James Cumming

[Telecommunications, October 1st, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, the industry minister said in 2016, “We must address the needs of Canadians who could have access to the Internet.” In 2017, he said, “They need these services". In 2018, he said, “...high-speed Internet is no longer a luxury.” In 2019, he said, “Access to high-speed Internet is essential”. Now it is 2020 and the Liberals are rehashing the same tired promises.

It has been five years. Canadians are frustrated and still waiting on this promise. When will we finally see some improvement on this issue?

[Proceedings on the bill entitled An Act relating to certain measures in response to COVID-19, September 29th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague across the way for the hard work he did on chairing the finance committee.

In that committee, we did a lot of good work. It is a real disappointment that work got shut down when Parliament was prorogued. One of the great things we did at committee was we would study. We would study the effectiveness of programs, government programs and some of the packages that were put out.

We now have a new bill in front of us in which, given what we have seen before, we have the highest spending per capita in the G7 and the highest unemployment. The two do not coincide very well. We now are going to approve another bill in effectively two days. Is the member not concerned that we are not doing further analysis on what is within this bill like we would normally do at committee?

[COVID-19 Testing, September 25th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, the need for rapid testing for COVID-19 is not a request nor is it something we can negotiate on. Here are the facts: Canada's unemployment surged to 13.7% this summer; Nav Canada announced that it is cutting another 14% of its workforce this week; and hundreds of small businesses across this country have been forced to shut down since March.

We have come to the point in the timeline where we have accepted we will have to live with COVID for the foreseeable future. We must improvise, we must adapt and we must overcome. Despite various pilot programs funding rapid test research across Canada and numerous countries around the world using innovative rapid testing methods, the Liberal government is napping on the possibility of getting our country back to relative working order.

On behalf the country's airlines; our nation's moms, dads and loved ones who have been separated for months; restaurant owners; workers, retailers; and employees, I urge the government to wake up and signal the green light for rapid testing, not tomorrow, not next week, but now.

[The Environment, September 24th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, if this year showed us anything, it is that we need single-use plastic products like masks, gloves and other PPE. Yesterday, the Chemistry Industry Association said that instead of “pursuing this go-it-alone policy” like the federal government's plan to ban certain plastic products, “Canada should commit to a reimagination of recycling and repurposing plastics” and maximize their lifespan and value.

Why is this government attacking an industry that makes products critical to our COVID-19 response instead of working with industry to make them sustainable?

[The Environment, September 24th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians were told last year that they needed to ban single-use plastics. We started packing our groceries in reusable bags and using reusable cups for morning coffee runs. Then the pandemic hit and the government said to stop.

The Chemistry Industry Association said it feels that now more than ever “we must ensure that new regulatory measures will continue to contribute to—and not detract from—our much-needed economic recovery.”

How many workers, making products that health care workers need, will lose their jobs?

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

With regard to procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) since January 1, 2020: (a) how many Advance Contract Award Notices (ACANs) relating to PPE have been posted; (b) for the ACANs in (a), (i) how many bidders were there for each notice, (ii) who were the bidders for each notice; and (c) who won each contract?

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

With regard to contaminated swabs and faulty or rejected N95 masks purchased by Public Services and Procurement Canada: (a) which suppliers provided these items; and (b) since January 1, 2016, what other purchases have been made by the government from these suppliers broken down by (i) date of purchase, (ii) item or service purchased, (iii) number of units of item or service purchased per transaction?

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

With regard to personal protective equipment (PPE) purchased since January 1, 2020: (a) how many items of PPE have been purchased; (b) what was the price of each item at the time of purchase, broken down by (i) date of purchase, (ii) item, (iii) the total amount of each type of PPE per transaction?

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

With regard to vehicles purchased by the government for the 2018 G7 summit: (a) how many vehicles were purchased; (b) at the time of purchase, what was the market value of each individual vehicle purchased; (c) how many of the vehicles in (a) were put up for sale by the government; (d) of the vehicles in (c), how many were sold; (e) what was the individual selling price for each vehicle sold; and (f) of the vehicles in (c), how many (i) remain, (ii) are still for sale, including the individual selling price, (iii) are being used by the government, (iv) are in storage?

[COVID-19 Pandemic and Other Matters, July 8th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, we are all here today, and the government claims accountability.

Why on earth would the finance minister schedule the fiscal snapshot for after question period?