Pablo Rodriguez

[The Economy, March 9th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, we are talking here about masters of obstruction.

My colleague said quite seriously that he wants to help Canadians. To help Canadians, we need to pass bills. However, day after day, the Conservatives are filibustering. All they do is obstruct.

They need to stop playing this game. We need to support Canadians. I am reaching out to the Conservatives and all the parties in the House so that we can pass these bills as quickly as possible. Let us do it for Canadians.

[Official Languages, March 9th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, if they cared so much about respect for official languages, they would have called for that in their motion, which the government opposed. In their motion, they asked for all documents to be sent directly to the law clerk. They made the law clerk responsible for translation. Nowhere in the motion does it say anything about official languages. That was what they asked for, thus proving that, unlike the government, respect for official languages does not matter to them.

[Official Languages, March 9th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, as requested in the motion, we sent the documents to the law clerk in the language in which they were written. We also gave the law clerk all of the necessary support through the Board of Internal Economy. We all knew that this would take time. The committee requested a huge amount of information. The government is responding as quickly as possible and the documents will be sent as quickly as possible.

My colleague is well aware that the two official languages are a top priority for the government.

[Health, March 8th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I understand that the Bloc Québécois members are quite happy that they were asking so many questions at Christmas. They probably asked questions before, and they will probably ask more questions after. That is their job.

Meanwhile, we are taking action. We have taken some of the toughest measures in the world at our border for air and land crossings to guard against COVID-19 and protect all Canadians.

I understand from their criticisms that perhaps the Bloc members would prefer not to have such strict measures, but we are committed to those measures.

[Health, March 8th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague from the Bloc Québécois knows full well that we have some of the strictest measures in the world. There are measures designed for air travel, of course, but there are also additional measures for people travelling by land.

Would the Bloc Québécois prefer that we not have any measures and stop screening travellers at our air and land borders? Is that what she is saying?

[Business of the House, February 25th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, thank you for sharing this excellent news. I believe hon. members were unanimous on this.

That being said, I thank my colleague for his Thursday question.

This afternoon we will continue debate on the Bloc Québécois opposition day. Tomorrow morning, Friday, we will begin second reading stage of Bill C-21, an act to amend certain acts and to make certain consequential amendments in relation to firearms. Tomorrow afternoon, we will resume debate on Bill C-14, an act to implement certain provisions of the economic statement tabled in Parliament on November 30, 2020 and other measures.

Finally, I would like to inform the House that Tuesday, March 9, the week we return, will be an allotted day.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish my colleagues an excellent week in their respective ridings and excellent work with their community.

[Public Safety, February 25th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, if the member does not want to help us, he must at least let us do our work.

We have implemented some of the strictest measures in the world because that is what is called for, not because it gives us any pleasure. We are obviously extremely concerned about what happened at the hotel. However, is the member saying that we should forget about the health and safety of Canadians by waiving all the steps of quarantine and letting people enter the country whenever and however they want? Is that what he is saying?

[Health, February 23rd, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois has only one thing to plan: the questions they are going to ask during question period.

Meanwhile, for months now, the government has been planning for the return of travellers. This has involved limiting flights south and planning hotel reservations, traveller transfer capacities and testing upon return. This is all part of an extremely strict system to control the pandemic, and it is one of the strictest systems in the world.

[Health, February 23rd, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague seems to be the one improvising with his question.

Everything we are doing now is part of a plan that we have been gradually implementing for quite some time. We started by halting flights south, limiting the number of airports, reserving hotels for quarantines and making sure we had tests available for travellers returning to the country. This is a huge operation being carried out in partnership with numerous stakeholders at all levels, and it is part of a system that is one of the strictest in the world.

[Health, February 23rd, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned earlier, we established one of the strictest systems in the world. When people return to Canada, they must undergo an assessment, then be tested here and quarantine in a hotel by making reservations in advance. There were about 45,000 calls in three days. The situation is getting better on its own, in part because people are getting the information but also because we have added more staff to answer questions and take reservations.