Charlie Angus

[Committees of the House, February 16th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, of course, we support a national day recognizing the horrors of human trafficking. I do find that one of the things I have learned over the years in Parliament is that Parliament loves symbols and does squat when it comes to helping women who are victims.

We have gone year in and year out without proper funding for sexual assault centres that are on the front lines. There is a lack of core-based funding and support for the women who are doing the work of literally keeping other women alive. In our first nation communities, there were no rape kits in any of the isolated northern communities, so sexual assault victims could not even get justice. Again, this has happened year in and year out.

What steps do we need to take to move beyond the glowing words and non-partisan talk we hear in Parliament? Everyone is saying that we are going to do something and recognize a problem, as opposed to actually putting the resources in place to protect vulnerable women from the kind of abuse going on across this country.

[Committees of the House, February 16th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, quite bluntly, government and Parliament love symbols, so if we have a national day on human trafficking, we are all going to feel better. However, I have found that while we have laws on the books, nobody follows those laws. We are talking about having a national day to talk about this issue, when we are dealing with a company like Pornhub, which is owned by MindGeek, in Montreal. When I look at the Criminal Code, I see we have all the laws, but they have never ever been applied.

Would it not be better to spend our time in Parliament pushing to make sure we actually followed through with laws so that people who are victims of trafficking and sexual crimes know that Parliament will be there for them and that the laws we have on the books are being used to protect victims?

[COVID-19 Emergency Response, February 4th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, we are now one year into the worst medical catastrophe in our nation's history. This past week, the Prime Minister announced that Canada would finally be ready to start producing vaccines, hopefully for the beginning of next year. In the meantime, many more people have died and countless businesses will go under.

How did it come to this point that Canada does not have the capacity to keep its own people safe? Over a century ago we established the Connaught Labs to be vaccine self-sufficient and we were a world leader. Then Brian Mulroney sold it off. It was Canadian public research that created the Ebola vaccine and Stephen Harper gave it away to the Americans.

The Prime Minister has spent this last year trusting that the market and other countries will keep us safe. Where was the sense of urgency? That is the lesson we need to learn from this: to mobilize manufacturing to be ready, to bring the best Canadian minds to the table and to ensure that Canada will never, ever again be left hoping that some foreign corporation or country will look after us when we have the skill to do it here in Canada.

[Government Appointments, February 2nd, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, an abusive employer can damage one's career, one's health and one's dignity, and some of those scars never heal. The Prime Minister failed to undertake basic due diligence in vetting Julie Payette, and he failed to lay down clear rules on her entitlements. She does not merit a pension or perks because she failed in her duties to Canada.

The Prime Minister needs to send a very clear signal that our institutions will not be a safe haven for employers who abuse their workers. Will he tell Madame Payette that she is simply not entitled to her entitlements?

[Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2020, February 2nd, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, it really worries me when the Liberals talk about their rapid response on housing. What will that turn out to be? Is it maybe three units per community per year? That is ridiculous.

In my region, in the city of Timmins, a community of 45,000, we have 800 homeless people. When we add in the opioid and fentanyl crisis, people are dying at staggering rates, and yet we see indifference. Housing is not just for those who are dealing with the opioid crisis; seniors cannot get proper housing and families cannot get proper housing.

I would like to ask my hon. colleague to comment on the vexatious way that the Liberals play with people's hopes on housing but refuse, year in and year out, to actually deliver a coherent plan to get people proper housing so they can be safe and live a good, decent life.

[Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2020, February 2nd, 2021]

We have an individual member—

[Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2020, February 2nd, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order.

I know the member totally respects the rules, as I do. The member for Kingston and the Islands is wrong, because my Conservative colleague was not referring to individual members. He was referring to the number of members, which is a different issue.

[Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2020, February 2nd, 2021]

Madam Speaker, what really concerns me is that we are in the biggest medical catastrophe in a century, the biggest threat to Canada since the Second World War, and we are being told not to worry, that by September, everybody will be okay. It is the Bobby McFerrin solution: Don't Worry, Be Happy. However, I have so many small businesses in my riding that will not be around come September. It will be tough luck for them.

The question I want to ask is about the failure to address the vaccine crisis. We knew this was coming. It was the same with our incapacity to deal with PPE. We are being told not to worry, that the Europeans will be nice to us.

That does not cut it with the new variant strain they say is going to hit us like a hurricane. The Novavax vaccine will not be ready for at least two months, and the NCR plant is still under construction.

I would like to ask my hon. colleague about the absolute failure of the government to seize the tools necessary to protect its people in the biggest medical crisis we have ever seen. We need the government to actually take a lead on vaccines, rather than hoping that the Europeans will be nice to us. That is not going to cut it when the new variant strain hits.

[Canada-United Kingdom Trade Continuity Agreement Implementation Act, January 28th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, one of the things that really held up Brexit was the refusal of the Boris Johnson government to deal with the issue of the Irish border. The EU was very clear that it needed to keep the open border. The foreign affairs committee and the international trade committee have called on the government to ensure that Canada plays a role in protecting the Good Friday Agreement. Canada had a huge role to play in bringing peace to Ireland. General de Chastelain was a huge player in that, as was Justice Cory and former minister Warren Allmand.

Are the Conservatives going to support the NDP call to make sure that as we move forward with trade with the U.K., Britain maintains its obligations under the Good Friday Agreement to keep that Irish border open and to work for peace within Ireland?

[Canada-United Kingdom Trade Continuity Agreement Implementation Act, January 28th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the hon. minister about the recent unanimous motions, from both the foreign affairs and international affairs committees, calling on Canada in these trade agreements to ensure that England respects its obligations under the Good Friday Agreement to the people of Ireland, to make sure we have an open border, and to make sure that support is in place for a referendum on Irish unity. There has been a lot of mistrust in the EU about Boris Johnson's attitudes towards Ireland.

Canada has deep roots in this. We have a long-standing history in the Good Friday Agreement, so I am asking the minister what kind of commitment she will make to ensure that England lives up to its obligations on the Good Friday Agreement and the open border with the Irish people.