House of Commons Hansard #111 of the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was point.

Topics

Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752Statements by Members

11:10 a.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès) Liberal Alexandra Mendes

The hon. member for Oakville North—Burlington.

ALS Awareness MonthStatements by Members

11:10 a.m.

Liberal

Pam Damoff Liberal Oakville North—Burlington, ON

Madam Speaker, June 2 was Lou Gehrig Day, and June is ALS Awareness Month.

Lou Gehrig was one of the best baseball players to play the game. After his diagnosis of the disease that would one day bear his name, he told Yankees fans that even though they had read about his “bad break”, he considered himself “the luckiest man on...earth”.

That was 1939. My friend Tim Robertson lived with ALS for 13 years, and Tim had that same attitude. Whether it was sporting events or Sherpa-ing my signs during election campaigns, Tim never let the disease define him.

However, little has changed since 1939 for those diagnosed with ALS. Today there is still no cure.

ALS Canada provides services and support, funds, research and advocates for change. On June 20, I will be joining Tim's wife, Beth, and walking virtually in the Walk to End ALS. I invite members to join us and support ALS Canada.

Saskatchewan SummerStatements by Members

11:15 a.m.

Conservative

Warren Steinley Conservative Regina—Lewvan, SK

Madam Speaker, for 15 months, Canadians have been asked to deal with a lot of very difficult situations, from lockdowns to celebrating family holidays without family or saying goodbye to loved ones in a detached and unfamiliar way.

I truly believe the end of COVID-19 is in sight. I want to thank all frontline workers and their families for their hard work and dedication during the pandemic.

One province has shown true leadership during this pandemic, and that is my home province. The residents of Saskatchewan have been diligent, have done what they were asked to do, and as a result, we are returning to normal faster than every other province.

Premier Moe announced that if 70% of people aged 12 and up are vaccinated by June 20, Saskatchewan will lift all restrictions by July 11. This means family barbeques, live music and kids playing sports in parks, baseball fields and football fields. Of course, all of us in Saskatchewan are looking forward to hearing the roar of Rider Nation at Mosaic Stadium.

I hope all Canadians can have a Saskatchewan summer.

Emily Carr Public SchoolStatements by Members

11:15 a.m.

Liberal

Kate Young Liberal London West, ON

Madam Speaker, a few days ago, I met virtually with a group of amazing students from Ms. Sesto's grade 6 class at Emily Carr Public School in London West. They all wrote me letters demonstrating their passion for global justice and equality, showing that even at a young age, they are bright, articulate and well-informed global citizens.

Ava, writing to raise awareness about the millions of girls around the world who are not going to school, writes, “Think of all the potential every girl has. We are stronger together.”

Ahmed urges us to do more to seriously address climate change, or else, quite truthfully, he writes, “countless people are going to die”.

It is inspiring and sobering to see young Canadians so engaged on complex, serious issues such as support for refugees, child soldiers and landmines.

As the member of Parliament for London West, I am pleased to have the opportunity to highlight some of the concerns of my youngest constituents to this chamber.

I thank the students at Emily Carr Public School.

Hong KongStatements by Members

11:15 a.m.

Conservative

Kenny Chiu Conservative Steveston—Richmond East, BC

Madam Speaker, the goddess of democracy carries a torch, a torch lit through historic action. One brave man carrying a great burden stood in front of a column of tanks, when gunfire and tanks were used against peaceful students and workers.

Then, thousands were inspired with umbrellas on the streets facing police in riot gear because they believed in something greater for their nation.

For 32 years, the people of Hong Kong have carried their torches. Be it rain or shine, they continue to seek freedom and democracy, peace, prosperity, a responsible and contributive China.

This year, for fear of increasing state retaliation, they cannot. They have been forbidden from remembering the truth of events. This is why we must now carry the great burden, our umbrella torches. We join the world in carrying the torch of lady democracy. Liberty, much like Tiananmen, must never be forgotten.

[Member spoke in Mandarin]

Human RightsStatements by Members

11:15 a.m.

Conservative

Dan Albas Conservative Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC

Madam Speaker, the iconic image of a single protester standing in front of a large row of tanks in Tiananmen Square is something I will never forget. I was 12, and I will always remember the images of those tanks rolling through student demonstrators in Beijing.

Those students were peacefully protesting political corruption, economic inequality and severe restrictions on their personal freedom and speech. The Chinese government imposed martial law, sent 300,000 soldiers into Beijing and killed demonstrators. These were their own people and their own citizens.

Prime Minister Mulroney saw the Chinese communist regime for what it was in 1989. His government took a firm stance against those catastrophic events inflicted on the Chinese people.

Two Canadians, 32 years later, sit in a Chinese prison on trumped up charges. Genocide is being committed against the Uighur ethnic minority in China.

Let us not forget the lessons taught to us on June 4, 1989. Let us honour the memories of those who lost their lives, speaking out against tyranny.

I urge the Prime Minister to stand up for Canadian values when it comes to the Chinese communist regime.

