House of Commons Hansard #91 of the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was c-11.

Topics

SeniorsOral Questions

June 17th, 2022 / 11:55 a.m.

Conservative

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

Madam Speaker, during the last election, the Liberals promised in their platform to develop a safe long-term care act to ensure that our seniors would be guaranteed the care that they deserve, no matter where they live.

Over nine months later, nothing has happened. Seniors are tired of waiting. It has been long enough. When will the government show some respect, stop treating seniors as second-class citizens and commit to tabling a long-term care act?

SeniorsOral Questions

11:55 a.m.

Brampton West Ontario

Liberal

Kamal Khera LiberalMinister of Seniors

Madam Speaker, this pandemic continues to highlight the challenges in long-term care, including gaps in infection prevention and staffing.

I have personally seen these challenges on the front lines as a nurse. Our government has made significant investments, including $4 billion to provinces and territories, to improve the standard of care in those facilities. I would like to remind the member opposite that her party voted against the measure when we put it in the fall economic statement. There was $41.9 billion in cash support for provinces and territories through the Canada health transfers.

We will keep working with provinces and territories so that we can continue to fight this pandemic and ensure that seniors in long-term care have the supports they need.

Fisheries and OceansOral Questions

11:55 a.m.

Bloc

Caroline Desbiens Bloc Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d’Orléans—Charlevoix, QC

Madam Speaker, the federal government shut down the herring and mackerel fisheries just two days before the season was to start, and it did so without even mentioning compensation, knowing full well that action was almost certain.

With 48 hours' notice, Ottawa pulled the rug out from under Quebec fishers, who now have no income after they made significant pre-season investments in their boats and equipment.

At the very least, the government needs to provide compensation. That is what fishers in the pelagic fishery are calling for and what the Quebec National Assembly unanimously called for on April 7.

Will the minister respect this unanimous demand from Quebec and compensate fishers in the pelagic fishery?

Fisheries and OceansOral Questions

11:55 a.m.

Vancouver Quadra B.C.

Liberal

Joyce Murray LiberalMinister of Fisheries

Madam Speaker, my goal is to grow the fish and seafood sector because of its importance to Canadian fish harvesters, processors and exporters. This is an amazingly strong part of our economy on both coasts. To do that, we need sustainable fisheries. When fisheries are frail, then we need to take action and that is just what we have done. There are many programs to support our fish harvesters.

Fisheries and OceansOral Questions

11:55 a.m.

Bloc

Caroline Desbiens Bloc Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d’Orléans—Charlevoix, QC

Madam Speaker, we need to manage fish and humans. We have just three sitting days left. Our fishers need compensation, and they need it now, not in six months. Even the Minister of National Revenue and member for Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine has said that suspending the fishery without compensation was unacceptable and showed a lack of understanding of the situation.

It is true that the resource is declining. The minister has known that for 10 years now, but it is unacceptable to ban someone from doing their job with 48 hours' notice and with no compensation. Will the minister commit to immediately compensating our fishers—

Fisheries and OceansOral Questions

Noon

NDP

The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes

The hon. minister.

Fisheries and OceansOral Questions

Noon

Vancouver Quadra B.C.

Liberal

Joyce Murray LiberalMinister of Fisheries

Madam Speaker, I understand the difficulties for fish harvesters. Stocks in some years are abundant and there is a lot of opportunity to fish them, and in other years and other stocks the abundance is just not there and we need to close down the fisheries. It is a difficult situation. I want to acknowledge that our government has many ways in which we support Canadians in need when their employment is not available.

Public SafetyOral Questions

Noon

Conservative

Scott Reid Conservative Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON

Madam Speaker, my question is for the public safety minister. Just before the pandemic, I met with his predecessor on the subject of placing defibrillators in every RCMP cruiser. He agreed with me that this would save 300 lives per year, and he expressed personal pride at the fact that earlier in his career he had placed defibrillators in every city of Toronto police cruiser.

Could the current minister advise the House as to whether RCMP cruisers have been receiving defibrillators since the time of this conversation?

