44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 29, 2024 10:00AM
- Feb/29/24 2:42:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have answered that question on numerous occasions, but let me address the proposition at the start of that question when the member said we are working together with another political party. He does not want to do that, and I get it. He is used to making partisan points and not reaching across the aisle to collaborate.
What happens when we collaborate and work together? We get national pharmacare. We get the ability to say to those who have diabetes that we have their backs and they would have medication. We get to say to women that we are going to give them real freedom, freedom over their sexuality and freedom over their reproductive rights. That is what happens when members stop focusing on partisan politics and start focusing on results.
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- Feb/29/24 2:43:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what a disgraceful answer from the minister.
A national security culture begins at the top with the Prime Minister. This is a Prime Minister who said that he admires Beijing's basic dictatorship. This is a Prime Minister who, over the past eight years, has repeatedly ignored Beijing's interference. In the face of that, is it any wonder that, under the Prime Minister's watch, top Beijing military scientists had unfettered access to some of Canada's most sensitive biological secrets?
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- Feb/29/24 2:44:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in the first order, that is not true. What is true is that the Public Health Agency of Canada, which is one of the most respected agencies in the world, and which was there for us throughout the pandemic, is entirely responsible for its operations.
The truth is that there were two individuals hired. They were Canadian citizens, eminent scientists, who were well known and well respected across Canada and around the world, who lied to the Public Health Agency of Canada. The Public Health Agency of Canada then took the very responsible action of firing those individuals and turning the matter over to the RCMP. They are currently under investigation.
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- Feb/29/24 2:44:53 p.m.
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The hon. member for St. Albert—Edmonton had the opportunity to ask two questions. I am certain he could speak to his House leader to ask for more questions in the House, but until that time, I would ask him to wait until he has the floor.
The hon. member for Hastings—Lennox and Addington.
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- Feb/29/24 2:45:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the evidence speaks otherwise. After eight years, the Liberal-NDP Prime Minister is worth neither the cost nor the cover-up. He cannot be trusted to keep our people safe.
Yesterday the entire nation was shocked to learn that the government granted two People's Liberation Army assets full access to secret research in a top secret Canadian lab. This represents the biggest security breach since the Cold War, and it happened under the Prime Minister who famously said he admires China's basic dictatorship. How can Canadians trust this Prime Minister, who fails to take national security seriously?
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- Feb/29/24 2:45:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the representations made by the member are inaccurate, and I would invite people to read the documents, which have been fully redacted.
However, this is the contrast with a party that is focused on partisanship and differences. The member opposite talked about working with another party and what that might accomplish. What about dental care? When we focused on co-operation, we were able to get dental care for this country. We were able to make sure that nine million Canadians, including three million seniors, will have access to dental care. They are voting against that. They are against that. Are they against pharmacare? Are they against the other fruits of co-operation that come from—
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- Feb/29/24 2:46:34 p.m.
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Colleagues, those of us who have the ability to speak both languages have a clear advantage in the House in that we do not require headsets, but for those of us who do require them, it is very difficult to hear the questions and the answers if there is too much noise in the House. I ask all members, out of respect for their colleagues, to please listen to the answers and the questions.
The hon member for Nanaimo—Ladysmith.
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- Feb/29/24 2:47:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the number of people unable to find an affordable place to live in Nanaimo—Ladysmith is staggering, and what have the Liberals done? They have cut the Reaching Home funding to Nanaimo by 60%, and the Conservatives' plan is to gut funding and leave it up to rich developers, who just so happen to be their biggest donors.
Nanaimo needs more support, not less. The mayor of Nanaimo is calling for federal support. Will the minister provide the funding required for truly affordable housing in Nanaimo?
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- Feb/29/24 2:48:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am happy to take up this specific matter with the member after question period to know more about that specific case in Nanaimo, but I will say that the federal government is absolutely committed to ensuring there is greater supply.
Supply is always what underpins a housing crisis, in this country and every other country that is experiencing exactly that. We need to see more being built, and that is why we have incented the private sector by lifting the GST on the building of rental apartments. We have moved forward in working with municipalities to see zoning changes, where so much of this is dealt with, in terms of affordability.
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- Feb/29/24 2:48:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, New Democrats are delivering diabetes medicine and devices and contraceptives for all Canadians today. Free contraceptives would be life-changing for women across the country, but shamefully, Danielle Smith said that she does not want that for Albertans. My constituents are outraged, and the Conservative leader, when he was asked by the media about this, literally ran away so he would not have to talk about fairness for women.