Violence against Indigenous Women and GirlsStatements by Members

11:15 a.m.

NDP

Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC

Madam Speaker, the Liberal government's national action plan to implement the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls' 231 calls for justice was finally released yesterday. Sadly, instead of an actual plan, Kukpi7 Chief Judy Wilson called it a bunch of “aspirational statements”, with promises we have all heard before.

What the Liberal government needed to do was say clearly that Canada was responsible for the historic and ongoing genocide and outline the steps with a timeline and accountability measures to end this colonial violence against indigenous women and girls. The Liberal government's failure to deliver an actual plan means genocide is going to continue.

Since the national inquiry, hundreds of women and girls have gone missing and been murdered. This is as appalling as the government's refusal to stop taking indigenous children to court, as devastating as the impact of residential schools.

The government is out of excuses and must step up and take full responsibility to end this colonial violence.

D-DayStatements by Members

11:20 a.m.

Bloc

Luc Desilets Bloc Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC

Madam Speaker, on June 6, we will commemorate the day that Canadian and Quebec soldiers landed in Normandy as part of Operation Neptune, one of the most important moments of the Second World War.

Historian Sébastien Vincent compiled first-hand accounts from French Canadian soldiers who participated in the operation, including infantryman Émilien Dufresne, of the Régiment de la Chaudière:

Goddammit! The morning of June 6, 1944, I remember coming face-to-face with death—real death. A cold death that clings to you and feels unassailable, in spite of any victory we may have envisioned.... I am up to my shoulders in water, holding my gun high above my head. I know that this gun must be protected at all costs. My life depends on it.

To the French and English Canadians who participated in D-Day: We will honour your courage forever.

Residential SchoolsStatements by Members

11:20 a.m.

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON

Madam Speaker, the discovery of a mass grave at a former residential school in Kamloops has shocked the entire nation, including my constituents in Carleton. The nation grieves the lost little ones and the families that lost them.

Since the news, I have spoken with the former chief from Kamloops, Manny Jules, who rightly reminded us of the need to immediately implement Truth and Reconciliation Commission calls to action 70 through 78.

For example, 74 calls upon the federal government “to work with the churches and Aboriginal...leaders to inform the families of children who died at residential schools of the child’s burial...and to respond to families’ wishes for appropriate commemoration ceremonies and markers, and reburial in home communities where requested.”

That is the very least we can do. It is only the start. Reconciliation is a long journey, and it requires action and action now, so we may move forward together.

Residential SchoolsStatements by Members

11:20 a.m.

Liberal

Sameer Zuberi Liberal Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC

Madam Speaker, I speak to members now from the unceded traditional lands of the Kanien’kéha people, what we know of today as Montreal.

What happened to indigenous peoples in residential schools is unconscionable. The bodies of 215 children were found in a Kamloops residential school mass grave. This happened here in the Canada we call home. The residential school policy of “kill the Indian in the child” led to horrendous acts, acts the Truth and Reconciliation Commission concluded amounted to cultural genocide.

I have elementary-aged girls. I cannot begin to imagine the terrible pain parents felt when their children were ripped from their loving homes and never came back. As a society, we must continue to fully reconcile with indigenous peoples through self-learning and self-reckoning, as difficult as this is.

Through this, I hope that we as a country will become an example of reconciliation.

EmploymentOral Questions

11:20 a.m.

Conservative

Richard Martel Conservative Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC

Madam Speaker, Canadians need jobs. Workers have been dealing with instability and uncertainty throughout this pandemic. Rising house prices and the challenges of lockdown are just two of the reasons Canadians need stability.

Today we learned that Canada shed 68,000 jobs in May alone. The Prime Minister had promised one million new jobs, however. Why does he make promises that he cannot keep?

EmploymentOral Questions

11:25 a.m.

Central Nova Nova Scotia

Liberal

Sean Fraser LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance

Madam Speaker, I would point out the obvious for the hon. member that the recent jobs report is a factor not of some fundamental flaw with our nation's economy, but instead of public health measures that have been put in place to protect the public's health and, in fact, secure the long-term interests of our economy. I would also point him to the fact that after the second wave we saw in Canada in February and March, more than 560,000 jobs were added to the economy.

The reality is that we know the best thing we can do to protect our economy is to launch a strong public health response. If the hon. member opposes those public health measures designed to protect Canadians, he should say so.

EmploymentOral Questions

June 4th, 2021 / 11:25 a.m.

Conservative

Richard Martel Conservative Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC

Madam Speaker, before the pandemic, the unemployment rate was below 6%. Now that we are in the economic recovery phase, we expect the rate to start going back to normal.

However, the unemployment rate is trending in the opposite direction. According to Statistics Canada, it has gone from 8.1% to 8.2%. We are getting nowhere with the Liberal Party. In fact, we feel like we are constantly going backward. When does the Prime Minister plan to change course?

EmploymentOral Questions

11:25 a.m.

