Debates of Oct. 4th, 2022

Health

[Robert Gordon Kitchen, Conservative, Souris—Moose Mountain, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague from Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan for how clearly he indicated all the great steps that Taiwan took when the pandemic happened and the tremendous steps they took from a scientific point of view.

They had scientists. They stepped up in many avenues, protecting the public with restrictions on coming in and out of Taiwan, and did things we did not do in this country. We have had the opportunity to learn from them, and learn not only from the scientific knowledge they brought to us, but from the steps they took in helping assist this country. For example, as my colleague mentioned, there was the donation of millions of dollars of equipment, whether it was the masks or gowns they sent to Canada to help us during our time of crisis while we were trying to get caught up on things.

It is interesting. I know the issue here is these great scientists in Taiwan, but having scientists get together and talk to each other is how we learn. Having Taiwanese scientists and medical practitioners at the WHO and the WHA to provide their expertise means we can learn from their expertise and continue to do that.

I am interested to hear from my colleague, in particular on what the Liberal government has done on issues dealing with Iran and the steps taken. It is saying that it is going to do things, yet it is not doing anything. I am wondering if the member might comment on that.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for what is clearly a passion for our relationship with Taiwan.

Just to pick up on the last point he made, I think we see something like a global competition emerging between democratic countries with a belief in pluralism and inclusion and, on the other hand, those with a rigid authoritarianism. Of course, there are different kinds of regimes in Russia, Iran and China, but there is the common belief, in a way, that centralized control instead of individual freedom is the best way to govern a society.

As we recognize that competition, we need to work to deepen partnerships and collaboration in research, trade and all kinds of other areas with other like-minded democracies. We should not fail to co-operate with a democratic partner to supposedly appease an authoritarian country. That would be nonsensical and would mean missing an opportunity to work with a country like Taiwan, which can be and is a true friend to Canada. It is a friendship that is rooted in shared values, not just in a narrow, short-term identification of interest but in deeply shared democratic values. We should grab those opportunities to collaborate while being clear-eyed and realistic about the emerging authoritarianism and the threat it presents to our democratic values.

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

Mr. Speaker, I think the Chair is in exceptionally good spirits tonight and I think that is wonderful.

I would like to begin by saying that my colleague is an extraordinary orator. I will give him that. That is wonderful. I am happy to see how seriously he defends the sovereignty of Taiwan against Chinese rule. I like that, and I think that we are all in agreement tonight.

My question is the following. On the day Quebec gains independence, will my colleague fight just as hard to bring us into the World Health Organization?

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I am all for the right of peoples to decide for themselves about their future. I think that Quebeckers had the opportunity to make a choice and they chose to stay in Canada.

In my opinion, it was a good choice.

[Rechie Valdez, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Whitby.

I am pleased to speak today on the health portfolio's critical work with the World Health Organization and other international organizations. The importance of international collaboration and co-operation has never been more clear. No single country, including Canada, is able to solve complex health challenges alone.

As we know all too well, COVID-19 and other viruses and health issues do not respect borders. That is why the health portfolio engages, co-operates and collaborates with international and global partners. This happens multilaterally through the World Health Organization, the G7, the G20 and other organizations.

We also engage directly with our international partners to strengthen our domestic response. As a founding member, Canada is a strong supporter of the WHO and engages with the organization to advance domestic and international health priorities, share health expertise and protect the health of Canadians and people around the world. This includes contributing support and expertise to health emergency response efforts, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, developing a vaccine for Ebola, championing polio eradication and advancing global health security.

Canada also collaborates with WHO on issues important to Canadians, such as climate change and environmental health, healthy aging, mental health and non-communicable diseases.

Canada is strongly committed to advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. WHO is an important partner in advancing these objectives, including equity-based approaches to health systems, strengthening primary health care and closing gaps in sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Canada is a strong champion of gender equality and equity issues, and we bring this leadership to our engagement with the WHO. Canada values the WHO's leadership and coordination role in the COVID-19 response. The WHO has an important role in overseeing the international health regulations, driving global research efforts towards new vaccines and treatments, addressing shortages of critical medical supplies and personal protective equipment, helping global vaccination efforts and supporting vulnerable countries in their preparedness and response efforts.

