Kevin Lamoureux

[Government Business No. 7--Proceedings on Bill C-12, February 15th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, listening to the member opposite, I am getting the opinion that he is actually in favour of the legislation and I do appreciate that. What I am a bit concerned about he made reference to indirectly when he talked about the Emergencies Act. Yesterday, we had another very important piece of legislation on rapid tests that was being debated. It is a very short week before the break week.

I am wondering if the member believes that, if we did not attempt to rush through these things, we would not be able to get it done before the break week. Is that a concern on his or the Conservative Party's part?

[Old Age Security Act, February 15th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I would request a recorded vote.

[Questions on the Order Paper, February 15th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I would ask that all questions be allowed to stand at this time, please.

[Act Respecting Certain Measures Related to COVID-19, February 15th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, we ask that there be a recorded vote, please.

[Act Respecting Certain Measures Related to COVID-19, February 14th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, whether one lives in St-Pierre-Jolys in rural Manitoba or St. Boniface in the city of Winnipeg or in rural communities in Quebec or the city of Montreal, I think there is a general feeling among people in all communities that they want to see co-operation among different levels of government on the important issue of health care.

Through the Canada Health Act, there is a significant flow of federal tax dollars to support health care so that there is a sense of fairness whether people require health care service in Montreal or in Winnipeg. I am wondering if the member could indicate why he does not believe there needs to be a sense of equality and fairness in the distribution of health care services, no matter where people live in in Canada.

[Act Respecting Certain Measures Related to COVID-19, February 14th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, there is a fundamental flaw that the member has in his argument. It is quite simple. The member says that we were too late with the rapid tests, yet when the federal government provided the provinces and the territories with the rapid tests, they sat on shelves for months. They only started to be utilized in any serious number in November and December of last year. There was a huge surplus nationwide of stock. It was the variant that ultimately caused the demand.

Is the member saying that the provinces messed up, and that they should have been using the rapid tests? Is he pointing a finger at the provinces for not doing their job in using the rapid tests months and months ago?

[Act Respecting Certain Measures Related to COVID-19, February 14th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, during the pandemic there were many different elections across Canada, and in fact in North America with even the U.S. election. I believe that through our election there was a very clear mandate given to not only the government, but all members of this House, saying that the coronavirus was still there and we needed to continue to invest resources in the issue, which is what we are seeing today, substantial financial resources, that we needed to look at and implement mandates, and to continue to follow and listen to science and health experts. Ultimately, I believe we are on the right course.

What I am most proud of is the greatest tool: the vaccines. It is the positioning of Canadians and the uptake that has allowed us to see Canada do exceptionally well in comparison to other countries around the world. Canadians understood the importance of being double vaccinated.

In regard to the issue of financing of health care, whether it is mental health, long-term care, vaccines or the rapid tests we are debating today, the federal government has been there in a very tangible way with the expenditure of additional billions of dollars during the pandemic over and above historic amounts through equalization payments and direct payments in regard to the health care program.

I think that, as a government, over the last six years we have done exceptionally well in supporting health care. We know that health care is important to each and every Canadian from coast to coast to coast.

[Act Respecting Certain Measures Related to COVID-19, February 14th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, those are misleading facts that the member has just put on the record. I would suggest it is Conservative spin in order to confuse and mislead Canadians.

The reality is, from what I understand, there was not one province or territory back in November of last year, just a few months ago, that was saying it was running out of rapid tests and needed more. In fact, our own home province was not even utilizing them. It was a small percentage. It was only because of omicron that the demand quadrupled and in some cases increased tenfold. The demand was created.

The federal government was there at the table when the demand was there. We had stockpiles of them and we ensured that provinces had stockpiles of them to distribute. Those are the real facts. That is the bottom line. For those who say we could have had more, we are being criticized by the Conservatives because we are allocating too much money for any more of them. They cannot say on the one hand that we should have more and then on the other hand say we cannot buy any more because they do not want the government to spend so much money.

[Act Respecting Certain Measures Related to COVID-19, February 14th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I will name more than one for the members opposite. Today is an excellent example. Our provinces, territories, small businesses and big businesses alike are dependent on the federal government getting these rapid tests. We are supporting the people of Canada and our business community in Canada, and we are showing how we can work with provinces to make a difference.

The Conservatives and the Bloc seem to be fixated on not wanting to support the bill's speedy passage. In terms of the GIS, we can talk about the importance to seniors across this land in getting payments and the legislation coming up this week. It needs to pass too. Remember, there is a break week the following week.

