44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 7, 2022 10:00AM
- Jun/7/22 2:55:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government clearly does not know its own policies with respect to travel on federally regulated boats. The Marine Atlantic policy clearly states that travel is open to unvaccinated Canadians because the voyage is less than 24 hours and the service is essential. Clearly, all plane trips in the world are less than 24 hours. Also, the parliamentary secretary's assertion that the hardy folks of Newfoundland will spend the entire voyage outside on the North Atlantic in the wintertime is nothing short of ridiculous.
Canadians need a commitment that this government will put an end to their hypocritical and vindictive political mandates.
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- Jun/7/22 2:55:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the hard work and the advocacy of the member opposite.
As I said yesterday, it is a lot different travelling on a boat versus a plane. When we are in an airplane, we are in a confined space, seated right next to somebody, as we are here in the House of Commons. That is why we on this side wear masks. When somebody is on a ferry, they can be far more socially distant. They can go outside. Windows are available. I would not recommend opening the window when one is up in the air.
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- Jun/7/22 2:56:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the other thing we hear from the government is lots of statistics with respect to health care: We hear that 6,000 people die every month from heart disease, 3,500 die from diabetes, 7,000 die monthly from cancer and 600 people die every month from overdoses, which is four times the prepandemic number.
Clearly, these numbers are meant simply for context. These diseases are a reality in our lives, but Canadians do not live in fear. It is time for us to learn to live with COVID also. These mandates are clearly political science and not medical science. Is that not right?
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- Jun/7/22 2:56:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am not a medical doctor like the member opposite.
I would take note of the fact that he just referred to a few deadly diseases. However, COVID-19 is one—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Jun/7/22 2:57:06 p.m.
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I am just going to interrupt for a moment. I am sure the hon. member for Cumberland—Colchester wants to hear the answer, but we cannot hear it if people are talking or shouting.
The hon. parliamentary secretary.
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- Jun/7/22 2:57:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I said, I am not a medical doctor like my colleague opposite, and we have been collaborating on the health committee. However, I do not think that just because Canadians unfortunately die from things like coronary artery disease, strokes and heart attacks means that COVID-19 is less of a priority for this government. COVID-19 is beatable. With vaccines and social distancing and by wearing masks, we can beat COVID-19, but we need everybody in this House to participate.
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- Jun/7/22 2:57:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and the government continue their hypocrisy and virtue signalling with their vindictive mandates as airports are in disarray, people are blocked from travelling and others remain unable to return to their jobs. We will hear in their response that they are following the science, but let me offer a quote on the government's mandates from a well-known infectious disease specialist, Dr. Isaac Bogoch: “At the end of the day, the current policy probably isn’t doing a whole lot.”
So mandates are not stopping the spread. They are not saving lives. They are hurting Canadians. When will the Prime Minister and the government end the mandates?
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- Jun/7/22 2:58:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his collaboration at the health committee as well. I was also there when we heard from Dr. Bogoch, who has been a consistent and sage advocate for vaccines from the first day of this pandemic. He was, this morning, on the news as well.
It is incontrovertible that vaccines will continue to save lives in this country. Only in the last month, over 1,800 Canadians died from COVID-19. We cannot wish COVID-19 away. We must continue to be vigilant. We must continue to ensure that our neighbours are aware of where they can get a third or a fourth dose, and we must be wearing our masks when we are in public.
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- Jun/7/22 2:59:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would encourage the parliamentary secretary to take a—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Jun/7/22 2:59:25 p.m.
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Order. The hon. member for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes is trying to ask a question and his own side is talking over him. Let us keep it down and let the hon. member ask his question.
The hon. member.
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- Jun/7/22 2:59:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, they are excited to tell the parliamentary secretary that he should offer that advice to the Prime Minister. He is out not wearing his mask when he is in enclosed spaces, but he has people wear them when he does not.
Now that we have heard political spin, let us hear from another infectious disease specialist, Dr. Neil Rau, who said, “The policy seems to lag the science and it has become incredibly political.”