We recognize the opportunity to learn from the COVID-19 experience and strengthen the WHO and global pandemic prevention preparedness and response efforts. That is why we supported the decision to develop a new instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response at the special session of the WHO's World Health Assembly last December. Canada will work to ensure that this new instrument enhances international co-operation so we are all better prepared should there be another pandemic, while protecting Canadian interests. We also strongly believe we need to improve the tools and mechanisms that we already have, including the international health regulations.

The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that member state expectations for the WHO outweigh its resources and capacities. There are important global discussions taking place right now on improving WHO sustainable financing and governance. Canada is engaging with other member states to address these issues and will continue to actively advocate for oversight of the organization and implementation of key findings and recommendations from the global COVID-19 reviews.

WHO also has an important role in crises, including the armed conflict in Ukraine, which has significantly disrupted health services and is having a disproportionate impact on women and children. Canada is contributing to the WHO's overall health response in Ukraine, which is focused on saving lives and ensuring access to basic health services for those affected by the armed conflict. Canada has allocated more than $7.5 million to the WHO to improve essential health services in Ukraine, including emergency care for injured patients and continued COVID-19 care.

These were important topics at the 75th World Health Assembly that took place this past May. Canada has a strong presence at the assembly to advance the priorities we share with the WHO and other partners. This includes strengthening the WHO through enhanced leadership and governance, mobilization of global action to better prevent, prepare for and respond to health emergencies, and accelerating progress on health equity and the determinants of health.

I want to reiterate that Canada believes the world needs a strong WHO, and that a strong WHO should reflect a global health community where everyone is included and can participate.

There are many actors contributing to better public health outcomes around the world, including Taiwan. They have been a good bilateral partner to Canada on health, which we saw when they donated personal protective equipment to us early in the pandemic. We continue to support Taiwan's full participation in organizations such as the World Trade Organization and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, where it is a full member. We also support its meaningful participation in international fora where there is a practical imperative and where Taiwan's absence would be detrimental to global interests.

Accordingly, and consistent with Canada's long-standing One China policy, we support Taiwan's inclusion as an observer in the World Health Assembly. The Minister of Health called for Taiwan's meaningful participation in the assembly during his plenary statement this year.

Canada also continues to work closely with its G7 partners on both the pandemic and other priority health issues. Canada has participated in numerous G7 health ministers' meetings, where it has underlined the need for collaboration to end the acute phase of this pandemic. G7 deputy health ministers are meeting in a week in Berlin, where they will discuss critical issues such as ending the COVID-19 pandemic and implementing lessons learned, tackling the connection of climate change and health, and combatting antimicrobial resistance.

Engaging through the G20 has also been important for global co-operation on the pandemic. Under Indonesia's presidency, G20 health ministers met this past June and will meet again at the end of October. Canada looks forward to working with its G20 partners to help build resilience for the global health system, including sustainable financing, harmonizing global health protocol standards, and expanding global manufacturing and knowledge hubs for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.

Health ministers also met with G20 finance ministers this past June, with a second meeting planned for November, to address the critical funding gap for global pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.

The health portfolio is working closely with G7 and G20 partners, as well as with international bodies and organizations, including the WHO, to address important global health challenges including and beyond COVID-19, such as antimicrobial resistance, climate change and mental health.

The threat of antimicrobial resistance has the potential to be the next global health crisis, as our antimicrobial medications, especially antibiotics, become less effective due to pathogens developing the ability to resist these drugs. This is increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death. A truly global challenge, this is an issue on which Canada needs to collaborate closely with its international partners and international organizations, including the WHO.

