44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 17, 2022 10:00AM
- 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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- Jun/17/22 12:00:35 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I understand the difficulties for fish harvesters. Stocks in some years are abundant and there is a lot of opportunity to fish them, and in other years and other stocks the abundance is just not there and we need to close down the fisheries. It is a difficult situation. I want to acknowledge that our government has many ways in which we support Canadians in need when their employment is not available.
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- Jun/17/22 12:01:13 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, my question is for the public safety minister. Just before the pandemic, I met with his predecessor on the subject of placing defibrillators in every RCMP cruiser. He agreed with me that this would save 300 lives per year, and he expressed personal pride at the fact that earlier in his career he had placed defibrillators in every city of Toronto police cruiser.
Could the current minister advise the House as to whether RCMP cruisers have been receiving defibrillators since the time of this conversation?
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- Jun/17/22 12:01:45 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, of course, over the past number of years we have invested hundreds of millions of dollars to provide the RCMP with the tools and equipment it needs not only to keep Canadians safe but obviously to ensure our frontline officers are safe, and we will continue to make those investments. Going forward, we certainly hope that Conservatives will support the investments that are in budget 2022 to achieve many of those goals. I look forward to continuing to speak with my colleague on the specific issue he raised.
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- Jun/17/22 12:02:17 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, last week I spent an hour on the streets with a young woman who had passed out. She was in danger of getting hit by a car. I could not call paramedics because she was not in medical distress. I could not take her to the hospital because they did not have room for her, and I could not call the police because there was nowhere to take her.
I understand that decriminalization is very important to destigmatization, and that is critical in treating addiction, but why are we not investing in real solutions and investing in a mental health system to treat people and help them on their way to recovery?
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- Jun/17/22 12:03:10 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for that important question. People are dying every day. Putting an end to this crisis calls for a multi-faceted plan that includes diverting drug users away from the criminal justice system.
We approved British Columbia's plan to decriminalize personal possession of small amounts of drugs. It is based on a comprehensive implementation plan, along with a broad range of resources and services for people who use drugs, including safe supply. We will monitor and assess the outcomes in British Columbia because information about how the plan works is essential.
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- Jun/17/22 12:03:50 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, many of the residents in my riding are struggling to make ends meet. Helping special-needs children and giving the required assistance has had an emotional and financial impact. Care centres are having to severely cut hours. The current government has failed our most vulnerable citizens, who are urgently attempting to stay afloat.
When will the government stop punishing Canadians, start demonstrating compassion, and start doing its job by assisting our most vulnerable families in meeting their basic needs?
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