44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 9, 2022 11:00AM
- May/9/22 2:44:45 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I would like to reiterate that the assumptions underlying that question are misguided. Again, the Canadian Armed Forces flight was part of a training exercise. The exercise was planned prior to and was unrelated to the presence of the protesters and the convoy. The opposition does not seem to appreciate or like this point, but it is the truth.
61 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/9/22 2:45:22 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Defence told my colleague that the special forces had planned the King Air flight over Ottawa long before the convoy. However, the operations, which lasted four days, were conducted while people were using cellular communications and moving around.
My question is simple. Was the intelligence gathered by the King Air during training used by the government, or was it destroyed?
66 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/9/22 2:45:51 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, as I said in English, the flight in question was part of a training exercise. The Canadian Armed Forces also conducted this exercise. The training had nothing to do with the convoy. Those are the facts.
38 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/9/22 2:46:15 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, abortion and reproductive health services are not accessible across the country. Women, particularly in northern and rural communities, are forced to drive for hours to access essential health care services. Last year, the government promised $45 million for a sexual and reproductive health fund, but providers have not seen a single dollar for these essential services. It is not good enough for the government to say the right things; it must increase accessibility now. When will it actually deliver the promised funding for abortion and health services in Canada?
91 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/9/22 2:46:54 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I am very glad to hear this question, because defending the rights of women here and across Canada is absolutely essential.
We will be there every step of the way to do that. I look forward to making further announcements. I ask my colleague to be watching closely for what is soon to be news on that particular front.
61 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/9/22 2:47:18 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, when it comes to delivering help to oil and gas companies, the government is far better at that than it is at delivering help for women who are looking for health services.
While the price of gas soars, Imperial Oil is making its highest profit in 30 years, and Cenovus saw its profits increase sevenfold. This is not just about companies passing along higher costs to consumers; it is about them taking home more profit on every litre sold.
Not only are the Liberals not doing anything to stop that price gouging, but they are also continuing to throw public money at companies like these that are already taking advantage of Canadians. When are they going to end public subsidies to oil and gas companies that are already making record profits?
134 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/9/22 2:48:03 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows very well, the government has committed to phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies. We are in the process of working through that now.
We have been working, though, with all sectors of the economy, including the oil and gas sector, but also including the steel sector, the aluminum sector and others, to ensure that they are able to reduce their emissions in line with what is required to achieve our targets and achieve the commitments we have made to the international community while growing a strong and healthy economy that creates jobs and economic opportunity for Canadians going forward.
That is exactly what we are doing.
113 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/9/22 2:48:39 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, today is National Indigenous Nurses Day.
Indigenous nurses play an integral role in society for indigenous people in Canada and for Canadians nationwide. Having nurses from first nations and with Inuit and Métis ancestry helps ensure that communities have someone who understands the importance of culture in healing and who is familiar with the health care system.
Could the Minister of Indigenous Services please comment on the significant role that indigenous nurses serve in Canada?
79 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/9/22 2:49:16 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Northwest Territories for his unwavering advocacy for the health of people in Northwest Territories.
Nurses have always been the backbone of our health care system. I think we can all say a huge thanks for the efforts of nurses, especially through the pandemic. They have put up such an effort to protect us all, and they have been unwavering in their commitment.
For over 47 years, the Canadian Indigenous Nurses Association has been a leader in supporting indigenous nurses and improving indigenous health. We are supporting their efforts by investing in programs to recruit and support indigenous students in health care across Canada.
I am thrilled to welcome the Canadian Indigenous Nurses Association today and applaud them for their work.
130 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/9/22 2:50:07 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the delays in processing passport applications are completely unacceptable.
People are saying that it is chaos at Service Canada. People are getting abominable service, and some have had to cancel their travel plans.
However, this government has a ready-made solution: allow employees to return to work in person at the Service Canada passport offices. When does it plan to recall government employees?
65 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/9/22 2:50:48 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for the question.