The impact of climate change on health has become a global health priority. It is important that the connection between health and the environment remain at the centre of international discussions and actions to address climate change. At the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Canada supported the commitments for building and developing climate-resilient and low-carbon sustainable health systems, which was recognized by the WHO.

This is a transformational time for global mental health. The pandemic has had a tremendous impact on mental health and well-being, underscoring both the gaps and opportunities in our mental health systems. We need to translate this momentum into action and work together with the WHO and our international partners to ensure that we achieve the goals and targets we have set, with the vision of creating a world in which mental health is valued, promoted and protected, and mental illness is prevented and cared for equitably and respectfully.

Canada has helped foster strong international relationships and the resilient global community needed to successfully face the challenges of COVID-19, to build back better as we emerge from the pandemic, and to continue to make progress on other important health issues that know no borders.

Moving forward, we will redouble our efforts to ensure that the WHO is an effective, efficient, relevant, transparent, accountable and well-governed institution whose actions and recommendations are guided by member states and by the best available science and evidence.

The world needs a strong, transparent and inclusive WHO. Canada stands ready to work with others to make this a reality.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, in her speech, the member focused in particular on the need to improve governance at the World Health Organization. I agree that there is a desperate need to improve aspects of the WHO's governance and behaviour.

One of the most scandalizing things for many people who have followed these issues in the last few years was this massive sexual abuse scandal in Congo. Many women were coming forward who faced sexual abuse during the Ebola crisis, and it was at the hands of WHO employees. There has been a lack of effective response. Canada needs to do more to respond to that.

We also saw the way that the World Health Organization was not willing to engage with Taiwan, and some of the comments that were made dismissing Taiwan's distinctiveness in any way.

Would the member agree with me that these were significant scandals, that the WHO has a lot of work to do and that her government needs to do more to be willing to hold international organizations like the World Health Organization accountable?

[Rechie Valdez, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, Canada is a strong supporter of the WHO and engages with organizations to advance domestic and international priorities. By collaborating with the WHO we can address issues like the ones he mentioned that are important to Canadians. We will continue to work with the WHO to promote gender equality and will address the equity issues that exist today.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am personally very happy that the Liberal Party is very much in favour of Taiwan joining the WHO.

I am pleasantly surprised, but I also remain cautious about the Liberal government's position, because, in other areas, it has been so fearful of offending the Chinese because of its attitude towards Taiwan. The government therefore has been reluctant to act and has not behaved as we would have liked.

What are my colleague's thoughts on that? On this matter relating to the WHO, why should we be so quick to accept this position?

[Rechie Valdez, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the main purpose and reason for standing up with this speech was to say that Taiwan has remarkable experience in the field of health care as well as preventing the spread of various contagious diseases. We are going to continue to work with our colleagues in Taiwan and with the WHO, and we are going to take what we have learned from the COVID-19 virus and emerge from that point to ensure we are able to address all these issues going forward and prevent disease from spreading going forward.

[Irek Kusmierczyk, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague has done an admirable job of outlining and explaining the importance of multilateral forums and institutions in dealing with global health threats.

Is there anything about Canada's leadership on these forums that really stands out to my hon. colleague as she has looked at Canada's role for example in co-operating with Taiwan and Canada's role on the WHO itself?

[Rechie Valdez, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, we will continue to support Taiwan's participation in the global health network to enable Taiwan to contribute even more in the postpandemic era. Taiwan is a widely acclaimed leader in health and development, and it has a lot to offer the WHO and the world.

[Robert Gordon Kitchen, Conservative, Souris—Moose Mountain, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the member spoke many times and very eloquently about how Taiwan has so much to offer to the world and, in particular, when we talk about antimicrobials, etc. However, as a doctor in my previous career, the reality is that being an observer at a meeting gives Taiwan no opportunity to interact and get that onto the table. I am wondering why the member is okay with Taiwan being an observer as opposed to being a full participant so it can get their information to the table to help the world.

