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Ms. Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, NDP)

Mar/23/22 2:50:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, over 3.6 million people have fled Putin's destruction in Ukraine. They are desperately trying to unite with friends and family, and find safety, including here in Canada. Even though older identity documents are supposed to be recognized in the fast track visa process, Ukrainians with an older internal passport are unable to complete the government's online application process. My constituent is having a hard time getting a visa for his 83-year-old mother. Will the minister take swift action to ensure older identity documents are recognized through the government's online emergency visa application process?

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Hon. Sean Fraser (Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Lib.)

Mar/23/22 2:51:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her sincere concern for the well-being of those who are fleeing the unimaginable circumstances in Ukraine. We have now seen more than 10,000 Ukrainians arrive in Canada since the beginning of this calendar year, and we are going to continue to do more to promote and facilitate the safe transport of people to Canada as quickly as possible. With respect to outdated travel documents, we contemplated this possibility during the program design, and we are working to issue single journey travel documents for those who do not have a valid passport. I will be pleased to continue to work with any member of this House who identifies problems along the way because, as this system develops for the first time, we want to make sure it continues to operate smoothly to welcome as many people here as quickly as possible.

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Ms. Heather McPherson (Edmonton Strathcona, NDP)

Mar/23/22 2:52:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Ukrainians are fleeing horrific attacks in their country and they are vulnerable. They are seniors. They are mothers with children. The open work permit will not help these people because they may not be able to work. Mothers will need access to day care, and they will need money to pay for it. In many cases, they may not want to leave their children, who have been deeply traumatized. Canada must provide air and ground transportation to help Ukrainians get to Canada and then support them when they are here. This is urgent. Will the minister commit immediately to financial support for Ukrainians when they arrive in Canada?

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Hon. Sean Fraser (Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Lib.)

Mar/23/22 2:52:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for her advocacy for the well-being of those fleeing Ukraine. With respect to her point regarding the open work permit, I would like to point out that nearly 80% of those who have applied to come through the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel have also applied for the open work permit, which we have made them eligible for. With respect to supports for people to get here and once they land, we are working right now with non-profit partners, private sector donors and airlines to sort out some of the very issues she raised in her question. We are working around the clock across ministries, with partners, with provincial jurisdictions, and on the ground in Canadian communities, so we can maximize the extraordinary goodwill we are seeing coming from Canadians who want to do their part.

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Mrs. Salma Zahid (Scarborough Centre, Lib.)

Mar/23/22 2:53:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, rising inflation is presenting real challenges for my constituents in Scarborough Centre, especially seniors on fixed incomes and families with young children already challenged by high housing prices. The rising cost of groceries and other daily necessities is making it harder for families to put healthy and nutritious food on the table for their children. Could the Associate Minister of Finance please tell us what the government is doing to help families that are having to make difficult choices between healthy food and paying rent?

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Hon. Randy Boissonnault (Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance, Lib.)

Mar/23/22 2:54:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague from Scarborough Centre for her exceptional work on this file. Thanks to the historic investments in budget 2021, and thanks to the incredible work of the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, we now have early learning and child care agreements with nine provinces and three territories. This means that across the country Canadians are already saving over $5,000 a year. These are savings for families in B.C., Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, and my own province of Alberta. We continue to work hard every day to make high-quality child care affordable for all Canadians.

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Mr. Garnett Genuis (Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, CPC)

Mar/23/22 2:54:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians who choose to join Ukraine's foreign legion would do so at great risk to themselves. They should not have to worry about being prosecuted in Canada. According to the Foreign Enlistment Act, it is against the law for a Canadian to fight against a friendly foreign state, but the act contains no definition or list regarding who is a friendly foreign state. Could the Attorney General of Canada clearly state that, for the purposes of this act, Russia is not considered a friendly foreign state?

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Hon. Mélanie Joly (Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lib.)

Mar/23/22 2:55:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, obviously we know Ukraine is at war and that we need to make sure we help Ukraine defend itself. Now, I have been clear, and the travel advisory on Canada's website is clear, that we need to make sure that, if people are in Ukraine, they need to shelter. At the same time, we have been clear since February 1 that, should Canadians be in Ukraine, they should be leaving the country. We have been clear also that Canadians should not go to Ukraine. That being said, we know this is a personal choice on the part of many Canadians, and I look forward to working with my colleague on this issue.

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Mr. Garnett Genuis (Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, CPC)

Mar/23/22 2:56:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I hope we will get some clarity at some point on that specific question. A defining challenge for democracies in many parts of the world is energy security. Fuelling democracy and protecting the international rules-based order requires Canada to step up and do our part to help our partners kick Putin's gas out of their supply chains. Does the NDP-Liberal government recognize that supplying energy to fellow democracies is critical for global security?

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Ms. Yvonne Jones (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and to the Minister of Northern Affairs, Lib.)

