COVID-19 Emergency Response  Here is the problem, Mr. Speaker. The minister has had two weeks to answer this question, because this motion was presented to the health committee nearly two weeks ago. The fact that she could not walk into her staff's office and ask what is a reasonable timeline, over a two-week period, really belies the government's overall response to COVID and her approach to her staff, which has been slow, incompetent and costly to Canadian lives.

COVID-19 Emergency Response  Mr. Speaker, today, in an article by Dylan Robertson from the Winnipeg Free Press, we found out that fewer than half of federal freedom of information offices are operating at full capacity, including the health ministry. This means there are people whose actual job it is to produce information for Parliament who are sitting at home.

COVID-19 Emergency Response  Mr. Speaker, it is this incompetence that is costing Canadians their lives. It is these excuses that are keeping businesses shut. It is this lack of disregard for Canadians' lives, and our plan forward, that is keeping women out of the workforce, because day cares are closed, because we do not have rapid tests.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, first of all, I want to say to the House how awesome my colleague from Brandon—Souris is. He is a pretty awesome guy. He is great to work with on the health committee, so I want to thank him for his service and all of his hard work. I know he was so frustrated watching the Liberals block this common-sense motion, which other parties collaborated with us on, especially at a time when we need these answers.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, what is so heartening about this debate today is that I have had colleagues from the NDP and the Bloc stand up to say that we all need this place to be facilitating a path forward related to COVID-19, so that families can be reunited, people can get back to work, schools can stay open and we can keep people healthy and safe.

Business of Supply  She just cannot help herself, Mr. Speaker. We do have to do a review right now because the number of cases in Ontario today are a record, which means that the government's response has failed. Therefore, we need to understand things like the question the minister did not answer from The Canadian Press yesterday: Who is getting rapid tests, when, how many and what criteria?

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I really want to thank my colleague, who I am very pleased to serve on the Standing Committee on Health with, for his remarkable patience in dealing with the Liberal government. I know the member has been working collaboratively with myself and other members to come up with a motion that is non-partisan and can move us forward.

Business of Supply  “Amen Brother”, Mr. Speaker, absolutely. My colleague's caucus colleague from Vancouver Kingsway, who serves with me on the health committee, has also been extremely collaborative. I want to give him credit for helping think through this motion, asking what we need to know and how we word it so it is not partisan or accusatory and is just about information gathering so Parliament can do its job and move forward.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, yes, we are asking for all of that. I want to know. That is my job. It is my right as a parliamentarian. It is my right to stand up for Canadians to find out that information. If one listens to the member's response, all one hears is “blah, blah, blah, cannot do, cannot do.”

