44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 1, 2022 10:00AM
- Feb/1/22 11:15:53 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, there is, of course, much more to be said about the pandemic, but I thought that the throne speech was intended to get us out of the pandemic and provide some certainty, even if it did not achieve that goal.
I only heard the word “workers” once in the member's speech. What ways of supporting our workers, who are still being mistreated, does the member think the government should prioritize?
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- Feb/1/22 11:16:27 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is workers who have really struggled in many ways through this pandemic, especially frontline workers, whether they are in the health care system, in grocery stores or in restaurants. Many in the restaurant industry have been laid off, rehired, laid off and rehired again. Many have given up and moved on to other things. Those in grocery stores have had to put up with abuse, as my colleague from Timmins—James Bay just mentioned, in trying to enforce the public health orders. Many have lost their jobs and many small businesses are struggling.
The government came out with supports for workers and businesses, but it let many of those people fall through the cracks. For the last two years, we have been pushing the government to fill those cracks and make sure workers like independent travel advisers who have not received anything—
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- Feb/1/22 11:17:37 a.m.
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We need to give an opportunity for other questions.
The hon. member for Sarnia—Lambton.
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- Feb/1/22 11:17:45 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member for his speech. He is always very thoughtful in his comments.
There are a lot of seniors in my riding. The cost of everything is going up and the pandemic is going on and on. Some mistakes have been made, and some seniors who were working collected CERB and are now having their GIS cut back. The government has really not acted on fixing these things so that seniors can afford to live, and it has been quite a long time.
Does the member agree that the government should be doing more to help seniors who are struggling?
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- Feb/1/22 11:18:18 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would really like to thank the member for Sarnia—Lambton for bringing up that important issue. The NDP has been calling on the government to change its decision. Some of the most heartbreaking messages, emails and phone calls I have been getting in my offices are from seniors who were advised to collect CERB because they were told they qualified, but who then found out after CERB was abruptly cut off that their GIS vanished. They now cannot afford their rent and some of them have lost their homes.
We have been pressing the government to do the right thing, reinstitute that and give them the retroactive pay they need. It is not that they deserve it; they need it. In Canada, we have to take care of our seniors, and low-income seniors are some of the most vulnerable people in our country. Let us do the—
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- Feb/1/22 11:19:28 a.m.
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The hon. member for Elmwood—Transcona.
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- Feb/1/22 11:19:39 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, on that same theme, I would be remiss if I did not mention that yesterday in question period, when the Conservatives had the opportunity to pick their priority issues, one thing they got up on was increases to the Canada pension plan and contributions to the Canada pension plan, which are all about ensuring that the seniors of tomorrow have an adequate pension. The Conservatives do not call it a pension; they call it a payroll tax. However, the fact of the matter is that if we want seniors to have a decent pension, we need to be paying into a well-funded Canada pension plan that actually ensures there is a decent benefit on the other side of it.
I am glad the Conservatives want to say they are standing up for seniors. I think that is great. I think it shows how important seniors are to this country when members of a political party that never misses a chance to denigrate the Canada pension plan when people are actually trying to do something for it still feel the need to bring it up with the other side of their mouths when they think they can score political points with it.
I wonder if the member wants to talk about the importance of a strong public pension plan and what it means to invest in that for the future, instead of calling it down at every chance they get and tearing it up when they are in government. I am talking about the Conservatives here.
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- Feb/1/22 11:20:49 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I agree with the member totally. We need strong pensions. We also need to have legislation to protect pension theft when companies go out of business and use the pension money that workers have put in there. These are deferred wages, and they are going to banks right now. We have to—
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- Feb/1/22 11:21:11 a.m.
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We will have to leave it at that.
Resuming debate, the hon. parliamentary secretary to the government House leader.
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- Feb/1/22 11:21:17 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise today to address the very important issue of the government's throne speech, a plan to take Canadians in all regions of our vast land through the pandemic—
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- Feb/1/22 11:21:35 a.m.
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If I may interrupt, we have a point of order.
