Debates of May 6th, 2021

International Trade

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I was absolutely delighted yesterday to hear that the U.S. government has recognized the extraordinary realities of COVID-19 and has committed to waiving intellectual property rights, putting the lives of millions of people ahead of big profits for pharmaceutical companies, yet we have heard nothing but platitudes, half promises and deflection from the Liberals. I am proud of Joe Biden and the United States government for its decision to support the TRIPS waiver.

When will Canadians be able to be proud of our government? When will the Liberals put people ahead of profits?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of Small Business]

Mr. Speaker, our government continues to be a leader in the global effort to ensure that there is equitable access to successful vaccines and critical medical supplies around the world. We will actively participate in negotiations to waive intellectual property protection, particularly to COVID-19 vaccines under the WTO agreement on TRIPS.

We agree that the pandemic is not over anywhere until it is over everywhere. We will continue to work with our international partners toward a speedy and just recovery.

Health

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the government has clearly failed to control the spread of COVID through our borders. The Liberals were slow to act. Measures have huge loopholes, and enforcement is weak. They apply hotel quarantine rules only to travellers arriving by air, leading thousands to simply cross at U.S. border points. Now we see that the Liberals are allowing two of the four Canadian airports that receive international passengers to fail at enforcing hotel quarantine rules at all.

Why is the government allowing travellers in Alberta and Quebec to ignore federal quarantine rules, leaving all Canadians vulnerable to variants of concern?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I would remind the member that we have some of the strongest international travel measures in the world. In fact, all travellers who are travelling for non-essential reasons must submit to a pre-departure test, a post-arrival test, three days in a GAA after travelling by air, 14-day quarantine for all and a day eight test.

We will work with our provincial and municipal partners to ensure the Quarantine Act is enforced.

Official Languages

[Paul Lefebvre, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Speaker, since 2015, this government has been championing the rights of official language minority communities from coast to coast to coast, especially the Franco-Ontarian community.

As students at Laurentian face an uncertain future, they know this government will support them. Would the Minister of Official Languages tell the House what she is doing to ensure that Franco-Ontarians have access to post-secondary education in northern Ontario?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his excellent work and his excellent question.

Those of us on this side of the House have always stepped up to protect francophones in minority communities, and we always will.

Post-secondary institutions are key to the vitality of our linguistic minority communities. I am worried, and our government is worried, about the Laurentian University situation. That is why we are working on solutions. We will work with the province and make sure there is a post-secondary institution for francophones in northern Ontario.

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, the award for letting the cat out of the bag goes to two Liberal members: the member for Kingston and the Islands and the member for Whitby. They admitted, here in the House, that if their government had done its job in procuring vaccines for Canadians on time, we would not be in this mess.

Canada is now in a third wave. The Prime Minister keeps making announcements about more vaccine deliveries, but Canadians are still waiting. Canadians and our small businesses are suffering needlessly.

Can the Prime Minister be just as honest as his two MPs and admit that we would not be here if he had acted on time?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to say that over 17.4 million vaccines have been shipped to provinces and territories to date, and as of today, 14.5 million doses have been administered across Canada.

We are making tremendous progress, and it is really in partnership with all the provinces and territories, which are administering vaccines to people who are vulnerable to COVID, and in partnership with corporations, communities and unions. All across this country Canadians are getting vaccinated, and I encourage everyone to take get vaccinated when it is their turn.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals keep saying that Canadians should follow the advice of scientists. We agree.

However, this Liberal government has totally ignored the recommendations of the scientists who developed the vaccines. Scientists are saying that the second dose of the vaccine should be taken three months after the first and the Liberals maintain that it should be four months. Worse yet, a Liberal senator says that we should consider mixing and matching doses because of the security of supply.

Why are the Liberals playing with the health of Canadians to hide their incompetence?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, those kinds of assertions are not what Canadians want to hear. What they want to hear is encouragement to continue on the path we are on because vaccinations are saving lives and stopping the spread.

Just recently, Public Health Ontario reported that, out of the 3.5 million Ontarians who have been vaccinated to date, only 0.06% have since become infected, and there were no deaths in any of those cases. In fact, the majority of the cases of infections happened before the 14 days. We will continue to work with provinces and territories to make sure that everyone can get vaccinated when it is their turn.

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

Mr. Speaker, given the need for clear, transparent and effective communications on advice regarding vaccine efficacy and safety, what concrete action has the Minister of Health undertaken this week to correct deficiencies and better coordinate public communications between NACI, PHAC, Health Canada, her office and cabinet?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I think we have been extremely clear throughout this vaccination process that vaccines do indeed save lives and stop the spread. I want to thank Public Health Ontario for its recent reporting, which demonstrated exactly that. I will continue to say that in this House. Certainly, public health leaders are saying that.

We know Canadians are stepping up to the plate. They are getting vaccinated. We will continue to deliver the vaccines to the provinces and territories. We will continue to be partners in getting those vaccines into arms. We can see the finish line, and we need to get there together.

