Madam Speaker, for months I have been begging the government for a plan for the airline sector on behalf of the tens of thousands of workers who have found themselves without employment during this critical time of the pandemic. Unfortunately, my pleas have fallen upon deaf ears, as we see a piecemeal approach from the government, with little bits at a time and nothing sector-specific. There are bits and pieces here and there and, very insulting to the entire sector, reannouncements, one after the other.
The third wave has been heavy on Canadians from coast to coast to coast, and the thought of a one-dose summer does not instill jubilation in the citizens of this nation. Unfortunately, it is the government of the day that has put Canadians in this place, with a lack of rapid testing and the lack of use of therapeutics. Worst of all is the government's procurement strategy, which has been shown to be horrible time and time again.
The Conservatives pushed, in our March 18 opposition day motion, for a restart plan and for us to use public health tools, such as rapid tests, shared data on how COVID-19 spreads and vaccines. However, we have not been positioned with permanent solutions to replace the COVID-19 restrictions put in place by the federal government, including in areas of federal competency such as air travel and border restrictions.
The President of the United States and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom have both released public plans for economic reopening, while Canadian officials have not yet given clarity on their public plans for economic reopening. It is unfortunate that this has not happened in Canada, but the world can see the light at the end of the tunnel and is opening up again.
Other governments, such as the Government of Saskatchewan, have laid out clear restart plans, but for the airline sector this has not happened. However, we have seen this in the U.S. Forbes announced that the U.S. has seen an incredible increase in air travel as a result of government stimulus. Also well known is the May 10 announcement of the United Kingdom that starting on May 17, U.K. citizens will once again have access to the world. This leaves Canada behind.
Perrin Beatty and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce have spoken about this. With regard to travel, the chamber said:
The federal government should publish clear health metrics...that will be the milestones for rolling back border restrictions under a risk-based framework rather than sweeping measures. The government should allow arriving higher-risk inbound international travelers to quarantine for a shorter period if two negative COVID test results can be confirmed.
Restart is on the horizon for many other nations, but not for Canada. The federal government should therefore use positive incentives, such as the elimination or reduction of quarantine and/or a test-release approach, as a means to encourage vaccine uptake.
The rest of the world is opening up and has a restart plan for the aviation sector. Canada does not and, as such, lags behind.