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Nov/25/21 4:38:22 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am sorry, but I do not quite understand what the question is. I did say that, yes, we are elected to be here and that I very much am looking forward to being here. There is nothing much else that I can add to that.

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Mr. Jean-Denis Garon (Mirabel, BQ)

Nov/25/21 4:38:40 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have a hard time understanding that whole controversy as well, because it never should have happened. There is no controversy over opening arenas, universities or restaurants, but members on the other side of the House are suggesting a government available for delivery. A government to go. Could we not have a flexible solution, as the member for Brossard—Saint-Lambert said? The House would be reopened following the health regulations and then we could reassess how things are going later, if necessary.

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Mrs. Alexandra Mendès

Nov/25/21 4:39:24 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Mirabel for his question. It is warranted by the situation right now because we have colleagues who are impacted by COVID‑19 and cannot be present at this time. Even if they do not have serious symptoms, they cannot come to the House. Therefore, the health situation remains precarious. There are still a lot of unknowns and we do not know how we will proceed. Thus, offering parliamentarians the opportunity to continue to participate virtually is one way to continue. The Leader of the Government in the House of Commons did actually confirm today that ministers are supposed to be here every day, and we are supposed to be here every day. If we are healthy and vaccinated, why would we not be here every day? Proposing a solution does not mean that we will decide to proceed in that manner and have a government to go, as the member called it.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Nov/25/21 4:40:22 p.m.
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There is time for a brief question. The hon. member for Longueuil—Charles‑LeMoyne.

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Mrs. Sherry Romanado (Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne, Lib.)

Nov/25/21 4:40:34 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I first want to congratulate you on your election. I want to thank my family and the people of Longueuil—Charles‑LeMoyne for the trust they have placed in me. I also want to congratulate my colleague from Brossard—Saint‑Lambert on his election. The point of this is actually for prevention. Right now, the Standing Orders do not allow a member of Parliament to participate in their elected duty should they become sick. What we are trying to do is to say that if they are sick or have symptoms, we ask them to stay home. It is just like the measures we are going to put in place for workers, so that they can have that time to stay home and stay safe. Would the hon. member explain how this is a preventative measure to make sure people can have their opportunity to speak?

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Mrs. Alexandra Mendès

Nov/25/21 4:41:27 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I absolutely agree with my colleague. This is preventative. This is just an alternative that we are offering parliamentarians, and it is at the moment the best way we see to go forward to ensure that all parliamentarians can participate.

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Mr. Todd Doherty (Cariboo—Prince George, CPC)

