Mr. Speaker, I would like to inform you that I will be sharing my time with the charming member for Saanich—Gulf Islands. It is a pleasure for me to do so.
First, I would like to say that I completely understand the heartfelt concern of the member for Edmonton Strathcona. I was listening to her earlier, and I understand her concerns because we experienced something similar in Quebec during the first wave, when the situation in our long-term care facilities was very troubling, very worrisome. Today, we see that there are 23,600 active cases in Alberta compared to 8,800 cases in Quebec. Demographically speaking, we see that the situation is very worrisome.
As legislators, what should we do in a growing pandemic? This situation is not good.
I would say that the first thing to do is not to give in to the instinct we have as politicians. It is unfortunate, but often as politicians, our instinct is to look for a scapegoat. I am saying that because we often get into the habit of pointing the finger rather than looking for solutions.
I would like to say that I have a great deal of sympathy for Albertans and for what they are going through. I may have a little less for Jason Kenney. Perhaps his handling of the crisis was not totally perfect, but that is not for us to say. It is not the House of Commons' job to judge Jason Kenney; that is the Legislative Assembly of Alberta's job. It is the opposition parties' job to do that and to show that there were perhaps some serious flaws in the way he managed the crisis. To sum up, it is not our job to put Jason Kenney on trial.
Although I say that, I am also aware that the preferred attitude during a crisis is, in my opinion, a responsible one. I think that responsibility dictates that we listen to science. We have an obligation to listen to science, especially in a pandemic. Perhaps that is not what Mr. Kenney did. He will have to answer to his fellow Albertans. However, science tells us that lockdowns can be useful.
Earlier, I heard my colleague from Calgary Nose Hill say that the lockdown was an issue in her riding, that it was unfair, that not everyone was being treated the same during lockdowns.
I do not know if this is the case in Alberta, but I can say that during the lockdown in Quebec, grocery stores and essential services remained open. We debated that at length in the House of Commons. There were benefits for people losing their jobs. There is a social safety net that lets us keep a roof over our heads and food on the table during a pandemic.
I find it most unfortunate to let our constituents believe that there is a magic solution that does not require lockdowns. What science is telling us and what public health is telling us is that this dreaded lockdown is necessary. In Quebec, it is very well managed by public health authorities.
At this time, we know that the situation is alarming. There is one thing that will surely make an appearance again and that is the Emergencies Act. Ontario invoked the Emergencies Act to get help from the federal government. Quebec did the same thing for its long-term care facilities and the army came to give us a hand.
Personally, I can see how this would be a useful tool, but it up to the provinces to use it. It is not up to the federal government, which does not have jurisdiction or expertise in health matters, to tell the provinces how to manage the pandemic. If the Emergencies Act were to be invoked, it would have to be in response to a formal request from the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The federal government has no business taking that power away from the legitimately elected members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. I think that, if the government wants to do something useful in terms of pandemic response, the best thing it can do is make sure we have a more robust health care system going forward.
In Quebec, I think most health care providers realized that there were weaknesses in our health care system. Where do those weaknesses come from?
I have to say that for the past 20 years there has been a systemic problem in the Canadian federation, and that is the fiscal imbalance. It is not normal that the level of government with the greatest financial capacity provides just slightly more than 20% of every dollar invested in the health sector and that the provinces are forced—at least that is the case in Quebec—year after year to deal with difficult budget situations because the government's contribution to health care funding is inadequate. In the next few years we may have to face a similar crisis. If we do not have a more robust health care system at that point, then we will not have learned from our mistakes.
If the government wants to be helpful, the best thing it can do is listen to the provinces, like Quebec and Alberta, which have been calling for health transfers of 35% for far too long. That way the pressure and problems that Alberta is currently experiencing with intensive care might be problems that could be dealt with much more easily.
What Alberta is currently going through is similar to the problems experienced in long-term care centres and seniors homes in Quebec. Part of the problem was the burnout being felt by health care staff, who have been overwhelmed for years now. Fewer employees are being hired and more work is being done in mandatory overtime to reduce the financial strain on the system. In the end, it became quite clear that our system is very ill-equipped.
In my view, the best response the federal government could give today would be to better fund the provincial health care systems.
I ask all my colleagues not to give in to the political instinct we all have, as I said earlier, to want to score points by finding a scapegoat for the current crisis. Instead, we must try to respect each other's jurisdictions and ensure that rational political action is taken.
I will close by saying that I encourage everyone to listen to science-based recommendations. We need to follow public health rules and know that this imposes certain limitations on us both in terms of vaccination and lockdown. If every politician would follow the rules and encourage their constituents to do the same, I think that would be a very good start.