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- Feb/1/22 11:21:39 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am seeking the guidance of the Chair. My understanding of Bosc and Gagnon is that a member may only speak to a motion once. My understanding is that the member has spoken three times now to the same motion. I am seeking clarity from the Chair on whether or not this is an oversight, or whether there are so few Liberals willing to defend their record that the member has to get up for a third time on the Speech from the Throne. I am just seeking clarity.
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- Feb/1/22 11:22:28 a.m.
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A member has the opportunity to speak to the main motion, the amendment and the subamendment. The hon. parliamentary secretary has not addressed the main motion.
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- Feb/1/22 11:22:47 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I hope this will not be taken from my time and we will reset the clock. It does not surprise me that my Conservative friends do not necessarily want to hear what I have to say, but I will tell members that they should listen closely, because if they listen closely, they might get a better sense of the type of direction they want to consider taking.
The member for Sarnia—Lambton asked where we go next in a question she put earlier today. That is a very important question. From the beginning, through the throne speeches, remarks from the Prime Minister and budgetary and legislative initiatives, we have been very clear about what the Government of Canada's priority has been as of 19 or 20 months ago: dealing with the pandemic. We are at a point in time where we are hoping to see strong leadership from all sides of the House to get us through the pandemic. To indirectly answer the question the member from the Conservative Party asked, one of the best things we can do is encourage the public and our constituents to get fully vaccinated.
Sitting on the government benches, I am observing how the Conservative members have been approaching this issue. There is an interesting story, and I would like to quote from it. It is significant because it is from the former leader of the Progressive Conservative Party, former prime minister Brian Mulroney, when he was interviewed on CTV. Former prime minister Brian Mulroney told CTV's Question Period a few Sundays back that the leader of the Conservative Party, at least for now, should go further and show any unvaccinated MPs the door, removing them from his caucus. He said, “That's leadership.” That is a direct quote from the former Progressive Conservative prime minister.
He goes on to say, “Who am I to argue with tens of thousands of brilliant scientists and doctors who urge the population desperately to get vaccinated?” He also said, “Look, you're not the leader to follow, you are the leader to lead, and if you think this is in the national interest, Canada's interest, you get your members of Parliament in line, and they have to support what you're doing.”
If we listen to what the former prime minister said and we understand and appreciate, as he indicated, the science and the health experts, we have an appreciation of just how important it is for people to be fully vaccinated. A vast majority, 86% or more, are fully vaccinated, not to mention those over the age of 12 who have received one shot. However, we still have Conservatives within the official opposition questioning this and adding fuel to those who believe they do not have to get vaccinated, sending mixed messages to the public. I think that is at a great cost. On the one hand the Conservatives say that it is time we move on, yet if we follow them, whether their behaviour inside the House or the statements they make on Twitter, they send very confusing messages.
From the beginning, we have been very consistent. Our number one issue 19 or 20 months ago was the pandemic and working with willing partners, including provincial governments, indigenous leaders, non-profit organizations, private companies and people in general from all regions of the country, to take a team approach and build a national consensus on the types of things that we needed to do as a government in order to take on the pandemic. Through that consultation and those efforts that engaged so many Canadians, we are where we are today.
A great deal of thanks and appreciation can be expressed to all Canadians who understood their responsibilities through this very trying time. Whether they were health care workers, taxi drivers, people who work in manufacturing plants or long-haul truck drivers, people stepped up and did what was necessary, whether providing services or staying at home in isolation, but at all times listening to what public health officials were saying and understanding the science of what was taking place in our communities. As a direct result, Canada is in an excellent position.
Looking at the third quarter reports, we see that our GDP grew by 5.4%. That is better than the United States, Japan, the U.K. and Australia. That is, in good part, because Canadians did what they needed to do in order to position Canada well when we had the opportunity to get out of the pandemic.
We have now seen 108% of the jobs that were lost due to the pandemic return. I compare that to the United States, our dearest friend to the south, where it is approximately 84%. For years, when I was in opposition, I used to be critical of the then Harper government talking about trade deficits. We would get trade deficit after trade deficit, year on year. In fact, when Stephen Harper assumed office, there was a trade surplus. When he left office there was a trade deficit. I understand that today we have a trade surplus that is at a 13-year high. These things are happening because governments of all levels and Canadians understood what we needed to do by coming together to make a difference. Those jobs matter. They are very important.
