Debates of June 1st, 2021

Opposition Motion—Documents Related to the Transfer of Ebola and Henipah Viruses to the Wuhan Institute of Virology

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, in the question that was just posed I saw the Conservative opposition members being a little defensive realizing that oops, maybe once again, they are missing the boat on a very important fact. They cannot have it both ways. They cannot say they are genuinely concerned and completely overlook a committee that was established in order to deal with things of this nature. On the other hand, when that is being suggested to them, they say that is not good enough, they want to make it more political. That is really what the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan is trying to say.

The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians has representatives from all political parties and they have a certain security clearance. Everything that the Conservative members are trying to achieve today could be achieved through that committee. However, the Conservatives have a problem with that, because for them, the issue is not what is in the public's best interests, it is what is in the Conservative Party's best political interests.

We have seen that repeatedly. We can go back to last summer and remember the thousands and thousands of papers that were provided to a standing committee, At a time when Canada was in the midst of a pandemic, the Conservative Party of Canada wanted to focus its attention on diverting health care professionals within Health Canada to provide papers and to appear before committee. If I believed for a moment that it had nothing to do with the partisan politics of the Conservative Party, I would be a little more sympathetic.

Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory is a secure facility. We all know that. Everyone working at and visiting the microbiology laboratory must undergo security screening and adhere to strict security protocols and policies. I had the opportunity to drive by the lab on Arlington Street on many occasions and it sits there in isolation. One gets the impression that there are important things that the federal government is doing in that facility. This government, more so than Stephen Harper, invests in science and supports our labs. I think that has been clearly demonstrated.

If we read through the resolution for the opposition day, two things come to my mind: One, is yes, there is a lot of detail and again they are asking for papers and again they are trying to have it go to a committee and again they want to get another minister, the Minister of Health, who has been answering questions during question period virtually every day now. They want that special committee to deal with it.

That is the one thing that comes to my mind in reading it and that is the most obvious. When I first read it, the first thing that came to my mind was that the legislation we passed a number of years ago that we asked the Conservative government of Stephen Harper to bring in. We have the Five Eyes countries and Canada was the only one out of the Five Eyes that did not have a national security and intelligence committee per se. We established that.

As some of the Conservative members will point out, there is a different reporting mechanism but there are members of the Conservative Party who are on that committee. Within that committee they do have the ability to look into the matter at hand and maintain confidence and provide ideas and recommendations and they have done some fine work in the past.

My first thought in reading this motion was this: Has the Conservative Party given any thought in regard to that committee? Based on the two questions, I now understand why the Conservatives do not want to go to that committee. It is because it is not political enough.

The other thing I find amazing is that here we have a limited number of opposition days and Canadians are thinking of the pandemic and things such as the vaccines, we just tabled billions and billions of dollars being spent in a budget, and this is what the Conservative Party has chosen. I do not think the Conservative Party is in tune with what is happening in the real world or sensitive to what Canadians want us to be talking about.

I see that my time is expiring, so I will be able to continue on, possibly after question period.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

The hon. parliamentary secretary will have 13 and a half minutes remaining in his time for his remarks when the House next gets back to debate on the question, and, of course, the usual period for questions and comments.

National Indigenous History Month

[Jaime Battiste, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

Mr. Speaker, June is National Indigenous History Month. Now, more than ever, we ask Canadians to celebrate and create awareness of the history, heritage and diversity of indigenous peoples in Canada. It is also an opportunity to recognize the strength and resilience of indigenous communities.

We recognize the importance of indigenous knowledge, culture and ceremonies that occur during this time, celebrations that reflect the diversity of indigenous peoples across Canada and provide opportunities to share stories, traditions and culture in a way that keeps us connected.

June marks the sixth anniversary of #IndigenousReads, which is aimed to showcase literary works by first nations, Inuit and Métis authors and to help increase our understanding of indigenous issues, culture and history. Through socially distanced or online events, I urge all parliamentarians and Canadians to take time to celebrate National Indigenous History Month.

Cannabis

[Bob Saroya, Conservative, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when the Prime Minister was selling the idea of legal marijuana, he said, “We need to make sure we're keeping our kids safe and keeping our communities safe by removing the black market and the criminal gangs and the street organizations from it.” It is clear the Prime Minister was making things up.

In the last two years, over a dozen multi-million dollar illegal grow operations run by organized crime have been busted in Ontario alone. Organized crime is making millions of dollars hiding behind the loopholes in the Liberal cannabis legislation. The profits of the drug trade are being used to fuel more crimes. Some of the legal operations are not much better. Mars Wrigley, the famous candy company known for Skittles, is suing Canadian cannabis companies for using their branding on drugs, branding designed to attract children.

