Kevin Lamoureux

[Budget Implementation Act, 2021, No. 1, May 6th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, many progressive measures are within the budget. One that is really quite encouraging is the support for child care throughout Canada. This would add so much value, not only to our economy but to individual families.

Could my colleague comment on that issue?

[Questions on the Order Paper, May 6th, 2021]

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

[Government Response to Petitions, May 6th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8)(a) I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to six petitions. These returns will be tabled in an electronic format.

[COVID-19 in Alberta, May 5th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, that is a good way to demonstrate to those who might be following the debate the degree to which the Prime Minister and the government really want to work with other levels of government and stakeholders to minimize the negative impacts of the coronavirus.

Billions of dollars were invested in the restart program. The member referenced the amount that went to Alberta, but that was to support additional testing, for example. It was to ensure that provinces were in a better position to deal with issues related to mental health and long-term care facilities. The additional $2 billion was to support school divisions, so that as children and young adults across the nation went back to school, they were in a better, safer and healthier environment. That is what I mean by a team Canada approach. Not only did we talk about it, but we also delivered in terms of dollars.

[COVID-19 in Alberta, May 5th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, let me talk about the most important thing that I believe can come out of tonight's discussion, and this is a personal opinion. It is that there be a consistent message from every member of Parliament, no matter what political stripe, which is to get the vaccine. The best vaccine is the first vaccine people are able to get.

Health Canada has done a phenomenal job. All vaccines that have been approved by Canada are safe and are being made available. The best vaccine is the first one available. All of us should be saying that.

[COVID-19 in Alberta, May 5th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I would welcome a discussion regarding a wide variety of issues within indigenous communities. In many areas, there has been significant improvement. In other areas, yes, we do need to work to do better. As a government, we are moving forward.

The issue of jurisdiction is important, which is why we saw the Prime Minister work with provinces and territories right from the beginning. It is why we had a $19-billion provincial restart back in August to help support provinces and territories. It is absolutely critical in situations like this and others that Ottawa and provinces work together.

Canadians want us to be working together. They do not want to see fed-bashing and passing the buck onto provinces. They want to see the different levels of government working together.

[COVID-19 in Alberta, May 5th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, everything I indicated is in fact accurate, and I challenge the member to point out any aspect of what I said specifically that was not. I was being hypothetical when I made reference to the Conservatives and the 50 million vaccines.

The member poses a question that shows how the Conservatives are more concerned about partisan politics than they are about being truthful. If the member were truthful, what he would say is that of the G20 countries Canada is number three and the two countries he cited were one and two.

Yes, the U.K. and the U.S.A. are doing better than Canada on the first doses, but what about the other 17 or 18 countries? We are ahead of those G20 countries.

[COVID-19 in Alberta, May 5th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to speak this evening to this very important issue. If we track it to its very beginning, we will find that at that point, the Prime Minister of Canada made it very clear to all Canadians, including members of Parliament, that the first priority of the Government of Canada was to take a team Canada approach in combatting the coronavirus. That has happened, and there are ample examples of how we have managed it.

I was born and raised in the Prairies. In fact, Alberta is where I served my time in the Canadian Forces. I was posted in Edmonton at Lancaster Park, and I spent a few very good years of my life there. I also have family members who live in Alberta, particularly in the Lethbridge area.

My heart goes out to the province of Alberta, as it does to the province of Ontario. When a province is getting into an area of concern, it starts to put so much stress on our institutions, particularly our health care institutions, and one cannot help but wonder what the impact of that will be on the health conditions of citizens in the province.

We need to put the COVID-19 virus into the perspective of our federation. Canada is very different from the U.K. We have jurisdictional control here in Ottawa for certain things, and the provinces have jurisdictional control over other areas. However, all in all, as a federation, we have done quite well, and there is no exception here. Yes, there have been some concerns, but it is important that Ottawa continues to work closely with the provinces and territories, which we have seen from day one.

When it comes to the province of Alberta and its recent third wave, the Minister of Health and the Prime Minister have been talking with Premier Kenney. As I understand, it happened just the other day. The Government of Canada is very much aware of what is taking place in Alberta, and we are concerned about it. I do not think that will come as a surprise to the people who are following the debate this evening.