Just the other day, I had the opportunity to get a better overall understanding of the pork industry once again in the province of Manitoba. Maple Leaf Foods is an excellent example of doing what is necessary to ensure there is a high element of food security in our country. It contributed by continuing to operate, even during the pandemic, by taking the necessary measures to protect the industry.
Maple Leaf today is actually growing in the province of Manitoba. The best bacon in the world can be found right in Manitoba, and we are selling it throughout the world, not only because of an outstanding company that has demonstrated its ability to meet and get to market, but also because of the workforce that it employs and their responsible attitude in ensuring that those jobs would continue and ultimately grow because of the quality of work that they provide.
This year we are going to see an additional 350 jobs at that one company. That will bring up the total employment just in Winnipeg to 1,900 jobs. That is not to mention the around 1,500-plus jobs in the community of Brandon, Maple Leaf jobs. The hog industry is doing quite well in the province of Manitoba. If we go to Neepawa, HyLife is another shining example of a successful company that is exporting Manitoba world-class product.
Those are direct jobs in those industries. It does not speak to the indirect jobs that are created by these companies. In the parking lots there are hundreds of vehicles and those vehicles have to be purchased from someplace. The employees live in houses, condos and apartments in communities that require furniture. They require food and restaurants, and that feeds the economy, not to mention our farming communities.
Our agricultural community continues to grow and in many ways prosper. In good part, that is one of the reasons we are able to continue to grow our economy. Relatively speaking to the countries that I have already referenced, we are doing quite well, but there are areas that do need to get special attention, for example, the issue of health care. The greatest challenge in health care today, and yesterday when I used to be the health care critic, is not just money. It is how we manage the changes that are necessary to provide the quality health care services that Canadians expect, and they want the federal government to play a role in that.
We in the Liberal Party understand, for example, long-term health care facilities. The opposition members say it is all provincial jurisdiction. They can make that statement, but there are Liberal members of Parliament who are responding to what Canadians want. They want to see some form of national health care standards for long-term care for our seniors. That is something we believe in. On this side of the House, Liberals also believe in the need to invest in mental health. Apparently, the Conservatives do not. There is an expectation that governments will work together. We saw that through the pandemic. When governments work together, we can accomplish so much more.
This is a Prime Minister who has been committed to doing that, even though what one sees constantly coming from opposition benches on the floor of the House of Commons is character assassination, a focus from opposition to try to tear down the personalities of members who make up the caucus, as opposed to contributing to the overall positive debate. Constructive criticism, too, I must suggest, is a valid thing. I was in opposition. I like to think we contributed to that too.
However, no matter how cynical and negative the Conservative Party has been, we have remained focused on ensuring we are developing and bringing forward the programs that are going to make a difference in the lives of Canadians through a very difficult time.
As a result, we experienced some programs that have ultimately led to the survival of some of our industries. There are actually more businesses today than there were prepandemic. I like to think that has a lot to do with what the government came up with in terms of programs. During this difficult time, people needed a lifeline, and most often we will find that the lifeline came from the federal government, a government that believed in supporting businesses both small and big.
We did that through programs such as the wage subsidy, the rent subsidy and the loan support programs, all catered to support our small businesses and workers in Canada. We brought that out early in the game when the pandemic hit, because we recognized how important it was, in many ways, to keep these businesses viable and to prevent them from going bankrupt.
In the throne speech and back in October, the Prime Minister and the minister made reference to the need to carry on some of these programs, to have a lockdown program. That is why, shortly after the election, not only did we talk about it but we brought in legislation. In fact, that was the first piece of legislation we brought in, Bill C-2. That was to ensure the benefits for small businesses. On the one hand, we have those in the opposition who talk about the importance of small businesses, but when it came time to support small businesses, at least back in December, what did they do? They voted against Bill C-2.
