Debates of Feb. 8th, 2022

Health

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Order. The hon. Leader of the Opposition asked a question. She is trying to hear, but she cannot hear above all the heckling and shouting that is going on. I am going to ask everyone to just keep it down so that she can hear the answer coming from the Prime Minister.

The Right Hon. Prime Minister.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, from the beginning of this pandemic we have followed the science and we have had Canadians' backs. We have actually seen a less severe impact on lives, on livelihoods and on our economy than many other countries, including the ones that the Leader of the Opposition named.

We will continue to follow the science. We will continue to lean on each other as Canadians as we make it through this pandemic. We know it is tiring and we know it is exhausting, but we also know that having each other's backs is the way through this pandemic.

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has politicized the pandemic and been divisive. Even his own members are seeing it. Now countries around the world are opening up, and even here in Canada, provinces are opening up. They are following the science and the evidence, whether it is from Dr. Henry in B.C. or Dr. Moore in Ontario. They all agree we have to learn to live with COVID. Conservatives believe that living with COVID means opening up and ending the mandates, and I believe there are some Liberals who believe the same thing.

Will the Prime Minister follow the science, end the lockdowns and let Canada once again be the true north, strong and free?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am extremely pleased to hear the Conservatives finally talking about following science, because that is something that they have fallen down on throughout this pandemic, whether it was not choosing to get vaccinated or whether it is continuing to debate the effectiveness of public health measures. Fortunately, we have been working with provincial premiers right across the country to bring in the kinds of restrictions and the kinds of mandates that have saved Canadian lives.

Unfortunately, we see Conservatives continuing to both call for an end to the protests from in here and support them out there. They need to be more responsible leaders to get through this and to play less politics.

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

Mr. Speaker, the truth came out this morning.

The member for Louis-Hébert and chair of the Quebec Liberal caucus said, “I can’t help but notice with regret that both the tone and the policies of my government changed drastically on the eve [of] and during the last election campaign. From a positive and unifying approach, the decision was made to wedge, to divide and to stigmatize.”

Did the Prime Minister himself make that decision to divide people so he could win the election?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the decisions the government made during the pandemic were made to save lives. As we know, a record number of Canadians have been vaccinated, and we lead the rest of the world in vaccination rates.

Canadians know that being there for one another is the best way to get through this pandemic. I get that people are fed up and tired. They want this to be over. The only way to do that is through science, not by playing political games, which is what the Conservative Party is doing, unfortunately.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister did not answer my question.

One of his own MPs, the Quebec caucus chair and member for Louis-Hébert, is calling for an end to vaccine mandates. He believes that his government's decisions are not sufficiently backed by science. He was very clear in saying that someone in this government has deliberately chosen to take a divisive approach that stigmatizes certain people.

Was this decision to politicize the COVID-19 crisis for partisan purposes taken by the Prime Minister himself, yes or no?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I completely disagree with the hon. member, because all government decisions have been made to keep people safe and to get us through this pandemic. This includes vaccine mandates, which help prevent further restrictions.

People who are vaccinated can get back to the things they love. The Conservatives have unfortunately been fighting against this from the beginning, but we are here to encourage vaccination and to make sure we get through this pandemic.

We are all fed up. We all want to get through this, and the way to do that is with science.

COVID‑19 Protests

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

Mr. Speaker, the situation is far from perfect, but we are making progress. Order has not yet been restored, but an injunction has reduced the number of honking horns. Quebec City worked together with the Government of Quebec to set the course for dealing with the protests. The Prime Minister reappeared in the House, which is good.

A crisis task force was created. A crisis task force is a means, not an end. It has to be accountable to the highest authorities, including Parliament. Has the Prime Minister brought in a measure to ensure that Wellington Street and Parliament Hill will be liberated this Friday?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have spent two years fighting the pandemic. They are tired. We have heard them. Now the people of Ottawa need things to go back to normal.

We are doing everything we can to help the City of Ottawa regain control of the situation. This afternoon, I will be talking to Mayor Watson again to discuss how we can best support him. My goal is to help the people of Ottawa get the support they deserve. We will all stick together to get through this challenging time.

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, let us hope that this Friday is not going to kick off another weekend like the previous ones.

Another voice has been added to those of Quebec and the provinces. According to the member for Louis-Hébert, the government's position on health transfers is nothing less than untenable. Increasingly, we are realizing that a more robust health system would have reduced the need for restrictions and perhaps would have prevented some of what we are seeing and experiencing in the streets today.

