House of Commons Hansard #98 of the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was election.

Topics

FinanceCommittees of the HouseOrders of the Day

8:45 p.m.

Liberal

Emmanuella Lambropoulos Liberal Saint-Laurent, QC

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, I did not hear the comments made by my colleague, the parliamentary secretary, and so I cannot necessarily comment on what was said. However, being a member on the committee, I personally agreed with many of the recommendations put forward, as well as the dissenting report.

FinanceCommittees of the HouseOrders of the Day

8:50 p.m.

Bloc

Sébastien Lemire Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC

Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Saint-Laurent began by pointing out that the minister will examine the six factors as part of the process.

I would like her to comment on transparency. Does she think it is important in a democracy that people know the conditions being imposed on our businesses if they come under foreign ownership? Is it important for people to know what the minister has negotiated, what he has given up, to ensure that jobs are protected and that our suppliers are entitled to services? Is transparency important in a democracy?

FinanceCommittees of the HouseOrders of the Day

8:50 p.m.

Liberal

Emmanuella Lambropoulos Liberal Saint-Laurent, QC

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

I would say it depends on the negotiations and what is being talked about. I think in many cases the key element is confidentiality. Consider the example of the vaccine contracts that we just had. Everything had to be kept confidential or we were not necessarily going to get the doses of vaccine that we needed for Canadians. I am giving this as a simple example, because it always depends on the type of negotiation.

FinanceCommittees of the HouseOrders of the Day

8:50 p.m.

NDP

Brian Masse NDP Windsor West, ON

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for her work at the committee. She is always consistent and has been at almost all, if not all meetings, and been part of these recommendations.

I do want to follow up on my intervention with the parliamentary secretary. The member represents the Prime Minister and he said he fully supports the recommendations. In particular, I asked him specifically about the recommendation that the Government of Canada introduce legislation to amend the Investment Canada Act so the thresholds are reviewed on an annual basis, yet the Liberal dissenting opinion is counter to that. Perhaps the member can enlighten us on whether this is just a one-off, or is the Liberal Party position changing because the minister of industry did not address that in his response to the committee's report.

FinanceCommittees of the HouseOrders of the Day

8:50 p.m.

Liberal

Emmanuella Lambropoulos Liberal Saint-Laurent, QC

Mr. Speaker, this report was tabled and recommendations were made for the minister to consider. Obviously, opinions do change based on reports and recommendations. Again, I am not in the shoes of the person who made these comments. However, what I can say is that the whole point of these committees and of making these reports and recommendations is to have the minister review them to see if they would be beneficial to Canada.

I remember hearing many of the witnesses at committee. Obviously, not all of the opinions were the same, but many of them were saying that there are already the necessary tools in the Investment Canada Act given to ministers in order to make the right decisions. Many of them said that we should remain flexible because of things like the pandemic that is taking place, and that we need to take into consideration the different conditions that exist at a given time.

It is possible that, upon review, the minister or the parliamentary secretary made comments to opinions that the government has had ever since reading the report and the recommendations.

FinanceCommittees of the HouseOrders of the Day

8:50 p.m.

Conservative

Damien Kurek Conservative Battle River—Crowfoot, AB

Mr. Speaker, just to comment on the question asked by the member for Red Deer—Mountain View, I believe the government members on that committee voted against six of the nine recommendations in this report.

Specifically, I would ask the member this. During the time of COVID, we have seen significant disruptions in supply chains and in various industries and corporate interests across this country, leading to vulnerability in various sectors across our economy, and certainly that has exposed those vulnerabilities. In reading the report and seeing some of the possibilities that would lead to our economy being put at risk by foreign state interests that would invest in this country, I am wondering if the member has any further comments on how it is important during the pandemic that these protections be put into place.

FinanceCommittees of the HouseOrders of the Day

8:55 p.m.

Liberal

Emmanuella Lambropoulos Liberal Saint-Laurent, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Investment Canada Act already has many protections in place. As I mentioned previously, the situation at a given time is always taken into account, and obviously more vigilance is being used at this point in time.

It is also important to note that during the pandemic and the economic recession that we are about to experience or are currently going through, it is important that we also attract investment. There is a balance to be had there, and I think the government is doing its best to maintain that balance without putting the Canadian economy at risk.

FinanceCommittees of the HouseOrders of the Day

8:55 p.m.

Conservative

The Deputy Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton

It being 8:55 p.m., it is my duty to interrupt the proceedings at this time and put forthwith the question on the motion now before the House.