Nov/25/21 4:41:50 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is an honour to stand in this House, as always, and add to the debate. I first want to send my heartfelt thoughts and prayers to my community of Vanderhoof, because literally 20 minutes ago a warning came across that there was an active shooter in the community. I meant to stand up and say to please stay safe and stay inside, but my understanding is that the shooter has been caught. Ladies and gentlemen, and colleagues, it speaks to the debate that we are talking about today. This person, for reasons unknown, shot into our RCMP detachment. Thankfully, as far as I know, no one was wounded. The person was taken into custody. Our country is divided. We have all just come through probably one of the most divisive elections we have seen in a very long time. We have colleagues from the government's side and colleagues from our opposition side who faced intimidation, threats and vandalism. Our family has received threats of violence and threats of death, and I know some of my colleagues have faced the same. I want to bring us back to just two days ago, when we all convened in this House for the first time. There are pictures out there on social media. We are all sitting there, glad-handing each other and patting each other on the back. Some people even gave hugs, fist bumps and elbow bumps. There is a happiness in our being back here. I know I speak for many of us who have gone through the last six years, and at least for myself, when I say it is good to see members and it is good to be back here. Last night I hosted the National Diwali on the Hill, Parliament's national Diwali, which was started by our great former colleague, the hon. Deepak Obhrai, 21 years ago. He started it here because he wanted to bring light to Canada. He wanted to bring a beautiful ceremony right here to Canada. I think about this debate that we are having right now and I think about that significant event. Diwali is about the banishment of darkness and the bringing in of light, hope and peace. That is what Canadians need right now: light, hope and peace. When I think about my riding of Cariboo—Prince George, there are residents who have been severely impacted by COVID and who have lost everything, including loved ones. I think about my friends and my family and our colleagues down in the Lower Mainland, who are battling the worst natural disaster in our country's history. I also think about my friends in Atlantic Canada, who are now receiving some of the worst weather patterns they have seen. I think about our good friend who spoke yesterday in a member's statement about losing two young members of his community. The gentleman I am splitting time with, the hon. member for Cumberland—Colchester, is going to speak about the impacts in his riding as well, and he is a physician. It is time we got back to work here in Ottawa. I know there are important things, and I know that just because we were in a hybrid setting, our days did not stop. I know that we were all faced with probably more meetings than we could count, because it made it easier in some sense. However, it also made it easier for some on the front bench to obfuscate and get away from their responsibilities. Our friend from Kingston and the Islands is a good soldier. He said that said that maybe once or twice in question period a minister could not answer the question. I would hazard a guess that it happened more often than once or twice, but at least he was admitting it. We saw that during the WE scandal. Does everybody remember the WE scandal when we were having committee meetings? All of a sudden there were technical difficulties or, guess what, the meeting had to be called because the translators were having a hard time, or we did not have translators, or the room was booked for that full length of time or there were technical difficulties. Think about the cost merely to put on hybrid. Think about the cost that we just went through for an unnecessary election, and that we are downloading onto the backs of Canadians. We were all elected to be here. I will remind everyone, and those who are new, that it is not one of my speeches if I do not remind members that this House does not belong to us. It is not our House. It is the House of electors. It belongs to Canadians. They elected the members to be here to represent them and to bring their voices to Ottawa, not the other way around. I have heard some of the arguments, such as, it is just in case somebody gets sick. I will bring members back to 2018 when I had a very serious illness and I was at home. I still managed to do my job. I got incredible messages from members that kept me in touch with what was going on with the fisheries file, because I had that at the time. We need to get back to work. We need to hold the government accountable. It is shameful that we have our NDP colleagues, many of whom I count as friends, who have partnered with our Liberal colleagues here. I know that many of our Liberal colleagues probably do not share the feelings of the front bench in pushing this forward, and they would like to be right here doing the work that they are doing. In the last session, in the last Parliament, 622 days ago, it was Friday, March 13 and I remember taking a picture of the calendar when we rose and we went into hybrid. I have heard somebody saying again that Conservatives have not taken this pandemic seriously. I will bring them back to that last session in January 2020. I was the first person to raise the questions. Should we not be doing something; should we not be taking this international threat seriously; should we not be talking about perhaps closing our borders, perhaps limiting flights from those destinations that have high cases? I will remind members that I was told that I was fearmongering, that perhaps I was racist. Yes, we have taken this seriously all along the way and we have worked tirelessly with our colleagues from all ends of this House to make sure that we have a team Canada approach. It was 349 days ago that members of this House stood together unanimously and passed my motion to bring 988 to Canada as a national suicide prevention hotline right here for our country. It was 349 days ago, yet, we still do not have that. There is something to be said about being present in person, and looking across the way at the minister or being able to have those sidebar conversations with our colleagues, and those personal relationships to be able to get things done. It is much different than texting and zooming and video conferencing. Personal relationships are what get things done in this House, and we all know that. We need to get back to work, and our work is right here in Ottawa. I will end with that. I look forward to the great questions from my colleagues.

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Mr. James Maloney (Etobicoke—Lakeshore, Lib.)

Nov/25/21 4:51:49 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am very sorry to hear about the events in the member's riding today, and my heart goes out to all those affected. I am glad to see him. I am glad to see everybody in this room. I have not hugged him yet, but I might before the week is out. I agree with much of what the member said today. There has been a lot of rhetoric in the last 24 hours on this motion. The rhetoric was amped up already. We were talking about hockey games and concerts and all those things. I am looking at the motion, and I cannot figure out for the life of me why we are having that discussion because what this motion does not say is that I cannot come here. I plan on being here. Therefore, what we need to do is talk about some of the issues the member raised in his speech and we can do that as soon as this motion is passed. I think the member will find most of us are here. Please, can you go to your colleagues and get unanimous consent on this motion so we can get back to work, because I am going to be here and so are most of us.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Nov/25/21 4:52:49 p.m.
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The member should address all questions and comments through the Chair. The hon. member for Cariboo—Prince George.

