Debates of March 24th, 2022

Health

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has already said that health transfers would be increased.

The Bloc Québécois has known that for a long time, but that does not allow for any bickering, which is what the Bloc needs. However, the kind of constitutional bickering that the Bloc is looking for does not create jobs for anyone. Bickering does not get hospitals new doctors or nurses. It does not help people heal. All that bickering does is help the Bloc Québécois find more to bicker about and be more adversarial.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as you can hear, they love it when I talk about bickering.

[Laila Goodridge, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Mr. Speaker, on Monday in the health committee, the Minister of Health said, “We want to apply the least disruptive measures in order to protect the health and safety of Canadians, and the conversation will evolve as the situation evolves.” The situation has evolved. We are asking the federal government to follow the science and remove federal mandates, as has been done throughout Canada in our provinces.

Does the health minister believe that all 10 provincial chief medical officers of health are wrong?

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

Mr. Speaker, that question gives me the opportunity to continue speaking about the hardships and stress many Canadians feel, including health care workers and obviously patients. We have seen, over the last two years, a backlog of surgeries approximately equal to 700,000 patients. Their families, friends and communities are affected by that backlog. Today, we still have about 4,000 people hospitalized. Those hospital beds are not available for other patients.

[Laila Goodridge, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately that was a complete non-answer. The risks have changed as this pandemic has evolved. Canada has the most restrictive domestic travel mandates in the world. This is having a very real impact on families. I have been contacted by families in my riding who want to visit relatives who are in palliative care and who want to attend funerals. Vaccine mandates on travel have limited the ability of families to gather.

When will the health minister show some humanity and finally allow the transportation minister to remove domestic travel restrictions?

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

Mr. Speaker, we all agree and are all thankful for humanity. Humanity means thinking about others and caring for others. I will mention the fact that, on average, in the last week we have had about 50 to 60 additional deaths. Those are not just numbers: those are people whose families obviously are very much impacted. We have 4,000 people who are hospitalized. That is a large number of people. Humanity demands that we look after them while we repair and prepare the health care system for the future challenges we will be seeing.

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Mr. Speaker, according to the health minister, there is no end in sight for the federal COVID mandates. The Liberals have destroyed lives and careers. Many have lost mortgages. Others have had to leave the country altogether, but a Canadian is a Canadian, regardless of a medical condition or choice. Workers and families deserve respect, not abuse. They deserve basic accommodation and accessibility.

When will the health minister drop the federal mandates, so the mass firings in April will not happen?

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

Mr. Speaker, Conservatives have to choose between vaccination, which is not punishment but protection, and lockdown. We cannot have no vaccination and no lockdown.

The fact that the Conservatives do not seem to believe in vaccination, in March 2022, is very serious. If we did not have vaccination, and if we did not keep insisting on vaccination, we would be closing schools, shops, stores and factories and we would be overloading hospitals with patients. We would not be meeting in this room today.

Housing

[Lori Idlout, NDP, Nunavut, NU]

Qujannamiik, Uqaqtittiji.

On this day, World Tuberculosis Day, I rise to ask a question about housing. An MLA for Nunavut has identified that approximately 3,000 to 5,000 new housing units are urgently needed for people living in my territory. However, the government's housing announcement in Nunavut a couple of weeks ago included just 101 new units.

What rationale does the federal government have for promising only 100 housing units when thousands are desperately needed? Qujannamiik.

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

Mr. Speaker, the program that the hon. member referred to is just one of many programs in the national housing strategy and federal investments in Nunavut housing, including the Canada housing benefit, the bilateral housing agreement between Canada and Nunavut, and over $400 million in distinctions-based funding for Inuit-led housing in Inuit Nunangat. By working together with territorial and indigenous partners, we will address the housing needs of Nunavummiut.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Putin's horrific actions are killing children, women and elders and forcing millions to leave Ukraine. Even with the special immigration measures, people are still having a hard time getting to safety. People with older identity documents are stuck in the system, which is further delaying their ability to get an emergency travel visa. Biometric centres are being overwhelmed, and in some centres the wait is a month or longer. This wait is putting lives in danger.

The most efficient way to get people out of harm's way remains visa-free travel. When will the Liberals lift visa requirements for Ukrainians?

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, Canada will welcome Ukrainians fleeing Putin's war. We have announced this new program that will cut through red tape and expedite the arrival of Ukrainians to safe harbour for up to three years. This is the fastest, safest and most efficient way for Ukrainians to come to Canada. It eliminates most of the travel requirements for all Ukrainian nationals, with the exception of background security checks. Canada stands with Ukrainians in their time of need, and we welcome them with open arms.