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

The hon. member for Regina—Lewvan.

FinanceCommittees of the HouseOrders of the Day

8:55 p.m.

Conservative

Warren Steinley Conservative Regina—Lewvan, SK

Mr. Speaker, I ask for a recorded division.

FinanceCommittees of the HouseOrders of the Day

8:55 p.m.

Conservative

The Deputy Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton

Accordingly, pursuant to an order made on Monday, January 25, the recorded division stands deferred until Wednesday, May 12, at the expiry of the time for Oral Questions.

A motion to adjourn the House under Standing Order 38 deemed to have been moved.

National DefenceAdjournment Proceedings

8:55 p.m.

Conservative

Cheryl Gallant Conservative Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON

Mr. Speaker, toxic masculinity is not a military problem. It is a Liberal Party problem.

I am strong, proud and ready, as the member of Parliament for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, to represent Garrison Petawawa. It is the 4th Canadian Division Support Base, and includes 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group, the Canadian Special Operations Regiment, 1st Canadian Field Hospital, 450 Tactical Helicopter Squadron, 427 Special Operations Aviation Squadron, the 1st and 3rd Battalions of the Royal Canadian Regiment, 2nd Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, the Royal Canadian Dragoons, 2 Service Battalion and a multitude of other support units. I salute them all for their service to our country.

On May 4, I asked the Prime Minister why he thinks repeating the same mistake will get a different result. In his place, Canadians had to listen to the predictable talking points of the Minister of National Defence, who is ordered to regurgitate those every day.

I also asked if the only woman he was interested in protecting was Katie Telford. While the Prime Minister was afraid to face Canadians with the truth during question period, Canadians got their answer last Friday. The Prime Minister did what he does best: He threw another woman under the bus. The first person who should have stood up to the Prime Minister's toxic masculinity was his chief of staff, Katie Telford. The fact she did not is reason alone she should be dismissed.

Will she now become another piece of female Liberal roadkill, joining the former justice minister, the former health minister and the former MP for Whitby, to name a few? Who could forget the cringeworthy shot of the female MP for Waterloo who was sent to take the fall for the Prime Minister's WE family scandal, crouching in a demeaning position behind the Prime Minister in costume for a photo op during the Prime Minister's outrageous Bollywood tour?

Canadians are disappointed in the female members of the Liberal caucus because they will not stand up for victims of sexual assault. The majority of victims are women. Female Liberal MPs who at one point in their career wore the uniform and were members of the Canadian Armed Forces should know better. By not standing up for sexual assault victims and enabling the toxic masculinity of the Prime Minister, they have become victims themselves. If they want to break the cycle, it starts with them.

Leadership in any organization starts at the top. Did the female Liberal MPs ever stop to think about the victims of sexual abuse? The fact that their toxic masculinity has real effects on real people seems to escape the understanding of the Liberal Party. The Prime Minister's toxic masculinity is never going to change unless members of his own caucus and his own party stand up to him.

Some members of the Liberal Party may feel I am making the refusal by the Prime Minister to answer my question during question period a bit too personal by calling out individual female Liberal MPs, such as the member for Kanata—Carleton for her role in enabling the toxic masculinity of the Prime Minister. Well, this is personal.

This is not about Katie Telford or the Prime Minister. This is about the victims. Every victim of sexual assault is a person. Let us take some time to stop and think about the victims of sexual assault. That is what my unanswered question to the Prime Minister was really about.

National DefenceAdjournment Proceedings

9 p.m.

Ottawa West—Nepean Ontario

Liberal

Anita Vandenbeld LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence

Mr. Speaker, before I begin, I would like to remind my hon. colleague that the hon. member for Kanata—Carleton served 31 years, was the first female squadron commander in the Canadian Air Force and has an incredibly honourable career serving Canadians.

I appreciate the opportunity to share more details about the independent external comprehensive review of our military. It is clear that our previous efforts to address sexual misconduct did not achieve their goals. It is clear that people are still being harmed. This is completely unacceptable.

Sexual misconduct in the military is a systemic issue that dates back decades, which no government has effectively tackled, including the member opposite when she was part of Prime Minister Harper's Conservative government. That is why we are taking action by having Madame Louise Arbour conduct an independent review.