I understand Canadians' frustration. It is truly frustrating. We are seeing an unbelievable increase in the number of passport applications.
However, this week, every passport office will be open. Employees are returning to the office and are working overtime on evenings and weekends to ensure that we can serve Canadians.
60 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/9/22 2:51:19 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, a report from October 2021 states that the government was bracing for a surge of passport applications. Fast forward to seven months later and clearly it did not brace well enough.
Wait times have become so outrageous that people are offering a service to wait in line for passport renewals. One of my constituents was recommended by Service Canada to line up at 1:00 a.m. Constituents are also being charged extra processing fees, meaning that a $160 10-year passport is now costing Canadians $315.
If the Liberals knew, why are Canadians paying the price for the Liberals' inability to prepare?
105 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/9/22 2:52:05 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, as I have mentioned many times in the House, we are experiencing an unprecedented increase in the demand for passports. After two years, Canadians understandably would like to travel again, but that means that when everyone is applying at the same time, it is a lot for the system to handle.
That being said, we have ensured that we have hired additional people. We have opened on evenings and weekends. In fact, this past weekend, 12 centres were open to service folks, and we have ensured that every wicket will now be open in passport offices to make sure that we are serving Canadians as well as possible.
110 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/9/22 2:52:44 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the passport process has become a nightmare to thousands of Canadians. Tyler and Ira from Dawson Creek, through no fault of their own, had to travel 14 hours and spend hundreds of dollars to get their passports, just hours before their trip. What used to be a simple task of completing a passport form is now causing sleepless nights, unnecessary stress and huge expense to those who just want a break from the past two years of this Prime Minister's lockdowns.
When will the minister end the nightmare?
91 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/9/22 2:53:19 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I certainly understand that this is very frustrating for Canadians, but when we have people who are all asking to renew a passport at the same time, it is unprecedented. We did ensure that we had hired 500 additional passport officers ahead of time. We changed it so that 303 Service Canada—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
60 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/9/22 2:53:37 p.m.
- Watch
Order. The hon. minister might want to restart her answer.
The hon. Minister of Families, Children and Social Development.
19 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/9/22 2:53:47 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, as I said, I understand that this is frustrating for Canadians and that after two years of staying home, Canadians want to travel. However, when everyone is applying at the same time, there is unprecedented volume that is happening. To accommodate this, we have hired 500 additional passport officers and enabled Canadians to apply not just to passport offices but at the 303 Service Canada offices across the country. We have also opened passport offices through the evenings and into the weekends. We opened 12 centres over the weekend.
People are working overtime and doing everything they can, because at the end of the day, Service Canada employees want to service Canadians.
114 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/9/22 2:54:28 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, last week the minister bragged about her visit to the Saskatoon “out-of-Service Canada” office, yet, after her visit, the daughter of my constituent, Viktoriia, still cannot get a passport, because they lost her birth certificate. By contrast, the Bangladesh High Commission sent six people to Saskatoon on the weekend, and they processed 800 passports in two days.
How is it that a foreign government can get more done in two days than this minister can in two months?
84 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/9/22 2:55:06 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I just want to say to the people working at Service Canada who have been working overtime and weekends and doing everything they can to service Canadians, “Thank you.” They are under extreme stress because of the overwhelming volume of passports that they are working really hard to process. I know, as I visited the folks at Service Canada in Saskatoon and they spoke about the good working relationship they have with that member of Parliament. At no point would I ever want to disparage the incredibly hard-working public servants who are working around the clock to serve Canadians.
104 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/9/22 2:55:44 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the epidemic of gun violence continued Saturday night. Two shootings left one man dead and five injured in Laval and Montreal. In the meantime, in Montérégie, the biker gangs were having a grand old time. Four hundred Hells Angels were partying and laughing about the federal government's failure to deal with arms trafficking and to take action against criminal groups.
People are fed up. Is it not time to create a registry of criminal organizations and to crack down on them?
88 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
