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Feb/1/22 6:07:39 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, in Latin, “promise” means to send forward. However, when there is no follow-up, it amounts to nothing. The Liberals talked about high-frequency rail. It was an election promise in 2015 that was recycled in 2018, then in 2019 and again in 2021. The result is that the public, voters and citizens lose interest in politics. Citizens become cynical and lose faith. To build a society, people need to have faith in it. That is very important. Broken promises lead to a lack of engagement.

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Mr. Martin Champoux (Drummond, BQ)

Feb/1/22 6:08:41 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Trois-Rivières for agreeing to share his time with me. I would have listened to him for another half hour because of his eloquence and rich vocabulary, as my colleague from Berthier—Maskinongé mentioned. I would like to begin this first speech of 2022 by acknowledging the members of my constituency team, who are listening right now because I asked them to prepare this address in reply to the Speech from the Throne. I would therefore like to thank Andrée‑Anne, Marie-Christine, Marika, Jacinthe and Mélissa because they really work hard. I am convinced that is the case in all the ridings represented by my colleagues in the House of Commons. We work very hard to address the very moving and personally difficult requests from our constituents. Some people find themselves in difficult situations. I have to admit that there is a lot of frustration that builds up when we see the lack of support and organization in the services provided by certain departments. This evening, we will speak to the Speech from the Throne. Not surprisingly, no one is holding their breath about the result of the vote. We have already announced our intentions. However, I find that this is a good time to point out some troubling issues that the current government should have addressed as a top priority. I want to start by talking about employment insurance reform. Things have gotten worse now, but in 2021, 300,000 applications were not processed on time. Some of these applications have yet to be processed, and it is now February. The normal processing time is 28 days, but that target is rarely met these days. People are going without income for several weeks. Dozens of cases were referred to the Drummond food bank. These fathers and mothers who were earning an honest living are now in extremely precarious situations. We hear heartbreaking stories every week. Not too long ago, when I was first elected in 2019, it was rare to hear such emotional stories. Now it is commonplace. We have almost become accustomed, but we never will, thank God, because we are compassionate, caring people. This type of situation has unfortunately become so common that it is now a regular part of our work day. Take Mr. Picard, for example. He has five children and has been waiting for EI since the end of November. His file is being processed. When he inquires, he is told that his file is being processed and that they are verifying some information. The system is working, but it is just a matter of speeding up the process and making this department a little more efficient. Now, let us talk about immigration. I do not know how many times we have talked about it. I do not even know where to begin anymore. Yesterday, according to an article published in La Presse and an English-only press briefing by the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, it was announced that the government should be back on track by the end of the year, after COVID-19 caused a significant backlog in processing applications. In 2019, there was already a significant backlog of immigration applications. COVID-19 is starting to become an excuse for everything. It might almost be better to tear down the Department of Citizenship and Immigration and rebuild it from scratch. Some delays date back to well before 2019 and long before COVID-19. The government previously announced that it would spend $85 million in 2022–23 to process the backlog, yet there are now 1.8 million pending applications. I could tell the House about many heartbreaking cases. I would like to talk about Ms. Dupont, a woman in my riding who I have spoken to a few times. She obtained permanent resident status in June 2021, but she never received the documents. It is now February 2022. Ms. Dupont dealt with the pain of losing her father, who became ill in the fall. She was told that she should not travel because there was a good chance she would not be allowed back into the country without her documents. Ms. Dupont was unable to get to her father's bedside, and he passed away without getting to see his daughter and grandchildren in the fall. Over the holidays, Ms. Dupont found out that her father-in-law had stage 4 cancer. Because she still has not received her permanent resident card, she cannot take her family to France to be with her father-in-law during his final days. The department could maybe do with a little more sensitivity. It might be time to work on that. From family reunification cases to businesses looking for temporary foreign workers to help them get through the pandemic, there are dozens of cases like these every week, not just in the riding of Drummond but in every riding represented by my colleagues here. We were hoping for something concrete for culture in the throne speech. Web giants have been stealing ad revenue from our media outlets and content creators for too long. We are expecting the new broadcasting bill to be introduced this week, and I call on all my House of Commons colleagues to get it passed quickly. Our culture, our content creators and our media are at the breaking point. They have been waiting years for an updated Broadcasting Act. We will be getting a look at the new bill this week, and we must pass it quickly to restore balance to Canada's broadcasting system.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Feb/1/22 6:14:59 p.m.
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It being 6:15 p.m., it is my duty to interrupt the proceedings and put forthwith the question on the motion now before the House. If a member of a recognized party present in the House wishes to request a recorded division or that the motion be adopted on division, I would invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair. Mr. Kevin Lamoureux: Madam Speaker, I request a recorded division. The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes): Call in the members.

