Todd Doherty

[Business of Supply, October 22nd, 2020]

Madam Speaker, that is a great question from my colleague. Another question to ask is this: When Canada was being thrust into the first wave and we had a shortage of personal protective equipment, why did our Prime Minister and the government ship tonnes of personal protective gear? Why, when we are thrust into an opioid crisis, has the government not done anything about that?

Canadians, and the health and safety of Canadians, should always remain the first priority. Instead, what we have seen from this Prime Minister is that he panders to his international friends trying to secure that UN security seat. Instead, he is putting the lives of Canadians at risk. It is time to get serious.

[Business of Supply, October 22nd, 2020]

Madam Speaker, where was this same concern for Canadians when the Prime Minister prorogued Parliament for six weeks, returning a week before these critical programs were coming due? Where was this same concern when Canadians struggled, and when people in our aviation sector were taking their own initiative, thrust at the front line to do their own testing? Where was this same concern when the farmers, ranchers and agriculture organizations were saying they needed help? Where was that same concern?

All we see are more excuses from the government. We see excuse after excuse. We see it delay, deflect, and put the blame somewhere else. Canadians deserve better, and we will continue to challenge the Liberals.

[Business of Supply, October 22nd, 2020]

Madam Speaker, it is an honour to rise today, and I will be splitting my time with my hon. colleague for West Nova.

We are here today, because we have a great motion from our colleague from Calgary Nose Hill. It is one that looks at the COVID pandemic. Yesterday, we had a motion that the government decided was a confidence motion. The government did not like what we had put forward. Nowhere and at no other time have we ever seen a group, an organization or a government work so hard at not answering a question and not providing the answers that Canadians deserve than we have seen over the last little while.

A year ago yesterday, Canadians put this Liberal government on notice. From previously enjoying a majority, they were given a minority. I have to say that since the election of a minority government took place a year ago, we have seen a Prime Minister who does not seem really interested in governing this country. He does not have a majority. We have not even seen a federal budget for almost two years, and what we have seen time and time again are ethical scandals and ethical blunders from this Prime Minister and his cabinet.

Canadians also re-elected, a year ago yesterday, a strong Conservative opposition with a clear mandate to hold this Liberal government to account. We were elected to ask the tough questions of this government, which we do, but very seldom do we get answers. As a matter of fact, what we have seen time and again is every excuse as to why they cannot answer a question.

Just prior to this debate going on, we saw the parliamentary secretary stand on a point of order to say how hard it was going to be and that it would paralyze the government. It would seize up the government to try and answer these questions. Yesterday they did not like the motion because they felt it was questioning the government and it was not COVID related. Now, we have a conscientious, measured motion that is directly related to the COVID pandemic, and they do not like it. They cannot do it.

I have to say that the last 10 months have been among the most challenging of my elected career. I think if we surveyed the 338 members of Parliament, they would say the same thing. We are experiencing the heartbreaking stories of our constituents, Canadians who not only have health concerns, but are also facing incredible, mounting financial losses.

In the early days I would say that, yes, there was a team Canada approach. Opposition would challenge some of the programs that came out and offer solutions. Sometimes the information was taken and these programs were changed. However, as we sit today, there are still tens of thousands of businesses that have shuttered their doors and Canadians who are out of work. Now we are gripped with a second wave of this global pandemic, and all we are asking is what the plan is and where the money is going.

In early spring, we saw almost $900 million awarded to an organization that had close ties to the Prime Minister and the former finance minister. Since the opposition has been asking questions about how it happened, all we have seen is filibuster after filibuster and a refusal to answer the questions. The Liberals like to say that they released thousands of documents. Perhaps they might have released thousands of documents, but the amount of black ink that was used to scribble out the lines of information in those documents is astronomical.

Just within the last few days, we found out that early in the pandemic, a former Liberal MP was given a contract worth over $237 million, only 11 days after actually registering the company.

Canadians have questions. The 338 members of Parliament elected to this House were elected to be the voices of Canadians. It is not a right for us to be in this House. It is a privilege. For those members who are new and who have never heard me speak, I will remind my colleagues that the House does not belong to them or me. It belongs to the electors who elected the 338 members of Parliament. They charged us to ask the hard questions of the government. They charged the opposition to hold the government's feet to the fire and to work collaboratively with the government. They also charged that minority government to work collaboratively with the opposition.

I want to talk about leadership in my province of British Columbia. Throughout this pandemic, my province of British Columbia has had incredible leadership. We have been well served by Dr. Bonnie Henry. She is a former navy physician now serving as our provincial public health officer. Maybe it is because of her military background, but she had a plan and she implemented it early. She did not take risks for British Columbians.

On January 27, I stood in this House and mentioned to colleagues that my riding is the Asia-Pacific gateway to North America. Every day, tens of thousands of passengers enter our borders. I asked the Prime Minister and the Minister of Health what the plans were to increase screening and to shut our borders down, as we were seeing other countries do. I was scolded. I was chastised for fearmongering and being racist.