Is the Prime Minister ready to reconsider our proposal of holding a summit on funding for health care?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Bloc Québécois knows full well that health care summits are not held with the Bloc Québécois but with the provincial premiers. These conversations with the provincial premiers are ongoing.

I can point out that in addition to the $43 billion that we transfer every year for health care systems, over the past two years the federal government has invested an additional $63 billion in health because of the pandemic.

We will continue to be there right now to invest in health, but also in the years to come to support the provinces as they deliver our health services.

COVID-19 Protest

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we have truckers who are stuck at the Coutts border crossing in Alberta. We have truckers who are stuck at the Ambassador Bridge crossing in Windsor. We have protests breaking out across the country. Here in Ottawa, we are on the 12th day of the occupation, all because of the convoy protests. I have spoken with some of the residents and small businesses in Ottawa, and they tell me they are terrified, they are intimidated and they feel abandoned by the government.

People who feel abandoned want to know this: What has the Prime Minister done to help people in this crisis since it has begun?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, every step of the way, we have been there to offer support and assistance to the City of Ottawa as it deals with this.

We have been working closely with the province to ensure that resources get to the City of Ottawa to be able to handle this protest. We will continue to be there to support not just the citizens of Ottawa who are impacted by this protest, but also folks across the country, including hard-working truckers stuck at border crossings because of protests that are affecting and impacting and limiting their fellow citizens.

I call upon the Conservative Party to be consistent in here and out there and call for an end to these protests.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, truckers are being held up at the border crossings in Coutts and Windsor, and today is the 12th day of the occupation in Ottawa, all because of the trucker convoy protests. This situation is untenable.

I have spoken with some of the small business owners and residents in Ottawa who told me that they are terrified and that they are being intimidated and harassed by these protesters. They also feel abandoned by the government.

What exactly has the Prime Minister done to help them?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have been working with the City of Ottawa and the province from the very beginning to ensure that they have all of the resources required to end these protests.

Although Ottawa residents are particularly affected by these protests, they are not the only ones. These protests are also hurting our economy and our constituents, as well as truckers and people across the country.

That is why we will continue to support science and law enforcement agencies to put an end to these protests and the pandemic.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's Prime Minister is pandering to politics by division, stoking anger and fear. The rhetoric he used towards those Canadians who support lifting the mandate adds fuel to the fire. These are not the actions of a Prime Minister.

A senior member of the Liberal caucus has publicly criticized his tone, his language and his approach to the pandemic. Will the Prime Minister act like a Prime Minister? Will he listen to the opposition, listen to his own caucus and listen to Canadians, or will he continue with this divisive rhetoric?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, since the beginning of the pandemic, our government has been laying out, with great transparency, what we believe is the best way out of this pandemic, and that is vaccinations. I want to give credit to the 90% of Canadians who have taken up that cause, including the 90% of truckers who have taken up the cause of vaccinations to ensure that the wheels of our economy continue to turn.

As for those who are outside, the government is working very closely with the City of Ottawa to provide the police with all the tools and resources that they need to end this convoy as quickly and as peacefully as possible.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians, including a senior member of the Liberal caucus, are speaking loud and clear—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I am going to have to ask the hon. member for Foothills to stop while the members on his side are heckling him. I will let him continue now.

The hon. member for Foothills.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Canadians, including senior members of the Liberal caucus, are speaking loud and clear. Canadians are looking for pandemic leadership. Canadians are standing up right now, grabbing this moment in our history, because they know there is something fundamentally wrong when a Prime Minister refuses to listen.

Countries around the world are changing direction, but here in Canada our Prime Minister resorts to playground antics and calling names. If ever there was a time for inspired leadership, it is now. Will the Prime Minister grow up? Will he do his job? Will he listen to Canadians?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased and grateful for the member's use of “pandemic leadership”. This is exactly that. This is pandemic leadership.

We all have the responsibility to work together, to listen to each other, to listen to science. What science has told us and what science—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I am going to have to interrupt the hon. Minister of Health. I am having a hard time hearing him. I really wanted to hear the answer, and I am sure the hon. member for Foothills, who asked the question, would like to hear the answer too.

I am going to ask the hon. minister to start right from the top so we can hear the whole answer.

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad to do that, because I thought the question was the right statement.

The hon. member spoke about pandemic leadership. That is exactly the point. We need to be leaders in managing the pandemic. We need to be united together, working together and listening to each other. We have a hard job to do, which is to look after the health of millions of Canadians who depend on us to protect their health and the health of those they love.