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The Speaker

Feb/1/22 7:14:54 p.m.
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I declare the motion carried.

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Hon. Mark Holland (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)

Feb/1/22 7:15:26 p.m.
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moved That the address be engrossed and presented to Her Excellency the Governor General by the Speaker.

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Mr. Eric Melillo (Kenora, CPC)

Feb/1/22 7:18:31 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is great to be back in the chamber this year. It is great to be back participating today. On December 13, I rose in this chamber to ask the minister responsible for FedNor what specific measures her department is taking to improve wait times for funding application decisions. Unfortunately the minister did not respond and instead the government House leader rose to provide, frankly, a non-answer. It is concerning, because over the last two years every core program administered by FedNor has failed to meet its own service standards regarding these wait times. There are countless valuable shovel-ready projects across northern Ontario and in my riding of Kenora that would create jobs and enrich our communities. They are just waiting for support from the federal government to make them happen. The timing on these applications truly matters, especially in a region like northern Ontario. Many FedNor applicants are in rural and northern communities and face logistical challenges in getting their projects under way. For instance, remote communities such as Fort Severn or Kasabonika Lake in my riding only have a small window of winter road access each year, which can limit their ability to deliver equipment and materials. If they do not hear back from the department in a timely manner, they may have to wait as much as another year before they are able to put shovels in the ground and move forward on an important community project. It is clear that small businesses, municipalities, first nations and communities across northern Ontario rely on this department for support, and they really need clarity on the status of their applications. Successful applicants need to be told as soon as possible, so that they can start to work as soon as possible. Unsuccessful applicants need to find out in a timely manner, so that they can adjust their plans to seek other sources of funding, either at the federal or provincial level. In these uncertain times, the ability to plan ahead can be the difference between a business or municipality being able to fund new projects or, for a business, to maybe be able to keep its doors open. I know from my conversations with the minister that she recognizes this issue and wants to see it addressed, so I am asking again today if someone on the government side can please share what specific measures they are taking to fix this issue.

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Mr. Vance Badawey (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services, Lib.)

Feb/1/22 7:21:23 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, to begin, I want to acknowledge that I am speaking today from the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinabe peoples. Our government shares the member's view about the importance of the efficient and responsive delivery of the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario, FedNor, program funding. We recognize the significant challenges facing northern Ontario's small businesses as well as communities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the particular impact it is having on indigenous communities and rural and remote areas. The ongoing pandemic has significantly increased the demand for support for communities as well as businesses in this region. Since 2020, FedNor has received more than double the number of yearly applications to its programs. From day one, FedNor moved quickly to respond to their needs, helping to protect jobs and keep businesses afloat as they deal with the impact of COVID-19. With more than $123 million allocated for northern Ontario through the COVID-19 regional relief and recovery fund and the regional air transportation initiative, FedNor has efficiently and effectively delivered support to key sectors, contributing to the economic well-being of the region. In delivering the RRRF program, FedNor mobilized quickly to provide decisions on applications in half the time of its current service standard of 80 working days. FedNor is now delivering four new recovery programs that will inject nearly $83 million in new funding into the region over the next few years. These new programs were launched this summer and include the Canada community revitalization fund at $19.14 million over two years, the tourism relief fund at $25.3 million over two years, the jobs and growth fund at $26.6 million over three years, and the aerospace regional recovery initiative at $11.88 million over three years. FedNor staff continue to work diligently to process applications to deliver on new relief and recovery programs, while continuing to offer its regular programs. FedNor is also working to streamline business processes. One of its priorities is to reduce the current service standard of providing a decision on funding applications within 80 working days of receipt of a completed application. FedNor will continue to remain committed to providing responsive and quality service.

