Cathy McLeod

[Business of Supply, December 1st, 2020]

Madam Speaker, our party has always believed in sustainable long-term funding to the provinces and not interfering in provincial jurisdiction. Whether with respect to the needs of Quebec versus Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland or British Columbia, we believe the provinces, both constitutionally and in practice, are best set to deliver health care. If we look at the current federal government's record of committing to plant two billion trees and not managing to plant any, it getting into the jurisdiction of provinces would certainly end up a disaster.

[Business of Supply, December 1st, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues from the Bloc for this very important motion today, and it is really quite fitting that it is December 1. Many are heading into the holiday season and we are heading into some extraordinary challenges, so hopefully this measure of support from all parliamentarians will mean something and will matter. More important would be the action of getting rapid testing in place and getting vaccines in a quick and timely way so the end of the tunnel would be closer.

This motion is in three parts and so I will talk a bit about each part of the motion. The first part is acknowledging the extraordinary work of the health care workers. It talks about the nurses, the doctors and the orderlies. I want to note there are many more who keep our health care system going, so our appreciation is also extended to the folks doing the laundry and the cleaning and those who are playing so many critical roles like working in the laboratories in order to keep our system going. They are also doing extraordinary work during extraordinary challenges.

The motion also talks about seniors and the general public. We know there are many challenges in the long-term care homes as well as some tragic outcomes from the first wave. Unfortunately, we did not learn from the first wave in terms of being as prepared as we should be for the second wave in our homes and with the general public. Public health care workers are now overwhelmed with the testing and contact tracing that has to be done, and in some provinces, they are actually not able to do what they originally were needing to do.

This is not like a marathon, where one knows how far one needs to go. Health care workers are having to put in these extraordinary efforts and they do not know when the end point is. It is certainly starting to take a toll on them. Again we need to note the extraordinary work they are doing.

We are also getting to a stage where many difficult decisions need to be made. At the beginning, it was around how we keep our PPE, which we had limited resources of. Canada likes to think it is doing very well compared to our neighbours in the U.S., but there was some recent work done by a health care institute out of Washington that thinks that by mid-December Canada's per capita numbers are actually going to be worse than the United States. I am not sure we can be proud as we think of how we have responded to this crisis when we compare ourselves to the U.S. and its numbers, because now we are not looking nearly as good.

People see the oxygen coming from the wall in hospitals and they believe it is unlimited, but yesterday in Alberta a memo went out about having to start being very conscientious about how oxygen is used because it is a limited resource. Originally we had a lot of conversations about ventilators, but I do not think there was much in terms of the oxygen that is available. As we hit these extraordinary numbers in December, ICU capacity in some hospitals in some provinces might face very challenging issues.

The second part of the motion recognizes the courage and sacrifice of the front-line workers and their families. I am a former nurse, and I have mentioned that before in this House, and I have friends and colleagues and family members who are still involved in the health care profession.

I will give one personal example of some of the challenges health care workers are facing. I have a son who works up north who is a nurse and does medical evacuations. He just headed up north today, and he has to stay in isolation for the next five weeks unless he is involved in an emergency. He is up north where it is dark all day and is not allowed to leave the house because of course they need to protect the communities he goes into.

He goes into communities, but when he is not working on call, he will spend five weeks sitting in a house waiting for calls and we all know that the Internet is not even a resource that is easily available up north. His girlfriend will be working through the Christmas holidays dealing with the extraordinary challenges of working in an emergency department and an ICU in a small community and having friends and family come in.

Up in 100 Mile House workers want to protect their families, so they have been staying in hotels. They do not have rapid testing in a way that meets their needs, so not wanting to expose their grandparents, parents and children, they spend many nights in hotels. Of course, who has not read or seen the stories of nurses using FaceTime so family members can say goodbye, doctors phoning loved ones or family members saying goodbye while fully masked and gowned and holding loved ones' hands? It is extremely challenging.

Canadians are asked to stay home and wear masks and that is what we need to do. We need to wear masks. Even if it only protects a little, it is not a big deal to put on a mask when going into stores or public areas. Quite frankly, when we look at what health care workers have to deal with and wear, asking Canadians to wear masks, to me, is certainly not too big a deal.

The motion talks about the work of the provinces, which are of course responsible for health care. They need sustainable funding and long-term resources. There is one thing I want to note from the economic fiscal update yesterday that is a concern. The $1 billion for long-term care, I am sure, is going to be welcomed by many of the provinces, but it would have been much more appropriate to use that money between the first and second waves. The government could have made some capital investments to improve infection control measures. Though $1 billion is important and will be welcomed, is it not a little late? The government is typically behind the eight ball and the $1 billion should have been used between the first and second waves.

As for vaccines, instead of the partnership with China, which has not been a reliable partner for many years, the government could have looked outside China. We know of the failure of that particular partnership and now know that Canada is going to be behind many other countries in getting the vaccine.

Rapid testing is not a perfect answer, but it is a tool in the tool box. Why can health care workers not have rapid tests and then have policies reflect the results of the tests. It is not perfect, but it would certainly help to make their lives more livable right now.

