- Member of Parliament
- Liberal
- Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle
- Quebec
- Voting Attendance: 67%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $103,608.23
- Government Page
- Sep/19/23 9:09:44 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, my colleague always fights for justice and human rights. We work together on the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.
I was deeply interested in his speech. He mentioned that members of the diaspora are truly worried about what is happening. These people often have to flee violence in their country of origin. What more does he think we can do to help members of the diaspora feel safer?
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague. I will provide a brief answer because we are out of time.
We must listen to the experts. As Dr. Tam said, we were ready to reopen, but because of the omicron variant, we saw the number of hospitalizations, cases and deaths spike. No one was prepared for how huge this wave would be, but the government is here to reopen and to start getting things back to normal. It will take a bit of time, but it will happen.
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Madam Speaker, the government is not slow and it does recognize the need to protect our businesses, and we are protecting them, and we have been. Throughout the pandemic, our government provided supports to small business owners and independent operators to make sure they too could continue to survive. As my hon. colleague mentioned, it is important that we also continue to do things to stimulate our economy, but not at the risk of bringing further harm.
We saw experts and Dr. Tam mention that very soon—
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Madam Speaker, these rapid tests are incredibly important, and as I mentioned in my speech, they are to be used to curb the spread, the transmission, of COVID. When someone is asymptomatic, it does not mean they are incapable of spreading the disease to others who are vulnerable, such as children, seniors and people with underlying health conditions. These are things we must take into account. Just because someone is asymptomatic does not mean they cannot infect someone and bring some real harm to their lives. People have ended up on ventilators and very sick, with long-term COVID symptoms that are ongoing, and it is up to us to be responsible and make sure we protect not only ourselves, but our loved ones and others around us to protect society, to make sure Canadians are safe and to be a community.
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak to Bill C-10. I will begin my remarks by reminding the House why this important legislation is necessary.
It was introduced because it responds to an urgent need. This bill is critical, as it would provide Health Canada with $2.5 billion to purchase and distribute rapid tests across the country. This legislation would also create the necessary authorities to allow the Government of Canada to transfer inventory directly to the provinces and territories, speeding up the shipping process for rapid tests.
Also, I will be sharing my time with member for Vancouver Granville.
COVID-19 continues to threaten the health, social and economic well-being of all Canadians. It is crucial for us to implement all the tools we have available to get our country back on track. These tools include widespread vaccination efforts, the wearing of masks, targeted measures at borders and the facilitation of COVID-19 testing and screening. I will focus my remarks on the role the federal government has played in supporting our provincial and territorial counterparts through testing and screening.
In combination with other essential public health measures, testing and screening will remain critical to continuing to control the spread of COVID-19. On July 27, 2020, the Government of Canada announced it would provide $4.2 billion, part of the over $19 billion announced by the Prime Minister on July 16, 2020, as part of the safe restart agreement to further expand testing, contact tracing capacity and the associated data-management and information-sharing systems. The objective of the safe restart agreement is to ensure that Canada has the resources and information it needs to reopen the economy safely. The $4.2 billion included $906.2 million for the Public Health Agency of Canada to procure 92 million tests between October and November 2021, which were distributed mostly to the provinces and territories. With this objective in mind, we have built on the solid foundation of the diagnostic laboratory PCR testing capacity built up by the provinces and territories. Rapid point-of-care tests enable health care professionals to target and respond to new outbreaks by isolating those who are sick and initiating contact tracing.
Health Canada has prioritized the review of all types of COVID-19 tests, including rapid and new innovative testing options and technologies. Our government put in place processes to allow Health Canada to carry out expedited reviews of testing devices through the interim order respecting the importation and sale of medical devices for use in relation to COVID-19. A second order was enacted on March 1, 2021. As of the end of January, Health Canada has authorized 107 testing devices, including 10 self-tests that can be used at home and 27 tests that can be used in a point-of-care setting, as well as rapid tests. Through this expedited regulatory review process, Health Canada's consistent approach to regulatory review and approval throughout the pandemic has ensured that testing devices available for sale in Canada have been accurate and reliable. As a result, we have avoided some of the problems that other countries have experienced, including recalling lower-quality tests. We have also been able to increase testing capacity across the country.
