Julie Dabrusin

[Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 2021, February 3rd, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I think my colleague has some good questions. How can we give our artists predictable and ongoing assistance?

I was not at yesterday's meeting of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage to hear the testimony, but if there is something that my colleague would like me to read, I will do so.

For me, the important thing is to figure out how to provide ongoing support and economic assistance to our gig workers. I think it is very important to continue working on the modernization of the employment insurance system, as we were talking about, because it would provide ongoing, predictable support not just during COVID-19, but all the time.

[Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 2021, February 3rd, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I really hope we have sunshine tomorrow, but I do not have control over that either. There are certain things that are beyond the government's control.

I will say that, as long as the COVID pandemic continues, and even as it goes into its endemic phase, we will be there to support Canadians. I do not think any Canadian parent is going to argue, pandemic or no pandemic, that we should not have better ventilation in our schools, so I think supporting our provinces to be able to have healthy spaces for our kids is a good thing.

[Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 2021, February 3rd, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to speak in support of Bill C-8, the economic and fiscal update implementation act, and to highlight how it is going to be supporting people in my own community and across this country.

I would like to begin, though, by acknowledging that we are still right at the beginning of Black History Month, and acknowledging the really strong speech by the member for Hull—Aylmer yesterday and how important it is to listen to his words and guidance about how, not only during this month but every day of the year, we really do need to continue to focus on learning Canada's Black history.

In respect of the fall economic statement, it touched on many important issues. One that I would really like to focus on is its support for the arts. The arts are an important source of employment and work in my community. I am lucky to have some wonderful theatres in my community, and film studios. So many people who work as authors or work in our museums are part of my community. I really appreciate all the work that they do. They have been so hard hit over the course of the pandemic. They have really felt the brunt of a lot of the lockdowns that have occurred across our country.

It was really important for me to see the continued support in the fall economic statement that builds on the support we provided throughout the pandemic. As I mentioned, I have many film studios in my community. It was always fun getting little peeks into the shows and movies that we were going to see down the line when we were walking along. They were hard hit. One of the things that allowed the film industry to continue was actually the support provided by the federal government, such as COVID insurance support. If they had to close down because of COVID they had that support.

The film industry was actually able to continue in a lot of ways but under different rules. It has not been as easy for the live performance industry. One of my priorities throughout the pandemic has been looking at how we provide the supports that we need for the live performance industry.

When we look at it overall, for the cultural domain, by the third quarter of 2021, compared to where they had been before, they were at about 93% from prepandemic times, but the live performance industry is still only at about 62%. There is still a lot of work to be done and a lot of support that is still needed for the live performance sector.

One of the things that I was really excited about was that through the pandemic we provided programs that allowed different live performances, like our festivals and venues, to pivot. When we talk about the programs, there were programs for example that supported small volunteer-run museums, different kinds of programs for people who were not ordinarily recipients of supports through Canadian Heritage.

I do not know about my colleagues but I love to go to a concert. I just love listening to live music. I love going to the theatre. It is one of the things that bring me so much joy. When we are out of this pandemic, I want to be able to go to those places again. I want to be able to listen and dance. No one has to watch me dance, but I want to be able to enjoy all that it brings me to be in the live performance location. In fact, right before this last lockdown I was able to go see MixTape at one of my local theatres, the Crow's Theatre, which always has a lot of really interesting performances. I could see the community of everyone there being so happy just to be there, just to have that experience again, even if it was a bit different.

Before the last lockdown here in Ontario, I was also able to go to Dora's, which has now been renamed as Noonan's, to listen to some music and, again, feel that community. When I talk about Dora's, now Noonan's, it was one of many live music venues that received support through the pandemic specifically from the live music fund. It was there to support the infrastructure around our live music industry, to support the bars that have Canadian performances and to make sure that they are there for us when we are able to go back.

That ties to another piece I will get to in the fall economic statement, which concerns support for the artists. It is for the infrastructure and for the artists, which are both critical pieces.

Before I move on from the live performance supports that were there for venues, I would just like to say I think they are really important, and I do not know if we talk enough about them. They supported places like The Door in my community. They also supported places like the Foufounes Electriques in Montreal. There have been a lot of great concerts over there.

There is also Lee's Palace in Toronto, the King Eddy in Calgary and The Carleton in Halifax. These are the places that people like to gather. They want to be able to gather there to enjoy themselves and see live performances again. Those places, as part of the pandemic programs, had support for the infrastructure.

In the fall economic statement, there was support for arts workers. It was the Canada performing arts workers resilience fund, and that had $60 million specifically to support gig workers in the cultural working atmosphere. It is to provide short-term financial supports and also guidance in professional development. It is available to organizations that support the live performance sectors, such as artists, unions, guilds and different associations. The purpose is to retain skilled workers in live performance.

