Debates of Feb. 4th, 2022

2022 Olympic Winter Games

[Joanne Thompson, Liberal, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, the 2022 Olympic games are here and we are all looking forward to cheering for the 215 athletes representing Team Canada.

Sport brings communities together and I will be joining Canadians across the country to watch our very best compete as they inspire people of all ages.

From this House to theirs, I send a special best wishes to Newfoundland and Labrador’s own curlers Brett Gallant, Brad Gushue and Mark Nichols, and all our amazing athletes.

Go, Canada, go.

Demonstrations in Ottawa

[Yasir Naqvi, Liberal, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to speak about what has been going on in my community of Ottawa Centre.

Residents are feeling terrorized by the protests, which have been going on for seven days now.

Members of my community are being harassed, being subjected to hurtful and racist symbols, and the incessant honking is unbearable. Our parking lots are being used as urinals. Fireworks are being hurled down streets at night. The air is thick with diesel fuel. Residents are not sleeping. Businesses are shuddered.

Parliament Hill is regularly used for peaceful protests as they are a hallmark of every democracy.

This is not a peaceful protest. It is an occupation.

Enough is enough. This needs to end now, so my community can live in peace again.

Tributes

[Alex Ruff, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I struggled in deciding what to focus my statement on today. I could easily spend a minute talking about the loss of my uncle Morley Kaufman; the loss of retired Colonel John Fife, a great friend, mentor and leader from Oromocto, New Brunswick; or the loss of World War II veteran Charles Fisher from Owen Sound, among the many others whom we have lost over the last couple months.

I could do a full statement in recognition of Dr. Kelly Barratt, a local veterinarian who was the first woman bovine practitioner of the year, as awarded by the American Association of Bovine Practitioners this past October. She is one of only three Canadians to win the award this century. I could do a full statement thanking the member for Durham for his service, leadership and dedication as the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.

However, in the end, I will end my statement by simply asking all members of the House and all Canadians watching to please respect each other. The pandemic has been hard on everyone. We should treat each other as we want to be treated ourselves.

Also, Wiarton Willie predicts it is going to be an early spring.

Teachers

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Prime Minister, the Manitoba caucus and I met with some teachers virtually. I wanted to highlight that discussion.

It included teachers from Children of the Earth, Garden Grove, Meadows West, Sisler High School, and other areas of the city of Winnipeg. Teachers are mentors to our students. They are coaches and advocates. Their wisdom and guidance bring out the best in students and inspire them to aim high and persevere. Every day, teachers play an important role in our communities and society.

However, since the pandemic started almost two years ago, teachers have had to drastically adjust to many challenges. They had to adapt to increased workloads, pressures and virtual classes. The love and care shown for our young people every day by teachers is inspiring. Our teachers have risen to the challenge and have gone above and beyond in engaging every student.

On behalf of the Prime Minister and the caucus, we want to thank and applaud the efforts of all teachers across Canada.

Health

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, COVID has painfully proven that Canada's health care system is not capable of handling a high volume of emergent patients, particularly over a sustained period of time.

Today, in year three of COVID, provincial governments are still closing businesses and imposing restrictions because of this. Even with these restrictions, doctors and nurses tell us that this approach does not reduce their burden. Business closures and restrictions on gathering and movement will not fix our health care system. As of today, there is still no coordinated, funded plan to do so.

On behalf of my constituents and health care workers, I call on the federal government to immediately act as a convener and establish a framework to support provinces and ensure that this problem is permanently rectified, because shutting down our way of life to reduce the burden on hospitals without a plan to fix the problems that have been persistent for decades must end.

Myles Lynch

[Eric Duncan, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Myles Lynch, a vibrant young man from St. Andrew's West, who used his lived experience to advocate organ donation. Myles battled cystic fibrosis and made history when he became the first Canadian to receive three double lung transplants in his lifetime. However, I am sad to say Myles passed away at the young age of 24 on December 31.

Myles was what I would define as a happy warrior: positive, passionate, even humorous, as seen in his documentary 8 Thousand Myles.

I had the pleasure of chatting with Myles several times about ways more organ donors could save lives for generations to come. In 2019, 260 Canadians died while waiting for an organ donation. We need to change that.

Therefore, I ask Canadians to think of Myles Lynch and his family and friends today, and to take a moment to sign up and be an organ donor in this great Canadian's memory.

74th Independence Day in Sri Lanka

[Fayçal El-Khoury, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark Sri Lanka's 74th Independence Day, a day filled with enormous pain and anguish for Tamil people on the island. Victims of history, the Tamil people hailing from the north and east of the island have lived as second-class citizens. They have been denied education, employment and even the freedom to practise their faith.

