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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 91

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 17, 2022 10:00AM
  • Jun/17/22 11:48:25 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, a senior from my riding said, “We do not have a smart phone, or the technical knowledge to figure it all out, it discriminates people like us.” People cite technology cost. They are talking about the “ArriveCAN'T” app. Businesses are waiting months instead of weeks for deliveries from the U.S. due to vaccine mandates affecting truckers. The Liberals' reducing some travel and vaccine mandates does not help either of these situations. Why are the Liberals keeping the mandatory use of the ArriveCAN app and keeping Canada closed?
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  • Jun/17/22 11:49:01 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, ArriveCAN has been a very important tool in helping to keep Canadians safe against the virus. We continue to work with our stakeholders and we continue to work with travellers to improve their experience on ArriveCAN by making it more accessible. I am pleased to report to members in this chamber that compliance is up well over 90%, which, in the long run, will make travel more efficient and, of course, we will continue to improve that app as we go forward.
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  • Jun/17/22 11:49:32 a.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, food insecurity in Nunavut is a major issue. The cost-of-living crisis is making a bad situation even worse. In budget 2022, the Liberals did not mention food insecurity in the north once. My constituents are being left behind by the government. Food has expired by the time it reaches shelves in Nunavut. This is not how people in Canada should live. Why has the government not taken steps to make sure all people in the north can access fresh, affordable food?
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  • Jun/17/22 11:50:17 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I absolutely agree with the member. There is nothing more important than food security in Canada and around the world. All Canadians, regardless of where they live, deserve access to safe and affordable food. Through budget 2021, we have added another $170 million to the nutrition north program. We have added the harvester support grant so indigenous groups can have help harvesting traditional country food. There is more to do, but we are in the right direction.
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  • Jun/17/22 11:50:54 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, rents will continue to rise and things will only get worse for people already struggling to pay for groceries. Rent for a one-bedroom unit in Vancouver is over $2,300 a month, in Toronto over $2,100, and in Halifax almost $1,700. The Liberals' response to struggling Canadians is an extra $7 on GST cheques. The government is so out of touch with reality. Will the Liberals double the GST rebate and increase the Canada child benefit by $500 so families can get an additional $500 to $1,000 back in their pockets?
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  • Jun/17/22 11:51:36 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. We fully agree that it is becoming increasingly difficult for people to pay the rent. That is why our budget includes the Canada housing benefit, as my colleagues know. That investment will total more than $4 billion. We are also adding another $475 million this year. That is an additional $500 on top of what we have already introduced, just to help families pay the rent, which is becoming increasingly difficult.
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  • Jun/17/22 11:52:03 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, in my riding of Kitchener—Conestoga and across Canada, we have seen the effects that global inflation has had on the everyday lives of Canadians, inflation caused in part by the illegal war in Ukraine and China's zero-COVID policy. Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance tell this House what the government is doing to help Canadians deal with this global phenomenon?
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  • Jun/17/22 11:52:28 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, just yesterday, the Minister of Finance released our affordability plan in order to tackle exactly what my colleague is addressing, and that is the increased cost of living. What we have presented is our plan to increase the Canada workers benefit, to increase old age security, to provide a one-time payment to Canadians finding it difficult to access affordable housing and, of course, our programs are indexed to inflation so they continue to rise. This is a concrete plan. The member of Parliament for Kitchener—Conestoga is an excellent musician and I would like to tell him, “Rock on, my friend.”
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  • Jun/17/22 11:53:08 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we have already seen the steepest 52-week rise in the price of meat since Pierre Elliott Trudeau, and we have producers across the Prairies reeling because of dry conditions. With the government's insistence on pushing through front-of-package labelling on beef and pork, it is further hamstringing producers and consumers without solid evidence that this expensive change is necessary. With Canada set to become the only country on earth to impose this policy, is the government using the same top-secret scientists it used to defend its unnecessary COVID mandates to now defend kneecapping our ag producers?
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  • Jun/17/22 11:53:46 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, on this side of the House, we are alarmed and concerned about the rising rates of illnesses, and particularly chronic illnesses, that are impacted by poor diets. These labels are widely recognized by health organizations and the scientific community as an effective tool to help counteract the rate of diet-related chronic disease that continues to rise in Canada. More information for consumers is always a good thing. During our engagements with industry stakeholders, Health Canada experts and Canadians across the country, Health Canada analyzed the feedback it received and has made adjustments to the proposal where supported by science. On this side of the House, we will always be there for Canadians when they are making good decisions at the grocery store.
