Debates of Feb. 28th, 2022

The Environment

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, I would remind my hon. colleague that through carbon pricing we went all the way to the Supreme Court against four provinces, including his province and my own, to fight to ensure we could use one of the best tools to fight climate change, which is carbon pricing. We are still unfortunately fighting in the courts against some provinces to continue to be able to fight for Canadians and for the health of our children and grandchildren when it comes to climate change.

Small Business

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.

Many business owners from my riding of Ottawa South had to close their downtown establishments in the face of the illegal blockades. The occupation carried on for more than 20 days, and the cost to local businesses was simply staggering.

Could the minister please update the House on what measures the government is taking to help these very hard-hit small businesses?

[Helena Jaczek, Liberal, Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, on February 19, 2022, I announced the Government of Canada would make an investment of up to $20 million to provide non-repayable contributions to Ottawa businesses that had suffered financial loss due to the illegal blockades. This announcement reinforces our government's commitment to helping communities, families and businesses build a strong and resilient economic recovery. We continue to work to ensure businesses affected get the supports they need.

Public Safety

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Coutts, Emerson and Windsor borders were cleared before the Prime Minister invoked the Emergencies Act. It was not required for demonstrators to leave Ottawa either. Security and financial experts say there were no real threats to Canada and no suspicious financial activity. A lawyer who actually helped draft the act said it was unnecessary, that the burden of proof was not convincingly met and that there was “no evidence” of a threat to the security of Canada.

What changed between the Prime Minister supporting it on Monday night and revoking it on Wednesday?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, the Emergencies Act was essential to law enforcement success in ending blockades and protests across the country. We always said we would not keep the act in force for any longer than was necessary, and we made good on that commitment. As we have said since the beginning, we are acting on the advice of law enforcement members and giving them the tools they need. We will continue to provide all of the enforcement tools that are required to maintain public safety.

I again want to thank all the members of the RCMP and law enforcement for the exceptional job they did.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister implied that protesters were terrorists. On Friday, the deputy director of FINTRAC was asked if terrorists were using crowdfunding platforms to launder money. He said, “We have not seen them. It is not a high risk”, but Canadians' accounts were frozen and sweeping powers were put in place. Last week, Conservatives asked if the Liberals got a legal opinion. The justice minister just said that he felt standards were met, which is not, of course, an actual legal assessment.

I will ask again. Will the Liberals release the legal opinion to Canadians? What changed in 36 hours?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, the Emergencies Act was brought in during the mid-1980s. In direct response to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in this country, it provides for rigorous parliamentary oversight both in this place and in the other place. It also provides for review and, most importantly, the act requires that every measure that is undertaken under the act be compliant with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We will always respect the charter.

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last Monday evening, despite the objections of the Conservative Party, the Bloc Québécois and even members of its own caucus, the government voted in support of the invocation of the Emergencies Act. By this time, the blockades and the protests had all resolved, yet unbelievably in less than 48 hours the government did a complete 180° and revoked the act.

My question is simple. What changed?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I want to be clear that the impact of the illegal blockades was devastating. We saw borders shut, we saw Canadians laid off, and we saw our communities and our neighbourhoods in danger. That is the reason why we had to invoke the Emergencies Act, and we did so on the basis of non-partisan, professional advice from law enforcement. The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police supported us. The Canadian Police Association supported us, and all of the measures that were exercised were done with restraint, professionally and in a manner that was consistent with the charter.

That is what we expected from law enforcement. They carried out the responsibilities with great professionalism, and we thank them for their work.

[Leslyn Lewis, Conservative, Haldimand—Norfolk, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister used the Emergencies Act against protesters to freeze bank accounts, impound vehicles and arrest protesters, all of which could have been done with existing laws and bylaws. Canadians were led to believe that protesters were involved in acts of sedition and plots to overthrow the government, yet just charges relating to mischief were laid.

Other than dropping in poll numbers, exactly what changed in 36 hours for the Prime Minister to terminate the use of the Emergencies Act?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, what I can very simply explain to my colleague across the way is that the emergency measures and the measures we provided to law enforcement worked. In fact, we saw the illegal blockades that were tormenting the people of Ottawa removed from the streets, and the threat against our international borders and trade corridors was successfully removed.

We relied on the information from the RCMP and our law enforcement partners to determine what was required. We provided them with the tools to do the job, and they did the job very ably.

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on Monday, the government forced a vote on this country's first-ever use of the Emergencies Act. Forty-four hours later, on Wednesday, the government announced that it was revoking the declaration.

On Monday night, we were apparently facing the most serious national emergency of the 21st century. By Wednesday afternoon, however, the emergency had completely disappeared.

Could the minister explain, in detail, what happened and what kind of advice he got during those 44 hours, or will he admit that we never needed the emergency measures in the first place?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, the use of the Emergencies Act was absolutely essential to allow law enforcement to put an end to the blockades and protests across the country.