Although Sri Lanka is currently experiencing an economic crisis and is on the verge of bankruptcy, it continues to fund its military sector, which represents up to 15% of the government's total annual spending.

On this difficult day, I want to express my solidarity with the Tamil constituents in Laval and Tamils around the world and wish them justice and 10 minutes of peace on the island.

Salmon Fishery

[Taylor Bachrach, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to speak once again to the very serious situation facing wild salmon and steelhead on British Columbia's north and central coasts.

A recent study shows Alaska's fisheries are catching hundreds of thousands of fish bound for our rivers. Alaskans have become the biggest harvesters of many B.C. wild salmon populations, even while we see our stocks decline.

Last year, B.C.'s commercial fleet was tied up at the dock, sport fisheries were closed and many first nations could not catch their food fish. That same year, southeast Alaska caught 650,000 Canadian sockeye salmon, and 470,000 of those were headed for the Skeena River alone. That is just sockeye. The same story holds true for chum, pink, coho, chinook and steelhead.

The Pacific Salmon Treaty was negotiated during times of relative abundance, but now it is failing to deliver on its key mandates of equity and conservation, and it is not up for renewal until 2028. We need the fisheries minister to act now. We must use mechanisms to open the treaty and begin emergency negotiations with the Americans. Our wild salmon cannot wait until 2028.

Winter Olympic Games

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the opening ceremony for the 24th Winter Olympic Games took place this morning in Beijing.

We have a duty to remember that these Olympics never should have been held in China, whose government is guilty of committing genocide against its own people, the Uighurs.

However, we also need to remember that this is not our athletes' decision and it is not their fault. Quebec's athletes are as brave as the Government of Canada is cowardly when it come to China. These Quebeckers have dedicated their entire lives to their sport and, today, they have the opportunity to show the whole world just how talented they are.

On behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I want to wish the best of luck to all athletes from every region of Quebec. I hope that they will perform as well as they hope, that all their hard work will pay off and that their Olympic dreams will come true.

All of Quebec is rooting for our Olympians.

John Hopkins

[Warren Steinley, Conservative, Regina—Lewvan, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I will take a quick second to say hi to Nickson, Clare, Jameson and my wife Larissa in the gallery today.

This past week, Regina lost one of its best-known and respected community leaders. John Hopkins, CEO of the Regina Chamber of Commerce, passed away on Wednesday after a courageous battle with cancer. John was a staple in the Regina business and political community, lending his organizing skills to many Regina initiatives over the 21 years that he was the CEO.

I will particularly miss John's judgment and thoughtful advice about Saskatchewan's political discourse. We enjoyed many coffees and lunches together. His opinions were always respected, and his kindness and generosity made him a joy to chat with whenever one ran into him at local events.

When John was diagnosed with cancer in 2018, he took the challenge head-on. He continued to be visible in the community, taking advantage of each day to educate others about his illness and to raise money with his garage band buddies.

John's passion for Regina's business community was infectious, and he undoubtedly made Regina better when he became the CEO in 2001.

I ask the House to join me in honouring John Hopkins for his years of service to Regina and in sending condolences to his family, friends and colleagues at the Regina Chamber of Commerce for their significant loss.

The Queen's Platinum Jubilee

[Tony Van Bynen, Liberal, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on Sunday, February 6, Canada celebrates the platinum jubilee. It marks the 70-year reign of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

There is no doubt that she has seen many heartbreaking moments and heartfelt joys during her reign as our sovereign. Throughout all these years, she has been a hallmark of prudence, stability and insightful leadership, articulating values that we have seen stand the test of time.

The majority of events for the jubilee will actually take place in June. On June 2, Coronation Day, there will be the lighting of a giant beacon in Ottawa, one of 1,500 beacons being lit around the Commonwealth and the United Kingdom.

In honour of Her Majesty's steadfast service to Canada, our government is funding community-based projects to pay tribute to Canada's long-standing relationship with the Crown.

I encourage all Canadians to plant a commemorative tree or plan a cultural event to celebrate 70 years of leadership from Her Majesty the Queen.

COVID-19 Protests

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it has been a week, and it is time to put an end to the protest at Parliament Hill in Ottawa. It is also time to put an end to the restrictions that sparked the protest.

The expressions of hatred and racism we have seen at the protest are unacceptable. What we are witnessing is an appalling lack of leadership. The mayor of Ottawa, the police and everyone else are asking someone, somewhere to step up and put an end to this.

So far, the Prime Minister has opted to add fuel to the fire and maintain the restrictions rather than listen to the protesters. It is time to act like a leader.

What specific actions will the Prime Minister take to end this situation peacefully?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

I had a productive conversation last night with the mayor of Ottawa, Mr. Watson. Then I checked with the RCMP, which confirmed it is adding resources on the ground.

