Jennifer O'Connell

[Health, June 10th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth. One of the first commitments we made in our mandate was for additional support for provinces and territories, specifically around mental health supports. This is something we have been committed to not just throughout the pandemic, but every single day of our mandate we have been working to help support the mental health needs of Canadians. It is something that can be seen again in budget 2021.

We will continue to work in terms of creating a three-digit mental health support line, but in the meantime we will not take lessons from the Conservatives, because we have been there every step of the way—

[Health, June 10th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, of course we care. Our entire government has been working throughout this pandemic to care for Canadians, to keep them safe throughout a global pandemic, which many of us have never seen before. All of the measures that we have put in place have been done with the advice from scientists, experts and doctors, with the purpose of stopping the spread of COVID-19 and saving lives.

We made an important announcement yesterday in regard to lifting restrictions. We need Canadians to keep doing that hard work, keep getting vaccinated, and we will see life return to normal—

[Public Safety, June 10th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, what Canadians deserve is a Leader of the Opposition who does not put the national security of Canadians at risk for a political stunt based on his own innuendo and conspiracy theories.

We have provided all of the documents, and I do not know how many times the government has to say that, in a manner that is safe and secure, unredacted, to those members. I do not know why the Leader of the Opposition does not have confidence in his own members on the NSICOP committee to review this material.

[Public Safety, June 10th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, once again, only the Leader of the Opposition thinks that the government providing all of the documentation unredacted, as well as the documentation in a secure form to two separate committees, is somehow a cover-up.

The Conservative leader is playing a dangerous game with national security matters for his own political stunts. We will not engage in that. We have faith in the hard-working members of NSICOP. I know just how hard they work. I was a member and I also understand the security measures that go in place to ensure that members have the right security clearance and that documents are held in a—

[Public Safety, June 10th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, if the Leader of the Opposition cares about national security, he has a pretty funny way of showing it. We have provided all of the documents unredacted to NSICOP. Because the member opposite references his service, let me point out a quote from a professor from the Royal Military College of Canada in reference to the work of NSICOP. He said, “I think it demonstrates the value of having an independent review of organizations by parliamentarians of the changes that the government has put in place.”

I think the NSICOP report is very important for everyone to read. NSICOP is respected—

[Public Safety, June 10th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, only the Leader of the Opposition considers the fact that our government has provided all of the documents unredacted in a secure manner to be somehow a cover-up. Either the member opposite does not understand national security or he simply does not care.

We have provided those documents. We have faith in the hard-working members of NSICOP and the secretariat that supports them to do this work and to provide that transparency while maintaining the safety and security of our national security systems in Canada.

[Public Safety, June 10th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition is playing a very dangerous game. As the Prime Minister has stated, we have provided the requested documents to the Canada-China committee with protections in place for privacy and national security. We then went further and provided unredacted documents to the only committee that has members with security clearance as well as the right safety protocols.

I suggest the member opposite go back to his conspiracy theory drawing board.

[Health, June 8th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, off the top, I do not know why the member opposite would find it to be a point of pride to not enforce quarantine measures. Local quarantine measures are in place for the purpose of actually protecting communities, so I find it odd that he finds it to be a point of pride to not enforce local public health measures. That is between him and his constituents.

When it comes to optometrists, absolutely we have heard from stakeholders. We are listening and taking those comments very seriously. Again, as I mentioned, we are going to continue to work with our provincial and territorial counterparts and ensure that Canadians have access to the health care they need.

[Health, June 8th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to speak about these important issues. When it comes to the member's first comments around doctors in this country, that is an area that we have absolutely been working with our provincial counterparts on, whether in things such as virtual care or, as the member mentioned, the ability for practitioners to move. As he stated, this is provincial jurisdiction; however, we are constantly talking to provincial and territorial counterparts about ways that we can improve health care for Canadians across the country and that is something we are going to continue to do.

In terms of government-authorized quarantine facilities, the member said the measures do not work. That is simply not the case. The measures that have been put in place at the border have been taken because they add layers of protection for Canadians travelling. This is a measure that has been important not only to track, trace and stop the spread of COVID-19, but it is also in place to ensure that we are watching for variants of concern.

I find it incredibly difficult to take the Conservative member seriously when on social media we see the Leader of the Opposition screaming for stronger border measures, then in the House when they think Canadians are not watching, the Conservatives say, “Scrap all these measures and just open up the borders.” The Conservatives need to get consistent with the message when it comes to protecting Canadians. From our side, we have put in place measures that are led by science and evidence to keep Canadians safe. These measures are important, and again are done completely with the objectives of stopping the spread of COVID-19 and saving lives.

The member also stated incorrectly that the quarantining is not even enforced in two of the four jurisdictions. That is simply not the case. In Quebec it is being enforced through the judicial process, and Alberta has the ability to enforce these measures. The local jurisdiction has not yet enacted the Quarantine Act or the regulations to do this enforcement. However, we are still able to enforce these measures.

It is important that all local public health measures are enforced because they are done with the goal of protecting Canadians and stopping the spread of the virus. We are all very much looking forward to a life after COVID, and the fastest way we are going to get there is if Canadians continue to step up. Over 30 million vaccine doses have been delivered, and by Canadians stepping up and getting vaccinated we are going to see our way out of this pandemic.

In the meantime, these measures are incredibly important. Again, we are constantly watching so that we are able to track and trace and stop the spread of COVID and the variants of concern. Our objective to keep Canadians safe will not stop.

[Health, June 4th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, once again, leave it to Conservatives to have an Ottawa-knows-best approach. We do not think so. We actually agree with working with provinces and territories on public health measures, including working with them when it comes to lifting restrictions. As I said before, the border measures are in place specifically as layers of protection to track, trace and stop the spread of COVID-19, which will save lives.

Again, the Conservatives are inconsistent on their border measures. I do not know which day of the week they are going to change their mind—