Debates of May 17th, 2022

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, having a fully vaccinated workforce makes our work sites and our communities safer. We asked employees of the federal public service to attest to their vaccination status. They stepped up, and 99% of employees attested to being fully vaccinated. We committed to review this policy every six months, and the policy review is under way. Any decisions will be based on science and the advice of public health officials.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister continues to punish Canadians who do not agree with him. A letter in The Globe and Mail stated today that continued travel restrictions are an unnecessary and illogical infringement on individual rights of mobility. The Prime Minister states, over and over, that he stands with Canadians. Well, he sure does not want them sitting beside him on a plane, a train or a bus.

Will he put politics aside and allow Canadians to get back to prepandemic normal, or will he continue to punish Canadians for their health choices?

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

Mr. Speaker, today we know more about COVID-19 than ever before, and certainly more than back in March 2020. We have safe, effective vaccines and a highly vaccinated population. We have testing and surveillance tools that allow us to identify new variants of concern and track the spread of this virus. However, the future remains uncertain, and people are still getting COVID-19 every single day. It is unpredictable.

Our government will continue making decisions based on the best science from health care providers and public health officials, and will adjust our advice and public health measures based on them and the evolution of this virus.

[Mark Strahl, Conservative, Chilliwack—Hope, BC]

Mr. Speaker, there are currently two groups of people prevented from getting on commercial flights in Canada. The first group are those on the no-fly list, an air security program that prevents individuals who may commit a terrorist act from getting on a plane. The second group banned from flights in Canada are Canadians who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19.

Why are the Liberals treating our fellow citizens who are not vaccinated in the same way they treat those on the no-fly list?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I just said, we know more about this virus than we did a couple of years ago, and we continue to have safe and effective vaccines available—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

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

Order. The member is right there and I cannot hear him right now.

The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today we know more about COVID-19 than we did two years ago, and that is a good thing, because we have safe and effective vaccines, which continue to be available for everyone, and we continue to have a highly vaccinated population. That is one of the reasons we have one of the lowest death rates in the world. We also have new treatments that can help patients from getting seriously ill. However, people continue to get COVID-19 and folks are still dying from COVID-19.

It would be great if some of the Conservatives on the other side encouraged their populations and their constituents to get vaccinated.

Climate Change

[Brenda Shanahan, Liberal, Châteauguay—Lacolle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, across the country, Canadians have experienced extreme heat waves—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[Brenda Shanahan, Liberal, Châteauguay—Lacolle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, could you intervene, please?

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

Everyone has the right to ask questions and hear the answers.

The hon. member for Châteauguay—Lacolle has the floor again.

[Brenda Shanahan, Liberal, Châteauguay—Lacolle, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Across Canada, people have experienced extreme heat waves, their houses have been destroyed by forest fires or floods, and their crops have been devastated by drought. Building a secure and healthy future for Canadians means building houses, infrastructure and an economy prepared to deal with the realities of climate change.

Yesterday, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change launched public consultations to develop Canada's first-ever national adaptation strategy. Could he—

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

The Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague from Châteauguay—Lacolle for her question and her work on the environment in her riding.

When the roof over our heads is leaking, we repair it and then we can think about what to have for dinner. We can and we must mitigate the impacts of climate change and, at the same time, prepare for it.

These consultations will lead to the first inclusive national adaptation strategy, which will ensure that we are prepared to face the climate of today and tomorrow, and to implement measures to ensure the safety and well-being of our families, our communities and the environment.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the temporary foreign worker saga continues. On April 15, 2022, after eight months of waiting, some businesses in my riding received their confirmation letters of a positive labour market impact assessment.

That is far too long and the process is not even complete. The government has a duty to simplify the process for approving temporary foreign workers. When will it do so?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, addressing the labour shortages is a top priority for our government, and that is why we are putting additional resources toward processing cases, including work permits, to ensure that people have access to the workers they need. I would advise the hon. member that the average processing time for work permits in the province of Quebec today is 33 days, which is among the very best available in Canada.

We are going to continue to do everything we can to get businesses the workers they need. Our economy depends on it, and it is is going to help kick-start our economic recovery from the COVID-19 recession.

Foreign Affairs

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Cardinal Joseph Zen is a 90-year-old retired Catholic cardinal, much loved throughout China and the world for his deep faith and courageous advocacy for democracy. The Chinese Communist Party now considers this 90-year-old clergyman a threat to national security and has arrested Cardinal Zen. Arrested alongside Zen are a number of other prominent voices for justice and human rights, including Canadian citizen, singer and actress Denise Ho.

Will the government join us in clearly condemning these arrests and also commit to strengthening immigration measures to make it easier for human rights defenders in Hong Kong to come to Canada?

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

Mr. Speaker, the relationship that Canada has with China is complex, it is challenging and it is always important for us to be mindful of it. As we engage in that relationship, there are no more important issues than Canadian values and Canadian rights, including the human rights agenda of this country.

We will continue to stand up for human rights at every opportunity and take every opportunity to speak to our Chinese counterparts about the issues the member has raised.

The Environment

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, York—Simcoe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on a recent episode of The Fifth Estate, Canadians were horrified and shocked to see tonnes of plastic waste shipped overseas from Canada where it is being burned and dumped in developing countries. While other nations take action, the Liberals are doing nothing. They even blocked my Conservative bill to ban the export of plastic waste.

Enough is enough. We need action. The world's oceans and the environment are suffering.

Will the Liberals finally stop this shameful practice?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government is in the process of putting in the first-ever Canadian strategy to reduce plastic pollution, move Canada toward a circular economy, ban single-use plastics and force plastic companies to use more recycled content in the plastic they produce.

[Sherry Romanado, Liberal, Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the environment is a very important issue for my constituents in Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne.

Yesterday we announced a major investment in the biomethanization facilities in Varennes, which serve the city of Longueuil, among others.

Could the minister tell us more about this project and what it would do for the Quebec economy and for our environment?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, members will not be surprised to hear me thank my colleague for the outstanding work that she does.

We are proud to be investing more than $25 million in this expansion project, which will help many municipalities in Montreal divert more organic materials. This will reduce our emissions by more than 13,000 tonnes a year and divert thousands of tonnes of organic waste.

This is all thanks to the hard work of our colleague from Longueuil—Charles‑LeMoyne.

Official Languages

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the public service has gone back in time to the good old days when the foremen gave orders in English and francophones did their bidding.

The federal government is hardly setting an example for CN or Air Canada; in fact, it is doing the same thing. In all, 19% of deputy ministers and associate deputy ministers speak French as their first official language, compared to 31% of workers and 23% of society as a whole. The Prime Minister decides who is to be appointed. He can correct this situation.

When will he show leadership and correct this representation gap at the top of the civil service?

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

Mr. Speaker, official languages are essential to the effective and efficient delivery of our federal services. Over 40% of public servants in the federal government are bilingual.

Our government is also developing a new framework for language qualification standards, supervision and assessment to support a culture of bilingualism in the public service. All deputy ministers have a duty to support and promote the objectives of the Official Languages Act by encouraging the use of both official languages within their organizations.

We will continue to pursue our efforts.