes to get on his feet a lot. He said many things today that I have written down. One is that this is all about politics. There is more politics being played at committee right now by a bunch of the Liberal backbenchers who are trying to filibuster the PROC committee. They are filibustering committee after committee to not let the truth come out. When it comes to playing politics, I will leave it to the masters, one of whom is the member for Kingston and the Islands.

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

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech.

Earlier, I asked one of his other colleagues if the motion they moved is truly realistic.

Given that barely 3% of Canadians have been vaccinated, is it realistic to ask the federal government to ensure that all Canadians be vaccinated by May, which is just around the corner? I find that vaccinating 97% of the population by then is an unrealistic goal, especially when we recall that the provinces are responsible for the distribution of vaccines once they receive them.

Another colleague said that it was about ensuring that people have a vaccination appointment. Once again, the provinces manage the appointment system.

I am therefore wondering what my colleague expects the federal government to do to meet that goal in the motion.

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

Madam Speaker, my home province, as well as the member's, and other provincial governments are waiting to make sure that supplies are there. The fact that her province has said that by May 14 eligible Quebeckers above the age of 18 should have the opportunity to be vaccinated I think shows that supply may be coming and it is hopeful. It is great to set targets, because one of the reasons we become public figures and public servants is because we want to set goals and targets to make the lives of people better. I believe every time there is a crisis or something happens, we need to show leadership and show that we are trying to do the best by Canadians. Frankly, I believe the Liberals have always been trying to set targets, but just have not met any of them, so they are scared to set targets again. If we want to be in a leadership position and show Canadians that we have expectations that we are going to do the best for Canadians, because that is what they deserve, targets need to be set and met.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Madam Speaker, speaking of mistakes, Canada once had a publicly owned pharmaceutical company that could have made a difference in the current COVID-19 crisis, except that Connaught Laboratories was sold by the Conservatives. Not only do we no longer have Connaught Labs, but Canada is relying on the private sector to provide medical innovations that the universities are funded to produce. Will the member admit that selling Connaught Labs was wrong and would he support a publicly owned drug manufacturing company to be re-established in Canada?

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

Madam Speaker, I will be honest with the member. I think when that lab was sold it was in 1988. I was six years old, so I will take no responsibility as a six-year-old for the selling of Connaught Labs. It was a decision that was made by a government a long time ago.

I will add that we need to make investments in our universities. The University of Saskatchewan has an amazing facility called VIDO, which got some investment. What we should be focusing on is ensuring we have investments going to universities and manufacturing capabilities so if this happens again we can produce our own vaccines in Canada. To make sure we are there for the people of the country, we need to have independent producers and manufactures that can produce vaccines here in Canada—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Resuming debate, the hon. member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles.

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

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise to wrap up our day of debate on the Conservative Party motion. I am taking this opportunity to broadcast my remarks on Facebook Live. This may be one of the last times I will be able to do so because there is now a bill that seeks to control what we can say online.

Getting back to today's motion, we asked the government to give all Canadians access to at least one dose of the vaccine by the end of May. Since the beginning of the day, the Liberals have been telling us that our request does not make any sense. The Bloc Québécois and the NDP have been telling us the same thing.

I think that people read over what we are asking for too quickly. We are not asking for the moon. We know that nine million Canadians have already received one dose and that we are expecting 11 million more doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines by the end of May. That means we are short only 18 million doses to give every Canadian access to at least one dose.

Plus, even though our motion calls for access to vaccines by the end of May, we do not expect that everyone will have been vaccinated. We want Canadians to at least be able to get an appointment. I myself made an appointment two weeks ago, and I will get my jab two weeks from now. That is what we are asking for.

The reason we are asking for this is that we have clearly seen how, for the past year, the Liberal government and the Prime Minister have been unable to do their job for Canadians. Our economy is at a standstill. Over 24,000 Canadians have died. The provinces are burdened with managing the situation. Premiers, especially those of Quebec and Ontario, which have larger populations, are under enormous pressure. Canada's major cities are also locked down.

The government's management was a mess. First, there was the infamous agreement with the communist Chinese government and CanSino, as my colleagues have pointed out today. We never understood why the government's first move was to talk to the Chinese, sign an agreement with them and send them intellectual property and knowledge from Canada and Dalhousie University on vaccine development. The government sent them all of that information and, a week after the agreement was announced, was told that it would not work out. We did not find out right away, because the government was ashamed, and rightly so. It took three months before we learned that we had been swindled.

In the meantime, all of the G7 and G20 countries were negotiating with the big pharmaceutical companies in order to reach an agreement and draft clear contracts with clearly defined timelines. We can see the contracts that other countries signed, but cannot see our own.

Our allies were preparing. New York City will reopen at 100% on July 1. Everyone is vaccinated and will be able to get back to their lives. The city will be open. We can see the United States reopening on a large scale, and the same is true for other countries.