I would like to comment about the choice of Louise Arbour to do this. No only is she a former Supreme Court Justice, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, but she notably was also on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. In that position, she was one of the first internationally to ensure that under international jurisprudence that rape was considered a war crime. This is the person in whom we have entrusted finding out exactly how we are to combat sexual misconduct, sexual harassment and sexual violence within the Canadian Armed Forces. She is eminently qualified to do that.

We need to know why harassment and sexual misconduct persist within the Canadian Armed Forces despite extensive and concerted efforts to eliminate them. We need to know what the barriers are that make it difficult to report inappropriate behaviour. We need to know how we can respond more effectively when people choose to report. The answers to those questions and more will inform recommendations, and I would note recommendations that the Minister of National Defence has said will be binding, of Madame Arbour's report on preventing and addressing harassment and sexual misconduct in our military and creating the conditions for lasting change.

As Madame Arbour conducts this review, she will build on previous independent reviews concerning the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces. She will assess our progress in applying the recommendations of the Deschamps report. She will coordinate with the Hon. Morris Fish, who is finalizing his review of the National Defence Act. She will consider reports by the Auditor General as well as other internal audits, reviewing their findings and recommendations.

To be clear, we are not discarding the findings and recommendations of these previous reviews. Madame Arbour will expand on them, taking a broader look at the how and why sexual misconduct continues to be a pervasive issue in our military. We will look to her for guidance on how we can set up an independent external reporting system for defence team members that better meets the needs of those who experience sexual misconduct.

We will look to her for support to ensure our military justice system can properly respond to incidents; to strengthen our existing structure across the defence team, including the sexual misconduct response centre, to instill greater confidence in those who need support; and to review our evaluation and promotion system in the Canadian Armed Forces, with a focus on how our organizations select and train its leaders.

Madame Arbour will carry out this work transparently and independently from the chain of command, with input from appropriate stakeholders inside and outside the defence team. Throughout the process, she will provide interim recommendations that we can implement right away. I know Madame Arbour's insights will be critical to these efforts.

National DefenceAdjournment Proceedings

9:05 p.m.

Conservative

The Deputy Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton

Before I go to the hon. member for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, I want to mention to her that her characterizations of individual members of the House and an individual member bordered on the kind of language that we normally do not consider to be respectful as it relates to individual members. I know strong words can be used to relate to members as a whole, to parties, and this and that, but when we get to individual characterizations it gets very close to being a personal context and I ask her to avoid those kinds of characterizations.

The hon. member.

National DefenceAdjournment Proceedings

9:05 p.m.

Conservative

Cheryl Gallant Conservative Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON

Mr. Speaker, I encourage MPs to read the Operation Honour manual, understanding that during Operation Honour, there were 581 incidents of sexual assault and 221 cases of sexual harassment reported between April 1, 2016 and March 9, 2021. Trauma for victims of sexual misconduct is individual. Directly after an incident there is a lot of shock.

When a victim knows the alleged offender, there can be guilt and self-doubt. The emotional damage can emerge immediately after or take time to appear and can include anxiety, long-term insomnia, a sense of alienation and thoughts of suicide. While some victims may experience hypervigilance, others may start taking risks and turning to harmful coping strategies.

The trauma of sexual assault can impact victims for a lifetime, affecting their health, education and their careers.

National DefenceAdjournment Proceedings

9:05 p.m.

Liberal

Anita Vandenbeld Liberal Ottawa West—Nepean, ON

Mr. Speaker, we are determined to listen and learn from those who have been affected by sexual misconduct. That is why Madam Arbour's review will be based on the views, accounts and experiences of current and former members of the defence team. We invite those who feel ready to share their experiences to come forward. They can rest assured that Madam Arbour will conduct her review without referencing specific cases and maintain the strictest confidentiality.

We cannot rest until members affected by sexual misconduct and survivors have faith in the investigation and reporting process. We have a lot of work to do to rebuild trust, but I am confident that through these efforts and the dedicated action of our defence team members at all levels, we will get there.

HealthAdjournment Proceedings

9:05 p.m.

Green

Jenica Atwin Green Fredericton, NB

Mr. Speaker, on January 29, I asked the Minister of Health about directly funding community organizations providing mental health services and removing taxes on counselling as direct action we, as parliamentarians, can take for improving access to mental health services.

Before the pandemic, many Canadians were facing the reality of living with a mental illness. Now survey after survey finds Canadians' mental health eroding as the pandemic continues. This is a crisis that will have a lasting impact on the lives of Canadians. In the last year, every time I asked a question of the minister regarding mental health, I was invited to check out the wellnesstogether.ca portal as an example of the work being done to help Canadians. I am very familiar with this resource and I know it can be valuable for some people, but we also need to acknowledge that we cannot fix everything with a virtual band-aid. These issues are complex and nuanced and an overreliance on websites in the digital format is not enough.