It is important to follow the law, recognize how destructive the convoy has been, and continue to support residents. The RCMP will be ready to assist the Ottawa Police Service, who are the police of jurisdiction.

Health

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it has been two years since the pandemic started. More than 34,000 Canadians have died. The COVID‑19 virus has strained a health network that was already stretched thin before the pandemic began.

The health network is sick. COVID‑19 is not the only reason. Canada ranks 30th among OECD countries with respect to number of hospital beds per capita, with 2.5 beds per 1,000 inhabitants. That is almost half the OECD average, which is 4.4 beds per 1,000 inhabitants.

Will the Prime Minister immediately commit to launching discussions with the provinces about health transfers?

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and to the Minister of Sport]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for the question.

The COVID‑19 pandemic continues to highlight the challenges that all Canadians face with respect to care, including shortfalls in infection prevention and control equipment.

We have been there to support the provinces and territories from the beginning of the COVID‑19 pandemic, and we will continue to work with the provinces and territories to fight COVID‑19 together.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have some more numbers to share with my colleague.

The situation is even worse when it comes to the number of doctors. Canada ranks 32nd, with 2.7 doctors per 1,000 inhabitants, while the OECD average is 3.6 doctors per 1,000 inhabitants. It is no wonder that people are having a hard time finding a family doctor.

The Conservatives have promised to increase health transfers by at least 6% per year and to initiate discussions with the premiers within the first 100 days to come up with solutions.

The Council of the Federation is meeting today. Will the Prime Minister commit to an unconditional increase in transfers to the provinces, yes or no?

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and to the Minister of Sport]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question. I also thank him for giving me an opportunity to practise my French.

I will answer in English so that I do not stumble over my numbers, because the question was about numbers.

Indeed, we have provided $63.7 billion in support of Canada's health response, including $14 billion for vaccines, including $5.3 billion for PPE, and, last year alone, we provided almost $42 billion in cash support to provinces and territories.

I wish to work together with my colleague on the committee for health so we can find better solutions for health care in this country.

[Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Conservative, Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this pandemic has exposed inefficiencies, a lack of depth and chronic underfunding of our strained health care system. It is a pandemic that the federal government has no strategy to end. The limited capacity, staff shortages and backlogged health services have caused irreversible harm to Canadians, and it is caused by the government's refusal to increase funding.

Why is the government refusing to negotiate health transfers to the provinces?

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and to the Minister of Sport]

Mr. Speaker, I share with my hon. colleague a position on the health committee, so I look forward to tackling some of these issues in committee.

Once again, I will reiterate the numbers. The Government of Canada has indeed provided almost $42 billion in cash support. We will continue to be there for our provinces and territories.

I will also acknowledge that we must continue to work to ensure that people are getting vaccinated, talk to our communities about getting vaccinated, and not bow to pressure from the anti-vax lobby, which seems quite insistent to remove that from the conversation.

[Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Conservative, Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives promised to meet the premiers in our first 100 days of governing to address the urgent needs of the provinces and to boost the growth rate of the Canada health transfer to at least 6%, providing stable, long-term and predictable health funding.

The Prime Minister has failed to create a plan to work for all Canadians, and he has failed to bring Canadians back to normal. Why has the government not met with the provinces and territories to discuss fixing the health transfers?

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and to the Minister of Sport]

Mr. Speaker, once again that is simply not true. The Prime Minister meets with the provinces and territories on a regular basis, as does our amazing Minister of Health. I represented the Minister of Health at a recent FPT meeting. We were proud to discuss issues of pertinence with provinces and territories, making sure that we continued to work in conjunction with them and providing the supports that were necessary. Every request they have had of us recently has been fulfilled. We will continue to work with the provinces and territories—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

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

I know it is Friday and people want to get home, but I ask them to keep it down so I can hear the answers to the questions.

The hon. member for Beloeil—Chambly.

COVID-19 Protests

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we are seeing a significant deterioration of the situation in the streets of Ottawa and in front of Parliament, and I believe this warrants a very peaceful and very reasonable call for calm on the part of all parties involved. The media is talking about a permanent encampment. They are talking about an occupation that could last until spring, which is a major concern for many people.

What does the government itself realistically plan to do to ensure people's safety? More specifically, does it agree with our recommendation for creating a crisis task force that would bring all police services together under one command?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, there is a great deal of co-operation going on between the RCMP and the Ottawa Police Service, which is the police of jurisdiction here in Ottawa.

This communication began at the start of the protest and is continuing. As I already told my colleague, I spoke with the mayor of Ottawa last night and subsequently confirmed that the RCMP is going to add more resources to ensure that everyone on the ground is safe.