Public SafetyOral Questions

Noon

Eglinton—Lawrence Ontario

Liberal

Marco Mendicino LiberalMinister of Public Safety

Madam Speaker, of course, over the past number of years we have invested hundreds of millions of dollars to provide the RCMP with the tools and equipment it needs not only to keep Canadians safe but obviously to ensure our frontline officers are safe, and we will continue to make those investments. Going forward, we certainly hope that Conservatives will support the investments that are in budget 2022 to achieve many of those goals. I look forward to continuing to speak with my colleague on the specific issue he raised.

HealthOral Questions

Noon

Conservative

Michelle Ferreri Conservative Peterborough—Kawartha, ON

Madam Speaker, last week I spent an hour on the streets with a young woman who had passed out. She was in danger of getting hit by a car. I could not call paramedics because she was not in medical distress. I could not take her to the hospital because they did not have room for her, and I could not call the police because there was nowhere to take her.

I understand that decriminalization is very important to destigmatization, and that is critical in treating addiction, but why are we not investing in real solutions and investing in a mental health system to treat people and help them on their way to recovery?

HealthOral Questions

Noon

Sherbrooke Québec

Liberal

Élisabeth Brière LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for that important question. People are dying every day. Putting an end to this crisis calls for a multi-faceted plan that includes diverting drug users away from the criminal justice system.

We approved British Columbia's plan to decriminalize personal possession of small amounts of drugs. It is based on a comprehensive implementation plan, along with a broad range of resources and services for people who use drugs, including safe supply. We will monitor and assess the outcomes in British Columbia because information about how the plan works is essential.

Persons with DisabilitiesOral Questions

Noon

Conservative

Anna Roberts Conservative King—Vaughan, ON

Madam Speaker, many of the residents in my riding are struggling to make ends meet. Helping special-needs children and giving the required assistance has had an emotional and financial impact. Care centres are having to severely cut hours. The current government has failed our most vulnerable citizens, who are urgently attempting to stay afloat.

When will the government stop punishing Canadians, start demonstrating compassion, and start doing its job by assisting our most vulnerable families in meeting their basic needs?

Persons with DisabilitiesOral Questions

Noon

Windsor—Tecumseh Ontario

Liberal

Irek Kusmierczyk LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment

Madam Speaker, since 2015, we have taken historic steps toward building a barrier-free Canada. In addition to the $112 million from budget 2021, with budget 2022 we are investing nearly $300 million in disability inclusion, including an employment strategy for persons with disabilities and funding to support the creation of materials for persons with print disabilities.

Moving forward, we are committed to implementing the disability inclusion action plan, which would establish a robust employment strategy and enhance eligibility for government disability programs and benefits, and to introducing the Canada disability benefit act to address poverty among Canadians with disabilities. We all benefit when everyone participates equally in society.

HealthOral Questions

12:05 p.m.

Liberal

Brenda Shanahan Liberal Châteauguay—Lacolle, QC

Madam Speaker, one in three Canadians say that their mental health got worse due to the pandemic.

While many Canadians struggle with mental health issues, certain groups in Canada have been disproportionately affected.

Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions inform the House of the announcement she made with the Red Cross regarding the work of community-based organizations across the country?

HealthOral Questions

12:05 p.m.

Sherbrooke Québec

Liberal

Élisabeth Brière LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her important question. This allows me to reaffirm that good mental health will always be a priority to our government.

This funding will not only help enhance resilience in communities across Canada but also support those whose mental health has been most affected by the pandemic.

Yesterday, I was pleased to announce that our government will provide $10 million in funding to the Canadian Red Cross for mental health programs and support as we work to build a resilient recovery. The funding announced yesterday is part of the $100‑million investment provided in budget 2021 to support populations disproportionately affected by the COVID‑19 pandemic.

Access to InformationOral Questions

12:05 p.m.

Conservative

Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB

Madam Speaker, the Liberals continue to fail Canadians on transparency. Official complaints on access to information requests are up 71%. The Treasury Board has delayed its ATIP review for years and the government continues to keep most of its ATIP staff at home, yet somehow it managed to pay over $36 million to private consultants to process information requests, including over $300,000 for one single request.

Has the government given up on “open by default” and replaced it with “incompetent by default”?

Access to InformationOral Questions

12:05 p.m.