Mar/23/22 2:56:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the current situation in Ukraine underscores the importance of energy security of our allies in Europe and around the world. Our country is in a secure position in terms of energy supply, and as Europe works to address the geopolitical and social economic challenges presented by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we are considering all measures to preserve energy supply chains in Canada, and where possible, worldwide.

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Mr. Kelly McCauley (Edmonton West, CPC)

Mar/23/22 2:57:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in the operations committee, Public Works admitted that the government might delay the selection of a replacement fighter jet for an additional 12 months, because apparently six years' delay is not enough. When we asked Public Works if it had received any direction from the Liberal-NDP government to speed up the process in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the answer was a simple nope. What is the government's plan for our air force in this time of crisis, to go shopping on eBay for more gently used CF-18s?

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Hon. Filomena Tassi (Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Lib.)

Mar/23/22 2:57:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government has been strong and consistent in delivering on its promise to replace Canada's existing fighter jet fleet through an open, fair and transparent process. We are delivering real progress and purchasing 88 advanced fighter jets for our Canadian military. This is a rigorous assessment process. We are going to continue to support the Royal Canadian Air Force in its efforts to keeps Canadian safe, with equipment that meets its standards, and we are going to do this in a very responsible way.

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Mr. Scot Davidson (York—Simcoe, CPC)

Mar/23/22 2:58:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister likes to say that Canada is back, but last week I was in Poland at the Ukrainian border and Canada was nowhere to be found. Thousands of Ukrainian refugees are flooding through border towns like Medyka, where they are given humanitarian aid from around the world, including from countries as small as Uzbekistan. Other nations are doing their part, but Canada has almost no presence on the ground. The only maple leaf one could find was the one on my jacket. Why is the Liberal-NDP government offering no visible support to the Ukrainian people in their time of need?

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Hon. Harjit S. Sajjan (Minister of International Development and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada, Lib.)

Mar/23/22 2:59:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I respectfully disagree with the member. In fact, I and other members were actually on the ground as well, where I visited Poland, Moldova, Romania and other countries involved. In fact, we not only have a team on the ground coordinating with the U.S.A, the EU and the United Nations, we have been having daily conversations to make sure humanitarian support is getting to the right people.

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Mr. Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe (Lac-Saint-Jean, BQ)

Mar/23/22 2:59:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for nearly four weeks, the Bloc Québécois has been co-operating with the government to help welcome Ukrainian refugees, but now we are fed up. It is unacceptable that the minister still has not chartered any flights to bring refugee families here. Air Transat has volunteered to help and is just waiting for the green light from the minister. There are other airlines that were given multi-billion dollar bailouts by the government. The minister needs to ask them to do their part. Will he finally pull up his socks and start airlifting refugees out this week?

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Hon. Sean Fraser (Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Lib.)

Mar/23/22 2:59:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canada will provide a safe haven for those who are fleeing Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Canada has welcomed nearly 10,000 Ukrainians since January. Last week, we launched the new Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel to make it easier for Ukrainians to safely come to Canada. We are going to continue to work not only to give them permission to apply to Canada but also to do what we can to facilitate their arrival. We are having conversations in real time with private sector players, provinces and territories, and others who could facilitate their arrival in Canada as quickly as possible. I am going to continue my work on this file until we see additional Ukrainians come, beyond the 10,000 who have already arrived.

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Mr. Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe (Lac-Saint-Jean, BQ)

Mar/23/22 3:00:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that answer is no longer acceptable. Although we are used to hearing hollow answers from the minister in the House, hollow answers are unacceptable to the Ukrainian women and children trapped in Poland without a penny to their names. The minister has no right to tell refugees that Canada will help them, only to turn around and say that they need to make their own arrangements to get here. When will the government sign an agreement with the airlines? When?

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Hon. Sean Fraser (Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Lib.)

Mar/23/22 3:01:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would dare suggest that it is not a hollow answer to the 10,000 Ukrainians who are already in Canada or the tens of thousands more who have applied or who will be welcomed to Canada in the future. We are having these conversations in real time, including with airlines, including with provinces and territories, including with private sector contributors, including with service providers on the ground. We will work every day to do everything we can to help the people who are fleeing this war. It is the just and honourable thing to do when we are dealing with such a war of aggression. Canada will play its part, including by welcoming as many Ukrainians who are fleeing this war of aggression as possible.

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Mrs. Dominique Vien (Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, CPC)

Mar/23/22 3:01:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is so caught up in its new secret alliance with the NDP that it is forgetting to lift public health measures, as the other G7 countries are doing. Being vigilant does not mean being stubborn and inflexible. When will the NDP‑Liberal government reassess the measures still in place at the federal level?

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Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos (Minister of Health, Lib.)

Mar/23/22 3:02:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to thank the 30 million Canadians who got vaccinated last year, when thousands of health care workers administered 81 million doses to people who made the effort to go out and get vaccinated to protect everyone around them. We should be thanking them every day. We would love to declare that COVID‑19 is over, like some Conservative members are doing today by choosing not to wear a mask, but it is not up to politicians to decide when COVID‑19 is over.

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