I highlight it because I think it is important to see the work that has been done throughout the pandemic, how the fall economic statement built on that and how we are continuing to make sure that we will be there to support the live performance industry as we go forward and our arts industries as a whole because they are so important. They are important economically, and we do not talk about that enough. They are important to the economic sector, but they are also important for our souls and our communities. I will leave it at that. I cannot wait to see some shows. Maybe we will have a chance, among members, to go see some shows here in Ottawa at some point soon and enjoy that.

I am going to switch gears quickly to talk about schools. When I talk with people in my community, many were really concerned about the safety of schools as they were sending their children back to school in January. There were a lot of questions. In fact, our schools in Ontario were closed for a bit of time right at the beginning of January. There was worry, and parents were asking what we were going to do to make sure that our children would be safe when they went back to school.

This is where the fall economic statement is really important. It increased funding specifically for ventilation improvements in our schools. That will have a long-term impact. Just generally, it is a good thing to have better ventilation. I have to say that some of my kids' schools did not always seem to have the best systems for ventilation. It is great to see we are supporting our provinces to be able to do that important work. That builds on the safe restart funding that had been provided through the pandemic to our provinces and territories to be able to support schools through the process.

I know that in my community, and we do not even think about it, but there are many different kinds of changes we need to bring in. Many of the schools in my community got new types of water fountains. They are not the ones we used to use as a kid in school where we would lean forward, which are not really great for COVID and probably were not good then anyways. They now have bottle refill stations, different kinds of systems. That is an important response to the concerns being raised repeatedly by people in my community, to make sure we are supporting our provinces and territories to support our children.

I know I am running out of time, but I do want to mention briefly something concerning how our schools were closed in Ontario for a bit at the beginning of January. I would like to remind parents, if they are listening, that there is a caregiver benefit. When schools are closed because of COVID, they actually can apply for that caregiver benefit. I also want to highlight that if their kids have to self-isolate because of COVID, they may be eligible for the caregiver benefit. I am encouraging everyone to look into that.

I am thankful for the opportunity to speak in support of the fall economic statement.

[Criminal Code, December 14th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I am always happy to hear Yiddish proverbs in this place as a Jewish person. There are not very many of us in the House. It is a language that is close to being lost, so it is always nice to hear some of it.

First, I will make a clarification. In fact, sentences are not being removed. Mandatory sentences are being removed in this bill. Going forward, it proposes to actually confront the opioid crisis from a health perspective. I know that in my community, we have lost many people to the opioid crisis.

Does the member not support safe supply and treating the opioid crisis from a health perspective?

[Criminal Code, December 14th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I really enjoyed the member opposite's speech.

In my riding, many people are suffering due to the opioid crisis, and a lot of people are working hard to help these victims from a health perspective. Given a situation like the opioid crisis, would my colleague agree that we need to approach a crisis like this from a health perspective, not a Criminal Code perspective? Should we not try to find more solutions from that angle?

[The Economy, December 9th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, in the initial part, I talked about how we had announced in October the Canada worker lockdown benefit. This was to ensure that workers continue to have support and no one is left behind. This benefit would provide $300 a week in income support to eligible workers should they be unable to work due to a regional lockdown until May 7, 2022, with retroactive application to October 24, 2021, if required. It would continue to offer support to those who still need it in case the pandemic requires further public health lockdowns in any part of the country, including workers who are both eligible and ineligible for employment insurance. The benefit would apply in any region of the country that is so designated by the government for the duration of the lockdown. This measure would be activated quickly to support affected workers in the event of a new lockdown in their region of work.

We are there to support Canadians. We have been and we will continue to be.

[The Economy, December 9th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I am thrilled that the member opposite would like to speak about the economy. Around the world, governments, including Canada, are taking immediate action to address the omicron variant. Earlier this week, Canada announced strong action at our borders and in regard to testing and entry. This is another reminder that all Canadians who can, should get their vaccines as soon as possible. There is no more important economic policy for Canada today than finishing the fight against COVID.

Today's renewed COVID fears are also a reminder of why the measures in Bill C-2, which provides targeted personal income and business supports, are so urgent and essential. Over the last 20 months, Canadians have faced tough times. Various health and safety precautions have caused financial and emotional distress for many people, not to mention those who have also had to care for or who have lost loved ones at the same time.

Across the country, many businesses have had to close, some temporarily and others permanently. The majority have experienced reduced revenues, even when they were open. This has translated into many people losing their jobs or having their hours reduced. That is why when the crisis hit, the government rapidly rolled out a full range of effective, broad-based programs under the economic response plan with much-needed support for individuals, businesses and communities to see Canadians through our country's greatest economic shock since the Great Depression.

