Debates of March 21st, 2022

National Defence

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I want to be very clear about this. Every single member on this side of the House not only supports the men and women in uniform today, but those who were in uniform yesterday.

While we are not a superpower, let me tell members what we do. Our men and women in uniform supported the people of Afghanistan. We supported the people of Syria and most recently, we have been on the ground and supported troops in Ukraine with training that has trained 30,000 military personnel. We will continue to be there, and that is what Canada does well.

[Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Conservative, South Surrey—White Rock, BC]

Mr. Speaker, 11 years after Afghanistan and 158 lives lost, the minister thinks we are convenors, not warriors. I have news for the minister, who should take a look at our Canadian history. The victors at Vimy Ridge, the Hundred Days, Juno Beach, Kapyong and Operation Medusa deserve our admiration and our praise but are forgotten by the government.

Will the minister apologize for her hurtful remarks to the military, to veterans and to the families of our fallen?

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk a little more recent history. The previous Conservative government dropped defence spending to the lowest level in 60 years. What this government—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Deputy Speaker, Chris d'Entremont]

I do not have to yell or anything. I just have to sit here and wait to get to the point where I can hear the member.

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Don Valley West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I will repeat that. What the previous Conservative government did was drop defence spending to the lowest level in the last 60 years. What this government is doing is recommitting to the armed forces to ensure that they are appropriately equipped, that they will be engaged appropriately and they will continue to represent Canada and Canadian interests.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Deputy Speaker, Chris d'Entremont]

Order. I am hearing lots of yelling from the back row. You do not have to yell quite as loud to be heard in this chamber, so I am just looking over and saying to calm it down. Calm it down. Thank you.

The hon. member for Thérèse-De Blainville.

Labour

[Louise Chabot, Bloc, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister must grasp the urgent need to resolve the lockout at Canadian Pacific.

The Bloc Québécois wants a quick, negotiated resolution to the dispute, but we can all see that the talks have reached an impasse. We can also see that supply chains are under unprecedented pressure, what with the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

Will the minister himself sit down with both sides to signal that he is handling conflict resolution personally?

[Seamus O'Regan, Liberal, Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's supply chains are still reeling from the floods in British Columbia, COVID‑19 and now the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Canadians' interests must be a priority, and I urge the parties to reach an agreement. Canadians have worked together throughout the pandemic to find solutions to our collective challenges, and they expect the same from stakeholders in our national economy.

[Louise Chabot, Bloc, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister obviously did not understand my question.

Unfortunately, there is a definite pattern to how this government handles crises. More often than not, it is content to watch them unfold, to be a mere bystander and to allow them to degenerate.

The minister can break free of that pattern right here and now. He said that he will stay in Calgary until the two parties reach a deal. That is the right attitude.

Will he go the distance and personally intervene to bring about a negotiated resolution for CP Rail?

[Seamus O'Regan, Liberal, Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, I will answer in English to make sure that I am not repeating myself in answering the member's question directly.

I am here in Calgary. I will not leave. I do not intend to leave until we have an agreement. I am dealing with both parties. I am involved. We have an excellent federal mediation and conciliation service. They are at the table with the parties, and I am optimistic, with people at the table and not leaving, that we will reach the deal that Canadians demand and want as soon as possible.

Health

[Stephen Ellis, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Mr. speaker, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Canadians were mandated to get vaccines and vaccine passports and to stay at home. Canadians have complied, and our fragile health care system has survived.

The entire world and 10 provinces in Canada have reopening plans. Federal mandates need to end, and Canadians need to know what the benchmark is and the plan the government is using to end the mandates, so on what date will this government end federal mandates?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to answer this question.

The member speaks about the date. April 1 is when there will be no need for a pre-entry rapid or antigen test or molecular test when entering Canada. We do thank Canadians for all the hard work that they have done over the last few months, including vaccinating themselves in large numbers, with 87 million vaccines administered over the last year and a half. While we do that, we are going to work very hard to keep protecting the health and safety of Canadians.

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today the province of Ontario is lifting a whole raft of temporary measures to fight COVID‑19. People can finally have faith in the future and get back to normal. I think it is about time.