Business of Supply  moved: That the Standing Committee on Health be instructed to undertake a study on the emergency situation facing Canadians in light of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that this study evaluate, review and examine any issues relevant to this situation, such as, but not limited to: (a) rapid and at-home testing approvals and procurement process and schedule, and protocol for distribution; (b) vaccine development and approvals process, procurement schedules, and protocol for distribution; (c) federal public health guidelines and the data being used to inform them for greater clarity on efficacy; (d) current long-term care facility COVID-19 protocols as they pertain solely to federal jurisdiction; (e) the availability of therapeutics and treatment devices for Canadians diagnosed with COVID-19; (f) the early warning system, Global Public Health Intelligence Network (GPHIN); (g) the government’s progress in evaluating pre- and post-arrival rapid testing for travellers; (h) the availability of paid sick leave for those in need, including quarantine and voluntary isolation; (i) the adequacy of health transfer payments to the provinces, in light of the COVID-19 crisis; (j) the impact of the government’s use of World Heath Organization (WHO) advice in early 2020 to delay the closure of borders and delay in the recommendation of wearing of masks on the spread of COVID-19 in Canada; (k) the Public Health Agency of Canada’s communication strategy regarding COVID-19; (l) the development, efficacy and use of data related to the government’s COVID Alert application; (m) Canada’s level of preparedness to respond to another pandemic; (n) the availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) in Canada and a review of Canada’s emergency stockpile of PPE between 2015 and present; (o) the government’s contact tracing protocol, including options considered, technology, timelines and resources; (p) the government’s consideration of and decision not to invoke the federal Emergencies Act; provided that, (q) this study begin no later than seven days following the adoption of this motion; (r) the committee present its findings to the House upon completion and, notwithstanding Standing Order 109, that the government provide a comprehensive response to these findings within 30 days; (s) evidence and documentation received by the committee during its study of the Canadian response to the outbreak of the coronavirus, commenced during the first session of the 43rd Parliament, be taken into consideration by the committee in the current study; (t) that each party represented on the committee be entitled to select one witness per one-hour witness panel, and two witnesses per two-hour witness panel; (u) an order of the House do issue for all memoranda, emails, documents, notes or other records from the Office of the Prime Minister, the Privy Council Office, the office of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, the office of the Minister of Health, Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada, concerning options, plans and preparations for the GPHIN since January 1, 2018; (v) an order of the House do issue for a record of all communications between the government and the WHO in respect of options, plans or preparations for any future operation, or absence thereof, of the GPHIN, since January 1, 2018; (w) an order of the House do issue for all memoranda, emails, documents, notes and other records from the Office of the Prime Minister, the Privy Council Office, the office of the Minister of Public Services and Procurement, the office of the Minister of Health, Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada, concerning plans, preparations, approvals and purchasing of COVID-19 testing products including tests, reagents, swabs, laboratory equipment and other material related to tests and testing applications used in the diagnosis of COVID-19, since March 19, 2020; (x) an order of the House do issue for all memoranda, emails, documents, notes and other records from the Prime Minister’s Office, the Privy Council Office, the office of the Minister of Public Services and Procurement, the office of the Minister of Health, Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada concerning plans, preparations and purchasing of PPE, including gowns, gloves, masks, respirators, ventilators, visors and face shields, since March 19, 2020; (y) an order of the House do issue for all memoranda, e-mails, documents, notes and other records relating to the COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force and its subcommittees; (z) an order of the House do issue for all memoranda, e-mails, documents, notes and other records relating to the Government of Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution and monitoring strategy, including, but not limited to anticipated timelines for the distribution of an approved COVID-19 vaccine across Canada and the prioritization of population groups for vaccination; (aa) all documents issued pursuant to this order (i) be organized by department and be provided to the Office of the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel within 15 days of the adoption of this order, (ii) be vetted for matters of personal privacy information, and national security, and, with respect to paragraph (y) only, be additionally vetted for information the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to interfere with contractual or other negotiations between the Government of Canada and a third party, by the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel within seven days of the receipt of the documents, (iii) be laid upon the table by the Speaker, at the next earliest opportunity, once vetted, and permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Health; and (bb) within seven days after all documents have been tabled pursuant to paragraph (aa), the Minister of Health, the Minister of Public Services and Procurement, the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, and the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry be ordered to appear separately as witnesses before the Standing Committee on Health, for at least three hours each.

Health  Mr. Speaker, obfuscation like that, and the member totally reading talking points off of his computer to answer a direct question that the media were interested in today, and that I am interested in, is why we are forcing a significant motion in the House of Commons tomorrow. The Liberals have been filibustering at committee.

Health  Mr. Speaker, for weeks now I have been asking the government about why it failed to procure rapid tests for Canadians. Anybody who is watching this tonight would know that if they went out to get a rapid COVID test to get results within 15 minutes, they could not. The technology is not available, even though countries around the world have managed to provide this life-saving and economy-saving technology for their citizens.

Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, the member is correct in acknowledging that I raised that concern as something that is coming up in my constituency. I would argue that, because this is a common concern coming up in constituency offices across the country, the government has probably not explained this well enough to Canadians.

Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, there are stakeholder groups that represent Canadians with disabilities who are concerned that this legislation could diminish the value of the lives of people who live with severe disabilities. I believe that, in certain situations, social supports should be available to people living in those situations so that there is never any question that somebody is making a choice to end their life because of a lack of resources to live with dignity.

Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, my colleague, as always, makes an excellent point. This is exactly what I am getting at. As we are considering this bill, we should also be considering reviewing situations such as the member just raised: national legislation and a framework around palliative care, home care, etc.