Jag Sahota

[Canada Elections Act, May 7th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know if there was a question or if it was more of an attack on myself—

[Canada Elections Act, May 7th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak to the government's proposed legislation, Bill C-19, an act to amend the Canada Elections Act, the COVID-19 response.

I am disappointed that the government is so out of touch with Canadians that it wants to amend the Canada Elections Act so it can call an election during a pandemic. Canadians do not want an election, especially during this vicious third wave of the pandemic. While the members opposite claimed to also not want one, it was the Liberals who introduced this legislation in the middle of a pandemic.

Just the other day the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs was blaming the Conservatives for blocking the bill. However, as my colleague, the opposition House Leader, rightly pointed out, the Liberal government only has itself to blame for the slow pace of the bill.

The government sets the agenda, and it has only allowed the bill to be debated for three hours since its initial introduction almost five months ago. Now there seems to be a sense of great urgency by the Liberal government. While Canadians are suffering from the current COVID lockdowns and still being unable to return to work, the Liberal government is trying to push this legislation through, resulting in many Canadians wondering if the government cares more about its political fortunes rather than working for Canadians, prioritizing getting Canadians back to work and rebuilding our economy.

The mere idea that the government, a government that states it will be driven by science and facts to make decisions, wants to push this legislation through so quickly means it is completely ignoring the facts. Not only do Canadians not want an election, but in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador, where general elections were held, they saw a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases, particularly in Newfoundland and Labrador, where just days before the election, a whole section of the province saw such a spike in cases that the Chief Electoral Officer had to pause the election until the outbreak got under control. People's lives are more important than an election.

While the Liberal government's intention to ram this bill through Parliament are definitely questionable at best, the Conservatives have many concerns with the bill. For starters, it has not escaped us that this is a minority Parliament. We all know that minority parliaments are very volatile and do not necessarily last the full four years. This is why, at the beginning of this pandemic, the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs conducted a study on how Elections Canada could safely conduct an election during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Something as fundamental as how Canadians elect their members of Parliament must have participation from all members of the House, which is exactly what PROC was doing. However, the government decided that it did not want to wait for the all-party committee report. Instead, it decided to completely ignore any potential recommendations from the committee, including the committee's majority report recommendations that the government not call a federal election during the pandemic unless it was defeated on a motion of non-confidence. Instead, the Liberal government expressed its contempt for Parliament and tabled this bill. Complaining that it has not moved fast enough has clearly indicated to Canadians its desire to recklessly send Canadians to the polls at whatever time it deems to be the most advantageous for the Prime Minister.

Just the other day, members opposite were accusing the Conservatives of not having a consistent message throughout this pandemic, however, we have been consistent. We have consistently said no to an election during this pandemic. It has been the members opposite who have been inconsistent in their messaging in their refusal to commit to not calling an election during this pandemic unless defeated in a non-confidence motion.

I was quite pleased with my colleagues on PROC for their hard work in standing up for Canadians and ensuring that if an election were to be called, they made some great recommendations on how to safely conduct a general election.

Some of the recommendations we made included: that Elections Canada develop a task force responsible for extensively consulting with long-term care homes to determine a safe and mutually agreeable way to conduct a vote in long-term care homes; that these consultations include both national and regional stakeholders and that these consultations include consideration of how rapid testing of Elections Canada employees may increase the safety of residents of long-term care homes; that the government commit to making rapid tests available to Elections Canada for the purpose of conducting an election during the COVID-19 pandemic; that Elections Canada provide a list of expected situations where it would require an expansion to the Chief Electoral Officer's adaptation power as well as a list of actions that would remain prohibited under the expanded adaptation power and that these lists be tabled before Parliament for review and approval; that any unanticipated adaptations require the approval of the advisory committee of political parties struck under section 21.1 (1) of the Canada Elections Act; that Elections Canada ensure all voting locations are accessible for those living with disabilities and that alternative methods of voting such as mail-in ballots are adequately accessible for all voters who do not wish to leave their homes; that Elections Canada stick with the tried and true mail-in ballot process, which sets a deadline for ballots to be mailed and does not count any after election day; that Elections Canada outline a plan to reconcile the number of special ballots received during the course of the election with the number of special ballots distributed and that up-to-date information on who has received mail-in ballots be made available to candidates and registered political parties throughout the election; and that the federal government commit to not calling a federal election during the pandemic unless it is defeated on a motion of non-confidence and that the government ensure the majority of Canadians at an elevated risk from the pandemic will have received the vaccine prior to calling an election.