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  • Jun/17/22 11:54:27 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, residents in northern Saskatchewan travel great distances to attend medical appointments in Saskatoon. From Meadow Lake, it is three hours; from Pierceland or Goodsoil, it is over four hours; from La Loche or Creighton, over six hours. Depending on road conditions, from Stony Rapids it can be 14 hours. These are one-way trips. Can the minister tell us if the rising price of gas is threatening his constituents' ability to receive the medical care they need, as it is my constituents?
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  • Jun/17/22 11:55:03 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague for his commitment to his constituents and his consistent advocacy, particularly for lower-income families in his riding. The health committee just concluded a study on the health care human resources crisis in this country. We are going to make sure that every Canadian has access to a family doctor, including through telehealth in remote ridings, such as my friend's riding. The cost of living is rising across the country. We will be there for Canadians to support their health.
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  • Jun/17/22 11:55:34 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, after stridently defending it, the government has suspended the vaccine requirements to travel domestically or outbound internationally. Provinces have acted to lift COVID-related mandates, citing high vaccine rates, reduced hospitalizations and lower COVID case counts. Even Liberal caucus members want all federal pandemic restrictions lifted. The Prime Minister's Office is acting alone, and using these mandates as political weapon of choice. When will the Prime Minister put an end to divisive mandates that do not follow the science?
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  • Jun/17/22 11:56:13 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, on this side of the House, we agree that Canadians want to get back to normal, and we all want to get back to normal but we have to be honest. The COVID pandemic is not over yet. At every step, we have adapted our COVID-19 measures based on the current situation. This week, we were able to announce that we are lifting the travel mandates. We are pausing them because this pandemic is not over. Because of our strong vaccine rates, we are able to relax some of those requirements, but Canadians continue to die from COVID-19 and we cannot take our foot off the brake just yet.
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  • Jun/17/22 11:56:49 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, during the last election, the Liberals promised in their platform to develop a safe long-term care act to ensure that our seniors would be guaranteed the care that they deserve, no matter where they live. Over nine months later, nothing has happened. Seniors are tired of waiting. It has been long enough. When will the government show some respect, stop treating seniors as second-class citizens and commit to tabling a long-term care act?
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  • Jun/17/22 11:57:23 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, this pandemic continues to highlight the challenges in long-term care, including gaps in infection prevention and staffing. I have personally seen these challenges on the front lines as a nurse. Our government has made significant investments, including $4 billion to provinces and territories, to improve the standard of care in those facilities. I would like to remind the member opposite that her party voted against the measure when we put it in the fall economic statement. There was $41.9 billion in cash support for provinces and territories through the Canada health transfers. We will keep working with provinces and territories so that we can continue to fight this pandemic and ensure that seniors in long-term care have the supports they need.
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  • Jun/17/22 11:58:09 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the federal government shut down the herring and mackerel fisheries just two days before the season was to start, and it did so without even mentioning compensation, knowing full well that action was almost certain. With 48 hours' notice, Ottawa pulled the rug out from under Quebec fishers, who now have no income after they made significant pre-season investments in their boats and equipment. At the very least, the government needs to provide compensation. That is what fishers in the pelagic fishery are calling for and what the Quebec National Assembly unanimously called for on April 7. Will the minister respect this unanimous demand from Quebec and compensate fishers in the pelagic fishery?
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  • Jun/17/22 11:59:00 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, my goal is to grow the fish and seafood sector because of its importance to Canadian fish harvesters, processors and exporters. This is an amazingly strong part of our economy on both coasts. To do that, we need sustainable fisheries. When fisheries are frail, then we need to take action and that is just what we have done. There are many programs to support our fish harvesters.
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  • Jun/17/22 11:59:45 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we need to manage fish and humans. We have just three sitting days left. Our fishers need compensation, and they need it now, not in six months. Even the Minister of National Revenue and member for Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine has said that suspending the fishery without compensation was unacceptable and showed a lack of understanding of the situation. It is true that the resource is declining. The minister has known that for 10 years now, but it is unacceptable to ban someone from doing their job with 48 hours' notice and with no compensation. Will the minister commit to immediately compensating our fishers—
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  • Jun/17/22 12:00:27 p.m.
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The hon. minister.
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