44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 19, 2022 10:00AM
- May/19/22 10:37:16 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech.
The motion states that “current restrictions have been cited...as ineffective”. The science, however, says something completely different.
This morning, the papers were reporting that Canada's third-dose vaccination rate ranks second last among G7 countries. Our vaccination rate is apparently 54.3%.
What is my colleague's response to that?
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- May/19/22 10:37:48 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would ask the member to look at everywhere else in the world. I would ask him to ask himself why the science is actually different in this country and whether mandates have increased vaccination on the third dose. The answer is, not really.
We have heard from public health experts and doctors who have said that these mandates do not work. We have heard from the travel industry, which said they are bottlenecking our airports. We have heard from nobody that these restrictions are working.
I would hope that the member opposite watched the Edmonton Oilers play the Calgary Flames last night with over 20,000 in an arena, unvaxxed and unmasked because it did not matter, or that he goes outside of this place, takes off his mask and goes to any restaurant. The science does not make sense. The science cannot be one thing here and one thing there, and Canadians ought to know that.
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- May/19/22 11:24:55 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in listening today and in responding to the member's last comments, we have countries around the world that have lifted all restrictions, including the U.K., the U.S., Sweden, Norway and Mexico.
I am going to ask the parliamentary secretary a specific question. What specific advice are we getting from our health experts that is allowing Canada to make the decision to continue restrictions? What is the specific advice we are getting?
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- May/19/22 11:57:49 a.m.
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What a mind-boggling question, Mr. Speaker. What does this mean? Does it mean that every restriction that people do not understand must be lifted? If someone wants to drive at 200 kilometres per hour because they think that they are a good driver, should we remove speed limits because this person does not understand that there are restrictions in society? I cannot believe that question.
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- May/19/22 12:11:56 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, since I have been in the House, I have often seen the Conservatives add something to the wording of their motion that makes it so that that only they will vote in favour of it, since it includes inaccurate information.
It says here that, “Canada's international allies have moved to lift COVID-19 restrictions”, when one of the worst infection hot spots on the planet has been our neighbour to the south, with whom we share one of the longest borders in the world and who has not lifted restrictions at all.
I would like to hear my colleague's comments about that being added to the motion when the Conservatives are looking for everyone's support.
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- May/19/22 12:41:43 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, through you, I want to ask the hon. member this. There are countries and allies, such as the U.K., that have entirely removed their border measures and restrictions, yet have witnessed similar scenes at airports that we are witnessing and that the hon. member and many members across the aisle have mentioned today. They have long delays. They have missed flights. Can he explain why that is the case if they have removed those measures? Why is that the situation in the U.K.?
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- May/19/22 12:53:27 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is hard for me to really understand that question, to be honest. I do not believe I said anything like that in my speech. We are not suggesting at all that security measures be lost. What we are saying is that they should be reasonable, logical, rational and based in science. If, as the Liberal government says, it has science to back up these ongoing restrictions that other countries are abandoning, then it should tell us what it is. It should tell us who it is listening to. It refuses to answer those questions.
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- May/19/22 1:08:42 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I think the frustration that stems from most reasonable people in this chamber is about the fact that when a question is asked, what experts are you relying upon? What is the advice that has been given? Share that advice with Canadians. If you have reports or expert advice saying we cannot open this airport or we cannot remove restrictions and here is why, why not share it?
The fact of the matter is that they do not have it, and that is why they will not table it. If you had it, you would table it. Any reasonable person would, but we are not dealing with reasonable people or rationality. Why will they not table this advice now?
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- May/19/22 1:44:25 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, this is exactly it. We can go to a stadium and watch a hockey or basketball game without a mask. These members go to receptions every night in crowded rooms without wearing masks, but they wear their masks in the chamber. Yes, things have moved on. It is time for us to move on with these restrictions, as well.
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- May/19/22 1:56:15 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, there is a very easy answer to the question, because Canadians continue to see the hypocrisy from the Liberal government.
I went to Europe with the immigration minister, and we were maskless there. Whether it was on planes or trains, we were all maskless, yet when we boarded the plane to come back to Canada, we had to put on a mask because of the government's weird policies that are outdated now.
Just this morning in the House, a picture was taken of people from all parties without masks on. How can the member ask any type of question when it comes to mandates or restrictions, when his own party members do not even follow their own set rules? That is what I ask this member.
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- May/19/22 4:18:22 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we continue to follow the health advice of the provinces. The provinces have medical health officers, and they are in charge of health care in this country.
My question to the member opposite and to the government, actually, is this: What information do they have that they are not telling the provinces? Why do they still have mask mandates in federal buildings when the provinces have removed restrictions everywhere across this country? I am sure Canadians would like to see that information to know if they are hiding something from Canadians and from our public health officers in the provinces.
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- May/19/22 4:20:56 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech. However, I find it a bit ridiculous that we are talking about masks and the fact that people are wearing used masks.
The government has not come up with a postpandemic plan. I am well aware of that. However, there are still solutions, and there are restrictions that must be kept in place at airports.
I would like to know why my colleague does not support our experts when they tell us to be vigilant because there could be another pandemic.
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- May/19/22 4:51:58 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question.
I will say this: Our government must always provide the relevant information to Canadians to maintain a high level of confidence in the measures that we put in place. That is why, as Canadians have been vaccinated and as we exit the pandemic, restrictions have been loosened very prudently. We must always protect the public health and safety of Canadians. That is our number priority and our number one job.
