Debates of June 8th, 2021

COVID-19 Emergency Response

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “It is not fair to ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself”. That is a pillar of true leadership. Unfortunately our Prime Minister is running a deficit on budgets, trust and leadership. He has lost that trust because he believes that there is one set of rules for Canadians, but a special set of rules for him and his friends.

The Prime Minister has chosen to travel internationally when he has asked every other Canadian not to do so. When he returns from the G7, he will bypass the designated hotel quarantine program he has imposed on everyone else. There is a special set of accommodations for the Prime Minister and Canadian taxpayers will be footing the bill. This is the epitome of Liberal entitlement.

The special advisory council on COVID-19 has recommended that the hotel quarantine program be scrapped; subsidized hotels where women are sexually assaulted and dozens of others have lost their jobs. Canadians are sick and tired of paying for Liberal pandemic failures. Let us end the hotel quarantine program now.

Standing Committee on National Defence

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, Liberal members on the Standing Committee on National Defence have been shamefully obstructing our committee from completing the study into sexual misconduct allegations in the Canadian Armed Forces. The defence committee has been stuck in the same meeting since May 21 with Liberals speaking ad nauseam and the chair needlessly suspending the meeting.

Yesterday, the Liberals even went so far as to filibuster their own amendment. That is the level of desperation they are taking to block our report from ever seeing the light of day. While they filibuster with their long-winded speeches to ensure Canadians never see a final report into this Liberal cover-up, they are disrespectfully and unfairly quoting survivors of military sexual misconduct.

This is the height of hypocrisy. This cheap political grandstanding is disappointing and reflects just how little regard the Liberals have for our troops. The scornful obstructionism by the Liberals has to stop. Time is running out. If they truly care about the victims of military sexual trauma, the Liberals would immediately allow a vote on my motion that would speed up the passage of our report and recommendations. Anything less is an insult to our brave women and men in uniform.

World Oceans Day

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, today is World Oceans Day in celebration of our oceans, in solidarity with those who commit to rescuing them from the threats of climate change, plastics pollution, habitat destruction and a failure to consider the whole ecosystem in our resource management practices. Current policies and practices of the government undervalue the importance of stewardship and restoration of our marine environment, the critical importance of reversing global warming and acidification of the oceans; renewable energy and the degradation of fish stocks, habitat and biodiversity.

The government's blue economy policy does not address the role of the ocean regulating the climate by sequestering CO2 and producing oxygen. It fails to recognize the importance of wind farms and other scientifically proven, effective forms of renewable energy. Canada clearly needs to do better for our oceans.

I call on all members of this House and all Canadians to commit to protecting the wonder of the ocean and as our life source supporting humankind and all other organisms on mother earth. I wish a happy World Oceans Day to all.

The Rose Family

[Caroline Desbiens, Bloc, Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d’Orléans—Charlevoix, QC]

Mr. Speaker, The Rose Family, a Quebec documentary directed by Félix Rose, son of Paul Rose, recently won the people's choice Iris award at the Québec Cinéma gala.

Although it was not nominated as expected, petitions, opinion letters signed by people in the industry, and its runaway success in theatres led Québec Cinéma to finally add it to the list of nominated films.

The Rose Family is insightful, candid, unfiltered and completely objective. It has been immensely successful, and this people's choice award demonstrates once again just how deep a mark this part of our history left on Quebeckers.

By examining the tumultuous period of the October crisis through his father's eyes, Félix Rose reminds us how important documentary filmmaking is in Quebec's cultural landscape.

From Pierre Perrault's Pour la suite du monde and Denys Arcand's Comfort and Indifference to The Rose Family, Quebec documentaries define us, tell our story and immortalize us.

On behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I say bravo and congratulations to Félix Rose for having the courage, the audacity and the determination to remember.

Attack in London, Ontario

[Tim Uppal, Conservative, Edmonton Mill Woods, AB]

Mr. Speaker, on Sunday evening a Muslim family in London left their house to do what so many families regularly do during this pandemic, go on a family walk. However, because of a brutal terrorist attack, a nine-year-old boy, the only survivor of this senseless attack, is without his mother, father, sister and grandmother.

