Carla Qualtrough

[COVID-19 Pandemic, April 11th, 2020]

Mr. Chair, I am trying not to take exception to the fact that somehow our public servants at Service Canada are not working really hard to serve Canadians in alternate ways, whether through phone or through the Internet.

I appreciate the particular challenge faced by Canadians who do not have high-speed Internet access. We have redeployed thousands of former public servants and volunteers to answer phones. Unfortunately, the reality of the millions of Canadians who need help right now is that patience is the word of the day. Canadians understand that. They are frustrated, but they understand that their fellow citizens are doing their very best.

We made a public health decision in the best interest of public servants and the public to shut down these offices and we stand by that decision.

[COVID-19 Pandemic, April 11th, 2020]

Mr. Chair, as part of our global response to ensuring that each province has the health care capacity it needs to respond in this time of crisis, the Minister of Health and I are working with our colleagues in the area of health and disability to ensure provincial needs are identified and that we can, through collaboration, address them.

I can assure the member that this is a top priority for us, and we are doing everything we possibly can.

[COVID-19 Pandemic, April 11th, 2020]

Mr. Chair, I can assure every member in this House that vulnerable Canadians, in particular those with disabilities, are top of mind for this government. Yesterday we issued a statement affirming our commitment to leave no one behind and to ensure quality of access to health care and medical treatment, and that is exactly what we are doing.

I am working very closely with the disability community. Yesterday I announced the creation of a COVID-19 disability advisory group to get on-the-ground, lived experience and real-time advice, and that is the exact kind of situation we are tackling. Working with my colleague, the Minister of Seniors, we want to make sure that any kind of more residential-type care facility has the most protection possible in this time of crisis.

[COVID-19 Pandemic, April 11th, 2020]

Mr. Chair, Service Canada offices were closed both in the public health interest of our public servants, but also in the public health interest of Canadians who access services through these offices.

I can appreciate the frustration of individuals who do not have phone or Internet access, and I will take that back as a personal challenge. We have doubled our efforts to make sure that we are answering questions online, that we are answering questions on the telephone, but right now we do not think it is in the public health interest of either our citizens or our public servants to have our Service Canada offices open.

[COVID-19 Pandemic, April 11th, 2020]

Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague for that great question.

We are aware of such cases. We are working together as a team to resolve that problem.

I have no answer to offer him at this time, but it is certainly a top priority for me and my team.

[COVID-19 Pandemic, April 11th, 2020]

Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague for his question.

The parameters are very clearly defined. I will be able to get back to him with a more specific answer after today.

Income earned at work counts towards the $5,000. This is a little more flexible than the tax system, but we are talking about income earned at work over the past 12 months.

[COVID-19 Pandemic, April 11th, 2020]

Mr. Chair, of course, we will have to look at individual cases.

In this case, if that individual is not working because of COVID-19, he or she may qualify for the CERB.

We can look at this particular case on the member's behalf.

[COVID-19 Pandemic, April 11th, 2020]

Mr. Chair, before I answer my colleague's questions, I would like to thank all members for their collaboration and their hard work.

When we created the Canada emergency response benefit, we knew there was still work to be done. That is what we are doing right now. In the coming days, we will continue to look for groups that may not have been included. This will be done on a daily basis. As I said earlier, we are absolutely committed to meeting the needs as quickly as possible.

[COVID-19 Pandemic, April 11th, 2020]

Mr. Chair, quite frankly, as quickly as possible, we are trying to address the systemic gaps in the CERB. At this time, I cannot tell members exactly when each specific change will go into effect, but I can make a commitment on behalf of myself and the government to do it as quickly as possible.

[COVID-19 Pandemic, April 11th, 2020]

Mr. Chair, we are having a second intake that will be a combined effort of MP offices and Service Canada. In order to get this out as quickly as possible, we felt the best way forward would be to take an all-hands-on-deck approach so that it did not take weeks and months, but in fact days. We know this is a lot to ask of MPs, but we are there and Service Canada is there to support them.