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- May/19/22 4:52:25 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of our Conservative opposition motion calling on the Liberals to immediately lift remaining travel restrictions, which leaders in the tourism and hospitality sector and the airline industry say are harming business, damaging Canada's international reputation and resulting in chaos at our airports.
Let me say that, while the government certainly needs to lift these travel-related restrictions, it frankly needs to lift all remaining federal mandates and restrictions, which are draconian, discriminatory and unscientific. They are mandates and restrictions that have hurt everyday, taxpaying, law-abiding Canadians and are hurting our economy.
Under the Liberals' watch, thousands of federally regulated employees were fired, not because they did not perform their job ably, but rather because they made a personal health choice. The Liberals can point to provinces that imposed similar mandates. Those provinces have lifted the mandates and rehired workers who were let go, but the federal Liberals have not.
There are 3.7 million Canadians who are landlocked, unable to leave the country and unable to travel freely within Canada, because they cannot get on a plane or a train, again, for having made a personal health choice. As it stands, Canada is the only country in the world, save perhaps for North Korea, where it is required to show one's vaccine status to get on a plane or train and travel internally. It is the only such country in the world.
To make matters worse, the Prime Minister has repeatedly demonized and stigmatized fellow Canadians for making a personal health choice. He has routinely used hateful rhetoric, saying that they take up space and that they should not be tolerated, among other hateful words. I will tell members what should not be tolerated. It is that kind of hateful rhetoric from the Prime Minister, which is completely unbecoming of a Prime Minister.
The Liberals say they are following the science and following the data.
I am going to be splitting my time with the member for Edmonton West.
When we on this side of the House quite reasonably ask the Prime Minister and the government to show us the science, they do not provide any science or data. What they provide is political rhetoric aimed at pitting Canadians against each other.
It can be said that their policies are inconsistent with those of all 10 provinces and inconsistent with just about every country in the world. Just about every country in the world has lifted mandates and restrictions. The few that have not have set timelines to lift such restrictions, but not the federal Liberals. It begs the question: If the government is truly guided by science, why is its science so different from the science in every other jurisdiction in the world, not to mention all 10 provinces?
The mandates and restrictions the government has imposed and is so invested in, for whatever reason, have not affected just unvaccinated Canadians; they have done great harm to the economy and to vaccinated Canadians. One example of that is what this motion specifically relates to, and that is the travel restrictions that have led to chaos at Canada's airports, impacting vaccinated Canadians who are seeking to travel.
In recent weeks, we have seen many reports of passengers being stuck on the tarmac, on the airplane, unable to disembark because there is no room within the airport to properly process them. At Toronto Pearson, the Toronto Region Board of Trade reported that last week over 50% of passengers faced substantial delays. Just last Sunday, 120 planes were stuck on the tarmac at Pearson due to a backlog of the Liberal government's making. Pearson is hardly alone. These backlogs and delays are happening at border crossings and at airports right across the country.
The Minister of Transport, in the face of this, had the audacity to blame travellers. He said that it is their fault. I say, respectfully, that the Minister of Transport ought to look in the mirror. The problem rests on his shoulders. It rests on the shoulders of this Liberal government and on what at best can be described as completely outdated COVID travel measures. Members should not take my word for it; they can take the word of key stakeholders, which I will cite momentarily.
I should note that these mandates have contributed to staffing shortages at airports. We have seen, here in Ottawa, staff levels at just a little over half of what is required to properly and efficiently run the Ottawa International Airport, the airport of our capital. We have seen estimates that there are about 30% fewer security personnel than there were prior to COVID, due to the government's lack of planning and due to the mandates that led to the firing of employees.
Then these restrictions were added. The random testing and health questions that are put to travellers are estimated to quadruple processing times according to the Canadian Airports Council, and the minister says we should blame travelling Canadians. When we have staffing shortages and measures that are quadrupling processing times, it is pretty clear where the problem lies.
What about stakeholders? Monette Pasher, president of the Canadian Airports Council, has called on the Liberals to begin to lift these health restrictions, calling them cumbersome and contributing to the backlog.
Chris Bloore, president of the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario, has said that these measures, these health restrictions, are damaging Canada's international reputation and resulting in a loss of revenue for businesses that rely on tourists and international business travellers. That association has called on the government to lift these restrictions.
Glenn Priestley, president and executive director of Northern Air Transport Association, has said that these mandates are slowing things down. We need to get them under control.
It is time for the Liberals to catch up with the rest of the world and end these mandates now.
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- May/19/22 5:02:31 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, what the member is saying is just untrue. The reality is that he wants to make it seem as though Canada is the only country that has travel restrictions. The update today is that, of all the countries in the world, 21% are considered fully open, 64% are considered open with restrictions and 14% are considered closed.
Why would this member get up in the House and suggest that every other country in the world is fully open when it is just not true?
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- May/19/22 5:03:13 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, what we have is a mess of the government's own making. It is a government that has refused to provide a timeline. It has kept in place these travel restrictions, which are clearly having a negative impact, evidenced by the enormous concern raised by industry leaders.
Given that that member sits on the government's side and represents a riding near the Canada-U.S. border, I would put it to him that perhaps he should focus on addressing these very real issues, issues that are hurting our economy, damaging our reputation and making the lives of everyday Canadians miserable.
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- May/19/22 5:04:10 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, today we are talking about lifting restrictions.
The Bloc Québécois has proposed we look at lifting the restrictions gradually, but our Conservative colleagues refuse. They want to lift all restrictions at the same time.
If another wave were to come this fall, would my colleague agree to use the same method proposed in the motion and reinstate all of the measures immediately, all at the same time?
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