When we look at where we came from and where we are today, I am glad to say that so much more hope is there. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Vaccines will play an absolutely critical role in the post-pandemic recovery, as we all know, and we have seen significant gains in that area.

I have been listening closely to members providing their thoughts on the federal government and the role we have played. I take a great deal of exception to comments by the Conservatives, given the degree to which they continue to want to politicize, give false information and give the opinion that Ottawa cares less for Alberta than it does for the rest of the country. What absolute and total garbage. Shame on each and every member of Parliament who tries to give that impression. The Conservative Party has spread misinformation, and I question some of the statements that have been made this evening.

We have been going through this for 14 months, and the former leader of the Green Party talked about flattening the curve. It has been a very steep learning curve for all of us. It is not like we had a foundation of knowledge around the world that we could draw upon to make instant decisions. The Conservatives believe they could have, as though they can just pull them out of a hat.

This government believes in evidence-based decision-making, so we put together the committees and advisory groups that were absolutely essential. We continue to follow the advice of health experts and science, knowing full well that it is our best way out of this situation, and we are not alone. The provinces and territories equally bring together health experts, look at science and make decisions.

My concern in part is that we should be trying to send a consistent message from Ottawa. We should not be telling communities that they cannot have a lockdown. That is not a positive message. It is confusing. That comes from the Conservative opposition health critic. She makes it very clear that she does not support lockdowns. Think of the costs of not taking some of these actions.

We have consistently recognized that at times there is a need for change. I made reference to the flattening of the curve. That was an educational experience for all Canadians. When COVID-19 first came out, we all learned that we had to keep the numbers down during the first wave. That meant having to wash our hands, use some sort of sanitizer and physically distance. Members will recall that at the very beginning, the health experts were not saying we had to wear a mask. It was not until we were a few weeks into the pandemic that they starting saying we should be wearing masks. Then all of us, at least I would hope all of us, were conveying to our constituents the very simple but important message to wash our hands, wear a mask and maintain physical distancing.

The provinces, Ottawa, indigenous leaders and territories, working with a team Canada approach, recognized that we needed to shut down certain aspects of our economy to protect the interests of Canadians and their health and safety. The federal government therefore developed programs for all Canadians, whether in Alberta, Ontario or my home province of Manitoba. These programs saw literally billions of dollars going into the pockets of Canadians to ensure that they would be able to continue making the payments that are necessary. Even if they cannot work, the bills continue to come in. They still have a requirement to buy groceries and pay rent or a mortgage. The government, through different programs, made a very clear indication to Canadians at the very beginning that we would have their backs, and we have done just that in every way.

As we have seen, the provinces, at different times and in different ways, have had different impacts, in good part because of the decisions that were being made. As a federation, we recognize that there is jurisdictional control and that the provinces lead in certain areas. One of those areas was deciding what would be closed down and if there was a need for a full lockdown.

Some provinces did exceptionally well, others maybe not as well. Many different factors need to be taken into consideration. At the end of the day, Ottawa and in particular the Prime Minister have maintained communication with premiers and first ministers through the numerous meetings that have taken place. The Minister of Health and other ministers have maintained communications with provinces, territories and indigenous leaders.

We ensured there was a high sense of co-operation and that there were no surprises. People who might be following the debate should be made aware of this. We understand that Canadians want us to be working together and we have been working together in that team Canada approach, even though it has not been universal on the floor of the House of Commons. At the beginning it was, but I now find more and more misleading information coming from the Conservatives.

There are areas that cause a great deal of concern. If we listen to the Conservative members, they will say that it is all Ottawa's fault. They are more concerned about placing blame. They said that if Ottawa would have only had 50 million vaccine doses back in January, we would not have the third wave or any other wave. It is all Ottawa. The Conservatives say that if the Conservative Party of Canada were in government, it would have had manufacturing at full capacity back in August of last year and no doubt approved a vaccine back in June of last year.

Of course, the vaccines and the acquisition of them was of critical importance. The government recognized that early last year. Where was that concern with respect to vaccines back in June and July? The Conservatives asked hundreds, if not thousands, of questions. I cannot recall one question from the Conservative Party in June or July about the vaccine. If I am wrong, and many of them were there, they can give me the date. That is the nice thing about Hansard. The can show me that I am wrong.