All these recommendations are designed to protect Canadians and to put them first. It is disappointing to see a Canadian government more interested in getting itself re-elected and using a health crisis, a pandemic, as cover instead of pouring all its resources into getting Canadians back to normal.

I want my constituents to know that under a Conservative government we would be focused on securing mass shipments of vaccines to get Canadians vaccinated, but we would also be focused on getting Canadians back to work and securing stable, well-paying jobs and ensuring we start actually addressing mental health.

Under a Conservative government, we would take immediate action to help the hardest hit sectors, including helping women and young Canadians who have suffered the most. We would assist small businesses and provide incentives to invest in, build and start new businesses.

We would also focus on mental health. COVID-19 has certainly highlighted the shortcomings in our health care sector when it comes to mental health. We would increase the funding to the provinces for mental health care and provide incentives to employers to provide mental health coverage to employees as well as create a nationwide three-digit suicide prevention hotline.

While the Liberals continue to look toward advancing their own agenda and padding the pockets of their friends, Canadians can take solace in that Canada's Conservatives will have their backs and stand up for them, their pocketbooks, their health and their jobs.

[COVID-19 in Alberta, May 5th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, the solution we need is rapid testing, as my colleague said. We have been calling for a lot of these solutions for a long time, but the government has been ignoring us. The government even told Canadians at one point that human-to-human transmission was not possible and that we did not need to wear a mask. Clear and concise messaging is needed. It is required and demanded by Canadians.

[COVID-19 in Alberta, May 5th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I have been listening to the debate since it started, and I am kind of sad that a lot of MPs have basically been playing the blame game. In taking part in it, they are pointing fingers at the Conservatives. We are here to come up with solutions and to point out that there is a problem. Let us start discussing the solutions to it.

Also, tonight I have heard the Liberal government acknowledge that there is a problem. However, this is just a start. Now we need to start coming up with solutions, one of which is to bring vaccines to Canadians.

[COVID-19 in Alberta, May 5th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I watched the member make her speech earlier today. She talked about the frustration she is feeling because the Conservatives' message has not been consistent when it was actually the Liberals whose message has not been consistent.

It was the committee that said we need to wait for the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines while the Prime Minister made the decision to announce that any vaccine that is available is good. That is where the message is wrong.

In terms of the quarantining, it has been a disaster. We have heard from women who were sexually assaulted at the quarantine hotels. Whatever the Liberal government has done so far regarding the measures at the airports has not worked.

[COVID-19 in Alberta, May 5th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I wish I could say that I am pleased to rise tonight to discuss the current COVID-19 situation in my home province of Alberta and in Canada, but I am actually sad that there is a third wave in my home province of Alberta and in Canada.

We have seen a record number of COVID cases. We have seen new lockdown measures in an effort to flatten the curve, yet our hospitalization numbers continue to rise and our ICU admissions continue to soar. I am also disappointed that we are here tonight because this Liberal government failed to protect Canadians and Albertans, both their physical and mental well-being.

We are in the middle of this third wave of the COVID pandemic. Many Canadians across Canada are struggling to cope with the rise of cases, harsh lockdowns and mental health struggles. This is very worrisome.

While our neighbours to the south are seeing their hospitalization numbers go down, businesses reopening, restaurant patios opening again just in time for summer and fans returning to in-person sporting games, Albertans are facing yet another summer of restrictive lockdowns. I cannot help but know that, if our Prime Minister and his Minister of Health took different actions at the beginning, we would now be getting ready to attend in-person sporting events and having brunch with family and friends on patios.

Make no mistake, this third wave and the damage it is doing to our mental health and the economy rests solely with the Prime Minister. Under this Prime Minister's leadership, the Minister of Health allowed our early pandemic warning system to be shut down just months before COVID-19 hit.

This Prime Minister sent hundreds of thousands of masks, gloves and gowns from the government's own reserve to China. A month later, health care professionals and first responders here at home were being asked to ration the use of personal protective equipment, recycle masks and limit their use of hand sanitizer, and in some cases they were using garbage bags as PPE.

The government refused to close our borders at the onset, letting the virus spread across the country. It flip-flopped on whether or not Canadians should wear masks. The Minister of Health repeatedly told Canadians that the risk of getting COVID was low. The Prime Minister was slow to roll out federal aid programs and wrong not to fix them when Conservatives raised concerns and offered productive solutions to help Canadians.