In terms of its scale, Canada's economic response, including budget 2021 investments, was one of the largest and most expeditious among G7 countries. It helped engineer a near-term economic turnaround at a faster than anticipated pace compared with some industrialized countries. This support has worked. Many businesses are now safely reopening. Employment has recovered to pre-recession levels and of the three million jobs that were lost at the peak of the crisis, all have now been recouped, faster than any other recession. Canada's economic recovery is well on track and the pandemic economy is fading from view.

As our government looks to secure a more prosperous future for Canadians, it is helpful to look back and consider the key measures that have helped us to get to where we are today. These include the Canada emergency response benefit, the Canada emergency wage subsidy, the Canada emergency rent subsidy and lockdown support and the Canada emergency business account. Federal support also includes significant financing for the provinces and territories through its top-ups to the Canadian health transfer, as well as through the safe restart agreement, the safe return to class fund and the essential workers support fund. All told, more than $8 out of every $10 spent to fight COVID-19 and support Canadians has come from the federal government.

In budget 2021, the government promised that if additional flexibility was required, based on public health considerations later in the year, it would continue to do whatever it takes to be there for Canadians. That is why in October, we announced the Canada worker lockdown benefit. We are working to ensure continued support to Canadians throughout this pandemic.

[Climate Change, December 9th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I mentioned some of the initiatives we are working on, but there are many initiatives on energy efficiency in homes and buildings, and on hydrogen and nature-based solutions. The bottom line is that we know it will take nothing less than an all-out effort to confront this crisis, and that is how we are approaching this challenge.

I urge the member opposite to consider the broad range of measures in our climate plan. I will refer the member back to the fact that Canada maintains a higher price on pollution than even California, and is set to pass the EU next year. We are set to move forward on a cap on emissions for our oil and gas sector, and we have made significant investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy.

We know there is a lot of work to do, and that is exactly what we are doing.

[Climate Change, December 9th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the member for Kitchener Centre on his election to Parliament. I had a chance to meet with him at the all-party climate caucus meeting, and I am looking forward to working with him on these important issues about climate change and the environment.

It is important to remember that the emissions reduction fund was launched in response to the COVID crisis as a way to help workers and communities. It came at a time of record low, and at times negative, energy prices, and our government needed to help workers and communities that were reeling over these events. Canadians expected us to do that, and that is what we did, but we also had a policy objective to ensure that the industry continued to act on methane reduction.

I will note that, to date, this program is anticipated to reduce 4.6 megatons of greenhouse gas emissions, and those reductions are being tracked carefully. This is like taking one million cars off the road today, providing immediate environmental and health benefits for Canadians.

I would also like to draw the member opposite's attention to correspondence that we received from the Pembina Institute and the David Suzuki Foundation. Both organizations recognize the fund's success in reducing methane emissions and suggesting improvements. The Pembina Institute said, “During the pandemic, the emissions reduction fund has been one of the few programs around the world that addresses the economic impacts of the ongoing health crisis, while creating jobs and contributing meaningfully to reducing emissions in the oil and gas sector. This program has helped to drive Canadian leadership in methane abatement technology that will be in greater demand as the rest of the world increasingly acts on methane, and it will continue to do so if renewed.”

The letter from the David Suzuki Foundation noted, “when your department announced the results from intakes one and two, we were pleased to see that 97% of the emissions reductions came from projects that eliminated intentional routine venting and flaring of methane, outcomes that go beyond 2023 methane regulations and that were achieved for less than $20 per tonne of CO2. This is a notable achievement.”

Those are two important statements about this program. We are carefully considering the commissioner's report, and will consider a broad range of perspectives. We are carefully considering all of the pieces that go into this, and I would urge members to consider a broader context and to take into account our bold actions to meet these ambitious climate targets. Take, for instance, our recent commitment to place a cap on emissions from the oil and gas sector. This is something no other oil-producing nation has done, at least so far, and there is more.

Consider that we have one of the highest prices on carbon in the world. Our government is also in the process of phasing out unabated coal-fired electricity by 2030, and we have signalled to the auto industry and Canadians that starting in 2035 all light-duty vehicles sold must be zero emitting.

These are big steps, and there are others, such as the upcoming clean fuel standard. That is why we are continuing to work to take these necessary steps.

[Criminal Code, December 3rd, 2021]

Madam Speaker, it was great to hear from the member opposite about the need to protect all workers, but specifically our health care workers and frontline workers in the health field.

Beyond legislation, what can we do to better protect those health care workers? I hear about it all the time from people working in my community in the health care field that they feel very threatened by some of the anti-vaccine rhetoric. How can we work not only within his party but also within our communities to ensure we create a safer environment that goes beyond simply the laws, and disagreeing without being disagreeable?