Justin Trudeau

[Regional Economic Development, November 4th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, after years of the previous prime minister using the north for photo ops, we have made historic investments to support communities of the north, recognizing that northern sovereignty happens not with a few photo ops, but with real, substantive investments in the Canadians and people who live there.

That is why we will continue to work in partnership with northerners to move forward on a northern Arctic policy framework to ensure there are investments in infrastructure, investments in supports for the north and historic investments in food security and airline security. These are the things that matter to Canadians.

[Natural Resources, November 4th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, we know how important it is to continue to develop our natural resources as we move forward into a renewed future and build back better. We know that natural resources will play a key role in developing the technologies of the future, from mining products like cobalt, lithium and nickel, which go into our batteries, to copper for our wiring, to rare earth minerals for our high-tech systems.

We know how important it is to move forward on natural resources, but we know we need to do it properly. That is always in partnership with indigenous peoples, with clarity for industry and with predictability for all.

[Foreign Affairs, November 4th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, the answer is no.

[Foreign Affairs, November 4th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, we have a rigorous export control system that ensures that as we export armaments and military equipment around the world, all the rules are followed.

When reports came out that possible Canadian technology was being used in Nagorno-Karabakh, we immediately suspended the relevant export permits to Turkey. We are following up on an appropriate investigation.

We need to make sure that Canadian-made equipment is not being used in illicit ways that are not aligned with the original contracts signed, and, of course, is never used to harm civilians or innocents.

[Small Business, November 4th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by thanking the member for Kingston and the Islands for his tremendous advocacy on behalf of workers and businesses in his riding.

We will continue to support small businesses across the country that have been hard hit by this pandemic. With the new Canada emergency rent subsidy, we will provide simple, easy-to-access rent support until 2021. For those who are impacted by public health orders, we will make sure they have additional supports to cover up to 90% of their rent.

We are calling on all members of the House to help get the support to businesses across the country and make sure that it goes directly to tenants, not through landlords anymore.

[Canadian Heritage, November 4th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for his advocacy on this issue. It sounds like something we absolutely should be moving forward on.

I look forward to talking with the infrastructure minister and working with our first ever Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth in the history of this country to ensure that we are doing everything we can to fight systemic racism, fight against anti-Black racism and make sure we are properly remembering all aspects of our history, because Black history is Canadian history, not just in February, but every month. We will continue to work together to make sure we do that.

[Women and Gender Equality, November 4th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, over the past five years, we have taken many significant steps forward toward gender equality, but we know there is much more work to do. We have passed historic pay equity legislation and are working hard to implement it. We know this is a systemic change that is long overdue.

We have started taking large steps toward it, but we will continue to work with all our allies in the House and beyond to ensure that we are making things much better in this country. We need gender equality. It is not just the right thing to do; it is the smart thing to do. That is why we will continue to work hard every day to achieve it.

[COVID-19 Emergency Response, November 4th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians can continue to have confidence in our government.

We have been there to support them since the beginning of the pandemic with public health measures, support for the provinces, and direct support for Canadians through the Canada emergency response benefit, the emergency wage subsidy and help for seniors, families and youth. We will continue to be there to support Canadians.

We all need to make an effort. The federal government will continue to be there and will work with the provinces, which are continuing their work. Canadians will also contribute to try to mitigate this—

[COVID-19 Emergency Response, November 4th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, every single step of the way we leaned on experts, epidemiologists and international health experts on the pandemic for the best recommendations on how to keep Canadians safe. We moved forward on those, including setting up quarantine facilities for Canadians returning and bringing in extra measures at the borders. We were able to see, in those early days, a very low incidence of cases in Canada.

There are many things we are going to be looking back on and saying we should have done this differently or we should have done that differently, but I can say that every effort was made to do everything right and Canadians are benefiting from those decisions.

[COVID-19 Emergency Response, November 4th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, on January 2, Dr. Theresa Tam convened a meeting of her provincial counterparts to talk about worrisome news coming out of China. Weeks later, we gathered the incident response group at the cabinet level to talk about this development. We continued to engage with scientists and doctors from around the world, including at the WHO, including our own internal capacities, to prepare for and respond to this pandemic.

We have learned many things since then and we will be better positioned in the future, but as it is, we will continue to do everything we can, as we have, to protect Canadians.