Protecting Canadians is one of the most important responsibilities of the government. We cannot continue with lockdowns and social distancing. Canadians are getting fed up. They want to be able to do what our neighbours to the south are able to do. Therefore, here are some of the things that the government can do to put Canadians first.

The government can develop a clear set of parameters for identifying risks presented by emerging variants and present this to the public in an easy-to-understand format. Canadians should have information on where the virus is spreading, emerging variants and vaccination levels.

The government can provide real-time warnings to the Canadian public when new variants are detected around the world as well as when hot spots for this spread are revealed. This applies to locations here in Canada as well as abroad.

The double variant first detected in India was detected in October 2020. The government could require anyone who has been in the variant hot spot to undergo enhanced screening, quarantine measures or a combination of both depending on the risk evaluated by public health officials. It could require immediate rapid tests at airports for all domestic airline travel.

We have lost so much during this third wave, but how long this third wave lasts is completely dependent on how quickly this Liberal government responds and acts to protect Albertans and Canadians. Albertans can take some assurance that it was the Conservatives who stood up and called for a real plan to protect Canadians from this pandemic.

In October 2020, the House passed a sweeping opposition motion to direct the health committee to study the COVID-19 pandemic and ordered the government to produce needed documents for the committee. This included information on the government's vaccine rollout and key related documents.

In November 2020, the member for Calgary Nose Hill penned an op-ed in the National Post calling for a better COVID-19 strategy from the government entitled “It's time for a better COVID strategy”. This included discussion of the government's inaction on vaccines.

Additionally, members were able to question the Minister of Health in a four-hour session in the House of Commons committee of the whole regarding the government's failed response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In December 2020, the House passed a motion calling on the government to be transparent on key information related to the COVID vaccine rollout.

In January 2021, we were able to secure an emergency debate in the House of Commons on the vaccine shortage in Canada.

In February 2021, we demanded that the chair of the health committee call an emergency meeting to discuss the COVID-19 variants and called on the Liberal MPs to stop the filibuster and to finally pass the motion to release the government's vaccine contracts.

The Conservatives' motion ended up passing, meaning the government will need to come clean on the details of the contract that it tried to hide. In March 2021, my colleagues at the health committee were able to hear from experts of the government ignoring the National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommendations to not administer AstraZeneca to the 65-plus age group.

It has never ended. Every proper and correct thing the government could have done to address this pandemic and help Canadians get back to some sort of normalcy, it did not do. Instead, the Liberals did the complete opposite. It is shameful that the Prime Minister has allowed Canada to fall so far behind our allies. We need the Prime Minister to do better. We need vaccines to be delivered, not the ones that our allies are sending us, but the ones under our own contracts.

Canadians want to return to normal life. They want to have barbeques with their friends and neighbours. They want to be able to go to the movies and watch the latest blockbusters. Most importantly, they want to be able to see their family members who they have not seen in over a year, give them a big hug and socialize with them.

[National Defence, May 4th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, in Justice Deschamps's 2015 report, she recommended a fully independent reporting system outside the chain of command and the Liberals did not implement it. They had five years.

How many more reports do the Minister of National Defence and the Liberals need before they do the right thing and create an independent reporting structure, and how many more victims of sexual misconduct will there be while the Liberal government, or yet another justice, issues yet another report that will take a year to complete, let alone implement?

[National Defence, May 4th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, Justice Deschamps said at FEWO:

In order to bring about cultural change in an organization, and to reduce the occurrence of sexual harassment and sexual assault, it is essential that senior leaders, and particularly those with general oversight responsibilities, become directly engaged in cultural reform.

Instead, what we have seen is the minister and the Prime Minister consistently refusing to take responsibility.

When will the Minister of National Defence stop avoiding his responsibilities and bring about true cultural change?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, April 26th, 2021]

With regard to the government's plan to use the savings of Canadians to stimulate the economy: what are the government's estimates or calculations related to the average per capita amount of savings for each Canadian family?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, April 26th, 2021]

With regard to the report in the March 9, 2021 Toronto Star that federal officials are researching and monitoring problematic supply chains, in relation to the use or forced labour to produce imported goods: (a) which supply chains are problematic; (b) how many supply chains have been identified as problematic; (c) in which countries are the problematic supply chains located; (d) what specific issues had the government identified that made the government identify these supply chains as problematic; and (e) has the government purchased any products that were either made or potentially made from forced labour, since November 1, 2019, and, if so, what are the details of the products, and why did the government purchase products that were potentially made using forced labour?