Madam Speaker, on December 3, I asked the Minister of Health why the government was slow to act in the entire Canadian response to COVID‑19.
I tried, with a great many arguments based on documents that I could not table at the time, to show that everyone felt that the Liberal government had been slow in dealing with the pandemic, slow to act in the beginning, particularly when it came to borders and vaccines, and slow to provide rapid testing. The government always seemed to be one step behind. At that time, we also saw that the government was having trouble coordinating its decisions with the various jurisdictions involved.
The government did act quickly on one occasion by calling for border testing at airports on the same day that the omicron variant was discovered, or not long after that, and by responding to the official opposition's call for action at the borders. The minister quickly announced that yes, the government would take action.
Unfortunately, it took days, weeks, and months before we even knew who would be responsible for administering these tests at the border. Those measures were supposed to prevent a new variant from sweeping through Canada, but unfortunately, they did not work, and Canada was ravaged by a fifth wave, as we saw. The government said all the right things but did not follow through. It seems that the government has not learned its lesson since the beginning of the pandemic.
It used to be that we all knew someone who knew someone who had COVID-19. I remember that at the start of the pandemic, we were all worried about this illness, this virus, but it did not really affect us directly. Today, however, the reality has changed. It is not happening to someone else anymore. Now we are the ones contracting COVID-19. A close family member of mine has had COVID-19. I have had COVID-19. The Prime Minister currently has COVID-19. COVID-19 has spread exponentially, and the situation continues to evolve quickly.
Unfortunately, this government still seems to be one step behind this rapidly spreading virus. The government only moves quickly to announce that it is going to do something, but it is ultimately unable to deliver the goods.
I understand that Canadians are tired of the restrictions imposed by every level of government. However, I would like to point out that despite how slow this government was to act to protect them, Canadians stepped up and got vaccinated. We are one of the most vaccinated countries in the world. I thank the Conservatives, who insisted from day one of the pandemic, at every question period, that the government focus more and more on securing vaccines and signing contracts with pharmaceutical companies.
I want to take a moment this evening to commend Canadians for their resilience nearly two years into this pandemic. I sincerely hope that the government learns from past mistakes so that we can deal with any new waves caused by new variants.