We, the Conservatives, are being blamed today for asking for 18 million doses by the end of May. I cannot understand how the members and ministers on the other side of the House can rise and insult the Conservative Party by calling it crazy for making its request.

As I stated at the beginning of my speech, we are not asking for the moon. We are asking for a bare minimum so we can tell Canadians that we are going to emerge from this pandemic. We are calling on the government to give all Canadians one dose in the next few weeks, that there be a second dose and that we can get this done.

We have figures and medical experts have explained how to do this. We know that before we can talk about reopening, at least 20% of the population must receive two doses and 75% must receive one. We are asking that everyone receive one dose by the end of next month, which represents 18 million doses. We know that some vaccines are on the way and that nine million people have already been vaccinated. It is not as though we were asking for the moon.

Today has been very insulting. I spent my day in the House listening to everyone rant on about us and treat us like we are crazy, when all we have been doing for the past year is simply asking this government to get things moving and sign clear agreements. Instead, the government has been hiding information from us. We have moved motions to ask to see the contracts or even just parts of them. The answer is no.

I can see the contracts signed by the United States, Israel and countries in the European Union. Parts of those contracts are redacted, of course. We have access to most of the information, the information that is needed to know where we are going, from other countries but not our own. That is unacceptable.

We will not allow ourselves to be treated like this by the Prime Minister who always stands up in front of Canadians and says that his government is making such a big effort, that his government is the best and that Canada has the strongest border control measures when variants are getting in. If we had the best border management system, variants would have never gotten in. There are all sorts of things that do not make any sense.

I do not have much time, so I will close by saying that we know where we can get 18 million vaccine doses. They are just across the border.

Right now, 50 million AstraZeneca doses are waiting in U.S. warehouses. They do not want them. They do not need them. They have already loaned us 1.5 million doses. The Prime Minister needs to ask his buddy, President Joe Biden, to send him 18 million doses so he can comply with the Conservative Party motion to ensure at least one dose will be available to each Canadian by the end of May. It is simple. He just has to ask the U.S. president to send him 18 million doses, which he will pay back in time. That is how it works.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

It being 5:15 p.m., it is my duty to interrupt the proceedings and put forthwith every question necessary to dispose of the business of supply.

The question is on the motion.

If a member of a recognized party present in the House wishes to request a recorded division or that the motion be adopted on division, I would invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair.

The hon. member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles.

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

Madam Speaker, I request a recorded division.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Pursuant to order made on Monday, January 25, the division stands deferred until Monday, May 3, at the expiry of the time provided for Oral Questions.

The hon. member for Kingston and the Islands.

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

Madam Speaker, I believe if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent to see the clock at 5:30 p.m.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Is it agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

It being 5:30 p.m., the House will now proceed to the consideration of Private Members' Business as listed on today's Order Paper.

Reduction of Recidivism Framework Act

[Richard Bragdon, Conservative, Tobique—Mactaquac, NB]

moved that Bill C-228, an act to establish a federal framework to reduce recidivism, be read the third time and passed.

Madam Speaker, I am honoured to rise today to speak at third reading of my private member's bill, Bill C-228, an act to establish a federal framework to reduce recidivism. This bill is near and dear to my heart, and I cannot thank all those involved enough for their efforts in seeing it through to this point.

I will begin with my staff, who have been incredible in working tirelessly on the bill throughout the process. All of us have learned. As I am part of the class of 2019, serving my first term in the House, it has been a steep learning curve, but I have had incredible staff support. There is one young gentleman on our staff who has put in a lot of extra effort, and I want to acknowledge all of his time. He is Jesus Bondo. He has done a tremendous amount of work on this bill and has been tremendous to work with. I express my gratitude to him and to all my other staff members. They have all been a part of this and helped make it possible.

I would also like to express my appreciation for members of all parties who have contributed to this process, who have spoken to this bill and who have been encouraging in the process. It has been a deeply rewarding experience for me. It points to how Parliament can work to solve societal challenges and accomplish great things when members work together. I express my appreciation to each of the parties represented here in the House of Commons.

I want to thank the witnesses who took the time to appear before committee to speak on behalf of this bill.

I think of the Hon. Graydon Nicholas, the former lieutenant governor of New Brunswick and former provincial court judge. He is of indigenous descent, from the Wolastoqiyik people. He gave tremendous testimony at committee and has been encouraging and inspiring in this journey.

I want to thank Tina Naidoo, from the Texas Offenders Reentry Initiative. Tina has been incredible to work with. She spoke at committee about her organization and the work it has done. It has worked with over 30,000 people, who have been returning to their communities through its programs. They are finding their way back into the workplace and, obviously, finding a pathway to a successful re-entry into the community. It has been truly inspiring. I am forever grateful for the influence of Tina Naidoo, Bishop Jakes and the good folks from Dallas, who have done such great work on this.