It is well past the time for the Prime Minister and the government to accept that dividing Canadians and pitting neighbour against neighbour was wrong. People want their jobs back. They want to travel. They want to be able to visit with their families.
Is the Prime Minister finally ready to drop the politics of stigmatization and division and end the mandates?
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- Jun/7/22 3:00:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, of course Dr. Neil Rau is renowned in my community as well. He has helped my mother. When I was travelling a lot, he supported our team when we were travelling. He is a very good infectious disease doctor.
However, I would posit that it is that side that is making this political. Vaccines are not political. They are not controversial. These vaccine mandates have done a very good job, and of course all of the regulations and all of the public health restrictions are constantly being reviewed, as they will be.
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Mr. Speaker, Quebec's Bill 96 makes federally regulated businesses subject to the Charter of the French Language, but the Liberals' Bill C‑13 contradicts Bill 96 and gives businesses the choice to make French optional.
For the Quebec Community Groups Network, offering this choice already goes too far. Yesterday they demanded that only the federal legislation apply, so that its businesses can continue to operate in English only. Does the minister believe that her allies such as the QCGN care one bit about the decline of French in Quebec?
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.
As I have said many times, our government is the first to recognize that French is in decline in Canada, including in Quebec.
That is why we are moving forward with an ambitious bill, one with teeth, to ensure that we can do our part. The federal government wants to take responsibility and make sure that we are doing everything we can to address this situation, as it is a top priority for the government.
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- Jun/7/22 3:02:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, English is not threatened in Quebec or anywhere in North America, and yet that is what the English Montreal School Board believes. It has announced plans to challenge Bill 96, and it is calling on all like-minded groups to provide financial support for its challenge.
I have a simple question for the minister: Does she agree with us that the English Montreal School Board should not get one penny of taxpayer money to challenge Quebec's Bill 96?
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- Jun/7/22 3:02:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, once again, we have been very clear that our government is the first federal party to recognize that French is in decline in Canada, including in Quebec. That is why we are moving forward with an ambitious bill to address this situation.
What is really disappointing is that yesterday, at the Standing Committee on Official Languages, we saw time being wasted in the first hour of the committee meeting. Rather than taking the time needed to begin a thorough analysis of Bill C‑13, we saw members of the opposition, including the Bloc, simply waste that time.
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- Jun/7/22 3:03:26 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-5
Mr. Speaker, shootings are happening more and more often in the greater Montreal area. Fear is taking hold in some neighbourhoods, and children have been traumatized by shootings in broad daylight.
What is the government doing to address this? With Bill C-5, it is eliminating mandatory prison time for armed robbery, armed extortion and weapons trafficking.
What is the world coming to? Why is the government so soft on crime?
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- Jun/7/22 3:03:59 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-5
Mr. Speaker, serious crime will always have serious consequences.
What we are doing with Bill C‑5 is completely different. We are targeting the overrepresentation of Black and indigenous people in the criminal justice system. We are talking about offences where public safety is not at stake. For serious offences, there is Bill C-21. I hope the opposition will support both of these bills.
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- Jun/7/22 3:04:45 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-5
Mr. Speaker, I invite the Minister of Justice to listen to the following quotation: “while the federal government is using the overrepresentation of indigenous peoples and people of diverse backgrounds in our prisons to justify abolishing many minimum sentences, it seems to forget one important fact: Members of these same communities are equally overrepresented among the victims of these armed crimes”.
This quotation came from Murielle Chatellier, who is a member of Montreal's Black community.
Would the Prime Minister like to discuss Bill C-5 with her, or does he think she is racist, too?
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- Jun/7/22 3:05:17 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-5
Mr. Speaker, these attempts to spread misinformation about Bill C-5 are appalling. It is important remember that serious offences will always carry serious consequences.
Bill C-5 targets offences where public safety is not threatened. The idea is to give judges the latitude they need to hand down sentences that can help society as well as the victims.
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