[Rechie Valdez, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we fully support Taiwan's full participation in the global health network, and I will continue to have Taiwan engaged at the table when we are making decisions, especially with respect to addressing COVID–19 and how we are going to go forward from that disease.

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Whitby, ON]

Mr. Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to speak about Taiwan's meaningful participation in international organizations.

My views on this matter are straightforward. Taiwan should participate meaningfully in international organizations whenever there is a practical imperative to do so and whenever its absence is detrimental to global interests.

Consider, for instance, the question of Taiwan's ongoing exclusion from the World Health Assembly, the WHA. The exclusion of Taiwan from the WHA has been detrimental to the global efforts to track and combat COVID–19. The responses to the pandemic, future pandemics and global public health concerns in general provide a practical imperative, I think we can all agree, for Taiwan's inclusion as an observer. This position aligns fully with Canada's one China policy. Under this policy, Canada recognizes the People's Republic of China as the sole legitimate government of China, while taking note of neither challenging nor endorsing the Government of China's position on Taiwan. Canada maintains diplomatic relations with the PRC, while continuing to develop and maintain unofficial economic people-to-people and cultural ties with Taiwan.

The connections between Canada and Taiwan are very deep and strong. Our two societies share a commitment to democratic values, a respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law. Our people-to-people ties are also very strong. The approximately 50,000 Canadians who live in Taiwan today comprise the fourth-largest Canadian diaspora community in the world. Daily direct flights between Vancouver and Taipei have helped to deepen these people-to-people ties. When the COVID–19 pandemic struck, Taiwan was among the first to donate masks to Canada.

The economic relationship between Canada and Taiwan is also thriving. Canada's two-way merchandise trade with Taiwan totalled $10.2 billion in 2021, up 38.1% from $7.4 billion in the year 2020. In 2021, Taiwan was Canada's 11th-largest merchandise trading partner and fifth-largest trading partner in Asia.

Taiwan is a critical link in global supply chains, particularly for chip manufacturing and international shipping. To strengthen trade, Canada and Taiwan co-operate through select multilateral organizations, including the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the WTO.

To advance economic people-to-people and cultural co-operation, senior representatives from both sides participate in the annual Canada-Taiwan economic consultations. During the most-recent meeting, held virtually in December, our representatives discussed a broad range of topics related to trade and investments, such as the green economy, supply chain security, intellectual property, access to agricultural markets and greater collaboration on science, technology and innovation.

Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan recently negotiated the Indigenous Peoples Economic and Trade Cooperation Arrangement. The arrangement establishes a framework to identify and remove barriers that hinder the economic empowerment of indigenous peoples.

Earlier this year, Canada and Taiwan announced their intention to hold an exploratory discussion toward a possible foreign investment promotion and protection arrangement, FIPA, to use the acronym. A FIPA aims to protect and promote foreign investment by negotiating a common framework that provides a stable, rules-based investment environment for Canadian businesses investing abroad and for foreign businesses investing in Canada. Canada is keen to pursue trade in innovation and investment relations with Taiwan, consistent with our long-standing policy.

When it comes to Taiwan's meaningful participation in global discussions, perhaps the best way to summarize my position on this is to rework an old maxim. It is good for Taiwan, good for Canada and good for the rest of the world.

Taiwan's rise during the preceding decades is widely recognized as a democratic and economic success story. Many refer to it as the “Taiwan miracle”. Starting about 40 years ago, the island transitioned from a one-party authoritarian system to a multi-party democracy. Today, Taiwan's export-oriented industrial economy ranks 21st in the world by nominal GDP and 15th by GDP per capita.

The island also ranks highly in measures of political and civil liberties, education, health care and human development. Over the past two decades, Taiwan was able to participate in select UN specialized agencies as an observer or as a guest.

More recently, however, Taiwan has been actively excluded from key international agencies and events. This exclusion has negative impacts, not only on the 24 million people of Taiwan, but also on the global community. For instance, Taiwan continues to be excluded from the World Health Assembly, even though the island has much to contribute to global pandemic efforts.

