Debates of May 25th, 2021

Canadian Heritage

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, basically what the minister is saying is, “Don't worry, folks, discrimination is okay, as long as it's approved by the government. I'll do it right.”

No. The government cannot and should not be trusted to regulate what we access online. I am talking about successful YouTubers like Simply Nailogical, or Justin Bieber, who came up through YouTube, or Lilly Singh, a famous YouTuber right now. I am talking about individuals who are innovative, creative and inspiring. They use these platforms to gain an audience and influence culture.

Why are the Liberals so intent on picking winners and losers instead of letting Canadian artists continue—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. minister.

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, again, this is a profound misconception about what we are trying to do. In fact, the Department of Justice has stated that there is no problem with free speech in Bill C-10, and the member opposite was at the committee. She got to ask the Minister of Justice questions regarding this.

Frankly, what I cannot understand is why the Conservative Party of Canada continues to oppose the fact that we are asking some of the wealthiest companies in the world to pay their fair share when it comes to Canadian artists and Canadian musicians. I just do not understand.

Official Languages

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the purpose of Bill 96, an act to protect French, the official and common language of Quebec, is to ensure compliance with Bill 101.

Clause 65 clearly states that any enterprise or employer carrying on its activities in Quebec is subject to the act, and that includes federally regulated enterprises.

We know that the Minister of Official Languages is working on her own language reform. Will she clearly state that she has no intention of interfering in any way whatsoever with Quebec's intention to apply the Charter of the French Language to federally regulated enterprises?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my esteemed colleague for her question, which gives me an opportunity to remind the House about the government's position on official languages and specifically the protection of the French fact in Quebec and Canada.

I want to remind my colleague that we will of course protect the right to work in French and the right to be served in French, as well as francophones' right not to experience discrimination in federally regulated enterprises in Quebec and in regions with a strong francophone presence across the country.

I would be happy to work with her to achieve that vision.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, everyone agrees that we need to better protect French as the language of work in Quebec.

That is precisely what I want to ask the minister about. In all of the discussions on Bill 96, no one in Quebec has indicated that the federal government should be exempt from applying Bill 101. Everyone wants the federal government to abide by that bill, which it has spent over 40 years circumventing.

Will the minister clearly commit to ensuring that her reform of the Official Languages Act will not in any way undermine the application of Bill 101 to federally regulated businesses?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, of course, I have the pleasure of confirming to my colleague our common objective of ensuring that francophones are able to work in French in federally regulated businesses, not only in Quebec but also in regions with a strong francophone presence. I am sure my colleague will agree with me that we need to protect French both in Quebec and across Canada. That is important.

I would also like to confirm that Quebeckers and francophones across the country will be able to receive services in French in federally regulated businesses, and I hope to be able to introduce a bill on that issue in 2021.

Health

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Mr. Speaker, two Canadian government scientists, Dr. Qiu and Dr. Cheng, were fired this January from the government's National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg. We know that CSIS urged the revocation of their security clearances because of their work related to China's Wuhan Institute of Virology.

When will the government come clean and tell Canadians and the House what actually happened?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, as I informed the member of Parliament and the House last week, those two researchers are no longer employees of the Public Health Agency of Canada. I cannot comment further.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Mr. Speaker, The Globe and Mail reports that seven government scientists at the Winnipeg lab collaborated with Chinese military scientists and conducted experiments with deadly viruses. One of those Chinese military scientists was actually given access to the government's lab in Winnipeg.

How on earth did a Chinese military scientist get access to the government's lab in Winnipeg, a level 4 facility equipped to handle the world's most deadly viruses, and why are Canadian government scientists collaborating with China's military scientists on deadly viruses?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, this question gives me an opportunity to thank the incredible hard-working researchers and scientists at the National Microbiology Laboratory who have been there for Canadians from the beginning of the emergence of COVID-19 and before. These scientists, researchers and doctors were some of the first in the world to be able to create a gold-standard PCR test that led to the ability for provinces and territories to test for COVID-19.

We are happy and proud we have a lab of this stature in Canada able to serve Canadians across the country from coast to coast.

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

Mr. Speaker, two Chinese researchers, Dr. Qiu and Dr. Cheng, will not be returning to work at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg. This long-awaited decision comes two years after the pair were escorted from Canada's highest-security lab for policy violations.

The two doctors coordinated shipments of Ebola and other deadly virus samples from the Public Health Agency of Canada to the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China. Can the Prime Minister explain to Canadians why samples of deadly viruses were sent to the Chinese regime?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, as the member opposite knows, these two scientists and researchers are no longer employed with the Public Health Agency of Canada. I cannot comment further.

I will quote Dr. Poliquin, who is the head of the National Microbiology Laboratory. He said that there was no connection to the situation with COVID-19. I would encourage the members opposite to stay focused on making sure that we can get through COVID together and that, indeed, provinces and territories have what they need to support Canadians during this time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would point out to the minister that I did not suggest a connection to COVID-19. What is clear is that there are reports of these scientists collaborating with the Chinese People's Liberation Army to experiment on deadly pathogens. That is a really bad idea.