International Trade

[Han Dong, Liberal, Don Valley North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last year, Canada saw record levels of international trade. Our government continues to open new opportunities for Canadian businesses to export and to expand. The United Kingdom is one of our closest friends and largest trading partners. I know the minister for international trade has been working hard on strengthening our trade ties with the U.K.

Can the minister update us on her recent activities in diversifying our trade relations with the United Kingdom?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I was very pleased to welcome the hon. secretary of trade, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, for her first official visit to Canada this week, celebrating the long-standing relationship between Canada and the United Kingdom.

Today, Canada and the United Kingdom officially launched negotiations toward a new high-standard and progressive free trade agreement. Canada looks forward to negotiating an agreement that will benefit our people and our economies. It will help businesses of all sizes and entrepreneurs on both sides of the Atlantic reach new export markets.

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I asked whether the NDP-Liberal government would provide Canadians who are unable to use ArriveCAN with an easier alternative to allow them to visit their families outside of Canada. Instead of answering the question, the Minister of Health, sadly and predictably, responded with the same tired old talking points.

Will this minister clearly tell Canadians on what date the government will drop its mandates so that we can all travel freely?

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

Mr. Speaker, I will speak to something I think is extremely important for us to understand, which is long COVID. Among all those infected by COVID, whether it be severe or mild, the estimate is that between 10% and 30% will suffer from long COVID.

This has dramatic impacts on their lives in the short and longer term. Thirty percent of them will need to consult more than 10 times after that. Thirty percent of them will need to stop working. This has very significant health, personal and economic costs. The way to protect against that is to protect against transmission and to do that through vaccination.

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

Mr. Speaker, four months ago, Donna McCall was denied the opportunity to see her children, who are located in the U.S., while she was at home dying waiting for a liver transplant. That transplant never came. Her husband held up his phone for Donna so they could say their last goodbyes to their mother while she died.

What happened to John, Donna and their children is devastating. When will this government show some compassion for suffering families like the McCalls and please lift the federal mandates?

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

Mr. Speaker, compassion is the key word. We need to have each other's backs. We need to protect each other's health. That is best done by following public health measures, as most of us are doing today, but not all of us. It is also done by being vaccinated, which protects our health and that of those we love.

It also protects against long COVID. By the way, long COVID affects all vital organs with hundreds of symptoms through the brain, heart, lungs and liver. This is serious and demands responsibility on the part of the government.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I come from the Quebec City area, the most beautiful tourist city in North America. The city has suffered enormously over the past two years, economically speaking. Everyone is talking about our businesses, restaurants and hotels.

How can the Minister of Health, who is the member for Quebec, justify to the hotels, restaurants and tourism industry in his riding that he is maintaining health measures at the border?

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

Mr. Speaker, there are two things I assume my hon. colleague already knows.

The first is that I am indeed the member for Quebec, which is probably the most beautiful city in the country and I am very proud of it. I represent this area along with other distinguished members of the House.

The second thing he probably knows is that on April 1, so in a just a few days, pre-arrival tests will no longer be required. This means that more people will be able to come to Canada to enjoy our attractions. We hope that many of them will come to Quebec City and the Quebec City region.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, exactly two years ago, I was the first MP to ask the government to close the border. It was taking too long. It took too long. People in Quebec died because it took too long.

Now the situation has changed, and it is taking too long to reopen the border and lift the senseless restrictions. If tourists want to visit Quebec City to, say, go to the summer festival in the minister's riding, they cannot understand the Canadian system. They do not understand what they are supposed to do.

Will the government end all the complicated measures and give the tourism industry a chance to make a comeback?

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

Mr. Speaker, we are going to do exactly as my colleague suggests on April 1.

On April 1, pre-entry testing requirements will go away. That will simplify everyone's life and encourage more people to come see my colleagues and me in wonderful Quebec City and the beautiful surrounding area.

Foreign Affairs

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as we speak, more than half the children in Ukraine have fled the war. In all, 4.3 million children have left their homes. They are either elsewhere in Ukraine, hoping the Russian troops will not catch up with them, or they are in refugee camps.

Today we do not want to hear about how Canada has welcomed 10,000 Ukrainians since January. We want the government to tell us what it is doing right now for the millions of fleeing children.

When will the government charter planes to go and get them?

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question and certainly for his collaboration since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.

I would say to him that we are working with our partners, including the airlines. What is more, I would like to point out to the House the exceptional work that has been done with the SickKids hospital and the departments here to welcome Ukrainian children, who can now continue their treatment here in Canada.

We will take the necessary measures to welcome the Ukrainians who are fleeing Putin's war.