Under Dr. Bonnie Henry's direction, British Columbia took swift and decisive action early and without hesitation. She communicated frequently, clearly and effectively. She implemented an early and aggressive testing and tracing strategy, and enforced social distancing regulations more rapidly than any other province.

Health care workers employed at multiple long-term care facilities were ordered to limit work to a single site, largely preventing the disastrous outcomes at long-term care homes seen in Ontario and Quebec.

Dr. Henry acted early when it mattered. Her strong and decisive leadership garnered international praise, and ultimately my province was able to flatten the infection curve ahead of other parts of Canada. Now we have seen an increase over recent months. However, she remains strong and resolute.

Dr. Bonnie Henry had a plan. What we are seeing with the government is that it is just now implementing pilots that other countries and other provinces have been doing for months. They did it at the start of this global pandemic.

We have questions. Sadly, we have seen the government and its ministers say that committees are masters of their own destinies and that they act independently. However, all the Liberals got together and decided they were going to filibuster every committee putting forth motions challenging the government on COVID-19 spending and the WE scandal.

I am a father of four. The Prime Minister's actions remind me of when one of my children did not like what the other children were doing, they would complain that the others were not playing fair. They would tell us we should look at what the others were doing. They would run away, or they would just take their toys to go to another area. I think Canadians deserve better.

Conservatives are here to ask the tough questions, and we will continue to do so.

[Health, October 22nd, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, the rate of suicide across our country is at near epidemic rates. Suicide is now among the leading causes of death in Canada. Today 10 Canadians will end their lives by suicide, and up to another 200 will attempt to do so.

The U.S. has just taken concrete action to combat suicide by passing the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act. Starting in 2022, a simple and easy to remember number, 988, will be the universal telephone number to reach the national suicide prevention hotline. Will the government commit to doing so?

[Business of Supply, October 22nd, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. You heard, as I did, the member across the way, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport, shout an unparliamentary term in heckle to my colleague. Through you, I would ask him to stand and apologize for the term. I know you heard it as well.

[Petitions, October 20th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to table a petition signed by over 58,000 Canadians who are calling on the Liberal government to repeal its order in council.

On May 1 of this year, with the stroke of a pen, overnight, the Liberals, with their order in council, made hundreds of thousands of law-abiding citizens criminals. It had a catastrophic impact on sporting goods owners, like K.K.S Tactical Supplies and Cassandra Parker in my riding who, overnight, faced catastrophic losses to their business because of the inventory they had that they could no longer sell. It had no value.

I hope that the Liberals will see their way to repeal this order in council. If not, a new elected Conservative government will do so.

[Small Business, October 7th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to deliver this statement from Williams Lake, British Columbia, my hometown and the home of the Williams Lake Stampede, the greatest show on dirt.

Over the last five years, the Liberals have shown through their disastrous policies that they do not respect or understand rural or western Canadians. The Speech from the Throne did not address increasing rural crime or the opioid crisis and did nothing to address the growing unity crisis grappling western Canada.

Small businesses are the backbone of our country and have been all but forgotten by the government. Communities in my riding depend on the economic benefits of major events, like the Williams Lake Stampede, Billy Barker Days, the Vanderhoof International Airshow and the BC Northern Exhibition. Due to COVID, all were shut down in 2020.

Because of this, businesses and great community supporters like C+ Rodeos, Central Display, Judy Russell's Enchainement Dance Centre, Blake Productions and thousands more have all suffered incredible losses this year. Sadly, they were all left behind by the government. They deserve better.

We may be down, but in true Cariboo spirit, we will get back up, dust ourselves off, saddle up and ride again. Yee-haw.

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, October 6th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I think we need to make sure we have leadership from the top. We need to get together with our provincial colleagues to make sure we have a plan that spans from coast to coast to coast, and to make sure no one falls through the cracks regardless of their age or socio-economic background. We need to do better. That starts with us: the 338 members of Parliament. Mental health should not be a partisan issue, and we can work together collaboratively to find a solution as we move forward. Sadly, the Speech from the Throne fell short in this area.

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, October 6th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I am deeply passionate about mental health, as is our leader, which is why he appointed me as special adviser to him and created this position.

I am not sure how many funerals my colleagues have attended due to suicide, whether of a teenager, a loved one, first responder or veteran, and I am not sure how many families they have sat with who were struggling to pick up the pieces, but we need to do more. We need to make sure that mental health is on parity with physical health. It is not enough to be just physically healthy anymore. We have to be mentally healthy as well.

Leadership starts at the top. It starts with the federal government and, sadly, we did not see that in the Speech from the Throne.

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, October 6th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, whether it is this government or future governments, more is needed. We are seeing seniors fall through the cracks. We need to work with our provincial partners to make sure that we have a plan moving forward. We did not see that in the Speech from the Throne.

We will take no lessons from the Liberals in terms of how they are moving forward, in terms of their seniors' care or those living with serious illnesses. We know that the Liberals were not prepared. They did not heed the warnings and were left scrambling at the last minute, and people lost their lives.