This is the latest chapter of a horrifying increase in Islamophobic attacks, including the Quebec City massacre and the attack at the IMO mosque in Toronto. This type of vile and extreme hatred is an affront to Canada’s values and has no place in our country, but it is a reality that Canada must face and deal with immediately.

To the family and loved ones of the victims, I want to express my deepest condolences during this unbelievably difficult time.

We stand with the Muslim community and reaffirm our commitment to building a country that is free from hatred, where Canadians of all faiths can live without fear of violence or persecution.

[Kate Young, Liberal, London West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today I am rising to draw attention to a deplorable act of hate that rocked my community of London West on Sunday evening. A Muslim family, a mother, father, two children and a grandmother were out for a walk. A driver mowed them down. Four people are dead and a little boy, now with no parents, is in hospital.

This was no accident. This was a premeditated attack on a family because of their race and religion. It was a hate crime. The suspected perpetrator has been caught, but nothing can fill the gaping hole left in our community.

Muslim Canadians are afraid. No Canadians should fear for their lives because of who they are. We must stand up to all forms of hate, including Islamophobia. We must speak up and fight acts of terror, and make no mistake, this was an act of terror.

I hope this chamber will join me in denouncing hate in all its forms and in committing to combat the extremism and racism that leads to such horrific events as unfolded in London on Sunday night.

Public Safety

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are mourning with our Muslim community and with the city of London today. As a mother and a grandmother, I just cannot conceive the horror of having my family run down as we went for a walk simply because of our religion and our race. How does this happen in Canada? Our mourning must lead to action.

Can the government update us as to what is being made available to London's Muslim community and to the city to deal with this tragedy?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, we all join with members of this House in condemning the terrible crime that took place and expressing our heartfelt sorrow for those taken from us, for their family and for their community. Let me be very clear. This terrible crime was an act of hatred and of terror. While the nation grieves, we must also acknowledge that many of our fellow Canadians live in fear.

Hatred and intolerance exists in Canada and is an unacceptable part of the lived experience of far too many Muslim Canadians. Today we stand in solidarity and sorrow with the Muslim community, but let us all deepen our resolve to take action to end hatred, intolerance and fear, and to be the inclusive country we aspire to be.

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Canada-China committee twice ordered for the documents to be made public relating to the firing of the two scientists from the lab in Winnipeg. The government refused. The House ordered the documents last week. The Liberals are again refusing and are blatantly defying the order of this House.

What is the Liberal government so eager to cover up that it is willing to be found in contempt of the House of Commons?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I will point out that these documents have been turned over to the National Security Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians. This multipartisan committee will now be able to review the documents in a secure fashion, and of course we support the committee in that review.

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, well, that was not the order of this House. That order was to present those documents to the House of Commons and to be made public.

The two scientists in question transferred two of the deadliest diseases in the world to the Wuhan Institute of Virology in March 2019. That lab is now the subject of an American investigation into the origins of COVID-19. It also is the subject of numerous questions posed by the U.S. Department of State regarding how it handled the virus strain.

I ask again, what is our Canadian government so desperate to cover up regarding what happened at the lab in Winnipeg that it is prepared to be in contempt of the House of Commons?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, yet again we see the opposition trying to conflate the situation with the origins of COVID-19, and indeed, the director of the lab has indicated that this is in no way connected to COVID-19, which, as the member knows, arose much later.

The National Security Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians is the appropriate committee to review these documents. It has the ability to review these documents in a secure manner, something that all Canadians expect.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, what happened a few months ago and a few years ago at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg is very important and very serious for our national security. That is why, last week, the House voted for an order to be issued to the government for the essential documents, so that we can find out exactly what happened. Unfortunately, the government refused once again and instead sent these documents to its National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians. It is being so secretive that we do not even know what was sent.

Why is the Prime Minister refusing to comply with an order of the House of Commons?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, that member opposite knows the National Security Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians is a multipartisan committee with representation from both Houses. This committee has the ability to review these documents in a secure manner, in a way that all Canadians expect.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister knows full well that this committee, the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, is not a parliamentary committee per se. It is the Prime Minister's own committee, because at the end of the day, the Prime Minister is the one who will decide whether it suits him to release the documents. At the end of the day, he is the one who will decide whether or not the recommendations can be made public. The Prime Minister has absolute control over this committee. It is not a parliamentary committee.

