Debates of June 16th, 2021

Official Languages

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for La Pointe-de-l'Île.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Quebec wants Bill 101 to apply to federally regulated businesses. Quite simply, this means applying the existing legislation. As a matter of fact, the Bloc Québécois bill does just that.

There is no need for a federal bill dumped on us six days before the end of the session that will not debated or voted on. Our bill will be voted on in half an hour; it is as simple as that.

Will the Minister of Official Languages vote with us to apply Bill 101 in Quebec?

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

Mr. Speaker, I remember the debates I had with my colleague, where he kept asking me to strengthen the Official Languages Act, to recognize the specificity of French in Quebec, to recognize that federally regulated businesses have an obligation to work in French and to provide rights, as well as to serve consumers in French.

He should be happy, because this has now been done. The bill has been introduced. Now the question is whether he will he support it. Will the Bloc Québécois support the new version of the Official Languages Act?

Public Safety

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

Mr. Speaker, there is no reason why the government cannot answer the following question.

President Biden directed U.S. intelligence to determine whether the pandemic originated from human contact with an animal or from a lab accident at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Last weekend, the G7 discussed this issue, and the government pledged co-operation. Given that government scientists at the Canadian lab in Winnipeg worked closely with the Wuhan lab, will these scientists and their documents, including lab notes, be made available to U.S. investigators?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we support the call by President Biden to get to the bottom of this issue. It is so important, after the world has been turned upside down by the COVID pandemic and over three million people have died, that we try our very best to understand what caused this pandemic.

For that reason, using the best available science, we should do exactly that, try to figure out where this all started.

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

Mr. Speaker, we know from public documents and peer-reviewed academic papers that a Chinese military scientist, Feihu Yan, of the People's Liberation Army worked at the Winnipeg lab, a level 4 facility where the world's most dangerous viruses and pathogens are handled.

Who approved this individual to work at the government's lab in Winnipeg?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the National Microbiology Laboratory is a secure facility, and everyone working at it or visiting the lab must undergo security screening and adhere to the strictest protocols, procedures and policies. This is very important, not only to the lab but to Canada and Canadians.

I want to thank the lab during Public Service Week for its incredible work in helping Canadians through COVID-19.

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister did not answer my question. I will try another.

During this pandemic, the health minister has been telling Canadians to follow public health orders, yet the health minister continues to defy a House order to hand over documents about the Winnipeg lab. Does the minister not see how corrosive this is to the rule of law, when she tells Canadians to comply with public health orders while at the same time defying an order of this House?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, that is quite a piece of conflation.

What I will say is that I have fully shared, through the Public Health Agency of Canada and through its president, Iain Stewart, fully unredacted documents to a committee of parliamentarians for their review. So, in fact, those documents are available for review in a way that does not compromise privacy or national security issues.

Small Business

[Brenda Shanahan, Liberal, Châteauguay—Lacolle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, women entrepreneurs across Canada have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19.

Women have had to leave the workforce in order to care for their children because of the pandemic. It has taken them longer to re-enter the workforce. Budget 2021 makes a generational investment in the early learning and child care system so that women can return to work.

Can the minister tell us about other measures in budget 2021 to support women entrepreneurship?

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for her very important question.

We know that the pandemic has exposed serious flaws in our social safety net, including the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs. That is why our government has proposed a transformational investment in early learning and child care. Not only will this help these women entrepreneurs get back to work, but it will also help build a stronger, more resilient economy.

It is also important to mention the proposed investment to strengthen the women’s entrepreneurship strategy, which will provide women entrepreneurs with greater access to financing, mentoring and training.

As a woman who has owned a small business—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles.

Public Safety

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

Mr. Speaker, this week, the Minister of Health honoured us with her presence before the Canada-China committee to answer our questions. However, she wasted our time for three hours. She did the same thing she does during question period, which is repeat platitudes. The minister even tried to make us believe that she had not received a briefing about the breach at the Winnipeg lab.

Can the Prime Minister confirm that the Minister of Health had not been briefed on the matter?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, again I see the member opposite is putting words in my mouth. In fact, I spent three hours at committee; it was approximately my 26th appearance in front of the House committees this season. I will say that I was fully transparent with the committee, and I reminded the committee that the fully unredacted documents are with NSICOP, a committee of parliamentarians that has the appropriate clearance to review those documents.