Mental health is not a luxury. It is a necessity. The mental health care system in Canada is not meeting people's needs. Long wait-lists, inequity and underfunding are the root causes of the problem. Lengthy wait times are a barrier in part because there has been a chronic underfunding of community-based mental health services and a reliance on intensive high-cost services, like hospitals and acute care, and the consequences are life and death. Once patients finally make it onto a list to receive care, they can wait anywhere from six months to two years to see a counsellor. If they can afford it, they go to the private sector. It is a two-tier system that accentuates social inequalities and it clearly shows that lack of access to mental health is most pronounced in those with lower incomes or with disability. In Canada, only 7% of the health care budget is dedicated to mental health and behavioural health, while experts recommend it should be higher. My home province spends even less.

As members of the all-party mental health caucus, myself and other MPs are in search of solutions. We listen to organizations, stakeholders and people working on the ground to try to provide services the best they can. One of the ongoing challenges is always a lack of consistent funding. We need to ensure direct funding for organizations and communities across this country that have the solutions ready to deploy. Funding community-level interventions to alleviate pressure on our acute care system will get people the help they need as fast as possible. This is the very least we can do for the family of 16-year-old Lexi Daken, who was not helped after having waited for hours in the emergency room.

I want to take this moment to also honour Monique Paul from St. Mary's First Nation. She was Wolastoqiyik, she was loved, she is still loved and missed every day. The impacts of suicide and mental illness are particularly hard hitting in indigenous communities. Intergenerational trauma and systemic racism have left a painful legacy. Every time someone is lost, especially a child or youth, the frustration and hurt are heavy, like a storm cloud hovering over the community.

Individuals cannot carry this burden alone. Communities cannot carry this burden alone. We need help, more help than a virtual portal can provide. It is time to lead, to build a better system that will truly be there for Canadians when they need it.

HealthAdjournment Proceedings

9:10 p.m.

Pickering—Uxbridge Ontario

Liberal

Jennifer O'Connell LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for her advocacy of mental health supports. We agree that the need to give support to Canadians for mental health is substantial, and I want to thank her for this opportunity to speak more about the programs we have in place.

The member is absolutely right that prior to COVID-19 mental health was a significant concern, with one in three Canadians experiencing mental illness or problematic substance use during their lifetime. Our government recognizes the seriousness of this problem and has taken a comprehensive approach to mental health.

When COVID-19 struck, our government took action to address the mental health needs of Canadians and alleviate some of the burden on the provinces and territories. Five hundred million dollars in additional support was provided to the provinces and territories for immediate mental health and substance-use service needs as part of the $19-billion safe restart agreement. We also provided $7.5 million in funding to Kids Help Phone to provide young people with mental health support.

We launched Wellness Together Canada, which the member mentioned, on April 15, 2020. It offers a range of free mental health and substance-use supports to individuals across Canada on a 24-7 basis, in both official languages and with interpretation available during phone sessions in over 200 languages and dialects. Supports include access to peer-support networks and confidential text and phone sessions with mental health professionals, and a dedicated text line for health care workers and front-line personnel. Since its launch, over 1.2 million individuals in all provinces and territories have accessed Wellness Together Canada in over 3.6 million web sessions. Our support of this initiative continues through budget 2021, which provides $62 million to Wellness Together Canada so that it can continue to provide Canadians with tools and services to support mental health and well-being.

So that Canadians can access timely evidence-based care, treatment and support, budget 2021 has also committed $45 million over two years to help develop national mental health service standards in collaboration with provinces, territories and key stakeholders because, as the member opposite points out, we need a multi-faceted approach to providing supports to Canadians for mental health.

I also want to point out that in recognition of the intersections between mental health, gender, race and occupation, budget 2021 will provide $100 million over three years for mental health projects and $50 million over two years for mental health programming to support populations at high risk of experiencing trauma brought on by the pandemic.

To conclude, we know that investments in mental health were needed prior to COVID, and that significant investments in it have been needed throughout COVID. When we get through the pandemic, support for the mental health and well-being of Canadians will continue, and we will be there for them.

HealthAdjournment Proceedings

9:15 p.m.

