Justin Trudeau

[Intergovernmental Relations, October 28th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, there will always be political debate about this and I already shared my perspective on the October crisis.

On this side of the House, we will continue to take care of Quebeckers today and in the weeks to come through the initiatives that we are putting in place to keep our commitments to them. We were there with the CERB a few months ago and we will continue to be there with employment insurance, help for small businesses, help for seniors and help for families.

We know that this pandemic is hard, and, as a federal government, we will continue to be there for Quebeckers.

[COVID-19 Emergency Response, October 28th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, we will continue to be there for our farmers and our producers. We will continue to support the front-line workers who are putting food on our tables. We are continuing to support all Canadians while we make it through this incredibly difficult time. Canadians need to know that their institutions are there to serve them and we will continue to.

I can highlight that we have made many investments to support directly our farmers and agricultural producers and we will continue to be there for those communities.

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, October 28th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, what we have done from the beginning of this pandemic is to stand up for Canadians. We have been there to support families. We have been there to support agricultural producers and our farmers. We have been there to ensure that northern families get help in terms of the high costs of food. We have been there to support food banks. Unfortunately, across the country, we are seeing more and more people needing to step up during this time of the pandemic.

We will continue to be there to support Canadians. We will continue to be there to have Canadians' backs every step of the way. That is a commitment we have made to Canadians and we will be there for as long as it takes, whatever it takes.

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, October 28th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, ensuring good food on Canadians' tables at affordable prices is something that has been a priority for this government from the very beginning, which is why we moved forward on creating a surplus food program and working with food banks across this country, but mostly why we made sure to support front-line workers, our farmers and our agricultural producers to continue to deliver quality food to people's tables.

We will continue to be there to support Canadians as long as it takes, whatever it takes, throughout this pandemic.

[Taxation, October 28th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I think we can all agree that this government has done the right things as the member has just said, in being there to support Canadians through this pandemic, but arguments he is making about pre-pandemic are also completely out to lunch. First of all, we are the government that saw a million new jobs created over the course of our first mandate, while at the same time seeing hundreds of thousands of kids and families lifted out of poverty.

At the same time, we delivered a Canada child benefit that helped single moms and families across the country; initiatives that, unfortunately, the Conservatives voted against.

[Taxation, October 28th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I do not blame any Canadians watching for being slightly puzzled in trying to figure out what the member for Carleton is trying to say. It is actually easier when we look at the context. First of all, he said that he did not believe in big government programs, even in a time of a pandemic. Secondly, there is the Conservatives' issue of disincentives to work, which is why they were so concerned about the Canada emergency response benefit, the CERB, which helped over eight million Canadians. They kept saying it was going to be hard to hire people for our factories.

The issue is that we need to continue to support people. We know that Canadians would much prefer to have a job, but they need to be supported.

[Taxation, October 28th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, we have been there for workers and for Canadians since day one of this pandemic.

During the first wave, people needed to stay home, so we delivered the Canada emergency response benefit to ensure that people could stay home to protect their neighbours and our front-line workers. With the Canada wage subsidy, we also supported small businesses, large businesses and those that wanted to get through this pandemic. This is what we continue to do. We will continue to be there for the millions of Canadians and thousands of small businesses that need help.

[Health, October 28th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, every Canadian deserves to be able to age in dignity, in safety and in good health. That is something we all, regardless of our political affiliations and regardless of the order of governments in which we serve, can agree on.

That is why through this pandemic, as we have seen the terrible tragedies families and individuals have faced, we have been doing as much as we can to be there, and we will continue to. We will continue to work with the provinces. We will continue to ensure that equipment is sent and that support is given. We will ensure that best practices are shared. We will protect our seniors.

[Health, October 28th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, during the pandemic, we saw that the most vulnerable people, seniors, were the hardest hit by COVID-19. All parties and all levels of government must work together to keep our seniors safe and secure.

We worked with the Government of Quebec to make sure they got PPE. We even sent in the army and then the Red Cross to help. We will do the same for all the provinces, working hand in hand to protect our seniors.

[Intergovernmental Relations, October 28th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, during the events of October 1970, the premier of Quebec and the leader of the opposition, René Lévesque, agreed to ask Ottawa to send in the troops to maintain order in Quebec. The mayor of Montreal asked the federal government to send in the armed forces, which would be overseen by Quebec, to ensure public safety during a democratic crisis, a crisis in the Quebec nation, and that is what we did. We have always wanted to be there to help the provinces, and we will always do just that.