Central Nova Nova Scotia

Liberal

Sean Fraser LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for pointing out that before the pandemic, because of the measures our government had put in place, we actually achieved the lowest unemployment rate since we started keeping track of those statistics in Canada more than 40 years ago.

With respect, our strategy in response to the public health emergency has been to launch the strongest public health response possible and to put financial supports in place for households and businesses. We know, in the long term, that our recovery depends on their participation.

I am pleased to see that the hon. member would support these initiatives that are designed to support households and businesses. That is what is going to help protect Canadian jobs in the long term.

EmploymentOral Questions

11:25 a.m.

Conservative

Richard Martel Conservative Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC

Madam Speaker, we know that the unemployment rate keeps going up and that Canadians are starting to get discouraged and have given up looking for work. Canada is supposed to be a land of opportunity, but it is clear that Canadians are losing hope.

We lost 68,000 jobs in May in addition to the 207 jobs lost in April. Will the government focus on Canadian workers and jobs, as promised?

EmploymentOral Questions

11:25 a.m.

Central Nova Nova Scotia

Liberal

Sean Fraser LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance

Madam Speaker, it is sincerely disappointing to see that Canada's Conservative Party is misrepresenting the statistics. What is actually happening is, yes, we have seen a decline in job numbers this month, but it is because provincial governments have done the responsible thing to restrict certain activities to protect the public's health and secure the long-term economic outlook of the Canadian economy. The member forgets that in February and March, over 560,000 jobs were added to the economy. Canadians deserve honesty in this conversation.

The best thing we can do to protect the long-term economic outlook for Canada is to launch a strong—

EmploymentOral Questions

11:25 a.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès) Liberal Alexandra Mendes

The hon. member for Carleton.

EmploymentOral Questions

11:25 a.m.

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON

Madam Speaker, the member blames these disastrous job numbers on provincial health restrictions, restrictions that the Prime Minister made necessary by his COVID response failure. He failed on vaccines, failed to close the borders to COVID hot spots. Now we have lost another 68,000 jobs, the second consecutive month of catastrophic job loss, while the Americans have added half a million new jobs.

We now have the second-highest unemployment in the G7, even though all those other countries have COVID too. The difference is they have COVID, we have a Liberal government. That is why Canadians are losing their jobs.

EmploymentOral Questions

11:25 a.m.

Central Nova Nova Scotia

Liberal

Sean Fraser LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance

Madam Speaker, the hon. member criticizes the government's public health response. I would remind him that Canada recently became the highest-ranked country of any G20 nation in terms of the number of people who have gotten the first dose of their vaccine.

If he would like to compare us to the Americans, I would point him to the fact that we have now had 80.9% of the jobs recovered compared to 65.9% in the United States. Our labour force participation is higher in Canada than in the United States.

The reality is that the Canadian economy is on stable footing, as reaffirmed recently by the credit rating agencies across the world. We are on stable footing. We will see these jobs come back—

EmploymentOral Questions

11:25 a.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès) Liberal Alexandra Mendes

The hon. member for Carleton.

EmploymentOral Questions

11:25 a.m.

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON

Madam Speaker, the member cites “jobs recovered”. We had so much more unemployment in this country, and so many more people who needed to recover their jobs, because the government's failure drove unemployment much higher than our competitors. In fact, we have higher unemployment than the U.S., the U.K., Japan, Germany and France. Only socialist Italy, which the government is trying to replicate, has worse unemployment than Canada.

As for doses, other countries are on to their second doses while we only have single digits who have had them. Why is the government killing—

EmploymentOral Questions

11:30 a.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès) Liberal Alexandra Mendes

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

EmploymentOral Questions

11:30 a.m.

Central Nova Nova Scotia

Liberal

Sean Fraser LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance

Madam Speaker, it is insincere for the hon. member to suggest that we have underperformed compared with our international counterparts. If he actually wants to dig into the raw data, we have more Canadians working as a portion of our labour force today than the Americans. He criticized my argument about the number of jobs recovered. I expressed it as a proportion, so his argument falls apart entirely on the basis that we have somehow lost more jobs. The reality is that Canada has launched one of the most ambitious recovery plans. It has saved millions of Canadian families from unnecessary hardship. We will continue to be there for Canadians as long as it takes, no matter what it takes. It is disappointing—

EmploymentOral Questions

11:30 a.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès) Liberal Alexandra Mendes

The hon. member for Saint-Jean.

Immigration, Refugees and CitizenshipOral Questions

11:30 a.m.

Bloc

Christine Normandin Bloc Saint-Jean, QC

Madam Speaker, we know immigration delays are endless.

However, we learned today from the Information Commissioner that the federal government is also taking it upon itself to decide who is asking too many questions and deliberately delay their files.

The commissioner said that Immigration Canada arbitrarily tacks on extensions to avoid responding to access to information requests from people who want to know what is going on with their file.

Will the minister at the very least respect people, respect the Access to Information Act and answer immigrants' questions about their files?