We always said that the act would be enforced only for as long as necessary. As the RCMP commissioner pointed out, the Emergencies Act served as a big deterrent to the protests by incentivizing people to leave and giving the RCMP and its partners more authority in enforcing the law.

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I think the minister read from the wrong page because there are a lot of questions like that one which the government is refusing to answer.

The people have the right to know. That is why the Bloc Québécois welcomes the Prime Minister's promise to expand the inquiry into the use of emergency measures to include the role of the police, the convoy's funding sources and misinformation. However, that inquiry should not take place behind closed doors and under the government's control.

Will the government promise to make the inquiry public and independent?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I am trying to understand the Bloc Québécois.

For a while, it said the government was not doing enough. Now it is saying the government did too much. Is the truth somewhere between the two for the Bloc?

They were targeted measures. They were time-limited and geographically targeted. They got the job done.

Health

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in October, a constituent sent me an email. She works for the federal government. She said to me that if she did not get a vaccine, she would lose her job despite the fact that she was working remotely and could continue to work remotely. I received another message from a constituent who works for CP Rail. She had the same situation: get a vaccine or lose her job. She worked remotely in IT.

These mandates are hurting Canadian families at a time when everything is more expensive. Ontario is lifting vaccine mandates March 1. When will the Liberals lift the mandates or give us a plan to do it?

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, vaccines are the best way to bring this pandemic to an end. We asked employees of the federal public service to attest to their vaccination status and they have stepped up: 99% of public servants stepped up.

The policy will be reviewed every six months, and we will make sure that it is determined when it is still required. We know that having a fully vaccinated workforce means that not only are work sites safer, but so are the communities where this large population lives and works.

[Gerald Soroka, Conservative, Yellowhead, AB]

Mr. Speaker, in my province of Alberta, some provincial restrictions have been lifted. Other restrictions, according to our premier, will be lifted very soon. With hospitalization rates decreasing, many constituents in my riding are asking why the Liberal government has no plan to remove all federal mandates.

Canadians want to get their lives back. When will the Liberal government listen to science and provinces to remove all federal mandates?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I am very glad to hear my colleague speak about science. The science has been very clear, over the last year and a half, that what works is vaccination. Vaccination is not a punishment. Vaccination is protection. Almost 90% of adult Canadians have been vaccinated twice. We are very grateful to the scientists of this country and other places. They have provided us with vaccines that work and are effective.

[Fraser Tolmie, Conservative, Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan, SK]

Mr. Speaker, in my home province of Saskatchewan, Premier Moe has announced the dropping of public health measures. He was regularly consulting with his chief public health officer while holding press conferences to keep citizens informed. Many other provinces have announced their own plans to drop provincial mandates while regularly consulting their chief public health officers.

This government has, for the last two years, been saying that it is listening to science, but the federal chief health officer has been inconsistent at best. When will the government drop the mandates?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to speak about Saskatchewan. I want to congratulate my colleague, Health Minister Merriman, for all his hard work and collaboration over the last few months. We worked really well together on rapid testing, on PPE, on the Paxlovid treatment against COVID-19, and on vaccinations. I want to congratulate all the people in Saskatchewan for having been vaccinated in such large numbers.

Foreign Affairs

[Yvan Baker, Liberal, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, over the last few days what we have seen is a brutal military assault by Vladimir Putin's regime in Russia on Ukraine, on democracy and on the international rules-based order that protects countries and civilians around the world. There are countless men, women and children who as we speak are being killed, who are displaced and who desperately need humanitarian assistance.

Could the Minister of International Development please share with the House and with Canadians what Canada is doing to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Minister of International Development and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Etobicoke Centre for his strong leadership and for advocating for the people of Ukraine. Canada is deeply concerned by the deepening humanitarian crisis in Ukraine that has been caused by President Putin, and we are monitoring the situation very closely on the ground. This is why our government has provided $50 million to support developing humanitarian aid and over $620 million in loan offers. Just on Friday, we announced that we would match, up to $10 million, the generous donations of Canadians to support Ukrainians through the Ukrainian Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross, and we will do more.

Housing

[Brad Vis, Conservative, Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it has now been eight months since a wildfire completely destroyed the community of Lytton in my riding. My constituents still need help to get back home.

Nearly two years ago, the government provided blank cheques without applications to select cities for housing projects under the rapid housing initiative in the major cities stream. What specific assistance will the minister provide to the village of Lytton to build purpose-built housing for vulnerable Canadians who lost everything?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member's concern and advocacy for his community.

The rapid housing initiative has far exceeded its initial targets. We have delivered over 10,250 new, permanent, affordable housing units for Canada's most vulnerable individuals, including those experiencing homelessness and those who are at risk of experiencing homelessness.

The member opposite knows, from his time as my critic, that we have a number of programs in the national housing strategy for different kinds of housing needs across the housing spectrum. I am willing to work with him to address the needs of his community.