Will the government ensure that it signs agreements with all provinces so all women and all Canadians have access to the—
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- Feb/29/24 2:49:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, access to medication for diabetes is not just a question of social justice, it is a question of saving lives. It is a question of prevention. It is a question of reducing costs enormously across the country. Specifically with Alberta, I have had very constructive conversations with Adriana LaGrange, who has been willing to work, compromise and find that common ground.
Unfortunately, across the aisle, that is not what we see. Today, the leader of the official opposition, the Conservatives, ran away when asked if he would support diabetes medication. He refused to answer whether he would slash contraceptives for women. The Conservatives are already against dental. I would really like to know where they stand on pharmacare.
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- Feb/29/24 2:49:41 p.m.
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The hon. Minister of Health.
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- Feb/29/24 2:50:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, newsrooms and journalists are one of the pillars of Canadian democracy. In our rural communities, local media play an even more fundamental role. In December, the Minister of Canadian Heritage reached a historic agreement with Google, which committed to giving newsrooms more than $100 million.
Can she tell the House when and how newsrooms, and local media outlets in particular, will be able to access this money?
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- Feb/29/24 2:51:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, despite months of opposition from the Conservatives, last year we passed the Online News Act, which allowed us to strike a historic deal with Google. That deal means Google will pay $100 million to local news organizations. Those funds would never have been made available if it were up to the Conservatives alone.
I am pleased to say that Google launched its open call process yesterday to ask eligible news organizations to come forward to benefit from this payment. Canadians can rest assured that, on this side of the House, we will always stand up to the tech giants to make them pay their fair share and behave like good corporate citizens.
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- Feb/29/24 2:51:46 p.m.
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I would ask the hon. member for Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier to refrain from speaking until he has the floor.
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- Feb/29/24 2:51:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the minister must be confused, because it is not Conservatives making a link between these scientists and threats to national security. It is the government's own security agencies saying that these individuals were collaborating with foreign entities that presented a threat to the security of Canada.
We are talking about research with pathogens and deadly viruses, while, at the same time, these individuals were on the payroll of the People's Liberation Army and the communist regime in Beijing. Rather than inform Canadians and come clean at the outset, the government went into overdrive to cover it up.
How can the Prime Minister be so callous and selfish that he would try to protect himself rather than the security of Canadians?
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- Feb/29/24 2:52:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to answer my colleague. Canada shows leadership when it comes to national security. That is something the Conservatives will not do.
Let me refresh their memory, because they tend to be selective when it comes to the facts. On January 16, we announced that we would ban funding for research in sensitive areas. There are 100 entities around the world. We work with our Five Eyes allies. We work with research centres in this country. We work with universities.
Canadians know that we will always put national security first and defend the interests of Canada.
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- Feb/29/24 2:53:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals want to give themselves a gold star that finally three years later, after fighting, kicking and screaming to keep these documents hidden, that now they have been released only because Conservatives demanded it. Let us remember the facts. They ignored and refused to comply with four parliamentary orders. They took the unprecedented step of taking the Speaker of the House of Commons to court to keep these documents hidden. Then they called a snap election hoping it would all go away.
If this was all just an administrative issue, then why the cover-up?
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- Feb/29/24 2:54:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in the first order, one of the things that is disturbing about what the member is supposing is that if he were in government, and I hope that does not happen, they would interfere in the redaction process and they would be involved in it. We obviously did not do that, particularly not with national security.
The member opposite and I had a conversation about this. First, I suggested immediately that they see the documents at NSICOP. They said that was not good enough. Therefore, I created an ad hoc committee. The ad hoc committee gave them the opportunity not only to see the documents, but put to an independent arbiter whether or not they should be released publicly. We did that together. The documents were released. They are now before us.
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- Feb/29/24 2:54:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is a known admirer of China's basic dictatorship.
Over the past eight years, he has allowed research with the Chinese army. He has allowed the Chinese Communist Party to interfere in our elections. He has turned a blind eye to intimidation of the Chinese diaspora.
With the release of the Winnipeg lab documents yesterday, we learned that the Prime Minister also allowed a person who represented “a very serious and credible danger” to compromise Canada's national security.
Will the Prime Minister finally admit that he tried to hide the documents to protect himself, not to protect Canadians?
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