It will take a Conservative government to fix this mess.

National AccessAbility Week

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this week is National AccessAbility Week, with this year’s theme being “Disability Inclusion 2021: leaving no one behind”.

When we remove barriers to employment to allow people living with disabilities to enter the workforce, we create a more positive work environment and a better bottom line. Our government is moving forward with a disability inclusion action plan, which will include a disability benefit and an employment strategy.

Locally, I have seen outstanding work done by organizations such as Goodwill Amity Group, Community Living Oakville, Community Living Burlington, and Xplore Employment, which is enhancing hiring practices to maximize business potential through hiring people living with disabilities.

My good friend Karina Scali lives with Williams Syndrome, but that has not held her back. She will graduate in 2022 with an early childhood education diploma at Sheridan College. This is why disability inclusion matters. It is so that people like Karina can succeed and thrive.

World Milk Day

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today, Tuesday, June 1, is World Milk Day.

It is an opportunity to recognize the contribution of dairy farmers, who work hard to bring to our tables safe, high-quality milk, as well as other much-needed milk products, such as butter, yogourt and cheese. Dairy farmers represent a driving economic force in rural municipalities and contribute to the dynamic use of our land.

Let us show dairy farmers that they are important and let us do everything we can to quickly pass Bill C‑216. Farmers should not have to worry about their market shares being undermined again. All of the parties have paid lip service to the idea of protecting supply management. We are now asking them to put their words into action.

Let us hurry up and pass Bill C‑216 and protect supply management. Let us raise our glass of milk to the health of our local dairy farmers.

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

Mr. Speaker, today is World Milk Day. I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge our dairy farmers, who play a key role in Canada's agricultural sector and our economy.

Canada is proud of its dairy industry, which adheres to some of the strictest quality standards in the world. Our farmers are also innovating to make their operations as environmentally friendly as possible. Canadian milk now has one of the smallest carbon footprints in the world.

The dairy industry is the lifeblood of our rural communities. This year, I had the pleasure of speaking with local farmers in my riding of Brome—Missisquoi a number of times. Our government has always been there to support them, and I will always make the growth of this industry my priority.

I invite all Canadians to grab a glass of milk or an ice cream cone and join me in celebrating World Milk Day.

Canadian Environment Week

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

Mr. Speaker, this week is Canadian Environment Week, which seeks to encourage us to help protect our environment. That is a subject that my Conservative Party colleagues and I care a lot about. The health and safety of our planet are at stake. We are talking about what we will leave our children and future generations. This is my responsibility as a father.

I would have liked to be able to tell the House that a lot of progress has been made under this government, but unfortunately, the Liberals' broken promise to plant more than two billion trees and their failure to respond to the urgent need to act now to help our environment are just a few examples of this government's lack of commitment and incompetence. Even Greenpeace is criticizing this government.

Tomorrow is Clean Air Day in Canada. Let us work together to keep our air clean. We cannot celebrate the government's achievements this year, but next year's Canadian Environment Week will be an opportunity to see that, with a new Conservative government and its environmental plan, greenhouse gas emissions will have been reduced with the help—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Beaches—East York.

Frontline Health Care Workers

[Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, Liberal, Beaches—East York, ON]

Madam Speaker, vaccines are the way out of the pandemic and there is nothing more important than each one of us doing our part. For most of us, that simply means getting our shot. However, for the incredible frontline health care professionals and volunteers across our country, it means an unending commitment to help others receive their shot.

For example, our East Toronto Health Partners have led a phenomenal effort, including through pop-up clinics, to make sure no one is left behind. They even set a national record of over 10,000 doses administered in less than 24 hours. I was glad to be one of them. Thanks to these collective efforts, the single-dose strategy has saved many lives, and Canada is on pace for both a higher level of full vaccination and a much faster overall rollout than almost every other country.

No, it has not been perfect, and yes, we must do much more to address barriers to global vaccine equity. However, for today, on behalf of Beaches—East York, I want to thank every single person who has contributed. We are lucky to live in Canada and to be surrounded by so many people who bring such compassion and hard work to our communities.

Jatinder Singh Randhawa

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment and recognize the achievements of Jatinder Singh Randhawa, a Surrey local and friend who championed Punjabi arts and culture across Canada.