Not only did they vote against that legislation, but during part of the debate they brought in motions to try to filibuster the legislation to prevent it from passing, yet they like to say they are friends of small business. Think of the millions of dollars, hundreds of millions, that the Government of Canada has provided to small businesses over the last 19 months or a year and a half. That is one of the reasons we are in the position we are in today. Relatively speaking, compared to other countries, we are doing exceptionally well.
That is because of the resilience of our small businesses, entrepreneurs and Canadians in general who have responded so well to the need to address the pandemic and to play the role we all needed to play, so that, at the end of the day, we were in a position to continue to grow the economy, support our middle class and allow things to get better quicker.
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- Feb/1/22 11:42:49 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the member opposite mentioned health care capacity, and that is the crisis. The government has been forcing the provinces to do more with less since it was first elected, but funding is not the only issue. People go to the hospital because they do not have family doctors, and there are not enough licensed doctors to go around. There are hundreds of qualified new Canadians and specialists who come to Canada, but they cannot practise because of the jurisdictional rules and because the federal government has not found a way to streamline them into jobs, so they are stocking shelves at Staples or working as PSWs instead of doing what they were trained to do and what they came to Canada to do.
How does the member propose that the federal government home in on the real problem and help Canadians get over being locked down and locked in because of restrictions?
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- Feb/1/22 11:44:02 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I wish I had another 20 minutes to answer that question. It is truly amazing. We have to realize that is from a Conservative Party perspective, and we need to look at what we have done in the last five years.
Historic amounts of transfers are going to the provinces for health care. We have identified areas and tagged money to support that. The recognition of immigrants' credentials is a very serious issue, and we constantly raise that with provincial stakeholders that are ultimately responsible, but maybe there are other things. We have a very progressive Minister of Immigration who is looking at ways to ensure that we can take advantage of getting more people who could contribute to our health care system. That is also an important aspect. The federal government, in the last number of years, has been very proactive on the health care file.
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- Feb/1/22 11:45:22 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, to listen to my colleague, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, one would think that everything is fine and that the Liberal government is doing a perfect job. In fact, things seem to be going so well that I have to wonder why the Nobel Foundation has not yet considered awarding all of this year's Nobel prizes to the Liberal government in power.
Earlier, I heard my colleague talk about how well businesses are doing in Manitoba, and I am very happy to hear that. It is encouraging.
In Quebec, on the other hand, we are experiencing a horrendous labour shortage and having a hard time finding workers. In addition, businesses are facing enormous hurdles when they go to hire foreign workers to fill positions. The backlogs keep piling up, and these businesses are being penalized by this government's neglect and complacency, especially when it comes to immigration.
I also heard my colleague mention consensus. The Quebec and provincial premiers have reached a consensus on health transfers. They are all calling for an increase in transfers to cover up to 35% of expenditures. The current issue that health care systems are facing is a lack of funding. The federal government is not paying its fair share and instead wants to interfere with health care management, which is a provincial jurisdiction.
When will the government realize that? I look forward to hearing what my colleague has to say about that.
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- Feb/1/22 11:46:39 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would refer the member to the Canada Health Act in terms of the federal government's role and suggest that he listen to what residents in good part, including residents in his own riding, have to say regarding some of the valuable contributions the federal government can make with respect to health care. Further, he should recognize that historic amounts of money are flowing to the provinces from Ottawa to support health care. This government was also able to continue signing health care accords with individual provinces, which is something that Stephen Harper was not able to do. We were able to accomplish that.
Manitoba and Quebec have a lot of things in common. I look at the aerospace industry and the issue of supply and demand. These are very important industries and communities that get a great deal of support from Ottawa, and I see that as a positive thing. However, they also have another thing in common, and that is the need for workers. As I said, we have a very proactive Minister of Immigration. I suspect we might now even have record numbers of international workers coming to Canada to fill those jobs. If we fail to meet the demand for those jobs, it takes away from our economy and that is one of the reasons—
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- Feb/1/22 11:48:11 a.m.
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The hon. member for London—Fanshawe.
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- Feb/1/22 11:48:15 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have listened to this member a lot, and he tries to defend what his government has done to reduce the spread of COVID-19. He just spoke a long time about the recovery of the Canadian economy. I certainly agree with him, in that we know the way through this is by ensuring that—
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