Hull—Aylmer Québec

Liberal

Greg Fergus LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and to the President of the Treasury Board

Madam Speaker, we are the first government to update the Access to Information Act in 34 years. We gave the Information Commissioner order-making power. We have waived all fees beyond the $5 fee. We have put into law a system for proactive disclosure of so much information that could be more easily released to Canadians. We are very proud of what we have done with the Access to Information Act.

EthicsOral Questions

12:05 p.m.

Conservative

Tom Kmiec Conservative Calgary Shepard, AB

Madam Speaker, defence department documents revealed that Pakistan's chief of army staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, had a visit to Canada approved for a $50,000 taxpayer-covered trip in 2020 that was cancelled thanks to COVID-19.

General Bajwa has been accused of toppling two governments in Pakistan. The military under his command has been involved in human rights abuses and extrajudicial killings and has links to terrorism groups. An assistant deputy minister called this visit appropriate.

Does the defence minister share the same opinion that a $50,000 trip to Canada was appropriate for General Bajwa?

EthicsOral Questions

12:05 p.m.

Cambridge Ontario

Liberal

Bryan May LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence

Madam Speaker, I would concur with the member opposite. This situation is not appropriate. I am unaware of the current situation and would be happy to speak with the member opposite when I get further details.

Fisheries and OceansOral Questions

12:05 p.m.

Conservative

Clifford Small Conservative Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL

Madam Speaker, Gene from White Bay, and many like him from all over Newfoundland and Labrador, are trying to plan their summer. Getting out on the water to catch codfish is knit into the very fabric of life in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is an important driver of the local economy.

The dates and regulations for the food fishery should be released in March or April, but here we are close to Canada Day without knowing whether this fishery will even open at all.

Given that this is Come Home Year and the government is already two months behind on this announcement, will the minister show some respect and release the dates and regulations for the food fishery immediately?

Fisheries and OceansOral Questions

12:05 p.m.

Vancouver Quadra B.C.

Liberal

Joyce Murray LiberalMinister of Fisheries

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the work of fish harvesters and fish processors from coast to coast in this country. We make all of our decisions on fish allocations based on science and in consultation with harvesters and others. We are preparing decisions on this fishery and they will be released soon.

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

12:05 p.m.

Liberal

Viviane LaPointe Liberal Sudbury, ON

Madam Speaker, critical minerals are essential building blocks of the green digital economy of tomorrow. Earlier this week, the Minister of Natural Resources went to PDAC, the world's largest mining conference, to position Canada as a global leader in sustainable mineral development and green mining innovation.

Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources please update the House on the work regarding Canada's critical minerals strategy?

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

12:10 p.m.

Toronto—Danforth Ontario

Liberal

Julie Dabrusin LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member for all of her hard work on mines.

We know there is no energy transition without critical minerals. They represent an important economic opportunity for our country.

That is why our government is working on a critical minerals strategy. This week, we released our discussion paper to inform the development of that strategy. Canadians will be able to have their say in the development of Canada's critical minerals strategy and how it can achieve its objectives. Our goal is to develop an end-to-end value change, from exploration, mining, refining and processing to manufacturing and recycling.

I appreciate all the hard work from the member.

Indigenous AffairsOral Questions

12:10 p.m.

NDP

Bonita Zarrillo NDP Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC

Madam Speaker, Canada has an equity problem. The Canadian Climate Institute reports that the Liberals are failing again to deliver needed infrastructure in the north. Decades of underfunding mean that people do not have the tools to face wildfires, floods and other extreme weather. Most indigenous and northern communities already lack access to safe drinking water, adequate housing and reliable roads. That is not fair.

When will the Liberals finally make meaningful investments in infrastructure and stop neglecting people in the north?

Indigenous AffairsOral Questions

12:10 p.m.

Saint Boniface—Saint Vital Manitoba

Liberal

Dan Vandal LiberalMinister of Northern Affairs

Madam Speaker, our government has been very clear: Climate change is real. The north is seeing the effects of climate change at the rate of three times the rest of Canada.

We are working with northerners, with industry, with indigenous partners and with territorial and provincial partners to support the development of knowledge and tools to adapt to the impacts of climate change and to reduce reliance on diesel in the north by shifting to renewable sources of energy.