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Remarks addressed to the Chair

Mr. Todd Doherty

Nov/25/21 4:52:55 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, this is my first time standing in the House. Yesterday I was so concerned with sending my condolences to the town of Vanderhoof that I forgot to thank the residents of Cariboo—Prince George for once again electing me. I also forgot to thank my rock, my wife, and our family for all their support. Without them, we cannot do what we do. First off, in answer to my colleague's question, if he wants to hug me he can. I am double-vaxxed. We all want to be back here. We do not need unanimous consent. It is that side of the House that needs to be convinced. It is down there that need to be convinced. Let us get back to work. Let us be here and let us show Canadians that light, peace and hope are possible.

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Ms. Christine Normandin (Saint-Jean, BQ)

Nov/25/21 4:53:59 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. From the beginning of the debate, we have heard from the government and the NDP that no one is being prevented from coming to the House. However, would my colleague agree with me that the issue really is whether those of us who come to the House have the right to have our colleagues opposite us in order to answer our questions and be accountable?

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Mr. Todd Doherty

Nov/25/21 4:54:34 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, that is exactly what I said when I said that this House does not belong to us, it belongs to the electors. They elected the 338 members of Parliament to stand, be counted and bring their voices to Ottawa, not the other way around, to represent them, do that work and make sure that, at least on the opposition side, we are holding the government accountable. On the government side, the members' constituents elected them to be here, do their job and be accountable.

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Mrs. Sherry Romanado (Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne, Lib.)

Nov/25/21 4:55:13 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is so good to see my colleague here. We worked together on a private member's bill a couple of years ago. It is great to see him. Nowhere in this motion does it say that I cannot be here. I can assure the member that I have missed this place too. I have missed everyone. I am planning on being back as long as my health allows me to, and I am not exposed. My concern is that, God forbid, I become exposed to COVID. There is no mechanism for me to come and make sure that I can vote, make sure that I can speak and be the voice of the citizens. I lost my aunt to COVID-19 in May 2020 in a CHSLD. I know first-hand what it means to be afraid. I do not want to take away the opportunity for my colleagues, who may be afraid to come in because they may have been exposed, to participate in a vote. I can assure my colleague across that there is no way I will be hiding and not come to this House if I am able to do so. Would he agree that this is the responsible thing to do?

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Mr. Todd Doherty

Nov/25/21 4:56:33 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, first, let me send my heartfelt condolences to my colleague for the loss of her loved one. My son lost one of his best friends to COVID, a young gentleman just in his twenties. To the best of my knowledge, it sounds like this is about a member's privilege. The reality is that it is not about a member's privilege. It is about the jobs that we were all elected to do. We can all find ways to get our job done and get here. We can get COVID from going to the grocery store. We can get COVID from going to other places. It is about being here, being accountable and doing our job.

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Mr. Stephen Ellis (Cumberland—Colchester, CPC)

