House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2021, with 62% of the vote.
Health April 20th, 2020
Mr. Speaker, there are reports that three Canadian planes that left for China to pick up medical equipment from China returned to Canada empty. The planes were supposed to return last night.
Can the government confirm whether or not those planes were in fact scheduled, whether or not they arrived and whether or not they were able to obtain the medical equipment that they were sent to obtain?
Health April 20th, 2020
Mr. Speaker, our intelligence partners continue to raise serious concerns about the accuracy of information coming out of China. The advice and direction from the WHO depend on the honesty and transparency of its member countries.
The government has ignored Canadian experts who were calling for swift and decisive action much sooner. The government chose to continue air travel between China and Canada and waited weeks to impose travel restrictions, yet the Prime Minister and his health minister continue to vouch for the Government of China.
Going forward, will the government continue to trust information coming from the communist government of China?
Health April 20th, 2020
Mr. Speaker, I thank the Prime Minister for his response and certainly echo his sentiments.
On March 12, in this chamber, I asked the government how many ventilators it had procured to prepare for the wave of COVID-19 cases that were coming. In response, the Deputy Prime Minister said, “We are already leading a bulk national procurement effort to ensure Canadians have the necessary medical equipment.” A month later, I asked how many new ventilators the government had obtained under this strategy. The Prime Minister answered, “It will be still a few weeks before they are able to arrive.”
Today is April 20, and again I would like to ask this. How many new ventilators has the government been able to obtain under the national procurement strategy?
Public Safety April 20th, 2020
Mr. Speaker, I know that I speak for all members of the House when I say that we are all devastated by the shocking news out of Nova Scotia. A killer has taken the lives of at least 19 people, each one of them a tragic loss for families and friends. As the RCMP uncover the details of this senseless loss, our thoughts, prayers and support are with the communities reeling from the fallout of these tragic events.
We thank the first responders and medical professionals who responded to the victims, as well as the RCMP, which lost Constable Heidi Stevenson. I cannot imagine the grief and heartache that families are going through.
Could the Prime Minister update the House as to the current situation in Nova Scotia?
Proceedings of the House and Committees April 20th, 2020
These are questions and comments.
Proceedings of the House and Committees April 20th, 2020
Madam Speaker, I do not think the leader of the Bloc Québécois understands the role of an opposition member. The leader of an opposition party is not meant to say “yes” to the government as quickly as possible. The first time that we held a special sitting, the government tried to take some powers and the Bloc leader left negotiations to go for dinner. We stayed to protect our democracy.
During the second special sitting, the government introduced a bill, and the leader of the Bloc Québécois said that we needed to pass it as quickly as possible. On Tuesday morning, he said that the Bloc would support the bill. Our members, including the ones from Quebec, worked all week to improve the bill. We did not immediately say “yes” on Twitter, and we took the time to do our job. That is how Canadians and Quebeckers ended up with a better program.
I hope that the leader of the Bloc will have a better understanding of the role of an opposition party leader for the remainder of this Parliament.
Proceedings of the House and Committees April 20th, 2020
Madam Speaker, there are a couple of very simple reasons.
We cannot wait for weeks for the technology and the capacity of the House of Commons to provide us with the ability to have all members of Parliament participate in a virtual question period. We need more accountability, not less. We should be clamouring. All of us in opposition should be finding more ways to hold the government to account because it has gotten so many things wrong from the beginning.
Remember, it was the current government, as late as early March, that said travel restrictions would not work and that it was not contemplating closing the border. There was advice from the government that people should not use masks, until it indicated that using masks was beneficial. A wage subsidy was set at 10% and had to be raised to 75%.
It is clearly the case that in this pandemic crisis we need more accountability and more oversight, not less.
Proceedings of the House and Committees April 20th, 2020
Madam Speaker, it is true that many Canadians are taking great risks to do their jobs and play their part.
The role of Parliament is to ensure that the government's responses meet Canadians' needs. If the members of the other parties are not ready to do their job, we, on this side, are. We have already seen that, when opposition parties do their job, they obtain better results for Canadians. This is not conjecture because we have seen it happen twice already.
Obviously, during a crisis we cannot let the government do whatever it wants. We cannot abandon our role nor shirk our responsibilities. We can prove to Canadians that, during a crisis, their democratic institutions continue to function and continue to ensure that the government implements the programs that Canadians need.
That is the role of the opposition and of all MPs, and that is the role that the Conservatives will continue to play.
Proceedings of the House and Committees April 20th, 2020
Madam Speaker, we did indeed propose four sittings. Then, in good faith and in order to come to an agreement among all parties, we agreed to hold three sittings per week. Now, we feel that two sittings a week is better than one. This is proof of the good faith we have shown throughout the negotiations.
Yes, we are in a crisis, and because of this crisis and because Quebeckers and Canadians fear for their health, their livelihoods and their jobs, we must be here to ensure that this government's legislation, programs and services address their needs.
I know that members of the Bloc Québécois did not want to be here during the last two sittings and did not want to speak on behalf of their constituents. Conservative Party members from Quebec and from all provinces across the country are prepared to do their jobs to assure Canadians that we are addressing their needs during this crisis.
Proceedings of the House and Committees April 20th, 2020
Madam Speaker, it is more than disingenuous, but fortunately the rules of the House prevent me from using words to describe what it actually is.
Those in the government, the Green Party and other parties are acting like today is some kind of extraordinary sitting. We were always going to come back on April 20. This was always the date that was agreed to by the House in previous sittings. A sitting of the House was also going to be needed to adopt whatever work plan was agreed upon by all parties. It is completely erroneous and misleading to suggest that today would not have happened if there had been some kind of all-party agreement.
My hon. colleague touched on something. Yesterday, in his press conference the Prime Minister raised the spectre of 338 MPs travelling from all around the country to sit together in this space at the same time. Let us look around. This was never what was intended.
Throughout the week, in good faith, our House leader, the government House leader and the House leaders of other parties were in constant communication, and we made it abundantly clear that we were not going to ask our MPs to fill the seats in this chamber. We proposed multiple solutions to the government to have a drastically reduced number of MPs in this chamber, which would alleviate the demand on the support staff for the administration. The types of arguments we heard are completely phony.
The real question is why the Prime Minister does not want to come into this chamber. I believe it is quite simple: He prefers the controlled environment in front of Rideau Cottage every day, where he controls the number of questions and can call an end to them whenever he likes. We are not able to present the questions and concerns we are hearing from our constituents every single day. He is avoiding that. That is why we have not reached an agreement on the work plan going forward.