Given that the provinces and other G7 countries have reached the same conclusion, when will the Liberal government announce the end of mandatory measures at the federal level?

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

Mr. Speaker, vaccines have prevented 1,600 deaths in recent months because of federal and provincial vaccine mandates.

Those 1,600 people are still with us today thanks to vaccine mandates. Estimates suggest that vaccine mandates have also saved us billions of dollars, probably about $4 billion.

That is a lot of money and, more importantly, it is a lot of people who have been kept safe and healthy.

[Jake Stewart, Conservative, Miramichi—Grand Lake, NB]

Mr. Speaker, over the course of the past couple of weeks, every province in Canada has either completely ended their mandates or given a solid deadline for when these measures will end, including New Brunswick, yet this government is still forging ahead with its overreaching and intrusive mandates. When will the federal government start trusting Canadians, stop dictating to them how to live their lives and give the people a day to end the mandates?

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

Mr. Speaker, 135,000 is the number of people in the United States who died because they were insufficiently vaccinated compared to Canadians. It would have been a tragedy if in Canada we had not used that gift that science and scientists gave us a year and a half ago. We are extremely grateful to all the vaccinators and all the Canadians who did the right thing, which is to protect their health and the health of those they love.

Diversity and Inclusion

[Emmanuel Dubourg, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Mr. Speaker, our government has developed several programs to support Black communities across the country, strengthen community organizations and help Black entrepreneurs finance their activities. In order to promote an inclusive economy, I announced a $25-million investment to support 10 Black-led organizations.

Can the Minister of Economic Development talk about the impact this support has had on Black communities in Canada?

[Pascale St-Onge, Liberal, Minister of Sport and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question. I also want to acknowledge the extraordinary work he does for the people of Bourassa.

Our government is working closely with Black business owners and organizations, such as the Côte-Des-Neiges Black Community Association, Audace au féminin, the Centre d'encadrement pour jeunes femmes immigrantes, the African Business Network and many others that will receive substantial support.

In Quebec and across Canada, the fund aims to strengthen support for Black entrepreneurs and business owners. We will support them during this period of economic recovery.

Health

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians want to take back control of their lives, yet millions of Canadians are unable to travel freely within Canada, unable to get on a plane, unable to get on a train, because of the Liberals' punitive and ineffective vaccine mandates. This infringement on mobility rights constitutes an outlier among democracies, so on what date will the Liberals join the rest of the democracies of this world and lift these mandates?

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

Mr. Speaker, the reason we are able to lift these mandates is that we have, in Canada, one of the highest rates of vaccination in the world. In Canada, about 85% of people have had a first dose, 81% two doses and almost 60% a third dose. That is the reason we are able to lift these restrictions. Four hundred thousand people would have been the number of people dying in Canada over 2021 in the absence of public health measures and vaccinations.

Carbon Pricing

[Michelle Ferreri, Conservative, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this past weekend, I spoke to hundreds of constituents from Peterborough—Kawartha who are scared and afraid because they cannot afford to buy food, pay for rent or put gas in their car. People are suffering from anxiety, depression and addiction because they cannot manage the stress of making ends meet.

The carbon tax hike on April 1 could see an increase of 12¢ a litre at the pumps. Canadians cannot take any more.

How can the Liberal government say it has Canadians' backs? When will the government give my constituents and all Canadians hope and drop the carbon tax scheduled for April 1?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government put a price on carbon pollution to ensure clean air, fewer emissions and more money in people's pockets. As the carbon price increases, payments also increase, leaving the majority of Canadians with more money in their pockets.

While the Conservatives want to take us backward to a time when it was free to pollute, our government will continue to move forward with practical and affordable solutions for Canadians to cut pollution and create good jobs.

[Gary Vidal, Conservative, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

Mr. Speaker, in northern Saskatchewan, every product on every shelf has a significant freight cost. Transport companies I met with last week have been forced to raise their fuel surcharges just to survive. That increase must be passed on, and the cycle of inflation spirals out of control. Life gets more expensive every single day. The government ignores this fact, but my constituents do not have that luxury.

Where is the Prime Minister's plan for rising fuel prices? Will he, at the very least, cancel the scheduled increase to the carbon tax on April 1?