I will repeat this very simple question to the Prime Minister. Why is the Prime Minister refusing to release the documents, as ordered by the House of Commons?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, yet again, I will remind the member opposite that, in fact, the Conservative Party can nominate who should sit on the National Security Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians. This committee exists to be able to review documents of a sensitive nature, of a secure nature. This multipartisan bi-House committee will now be able to review these documents in a secure manner in a way that all Canadians expect.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, right now, one in two SMEs are turning down contracts because they are short on workers. There is no way to get temporary foreign workers in to help because of delays in Ottawa. The minister cannot blame the pandemic for that, because, way back in 2019, the Bloc Québécois was already speaking out about the fact that processing times for applications from Quebec had more than doubled.

In 2019, the Bloc Québécois was already accusing Ottawa of being asleep at the wheel, as Quebec reaffirmed in the spring. Nothing is happening.

What is the minister doing to address the ongoing problems, seeing as the delays year after year in bringing in temporary foreign workers are threatening our SMEs?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I am working closely with my Quebec counterpart on this file and many others.

Over 34,000 foreign workers have already arrived in Canada for the 2021 farming season, including over 14,000 in Quebec.

These results speak for themselves, and we will continue to provide the labour that Quebec needs to support the economic recovery.

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

Mr. Speaker, “[e]very year, the demand for temporary foreign workers grows.” “Every year, the government apologizes for not being ready.” Summer comes at the same time every year, and the crops do too.

Those are criticisms that the Bloc Québécois made in February 2019, well before the pandemic started. It makes me angry that I have to ask the same question again.

What will the minister do today to ensure that our farmers are able to recruit workers and that those workers get here on time so that crops are not rotting in the fields?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, here are the facts. Our government doubled the intake of temporary foreign workers in Quebec from 11,000 in 2015 to 23,000 in 2019.

Despite the pandemic last year, we welcomed the second-highest number of temporary foreign workers ever, and we are welcoming even more this year. We will always work with the Government of Quebec to support the economic recovery.

Indigenous Affairs

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, genocide against indigenous people is part of our country today. That is what happens when a government is asking itself how much a childhood costs and when a government asks itself if survivors like those from St. Anne's have the right to information on their own torture.

When someone does not stand up and say yes, then they are saying no. Yesterday in this House, 271 members voted unanimously in favour of an NDP motion in honour of 215 children. Who did not vote says something. How can Canadians believe that the Liberals want real reconciliation?

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

Mr. Speaker, the motion highlighted fundamental values of our government, including the need to continue to make concrete progress on implementing the calls to action, compensating survivors of historic child and family welfare system inequities, and supporting the healing of St. Anne's Indian Residential School survivors. It also included aspects on complex legal matters involving jurisdiction and privacy rights, which require extensive collaboration with indigenous peoples and cannot, nor should they be, resolved unilaterally on the floor of the Parliament of Canada in a non-binding motion.

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

Mr. Speaker, the toxic legal battle with the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations against the survivors of St. Anne's Indian Residential School has been a stain on the promise to reconciliation. It is time to do the right thing.

Yesterday Parliament ordered the minister to cease and to desist, and to sit down and negotiate a just settlement with the St. Anne's survivors who come from a horrific institution of torture and pain. Even the Liberal backbenchers are calling on her to act.

I have seen the letter that the survivors sent the minister this morning saying that they are ready to meet. Will she call the St. Anne's survivors and agree to work in good faith to finally put this matter to rest?

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

Mr. Speaker, the mistreatment of indigenous children, including those who attended St. Anne's Indian Residential School, is indeed a tragic and shameful part of Canada's history.

To restore the confidence, rebuild trust and maintain the integrity of the process, the court has ordered an independent third party review of St. Anne's claimants to determine if additional compensation is owing to the survivors. The court has designated Justice Ian Pitfield to conduct the independent review, and steps are under way for that process. Canada will fund additional health support measures for all the survivors throughout the review.

Housing

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

Mr. Speaker, the housing situation in this country is catastrophic. Prices continue to climb beyond what Canadians can afford, especially in big cities. According to the Financial Post, 23,000 Montrealers are on the waiting list for social housing and many units sit in disrepair due to government budget constraints. Worse, half of Montreal's 21,000 social housing units are already substandard.

Why does the government not have a plan for housing in Canada?