Hopefully all members in Parliament are going to support this motion and recognize the extraordinary work and courage of health care workers. More importantly, we have a job to do, which is to get the vaccine and be prepared. To be frank, the government's approach has failed Canadians in many ways, whether it was the health surveillance system, telling Canadians COVID was low risk for too long, refusing to close the border, being slow with rapid testing, not considering home testing until recently or vaccine deployment.

Our numbers are starting to look very challenging and we need to move forward for the sake of our health care workers and Canadians.

[Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act, November 26th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I listened to my colleague very carefully. Of course, he comes from a very beautiful part of the country and he described it eloquently.

My one concern is that the government is typically very good with words and symbolism. I am going to give a specific example. One would think that if we commit to planting a certain number of trees, it is not actually that difficult a task to do. The provinces do this in Canada every year.

If you promise to plant trees and cannot actually follow through, how can Canadians ever trust you in something that is so much more difficult to do and more complex? We have a little cynicism as we listen to the debate today, so maybe you can tell us what is so difficult about following through with your commitment to plant trees.

[Indigenous Affairs, November 24th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, history will judge the Prime Minister on his treatment of both female cabinet ministers and MPs during his tenure. It is easy to say the right words and throw the feminism label around, but it is actions that tell the story.

It is now clear that an internal pattern of behaviour is extending into the Liberals' approach to governing. Not only did the Liberals ignore the Wet'suwet'en elected chiefs when they negotiated the memorandum of understanding, they completely disregarded the Wet’suwet’en Matriarchal Coalition. These women simply wanted jobs for their people. They were stripped of their hereditary titles by male chiefs who then gave the titles to men who opposed the GasLink project. This has forced them to go to the Canadian and B.C. human rights tribunals.

Disregarding these female leaders is unacceptable and cannot be allowed to stand. It is time for the Prime Minister to walk the talk and stop ignoring those who deserve to be at the negotiating table.

[Petitions, November 24th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I am presenting a petition in which a number of people throughout the country are profoundly concerned about some of the safeguards that are being removed in the current iteration of the legislation on medical assistance in dying, especially the disability community.

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, November 20th, 2020]

With regard to the government missing the June 3, 2020, deadline to release a national action plan in response to the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls: (a) what are the details of all in-person and virtual consultations conducted by the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, the Minister of Northern Affairs, the Minister of Indigenous Services, or the Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs, in relation to the development of a National Action Plan, including, for each consultation, the (i) date, (ii) location, if the consultation was in-person, (iii) name and title of the First Nations, groups, organizations or individuals consulted, (iv) recommendations that were made to the minister, (v) ministers and government officials in attendance; (b) what are the details of all in-person and virtual meetings between the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, the Minister of Northern Affairs, the Minister of Indigenous Services, the Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs, and provincial or territorial governments, including for each meeting the (i) date, (ii) location, (iii) recommendations that were made to the minister, (iv) provinces or territories represented; and (c) with regard to the consultations in (a) and (b), what is the (i) total of travel costs covered by the government, (ii) total of accommodation costs covered by the government, (iii) daily per diem rate to which stakeholders are entitled, (iv) total paid out in per diem?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, November 20th, 2020]

With regard to the government’s commitment to bring high-speed Internet to Indigenous communities in the 2016, 2018 and 2019 federal budgets: (a) what are the total expenditures on this commitment since April 1, 2019; and (b) what is the breakdown of (a) by project, including (i) name of community, (ii) description of project, (iii) projected cost of project, (iv) total expenditures to date, (v) average Internet speed?

[Questions on the Order Paper, November 20th, 2020]

With regard to the contract signed between Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada and Nathan Cullen (Reference Number: C-2019-2020-Q4-00124): (a) was $41,000 the final value of the contract, and, if not, what was the final value; (b) what was the start and end date of the contract; (c) what specific services did Mr. Cullen provide in exchange for the payment; and (d) was the $41,000 just for Mr. Cullen’s services, or did that amount cover other costs, and, if so, what is the itemized breakdown of which costs the payment covered?

[Questions on the Order Paper, November 20th, 2020]

With regard to the Wet’suwet’en Nation and TC Energy’s Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline project: what are the details of all in-person and virtual consultations and meetings conducted by the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and the Minister of Northern Affairs or the Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs, with the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs, the Wet'suwet'en elected chiefs and councillors, and the Wet'suwet'en people, and all First Nations along the path of the pipeline, between August 1, 2018, to present, including, for each in-person or virtual consultation or meeting, the (i) date, (ii) location, (iii) name and title of the First Nations, groups, organizations or individuals consulted, (iv) recommendations that were made to the ministers?

[Indigenous Affairs, November 19th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, as this water crisis drags on, the people and the children of Neskantaga have been moved 400 kilometres away to Thunder Bay, Ontario. They have been relegated to hotel rooms far away from home.

Their youth are going through a difficult time. Lyndon, a 12-year-old, said he feels invisible, stating, “We're not animals or things. We are humans, like you guys.”

Can members imagine someone feeling that way? Again, let me ask the minister, without weasel words, will the young people be home for Christmas?