Since 2008, the Shan E Punjab Arts Club he founded has taught thousands of youth in the Lower Mainland the art of Punjabi bhangra and giddha dance. From the Olympics to Parliament Hill, Mr. Randhawa’s students delivered his passion across the country. He was affectionately called the “King of Bhangra”. He was a father to Bhavneet and husband to Rupinder.

While his loss has left a deep wound in the entire Surrey community, his contributions will continue to inspire the coming generations to love the arts, live passionately and give it forward.

North Regina Little League

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, this past Sunday in Regina, hundreds of young boys and girls did something that many of us took for granted when we were children. They grabbed a bat and glove, and headed out to the ball diamond. Government lockdowns cancelled sports last summer, but with Saskatchewan's restrictions finally being lifted, baseball season was back on.

Today, I pay tribute to the dozens of volunteers at the North Regina Little League. With very short notice and lots of uncertainty, they were able to pull it all together. It took a lot of effort to organize teams, book facilities and plan a season in such a tight time frame. I also want to thank all the parents who helped coach and those who helped get the fields ready to play. This will give us all a season to remember. Thanks to their hard work, kids were able to close their laptops and swap their COVID masks for batting gloves.

There is a magical baseball phrase that goes, “If you build it, they will come.” This year, we can add, “If you let them, they will play”. On behalf of everyone in Regina—Qu'Appelle, and especially starting pitcher Henry Scheer, we thank North Regina Little League.

Loïck Thomas

[René Arseneault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Speaker, a young boy back home in Madawaska—Restigouche is proving that one small gesture can make a big difference. Four-year-old Loïck Thomas was disgusted by all of the litter he was seeing, so in late March, he started picking up litter and putting it into garbage bags.

After having reached his first objective of collecting 1,000 garbage bags, this young boy has set himself a new challenge and is now aiming for 10,000 bags. Through social media, this beautiful initiative by Loïck and his family inspires people of all ages, even outside New Brunswick, to participate in this good deed.

How can we help Loïck to meet his challenge? It is very simple. Someone can just post of photo of themselves and their garbage bag full of waste and share it on the Facebook page “Projet de Loïck Project”.

Let us all work together to help our planet, one bag at a time.

World Milk Day

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, June 1 is recognized around the globe as World Milk Day. This is an important day for Canada and especially for Quebec. It is a day to acknowledge the significant contributions made by the dairy industry, such as providing healthy and nutritious food, as well as dairy farmers' responsible, sustainable and conscientious practices.

Canadian milk is second to none. It is superior to its rivals in every respect. However, we must never forget that our dairy industry is under constant attack from foreign countries looking to scoop up market share with lesser-quality milk. We must never let our guard down. I am proud of our local dairy industry workers. We must protect them.

Our dairy industry is a world leader, and the hard work of our farmers, producers and processors does not go unnoticed. I encourage everyone to join me in raising a virtual glass to our dairy industry and to the Canadians who work hard to make it prosper. Let us continue to support them together.

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

Today is the 20th anniversary of World Milk Day.

This is a day to recognize Canadian dairy producers, who work hard supplying the country with nutritious products. Every day, our farmers wake up with a passion and drive to provide us with quality wholesome dairy products that are produced with care, safety and sustainability.

I have visited many dairy farms and have witnessed the hard work and dedication required to get quality products to market such as chocolate milk, yogourt, cheese and ice cream, to name a few. Please join me in celebrating World Milk Day by raising a cold glass to our Canadian dairy farmers.

Shannen Koostachin

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is difficult to describe the squalid and dangerous conditions that the children of Attawapiskat were being educated in, or the indifference of the government officials who knew these children might never see a real school, but let me tell the House about the fire that I saw in the eyes of 13-year-old Shannen Koostachin when she vowed that the little brothers and sisters of James Bay would have a safe, comfy school to go to.

Shannen lit a fire across this country. She took on the government. She inspired a young generation of activists because she said it was not acceptable that first nations children are being denied their rights in a country as rich as Canada. We lost Shannen 11 years ago today in a terrible accident. Her story lives on in movies and books, and as a comic book super hero, but most of all, Shannen's dream continues to challenge us.

I was honoured to know this young warrior. If she were here today, she would say that the systemic discrimination against this young generation of first nations children must end now, because every child has the right to hope and dream for a better future. That was Shannen's dream. We need to make it a reality.

Jacques Lacoursière

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is not often that a historian leaves such a mark on his people that he himself becomes a prominent part of his own nation's history, but that is what happened to Jacques Lacoursière, whom we lost earlier today.

On behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I would like to extend my condolences to his family, his loved ones and his magnificent region, the Mauricie. Jacques Lacoursière spent his life showing Quebeckers that their history is as beautiful as that of any other country. His book A People's History of Quebec is one of our most significant history books. I will also highlight Épopée en Amérique, a documentary series he produced with Gilles Carle that explores our history in a different format.

Jacques Lacoursière was made a knight of the Ordre national du Québec, but his legacy was also recognized throughout the French-speaking world, as he was made a knight of the Ordre de la Pléiade and received the insignia of the Legion of Honour. Let us honour the memory and the work of Jacques Lacoursière. It is undoubtedly the best way to thank such a great historian. We will remember him.

The Economy

[Greg McLean, Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Alberta has been an engine of economic growth for our country, but since the Liberals came to power, Albertans have suffered from their failed economic experiments. We suffered through job losses when the Liberals decided to work against Canada's oil and gas industry. During the months of lockdowns and uncertainty, we have experienced the highest unemployment rates in the country. Canadians need a dependable path out of this pandemic and we need a government that is serious about economic recovery.

Canada's Conservatives got Canada out of the last recession and we have a plan to recover the one million jobs lost during the pandemic. We are offering a clear alternative to the risk and uncertainty that is imagined by the Liberal government. The Conservative plan will safely secure our future and deliver economic growth and jobs for Canadian workers and their families. Our work will help those Canadians who have suffered the most during this pandemic and create opportunity in all sectors of the economy and in all parts of the country.

National AccessAbility Week

[Irek Kusmierczyk, Liberal, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to mark the beginning of the fifth annual National AccessAbility Week celebrating the contributions that Canadians with disabilities make to our great country. The theme this year is “Disability Inclusion 2021: Leaving no one behind”, aligning with our plan to build back better. This includes engaging Canadians and developing the first-ever disability inclusion action plan and key investments in programs such as the enabling accessibility fund.

As part of our pandemic response, we worked tirelessly to put a disability lens on decision-making, ensuring that our supports and relief measures were disability-inclusive. As we move forward, we are more committed than ever to a disability-inclusive economic recovery that truly leaves no one behind.

I invite members and all Canadians to join the conversation around disability inclusion and to follow Accessible Canada on Twitter and Facebook to join the National AccessAbility Week celebrations.

Indigenous Affairs

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the tragedy uncovered at the former residential school in Kamloops is only the beginning.

The tragedy uncovered at the former residential school is the latest tragedy in the national shame of the residential schools program. In the spirit of reconciliation and partnership, I ask the Prime Minister this: Will the government commit to swift action on calls to action 71 to 76 in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we will continue to work on these calls to action. The discovery of the remains of more than 200 children at the former residential school in Kamloops is heartbreaking. We need to acknowledge that the residential schools are a reality and a tragedy that existed in Canada.

To honour of the memory of these lost children who got sent away to residential schools and never came home, we have lowered the flags to half-mast. We continue to work with families and communities across the country to put them at the centre of the healing and the research process. We will continue to work with them. We will honour their memories.

Public Safety

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the government is withholding troubling information regarding security breaches at Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory. We do not know how scientists with ties to the Chinese military received multiple security clearances. We do not know how these scientists got approval to send virus samples to China.

As the world commits to investigating the source of the coronavirus, why is the Liberal government covering things up?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

On the contrary, Mr. Speaker, we believe in openness and transparency, including in matters touching on national security. That is why six years ago we created the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians to study issues around national security, gathering members from all parties in the House to lean in carefully on things of high sensitivity. That is why we encourage the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians to look at issues like this, to make sure that we can find answers that all Canadians need to be reassured about.

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's secret committee does not deprive Parliament of its ability to hold the government to account. It does not deprive Canadians of their right to know the truth, after countless cover-ups by the government.

Two scientists with connections to the Wuhan Institute of Virology were marched out of our top secret lab. How did these scientists get high security approvals? How did they get approval from the government to send virus samples to China? Why is the government keeping Canadians in the dark?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, there are many questions that need to be pursued, and that is exactly why we created the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians.

The fact that the Conservative leader just referred to it as “the Prime Minister's secret committee” goes to part of the problem of why the Conservative government, under Stephen Harper, for 10 years refused to bring in any oversight by parliamentarians of our national security apparatuses. We all remember the real concerns about Stephen Harper and Bill C-51 and labelling terrorists in Canada.

We brought forward a committee of parliamentarians who have the security clearances necessary to do this work.