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Mr. Eric Melillo

Feb/1/22 7:23:56 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I must say it is incredibly disappointing that the minister responsible once again was not able to answer my questions. Once again, I had a response that clearly did not answer the questions put forward. I was asking what specific measures the government is taking to address the wait times. The member mentioned that they are working to meet the current standards, however, over the past two years, every core program has failed to meet those current standards. I would like to provide the member with an opportunity once again to answer the question that I put. What specific measures is the minister taking to fix wait times and ensure that each core program can meet the service standards as they are set out?

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Mr. Vance Badawey

Feb/1/22 7:24:47 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, frankly, I was very specific to the member across and if he wants, I can pass on my speaking notes to him as well as some of the specifics that I outlined in my response. From the onset of the pandemic, our government moved quickly to implement Canada's COVID-19 economic response plan. As well, FedNor was a key partner in delivering special relief and recovery funding in northern Ontario. FedNor demonstrated its ability to quickly deliver these special programs to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic for affected businesses, organizations, communities and first nations in the region. FedNor, as I mentioned earlier, will continue to deliver on its commitments to the people of northern Ontario. It will work to find efficiencies to ensure it remains responsive to the needs of the region and that it meets program delivery service standard timelines.

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Mr. Luc Berthold (Mégantic—L'Érable, CPC)

Feb/1/22 7:25:41 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, on December 3, I asked the Minister of Health why the government was slow to act in the entire Canadian response to COVID‑19. I tried, with a great many arguments based on documents that I could not table at the time, to show that everyone felt that the Liberal government had been slow in dealing with the pandemic, slow to act in the beginning, particularly when it came to borders and vaccines, and slow to provide rapid testing. The government always seemed to be one step behind. At that time, we also saw that the government was having trouble coordinating its decisions with the various jurisdictions involved. The government did act quickly on one occasion by calling for border testing at airports on the same day that the omicron variant was discovered, or not long after that, and by responding to the official opposition's call for action at the borders. The minister quickly announced that yes, the government would take action. Unfortunately, it took days, weeks, and months before we even knew who would be responsible for administering these tests at the border. Those measures were supposed to prevent a new variant from sweeping through Canada, but unfortunately, they did not work, and Canada was ravaged by a fifth wave, as we saw. The government said all the right things but did not follow through. It seems that the government has not learned its lesson since the beginning of the pandemic. It used to be that we all knew someone who knew someone who had COVID-19. I remember that at the start of the pandemic, we were all worried about this illness, this virus, but it did not really affect us directly. Today, however, the reality has changed. It is not happening to someone else anymore. Now we are the ones contracting COVID-19. A close family member of mine has had COVID-19. I have had COVID-19. The Prime Minister currently has COVID-19. COVID-19 has spread exponentially, and the situation continues to evolve quickly. Unfortunately, this government still seems to be one step behind this rapidly spreading virus. The government only moves quickly to announce that it is going to do something, but it is ultimately unable to deliver the goods. I understand that Canadians are tired of the restrictions imposed by every level of government. However, I would like to point out that despite how slow this government was to act to protect them, Canadians stepped up and got vaccinated. We are one of the most vaccinated countries in the world. I thank the Conservatives, who insisted from day one of the pandemic, at every question period, that the government focus more and more on securing vaccines and signing contracts with pharmaceutical companies. I want to take a moment this evening to commend Canadians for their resilience nearly two years into this pandemic. I sincerely hope that the government learns from past mistakes so that we can deal with any new waves caused by new variants.