Indeed, the international community faces an unprecedented number of complex issues, from climate change to public health to environmental degradation and more. Collaboration among all partners offers our best hope for resolving these issues. Where a technical imperative exists, we must enable meaningful contributions from all stakeholders. It is on this basis that Canada supports Taiwan's meaningful participation in relevant global discussions.

There are a lot of lessons we can learn from the pandemic. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, international collaboration has been front and centre. The most effective way, in fact the only way to end the pandemic is to engage as many stakeholders as possible in order to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus. International organizations such as the World Health Organization facilitate these efforts.

Throughout the pandemic, the WHO has served as a trusted conduit of authoritative information about everything from infection rates and transmission patterns to the effectiveness of vaccines and vaccination campaigns. Although each jurisdiction is and must be responsible for the health of its population, the WHO enables a coherent global response to the pandemic. Now more than ever, the world needs a transparent, inclusive and accountable World Health Organization. Canada continues to work alongside other international partners to realize this goal.

An illustration of Canada's support for the WHO is the government's investment of $865 million in the access to COVID-19 tools accelerator. The accelerator is a global collaboration that aims to speed up the development, production and equitable availability of effective diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines. Part of the accelerator is the health systems and response connector, the HSRC for short, which is a partnership of diverse organizations. It is co-led by the WHO, UNICEF, the Global Fund and the World Bank, with support from the Global Financing Facility. HSRC coordinates the efforts of individual countries in three working streams: financing, planning and tracking; technical and operational support; and health system and workforce protection. This coordination helps countries to identify and address health system bottlenecks and ensures that COVID-19 tools are deployed most effectively.

Taiwan is a progressive democracy. As a society, it has championed the protection of individual rights and freedoms, including those of women, the LGBTQ2+ community and indigenous people. The island has much to contribute on the world stage. At the same time, Taiwan's strengths in semiconductors, biotechnology and information technology have supported its dynamic, export-driven economy and contributed to global growth.

Taiwan will continue to be the forefront of semiconductor innovation well into the future, and will continue to play a central role in global technology supply chains. Taiwan's better integration into the global economy supports global growth and development.

There is a strength in an inclusive architecture that is supportive of the participation of all stakeholders, which is why Canada will continue to pursue Taiwan's meaningful participation where its presence provides important contributions to the public good.

[Sylvie Bérubé, Bloc, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his fine speech.

He talked about the need for Taiwan to participate in international organizations and its observer status. He mentioned the need to strengthen commercial ties between Canada and Taiwan, including within the World Trade Organization. He also talked about the work that has been done with respect to indigenous self-government. It is an excellent model that could be used in Canada.

I have a question for my colleague. We know that Taiwan was a role model in the fight against COVID‑19. What models would the government follow if another pandemic hit Canada?

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Whitby, ON]

Mr. Speaker, what model we should use for future pandemics is a great question to reflect on. I certainly see learnings that could be integrated into Canada's future pandemic preparedness. We can take lessons from many countries around the world. Taiwan is one of many that have done well. I am sure there are some we can take lessons from on what not to do as well, and there are many examples.

The point here is that Taiwan needs to have meaningful input and have an opportunity to participate in discussions to share the lessons it has learned. As an observer or a guest in some of these international organizations, it is able to do that, which achieves the objective we are looking for.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, in the midst of this important discussion about including Taiwan in international organizations, we are seeing an increasing belligerence and aggression from the Xi Jinping regime. Many observers have noted that there is some risk of an outright invasion attempt by the Xi Jinping regime, and it is my view that Canada needs to contemplate that possibility, be prepared with a strong response and work with the community of democratic nations to send strong deterrent messages to try to avoid that from happening.

I would appreciate the member's comment on what Canada should be doing to, in particular, support Taiwan and deter an invasion.