Moreover, the president of the Public Health Agency of Canada and this government are refusing to answer questions. None of our allies collaborate with the Chinese regime, but Canada is all in. Can the Prime Minister tell us why samples of deadly viruses were sent to China and how these two scientists managed to get secret security clearances?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, scientists and researchers routinely collaborate around the world. In fact, that is what they have done through COVID-19 to develop tests, to develop vaccines and to develop therapeutics. I think the member opposite is confused if he says that no other ally collaborates with other countries across the world. In fact, this is a standard of scientific research.

As the member opposite knows, these particular researchers are no longer with the Public Health Agency of Canada. I cannot comment further.

National Defence

[Lindsay Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, since 2015, the Liberals have been sitting on the Deschamps report, failing to implement any of its recommendations. Instead, they announced yet another report on the sexualized culture in the armed forces. Even the deputy minister of National Defence admitted that the government failed women in the armed forces, saying as little was done as possible to make it look like the report had been responded to without any real change.

Why should women in the armed forces have any faith in the government when a high-ranking member of the Department of National Defence agrees that the Liberals only make symbolic gestures rather than real change?

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

Mr. Speaker, we know that the measures we have implemented have not gone far enough and that we have much more work to do. More needs to be done to fully enact the structural, legislative and cultural changes outlined in Justice Deschamps' recommendations. This is one of the reasons why the sexual misconduct response centre reports to the deputy minister and not to the military.

More work needs to be done and this is why we have appointed Justice Arbour, who will build on the work of Justice Deschamps to examine defence culture and provide recommendations on how to effect that culture change.

The Environment

[Richard Cannings, NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

Mr. Speaker, last week, the leading experts in the International Energy Agency released a report calling for an end to the development of new oil and gas projects if the world was to meet the target of net-zero emissions by 2050. However, the federal government subsidized the oil and gas sector to the tune of $18 billion in 2020 compared to a 10-year budget of $15 billion to fight climate change.

How can the Liberals tell Canadians that they are serious about climate change when they will not stop propping up the fossil fuel sector?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, we certainly know that around the world countries, industry and businesses are moving toward a cleaner, innovative, low-carbon future. As this report identifies, to reach a net-zero future, we need cleaner solutions and targeted policies, and that is precisely what we have been doing. We have made historic investments in nature and clean technology, put a price on pollution, tabled climate accountability measures and just brought forward a new emissions reduction target, all measures that will help us to deliver on a cleaner future for our kids and grandkids while building a clean economy.

Health

[Anju Dhillon, Liberal, Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, over the past year, Canadians have stayed at home to slow the spread of COVID-19, but for some people, home is not a safe place.

Many victims of family violence have become even more vulnerable during the pandemic. All Canadians deserve to feel safe at home.

Could the Minister of Health tell us how the government is working to support victims of family violence?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle for her very important question.

The federal government is investing $50 million in Public Health Agency of Canada programs to promote healthy relationships and prevent family violence.

Our government will continue to do everything in its power to prevent intimate partner violence, child maltreatment and elder abuse, and to support survivors.

Public Services and Procurement

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government has ended cross-border co-operation to vaccinate more Canadians, like the Montana Blackfeet first nation that has provided vaccines to my constituents. The reason given to media is that vaccines are widely available in Canada.

If vaccines were so widely available here, then there would not be wait lists, there would not be delays and there would not be a four-month gap between shots. The Liberal vaccine failures are the reason Americans are helping deliver vaccines to Canadians.

If the government were actually working to end the lockdowns by any means necessary, why obstruct these cross-border vaccine clinics?

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

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member makes, let us just say, broad use of the word “failure”. I do not think that 25 million doses distributed to provinces and territories is a failure. Nor is 61% of adults receiving one dose a failure. Nor is being in the top three of the G20 for doses administered a failure. On the contrary, our vaccine rollout is continuing apace, and we will not rest until all Canadians have access to vaccines.

Health

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, “Patients suffering, dying while waiting for care as Manitoba hospitals overwhelmed by COVID-19” means failure. In Detroit, many unused doses of Pfizer vaccines may go in the garbage. Inexplicably, Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens has been blocked by the Liberals in virtually every innovative attempt he has made to deliver these essential medical tools to Canadians. This is just crazy.

Will the Minister of Health commit to phoning Mayor Dilkens by the end of the day today to deliver a firm solution to get Detroit doses into the arms of Canadians by the end of the week?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, let me just reiterate what my colleague has pointed out. In fact, 61% of Canadians have received their first dose of a vaccine in the country. In fact, in terms of Manitoba, it received 111,310 vaccine doses last week. In Ontario, by the way, 2.193 million doses were received last week.

We have seen immunizers step up in innovative ways in every community across the country to get those doses in arms. I want to congratulate the many creative ways that communities are vaccinating their members.

As the member opposite notes, the United States has said that crossing the border to receive a vaccine is not an appropriate reason—