Nov/25/21 4:57:19 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to congratulate my friend and colleague from West Nova on his appointment as Deputy Speaker. I am sure over the course of my speech I will also echo some of the comments and sentiments from my colleagues over the past couple of days. However, they are very important and will be echoed. It is an immense pleasure to have the opportunity to speak in the House of Commons and address my fellow hon. colleagues in the 44th Parliament of Canada in person. We are following public health measures and the science and representing our constituents in person. It is an indescribable feeling to be standing here making my maiden speech. I would be remiss not to thank the constituents of Cumberland—Colchester for entrusting me to be their representative in this House. I thank my friends, volunteers and my family, especially my wife Deborah, my children Samantha, Allison and Zac, who have all supported me in this incredible journey. My dear friends, I have had the opportunity to live my version of the Canadian dream. What do I mean by that? I have been able to work hard to secure an education, to find meaningful employment and to help make my community a better place. I realize this is not the version of the Canadian dream for all. However, being an elected member of Parliament allows all of us to help Canadians live their version of the Canadian dream. For my maiden speech, I should also be talking about my background. As a young man, I grew up in a trailer park in rural New Brunswick. I joined the Canadian Armed Forces, attended medical school and had a career as a family physician for the past 26 years. My life continues to be about serving my country, having a strong work ethic and bringing forth my constituents' triumphs and tribulations to this very floor. Sadly, the Prime Minister and my Liberal colleagues prefer to avoid these difficult questions from my Conservative and Bloc colleagues on pressing issues of inflation, continuous scandals and vaccine hesitancy of Canadians, and they hide behind a hybrid parliament. The best way to hold a government to account is to be in person and to respect the work that occurs in this institution. The COVID pandemic began very inauspiciously for me on March 13, as my learned colleague said, in Truro, Nova Scotia. I entered an unprepared hospital, region, province, and quite frankly, an unprepared country. We have been toiling in this situation as health care workers and as all Canadians for 21 months. In the medical world, COVID-19 was a brand new foe. Sadly, as we were so unprepared, many of us on the front lines thought we faced certain death as patients began entering our hospital on March 18, 2020. All Canadians have suffered greatly during this pandemic. We have all suffered in different ways: physically, mentally and financially. Frontline health care workers worked overtime, and continue to do so. A regular work week as a physician was 80 hours or more. Families were separated by distance and the inability to feel the embrace of a grandchild. Seniors living in long-term care longed to be with their families, but were separated by a pane of glass. Children were forced to go to school via Zoom and they were deprived of their friendships and their participation in sporting activities. The tourism sector was decimated and continues to remain so. We have missed birthdays, weddings, bar mitzvahs, baptisms, holiday gatherings, faith services and, sadly, funerals. We have been mandated, locked down and tested. We have been ordered, locked out and excluded. Finally, as a nation, a great nation, it is now time to begin to emerge from this pandemic. It is time for Canada, and indeed this Parliament, to be the voice of Canada and to show our fearless leadership as we sit in person in the House of Commons. As my hon. colleague mentioned, I have been privileged to see first-hand the enthusiasm of members meeting in person for the first time in a very long time, and hearing stories of friendships missed and open discourse thwarted by a virtual Parliament. I have heard about the mental and physical health of interpreters and the failure of technology. There is an overall sense that virtual Parliament does not work. Once again, as I mentioned, there is no scientific data to say how great it works, even though many colleagues will say how wonderful it is. Legislatures around the world have been closed to the public; numbers of representatives have been reduced; and in extreme cases, such as in Hungary, the Prime Minister is ruling without consulting members of Parliament. As a family doctor at heart, I am a social scientist, and we as human beings are social beings. There is a great need to interact with others in person. Indeed, as my colleague mentioned, we have seen the usual handshake replaced by other forms of contact, such as fist bumps and elbow taps. Setting aside the incalculable effects of the lack of socialization, we are not here to socialize. We are here to work, to make laws, to consider significant issues and to lead our great country. We need to be a reflection of Canadians and also to give them hope. They have borne the burden of mandates and lockdowns, and now, as it is possible to emerge, we need to lead the way. If hon. members of the government do not intend to return to in-person work and intend to stay locked down alone at home in their slippers, the work does not get done and the benefit of vaccines is lost. Around the world, people are envious of our position, not just the incredible opportunity afforded to us as Canadians, but as individuals who have the opportunity to return to in-person work. We know that our Liberal colleagues have attended in-person social events. We have seen many on TV and social media. Just this week, the House gathered safely to elect a Speaker and to debate the Speech from the Throne. I have another analogy: What if all of our health care workers decided to work only virtually? I have tried it and quite frankly it stinks. Should we ask Canadians to draw their own blood, listen to their own heart sounds, insert their own chest tubes or insert their own intubation tube? I think not. Then why, we might want to ask, should we all not return to work here in the House of Commons? We are not asking parliamentarians to take any greater risk than we ask of other Canadians who report to work every day. My learned colleague mentioned the farmers, fisher-people and other people who work with their hands. They need to go to work. Are some of us more equal than others? It is clear to me that not being here in person allows the government to continue its reckless platform of overspending and not addressing real crises, such as housing and the floods in B.C., without having to be held accountable. Real-world issues such as the high cost of living, the censorship of the Internet and an inadequate number of workers need to be addressed, debated and solved. Instead of addressing these critical issues, the Liberal government would rather waste time questioning the validity of the House administration and questioning the integrity of medical professionals. Canada has the highest vaccination rate in the G7. The parliamentary precinct has enforced public safety measures to ensure our members' safety. Why must we add rules to rules? Canadians are returning to work, businesses are reopening and Parliament Hill should be no exception to this reality. Millions of Canadians are unable to participate in a hybrid workspace, so why should the government believe it can receive special treatment and accommodations? Do people think that we are exempt from the same rules that everyday Canadians follow? I realize that I am a newly elected member; however, I do not believe that the good people of Cumberland—Colchester have sent me to Ottawa so that I could sit behind a screen alone in my home or my office. They sent me here so that I would be here in the middle of the action where I can properly hold the government to account. That is what I was elected for, and the best way to do that is in person. Canada was once an economic powerhouse, a revered nation of peacemakers, a friend to struggling nations and a beacon of hope in an otherwise dark world. This, my friends, is the Canadian dream. I implore my fellow members to do what is best for all Canadians, and that is to vote against the hybrid Parliament.