I think of Cathy Latimer from The John Howard Society, who gave great testimony at committee, and the inspiring work that The John Howard Society does in helping those who are transitioning from the shadows, as it were, back into the communities. I express my gratitude to them.

I think of Stacey Campbell, who helped in the preparation of the bill. She is with Prison Fellowship Canada, which does great work. She was willing to appear when we first introduced the bill.

I think of Andrew Vähi of the Village of Hope, a great local organization that works with young men who are struggling with addictions and transitioning from incarceration back into the community through addictions programming and life skills development. They do great work there.

I think of Dr. Tom Beckner, who served as a chaplaincy expert and does great work. He is now retired, but he did great work with Bridges of Canada and Bridges of America, and helped train many chaplains all over North America. I thank him for his contributions.

I think of Dr. John Rook and the great work that he does in Alberta. I really appreciated his insights and his support for this initiative.

I think of Mitch MacMillan, who is a retired RCMP office and a local community police chief in the town of Woodstock, in my riding. He is in a local police detachment. He is also a former member of the National Parole Board. He spoke in favour of the bill and helped us in our preparations.

I think of a local farmer from my region, David Coburn. He has employed young men who have been in transition and given them an opportunity to find their way afterward.

All of these voices spoke together, along with those of members from the other parties. They gave good suggestions and helped build this bill to where it is. I am deeply thankful and consider it a great privilege to see it to this point.

I know that we all recognize the recidivism rate of those who will be back in prison within two years of being released from federal prison. It is a troubling rate. In some estimates, it is over 25% of those released from federal prisons, but it is much higher for those in provincial institutions. Rates are even higher for those from minority communities, such as the indigenous community, where the rate is nearly 40%. We definitely need to do all that we can to address these things.

The sad reality is that children whose parents have been incarcerated are seven times more likely to enter prison themselves at some point. If we could help break that cycle and reduce recidivism, we would not only help the individuals who have been affected, but we would also see a difference in generations to come. This type of initiative where we all work together through effective partnerships to make a pathway for successful re-entry after someone has served their time will be so much better for everyone.

I am so thankful for the embrace that the House has given to this point, and I trust and hope that members will continue to support the bill through to becoming a law. We all share the aim of stopping the revolving prison door, so once people serve their time and complete their sentence, they have a successful re-entry back into the community.

We must work with the provinces and respect their areas of jurisdiction and expertise. We must work with the private sector, as it could be the key to unlock an opportunity for a second chance. We must continue to work with the non-profit and charitable sectors that are so good at stepping in when others step out, of not giving up when others simply walk away and throw their hands in the air.

Many people who are doing incredible work often get overlooked, but by doing what they do, going into places that others perhaps would not go, allows many people, families and communities to move beyond a regrettable decision a person made at some point in his or her life. Our communities, families, provinces and nation all gain when we get past a wrong that was once done and move on to a brighter and healthier future.

This is truly an opportunity for us to work together to make lasting societal change. I believe that this bill will bring together the best that the public sector, all levels of government, faith-based organizations and non-profits have to offer to collectively find a long-term solution. It is an all-hands-on-deck approach to help some of the most wounded and vulnerable among us.

I have shared many times in the previous opportunities I had to speak on this bill about my good friend Monty Lewis. He was the founder of an organization that reached back into the prisons. He knew what it was like to be incarcerated.

Monty did not have an easy upbringing. He knew what it was like to live with addictions in his life. He knew what it was like to have faced violence and to have been a perpetrator of violence. He ended up serving time in provincial jails and then in the federal penitentiary.

Monty was in the hole of a prison cell at the Kingston Penitentiary. He had pretty much given up on life and was angry at the world. However, a Salvation Army chaplain began to faithfully visited him there, and he kept going to see him. I remember Monty telling the story of when this chaplain came to see him. He started hollering and swearing and told the chaplain to get lost, but the chaplain kept coming back. The chaplain showed Monty grace and hope. He showed him that would not give up on him.

To make a long story short, Monty had a dramatic change in his life. From the hole of a prison cell, his life started to move in a different direction. He served his time, got out and found the love of his life, Linda. They got married and he went back to work in the mines. He then felt this pull in his life that he could not escape. He said that he had to do whatever he could to help others who had taken a similar path to his. He did not want them to feel like their lives were over because of the things they had done and regretted. He started with $7.36 and began visiting prisons, sharing good news with people and being there when they got released from prison. His life and organization have been the true inspiration behind this bill.

I cannot help but think that somewhere in heaven Monty has a great grin on his face tonight, thinking a bill he had inspired is on the verge of perhaps passing through the House of Commons and could have an impact on the lives of so many others. I dedicate this bill, this evening, to him, his wife and their family for the tremendous sacrifices they have made and the hope they have provided many others.

I thank each one. I appreciate this opportunity and the support I've had to get this done, for the hope of all those who have felt hopeless at one point.