44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 17, 2022 11:00AM
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise on this topic this morning.
There are different ways of seeing things. Some people say that we do not need a day. However, that day already exists. Last year, on March 11, there was a rather solemn commemoration. Two years ago, we also commemorated the day in a meaningful way—
Madam Speaker, I would like to be able to hear myself speak.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleagues for their co-operation.
As I was saying, this day already exists. March 11, 2021, was designated as a national day of remembrance. There was also a commemoration in 2020, as I mentioned earlier.
Today, we are creating an official, permanent day of remembrance. We are not creating a statutory holiday or anything like that. This day will be marked on the calendar and will be an ongoing reminder of what we need to do.
We need to remember what happened and take into consideration the mistakes that were made. We all know that this was exceptional and that it was extremely difficult to find the right path. However, we must still learn from what happened. That is the purpose of creating this day. Essentially, we are looking to establish a symbolic day.
I had assumed that the House would be unanimous on this issue this morning, but that is not the impression I am getting. We will see what happens when it comes time to vote.
The important thing to do now is express, yet again, our sincere condolences and our compassion. We must make it abundantly clear that we stand with everyone affected. Yes, we remember those who were lost, and we also remember the families that were unable to visit their loved ones before they passed. That is a terrible thing to go through, and we have to make sure it never happens again. We need to remember that every day.
I am speaking on behalf of the Bloc Québécois, but I daresay I am speaking on behalf of the House, because I do not think anyone here lacks sympathy for those affected.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the frontline workers.
We were among the lucky ones who could telework. When we were able to come here, we did so in small groups. We practised social distancing and many other measures that helped us feel pretty safe most of the time, but that was not the case for everyone, including health care workers.
The previous speaker, who is a doctor, talked about doctors, but we also need to think about the nurses and personal support workers. There were times when it was the PSWs who were picking up the slack. I want to acknowledge the work done by everyone who volunteered to help out at the long-term care facilities. It was truly remarkable. People I know very well, who were on forced leave from their work, voluntarily risked their lives daily to help others. This deserves to be remembered and respected.
I am also grateful to the guardian angels, the asylum seekers who agreed to work in the long-term care facilities as PSWs to try to save people and take care of others. We have a moral obligation to them.
We are currently debating the creation of a day of observance. I do not think this is the time for criticism, but let us keep in mind that the cases of those who helped have not all been settled. This has been dragging on and it is important to wrap it up. I am calling on the government members, the people in charge, to pick up the pace. These days it is tough to pick up the pace where immigration is concerned, but I think we can manage. The people involved have already been identified.
In terms of frontline workers, I just mentioned orderlies, but maintenance workers, janitors, parking lot attendants and grocery store clerks also come to mind. Although some of these workers eventually got bonus pay, they still earn minimum wage and face the risk of getting COVID-19 every day. We have to think about these people and the dedication they have shown day after day.
Dedication can take many forms. I am thinking of delivery drivers, truck drivers and other drivers. I am thinking of teachers, who were initially forced to take leave or work from home and who later had to work in extremely difficult conditions.
I am thinking of hairstylists who had to cut hair while wearing a visor. I love my barber, and she actually told me that she was thinking about retraining as a truck driver. Apparently, cutting hair with a visor on is not easy. Depth perception can be affected, and it can be especially difficulty if the visor fogs up.
We also have to think of police officers, peace officers and highway workers. It is important to think of all these people.
As for our youth, they found themselves in an unfortunate situation. My parliamentary assistant had the misfortune, if I can call it that, of doing almost his entire bachelor's degree online. Last week, we talked about our respective university experiences. I will not go into the details, but I will say that we did not have the same experience. I find that sad.
All these people had to make sacrifices. Of course they developed other strengths, and that is what we all have to do when facing adversity. I always say that, like in judo, the thing to do is to move quickly and turn the situation to your advantage. Those people also suffered.
I mentioned university students, but we could also talk about high school students. They, too, did not have the same experience. There were no proms, for example. These things may seem mundane, but they are milestones in these young people's lives that they did not get to experience.
We must remember all of that. I cannot name everyone and I have no intention of even trying to name and thank all the groups of workers who worked so hard during the pandemic.
We should keep in mind, however, that the pandemic is not over yet. I will issue a gentle reminder: Getting vaccinated is a darn good idea for anyone who can get the shot. I personally received my fourth dose last week and am very happy about it. I am now “bivalent”. I suppose I am better protected than I used to be. As a vaccination ambassador for the health and social services centres in la Mauricie-et-du Centre-du-Québec and Lanaudière, I encourage people to get vaccinated.
I also want to thank the scientific community. It was not easy. We were facing the unknown. Scientists had to make the information more accessible, inform the public and search for the truth all at the same time. It was a challenge not to instill fear in the public while also having to ask people to be diligent and follow rules. That is an extremely difficult thing to do.
I salute everyone who worked during the pandemic. I think this day is important. I heard earlier that we do not need a day, that we need to reflect on this all year long. Still, having a day on the calendar forces us to remember and reflect. The Bloc Québécois is therefore in favour of this day.
We need to make sure that we do not repeat past mistakes. One thing this must include is adequate funding for our health care system. We have to work on preventing errors and duplicating services. The tone is friendly today, but there is a history here. We must be proactive for the future. We need an efficient health care system, and employees must be treated properly. People with a strong foundation in their work environment will respond better to this kind of disaster.
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Madam Speaker, I enjoyed my colleague's speech. I quite agree with many of the points he made, including the fact that we should focus on improving existing programs rather than creating more. We just so happen to agree on that.
In his speech, he said that, rather than creating new problems, we should look to provincial health transfers as the solution. Did I understand my colleague correctly? Does he agree that the government should increase health care transfers to the provinces with no strings attached, as the provinces and Quebec have been calling for?
Ever since his party got a new leader, that has been very unclear. I would be really pleased to hear him say that.
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Madam Speaker, since the member for Mirabel seems to be in fine form today, I would like him to share his thoughts on independence. The topic was raised earlier by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons. The door is open.
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Madam Speaker, in her speech, the member stressed the importance of working together, of collaboration. My question is the following: Is she open to discussing how the program can be adapted for Quebec, which already has its own program? This could take the form of increased health transfers, for example.
If we are supposed to work together and debate bills, does she think it is okay that we have to vote under a gag order, rather than work constructively on improving a bill?
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