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Whitby, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the member is right that Canada needs to be prepared to respond strongly to whatever eventuality manifests. That is not to say that we can predict the future, but it is to say that we need to be prepared. Whether it is pandemic preparedness or a response to the potential aggression the member suggested from China in the future, we need to prepare for all eventualities.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

It being 7:40 p.m., pursuant to order made earlier today, the question is deemed put and a recorded division deemed requested and deferred until Wednesday, October 5, at the expiry of the time provided for Oral Questions.

A motion to adjourn the House under Standing Order 38 deemed to have been moved.

Service Canada

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, many of our constituency offices were inundated over the summer and in fact we are still dealing with the impacts of an overwhelming volume of complaints about the government's mishandling of passport applications.

It is ironic that the government, which wants to expand its influence in more areas of Canadians' lives, has shown itself completely unable to manage its basic responsibilities when it comes to providing Canadians with timely access to passports, something that clearly falls squarely within the responsibility of the federal government. Again, it is typical for these Liberals. They are unable to manage the basic responsibilities of the federal government and at the same time they are telling us how the federal government should be doing more and more to limit people's freedoms and interfere in their lives.

Every member of the House knows, and I am sure the parliamentary secretary charged with parroting the government line tonight is fully aware as well of the problems in his own constituency and has heard the frustration, has seen the tears and has dealt with cases of people needing to cancel vacations and of people missing important family events as a result of their being unable to access passports.

The challenges continue to come into my office from constituents. We continue to get, in my office, over a dozen passport cases every week for those who are travelling and are not able to get their passports. We are dealing with an inquiry right now from a constituent who applied in February and who has still not gotten her passport. What a ridiculous processing time for such a simple and basic government service.

The inability of Service Canada to perform its basic functions is simply unacceptable. The excuse that we have gotten from the minister was to say that there is a large volume post-COVID, as if the government could not have contemplated that travel was going to, in some proportion, come back, at some point, as the pandemic tapered off.

We have heard from many constituents who have had to cancel trips and who have waited in long lines, at times in lines that they felt were unsafe. We are still hearing from constituents who are making status requests online and being told by Service Canada that they are aiming to respond within three days, and then not hearing back for weeks and weeks. Again, this is fundamentally unacceptable.

The federal government, rather than trying to expand itself into all other areas of people's lives, should focus on doing its core job and providing the basic services to Canadians that it clearly has the responsibility to provide.

I would invite the parliamentary secretary, in his response to me tonight, to acknowledge the reality that his government has failed on passports, and rather than trying to bury the conversation in fog and bureaucratic talking points, to acknowledge the pain of my constituents and his, to acknowledge their frustration and to recognize that the government desperately needs to do better, better than it did this summer and better than it is doing now at providing Canadians with this basic service of access to their passports.

[Irek Kusmierczyk, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan for his advocacy on behalf of his constituents.

I think everyone in this place can agree that a passport is an important and critical document. We know that Canadians are enthusiastic about travelling again, whether for business or personal reasons, and that passports are critical, so we can imagine the demand. Let me just say that it has been exponential. I will share some numbers for some important context.

Service Canada has been issuing passports as quickly as possible, and since April 1, over one million passports have been issued. As of September 25, 94% of passports applied for at specialized passport offices have been issued within 10 business days. The wait time at the passport call centre went from a peak of 108 minutes in April to 30 minutes last week. Service Canada has been working throughout the summer to meet this demand.

Staff at Service Canada have been working overtime and on weekends, and here are some of the steps that we have taken. We have hired more than 800 new employees since July 2021, specifically to support the processing of passport applications, and we are continuing to scale-up. We have an online appointment booking tool. We are serving priority clients on Saturdays and extending service hours. We improved client experience in our offices by thoroughly assessing client needs while in line, providing clients with appointments at a nearby location and expanding hours and weekend availability in some locations. As a result, lineups at specialized passport offices are now more manageable and more predictable.