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Mr. Adam van Koeverden (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and to the Minister of Sport, Lib.)

Feb/1/22 7:29:42 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague and tell him that I look forward to working with him at committee. I am pleased to have the opportunity to talk about Canada's border measures to protect Canadians from COVID-19. Border measures continue to be an important part of Canada's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and serve to protect the health and safety of all Canadians. Testing at our borders is a crucial aspect of Canada's COVID-19 monitoring strategy. It helps detect variants of concern and variants that escape vaccination. Even if fully vaccinated, travellers can still be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. That is why it is important to continue taking precautions. Each positive case identified reduces the risk of further community transmission in Canada. All travellers entering Canada by land or by air are subject to the same rigorous pre-entry testing requirements. The Government of Canada continues to require that all travellers, unless specifically exempted, have a valid negative pre-departure COVID-19 molecular test result taken no more than 72 hours before a scheduled flight to Canada or arrival at the land border, or a previous positive molecular test result taken between 10 and 180 days before departure to Canada. Foreign nationals with symptoms or who provide a positive pre-entry COVID-19 molecular test result from less than 10 full days earlier will be denied entry. A traveller with right of entry, such as a Canadian citizen, a person registered under the Indian Act or a permanent resident, with a positive pre-entry COVID-19 molecular test result from less than 10 full days earlier or more than 180 days earlier, will be allowed entry but may be subject to a fine of $5,000 plus additional surcharges or face criminal prosecution. They will also be required to isolate for 10 days from the date they enter Canada. The Government of Canada continues to assess the latest available evidence and monitor the situation to determine when to ease or adjust border measures accordingly. Canada's border testing is intended to mitigate the risk of further importation and help slow the spread of COVID-19 and its variants in Canada. I will conclude by expressing my gratitude, as my colleague did, to the millions of Canadians who continue to do their part in the fight against COVID-19. It is thanks to their solidarity that Canada is now among the countries with the highest COVID-19 vaccination rates in the world.

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Mr. Luc Berthold

Feb/1/22 7:33:08 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank the parliamentary secretary, my colleague from Milton. We will have the opportunity to work together on the standing committee on health and have some great discussions. At the standing committee on health we recently spoke with the Minister of Health. I asked him whether he thought the response to the pandemic should be guided by science, policy or personal intuition. He replied that it must be guided by science. Allow me to share an excerpt from an article about testing travellers arriving in Canada: With one of the highest infection rates in the world, it doesn't make sense, especially when it comes to requiring tests to allow vaccinated people on a plane, said David Juncker, the chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at McGill University. That comes from a scientist. The government is supposedly listening to the science, but many people are speaking up, including Dr. Mona Nemer, who has also come out in support of testing fewer people at the border. Why does the government not listen to its own experts? I hope we will have the opportunity to debate this in committee.

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Mr. Adam van Koeverden

Feb/1/22 7:34:10 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to reiterate that the Government of Canada's top priority is the health and safety of Canadians. To protect Canadians, the government has implemented some of the strictest travel and border measures in the world. The party opposite did urge the government to do so, as the member mentioned in his speech. The Government of Canada is well aware that these changes to border procedures can pose challenges for people and families, but these measures are intended to limit the number of new cases of omicron entering Canada. The measures also prevent new chains of transmission in Canadian communities and protect vulnerable Canadians and the capacity of our health care system.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Feb/1/22 7:35:01 p.m.
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The hon. member for Regina—Lewvan is not present to raise the matter for which adjournment notice has been given. Accordingly, the notice is deemed withdrawn. The motion that the House do now adjourn is deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 2 p.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1). (The House adjourned at 7:35 p.m.)

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Notice of question deemed withdrawn

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