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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Winnipeg North, Lib.)

Nov/25/21 5:07:19 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I do not quite understand why the Conservatives oppose this motion. They are the ones who have decided to make this political. My daughter gave a virtual speech inside the Manitoba legislature today. In Manitoba, the leader of the official opposition has COVID-19, and because it is virtual he is able to participate as the leader of the official opposition. There is a member of the House today who is not able to come in because of COVID-19. It is a reality that the pandemic is not over. No one is saying that there will be no members inside the House; in fact, it is quite the opposite. Does the member believe that the Progressive Conservative government in Manitoba is wrong by having a hybrid system? Is it assaulting democracy by having a hybrid system? The Conservative opposition really needs to understand that this is about enabling members like the member's own colleague, the member for Beauce.

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Mr. Stephen Ellis

Nov/25/21 5:08:27 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, one of the main arguments that need to be made here is one of facts, science and trust. It is very clear that there is no science around having a hybrid parliament, how well it functions, what the outcomes are and how it is different from an in-person parliament. We know that over the last 150-odd years in Canada, an in-person parliament has worked. Therefore, when we have no certainty that a hybrid parliament works, I think on this side of the House there is a lack of trust that our good friends will not want to continue this indefinitely and indeed forever.

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Mr. Richard Cannings (South Okanagan—West Kootenay, NDP)

Nov/25/21 5:09:16 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, my colleague's riding represents the homeland of my mother's family, the McCurdys, so I am happy to hear from people from Truro in Cumberland—Colchester. However, I must admit that I have trouble agreeing with him. I am a scientist. He is a medical doctor. He said we have no data. All I can say is that, from my experience, the hybrid Parliament worked very well. I had great access to ministers and other colleagues. I fully intend to be here as much as I can throughout this Parliament, as I think everybody else does. What the motion does is it gives people who are sick or cannot be here for whatever reason the option to participate, to exercise that privilege. What is the problem here?

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Mr. Stephen Ellis

Nov/25/21 5:10:16 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, there are a couple of issues that I have to address. My scientific colleague has a study, as we might say in science, of “n=1”. He has one person in the study, himself. That is quite fascinating. Those studies are very good. We call them useless. That being said, the other thing is good intentions. There are a lot of songs about good intentions and where that road is going to take us. We may all have good intentions to show up. We may all have good intentions to exercise every day, to eat better and to be better people. Clearly, the majority of us fail in those things over and over again. The concern is that it is very easy to take the easy road, stay home with our fuzzy slippers on, use a virtual parliament and say that there is something way more important to do than come here to do our job.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Nov/25/21 5:11:10 p.m.
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I want to note for the member that his comments were actually bordering on personal attacks. That is not what the House of Commons is about, and he may want to apologize for that. Questions and comments, the hon. member for Rivière-du-Nord.

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Members' remarks

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