44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 4, 2022 02:00PM
- May/4/22 2:23:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, once again we see the Conservative Party engaging in an act of political theatre on a matter that was dealt with years ago.
Conservatives will stop at nothing to distract from their support of the illegal protests that cost our economy dearly, put people out of work and made many people feel unsafe in their own communities.
Instead, let us talk about the real things that matter to Canadians, from the cost of living to Putin's illegal war in Ukraine. Those are the issues that this government is focusing on, while the Conservatives focus on me.
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- May/4/22 2:24:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the RCMP will always do its job.
It is interesting to see how determined the Conservatives are to avoid taking about the economy, about housing and about the budget we tabled just a few weeks ago. They are still blocking the economic statement we tabled last fall. Despite the concerns being voiced right now by women across the country, they do not even want to talk about women's rights. They do not want to talk about anything.
The Conservatives just want to engage in personal attacks, but that is not what Canadians care about.
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- May/4/22 2:25:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for the two years of the pandemic, we did everything we could to keep Canadians safe.
The vast majority of Canadians co‑operated. Canada's vaccination rate is higher than that of many other countries—not in the Conservative caucus, but across the country. We saw a tremendous amount of people doing the right things.
We will continue to be guided by the science and by the best recommendations of experts to keep Canadians safe. That is exactly what we will continue to do, while giving Canadians much-needed services, of course.
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- May/4/22 2:26:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we have seen over the past couple of years that Canadians stepped up incredibly to be there for each other, to get vaccinated, to wear masks and to keep each other safe. That strength of response is why we have not only had less impact from the pandemic than many other countries, but our economic recovery has come back so much stronger than many other countries'. That is why we are going to continue to be informed by experts on how to keep Canadians safe.
Even as variants continue to evolve, we will evolve in our measures to keep Canadians safe.
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- May/4/22 2:27:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we see the Conservative Party talking an awful lot about divisions among Canadians, but that has not been the experience of most Canadians, over 90% of whom stepped up to get vaccinated, and who demonstrated every step of the way that they were there for their neighbours, that they were—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- May/4/22 2:29:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, like I said, the Conservatives never miss an opportunity to try to pretend that Canadians are divided, when in fact Canadians were united, from 90% vaccination rates, to pulling together for their neighbours, to following public health rules, to being there for each other.
That is why Canada pulled through better than many countries from this pandemic and why our economy is coming back so strongly. That is why we will continue to listen to experts. That is why we will continue to have Canadians' backs.
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- May/4/22 2:30:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is not at all the case. We recognize that under the Canada-Quebec accord Quebec can choose to accept up to 28% of new permanent residents who arrive in Canada every year.
We will always work with Quebec to achieve its immigration targets, and we will be there if it wants to increase its immigration levels to ensure that Quebec welcomes its fair share of new arrivals.
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- May/4/22 2:31:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we recognize that immigration is essential to our economy and, as the member opposite knows very well, Quebec sets its own immigration targets.
Last year we welcomed more than 50,000 new permanent residents in the province and, this year, Quebec has significantly increased its immigration targets, which will help to considerably reduce those wait times.
We will always work closely with the Government of Quebec to ensure that our immigration system continues to work well for Quebeckers and Canadians.
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- May/4/22 2:32:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, allow me to state once again in this House that the right to choose is a woman's right and hers alone. We will never back down from protecting and promoting access to safe abortion in Canada and around the world, and we cannot take any rights, including this most fundamental one, for granted.
To all Canadians, we must be active, vigilant and speak out, and this government always has and always will be there for the full range of reproductive health rights of all women across the country.
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- May/4/22 2:34:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as we said, we have not hesitated to take action, including by withholding funding from New Brunswick in light of its continued refusal to fund Clinic 554 and by investing $45 million to help community organizations expand access to reproductive health care information and services.
I have also tasked the Minister of Health with ensuring that all Canadians have access to the sexual and reproductive health services they need, no matter where they live, by reinforcing compliance with the Canada Health Act. We will continue to be there and actively ensure that women across the country have access to reproductive health services.
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- May/4/22 2:35:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, every step of the way, we have followed the best advice of experts and scientists in Canada to keep Canadians safe, and that is exactly what we have been able to do. We have had a far less bad pandemic in Canada than in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, because we have been following the science and sticking to it. We will continue to.