All of the measures outlined above demonstrate that significant gains have been made in shaping a robust testing and screening landscape. However, we continue to adjust and accelerate our actions to ensure Canada gets the right tests to the right people at the right times to break the chain of transmission. The importance of testing to our recovery efforts is why this bill was introduced, and I think all members can agree on its importance. The statutory authority of the Minister of Health to purchase and distribute up to 2.5 billion dollars' worth of COVID-19 rapid tests across the country that it provides will complement and build on the $1.72 billion in funding provided in the December 2021 economic and fiscal update.
Efforts such as these to procure and distribute rapid tests underline the understanding that the delivery of health care falls within the jurisdiction of the provinces and territories, and the Government of Canada will continue to actively support the provinces and territories to meet both their current and future demands. In total, since the beginning of the pandemic, our government has purchased over 490 million rapid tests, at a total cost of $3.3 billion. In January alone, 140 million rapid tests arrived in Canada, over 40 million of which have been shipped to Ontarians, with more than 19 million scheduled in the short term. The provinces and territories decide how to deploy these technologies and are informed by advice, including from the pan-Canadian testing and screening guidance released in October 2020 and the updated guidance on antigen testing released in February 2021.
As rapid testing expands into the private sector, the federal government will continue to ensure that the provinces and territories have access to an adequate supply of rapid tests. We are moving aggressively to bring testing and screening right to where Canadians are. We are working quickly to ensure that rapid testing, in combination with other public health measures, continues to support our country during this pandemic and to help our country reopen.
As members of the House are aware, the health and safety of Canadians is the government's main priority. I can assure everyone that our government will continue to do everything within our power and jurisdiction to protect Canadians during this difficult and unprecedented time. We must continue to remain committed to keeping each other safe, and I ask all my colleagues to join me in supporting the adoption of the bill.
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- Dec/7/21 9:47:41 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I have another question for the Minister of Health.
We know that some people's mental health has really deteriorated during the pandemic. Can the minister explain what the government's plan is for the future?
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- Dec/7/21 9:46:47 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I would like to ask the Minister of Health a question. As we know, vaccination is going to help our country keep moving forward. Could he explain to us what the plan is in the upcoming months, especially with these variants that we continue to face?
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- Dec/7/21 9:46:03 p.m.
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Madam Chair, what has FedNor done to support jobs and growth in southern Ontario? As we know, without jobs, the economy suffers. Can the minister provide more details?
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- Dec/7/21 9:45:30 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I would like to follow up with the minister. Could he please explain to the House if there will be anything special for Quebec when it comes to tourism?
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- Dec/7/21 9:44:37 p.m.
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Madam Chair, the next question is for the Minister of Tourism. As we know, tourism is very important for our culture and our communities.
Can the minister explain the importance of tourism?
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- Dec/7/21 9:43:26 p.m.
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Madam Chair, we make better decisions when employees look like the communities they serve. More than 25.2% of Canadians identify as having a disability. It is important that more Canadians with disabilities be represented in the public service.
What will the funding that the government is requesting for the Office of Public Service Accessibility be used for?
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- Dec/7/21 9:33:13 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I would first like to acknowledge that we are on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people.
I rise in the House to talk about what Canadian Heritage has been doing to support the culture, heritage and sport sectors since the beginning of the COVID‑19 pandemic.
The culture, heritage and sport sectors are crucial to Canada's social and economic vitality, contributing about $63 billion to our economy as well as more than 772,000 jobs prior to the pandemic. In fact, many artists and creators in Canada have gone above and beyond over the last two years finding new and innovative ways to deliver quality entertainment, enriching cultural experiences and meaningful connections that have helped us all to cope with the isolation and stress of life in a pandemic.
They have done all this despite the fact that when the full force of the COVID-19 pandemic hit Canada in March 2020, the culture, heritage and sport sectors took many of the first and hardest blows. Concerts, festivals and sporting events were cancelled. Theatres, museums and cultural spaces were closed. Restrictions on public gatherings made events and celebrations of heritage and culture impossible. Production shut down for many creative works. Financing, distribution and dissemination became much more difficult.