As a country, we are doing exceptionally well. The Prime Minister made assurances to premiers and anyone else who wanted to get information that because of the contracts we were able to negotiate through our procurement minister and procurement staff, we had a commitment of six million vaccine doses by the end of the first quarter. We were saying that for months, like back in December when the first vaccine was approved last year. Not only did we meet that target, we exceeded it.

Now, because of the agreements we achieved with companies like Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca, we are now in a position where we are the third best out of the G20 countries in terms of people getting their first dose. Well over 30% of people in Canada now have that first dose. We understand the importance of it.

The Conservatives will fall back and say that we are only at 2% on the double dose, that the Liberals are bad and so forth. We should listen to the evidence-based decision-making. Are the Conservatives suggesting that everyone should be getting the second dose now? What would that first dose percentage be? I am inclined to agree with what our health care experts at the national level and provincial level say.

We are on the right track and the numbers are clear on that. Issues in the months of January and February did throw us off course to a certain degree, but they were not necessarily under our control. When Pfizer said that it had to retool, so it had to cut back for a couple of weeks on its numbers, it was not like we were in a position to say no. We had a contract that said we would get a commitment from Pfizer. We will be receiving over two million doses of vaccine a week come June, and I understand we will receive two million doses this week. The numbers are very impressive.

The provinces are aware of it. They know the number of doses coming into Canada. In fact, when we talk about transparency and accountability, any Canadian can click on the Government of Canada's coronavirus website and get the hard number of vaccines that are in the country. It will say which province has what number of vaccines.

In comparison, we are doing well. Canada has a population of 37.5 million people. We have close to 17 million doses in Canada. Before the end of June, we will be somewhere around 48 million doses.

We can look at what is happening in Alberta today. We only need to read some of the headlines, such as “Alberta tightens restrictions, increases fines for COVID-19 rule-breakers.” That is from a CBC report. It lists a number of areas where it is now tightening things in hopes of minimizing the damage of that third wave.

I am glad to see the province of Alberta has made that decision. I do not know if the federal Conservative Party supports what Premier Kenney is doing based on one or two comments today. Premier Kenney is right to put in these restrictions. The numbers are concerning. In the report it said that hospitals were treating 671 patients with the illness as of Tuesday, including 150 in intensive care beds. The numbers matter. We know that.

I used to be the health critic in the province of Manitoba. There is a limited number of ICU beds. We should all be concerned. I was concerned when Manitoba had the highest cases in the country in November. I was concerned about what was taking place in the province of Ontario. Many of my Ontario colleagues talked about how serious the situation was and how we had to be on message and communicate to people what could do to get through this third wave.

I am concerned today about what is taking place in a province I care deeply about, the province of Alberta. The message I would like to leave for the people of Alberta is that the full weight of the Government of Canada, that the Prime Minister of Canada, who has a very caring heart for the province of Alberta, is very much watching, listening and communicating with the province of Alberta, whether it is the premier or other leaders. Alberta will pull through because of the health care professionals, because of people coming together despite what many members of the Conservative members of Parliament might be saying this evening.

[COVID-19 in Alberta, May 5th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I suspect that if members were to be honest, they would recognize that virtually from the beginning there has been a plan that ultimately has seen Canada do relatively well. Has it been perfect? No, and I do not believe any country has been perfect.

Alberta just recently made some announcements in terms of further restrictions and the speaker before him commented that Alberta cannot afford to have a lockdown. She gave the impression that she does not support a lockdown.

Does the federal Conservative Party have a position on lockdowns in situations of this nature or any other nature?

[COVID-19 in Alberta, May 5th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I do appreciate the work of the minister, her staff and those at Health Canada. They are doing a fantastic job.

Canada is a large country, a federation where provinces, territories and indigenous leaders all play very important roles. There has been a strong link between her department and other departments, and they are co-operating and offering support in every way imaginable to combat the coronavirus.

Could she provide her thoughts on how important it is to have that relationship and to provide that support to our provinces and territories, given the size of our country?