Green

Jenica Atwin Green Fredericton, NB

Mr. Speaker, there are tangible solutions, some of which are under way, and I recognize that. There is not only earmarked dedicated funding in the health transfers for mental health, but the recent commitment for the government to define and implement national standards for mental health care. I am grateful.

We also need to put mental health in the Canada Health Act and provide the provinces and territories with the help they need to do it well. Best practices can be shared, but ultimately Canadians need to be able to receive quality care regardless of where they live in this country. Mental illness is linked to many challenges we are facing collectively, and the longer an illness persists the more difficult it is to treat. Early intervention leads to better outcomes.

We know that every one dollar invested in mental health saves the health system two dollars. Beyond the monetary argument, our quality of life, safety and well-being can be greatly improved. We need access when and where people need it. I want all Canadians to know that if they are facing mental illness they are not alone. We will continue to advocate for better mental health services for all, every month of the year.

HealthAdjournment Proceedings

9:15 p.m.

Liberal

Jennifer O'Connell Liberal Pickering—Uxbridge, ON

Mr. Speaker, again, I thank the member opposite for her advocacy for high-quality mental health services. It is something we are committed to as well, as I mentioned in the investments outlined above.

With that, the member opposite spoke about the need for national standards. We are working collaboratively with provinces, territories and stakeholders. I will continue to work with the member opposite for additional ideas because we know that even after this pandemic, the supports and the mental health needs of Canadians are going to continue. We will continue to improve services and access to make sure that no Canadian is left to suffer in silence.

We continue to work with all members of the House and community providers who can provide these services. We are committed to working with them because we want to make sure all Canadians receive the help they need.

Persons with DisabilitiesAdjournment Proceedings

9:15 p.m.

Conservative

Alex Ruff Conservative Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON

Mr. Speaker, I am rising tonight to follow up on a question I asked in the House on March 21 regarding funding for services for Canadians with print disabilities. CELA, the Centre for Equitable Library Access, and NNELS, the National Network for Equitable Library Service, are national, not-for-profit organizations that provide accessible reading services to people with print disabilities in Canada.

In the fall economic update, the Liberal government announced its decision to cut $4 million in essential funding for them. Cuts to these organizations would have severely impacted their ability to produce and distribute accessible reading materials and would have resulted in reduced accessibility for persons with disabilities across Canada. Fortunately, because of NNELS and CELA's advocacy campaign, as well as the work of so many disability advocates from across the country who made their voices heard, the government was forced to reverse the proposed funding cut in support to Canadians with disabilities.

In response to NNELS and CELA's advocacy campaign to restore funding, the federal government announced on March 16 that it would provide an additional $1 million for this coming year. This additional $1 million really reinstates funding for NNELS and CELA to the same level as in previous years. However, the government also made it clear that the reinstatement of funds was because the pandemic had affected the timeline. It made no provision to ensure that funding cuts would not proceed as planned starting in 2022-23.

My office reached out to CELA and NNELS and they provided an important overview on the situation they were facing. I want to thank Kevin Millsip and Laurie Davidson for their advocacy and work on this issue, and for providing excellent resources.

In the most recent budget, there is no provision for long-term, sustainable funding for NNELS and CELA. Although the federal government announced that there would be no funding cuts for 2021-22, as it stands now starting in 2022-23 NNELS and CELA will be facing a 50% cut in funding, which will decline to zero funding by 2024-25. The current funding envelope is small. It is only $4 million a year, but the impact of this funding is significant and the loss of NNELS and CELA services to people with print disabilities in Canada would be devastating.

CELA and NNELS work to ensure books and other library materials are accessible across multiple formats for Canadians with print disabilities. People with print disabilities include those who are blind or have low vision, those who have physical disabilities that impact a person's ability to read or manipulate a physical book, and those who have learning or cognitive disabilities such as dyslexia.

This funding enables seniors and persons with disabilities to have access to public library materials. This is even more critical in rural Canada where access and resources are limited. In fact, CELA estimates that one in every 10 Canadians needs accessible formatting for reading materials, proving the essential nature of this partnership. Further, it is expected that this number will only increase with a growing senior population across the country.

One library in my riding offered the following remarks regarding CELA services: “The number of users and inquiries have risen noticeably in the past year and with the aging baby boomers and the general older population of Grey Bruce, we are bound to see an increase in the number of users. Hopefully funding will continue for these important services.”

I would like to talk briefly about my own grandmother. She is 98 years old, soon to be 99. I got her an audio book in January. Within a couple of weeks she had gone through nine books. She is loving audio books to the point that she is no longer socially active in her long-term care home. She loves them. They give her a sense of life, and I can hear the joy in her voice.