The damage caused to these sectors due to the pandemic has been significant. Between the first and second quarters of 2020, culture sector jobs fell from 656,956 to 530,801, with a fall in sectoral GDP from $14.04 billion to $11.9 billion. As of quarter four of 2020, the jobs total and the sectoral GDP figures had still not fully recovered, tallying 596,281 and $13.3 billion respectively, down 9% and 5% against quarter one 2020 figures.
From the beginning of the crisis, the government knew it had to provide assistance immediately. In April 2020, the Prime Minister announced a $500‑million investment in the emergency support fund for cultural, heritage and sport organizations to counter the devastating effects of COVID-19.
Despite the difficult circumstances that made everyone's work harder, the Canadian Heritage team worked diligently to maintain normal operations, streamline procedures and expedite payments through its existing funding programs, in addition to deploying much-needed support through the emergency fund as quickly as possible.
According to a survey of emergency fund recipients, Canadian Heritage met its objectives. It helped companies stay in business and maintain jobs.
Seventy-seven per cent of respondents indicated that the fund helped them a great deal or moderately to stay in business. The vast majority of respondents, 95%, expressed satisfaction with the speed with which they received funds.
Implementing the emergency support fund in such a tight time frame was a massive undertaking that relied heavily on the collaboration and commitment of all organizations across the heritage portfolio, thousands of partner organizations and tens of thousands of stakeholders. If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it is that we are at our best and our strongest when we all work together.
Only by continuing to work together can all sectors move towards a full recovery and a more prosperous future.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Canadian Heritage has maintained a close relationship with the cultural, heritage and sport sectors in order to respond to their needs and understand their most pressing concerns.
Additional support measures were initiated, including a $50-million short-term compensation fund administered by Telefilm Canada to help our film and audiovisual industries resume production activities, and more than $181 million for the support for workers in live arts and music sectors fund as was announced in the 2020 fall economic statement.
In the fall of 2020, the department organized a series of town hall and round table meetings where roughly 4,000 participants shared their ideas about how the government could work with them and better support them.
For 2020-21, the government also waived CRTC licence fees for all broadcasters to provide financial relief in response to the impact of COVID-19 on advertising revenues.
After such a long time, the recovery is finally in sight. Since the majority of Canadians are now adequately vaccinated, many want to safely resume their cultural and sporting activities. Nevertheless, we know full well that the culture, heritage and sport sectors were the first ones to be hit hard by the pandemic, and they will also be the last to fully recover.
The road ahead may be bumpy. New variants are emerging, and the number of cases is fluctuating. The Canadian culture, heritage and sport sectors will still need us on the road to recovery.
That is why budget 2021 included an unprecedented investment of $1.93 billion through the Department of Canadian Heritage and its portfolio organizations. These funds will be used to promote the recovery and growth of these sectors now and in the future.
This commitment includes the $300-million recovery fund for arts, culture, heritage and sports sectors, which will help organizations still struggling with the pandemic, and help to build resilience and promote innovation. A $200-million reopening fund will also help Canada's festivals, cultural events, outdoor theatre performances, heritage celebrations, local museums and amateur sports events to restart and re-engage with their communities and return to welcoming visitors from all over Canada and the rest of the world.
Some other examples of the many cultural initiatives named in budget 2021 are $66 million in emergency support to Canada's six national museums and to the National Battlefields Commission to address the ongoing financial pressures of COVID-19.
An additional $15‑million investment in the Canada cultural spaces fund is provided for to help arts and heritage institutions upgrade their facilities to meet public health guidelines. Note also the extension of the short-term compensation fund and the increase in funding to $149 million to continue supporting audiovisual productions.
By all accounts, we have a long way to go before we can celebrate the full recovery of Canada's culture, heritage and sport sectors and say that the COVID‑19 pandemic is definitely behind us, but we have many reasons to be happy. Thanks to the efforts and collaboration of Canadian Heritage and its portfolio organizations, partners and stakeholders, we are on the right path.
This is why the government is continuing to work with these economically and socially important sectors to ensure that their future is inclusive and sustainable. Canada's cultural offerings are among the most vibrant and diverse in the world, and I am proud of our government's efforts to lift up these sectors during this critical period. We will continue to be there for them.
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