Debates of May 4th, 2022

Health

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, surely the Prime Minister knows that vaccinated Canadians are on planes with unvaccinated international travellers here. Surely he knows that Italy, Greece, the U.K., Denmark and many other countries have no more travel restrictions and no more mandates. There, families have been reunited, workers are back to work and everyone can travel.

In Canada, the government does not trust Canadians. Why?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we have seen over the past couple of years that Canadians stepped up incredibly to be there for each other, to get vaccinated, to wear masks and to keep each other safe. That strength of response is why we have not only had less impact from the pandemic than many other countries, but our economic recovery has come back so much stronger than many other countries'. That is why we are going to continue to be informed by experts on how to keep Canadians safe.

Even as variants continue to evolve, we will evolve in our measures to keep Canadians safe.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, divide and stigmatize, rinse and repeat. Which experts is the Prime Minister listening to, what is the specific advice, what year is the advice from and why is the advice different in Canada than in the rest of the world? It is all secrets.

Canadians want to know this: When will the government end the outdated, ineffective and vindictive mandates?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we see the Conservative Party talking an awful lot about divisions among Canadians, but that has not been the experience of most Canadians, over 90% of whom stepped up to get vaccinated, and who demonstrated every step of the way that they were there for their neighbours, that they were—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

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

Order. Hold on a second.

Again, as I have said, talk to your whips and get on the list for question period. I am more than happy to have other questions asked in the House of Commons.

The hon. member for Beloeil—Chambly.

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

Mr. Speaker, last week, with the Prime Minister present, journalists asked Quebec's premier if he was still going to demand—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

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

Mr. Speaker, I cannot continue so could you take care of this first?

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

Apparently, I interrupted the Prime Minister, who had not finished answering the question. I thought he had.

[Some hon. members]

No.

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

In that case, before giving the floor back to the member for Beloeil—Chambly, we will go back to the Prime Minister, so he can finish answering the question from the member for Thornhill.

The hon. Prime Minister.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, like I said, the Conservatives never miss an opportunity to try to pretend that Canadians are divided, when in fact Canadians were united, from 90% vaccination rates, to pulling together for their neighbours, to following public health rules, to being there for each other.

That is why Canada pulled through better than many countries from this pandemic and why our economy is coming back so strongly. That is why we will continue to listen to experts. That is why we will continue to have Canadians' backs.

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

The member for Beloeil—Chambly can now ask his question.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

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

Mr. Speaker, last week, with the Prime Minister of Canada present, journalists asked Quebec's premier if he was still standing firm on his immigration demands, essentially for the sake of consistency, whether with respect to social services, education, francization or the labour shortage, and thus ensure that Quebec manages everything, except for security matters.

The Premier of Quebec said yes. When the Prime Minister of Canada was then asked what he thought, he simply answered no. Then the government questioned Quebec's immigration targets and levels.

Is Ottawa attempting to challenge the authority of Quebec and impose its own immigration levels?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, that is not at all the case. We recognize that under the Canada-Quebec accord Quebec can choose to accept up to 28% of new permanent residents who arrive in Canada every year.

We will always work with Quebec to achieve its immigration targets, and we will be there if it wants to increase its immigration levels to ensure that Quebec welcomes its fair share of new arrivals.

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

Mr. Speaker, will they be there if Quebec wants it, or only if Quebec wants it?

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship made it clear that the federal government does not think Quebec is taking in enough immigrants. However, the federal system has been backlogged for so many years that there have been files waiting to be processed since 2009.

This government seems to want to impose targets beyond the numbers we are able to integrate, willingly and knowingly, in spite of its own failures. Should Quebec simply stop talking to Ottawa and take care of its own affairs?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we recognize that immigration is essential to our economy and, as the member opposite knows very well, Quebec sets its own immigration targets.

Last year we welcomed more than 50,000 new permanent residents in the province and, this year, Quebec has significantly increased its immigration targets, which will help to considerably reduce those wait times.

We will always work closely with the Government of Quebec to ensure that our immigration system continues to work well for Quebeckers and Canadians.

Women and Gender Equality

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, many people in this country live in regions and communities where they have no access to abortion services. The government has been in power for seven years and has done nothing to expand access to abortion services. We have an opportunity today to do something concrete by ensuring that we cover the cost of birth control and emergency contraceptives.

Is the Prime Minister prepared to take this meaningful step today to truly expand access for people across the country?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, allow me to state once again in this House that the right to choose is a woman's right and hers alone. We will never back down from protecting and promoting access to safe abortion in Canada and around the world, and we cannot take any rights, including this most fundamental one, for granted.

To all Canadians, we must be active, vigilant and speak out, and this government always has and always will be there for the full range of reproductive health rights of all women across the country.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, this is about access. This is about women's lives, not about a political wedge.

The Liberal government has had seven years to improve access to abortion services and it has done nothing. We have an opportunity today to do something concrete by ensuring that we cover the cost of birth control and emergency contraceptives. Is the Prime Minister prepared to take this meaningful step today, yes or no?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as we said, we have not hesitated to take action, including by withholding funding from New Brunswick in light of its continued refusal to fund Clinic 554 and by investing $45 million to help community organizations expand access to reproductive health care information and services.

I have also tasked the Minister of Health with ensuring that all Canadians have access to the sexual and reproductive health services they need, no matter where they live, by reinforcing compliance with the Canada Health Act. We will continue to be there and actively ensure that women across the country have access to reproductive health services.

Health

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is May 4 in Canada and there are citizens who cannot leave the country. They cannot fly; they cannot take a train. They have lost their jobs, been laid off or fired, because of a health choice.

It is May 4 in the United Kingdom, and citizens have been thriving without mandates for nearly two months because their government followed the science and made the shift from mandates and control to personal responsibility.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson ended the mandates, but our Prime Minister will not. What is different? Is it the science or just the PM's politics?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, every step of the way, we have followed the best advice of experts and scientists in Canada to keep Canadians safe, and that is exactly what we have been able to do. We have had a far less bad pandemic in Canada than in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, because we have been following the science and sticking to it. We will continue to.

It is interesting that the member opposite talks about the freedom of personal choice. I wonder if he is willing to extend that to the personal choice of women to control their own bodies.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am not surprised that the Prime Minister does not want to talk about his failures and wants to change the channel on his absolute failure to follow the science. We have seen that in countries like Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland and other countries around the globe, their science is all the same, just like in the United Kingdom.

What is the evidence? What is the science that the Prime Minister is following? He is not following science. He is desperate to keep power and control over Canadians he dislikes, just like Xi Jinping in China and Maduro in Venezuela. The provinces are ending their mandates. Countries around the world are doing the same. The Prime Minister—