I just want a clear answer from the government. Will the government commit to providing long-term, stable federal funding for CELA and NNELS to ensure that equitable reading services will continue to be made available to people with print disabilities in Canada?

Persons with DisabilitiesAdjournment Proceedings

9:20 p.m.

Windsor—Tecumseh Ontario

Liberal

Irek Kusmierczyk LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment

Mr. Speaker, the member for Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound's advocacy is making a difference in the lives of his constituents.

Our government is committed to the principle that everyone should be able to access information and reading material. That is why we signed on to the Marrakesh Treaty four years ago and at the same time set up a working group comprising disability groups, including CELA, NNELS and the publishing industry, to develop a long-term strategy on the production of alternate format materials in Canada.

We recognize that alternate format materials are more important than ever for persons with print disabilities. They allow persons with print disabilities to read, to learn and to fully participate in society. Moreover, they are critical during the pandemic. People need up-to-date information, directives and guidelines related to their health and safety in alternate formats. Many Canadians have also been asked to stay home as much as possible in order to flatten the curve. They have felt isolated and have relied heavily on accessible books and materials to cope.

One of the first organizations I heard from about this issue was the Windsor Public Library, a champion for accessible reading in my community of Windsor—Tecumseh. We continue to listen to the disability community and to organizations like the Windsor Public Library about the importance of CELA and NNELS. That is why our government announced an additional $1 million on March 16 to support activities related to the production of alternate format materials carried out by the Centre for Equitable Library Access and the National Network for Equitable Library Service, or CELA and NNELS, for short.

The funding provided through the social development partnership program, disability component, recognizes that the pandemic has been hard on persons with disabilities. It has also delayed the publishing industry in its goal of making significant progress to ensure that books are born accessible in Canada. As a result, the additional $1 million will help CELA and NNELS provide more accessible reading materials to persons with print disabilities in Canada.

This investment adds to the $10 million for CELA and NNELS that was already announced in the 2020 fall economic statement. The fall economic statement provided, for the first time, stable, predictable, multi-year funding for the not-for-profit sector in this area. It adds to the $22.8 million in funding announced in budget 2019 for a transition strategy that supports moving the production of alternate format books from the not-for-profit sector to the Canadian independent publishing industry.

This money is helping independent publishers to create alternate format books and to get to a point where they are able to do so independently. In fact, in 2017 we set up a working group on alternate format materials with representatives from disability organizations and the Canadian publishing industry, including CELA and NNELS, and based on their recommendations we developed a transition strategy.

However, we are still in a pandemic, and it is causing challenges for the not-for-profit and publishing sectors. That is the reality. The Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion recently met with CELA and NNELS, and we understand there is a need to keep engaging with publishers and to possibly re-evaluate the transitional timeline.

We will not leave people high and dry without accessible information during a pandemic.

Persons with DisabilitiesAdjournment Proceedings

9:20 p.m.

Conservative

Alex Ruff Conservative Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON

Mr. Speaker, I thank the parliamentary secretary for committing, and I appreciate the government having a long-term strategy, but I think the most important comment to be made is that the government is willing to re-evaluate the strategy going forward.

The bottom line is that I can understand how they want to move these costs over to the publishing network and make it more self-sustaining; that makes perfect sense. However, will the government commit to continuing to work with CELA, NNELS and all these other organizations to ensure that long-term funding stays there and we do not end up with a reduction in funding or support for these critical industries and critical capabilities for our disabled?

Persons with DisabilitiesAdjournment Proceedings

9:25 p.m.

Liberal

Irek Kusmierczyk Liberal Windsor—Tecumseh, ON

Mr. Speaker, our announcement of $1 million for CELA and NNELS is in line with our commitment to the Marrakesh Treaty. It adds to previous new investments from budget 2019 and the fall economic statement. Our support will enable access to alternate format materials, such as Braille, e-books and audiobooks, during the pandemic. In fact, this funding will help increase the overall volume of accessible print material available for Canadians with print disabilities. It will also support Canadians with print disabilities to familiarize themselves and get comfortable with using new digital tools.

I would like to thank again the member for his tremendous advocacy on behalf of his constituents.

Persons with DisabilitiesAdjournment Proceedings

9:25 p.m.

Conservative

The Deputy Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton

The motion that the House do now adjourn is deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 9:26 p.m.)