Canadians can visit any of over 300 Service Canada centres to request the transfer of their passport applications if they need it for urgent and upcoming travel. This summer, Service Canada has implemented a triage system in 17 of our passport offices. The 10-day passport pickup service is also available in 12 Service Canada centres across the country. We have expanded the simplified renewal process. Canadians can now renew an expired passport as long as it was issued in the last 15 years, even if it was lost, stolen or damaged. We are continuing to hire employees and add processing capacity.

This remains a challenging period with high demand, but we continue to work hard to give Canadians the high-quality service they deserve.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, rather than acknowledge the significant and ongoing failures, the member is trying to congratulate his government for maybe now doing marginally better than the disastrous situation we dealt with in the summer and the spring.

I may have low expectations of the government when it comes to delivering basic services, but Canadians should be able to expect more in terms of the response. We continue to deal with a reality in our office, for instance, where we are not able to do basic status checks and get information unless people have travel booked. The response times continue to be unacceptable.

Again, as I mentioned, I continue to have a constituent with an outstanding passport issue who made their application back in February. I heard this summer from Canadians who had to cancel trips and miss important family events and who experienced a huge amount of stress and anxiety as a result.

Rather than congratulating themselves, are the Liberals prepared to apologize to the Canadians who were hurt by their failures?

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister responsible for Service Canada has been travelling throughout the country visiting passport centres and talking with staff. The Government of Canada is taking this situation very seriously and we are taking the necessary steps to remedy it.

The hard work of Service Canada employees is paying off. Almost everyone who applies in person at a specialized passport office will get their passport in under 10 business days.

I would like to again thank the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan for his advocacy.

Post-Secondary Education

[Kevin Vuong, Independent, Spadina—Fort York, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in 2021 the Liberals promised to permanently eliminate interest on federal student loans. Let us be clear. On page 17 of the Liberal Party's 2021 election platform document, entitled “Forward. For Everyone”, it states that a re-elected Liberal government will:

Permanently eliminate the federal interest on Canada Student Loans and Canada Apprentice Loans to support young Canadians who choose to invest in post-secondary education. This will benefit over 1 million student loan borrowers and save an average borrower more than $3,000 over the lifetime of their loan.

This promise seems fairly straightforward. However, it now seems that Forward. For Everyone” should read “Backward. For Students”.

On February 17, I asked the minister responsible whether the re-elected governing party would keep its election campaign promise to students. Of course, amnesia had clearly set in, even though the government claimed to have the backs of Canada's students. Yes, it was roll out the smoke-and-mirrors approach again, and no pesky election promise was going to be allowed to get in the way.

On September 17, an assistant deputy minister at the Department of Employment and Social Development gave notice in the Canada Gazette that the interest moratorium on Canada student loans and Canada apprentice loans would expire on March 31, 2023. Clearly, this must have been a mistake, so one week later, on September 23, I asked whether the Liberals would honour their promise. Again, the House was treated to obfuscation and platitudes. At a time when Canadians are struggling to make ends meet and students are taking on debt to afford an education, broken promises and empty platitudes will not cut it.

The average federal student debt held by someone with a bachelor's degree is $23,000. I myself graduated with $25,000 in student debt. Moreover, to combat rampant inflation eating away at Canadians' paycheques, interest rates have nearly doubled to 4.7%. Are we to understand now that on April 1, 2023, the government will hand young Canadians and their parents a very cruel April fool's joke of a nearly $600 increase to student loan payments? Should that occur, I cannot fathom the backtracking on this campaign promise, because there are few better investments than to invest in education.

On average, someone with a bachelor's degree will pay almost $15,000 a year in annual taxes, nearly double what someone with a high school diploma pays. This is annually, not just one time. It is a recurring benefit to our country, not only in the tax dollars that fund the services that Canadians rely on, but also in a more educated and upskilled workforce. The societal and fiscal benefits are clear. There is also, however, the honouring of a promise to students, along with the business case for investing in our country's next generation.

In conclusion, can the government educate students and Canadians on what will happen on April 1? Can it shed light on the path forward for all by letting us know on what date interest rates will be permanently eliminated from Canada student and apprentice loans?