It is interesting that the member opposite talks about the freedom of personal choice. I wonder if he is willing to extend that to the personal choice of women to control their own bodies.
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- May/4/22 2:36:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, every step of the way, we have been guided by one principle: to have Canadians' backs. That is exactly what we have done through this pandemic, including by trusting in science, by trusting the experts and by moving forward in a responsible way that has resulted in a pandemic that was far less worse in Canada than in other places around the world, but also an economic recovery that has been stronger and faster.
At the same time, we will continue to engage in keeping Canadians united as they have been, in keeping each other safe, in protecting our economic recovery and in building a better future for all.
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- May/4/22 2:38:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I cannot help but pause on the language that the Conservative Party continues to use around vaccinations, words like “punitive” and words like “vindictive”, when we know that vaccines have saved not millions, but billions of lives around the world through this pandemic.
While the Conservative Party continues its attacks on science and continues its attacks on experts, we will continue to follow the science and keep Canadians safe. That is how we have Canadians' backs.
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- May/4/22 2:40:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I find it interesting to hear a Conservative member talking about the fact that the mandates actually served their purpose. That is a big step up from the Conservative Party, to actually recognize that mandates served a purpose in keeping Canadians safe.
That Canadians stepped up, with over 90% getting vaccinated, is part of why we have had a pandemic that hit us less hard than many places around the world. That is a fact, and we are going to continue to be guided by science, regardless of the politics that guide the Conservatives. We will be guided by experts and science.
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- May/4/22 2:41:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, during the pandemic, different countries used different ways to keep their citizens safe and to get through this crisis.
Although we did lose some people, the decisions that Canada made in partnership with the provinces are why the pandemic hit Canada less hard and why we are experiencing a stronger economic recovery than many other countries. That happened because we followed the science, and the decisions that we make in the coming weeks will continue to be informed by science.
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- May/4/22 2:42:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if we are going to talk about our approaches at the beginning of the pandemic, I will point out that it was the Conservative Party that was the most vocal about demanding more vaccines in this country so Canadians could be vaccinated. I am willing to give them credit for that, but once we delivered those vaccines, it was unfortunately the Conservatives who fought to prevent people from being persuaded that vaccines were a good idea.
Unfortunately, they did not follow the science. We will continue to follow the science, we have delivered these vaccines, and we will implement measures that will keep Canadians safe.
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- May/4/22 2:44:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have always worked hand in hand with the Government of Quebec on immigration. We are processing files as quickly as possible. Yes, it would be better if Quebec sent us more files, because then we could ensure higher immigration levels. However, this kind of work is ongoing.
Last year, we welcomed more than 50,000 new permanent residents to the province, and this year, Quebec has significantly increased its immigration targets, which is a good thing. We will continue to work so we can meet expectations in this area. The federal government is always ready to do more when it comes to immigration.
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- May/4/22 2:45:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, immigration will, by and large, always be under federal control, but we do have an agreement with Quebec that recognizes Quebec's distinct needs. I realize our Bloc friend is not happy about this, but Quebec is not yet its own country, nor will it ever be if Canadians continue to do their job. Until then, we will have this partnership between the federal government, which is here for all Canadians, and the provincial government of Quebec.
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- May/4/22 2:46:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when we invoked the Emergencies Act, we ensured that it was done in a proportional and time-limited way to enable the kind of restoration of order that we needed in Canada while maintaining people's confidence in the transparency and the accountability of democracy. That is why we moved forward with the parliamentary committee. That is why we have moved forward with a national public inquiry as required, to be able to give that full transparency.
I can understand the Conservatives are concerned about this. They are worried that it is going to show the level to which their support for these blockaders contributed to the difficulties of so many Canadians.
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- May/4/22 2:48:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, here are the facts. The flight in question was part of a Canadian Armed Forces training exercise that was planned prior to and was unrelated to the convoy protest. That is the fact.
What the official opposition is playing with here is dangerously close to misinformation and disinformation when it chooses to make political hay out of something that could be concerning to many people if it were true, but it is simply not true. I think it is important and behooves all of us in the House to demonstrate responsible leadership in how we move forward.
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