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

Mr. Speaker, no, the advice on vaccines from the federal government this week has not been clear. The confusing communications regarding vaccines the federal government has presided over cannot be allowed to continue, and the person who has the responsibility to make sure this happens is the Minister of Health.

Can she acknowledge there is a problem and tell us what action she has taken, or will be taking, to correct deficiencies and better coordinate public communications between NACI, PHAC, Health Canada, her and her office, and cabinet?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I will be perfectly clear. Vaccines are indeed saving lives and stopping the spread of COVID-19. That is the goal that I think every member in this House would agree is an important one and that we are all striving for.

I will repeat this again: It is important that Canadians accept the first vaccine that is offered to them. If Canadians are questioning if vaccination is right for them, the best place to get credible information is from their health care provider or from a government website at the provincial, federal or municipal level. There are many players working to vaccinate Canadians. I would encourage all members in this House to get vaccinated when it is their turn and to encourage their constituents to do so as well.

Public Services and Procurement

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, for years now, the Bloc Québécois has been calling for the Davie shipyard to be awarded a polar icebreaker contract. Today's announcement is not bad news, but Davie still has not been named the third partner under the national shipbuilding strategy. No contract has been signed, there is no start date for building and no timeline.

Can the government tell us when we will get those dates? Otherwise, the announcement is nothing but electioneering.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois is as grouchy as ever, I see. Before, they would say that there was no contract for Davie. Now they say that there is one. They come off as a bunch of grouchy Smurfs.

The Bloc cannot do anything for the Davie shipyard. The Conservatives never wanted to help the Davie shipyard. We are keeping our promises to Davie.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my colleagues will understand why I am talking about an election. The government had one contract for a polar icebreaker to award to either Davie Shipyard or its rival in British Columbia, Seaspan. In a surprise move, the government just announced a contract for a second icebreaker, this one going to Seaspan. However, that shipyard had an identical contract withdrawn in 2019 because it was unable to start building.

Essentially, the government is saying yes to everyone with no regard for Seaspan's construction capacity, timelines or costs. Are the contracts announced today meant to be election promises?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the only party talking about an election right now is the Bloc Québécois. No one on this side has uttered the word “election”, that is for sure.

Today we are announcing excellent news for the people of Lévis, for the Davie shipyard and for the entire supply chain. It means thousands of jobs in hundreds of small and medium-sized businesses across Quebec. I would expect the Bloc to be happy about this.

What is clear is that the Conservatives never wanted to help Davie, the Bloc cannot help Davie, but we are keeping our promises to Davie.

The Environment

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, despite signing an international agreement and giving companies five years to comply, the Liberal government has handed out major exemptions to its friends in big business to rules limiting HFC emissions. In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency sends such requests packing, as HFCs are a far more damaging greenhouse gas than carbon, while the Liberals said yes to these high-priced lobbyists.

Why is the Liberal government not forcing these polluters to invest in domestic facilities, like the United States does, instead of giving big exemptions to their highly connected favourites?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government has committed to an 85% reduction in HFCs by 2036 through the Kigali Amendment, and we are fully committed to meeting our international obligations. The temporary permits that the hon. member references are given based on technical criteria and are assessed on a case-by-case basis.

We will continue to work with all industry stakeholders to ensure that we meet our international obligations to phase down HFCs and protect our environment.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I recently sent the Minister of Immigration a letter to once again condemn the endless delays in the processing of temporary foreign worker applications. Last year, I shared my concerns with him in a letter and also with the House. I also signed an open letter with 14 businesses from the region.

Nothing has changed. Businesses in Beauce are waiting impatiently for their workers. Millions of dollars in contracts are at stake. Will the minister continue to sit on his hands until the election or will he finally take action on this file? The situation is wholly unacceptable.

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, temporary foreign workers are essential for our businesses, farms and health institutions. That is why we facilitated the arrival of temporary foreign workers throughout the pandemic. Last year, we welcomed more than 85% of the agricultural workers we were expecting. I will remain in contact with my colleague to move forward on this file.

Public Services and Procurement

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, COVID‑19 certainly is a convenient excuse for a lot of things. Did this government take advantage of the pandemic to hand out contracts and millions of dollars to its friends? Businesses in the Quebec region that have been operating for years and are accredited by Health Canada were ignored in the procurement of PPE.

Can this Liberal government, which was involved in the sponsorship scandal, assure us that this time patronage was not a factor when contracts were awarded during the pandemic?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, throughout the pandemic we have provided billions of pieces of PPE, with billions supplied by Canadian manufacturers and suppliers. We thank them. We will continue to ensure we have the supplies we need to protect all Canadians throughout the pandemic.

Agriculture and Agri‑Food

[Lyne Bessette, Liberal, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

Mr. Speaker, young people are the future of Canada's agriculture and agri‑food sector. Their ideas contribute to building a strong and innovative sector that is ready to meet the changing needs of tomorrow. For them to consider a career in the agriculture sector, it is important that they have contact with our farmers.

Can the minister tell us how our government will support jobs for young people in the agriculture sector?