We have an emergency in our nation. Hundreds of millions of dollars in trade is being threatened at our international border. That is another issue that needs to be brought to the floor of the House of Commons. We have a Bloc opposition day coming up this week. We have two short days also. The urgency is there. It is very real and it is important. It is time that we pass the legislation.

In listening to the debate today, I am a bit confused as I am sure anyone listening to the debate would be. The member for Cumberland—Colchester is a medical doctor and sits on the health committee. He talks about questioning the science and whether it is even necessary at this stage, suggesting that it is a waste. He is not alone. The member for Peterborough—Kawartha is also implying that it is a waste, calling into question the need for the rapid tests.

In fairness, they did have a member who was very clear. The opposition House leader said he recognizes the importance and he is going to be voting in favour of the legislation. I suspect the Conservatives will rethink their position and their speeches today. I would hope it would be unanimous in this House. Even the Bloc recognizes the importance of this legislation being passed. I would like to think that the Conservatives would also be supporting it.

People need to read some of the speeches and listen to what members of the Conservative Party are saying about rapid testing. We wonder why there is confusion and misinformation out there in our communities. It is there because of the mixed messaging coming from the official opposition here in Canada.

We have consistently, in the last couple of months, brought forward legislation to deal with rapid tests. First, it was Bill C-8 with $1.7 billion and today with Bill C-10 it is $2.5 billion. If we do not spend that money or if we do not make the commitment to get those rapid tests, we are telling provinces and territories they are going to have to do it. They will not be able to get the same bulk-buying power we can get as a national government. We already have the contacts and the network. Then we will work with provinces and territories to ensure we are able to meet those demands.

That is why this legislation is important. That is why I would recommend that all Conservative members join the rest of the House in supporting Bill C-10.

[Act Respecting Certain Measures Related to COVID-19, February 14th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I want to start off by acknowledging our fine work. We often make reference to the Minister of Health, the Minister of Procurement and the Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister. However, it goes without saying and is important to state that the civil servants working for those respective ministers have done an outstanding job of ensuring that Canada stays on top of what has been an incredibly important file.

There are two aspects of it I want to highlight, one of which I am going to focus my attention on. One is the vaccines and the manner in which Canada was able to get them. They are the most important tool in combatting the pandemic, and we are arguably second to no other country in the world in terms of performance. I want to thank those individuals who ultimately made that happen, whether within departments or in the distribution once the vaccines arrived in Canada. They were getting them out to our provinces, territories, indigenous communities and so forth.

The second aspect is what this bill is all about. This bill, Bill C-10, as the minister has so well explained to members, is about the importance of this particular tool, rapid testing. I thought what I would do is provide some thoughts in regard to the comments I heard earlier today in debate, in particular coming from the Conservative opposition party.

One of the concerns the Conservatives constantly raised was the issue of why it took the government so long. They said they have been hammering for the government to have these rapid tests for years now, so I think we should recognize the uptake and usage of the rapid tests. If we take a look back to November of last year, for example, through the Government of Canada, we were able to build up stockpiles of rapid tests that were distributed in our provinces and territories. In some provinces very few were actually used. From a federal government's perspective, we were able to meet the demand. We did not have the provinces and territories saying they wanted to get more to add to their stockpiles.

Then something unique happened. One of my colleagues talked about it earlier, and I know this sentiment is shared among my caucus colleagues: We became tired of the pandemic. Unfortunately, we are not the ones who determine when the pandemic goes away. We need to continue to have faith in science and faith in our health care experts. As much as I want to see it go away, I cannot wish it away.

What we saw was the omicron variant come in like a storm. When it came in, the uptake of and demand for rapid tests quadrupled and, in some cases, went up tenfold. However, through the efforts of civil servants and others, we were able to acquire, as the Minister of Health has said, close to 140 million additional rapid tests for the month of January alone. Taking into consideration the population of our country, I believe as a government we were prepared for a variation of the coronavirus.

If we think about what Bill C-10 is all about, it is about rapid tests. That is why this is so urgent. However, it is only the New Democrats who have recognized the importance of the timing. Opposition members, whether from the Bloc or the Conservatives, have said the Senate does not meet until next week. They do not necessarily realize that there are a lot of things on the agenda that are of absolute critical importance to Canadians from coast to coast.