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

Mr. Speaker, I urge the minister to go back and look at the committee blues. She clearly said that she did not know anything, she never knew anything.

The other issue we have is that when we talk about the security breach at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, the Prime Minister always accuses us of being racist and fearmongering.

However, last week at the G7 meetings, the same Prime Minister supported a motion calling China a threat to public safety with a government seeking to undermine the global system.

The Prime Minister is trying to act tough on the international stage. Why is he unable to tell us the truth and give us the information in Canada?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I spent three hours at the committee answering questions from parliamentarians and repeatedly referring the parliamentarians to the statement of the president of the Public Health Agency of Canada, who has submitted all the documents, unredacted, to the appropriate committee of parliamentarians that can review those documents.

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

Mr. Speaker, here is the truth of the matter. When the Prime Minister says that the protection of public safety is at stake and that that is why he is hiding the truth from Canada, it is because the real problem is that if people knew what went on, it would put him in conflict with China.

The Prime Minister is still having problems with China. We saw that with the development of the vaccine with CanSino, where we were had. As for what happened at the lab in Winnipeg, it is clear that there was a problem, not for China, but for Canada. That is why the Prime Minister does not want us to know.

Could he at least confirm that there is no longer any co‑operation with China?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

We had an interruption. I would like to remind everyone participating virtually in the work of the hybrid House to make sure their microphones are muted.

I would ask the hon. member for Charlesbourg—Haute‑Saint‑Charles to repeat his question so that everyone can hear it.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister keeps saying that public safety is the reason he is hiding the truth about the security breach at the Winnipeg lab from Canadians.

The truth is that, if that information were made public, it would show how badly he was fooled by the Chinese Communist regime, just as he was fooled by the CanSino company, which is owned by the Chinese Communist regime.

Can he at least confirm that there is no longer any co‑operation going on between the Winnipeg lab and Communist China?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Yet again, Mr. Speaker, we see the Conservative Party playing really dangerous games with national security. We will never do that, on this side of the House. We understand that there is an appropriate way to release documents in a way that protects their privacy and their national security aspects, and those documents have been released in a fully unredacted fashion to a committee of parliamentarians who have the appropriate clearance to do those reviews.

The Environment

[Yvan Baker, Liberal, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, climate change is the existential issue of our time, and Canadians across this country want to see their governments take action to address it. More than ever, the environment and the economy have to go hand in hand to offer our children and grandchildren a healthy environment and one in which they can thrive. Could the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance please update this House on the investments we are making to grow the economy and protect the environment?

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we are taking action to fight climate change and grow our economy. Our investments in budget 2021 are a critical step forward because, on this side of the House, we know that climate change is real. Budget 2021 represents $7.6 billion that would help build a cleaner and more sustainable future, which builds on $50 billion from our strengthened climate plan and also another $15-billion investment in public transit.

This includes help to restore wetlands and rehabilitate stormwater systems, and also interest-free loans of up to $40,000 for home retrofits. We are—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Churchill—Keewatinook Aski.

Indigenous Affairs

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB]

Mr. Speaker, following the 215 children found buried in Kamloops, first nations are calling for action, but the government is MIA. When the Pimicikamak Cree Nation calls for the International Commission on Missing Persons to come in, the government sends them a form letter. When first nations ask for help to search for mass graves, the government recycles an insulting 2019 funding announcement. Now we have news that SNC-Lavalin is filling in while the government neglects its responsibilities.

This is genocide. First nations and experts are calling for an independent commission, international experts and concrete action. When will the Prime Minister listen and act?

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations]

Mr. Speaker, all Canadians were heartbroken when we learned of the remains of children at the former Kamloops residential school. We are working with the community and our partners, such as the B.C. First Nations Health Authority, to provide all the resources and supports needed as determined by the community and all communities.

We are also reaching out to indigenous communities across Canada on how best to support them in finding their lost children and healing, including how they can access the $27 million of funding being made available right now on an urgent basis.